Fourth quarter woes cost Upper Merion against Springfield-Montco
UPPER MERION >> Upper Merion ran nine offensive plays in the fourth quarter and only one had a positive result — and that one was the final play after the game was already decided.
The Vikings entered the final 12 minutes of the game tied with Springfield-Montco but a disastrous fourth quarter resulted in a 33-20 homecoming loss at Upper Merion Area High School in a Suburban One League American Conference game.
In eight plays, the Vikings offense had a false start, a fumbled pitch, a punt, two sacks, three incomplete passes and a six-yard run.
Meanwhile, the Spartans were scoring touchdowns.
“The kids started doing their own thing,” Upper Merion coach Howard Smith said. “When you start doing your own thing, that’s what happens. We have to do a better job as coaches to make sure they stay with the plan … I guess we didn’t do a good enough job coaching this week to get them prepared.”
“I brought my best play a little more,” Springfield coach Chris Shelly said to explain what happened down the stretch. “Without saying too much, we let Brett Righter make plays. We put our kids in position to make plays and we let them go.”
The game-winner came with 8:54 remaining in the game and the teams locked in a 20-20 tie. Springfield quarterback Justin Hill — a left-hander — rolled right on a third-and-seven and threw back across his body to the end zone, where George Baughan made a diving catch for a 10-yard touchdown.
“We preach to our kids, ‘that’s our time,’” Shelly said of the fourth quarter. “Obviously there are some things that didn’t go right in the first half … We pushed our kids to just keep playing and good things are going to happen in the second half.”
Baughan also scored a 29-yard rushing touchdown with 4:11 remaining to ice the game.
It was the running game for Springfield that really dominated the game. The three-headed monster of Baughan, Ben Fisher and Righter combined for 264 yards and five all-purpose touchdowns — led by Fisher’s 110 rushing yards and three scores.
“We kind of got back to basics this week,” Shelly said. “That was key for us. Get on your guy, get on their pads and run down hill. It wasn’t fancy. We just want to grind it out.”
Upper Merion took a 20-14 lead into halftime thanks to big plays to start the game and end the first half, plus one long drive in between.
On the first play from scrimmage, quarterback Jarrett Quinn connected with Jared Skidds for a 74-yard score. On the final play of the half, Quinn found Botros Barsoum for a 56-yard strike.
In between, the Vikings had a 15-play drive that lasted more than seven minutes and ended with Isaiah Graham-Mobley and Barsoum hooking up for a seven-yard touchdown on fourth down.
“In the first half we had communication, made great reads, ran great routes and we had big plays,” Smith said. “When we don’t run them and we’re not on the same page, you see what happened in the second half.”
Springfield’s Fisher scored on runs of 22 and one in the first half and a five-yard scamper to tie the game at 20 in the third quarter.
Both teams are back in action next Friday. Upper Merion travels to Wissahickon and Springfield hosts Upper Moreland, both at 7 p.m.
