White Proves He is King in Victory Over Royals

By Chris McSweeney
Tigers Radio Network

UPPER DARBY, PA - The Marple Newtown Tigers defeated the Upper Darby Royals last Friday to put their season record to 6-2. This record sets up the Tigers to finish strong and hopefully enter the postseason playoff picture. The Tigers defeated the Royals in Upper Darby 23-0. It was a dominant win that saw the Tigers defense really kick it into high gear and come out with a shutout.

Ryan White continued his fantastic season from the running back position scoring twice in the game. The first of his two touchdowns came in the first quarter with 11:25 remaining on the clock. White ran the ball for 33 yards on the score further cementing himself as the big play back on the team and showcasing his speed and eagerness to get into the end zone. The touchdown party continued for Ryan White as he was on the end of a beautiful touchdown throw of 14 yards from Kevin Johnson with 5:48 remaining. These scores would give Marple Newtown a 13-0 edge after one quarter. Ryan White had an amazing night rushing the ball; he surpassed 200 yards on the ground ending up with 207 on 13 carries he also caught two passes for 23 yards. He is gaining confidence every Friday night and continues to showcase his football talents on a weekly basis. This personal performance rated as one of the best in the league on the night. Ryan Duffy his rushing partner continued his great season with more than 100 yards on the ground.

In the second quarter there was only one score. Adam Fender, the Tigers excellent place kicker was able to make up for an earlier extra point mishap. Fender stepped up to attempt a 32 yard field goal and drilled it through the uprights. This gave the Tigers a 16 point lead at halftime and the shut out by the defense was still intact.

In the second half, there was only one score to report. In the third quarter, quarterback Kevin Johnson continued his steady and confident play at the position. He stepped back and threw a 28 yard touchdown pass to Vince Christiana with 7:11 remaining in the quarter. This would be the final tally for the Tigers on the night and ultimately the final tally of the whole game.

The Tigers were challenged in the fourth quarter to keep their shutout intact and they stepped up to the challenge brilliantly. With the Royals finally getting it close to the goaline the Tigers were forced to tighten their chin straps and really dig deep if they wanted to post their second shutout on the season. With the defense facing a fourth and goal, everyman stepped up their game and was able to stop the Royals in the dying seconds of the game. Every player reacted with a sense of achievement and success, the shutout meant a lot to the Tigers. The Marple Newtown defense was led on Friday night by Vince Christiana with 7 tackles and by Brian Kelly who tallied up 6 tackles.

The Tigers are a very good team and look to continue their away success as they take on Harriton next week. With the playoff picture starting to take shape the Tigers need to continue to play the way they are playing and keep their eyes on the prize. Coach Gionta will have them playing hard at practice this week and keep the team heading in the right direction.


Contact Chris McSweeney at cem5053@psu.edu.
Contact EyeOfTheTigersBlog.com at jma158@comcast.net.