Upper Dublin’s magical postseason run came to an end when the Cardinals fell to Parkland in Saturday’s PIAA Quad-A game. Head to our football gallery to view photos of all the action...CLICK HERE or on any photo below.
By Craig Ostroff
As the final seconds ticked away in Saturday’s PIAA Quad-A Semifinal game, Upper Dublin could have let the clock run out. Quarterback Ryan Stover could have called for the ball and taken a knee for his final play for the Cardinals.
But that wouldn’t be Upper Dublin. So a final play was run, a 15-yard completion from Stover to Rockwell Wright as time expired. It was meaningless to the final score—a 30-14 defeat at the hands of Parkland High School—but it meant everything to the Cardinals’ pride.
The team that never quit, the team that defied all expectations and made school history, was not about to let its season end with the ball on the turf.
But as symbolic as the final play was, it could not affect the final score, and it could not take away the sorrow that came with knowing that it was the last time this squad would share a field together.
“Parkland’s a great team and great teams are going to find ways to win,” said senior Michael Sowers. “We played hard; you couldn’t take away from our effort. Sometimes it’s just not your day. It’s tough to sit with, but that’s the bottom line.”
Indeed, there was little consolation on this afternoon as the Cardinals slowly made their way off the field at Souderton Area High School. The knowledge that this team accomplished more than any team in school history, the standing ovation offered by family, friends and fans who packed the Upper Dublin bleachers as the players left the field did little to stop the flow of tears for the squad whose season had ended one game shy of its ultimate goal.
“As someone whose dad is the coach, who’s been coming to practice since I was 7 years old, I’m going to miss coming to work every day with these guys,” Stover said. “We did what nobody thought we could do. Being around these guys has been unbelievable.”
Stover finished his high school career with a strong 22-of-37 effort for 216 yards and one touchdown in a game in which Parkland took away the Cardinals’ running game and forced the offense to rely on arm of their senior signal-caller.
“They were penetrating so far upfield so fast we just had to abandon the run game, which is not typical of us,” said Upper Dublin coach Bret Stover. “It was frustrating.”
“They do a lot of things that can confuse a lot of high school football teams up front,” Ryan Stover added. “They had our number today in the run game. They made us one-dimensional. We’re well coached, we have a good running game, and they completely took it away from us.”
But the Cardinals adapted, and the defense stepped up in a big way. After allowing a Trojan touchdown on the game’s first drive, Parkland never saw the Upper Dublin side of the field for the remainder of the first half. The Upper Dublin offense began to find its rhythm, and finally got on the scoreboard in the final minute of the half, when Ryan Stover connected with Danny Boggs on a 20-yard touchdown toss to cap a four-play, 50-yard drive.
Upper Dublin took the lead on the opening possession of the third quarter. Upper Dublin marched 80 yards downfield on a seven-play drive that saw Stover complete four of six passes. On the final play, Stover miraculously escaped numerous Parkland defenders, before finding daylight along the right sideline and galloping 43 yards for the go-ahead touchdown.
Parkland answered on the next drive to knot the score at 14-14. The Trojans converted on two third downs and one fourth down on the 83-yard drive.
Parkland regained the lead on the last play of the third quarter when Erik DiGirolamo powered in from 5 yards out, then added a safety and a 48-yard touchdown pass in the first 100 seconds of the fourth quarter.
The Cardinals had a chance to answer, marching 44 yards down the field before turning over the ball on downs at the Parkland 33. The next time the Cardinal offense would take the field, there were just 72 ticks left on the clock.
The Cardinals end their historical season at 14-1 and claimed the Suburban One American Conference title and the first District One Championship in the program’s history. Coach Stover praised the efforts of the senior class for helping bring Upper Dublin football to new heights.
“It’s a tribute to the seniors,” he said. “The way our community and our school district rallied behind us. Football was kind of an afterthought at Upper Dublin until the last couple years. I’m very proud of this senior group. They only lost five games in three years. That’s pretty impressive.”
And very special.
While the moments after the final buzzer saw many tears and heads hung low, there seems to be little doubt that in the days and weeks to come, the Cardinals know they deserve to hold their heads high.
“This group of guys, we’ve been playing together since kindergarten,” Ryan Stover said. “We’ve been building up to this moment. We didn’t disappoint – nobody thought we could make it this far, but no one here is shocked we did it. It was awesome to see it all come together after all these years.”
“Our goal was to take the program to places it’s never been before. We accomplished that and more. It really means a lot,” Sowers said. “We’re so tight on and off the field; you’re playing with your brothers out there. For something like this to end, it stings, it really does, but I wouldn’t have wanted to have done it with any other group of guys.”
Parkland 7-0-14-9 30
Upper Dublin 0-7-7-0 14
P – Erik DiGirolamo 3 run (Donovan Berger kick)
UD – Danny Boggs 20 pass from Ryan Stover (Todd Spirt kick)
UD – Ryan Stover 43 run (Todd Spirt kick)
P – Nolan Ridgeway 10 run (Donovan Berger kick)
P – Erik DiGirolamo 5 run (Donovan Berger kick)
P – Safety
P – Kenny Yeboah 48 pass from Devante Cross (Donovan Berger kick)
Parkland Upper Dublin
16 First Downs 13
200 Yards Rushing 42
239 Yards Passing 216
439 Total Offense 258
10-94Penalties 9-68
4-38.8 Punts/Average 4-36.3
Parkland
Rushing: Erik DiGirolamo 17-92, 2 TDs; Nolan Ridgeway 9-70, 1 TD; Devante Cross 6-22; Carrick Panella 1-14; Justin Lessel 1-2.
Passing: Devante Cross 16-25-0, 239 yards, 1 TD; Nolan Ridgeway 0-1-0.
Receiving: Kenny Yeboah 7-102, 1 TD; Zach Bross 4-80; Nolan Ridgeway 2-50; Carrick Panella 2-5; Erik DiGirolamo 1-2.
Upper Dublin
Rushing: Ryan Stover 7-29, TD; Evan Scott 1-13; Kaleif Lee 2-1; Stacey Gardner 3-0; Phil Butler 1-(-1).
Passing: Ryan Stover 22-37-1, 216 yards, 1 TD.
Receiving: Cole Swiger 5-54; Danny Boggs 6-51, 1 TD; James Lampmann 5-44; Jack Rapine 3-37; Michael Sowers 2-15; Rockwell Wright 1-15.
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