Football: Last-second play spells victory for Lower Merion over Harriton

A 6-yard touchdown pass from junior quarterback Brandon Jones to senior receiver Malik Ward with 10 seconds to go gave Lower Merion a 14-10 win against Harriton at Arnold Field Saturday afternoon.

Jones said, “We ran four verticals [with our receivers], and [Ward] cut in, and I hit him on the break. He was right there to make the catch, and I give a lot of thanks to my [offensive] line [for the touchdown].’

Lower Merion head coach Bryan Scopelliti said, “We usually don’t use that play down at the goal line, but during the [prior] timeout, [the coaching staff and Jones] talked about using that play, and Brandon was confident it would work.’

The Aces controlled the ball for much of the second half, running 36 plays to Harriton’s 17, thanks to its offensive line — junior left tackle Mike Berg, junior left guard Tanner Eisenhardt, junior center Jake Weinberg, junior right guard Oscar Wegbreit and junior right tackle Ryan McConnell.Scopelliti said, “I tell the team, and particularly the offensive line, to be like stonecutters – if we keep hitting, they’ll eventually crack. Our offensive line was tough today.’

Lower Merion junior running back Isaac Iglesias, who Scopelliti calls “a tough runner,’ helped the Aces control the ball with 94 yards in 22 carries.

The Lower Merion coach praised his entire defensive squad: “Defensively, every we could have given [an award] to the whole defense, because they all did the job out there — we knew we had to do the job out there today, because we know how good [junior quarterback Patrick] Stewart is.’

Stewart was coming off a 32-27 win against Penncrest in which he threw for 323 yards. And in the opening drive against Lower Merion Saturday, he hit four passes as the Rams moved downfield for a first down at the Lower Merion 15. But they could not bring home a score from there.

Harriton head coach Justin Mellor said, “We didn’t finish our drives today, and we couldn’t run the ball [consistently]. But I give Lower Merion credit — they come to play every week, and they [earned the win] today. I told [my players] after the game to put [this game] behind them, and to start focusing on our next game.’

After a scoreless first quarter, Lower Merion got a lift when junior defensive back Marquis Gee intercepted a pass at the Harriton 33 yard line. The Aces faced a fourth-and-two at the Harriton 25, but the Rams committed a personal foul that gave Lower Merion a first down at the 12. Iglesias burst up the middle down to the one-yard line, and Jones plunged into the end zone to give the Aces a 6-0 lead with 7:45 to go before halftime.

Late in the first half, a Harriton drive fizzled at midfield and a Ram punt put the ball at the Lower Merion 6. The Aces couldn’t move the ball, and a punt was followed by a 15-yard personal foul penalty on Lower Merion that gave the Rams the ball at the LM 19.

Two plays later, Stewart hit senior wide receiver Jordan O’Donnell for a 19-yard touchdown down the left sideline to give the visitors a 7-6 lead going into the locker room at halftime.

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