Plymouth Whitemarsh pushes past Upper Moreland in fourth quarter

WHITEMARSH >> With just 23 seconds left, Plymouth Whitemarsh quarterback Aiden O’Brien sprinted around the right side, racing to the goal line and driving his way through a potential tackler and into the Upper Moreland end zone.

The play, transforming 4th-and-Goal into sheer euphoria for the Colonials, climaxed PW’s fourth-quarter push.

“It was crazy. Our guys had to fight through a lot. We have guys banged up all around,” O’Brien said. “And our guys were just able to pull through. It’s a great win.”

O’Brien’s seven-yard touchdown run provided the winning points in Plymouth-Whitemarsh’s 31-28 victory over the Golden Bears Friday night in a battle for the top spot in the Suburban One League American Conference. PW (7-1, 5-0 conference) clinched at least a share of the crown for the first time since 2016.

“I told these guys, and we talked about it all week. Upper Moreland’s a great football team,” Colonials coach Dan Chang said. “They have some stellar athletes. Cameryn Jackson is special. Byron Hopkins is special. And they did their thing tonight. Jackson must have broke 25 tackles, at least, and once he’s in the open field, he’s gone. I told our guys it was gonna be a dogfight, back and forth. And I’m proud of how they fought.”

PW came into the night ranked sixth in District 1-5A, Upper Moreland first in 4A.

There would be three lead changes and the game was tied on three separate occasions.

Jackson’s 64-yard touchdown run, his fourth score of the night, put Upper Moreland (7-2, 4-2 conference) ahead 28-24 with 5 minutes, 21 seconds to play.

The Colonials then used a 12-play, 50-yard drive for the go-ahead points, keyed by a 16-yard rush by Nate Kern and capped off by O’Brien’s race to the goal line.

“We wanted to give Aiden a double option of either throwing the ball or running the ball,” Chang said. “We got a great seal on the edge from our o-linemen, from Louis Malfara, Joey Troilo. They gave us the edge and gave us a chance to either run or throw there, and when Aiden tucked that ball away, there was no doubt he was getting in.”

The Colonials needed just one final stop, and two incompletions by the Golden Bears ended it.

Said O’Brien, who rushed for 95 yards and three scores: “It feels awesome. This is what we’ve been working for all year.”

The game got off to a fast start, with Jackson breaking free for a 51-yard touchdown and a quick 7-0 lead on a chilly night on the turf at PW.

The Colonials drew even on their second series, with Kern powering his way over the goal line to make it 7-7.

The Colonials took their first lead of the game in the second quarter, thanks to O’Brien’s 18-yard TD run on 4th-and-3.

Back came Upper Moreland.

Jackson bounced off defenders and tight-roped the sideline, dashing 26 yards for a tying score, making it 14 all at the half. O’Brien’s nine-yard touchdown run gave PW a 21-14 edge in the third before Jackson answered for the Golden Bears, his 27-yard score making it 21 all early in the fourth.

Seve Spruill kicked a 34-yard field goal for the Colonials, providing a 24-21 advantage with 8:09 left. But then Jackson topped his 51-yard touchdown run with a 64-yarder to make it 28-24 Bears before O’Brien tucked the ball away and sprinted for six.

“That was awesome. We were fighting all game,” he said. “We got down to the seven-yard line, fourth down. We’re not stopping here. We’re going to districts.”

Hopkins weaved through and around defenders for 71 yards on the ground and he also completed 8 of his 15 passes for 66 yards. Jackson piled up 179 yards in a four-touchdown performance.

“I’m proud of every last one of my teammates,” he said. “They fought to the last whistle. And I’m proud of them for that. But we still have stuff to work on. We’re not perfect yet, and that’s what we’re striving to be.”

Plymouth Whitemarsh 31, Upper Moreland 28

Upper Moreland 7 7 0 14 – 28

PW                   7 7 7 10 – 31

First Quarter

UM-Cameryn Jackson 51 run (Jaryd Meehl kick), 8:01.

PW-Nate Kern 1 run (Seve Spruill kick), 5:!4.

Second Quarter

PW-Aiden O’Brien 18 run (Spruill kick), 2:40.

UM-Jackson 26 run (Meehl kick), 1:05.

Third Quarter

PW-O’Brien 9 run (Spruill kick), 2:11.

Fourth Quarter

UM-Jackson 27 run (Meehl kick), 11:46.

PW-Spruill 34 field goal, 8:09.

PW-O’Brien 7 run (Spruill kick), :23.

UM PW

First Downs 14 18

Rushes-yards 30-248 57-286

Passing (c-a-i) 8-15-0 1-7-1

Passing yards 66 32

Total yards 314 418

Punts 3 2

Penalties-yards 6-50 7-55

Fumbles-lost 2-1 3-0

Turnovers 1 1

Rushing

UM: Cameryn Jackson 14-179, 4 TD; Byron Hopkins 14-71; Stephen Broderick 1-1; Ryan Olexa 1-(-3).

PW: Gregory Feinberg 3-9; O’Brien 18-95, 3 TD; Kern 15-38, TD; Dominic Konieczka 7-38; Luke Winterbottom 1-12; Devon Orensky 2-50; Zion East 11-44.

Passing

UM: Hopkins 8-15-66-0-0.

PW: O’Brien 1-7-32-0-1.

Receiving

UM: Olexa 1-14; Mehki Lyles 2-13; Shawn Herbert 2-5; Colin Hogan 2-22; Jackson 1-12.

PW: Konieczka 1-32.

Interceptions

UM: Olexa.