Upper Merion pounds Neumann- Goretti, 41-0

Written by: Mike Markland on Saturday, August 30th, 2008. Follow Mike Markland on Twitter.

      The word out of King of Prussia was that this year’s Upper Merion football team was bigger and stronger than last year’s 1-9 squad.   Friday night at home versus Neumann-Goretti, the Vikings may have confirmed the rumors, as they demolished the Saints 41-0.

      It took UM’s offense a few series to get going, but the Viking defense never gave the Saints a chance.  Neumann-Goretti finished the night with 36 yards of total offense ( -28 rushing).

      Upper Merion, which led 21-0 at halftime, rode their senior workhorse, running back Pete Panichi, who had 19 carries for 212 yards and 2 rushing TDs.  Panichi also ran the second half kickoff back for a touchdown, stretching the lead to 28-0.  Senior QB Alex Phanthavong didn’t have the best night statistically, ( 3 of 10, 78 yds, 2 INT’s ), but had a beautiful scoring toss in the 2nd quarter, hitting sophomore Dexter Bridge in stride for a 62 yard TD.  Phanthavong also had 2 touchdown runs of 1 and 7 yards.  Upper Merion Head Coach Joe Powel summed up his team’s effort: “We came out wanting to prove that last year was last year.  We have a group of seniors dedicated to winning and they played with a lot of heart tonight”.

       N-G qb Anthony Mastrando finished 5 of 24 for 51 yds, was sacked twice, and harassed plenty.  He was also the “victim” of some dropped passes, including one that looked like a sure touchdown.  Head Coach Bill Sytsma alluded to that after the game: “When you’re not catching footballs it leaves the defense free to tee up on your running game”.   The Saints deepest penetration of the game came in the 3rd quarter, but after a 1st and goal at the UM 5 yard line, a 3rd down sack by LB Tyler Zeoli forced a 33 yard field goal attempt, which William Huff missed wide left.

      As if Neumann-Goretti’s night weren’t bad enough, 2 way standout lineman Kadeem Custis had to be helped off the field with a leg injury late in the game.  The training staff was still determining the extent of the injury after the game.

     Upper Merion will play at Quakertown next friday night, and Neumann-Goretti will host Wyomissing next Saturday.

Follow EasternPAFootball.com on Twitter @EPAFootball

---

Leave a Reply

Name (required)

Mail (will not be published) (required)

Website

Δ

3 Responses to “Upper Merion pounds Neumann- Goretti, 41-0”

1. Larry Gaskins says:
   June 12th, 2009 at 10:33 pm

   Upper Merion is turning around since ive been there i graduated 07 and played running back and in the 06 season we struggled but with the new offense and new coaches they should be straight

2. Bill says:
   September 12th, 2008 at 1:36 am

   I see Upper Merion turning around this season, and agree that they might finish .500. They only need to work out the errors on Offense and Defensive and come better prepared, as the Quarterback in the past 2 games has produced horrid statistics (3-10 for this game, and 3 interceptions at QuakerTown). Also the coaching staff needs to find their groove with the team, as some players are forced to be on the field all game, as they are expected to be successful on O, D, and Special Teams. I do admit the team is bigger and stronger, and the Viking Defensive Lineup varies constantly.

   P.s. I feel for you Andrew against StrathHaven, those were indeed the Prime of UM, thus far.

3. Andrew says:
   September 2nd, 2008 at 10:51 am

   As an Upper Merion alum during the “prime” of UM’s playoff runs(00-06, losing to strath haven EVERY year), watching the ’09 year was a pretty sloppy game. With respect to the horrendous 1-9 2008 year, the 2009 does look better but look at the team they played. NG was ranked 392 according to maxpreps.com while UM was ranked 462 respectively and UM dominated. Let us see how the rest of the season goes, with a sub par schedule, UM should finish above .500.