Football: Khameen Powell, Ridley’s big plays crush Lower Merion

LOWER MERION — Ridley had no wins to show for its first two weeks of action, in two of the toughest games on its schedule.

Its offense took out its frustrations on Lower Merion Thursday.

Ridley tallied 405 yards of offense with its first-teamers taking just 24 snaps in three quarters in a 55-26 handling of the Aces.

“Just being the underdogs, having to come out on top after two tough losses,” Ridley receiver Khameen Powell said. “All that hard work, it definitely wasn’t for nothing, so we knew we had to come back strong and get a good win.”

All but one of the touchdowns was of 30 yards or more. Connor Kelly busted a 46-yard touchdown sprint on the first play from scrimmage. Powell, who had an 89-yard kick return, scored on a 53-yard shovel pass from Ryan Carroll and a 57-yard quick slant to go with rushing scores of 30 and 58 yards, the latter a lateral from Carroll. The junior QB also hit Chase Staley for a 53-yarder.

Only Carroll’s fourth TD of the day, an 11-yard strike to Nate Barnshaw in the third quarter, didn’t involve a long and ultimately fruitless chase from Lower Merion’s defense.

Carroll threw for 190 yards on 6-for-7 passing. Powell was the gamebreaker, his five touchdowns coming on six offensive touches plus two on special teams. Already up to 10 touchdowns on the season, the senior is instant offense.

“I’ve been playing with him for a while,” Carroll said. “Almost every time he touches the ball, something special is going to happen.”

Powell got Ridley (1-2 Central League and overall) right back after the Aces had briefly taken an 8-7 lead in a wild start. LM’s opening possession went three-and-out, leading to a punt and Kelly’s score. Zion Gray returned the ensuing kick 80 yards to the house for a brief Aces lead once the two-point conversion was converted.

It lasted as long as it took Powell to return the next kick 89 yards to the house.

Lower Merion would spend the rest of the day figuring out how not to kick to him, accruing five of their 12 penalties. Powell needed four carries to reach 103 yards, and his two catches accounted for 110.

“Just read my blocks,” Powell said. “I’ve got a one-on-one with the safety, make a move and then I’m gone with my speed.”

For all of Ridley’s offensive explosiveness, this was not a Ridley-Lower Merion game of the recent past. The Aces counterpunched, trailing 21-14 after one quarter and 27-14 at half. They did it all without quarterback Mekhai Smith, who is out for at least a month with a knee issue.

Sophomore Nick DeLuca stepped in and didn’t miss a beat. He went 19-for-28 for 262 yards and three touchdowns. He was sacked twice but didn’t turn the ball over.

“We’ve just got to trust our quarterback and go out there and do our jobs,” senior receiver Josh Barrow-Adams said. “For our team to work, everybody’s got to do our jobs. We trust our quarterback to do his job, and we’ve got to do our jobs.”

Barrow-Adams was DeLuca’s favorite target, with nine catches for 105 yards. He hauled in a seven-yard score, on a drive fueled by a 41-yard connection between the pair, on the final play of the first quarter. Barrow-Adams also snared a 13-yard post route on fourth-and-goal in the third to get within 41-20.

DeLuca added a 77-yard link up to Gray against the Ridley reserves in the fourth. Ben Booker carried 11 times for 107 yards, and the Aces tallied 365 yards of offense against a Ridley defense still finding its footing.

It’s a testament to how far the Aces have progressed that they want little to do with the moral victory of having stuck with the Green Raiders for a half.

“It’s a step, but we came in here to win,” Barrow-Adams said. “We didn’t come here thinking we were going to lose. It’s a step, but we’ve got to get better.”

Before Thursday, Ridley had only moral victories to show, after a one-point loss to Strath Haven and a squandered two-score lead to Garnet Valley. The Green Raiders played like they were eager to rectify that.

“We were really disappointed because we let them both get away from us,” Carroll said. “We know we’re a good team, and we’ve just got to build off of this.”