Upper Dublin saw its historic season come to an end in Friday night’s District One Quad A semifinal game, but the Cardinals have set the bar high for future teams.
FAIRLESS HILLS – They were destined to be something special.
The nucleus of this year’s Upper Dublin squad has been together since they were seven years old, and from the outset, they were passionate students of the game.
“We would show film to them on a Friday night – we had them breaking down film at seven,” coach Bret Stover said. “Dave Sowers and Mark Wolpert were their coaches. Mark ran the offense, Dave ran the defense, and they ran it like a high school/college program.
“Seven-year-olds watching film on Friday nights. We were doing walk-throughs in Upper Dublin’s old gym the night before championship games.”
Ten years later, they’re a talented, football savvy group, this Upper Dublin squad that spent the season rewriting the program’s record books. They are the first Flying Cardinal squad to win a playoff game, and for good measure, they won a second, upsetting third-seeded Bayard Rustin before falling to second-seeded Pennsbury 25-14 Friday in a game they led until the Falcons scored the go-ahead touchdown with 4:20 remaining.
“It’s just been so fun,” senior John Lee said. “Upper Dublin – no one ever expected it.
“It was kind of fun being the underdog and reading those articles afterwards how we slayed a giant. It’s real disappointing that we didn’t win this one, but I’m sure they’ll do it again next year.”
This year’s postseason run was a far cry from last year when the Flying Cardinals earned a berth in districts but were sent packing by Abington in a 55-25 opening round loss.
“Last year we were like, ‘Yeah, we got to the playoffs,’” Lee said. “We went to Abington. I guess we were a little content, and we got crushed, so this year, we knew Upper Dublin was 0-5 in the playoffs. I think even a reporter said Council Rock North was the team that was slumping versus the team that never wins in the playoffs. It’s just great to erase that now.”
And erase it they have. The Flying Cardinals made believers out of everyone, opponents included, and making their story an even better one is the fact that their talent on the football field – while considerable – takes a backseat to the camaraderie they share.
The players’ tears were not so much that the Cardinals had lost but rather that the season had ended.
“They’re my boys,” said junior quarterback Ryan Stover. “I just love coming out here.
“Seeing it end is the worst because we’re not going to come out Monday.
“It’s not the loss that hurts. It’s just not coming out here with these guys.”
“We’re family,” Lee said. “We’re brothers forever after this. I can’t even explain it.”
Lee didn’t have to explain it. The bond this team shared was impossible to miss, and it didn’t begin and end with the players on this year’s squad. Waiting for the Flying Cardinals after Friday’s season-ending loss were Ryan Siwinski and Marc Conran – key members of last year’s team.
“They came up and talked to these guys,” coach Stover said. “What we’ve done here is we’ve built a football family. To go on a ride with these guys and with my son (Ryan) – it was an incredible year.
“It’s a shame because it was right there. Tonight was right there. We had a chance. How many people gave us a chance coming into tonight? Not many, but the guys in white tonight believed they could do it.”
So did the vocal fans who filled the visitor’s stands at Falcon Field, cheering their team’s every move.
“It was awesome,” Ryan Stover said. “Every aspect of our team was incredible from the players to the coaches, to the cheerleaders and fans coming to every game.
“It was an incredible environment to play in. I really can’t wait until next year.”
The promise of a bright future didn’t make Friday’s ending any easier. The junior quarterback and his coach were the last to leave Falcon Field, a father and son making the final trek to the bus together.
“They’re so much fun to be around, they really, really are,” coach Stover said of his squad. “They really care for each other. They’re got each other’s back, whether it be in the hallway, the classroom or the field. It’s a family, it’s a football family, and I’m proud of that most. “
It’s football family got its start watching film together on Friday nights, knowing perhaps that one day they’d share the big stage together.
“A lot of people didn’t see it coming, but we saw it coming,” Ryan Stover said. “We had the work ethic, the talent, and from day one, we just went.
“We were on a mission. Although we didn’t get as far as we wanted, we still went for a (heck) of a ride.”
And they took an entire school and community with them for a ride no one will ever forget.
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