Willow Grove—For Upper Moreland, Thursday evening’s theme was Taking Care of Business. Even before running an offensive play, the Golden Bears put points on the board, and they kept on running to a 40-13 non-league win over Lower Moreland.
Kyle Moore and Santino Rodriguez score two touchdowns each and David Adamski threw for a pair of scores as Upper Moreland remained perfect through Week Three of the season.
The outcome was never in doubt; the Lions (2-1) were overmatched in terms of size and numbers.
The Golden Bears did all their scoring before halftime.
More set the tone for the evening when he concluded the game’s first series by returning Senan Makhrov’s punt 71 yards for a score to give his team a 6-0 lead.
Following Lower Moreland’s next possession, Adamski found Melendez with a 20-yard throw and it was 14-0 with 5:15 still to go in the opening quarter.
And so it went. Rodriguez added a 37-yard rushing touchdown before the quarter ended and Benedict Holcombe (on a connection with Adamski), Moore and Rodriguez all contributed second-quarter touchdowns.
Upper Moreland coach Adam Becah thinks things are moving in the right direction.
“I think we’re continuing to grow,” he said. “We’re continuing to work and expand on what we’ve always been able to establish in the offseason.
“This is an experienced group. They’ve worked hard, and they’ve put themselves in great position, so that we can continue to add on and continue to develop ourselves on offense, defense, and special teams. So, I think it’s a work in progress. We’re always trying to get better, and I think we’re off to a great start.”
This Upper Moreland team is one of the most experienced groups Beach has directed, a circumstance that allows the coaching staff more flexibility and often allows for input from the players themselves.
“It’s great when you don’t have to draw everything up,” beach said. “You can almost talk concepts when we’re out there on the field or in the locker room. They know what we’re trying to do, they understand it.
“It’s just fun. Because you’re at a different level with it. We can talk about ‘Do you want to do this? Do you want to do that?
“There are different things we can do with them and get their feedback. We have that conversation and together we find a solution.
“That’s education. We give ownership to the students, or the players in this case. That’s when you get to the highest level.”
Lower Moreland scored its points in the fourth quarter. Jude Gove found Chase Carroll on a 30-yard strike on the first play of the final period and Levi Fishman went in from three yards out with 4:05 remaining.
It was a long evening for Lion head coach Dom Gregorio.
“Football is a great sport, but it always comes down to numbers,” he said. “We’re in the weight room all the time and stuff like that, but I’m putting out maybe 15 varsity players and going up against teams with 30-40 varsity players.
“That’s okay. We need to do a better job coaching, getting these kids ready. As a coach, I need to do a better job.”
Scoring summary:
Lower Moreland 0 0 0 14—14
Upper Moreland 21 19 0 0—40
UM-Moore 71 punt return (run failed)
UM-Melendez 20 pass from Adamski (Moore run)
UM-Rodiguez 37 run (Tucker kick)
UM-Holcombe 13 pass from Adamski (kick fails)
UM- Moore 1 run (pass failed)
UM-Rodriguez 1 run (Tucker kick)
LM-Carroll 30 pass from Gove (Makharov kick)
LM-Fishman 3 run (Makharov kick)