Upper Dublin defeated Pennsbury 24-14 to earn its first ever trip to the District One Quad-A final. Photos provided courtesy of Darryl Rule of J&D Photography. Check back to view photos of the game.
By Scott Huff
Fort Washington – The packed house at Cardinal Stadium to witness the PIAA Quad-A District One semifinal game between host Upper Dublin and the defending District One Champion Pennsbury Falcons fully expected to see the prolific ‘Ground & Pound’ offense on display.
However, it was the team with the bright red-shirts - with those fierce looking Cardinals on the stark white helmets - that showcased the grind it out offensive attack - not the Black and Orange from Pennsbury. And when the final results were in, Upper Dublin advanced to the district final with a convincing 24-14 victory over the Falcons.
Unbeaten Upper Dublin (13-0) will face North Penn (10-3) next Saturday at noon at Souderton Area High School for the PIAA Quad-A District One championship. The Knights moved to the finals with a 28-7 victory over Neshaminy. At this point – the date and time are tentative due to SAT testing – but the opponents surely are not.
The fact that the Cardinals were able to ground and pound offensively was not all that surprising – the fact that Pennsbury could not match UD was much more of a surprise.
The talented Upper Dublin defense limited the explosive Falcon rushing attack to just 49 net rushing yards on just 28 attempts - in contrast, the Cardinals rushed for 172 yards on 42 attempts. In the second half, Upper Dublin pieced together two impressive – Pennsbury-like - 14-play scoring drives.
“I think we proved tonight that we can grind it out,” said Upper Dublin senior quarterback Ryan Stover. “And our defense played a huge factor in us winning and showing that we are not going to roll over for anyone.”
“We’re a pretty good ground and pound team,” said Isaiah Henrich – a 6-5, 235 pound senior transfer from La Salle who excelled on both the Cardinal offensive and defensive lines. “And the mentality we have on defense is that we are just not going to let anyone score.”
“Our defense has been our No.1 unit all year – and the offense feeds off of that,” said Upper Dublin head coach Bret Stover. “We lost to Pennsbury last year in the semifinals – and it was a great experience for the kids coming back this year.
“We wanted to flip everything – get them in a home playoff game – and it worked out for us,” added Coach Stover. “To get to play them on our turf field – in front of the biggest crowd that I have ever seen here – is what we hoped for.”
Upper Dublin most likely hoped for an early lead and got just that with a scoring drive on its first possession of the game. Stover – who led all Cardinal rushers with 84 yards – found pay dirt on a magnificent 24-yard touchdown burst. Todd Spirt split the uprights to give UD a 7-0 first period lead.
Pennsbury answered with a touchdown of its own in the first period. The Falcons recovered a fumble on the Cardinal 21-yard line – and five plays later senior fullback Chris Rupprecht crashed in on a one-yard touchdown run. Sophomore Chris Knop tied the score with his placement.
Upper Dublin would regain the lead in the second period. Senior Kalief Lee – who rushed 20 times for 62 yards – capped a short seven-play, 38-yard touchdown drive with a two-yard run. The drive was set up by a nifty 32-yard punt return by senior Michael Sowers.
Upper Dublin showcased its version of the ground and pound in the first drive of the second half. The Cardinals went on their first punishing 14-play scoring march that consumed six minutes and six seconds and was culminated by an 11-yard scoring pass from Stover to Jack Rapine. Spirt’s PAT extended the lead to 21-7.
Pennsbury would strike back – in a manner not too common for the run-oriented Falcons.
Senior quarterback Mike Alley led Pennsbury on a quick six-play, 72-yard scoring drive that featured three pass completions. Alley – who finished with 127 passing yards – connected with Luke Snyder for 40 yards; Snyder again for 15 yards; and threw a 15-yard scoring dart to senior Greg Lichtenstein. The Knop extra point closed the gap to 21-14.
Upper Dublin sealed the deal with its second 14-play scoring march in the fourth period. This time it did not result in a touchdown – but Spirt’s no-doubt-about-it 34-yard field goal would make the game a two-possession game – and this time Pennsbury was unable to answer back.
“I’m very proud of the seniors on this team,” said Pennsbury head coach Galen Snyder. “A lot of teams drop off the map after winning a district title like we did last year, but we didn’t do that. We battled through two away playoff games to get to this one, and we battled tonight against a very good team.
“Upper Dublin has a lot of players back from last year, and we knew how good they were last year,” added Snyder. “I wish them a lot of luck next week in the district finals.”
Sometimes you would rather be lucky then good – but Stover and his Cardinals are hoping they are both lucky and good against powerful North Penn in the first-ever district final for Upper Dublin next week.
Pennsbury Falcons 7 0 7 0 * 14
Upper Dublin Cardinals 7 7 7 3 * 24
UD: Ryan Stover 24 run (Todd Spirt kick)
P: Chris Rupprecht 1 run (Chris Knop kick)
UD: Kalief Lee 2 run (Spirt kick)
UD: Jack Rapine 11 pass from Stover (Spirt kick)
P: Greg Lichtenstein 15 pass from Mike Alley (Knop kick)
UD: Spirt 34 FG
Pennsbury Upper Dublin
9 First Downs 20
49 Rushing Yards 172
127 Passing Yards 141
176 Total Offense 313
4/38 Penalties/Yds 5/30
5/40 Punts / Avg. 2-38
Pennsbury Falcons
Rushing: Mike Alley 14-25; Chris Rupprecht 9-18 & TD; and Rob Daly 5-6. Totals 28-49 & TD.
Passing: Alley 5-12-0; 127 yards.
Receiving: Luke Snyder 3-71; Greg Lichtenstein 2-56 & TD. Totals 5-127 & TD.
Interception: Lichtenstein.
Upper Dublin Cardinals
Rushing: Ryan Stover 10-84 & TD; Kalief Lee 20-62 & TD; Evan Scott 3-15; Stacey Gardner 4-7; Phil Butler 4-4; and Naiim Huff 1-0. Totals 42-172 & 2 TD.
Passing: Stover 11-20-1; 141 yards & TD.
Receiving: Danny Boggs 3-68; Jack Rapine 3-23 & TD; James Lampmann 1-19; Michael Sowers 1-12; Cole Swiger 1-8; Rockwell Wright 1-7; and Lee 1-4. Totals 11-141 & TD.
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