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Mayhem’s Game of the Week: Springfield-MontCo @ Upper Moreland

Tagged under: District 1, News, pfn

| September 26, 2024


The Game:

Springfield Trojans @ Upper Moreland Golden Bears

Friday, September 27, 2024

Kickoff: 7 pm

Upper Moreland HS Stadium

3000 Terwood Road, Willow Grove, PA 19090

 

Team Details:

 

Springfield Spartans

Head Coach: Chris Shelly (16th Season)

League: Suburban One League-American Conference (4A)

Season Record: (4-1) overall (0-0) Conference

Last Week: Won 35-0 over Lower Moreland

 Spartan Notables: The Spartan offensive attack averages 36.2 points per game (ppg) and is led by Senior quarterback Jack McGuckin. Jack has completed 54% of his passes for 605 yards & 7 touchdowns. He has also rushed for 196 yards on 21 carries & 3 touchdowns. Senior running back CJ Johnson leads all rushers with 265 yards on 19 carries & 6 touchdowns.  Theo Ferragame has 24 carries for 103 yards & a score. Zymir Small rounds out the backfield with 8 carries for 98 yards and two scores. Through the air, Mekhi Paschall is averaging a whopping 39.4 yards per catch (ypc). He has 315 yards on eight catches & 3 touchdowns. CJ Johnson has six catches for 152 yards & 2 touchdowns. Bobby Hartman has four catches for 97 yards & 1 score.  On the defensive side of the ball the Spartans are only yielding 11 points per game. They have shut out three of their opponents through the first five contests. Mikey Capoferri leads all defenders with 17 total tackles, followed by Bobby Hartman with 15 total tackles, & Logan Curcio with 13. Nick Ebner leads all defenders with three sacks. Bobby Hartman is second on the team with two sacks. Jude Nosal leads the team in interceptions with two. Mikey Capoferri and Mekhi Paschall are tied with one each. After a deep dive into the players behind the numbers, I reached out to Coach Shelly for a brief interview heading into his first league bout of the 2024 season. This is what the ball coach had to say:

Coach Mayhem: “You guys completed your non-league schedule going 4-1. Your only loss came narrowly to 4A state power, Pope John Paul II, by 1 point. What’s your team’s confidence level heading into your league schedule? 

Coach Shelly: “We feel very confident heading into our league schedule.  We feel we can go toe-to-toe with anybody, but our guys are reminded daily to stay humble and hungry.”

 Coach Mayhem: “Two-part question for you, coach, Upper Moreland is undefeated and averaging a whopping 37.2 points per game on offense, what does your defense need to do to stop them? Their defense is only giving up 12 points per contest, what’s key for your defense to be successful against them?”

 Coach Shelly: “Our defense needs to stay disciplined on its assignments vs upper Moreland and bring our physicality every play. Our offense needs to stay on schedule and be explosive when opportunities present themselves.”

 Coach Mayhem: “Last question coach, who do you nominate to represent your team as my featured student-athlete and why?

 Coach Shelly: “I want to go with Jack McGuckin because he has led our team every step of the way and he has taken his game to the next level.”

 Naturally, I reached out to Jack, and we sat down to chat, this is what the senior signal caller had to say:

 Coach Mayhem: “You guys completed your non-league schedule going 4-1. Your only loss came narrowly to 4A state power, Pope John Paul II, by 1 point. What’s your team’s confidence level heading into your league schedule? 

Jack: “We are confident, but we still need to stay humble and hungry. We’ve overcome adversity these past few years, and we’re as ready as we’ve ever been to compete with anyone in the state.”

Coach Mayhem: “Two-part question for you, coach, Upper Moreland is undefeated and averaging a whopping 37.2 points per game on offense, what does your defense need to do to stop them? Their defense is only giving up 12 points per contest, what’s key for your defense to be successful against them?”

 Jack: “We just need to keep doing what we’ve been doing. Come downhill hard, gang tackle, and read our keys. Offensively we need to execute our plays and keep calm and composed.”

Coach Mayhem: Last question for you, my guy: do you have a pregame routine, and if so, what is it?”

Jack: “As a team we all get together and pray for our safety, a fair game, and of course a win but personally I like to listen to country music to keep myself relaxed and locked in.”

Photo courtesy of Dame Boyd

 

 

Upper Moreland Golden Bears

Head Coach: Adam Beach (14th Season)

League: Suburban One League-American Conference (5A)

Season Record: (5-0) overall (0-0) Conference

Last Week: Won 48-7 over West Chester Henderson  

Golden Bear Notables: The Bear’s high-powered offense is averaging a dominant 37.2 ppg. Senior quarterback Alex Foley completed 63% of his passes for an impressive 974 yards & 14 touchdowns and no interceptions. The backfield is paced by Junior Elijah Davis, who has carried the rock 39 times for 184 yards & two touchdowns. Senior Swiss-army knife Aidan Tuffy has 27 carries for 168 yards & five rushing touchdowns. Tuffy leads all receivers with 259 yards on nine catches (27.7 ypc) & five touchdowns. Senior Braden Moore has hauled in 10 passes for 212 yards & two touchdowns. Junior tight end Larry Hughes has eight catches for 173 yards and four touchdowns. Senior Jamir Williams rounds out a solid receiving corps with 15 catches for 144 yards & one score. The defense is led by Senior Frankie McDermott who currently leads all tacklers with 41 total tackles & 9 tackles for loss. Junior Justin Valentin is second on the team with 34 total tackles & 4 tackles for loss. Seniors Aidan Tuffy (27-2 TFL) & Alex Costanzo (25-5 TFL) round out the top tacklers for the Bears. Costanzo leads all defenders with three sacks. Senior Daniel Lewis has two sacks, while Elijah Davis, Darrius Whetston & John Allen each have one.  Larry Hughes is currently the interception leader on the team with 2. Once again, after finding out who the players are behind the impressive numbers, I sat down with head coach Adam Beach, and this is what my old coach (ha-ha, yes, he’s been coaching that long) to see what he had to say.

Coach Mayhem: “You guys finished your non-league schedule undefeated (5-0) and seem to be rolling heading into league play, what’s the confidence level of your team right now?”

Coach Beach: “The players and coaches have been working hard to improve our team in all three aspects of the game.  We are pleased with the work we have done and happy to see the results on the field.  We need to continue to work and improve.  We are excited to enter league play!”

Coach Mayhem: “Two-part question here: Springfield’s offense is averaging 36.2 ppg while only yielding 11 ppg on the defensive side of the ball, what does your team need to do to quail their potent offense? What do you guys have to do in order to put up points against their defense, who have 3 goose eggs to their name through the first 5 weeks?”

Coach Beach: “They are a quality opponent who will use formations and motions to disguise and confuse on Defense.  They have explosive players and can beat you running or throwing the football.  We need to continue to be fundamentally sound; We need to read our keys, communicate with each other, and get to the ball to keep them in check.”  he continued, “When we are on offense, Springfield likes to bring pressure, and they have the athletes to cover in the secondary.  We need to win the battle on the line of scrimmage to give our playmakers a chance to be successful.   I would like to add that Special teams will be an important phase of this game.  In the past, fake punts, onside kicks, and field goals have all been important aspects of our games with them.  We need to win those battles if we want to come out on top.”

Coach Mayhem: “Okay coach, before you go, who do you nominate to represent the Golden Bears as my featured student-athlete for my game preview and why?”

Coach Beach: “Aidan Tuffy.  He has been a little of everything for us this year as a WR/RB as well as on Defense and as a punt returner.  He is a great kid who works hard in the classroom and is a leader by the way he carries himself both on and off of the field.”  

After speaking with Adam, I connected with Aidan to get his take on the upcoming battle.

Coach Mayhem: “You guys finished your non-league schedule undefeated (5-0) and seem to be rolling heading into league play, what’s the confidence level of your team right now and what can the fans expect Friday night?”

Aidan: “We’re taking it week by week and practicing hard every day. Our team is very confident that we can go undefeated this year and win a league championship. The fans can expect a big win on Friday night.”  

Coach Mayhem: “Springfield’s offense is averaging 36.2 ppg while only giving up 11 ppg on the defensive side of the ball, what does your team need to do to stop their potent offense? What do you guys have to do to put up points against their defense, who have 3 goose eggs to their name through the first 5 weeks?”

Aidan: “We have lots of playmakers on the defensive side of the ball who can make big hits and plays. Our offense has weapons all over the field and we execute very well. We strongly believe we have one of the best offenses in the area.”

Coach Mayhem: “Do you have a pregame routine, and if so what is it?”

Aidan: “I always eat chicken, rice, and broccoli for a pregame meal every game. I also go on to the game field early before warm ups to get loose and feel the environment.”

Photo courtesy of Michael A. Apice

 

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