MIDDLETOWN — In order to have any chance to win, Penncrest went into Friday night’s football game against Marple Newtown knowing it had to find a way to bottle up Tigers running back Cimirrow Moat.
The Lions’ plan worked perfectly — for the opening quarter.
That’s how long it took Moat to get on track. He finished with 15 carries for 194 yards and four touchdowns, all within three quarters, to lead Marple Newtown to a 41-0 win at Penncrest in a Central League game.
Not bad for a guy playing his second game as fullback.
“(No.) 30 is pretty good,” Penncrest head coach Rick Stroup said. “He cut a couple of those plays back. He’s a good player. We knew coming in we had to stop him. He runs a 4.3 40 for God’s sake. The object was to not let him get going.”
On the Tigers’ second series in the game, Moat capped a five-play drive with a 25-yard touchdown scamper to give Marple Newtown (2-0) a 7-0 lead. But the Lions’ defense kept him mostly in check until the second quarter.
However, turnovers wasted the effort.
Midway through the stanza, Penncrest (0-2) quarterback Shane Donnelly tried to throw a bubble screen to a receiver near the sideline. Marple Newtown defensive back Joey Pham picked off the pass and returned it 39 yards for a touchdown to give the Tigers a 14-0 lead.
Two plays later, the Tigers’ defense recovered a fumble inside the Lions’ 20-yard line.
Moat made sure Marple capitalized and his three-yard touchdown run gave the Tigers a 21-0 halftime lead.
“That was huge,” Marple Newtown head coach Ray Gionta said. “Offensively we kind of shot ourselves in the foot. Our defense was able to come up big. The pick was huge.”
Penncrest came out in the second half using the shotgun and the Lions marched deep into Marple territory only to watch the drive end in another interception.
Five plays after that, Moat busted a 66-yard touchdown run that put Marple ahead, 28-0.
So much for keeping him contained.
“I had a full (training) camp at fullback,” Moat said. “I was kind of feeling it out even more. I’m a lot more confident. I read my blockers better, I calm down and not try to rush it.”
Moat’s 14-yard touchdown run before the end of the third quarter pushed the Tigers’ lead to 34-0 before Parker Maas capped the scoring with a 46-yard touchdown run midway through the fourth.
Still, the night belonged to Moat.
If he can do it next week against Strath Haven, he will be a secret no more.
“He had a good day, but obviously our offensive line did a really nice job blocking for him,” Gionta said. “Obviously he’s doing well, but each week presents a new challenge. The test is going to get harder.”