Upper Moreland survives tough test from Wissahickon

UPPER MORELAND >> Along with the bumps and bruises, Upper Moreland is wearing a 4-0 record.

“It’s been crazy. It hasn’t been easy, but we always seem to get it done, that’s for sure,” said wide receiver Ryan Olexa, who racked up 117 yards on his four receptions Friday night against rival Wissahickon.

“We’re not the prettiest 4-0. We’re a very talented football team but we shoot ourselves in the foot a lot,” Golden Bears coach C.J. Szydlik said. “We work on it every day, but sometimes we get a little out of sync. And when we’re out of sync, we’re a mess. But when we’re flowing, like we were at the end of the first half, we’re a tough team.”

Upper Moreland survived a tremendous effort by the Trojans, winning a back-and-forth contest that saw the lead change hands five times to claw out a 35-31 victory in the Suburban One League American Conference opener for both teams.

“Our depth came back to shine for us,” Szydlik said. “We have enough kids that can make plays. You’re on your fifth wide receiver who catches the game-winning touchdown and your fourth-string running back who’s barrelling down the sideline at the end. We have kids. We just gotta keep plugging away.”

Upper Moreland went ahead for good with 5 minutes, 22 seconds left to play, when Paul Meyers made a juggling catch of a 20-yard pass from quarterback Byron Hopkins. The touchdown made it 35-31, and after a key stop by the defense, the Golden Bears muscled down the clock with a pair of tough runs by Hassan Johnson.

“Our star running back goes down, our backup running back got a little cramped up, and our big boys in the trenches made it happen,” Olexa said.

Without Cameryn Jackson (14 carries/73 yards, TD) and Cole Tucker (6/34), Upper Moreland still got it done in the fourth quarter. Runs of 24, 23 and nine yards by Johnson drained the clock and locked down the victory.

“Two-way team,” Olexa said of the balance between run and pass. “We’ll be scary in the future.”

It is hoped that Jackson and Tucker will return to action soon. Both played pivotal roles in a hectic first half.

Wissahickon used a methodical, 16-play drive to take a 7-0 lead.

A drive made possible in part by the running of Kyle Lehman and the passing of Aidan Defeo came to a close when Lehman burst into the end zone from five yards out.

Upper Moreland wasn’t behind for long.

Jackson received the ensuing kickoff and dashed 90 yards for the score, tying things up at seven apiece.

In the second quarter, the Golden Bears gambled and went for it deep inside their own end, and when they were stopped short on fourth down, Wissahickon took advantage and moved it 33 yards for the go-ahead touchdown.

Defeo found an open Braheem Thomas, who found his way into the end zone from 12 yards out to give the Trojans a 14-7 lead.

Back came Upper Moreland.

A drive keyed by a 35-yard run by Hopkins (165 yds, 3 TD passing/65 rushing) was capped off when Jackson ran around the right end, sprinting into the end zone from 13 yards away to deadlock things at 14 apiece.

The Trojans used another sustained drive to push ahead 17-14 on a 38-yard field goal by Nate DeVincent with just 32 seconds left in the first half. The ball bounced on and over the crossbar to make it 17-14, suggesting it might be Wiss’ night.

But the Golden Bears struck quickly again.

Olexa turned a short slant into a 63-yard gain, and just moments later, Hopkins hit Olexa for a 15-yard touchdown that put the Golden Bears ahead for the first time, 21-17 at the break.

“With 38 seconds left, I’m sure most people would just take a knee and get outta there. But we score like that,” Szydlik said. “Ryan’s a stud. Ryan catches the ball, rumbles down, and then you have no choice but to go back to him. He’s just that good of a football player.”

Said Olexa: “(Hopkins) read it good and was able to put it on the side I wanted it and just made a good ball for me to be able to go up and get it.”

The momentum the Golden Bears had going into the half was taken right back by Wiss coming out of it.

Thomas took the second-half kickoff back 90 yards for a touchdown and a 24-21 Trojan lead.

“We kind of sit around and take people’s punches. And then it’s like, ‘okay, our turn,'” Szydlik said.

Upper Moreland went back ahead when Hopkins hit Tucker for a 23-yard TD and a 28-24 advantage, but the lead swung back to Wiss when Kyle Leyman pushed in from two yards out, making it 31-28 heading into the fourth.

But the Golden Bears had one more surge left.

“They changed defenses from what they did in the first three games, which kind of caught us off guard a bit, but we adapted and came out with a win,” said Szydlik said.

The Trojans fell to 0-4 but were on victory’s doorstep Friday night.

“We always talk about playing four quarters, and tonight we played four quarters,” Wiss coach Bruce Fleming said. “The guys really fought all the way to the end, and I’m proud of them for that.

“We stressed all week that we don’t have to be perfect, but close to it in all three phases of the game to have a chance. And we did that. I think that blocked field goal (in the third quarter) that we had was a great show of our special teams. Returning the second-half kickoff was another time our special teams did a little bit more. It’s small things we have to clean up to be able to pull it out at the end.”

Upper Moreland 35, Wissahickon 31
Wissahickon 7 10 14 0 – 31
Upper Moreland 7 14 7 7 – 35
First Quarter
W-Kyle Lehman 5 run (Nate DeVincent kick), 3:03.
UM-Cameryn Jackson 90 kickoff return (Jaryd Meehl kick), 2:51.
Second Quarter
W-Braheem Thomas 12 pass from Aidan Defeo (DeVincent kick), 10:45.
UM-Jackson 13 run (Meehl kick), 4:36.
W-DeVincent 38 field goal, :32.
UM-Ryan Olexa 15 pass from Byron Hopkins (Meehl kick), :10.
Third Quarter
W-Thomas 90 kickoff return (DeVincent kick), 11:46.
UM-Cole Tucker 23 pass from Hopkins (Meehl kick), 9:31.
W-Lehman 2 run (DeVincent kick), 6:45.
Fourth Quarter
UM-Paul Meyers 20 pass from Hopkins (Meehl kick), 5:22.
W UM
First Downs 14 19
Rushes-yards 29-83 38-243
Passing (c-a-i) 15-25-0 7-16-0
Passing yards 140 165
Total yards 223 408
Punts 4 2
Penalties-yards 6-30 9-75
Fumbles-lost 3-1 2-0
Turnovers 1 0
Rushing
W: Kyle Lehman 20-54, 2 TD; Defeo 9-29.
UM: Jackson 14-73, TD; Hopkins 12-65; Tucker 6-34; Hassan Johnson 6-71.
Passing
W: Defeo 15-25-140-1-0.
UM: Hopkins 7-16-165-3-0.
Receiving
W: Gavin Myers 3-31; Lehman 5-44; Thomas 7-65, TD.
UM: Olexa 4-117, TD; Tucker 1-23, TD; Matthew Tiernan 1-5; Paul Meyers 1-20, TD.