Marple Newtown Capitalizes On Aces' Mistakes

NEWTOWN SQUARE–Mistakes come at a price, especially when they mean giving running back more opportunities. Moat and the Tigers capitalized on four Lower Merion first half fumbles to beat the Aces 49-0 on a rainy Friday night in Newtown Square.

Senior wideout set the tone on the first drive with a 45-yard scorching run to set up an easy 10-yard touchdown run by Moat. On the ensuing drive, the Aces connected on a big 26-yard pass between junior quarterback Anton Novehrends and senior wideout Desmond Ellis that proved to be the longest offensive play for the Aces on the night.

On the next play, Lower Merion fumbled for the first time right around midfield to give Marple Newtown the ball back.

A couple of plays later, Moat broke free for his second score of the first quarter. The 36-yard run made the score 14-0 with about seven minutes left in the quarter. Moat and the Tigers’ offense took advantage of another Aces fumble, this time with a shorter field to work with.

Three plays after the turnover, Moat had his third touchdown of the first quarter on a 15-yard scramble to put the Tigers up 21-0.

“Things happen, and you’ve got to take advantage of it,” Moat said after the game. “We just wanted to come out and play hard because we came out with a . Basically, we had to get our confidence back up.”

The game was a sure confidence builder for Moat and the Tigers offense as they scored on each of the seven times they touched the ball. Moat’s 178-rushing yards and five touchdowns all came in the first half, in a game reminiscent of the .

“He had a nice game. He’s a hard working kid. He plays hard and he works hard in practice,” Marple Newtown head coach Ray Gionta said of his running back.

The Tigers benefit from another Aces turnover to start the second quarter, and Moat converted on the next play with a 49-yard scoring run to put the game far out of reach. Junior running back Anthony Rosanio then scored on a 30-yard run of his own on the ensuing Tigers possession to make it 35-0. Moat capped the first half scoring with a 36-yard run after the last of Lower Merion’s costly turnovers.

Down 42-0 at halftime, the Aces constructed a nice drive that spanned the whole of the third quarter and brought them down to within the five-yard line. However, the Marple Newtown defense held tough as Lower Merion failed to convert on a fourth-and-one play.

“Our defense plays hard. We like to hit, and that’s good,” said Moat. “We don’t give up.”

On their last drive of the game, the Tigers spent the clock by continuing their running attack. With just under two minutes to play in the game, sophomore quarterback Tommy Davis scored on a sneak to end the night’s tally at 49-0.

Marple Newtown (4-1) will travel to Harriton next week, while the Aces (2-3) will host Conestoga.