PW clinched at least a share of the SOL American Conference title with its 28-23 win over Upper Dublin. To view photos of all the action, please visit the Photo Gallery.
By Scott Huff
Plymouth Whitemarsh – It was as easy as 1-2-3.
Well, really it wasn’t easy at all for host Plymouth Whitemarsh (7-2, 6-0) to earn its third consecutive Suburban One League American Conference title. The Colonials had to desperately hold off a charging Upper Dublin (8-1, 5-1) for a 28-23 victory before a nice crowd on Homecoming Night. PW can wrap up an outright championship and a PIAA Quad-A District One berth with a victory next week over Springfield (5-3, 3-3), while Upper Dublin can secure its slot in the 16-team Quad-A playoffs with a win over Upper Merion (3-6, 1-5) next week.
“There was a little nervousness in the fourth period, but it was an exciting nervousness,” said Plymouth Whitemarsh head coach Dan Chang. “The game ended up being the kind of game that everyone expected it to be. Upper Dublin is an excellent football team.”
“Coming into the game we had a great deal of respect for Upper Dublin,” said Plymouth Whitemarsh senior quarterback Connor Hanlon who rushed for 102 yards and scored three touchdowns. “We knew that they were a dangerous team, but we trusted our leaders, and the seniors on this team knew how important this game was for us.”
The game was important for Upper Dublin as well.
“We really get no respect (in the area) being an American Conference team, and until we can beat a program like Plymouth Whitemarsh, we won’t get that respect,” said Upper Dublin head coach Bret Stover. “This is a team and a program that is done with moral victories. There wasn’t one player on this team that didn’t think we were going to come back and win this game.
“To get down 21-0 against a good team gave us a very tough hill to climb,” added Stover. “And then there were all the yellow flags.”
Upper Dublin was flagged 11 times for 90 yards and crucial penalties hurt the Cardinal chances to make a complete comeback against the Colonials. Stover and the Cardinal faithful were less than impressed with the officiating on this night.
“The guys in the stripes made it tough for us,” said Stover. “But in the end, we got beat by a better team.”
And it was Hanlon at the controls that created the 21-0 Cardinal deficit in the first half. Hanlon capped the first Colonial 11-play 81-yard scoring march with a marvelous 25-yard scoring scamper, and Zach Zygmunt was perfect on the first of his four successful placements.
Hanlon earned scoring honors on the second PW possession when the magical PW quarterback scored on an 8-yard run. On third and goal from the 8-yard line, Hanlon took the snap – raced to the Cardinals sideline – reversed his field all the way over to the Colonial sideline – and after he raced side-to-side the entire length of the field – plus the 8 yards into the end zone – gave PW a 14-0 lead.
Hanlon scored his third touchdown of the half when he jetted 55 yards for a score on the third PW possession of the half. Hanlon scored 3 touchdowns – ran for 88 yards – all on his first three touches of the half.
“Really, all I had to do was find the holes that the offensive line opened up for me,” understated Hanlon. “The offensive line did a great job all night.”
The second part of Hanlon’s observation was accurate as Plymouth Whitemarsh punished the Cardinal defense for 307 rushing yards on 51 carries. Brian Afflick was the leading rusher for the Colonials with 120 yards, Hanlon rushed for 102 yards on 9 carries, and Jose Mora-Vega rushed for 85 yards on 20 carries.
Upper Dublin scored the final points of the first half – and the first points of the second half to close to within 21-14.
Senior quarterback John Derr – who played a wonderful game and would pass for 191 yards on 14 completions – scored the final points of the first half on a 1-yard run. The highlight of that drive was a 21-yard pass completion from Derr to Ryan Siwinski. Mike D’Ambrosio added the first of his three successful extra points to close the margin to 21-7.
Running back Kyleif Lee scored the first points of the second half with a 1-yard touchdown burst to slice the lead to 21-14. Lee capped off a 10-play drive that covered 56 yards. The highlight of that drive was a Derr-to-Siwinski connection for 19 yards.
Plymouth Whitemarsh seemingly gave themselves a ‘safe’ lead at 28-14 when Afflick scored on a 20-yard jaunt. The scoring play concluded a 10-play scoring march for the winners.
But Upper Dublin refused the go away – the Cardinals blocked a punt through the end zone for a safety to make the score 28-16 and scored on their next possession when running back John Lee took it in on still another 1-yard run to make the tally 28-23. That score would become final when the Colonial defense came up with a huge stop late in the game.
“After we lost the first two games of the year to Perkiomen Valley and Abington, our whole season turned around after we beat Downingtown West,” said Chang in reference to the Colonials 36-34 victory over the Whippets. “We have played with confidence ever since that game.”
And the Colonials have reeled off seven straight wins – as easy as 1-2-3.
Well, not really.
Upper Dublin Cardinals 0 7 9 7 * 23
Plymouth Whitemarsh Colonials 7 14 7 0 * 28
PW: Connor Hanlon 25 run (Zach Zygmunt kick)
PW: Hanlon 8 run (Zygmunt kick)
PW: Hanlon 55 run (Zygmunt kick)
UD: John Derr 1 run (Mike D’Ambrosio kick)
UD: Kyleif Lee 1 run (D’Ambrosio kick)
PW: Brian Afflick 20 run (Zygmunt kick)
UD: Safety (punt blocked in end zone)
UD: John Lee 1 run (D’Ambrosio kick)
Upper Dublin Plymouth Whitemarsh
13 First Downs 17
68 Rushing Yards 307
191 Passing Yards 9
279 Total Yards 414
11-90 Penalties / Yards 4-41
2-36 Punts / Average 1-18
Upper Dublin:
Rushing: John Derr 13-53 & TD; John Lee 4-9 & TD; Kyleif Lee 6-6 & TD. Totals 23-68 & 3 TD.
Passing: Derr 14-25-0; 191 yards.
Receiving: Ryan Siwinski 5-58; J. Lee 3-49; Marc Conran 3-49; Brett Kunkel 2-18; & Matt Thompson 1-17.
Plymouth Whitemarsh:
Rushing: Brian Afflick 22-120 & TD; Connor Hanlon 9-102 & 3 TD; Jose Mora-Vega 20-85. Totals 51-407- 4 TD.
Passing: Hanlon 2-5-0; 9 yards.
Receiving: James Rodgers 2-9.
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