Lower Merion defeats host Harriton in spirited school district rivalry

Following Lower Merion’s 34-13 football win against host Harriton Oct. 7, LM head coach Joe Augustine reflected on the electric atmosphere surrounding the contest.
“Playing Harriton is a great experience, great fun, and the stands were packed,” said Augustine. “I think everyone from both schools showed up – not only were the stands packed, but the track was packed too.
“I was glad to see the Dawg Pound showing up in full force. It’s nice to play in front of a capacity crowd, and I think the lights [at Harriton] brought out a lot of people. And both teams played extremely hard.”
Harriton head coach Justin Mellor said, “The crowd was fantastic, as it has been all year for us.”
Just before the game, an Irish bagpipe and drum band escorted the Lower Merion players from their locker room to the football field, while playing a marching tune.
“Because Lower Merion-Harriton is a rivalry, and we were heading into battle, what better than to have the band playing a battle march,” said Augustine.
The victory was the second of the season for Lower Merion (2-5), who had started the season with a 35-0 win against Pottstown.
“I’m really impressed by the resilience of our players,” said Augustine. “After the Pottstown game, we fought through some tough times against some tough teams, and our guys really came out on fire, played with passion [against Harriton].”
Lower Merion rolled to a 20-6 halftime lead behind quarterback Mekhai Smith, who passed for nearly 200 yards, ran for 85 yards and threw two touchdown passes in the first half.
Smith opened the scoring on Lower Merion’s first offensive drive, on a 49-yard touchdown pass to Sam Zheng.
Harriton came back with a 48-yard interception return by junior Jay Cahow for a touchdown, cutting LM’s lead to 7-6. It was the Rams’ third touchdown on an interception return of the season.
Lower Merion bounced back with a 51-yard TD pass from Smith to Declan Mack to give the visitors a 14-6 lead.
Later in the second quarter, on fourth-and-2 at the Harriton 38 yard line, Lower Merion gambled with a quarterback keeper and Smith ran it in for a touchdown to make it 20-6.
“Our defense was lights out in the first half,” said Augustine. “Our outside linebacker, Aidan Fliszar, put a lot of pressure on their quarterback, and Andrew Cook at middle linebacker was all over the field, making about a dozen tackles.”
On Lower Merion’s opening drive in the second half, Smith rolled his ankle and had to come out of the game. Mack replaced him at the signal-calling spot for the rest of the game.
“Mekhai was having a great game, but Declan did a phenomenal job for us,” said Augustine. “He ran the ball well, and took command of our offense.”
Lower Merion scored in the third quarter on a short run by Zak Bond to give the visitors a 27-6. In the fourth quarter LM junior defensive end Jack Diamondstein received a fumble at midfield and returned it to the Harriton 20 to set up the visitors’ final touchdown, an 8 yard TD run by Mack on a quarterback sweep.
“Our defense as a whole played well,” said Augustine. “[Cornerback] Zion Gray did a good job matching up against Harriton’s top receiver.”
Mason DeMarco capped the scoring for Harriton on a 3-yard touchdown run.

For the game, Harriton quarterback Logan Rothberg completed 15 of 26 passes for 149 yards, and has thrown for more than 1,000 yards so far this season.
“Logan Rothberg is a very talented kid,” said Augustine. “No matter how much pressure we put on him, he kept making plays, and scrambling for yardage, under duress. He’s got a bright future.”

Mellor praised Harriton defensive end John Timmons: “John has consistently improved and has played solidly for the past three games.”

Lower Merion only plays four home football games this year, but Augustine said, “Our team has a saying this year – that it doesn’t matter whose house we play at, it’s our yard.”