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WILLOW GROVE – The chants of ‘MVP. MVP. MVP’ began in the fourth quarter. They actually could have started on Upper Moreland’s first offensive play from scrimmage in Thursday morning’s Thanksgiving Day showdown against Hatboro-Horsham.Less than two minutes had elapsed in the game when Golden Bear senior Tom Knox – filling in for the injured Chris Smallwood (knee) – rumbled 22 yards for a first down in Hatter territory. Six plays later he took it in for a touchdown.
It marked the beginning of a magical afternoon for Knox and his teammates.
By the time the final horn sounded, Knox had accumulated 295 yards rushing and three touchdowns in a dazzling performance, and the Golden Bears had earned a 27-13 win.
“The holes were there – I just had to run,” Knox said. “The line did a great job.
“Chris Smallwood was giving me tips all day on the sidelines. I just tried to run as fast as I could.”
Knox – the no-brainer choice for Upper Moreland’s offensive MVP – admits it was day that exceeded his loftiest expectations.
So what were his goals?
“A hundred something yards and a couple of touchdowns,” Knox said. “I knew I was going to be getting the ball today. Luckily, our line just dominated them. 
“I didn’t expect to come out with 295 yards and three touchdowns, but I’m not complaining about it.”
Neither are the Golden Bears, whose convincing win took some of the sting off of their loss to Bayard Rustin in the District One AAA title game six days earlier.
“The Rustin loss was real disappointing,” Knox said. “Everyone was down on themselves.
“It took us a couple of days. We had a few uninspired days of practice.”
“If we would have won that game, it would have been a lot better,” added senior Dmitri Miller, Upper Moreland’s defensive MVP. “But this was a nice way to go out as well.
“It’s a great atmosphere with the rivalry and all. It’s been a great senior year.”
As exhilarating as the win was for the Bears, the loss was just as devastating for the Hatters.
“I wish I had the words – I feel so bad for the seniors,” Hatter coach Tom Butts said. “It’s tough for a lot of those kids who will never get to play football again.
“It was a good game. Both teams came to play. I guess I could go with all the coaching clichés. It’s tough when you lose the last one of the year. You don’t get to play for another nine months, and some of these guys will never get to play again.”
Knox set the tone early in this one, and after a three-and-out for the Hatters, it took the Golden Bears three minutes to cover 61 yards with Knox accounting for all except 12 of those yards. The Bears had a 6-0 lead at the 7:02 mark of the opening quarter when he took it in from six yards out.
Neither team scored again until late in the half when the Hatters generated a 75-yard scoring drive that featured a whole lot of senior Mike Bobrin. The Hatters’ running back, who led the team with 98 yards, opened the drive with a seven-yard carry, and five plays later, he had a 25-yard carry.
The drive was capped with quarterback Dan Lineberger punching it in from two yards out. Vince Paone’s extra point made it a 7-6 game with 45 seconds remaining in the half.
The Bears ran off just six plays in the second quarter – five of those came in the opening moments of the frame.
“We knew what we did at the beginning of the first quarter – we were clogging up the middle and making them run outside, and we had to come out and finish the game that way,” Miller said.
The second half didn’t start out on a promising note for the Golden Bears.
A fumble on their first play of the third quarter set the stage for a 34-yard Hatboro scoring drive. The big play on the drive was a 15-yard screen pass from Lineberger to Eddie Coombs. Lineberger took it in from one yard out, putting the Hatters on top 13-6.
That seven-point lead held up all of 46 seconds as the Golden Bears needed just two plays to get that TD back. Knox did all of the leg work, taking the ball 69 yards down the far sideline before being tackled from behind at the one-foot line.
On the next play, Knox took it home, making it a 13-12 game.
“He’s a first team all-league player at receiver, so he’s a good football player,” Golden Bear coach Adam Beach said of Knox. “We knew that, and we knew putting him at tailback – as much as we’d miss Chris – we knew he’d do a good job.”
It was still a one-point game heading into the final quarter, but with 8:53 remaining, the Golden Bears took over on their own 32 and went to work. Knox needed just one carry - this one of 40 yards - to take it to the Hatters’ 28-yard line.
“We knew Tommy was capable of doing it,” Miller said. “We just had to come out prepared and ready to go.”
A 12-yard Knox carry set the stage for senior Brandon Watts to power his way up the middle for a 16-yard touchdown that - after Knox’s run for a two-point conversion – put the Bears on top 20-13.
“He (Watts) played fullback last year,” Beach said. “He’s a kid was asked to move to the offensive line, and he did it without complaint. He did a nice job all year long. He was a first team all-league guard, and he’s a heck of a football player.
“With Chris going down, we thought Brandon could get some fullback work in. He got his chance, and he made the most of it.”
The Golden Bears – and Knox – had one more scoring drive left in them, and when the Hatters elected to punt the ball away with 4:48 remaining, the Bears took over on their own 25 and proceeded to march 75 yards for a game-clinching score.
Again, the drive belonged to Knox, who picked up a crucial first down with a five-yard burst on fourth down. He capped the drive and his storybook day on the gridiron with a 49-yard TD run that – after Chris Boullata’s extra point – gave the Bears their final margin of victory, 27-13.
“As bad as it felt last Friday, the kids came out with a win, and it left a good taste in their mouths,” Beach said. “It’s the most wins in school history with 11. They’re the league champs, District One finalist – they have a lot to be proud of.
“I’m happy it didn’t end last week. I’m happy we had this game to play and got out with a win.”
The Golden Bears closed out the year with an 11-2 mark, and this win was special.
“The fact that Thanksgiving was late this year gave us the opportunity to come home and play Hatboro-Horsham, which everybody has been looking forward to their whole life,” Knox said. “The fact that we could come home and finish off our senior year with the most wins in school history is special. This makes the turkey so much better.”
Extra points: Brobin was Hatboro’s offensive MVP while Brandon Sawyer earned defensive MVP honors…Beach lauded the effort of senior lineman Nick Cosenza, who missed the last two games with an injury. “I thought he played well on the offensive line,” the Bears’ coach said. “I also thought Justin Rems played well at center, blocking up front. Brandon (Watts) and (Christian) Kehoe – the usual guys - did a good job as well.”
UPPER MORELAND 27, HATBORO-HORSHAM 13
Hatboro-Horsham 0 7 6 0-13
Upper Moreland 6 0 6 15-27
UM – Knox 6 run (kick failed)
HH – Lineberger 2 run (Paone kick)
HH – Lineberger 1 run (kick failed)
UM – Knox 1 run (run failed)
UM – Watts 16 run (Knox run)
UM – Knox 49 run (Boullata kick)
HH UM
First Downs 13 15
Rushing Yards 182 324
Passing Yards 44 2
Total Yards 226 326
Passing (C-A-I) 4-17-0 1-2-0
Fumbles-Lost 2-1 2-2
Penalties-Yds. 4-17 0-0
Punts-Avg. 3-21.3 1-34.0
RUSHING:
Hatboro – Bobrin, 17-98; Lineberger, 11-22, 2 TDs; Coombs, 8-19; Neville, 10-43.
Upper Moreland – Knox, 24-295, 3 TDs; Watts, 2-18, 1 TD; Kehoe, 5-12; Rosenbaum, 4-(-1).
PASSING:
Hatboro – Lineberger, 4-17-44.
Upper Moreland – Rosenbaum, 1-2-2.
RECEIVING:
Hatboro – Lorenzo, 3-29; Coombs, 1-15.
Upper Moreland – Knox, 1-2.
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