Tigers Lose to Radnor, Drop to Sixth Seed in District One Playoff Bracket

By Chris McSweeney
Tigers Radio Network

NEWTOWN SQUARE, PA - The Tigers suffered a tough loss this past Friday night to the Radnor Red Raiders. The game was back and forth all night with the Raiders eventually coming out on top on a beautiful clear night. This loss put a damper on some of the senior night festivities for the Tigers' players, but the ultimate goal of making it to the postseason was achieved. Despite the loss, the Tigers will still play this coming Friday night in the PIAA District One (Class AAA) playoffs. Marple Newtown High School will face Owen J. Roberts on the road on Friday, November 13th at 7pm.

This loss Friday was a controversial one. In the late seconds, the Raiders scored a touchdown on what was possibly a push off by Radnor wide receiver Rob McCurdy. This score would be the second from Lundstrom to McCurdy in the last three minutes of the contest. Quarterback Alex Lundstrom completed six passes, two of which went to McCurdy to complete the late, game winning rally.

To start the game, the Tigers fumbled the opening kickoff which lead to a recovery by Owen Hobson of the Raiders and set up an opening drive for Radnor that gave them a 3-0 lead. The Tigers played good defense from the start and forced the Red Raiders to send out Berg Yepremian to attempt a 35-yard field goal. He made the field goal and put the Red Raiders up 3-0. This was a little victory for the Tigers defense as they were forced into a tough situation with the fumble on special teams. The Tigers would answer right back in the first quarter through seniors Kevin Johnson and Vince Christiana. With 7:05 remaining, Johnson passed to Christiana near the far sideline who turned up field and into the end zone to complete a 15-yard touchdown. The Tigers would continue their solid offensive play when Ryan Duffy scampered into the end zone on a 3-yard touchdown run with 4:46 remaining.

The Red Raiders would answer back in the second quarter when Derrick Adger broke a 34-yard touchdown run. It was a darting run from Adger who flew by defenders and attacked the end zone with a purpose. This would make it 13-10 in favor of the Tigers at halftime. The third quarter came and went with both teams battling and attempting to beat the other. Both defenses played strong and kept each other out of the end zone. The fourth quarter was a different story for the defenses as they gave up points for each team. The Tigers drew first blood as Kevin Johnson dashed into the end zone on a 21-yard touchdown run with four minutes remaining in th quarter. This would put the Tigers up 20-10 with 4 minutes left. Then Lundstrom and McCurdy would take over, scoring two touchdowns in the last 3 minutes. These two touchdowns would ultimately put Radnor up for good. The Tigers would have one last chance to score but an interception would stop them in their tracks.

Although this was a tough loss to swallow at the time, the Tigers realize they are still playoff bound and will have a great chance to keep their season alive. The players must pick their heads up and focus on Friday night against Owen J. Roberts. The Tigers only lost one quarter against the Raiders and they need to take the positive aspects from the game, work hard in practice and come out to play in the postseason.

Postseason Notes...

The District One Class AAA bracket is as follows:

(8) Upper Moreland at (1) Pottsgrove
(7) Academy Park at (2) Interboro
(6) Marple Newtown Tigers at (3) Owen J. Roberts Wildcats
(5) Upper Perkiomen at (4) Bayard Rustin

Marple Newtown will make its second PIAA District One playoff appearance on Friday, November 13 at Owen J. Roberts.

The Tigers Radio Network crew will be providing expanded coverage of the matchup this week on the www.EyeOfTheTigersBlog.com and www.MarpleNewtownFootball.com.

For directions to Wildcat Stadium, click here. The address for the high school is: 981 Ridge Road, Pottstown, PA 19465.


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