Slivka injured in Upper Dublin’s loss to Penn Charter
UPPER DUBLIN >> Five first-half turnovers doomed Upper Dublin from the start of Friday’s non-conference game against Penn Charter, as the Cardinals fell to the visiting Quakers, 56-0.
“Been a while since we got a whooping like that, but they’re a good football team and I’m not ashamed of that,” Upper Dublin head coach Bret Stover said. “We lost to a good football team and they took it to us tonight.”
It didn’t take long for the Quakers to get out in front of Upper Dublin (3-1, 1-0 SOL American). Cardinals running back Jacob Rossman fumbled on the first play from scrimmage and Penn Charter’s Akeel Blake returned it 24 yards for a touchdown.
Blake’s touchdown was one of two defensive scores on the day for the Quakers (4-0). Defensive back Aaron Maione returned an interception 63 yards for a touchdown later in the first half.
“We fumble on that second play and it just all fell on top of us. We couldn’t get out from underneath it,” Stover said.
If the early deficit wasn’t enough for the Cardinals to overcome, they also dealt with injuries to key players, including starting quarterback Mike Slivka.
Slivka, who exited last Friday’s win over Hatboro-Horsham with a left knee injury, fell awkwardly while trying to plant and immediately grabbed at that same knee. He played two drives, completing one pass for 11 yards before leaving with a knee injury for the second straight week. Stover said they won’t know the extent of Slivka’s injury until he gets an MRI.
Sophomore Tristan Cairnes took the majority of the snaps following Slivka’s exit. He completed 3-of-9 passes for 28 yards and had the offense moving at times but threw three interceptions in his first meaningful varsity action.
“First time getting in against the (first string) and it’s tough, especially against a good team like Penn Charter,” Cairnes said. “It’s a whole different speed. I just need to calm down when I’m out there.”
The offensive turnovers continually left the Upper Dublin defense defending a short field, and the Penn Charter offense had its way with the Cardinals.
Starting quarterback Kyle Jones played just a quarter under center but finished with a rushing touchdown and passing touchdown as the Quakers took a 28-0 lead in the first quarter. Rushing touchdowns from Matthew Marshall and back-up quarterback Colin Schumm made it 42-0 at halftime as the Quakers cruised to a win.
“We just didn’t have time to get going,” Stover said. “Fumble return for touchdown, interception return for touchdown and then gave the defense short fields. You can’t put your defense in those situations and expect them to bail you out, especially against a good football team like that.”
The Cardinals (3-1, 1-0) host Suburban One American foe Cheltenham on Sept. 27 at 7 p.m.
QB COMPETITION
Stover said he wouldn’t know the extent of Slivka’s injury until later this week, but the Upper Dublin head coach said there would be an open competition if his starting quarterback had to miss time.
Cairnes was first off the bench following Slivka’s most recent injury, but it was fellow sophomore Nick Rodriguez that saw the majority of time last week against Hatboro-Horsham.
“Giving them reps all week is going to help,” Stover said. “It’s going to be an open competition and let them battle it out, and we need to give them plays that they can handle. With Mike (Slivka) we have the entire playbook, but I think now we have to cut the playbook way back so we can keep it going with them (Cairnes and Rodriguez).”
Stover also mentioned that he thought Cairnes settled in nicely once he found his rhythm against Penn Charter, and that he and Rodriguez bring a similar skill set to the table.
“They’re very similar players,” he said. “Tristan may be a little better of a runner and Nick a better thrower, but they’re both sophomores at the end of the day and we’re going to come up with a plan. We’re going to go back to work and work our butts off this week.”
Penn Charter 56, Upper Dublin 0
Penn Charter 28 14 7 7 — 56
Upper Dublin 0 0 0 0 — 0
Scoring
First Quarter
PC — 24 yard fumble recovery by Akeel Blake; 11:42
PC — 10 yard run by Kyle Jones; 9:15
PC — 41 yard pass from Kyle Jones to Aaron Maione 7:34
PC — 63 yard interception return by Aaron Mainoe; 5:15
Second Quarter
PC — 14 yard run by Matthew Marshall; 11:55
PC — 6 yard run by Colin Schumm; 1:15
Third Quarter
PC —5 yard run by Seamus McCain; 3:10
Fourth Quarter
PC — 1 yard run by Ohifame Ijeboi; 6:37
Team Statistics
PC UD
First Downs 16 6
Rushing yards 239 25
Passing yards 82 39
Total yards 321 64
Passing 3-4 4-10
Penalties 4-40 7-60
Fumbles-Lost 0-0 2-2
Punts-Avg 0-0 4-24
Individual Statistics
RUSHING
PC: Matthew Marshall 7-67 1 TD; Kyle Jones 1-10 1 TD; Chandler Turner 9-33; Colin Schumm 2-6 1 TD; Ohifame Ijeboi 14-89 1 TD; Seamus McCain 5-34 1 TD
UD: John Kohlbrenner 9-14; Mike Slivka 1 –(-10); Jacob Rossman 4-12; Tristan Cairnes 2-8; Jacob Gondek 1-0; Louis Gamburg 3-1; Skyler Hackett 3-0
PASSING
PC: Kyle Jones 2-2 66 Yards 1 TD; Colin Schumm 1-2 16 Yards
UD: Mike Slivka 1-1 11 Yards; Tristan Cairnes 3-9 28 Yards 3 INT
RECEIVING
PC: Aaron Maione 2-66 1 TD; Jack Larrabee 1-16
UD: Bazel Brady 2-19; Jacob Rossman 1-6; Jacob Gondek 1-14
