Senior Robert Knox scored three TDs to lead Upper Moreland to the big win. To view photos of all the game action, please visit the Photo Gallery.
By Ben Reese
WILLOW GROVE – If his Upper Moreland teammates are looking for a nickname for running back Robert Knox, here's a suggestion.
How about Fort Knox. You know, the place where the United States stores all its gold because Knox was money Friday night in the Golden Bears' 28-21 win over Cheltenham.
All he did was rush for 110 yards and score three touchdowns in three different ways.
”He's a special player,” said Upper Moreland coach Dave Heying. “I've said time and time again that he's a special player.
“He's a leader. He's one of the kids I root for. He's a good kid; he works hard.
“He does everything we ask of him. I can't say enough about him.”
That much is evident.
But, according to Heying, Knox isn't just out for himself. He's the ultimate team player.
“He takes us up a notch,” the coach said. “He makes plays when we need them.
“He's just there for us.”
The Bears moved the ball well in the first half, jumping out to a 6-0 lead in the first quarter. But the Panthers had Knox under control.
Except for one 34-yard run on the Bears' second drive of the quarter, Knox gained only 15 yards on five carries. In the second quarter, he only carried the ball once for seven yards as Cheltenham took a 7-6 lead into the locker room at halftime.
Then the Panthers scored in the opening minutes of the third period for a 14-6 lead. Suddenly, Knox and the Bears got moving.
First Knox caught a 15-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Charlie Hooker and then ran in the two-point conversion to tie the game at 14-14 in the third quarter.
In the fourth, he intercepted a Mark Heimann pass at the Cheltenham 38 and returned it to the two. On the next play, he bulled into the end zone to give Upper Moreland a 21-14 lead.
To finish things off, later in the fourth quarter, he took a punt on his own 28-yard line and threaded his way through the Cheltenham defenders to score his third TD of the game.
“He's a pretty good football player,” Cheltenham coach Joe Gro said. “We played him pretty well in the first half. I think we knocked him around a little bit.
“He did some nice things that worked in the second half. He's a good football player.”
Knox seemed a bit unimpressed by his own performance.
“I ran my route,” he said about the TD reception. “He just delivered a perfect ball.
“I just kept my feet inbounds and secured the pass. After I caught it, I was looking to see if they called me in or not but I knew I was in bounds.”
On the interception, he gave a lot of credit to his teammates.
“We were just running a zone,” he said. “We had all our secondary back.
“The guy got hit as he was throwing; we got great pressure from our defensive line. I was able to pick it off.”
As for the rushing TD, he once again gave the credit to his buddies.
“The offensive line played great,” Knox said. “We were looking for them to step up. They did their part and made it easy for us.”
Early on, the Bears got on the scoreboard first with 28 seconds left in the first quarter. Knox ripped off the 34-yard run to put the ball on the Cheltenham 17 and, after a personal foul against the Panthers, four running plays put the ball in the end zone, deposited there by Chris Kitchen for the 6-0 lead.
Back came the Panthers. Heimann picked up 50 yards passing in the drive including the final 15 yards to Marshall Salem. Remi Wachsmuth's kick gave Cheltenham the 7-6 lead.
The Panthers increased that lead early in the third. Two running plays netted two yards and then Heimann hit Ahjavon Patrick with a pass, and Patrick went 63 yards for the score. Another kick upped the margin to 14-6.
But the Bears were not to be denied. They took the ensuing kickoff and marched 61 yards with Hooker and Knox getting together for the 15-yard TD pass and Knox added the two-pointer.
Upper Moreland was driving in the waning seconds of the third period when Heimann picked off a Hooker pass deep in his own territory. Starting from their own one, the Panthers tried three passing plays, connected on one to their own player, a nine-yarder to Dan Cummings, and one to Knox, who returned it to the Cheltenham two. From there he ran into the end zone to give the Bears back the lead a 21-14.
Two minutes and 10 seconds later, Knox was back in the end zone. He fielded a Cheltenham punt on his 28 and raced for his final score and a 28-14 lead.
Cheltenham rallied right after that TD. The Panthers drove 65 yards for a score on an 11-yard pass from Heimann to Hyneef Dockery, but it was too little too late.
Knox knew that it was a special night for his team.
“We knew we had to win this game,” he said. “It's a great win for our team, for us to respond like that. It says a lot about us.”
Heying knows that, with Knox, he's got something.
“I'm just so glad he's on my team,” the coach said.
Cheltenham 0 7 7 7—21
Upper Moreland 6 0 8 14—28
UM – Chris Kitchen 2 run (run failed)
C – Marshall Salem 15 pass from Mark Heimann (Remi Wachsmuth kick)
C – Ahjavon Patrick 63 pass from Heimann (Wachsmuth kick)
UM – Robert Knox 15 pass from Charlie Hooker (Knox run)
UM – Knox 2 run (Danny Cripps kick)
UM – Knox 72 punt return (Cripps kick)
C – Hyneef Dockery 11 pass from Heimann (Wachsmuth kick)
Cheltenham Upper Moreland
First downs 12 14
Rushing yards 115 175
Passing yards 117 101
Total yards 232 276
Passing 10-16-2 10-17-1
Fumbles-lost 2-1 1-0
Penalties-yards 3-34 2-10
Punts-avg. 2-35.0 2-35.5
Individual statistics
Rushing: Cheltenham – Phillips 6-76; Morris 7-38; Dockery 8-16; Heimann 10-(-3); Patrick 1-1; Team 1-(-)13.
Upper Moreland – Knox 16-110, TD; Kitchen 13-75, TD; Hooker 4-6; Team 1-(-)16.
Passing: Cheltenham – Heimann 10-16-2, 117, 3 TD.
Upper Moreland – Hooker 10-17-1, 101, TD.
Receiving: Cheltenham – Dockery 4-43, TD; Patrick 3-105, TD; Salem 1-15, TD; Myers 1-14; Phillips 1-3.
Upper Moreland – Cummings 3-41; Robinson 2-26; Knox 2-10, TD; Kitchen 1-10; Finnie 1-14.
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