Springfield-Montco gets long-awaited win, shuts out Lower Moreland

LOWER MORELAND >> Springfield-Montco quarterback Max Perry slipped out of one tackle, evaded another, rolled left and fired for the end zone.

The target was wide receiver Wilson Krewson, who went up and made the catch in a tight spot along the left sideline, bringing it down for a crucial score before the half.

Perry and Krewson would hook up again for another TD in the third quarter, the duo putting on a show at Mark V. Mayson Stadium.

Said coach Chris Shelly of the Perry-Krewson connection: “They’ve been doing that since they were seven years old.”

The quarterback and wide receiver — along with every other player in those white, blue and steel jerseys — showed a tremendous amount of maturity Saturday afternoon, combining their efforts to earn a resounding 28-0 victory over Lower Moreland.

Following a heartbreaking 2016 season that was eventually cancelled due to a lack of numbers, the Spartans savored what was the first victory for the program in nearly two years.

“I feel good for the kids,” said Shelly, emotion pouring through in his words. “They’ve just been through so much. And I couldn’t be more proud of them for what they did, all offseason. So I’m happy for them.”

After a scoreless first quarter, Springfield-Montco went in front 7-0 with a seven-yard touchdown pass from Perry to Brian Maienshein.

The Spartans defense then got one of its three takeaways on the day, stopping a Lion drive at the Springfield-Montco 21.

From there, the Spartans (1-2) went to work.

With a variety of backs to go to, Springfield — as coach Shelly said of his running attack — “comes at you in waves,” and Carter Stepney (102 yards), Troy Williams (94 yards) and Jameer Page (25 yards) all found room to roam.

A drive that began at the Spartan 21 was quickly powering downfield.

“We put it on our o-line,” Shelly said. “(The last two weeks), we felt like we didn’t block, we didn’t know our assignments, and there was no excuse for it.

“We felt like if we could get on our blocks, our backs would do the work.”

The Spartans advanced all the way to the Lower Moreland 23, where they would face a 3rd-and-17.

Perry and Krewson took it from there.

“I was supposed to look backside and then I saw three guys coming,” Perry said. “I just took off and I saw (Krewson) waving his hands so I just hit him.

“He’s my best friend — outside of football too, in school — so I’m always looking for him.”

Perry found Krewson again late in the third, this time on a 15-yard throw, to make it 21-0. That completed a 13-play, clock-consuming drive for the Spartans.

“That’s really what football is,” Springfield’s junior quarterback said of the long drives. “Last week we really couldn’t finish our drives but this week we were able to get the ball in the end zone.”

Perry completed 7-of-12 throws for 93 yards and three scores, added 31 yards rushing, and more than once transformed lost causes into big plays.

“I’ve been around a long time,” Shelly said, “and he’s a special kid. We’re gonna continue to put this team on his back. He can do a lot of stuff, with his physical ability and also his mental ability.”

Williams capped the scoring in the fourth quarter for Springfield, busting loose and battling his way over the goal line for an 18-yard score and the 28-0 lead.

Francisco Rosario (52 yds) did some decent running for the Lions (0-1), who looked to be on their way to tying the game at seven apiece in the second quarter but had the first of three costly turnovers.

“(Springfield) took advantage of the momentum, and at this level, as young as we are, and as inexperienced as we are — this is our first game this year so we’re behind the eight ball a little bit — we just could never get back to the level that we started the game at,” Lions coach Justin Beck said. “We’re trying to take advantage of what we have. And what we have are some athletic kids.

“We don’t have a tremendous amount of size. We’re trying to get the ball to more people, take advantage of the athleticism that we have, and if we can do that, we think we can compete on a week-to-week basis.”

Matthew Stefurak kept pounding away for the Lions, at running back and at inside linebacker. He was done in by leg cramps, as were some of his teammates on a hot opening day for Lower Moreland, but the Lions should have some good nights ahead.

“We have Jenkintown next week and they have a really nice squad, a great quarterback, so we’re hopeful that having played against a good quarterback like Springfield has, that we’ll be more prepared for that game now,” Beck said. “(Perry) is a very nice athlete.

“We wish Springfield the best. I hope they have a good season. I know they had a tough year last year and now they got their numbers back up, so hopefully they’ll go on and be competitive.”

It was a long wait for Springfield, but a win to savor.

“Nice to have one, definitely nice to have one,” Perry said of the victory, as he received congratulations, handshakes, pats on the shoulder pads and high-fives from players on both sides. “Football is a huge part of my life.

“I was missing it last year. It was terrible. But now that we got it back, I couldn’t be more excited.”