By MNFB.com September 24, 2010
In a tough game under the lights at Harry Harvey Stadium, the Marple Newtown Tigers were shutout by fierce Central League opponent Upper Darby by a final score of 25-0 Friday night.
The Marple Newtown fans were fired up to see a great game between their Tigers and their cross-town rivals, the Upper Darby Royals. The running backs for the Marple Newtown Tigers put on an impressive show all night. All of the boys in the backfield had great runs that led to big plays. Three of the backs had runs that were greater than 20 yards, including a Cimirrow Moat run that went for 41 yards. The only problem the Tigers faced was putting the ball into the end zone. On their first offensive series, they got down to the opponent’s 21 yard-line, but could not convert on 4th down. After a 3-and-out from both teams, the Royals put the first points on the scoreboard with a drive that only took one play. Upper Darby running back Amara Kamara took the handoff and ran 65 yards all the way for a touchdown. The kicker failed to convert the extra point, leaving the score at 6-0. The Tigers responded by driving to the red zone with the help of Jamie Ridinger, who completed his first pass of the season to Matt Gregory for 12 yards. However, they could not convert on downs and missed a field goal from the 9-yard line. The Royals scored on their next drive on a 54-yard touchdown run, but would again miss the extra point to bring the score to 12-0 at the end of the first half.
The Upper Darby Royals got the ball to start the second half, but the Marple Newtown defense shut them down and forced them to punt. On the ensuing drive, the Tigers offense took the ball down the field and ended up just outside of the red zone. Jamie Ridinger and Matt Gregory connected again, this time on a 21-yard completion. Unfortunately, the Tigers fumbled the ball and the Upper Darby defense recovered it. The Royals used the momentum to their advantage, and Kamara was able to score again on a 46-yard rushing touchdown. They attempted a 2-point conversion, but the Tigers were able to stop them and keep the score at 18-0. Joe Vegso shared the duty at quarterback, and alternated into the offense to try to get something going to put points on the scoreboard. Even though the Tigers continued to put good drives together towards the end of the game, they failed to capitalize and just could not score any points. The Royals were poised to run out the clock, but showed no respect as they passed for completions upwards of 20 yards late into the 4th quarter. Kamara would score his third touchdown of the night when he ran the ball 46 yards and high-stepped his way into the end zone. The lack of sportsmanship continued on the following kick when Upper Darby decided to go for an onside squib kick that they would recover on the Marple Newtown 33-yard line. They drove the ball down to the 11, and even went for it on a 4th and 8, but the Tigers defense stopped them and made sure the score remained unchanged. The Tigers got the ball back and were able to move down to the opponent’s 20-yard line, but time ran out before they could break the shutout.
Moat was the big earner of the night with 111 yards on just 5 touches. Ryan Duffyran for 68 yards, while Ryan White finished with 56. Ridinger passed for 33 yards on 2 completions, and also had 4 yards on the ground. Brian Kelly led all tacklers with 9 on the night, and leads the team in tackles for the season with 37.
The Tigers (2-2, 1-2) will look ahead to a tough contest as they face the Central League leading Jaguars of Garnet Valley (4-0, 3-0) this Friday night.