Upper Dublin runs all over Wissahickon
UPPER DUBLIN >> Upper Dublin’s ground game was on fire in Thursday night’s 42-7 Suburban One League American Conference win over Wissahickon at Cardinal Stadium at Upper Dublin High School.
The Cardinals (3-2, 2-1 conference) ran the ball on their first 18 plays — including all 15 snaps in the first quarter for 160 yards.
Senior Malik Bootman finished the game with 20 carries for 148 yards and two touchdowns and junior Lucas Roselli rushed 14 times 112 yards and a touchdown.
“Coach made great playcalls,” Bootman said. “We made some great cuts and the line was doing their job.”
“That’s nice balance,” Upper Dublin coach Bret Stover said of two guys going over 100 yards. “They both are outstanding. We have a junior and a senior out there — Malik obviously leading the way and Lucas is doing some nice things when he’s had an opportunity out there.”
Roselli got the scoring started on the first possession. On the third play of the game on 3rd-and-2, he weaved his way through the defense for a 63-yard score.
Bootman added three-yard scores in the second and third quarters and backup quarterback Mike Slivka scored on a quarterback sneak in the fourth quarter.
In all, Upper Dublin rushed 45 times for 277 yards and four touchdowns.
“Similar to the last couple weeks, they did a good job controlling the line,” Wissahickon coach Randy Cuthbert said. “Offensively we had a lot of three-and-outs early on and they had the ball the whole time. You can’t leave your defense out there. We have a lot of stuff we have to get better at, we’re not there yet. We have a lot of work to do.”
Coming into his own
Upper Dublin quarterback Julian Gimbel waited three years to get his chance to start.
The senior shined against Wissahickon.Gimbel went 7-for-12 for 124 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions. He added three rushes for 11 yards.
“Unfortunately he was behind Ryan (Stover) and Justin (Horn) two very good quarterbacks the last few years,” Stover said. “The light bulb is starting to come on for (Gimbel). He’s starting to understand our system. It’s a whole different level from JV to varsity — it’s a little faster, decision-making has to come quicker. He’s gotten better every week and tonight was his best game.”
Both of his touchdown passes were long beauties.
The first was a high-arcing strike to Jack Jamison from 38 yards out.
“Big night for him catching the football,” Stover said of Jamison, who also caught a two-point conversion. “Jack’s had some near-catches — some stuff that’s been just off the hands. Glad to see him get loose and make some really nice plays for us offensively.”
Gimbel showed his athleticism on his second score. He rolled right as the play broke down and connected with Ryan Besachio, who ran away from defenders all the way to the end zone for a 31-yard score.
Trojans Special Teams
Wissahickon (2-4, 0-3) struggled on offense and defense, but made some big plays on special teams.
Senior Antaun Lloyd returned kickoffs to the 42 and 50-yard lines on his first two opportunities before taking one 80 yards to the end zone with less than a second remaining before halftime for the Trojans only score.
“Antaun made a lot of plays,” Cuthbert said. “We did a better job with kick returns. Personally, I wouldn’t kick the ball anywhere near him. I wouldn’t give him those chances if I was on the other sideline.”
Junior Maurice Willis punted six times and averaged 35 yards-per-punt, including a 51-yard boomer in the first quarter.
Eagles Showdown
This game was the Philadelphia Eagles High School Football Showdown Game of the Week. The game was up for the honors and received enough votes to win.
Eagles mascot Swoop was in attendance as well as a few Eagles cheerleaders. Both programs will receive grants from the Eagles.
“Once I found out I was kind of hype because I’m a captain so I’m out here with Swoop,” Bootman said. “Get to shake hands with Swoop. I’m a big Eagles fan.”
“It’s a neat thing that the Eagles are involved in the local high school football in the area,” Cuthbert said. “It was a cool thing for both schools.”
As the winning coach, Stover will be nominated for a chance to be the Eagles High School Football Coach of the Year.
“That’s great, whatever,” Stover said. “I just wanted to win tonight. That was the big focus.”
Upper Dublin 42, Wissahickon 7
Wissahickon 0 7 0 0 — 7
Upper Dublin 6 15 14 7 — 42
1st Quarter
UD – Lucas Roselli 63-yard run (kick failed) 10:35
2nd Quarter
UD – Malik Bootman 3-yard run (Julian Gimbel to Jack Jamison for 2) 1:08
UD – Julian Gimbel 38-yard pass to Jack Jamison (Chris Barbera kick) :13.3
W – Antaun Lloyd 80-yard kickoff return (Eddie Fortesque kick) :00.3
3rd Quarter
UD – Malik Bootman 3-yard run (Chris Barbera kick) 7:05
UD – Julian Gimbel 31-yard pass to Ryan Besachio (Chris Barbera kick) 3:03
4th Quarter
UD – Mike Slivka 1-yard run (Chris Barbera kick) 7:43
Passing: W: Nick Santo 3-14-12-0-0. UD: Julian Gimbel 7-12-124-2-0, Mike Slivka 1-4-29-0-0.
Rushing: W: Nick Santo 4-(-8)-0, Raejon Benjamin 3-2-0, Antaun Lloyd 11-37-0, Andre Mack 1-2-0, Marco Rivera 1-(-2)-0. UD: Lucas Roselli 14-112-1, Malik Bootman 20-148-2, Mike Slivka 1-1-1, Matthew Shields 3-13-0, Jackson Rock 1-(-10)-0, Cody Deussing 2-(-1)-0, Julian Gimbel 3-11-0, Ahmir Lewis 1-3-0.
Receiving: W: Tyler Caso 2-(-9)-0, Maurice Willis 1-21-0. UD: Lucas Roselli 2-34-0, Malik Bootman 1-17-0, Ahmir Lewis 1-14-0, Jack Jamison 1-38-1, Selvin Hayes 1-10-0, Ryan Besachio 1-31-1.
