Be sure to check the web site on Friday night for all the SOL scores. Look also for bonus coverage of Friday night’s Council Rock South/Abington contest.
Cheltenham had just gathered together as a team after last Friday night’s seven-point win over Norristown when the players and coaches heard the news.“One of the parents shouted out that Upper Moreland had won,” Panther senior Dan Rouse said of the news that the Golden Bears had defeated Upper Dublin 14-13. “I looked around, and everyone’s faces lit up.
“It was like, ‘Yeah, that’s perfect. That’s what we needed. That just gave us the opportunity we needed. We’re going to take it.’ The word started spreading through the team. Everybody was getting happy. It was like – we got a chance, so let’s take it.”
The script couldn’t read much better than this for both Cheltenham and Upper Moreland, and a game that promised to be interesting anyway took on a whole new meaning after the Golden Bears knocked the Flying Cardinals from the ranks of the undefeated in SOL American Conference play last week.
Upper Moreland and Upper Dublin head into this week’s action with identical 3-1 records in league play. While the Flying Cardinals - who have a 4-1 mark - will take on Wissahickon, the Golden Bears will host the Panthers in a high-stakes affair in Willow Grove.
Adding to the emotion of the contest, Upper Moreland will celebrate Senior Night.
“We all grew up together, we’ve all played football together,” Upper Moreland senior Sean Haley said. “Since we were eight years old, we’ve been on the same team.
“We knew we could have a good year, but I don’t think anybody thought it would be like this. We all knew we had potential, but no one really saw all the pieces coming together until the first game when we beat Strath Haven.”Haley – the third of four brothers – is following in the footsteps of older brothers Jim (’06) and Patrick (’08) who were both part of SOL championship squads. Sean saw playing time with his brother on the ’08 squad that advanced to the District One AAA title.
“I was at all the games,” said Sean. “It was pretty crazy, it was pretty intense. “
Upper Moreland’s players aren’t the only ones with a longstanding history together.“Our senior class has been together since seventh grade when we played together in middle school,” Rouse said. “One promise we made was that our senior year we would have a chance to play for a championship and go to the playoffs.
“It’s just so crazy because we’re living it right now. It’s almost unrealistic. Everyone is like, ‘Oh no, you can’t do it’ because of years before, but all of us had confidence. We have 23 seniors on our team, and everything we have been talking about is coming true right in front of our faces.”
According to Upper Moreland senior Dave Connelly, the road to Friday night’s showdown started long before camp opened in August.
“In the offseason, I tried working with the younger guys, having them step up,” he said. “Everyone needs to have a role in everything. We all just worked hard – hitting the weights hard and doing all the extra stuff.
“We all hit the sled, built up stamina to play all 48 minutes.”
The senior captain, who anchors the Golden Bears in the trenches at center and defensive tackle, might not find himself in the spotlight, but that doesn’t diminish his contributions.
“He’s the one who does the grunt work,” coach Adam Beach said.”These guys are the nuts and bolts that really make the team.
“He’s the leader in the weight room in the offseason. He got some younger kids to lift with him. He motivated them, he encouraged them, he pushed them because he knew what it took for him to play, and he was trying to get them ready for the season.”Connelly’s efforts have paid dividends as those young players have stepped up.
Haley is another example of a player who has done whatever it takes to help the Golden Bears succeed. Over the years, he has played quarterback, running back, wide receiver, safety, corner, outside linebacker and even some inside linebacker.
This year he is playing safety and also seeing occasional action at running back.
“He’s a great kid,” Beach said. “He does everything we ask.”
“I just like playing football,” Haley said. “I’ll play anywhere. It doesn’t matter.”Ask Haley and Connelly the key to their team’s success, and they have an immediate answer.
“We don’t give up,” Connelly said. “Even if we’re down at halftime or if the other team has a big play against us, we’ll be like, ‘Shake it off.’ Everyone picks each other up. No one gets on each other.”
“We work hard every day,” Haley said. “We don’t really focus on yesterday. It’s all about today. We don’t really get too up for the big games or too down for the less exciting games. Wissahickon was winless when we played them, and we looked at them the same way we looked at Upper Dublin.”
For the Panthers, their keys to success sound remarkably similar.
“Sticking together and working as a team,” senior Richard Levine said. “Doing all the little things right. When you do all the little things right, good things happen.
“I had faith in my team. I knew we could get our chance. We’re going to have to stay together as a team, do everything right, and good things will happen. We have to take care of all the little things.”
“A lot of people have stepped up,” Rouse added. “We’re more of a family this year. A lot of years before, people were playing individually for themselves. This year we’ve jelled more.
“We have been playing together for so long. We know who can contribute what to each part of the game. Everybody contributes something to the game, and when our opponents focus on one player, we have someone else stepping up. You can’t stop all of us.”
Rouse – a gifted wide receiver that can burn teams for the big play – is one of the players the Bears will have to contain.
“He’s leading us in a lot of categories,” Cheltenham coach Joe Gro said. “Our quarterback (Ken Cropper) has done a great job. Richard Levine is a defensive end and offensive guard, and he’s done more than virtually anyone.
“Then I have a series of other kids who are equally as wonderful. We’re blessed as coaches.”
On the wall at Upper Moreland, there’s a UM logo that was created by Sean’s brother Jim that includes the years the Golden Bears won league titles – ’01, ’03, ’06 and ’08.
“They want to put a 10 on there,” Beach said. “That’s something they walk by every time they walk in and out of practice and games. They want to put a mark on our program. They want to show they’re as good a team as the other teams have been.”
The Golden Bears’ win at Upper Dublin last week gave the players that chance.
“I can’t remember the last time we won there,” Beach said. “That was big for us to go there and win. For some reason, it’s hard for us to win there. It’s mental more than anything else, but it was good for them to get that win. “Now we have to come ready to play this weekend. We did exactly what Cheltenham wanted us to do – we gave them a chance to beat us so they could have the title. That’s what they wanted us to do, and we did it. Now we have to play each other. Let’s see what happens.”
“This is about as interesting as it will get for week nine,” Gro said.
Cheltenham @ Upper Moreland
Friday, Oct. 29, 7 p.m.
Record: Cheltenham 3-1 SOL (7-1 overall); Upper Moreland 3-1 SOL (7-1 overall)
Last week: Upper Moreland edged Upper Dublin 14-13; Cheltenham defeated Norristown 28-21
Last year: Upper Moreland 28, Cheltenham 22
Cheltenham's Adam Beach’s keys to the game:
1) Cheltenham has some very skilled athletes who can break it anywhere on the field whether it be running punts or kickoffs. They’re very explosive, and we have to keep them in check the best we can. If they get loose, we have to tackle them. Tackling is key this week. We have to tackle them and get them to the ground. We can’t let them get into space and use their athletic ability against us.
2) Communication is important, and we need to do a good job of controlling the line of scrimmage and forcing them into predictable situations, i.e. third and long, and then we have to make a play and get off the field.
Coach Beach says: “We have a large senior class – we have 16 seniors, and they decided to stick together and work for this year. They did the job in the offseason getting ready. They performed well enough to get in this position. Now they have to take the next step. One of our goals was to win a Suburban One League title. Obviously, another goal we have is to make the playoffs, but this is one of their goals. “
ys: “We have a large senior class – we have 16 seniors, and they decided to stick together and work for this year. They did the job in the offseason getting ready. They performed well enough to get in this position. Now they have to take the next step. One of our goals was to win a Suburban One League title. Obviously, another goal we have is to make the playoffs, but this is one of their goals. “Cheltenham coach Joe Gro’s keys to the game:
1) We’re going to have to be flawless in the sense that we can’t give them anything more than they will earn. We can’t put the ball on the ground. We can’t waste downs. We can’t do things that will give them something easier than they are already going to get. They’re a very talented team, and they have a lot of different weapons. If we do that, I think we have a chance for success.”
Coach Gro says: “Coming into the season, I thought we were a pretty talented team. We haven’t played well in a few years, so it’s very difficult to gauge what level we could play at. To be perfectly honest, with the amount of kids we had returning, I thought we could be somewhere near where we are. The kids are really wonderful kids. They have everything you could possibly ask.”
Senior Dan Rouse says: “We have to keep our heads. I know a lot of players are really excited. We’re just going to keep our heads and think of it as just another game, another walk in the park, but we want to come out with a lot more intensity than we ever have this season.
“We know what’s on the line. This means so much more to us. We’re coming out with everything we’ve got. We had a good week of practice, and we’re going to take it one play at a time and hope for the best.”
Friday night’s Pennsbury/Bensalem game will be broadcast live on WBCB 1490 AM at 7 p.m., preceded by a pre-game show at 6 p.m. The Neshaminy/William Tennent game will be broadcast live on the web site www.wbcb1490.com at 7 p.m., preceded by a pre-game show at 6:45 p.m. Pennsbury games will run live every Friday night on 1490AM with a replay following a live broadcast of Neshaminy on our website, www.wbcb1490.com. A replay of the Neshaminy game will then follow Pennsbury on 1490AM-WBCB. The North Penn/Hatboro-Horsham game will be broadcast live on the web site www.wnpv1440.com. The Souderton/Central Bucks East game will be broadcast live on the WNPV 1440 AM, beginning with the pre-game show at 6:45 p.m.
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