Upper Moreland defeated Hatboro-Horsham 34-19 Friday. To view photos of all the action, please visit the Photo Gallery.
.jpg)
HATBORO—The calendar may have said it was Friday, but that did not stop the 80thThanksgiving battle between Upper Moreland and Hatboro-Horsham from providing some of the best moments in the storied history of the annual clash of Suburban One League rivals.
The fireworks erupted after a scoreless first quarter, culminating with the Golden Bears snagging a 34-19 win over the Hatters, becoming the first squad in school history to claim two wins in one season over their crosstown rivals.
Speaking of history, Upper Moreland senior running back Tyler Whitmore put his stamp on the Bears record book in the fourth quarter when he crashed into the Hatboro-Horsham end zone recording his 29thtouchdown of the season, eclipsing the single season record of 28 set by Chris Smallwood.
“Well, he got one of the two records he came in here with a chance at,” said Upper Moreland head coach Adam Beach. “I told him he needed 29 (TD's) so he thought he needed two but now he has the record with 30. He's still chasing Chris (Smallwood) for career yards, but he owns the touchdowns in a season mark.”
“I am so happy for him,” added Beach, “Tyler is a special player, student and more importantly a person. I have seen him mature on and off the field in the last four years, and I am sure he will continue next year at the college level. He has meant so much to this team, he will be missed.”
Hatboro-Horsham (3-9) kept Whitmore in check most of the night, allowing the second leading rusher in Upper Moreland history just 27 yards in the first half on 11 carries, forcing Beach and offensive player of the game honoree Josh Abrams to come up with Plan B during the intermission at which time the Golden Bears were clinging to a 14-6 lead thanks to their dramatic goal line stand with les than a minute to play.
The Hatters had a second and goal to go from the four thanks to two 30-plus yard pass plays from H-H offensive player of the game Casey Walsh to Charlie Obrecht when they fell victim to the official spotting the ball just shy of the goal line on the second down play although it appeared the ball had broken the plain of the end zone.
On the ensuing third and fourth down snaps, the Upper Moreland defense stood tall, preserving the lead and more importantly the momentum as the squads headed into the locker room with the Bears up 14-6.
“That was a huge play in the game,” said Hatboro-Horsham head coach Mike Kapusta. “We thought we had it in there and could have been going for the point to tie the game. Then they stepped up and stopped us on back-to back plays, after that.
“Our defense did a pretty good job overall tonight, and we did some things offensively that give us something to build on for next season, but we still have a lot of work to do.”
It's doubtful that any quarterback will ever shy away from a coach asking them to throw the ball, and that was the case for Abrams as Beach would ask the senior signal caller to open it up a bit with the Hatters clogging the space between the tackles.
“I love it when we throw the ball,” said Abrams, reflecting on his last game in the purple and gold. “I will do anything I need to for us to win. This was such a big game for us to go out on a high note.
“I have actually thought about it over the last couple of weeks of what my last game would be like. I am very happy we won and played well tonight, but I am really going to miss this bunch of guys - that's the hard part. Tyler was great like he always is, but our line did such a great job like they have all year, and it makes our job easy.”
The stellar line play of Upper Moreland would take over the trenches down the stretch after the Hatters had battled to within two points and regained the ball following a fumble. It was the Golden Bears line that put the ball back in the hands on Whitmore to let him take his place in history.
“They (Hatboro-Horsham) did a great job containing us early on,” said Whitmore, who racked up 80 yards on the ground and 35 more through the air. “We would not be able to do anything without this offensive line. They make things happen out there.
“All year they have given me space to run and Josh time to throw. They really are the stars of every game. I am going to miss playing with them. I am very happy right now but also very sad, and it will be very hard taking this jersey off for the last time.”.jpg)
With just over seven minutes remaining and the outcome very much still in doubt, Whitmore took an inside handoff and strolled behind the O-line into the Hatters end zone posting his 29thTD of the season.
Four minutes later, he further cemented his legacy and place in the record book with a four run in which he bounced off of two would-be tacklers again, ending his journey in a very familiar place - the opposition’s end zone for number thirty.
“Having the touchdown record but losing tonight would have meant a lot less,” said Whitmore. “This is the way every kid dreams of playing his last high school football game with a big win on Thanksgiving Day (or in the case the night afterwards).”
Following the final buzzer, a longstanding tradition was revisited when a new trophy that will be passed back and forth for the next chapters in the age-old rivalry between these two historic PIAA schools was awarded to the Upper Moreland squad. It will be back up for grabs in next year's “Turkey Bowl”.
“There was a trophy that was passed for years,” said H-H athletic director Lou James. “We wanted to get that started again, and it's great to see the kids respond so well to it. It is a tradition like this Thanksgiving game.”
Extra points- Defensive player of the game trophies were awarded to Luke Kwon for Hatboro-Horsham and Joey Colbridge, whose interception with four minutes to play gave the Bears the ball with a chance to close put the game.
Hatboro-Horsham 0 6 6 7 –19
Upper Moreland 0 14 7 13 –34
11:47 HH-Walsh 4 run (kick blocked)
10:57 UM-Colbridge 35 pass from Abrams (McLaughlin kick)
5:23 UM-Norton 8 pass from Abrams (McLaughlin kick)
9:04 UM-Bennis 10 pass from Abrams (McLaughlin kick)
2:56 HH-Obrecht 16 pass from Walsh (run failed)
11:23 HH-Nwuro 28 pass from Walsh (kick)
7:13 UM-Whitmore 5 run (McLaughlin kick)
3:22 UM-Whitmore 4 run (Kick failed)
- Log in to post comments
