Marple Newtown’s senior class battled perennial Central League power Ridley down the final seconds, but fell just short in a 28-21 thriller.
Ridley jumped to a 7-0 lead with a return for a touchdown on the opening kickoff. The Tigers, led by sophomore quarterback Marcus Weathers, responded with a nine play drive to tie the game at 7-7. Running back Abel Hoff dashed ten yards and kicker Brendan Bradley added the equalizer. Weathers finished the night 8-of-14 for 118 and threw for a touchdown.
The Tigers trailed 21-7 at the half, but found the end zone twice in the second half to even the score. Adrian Sapnas carried the ball 27 times for 155 yards.
Ridley took a touchdown lead with two minutes left, but the Tigers responded with a drive that saw the offense advance the ball deep into Ridley territory before stalling on fourth down. Seniors A.J. Cunningham and Nik Rhoads had big receptions on the drive to push the ball into the red zone for Marple Newtown.
The Tigers travel to Penncrest on Friday, October 18 to take on the Lions at 7P.