FORT WASHINGTON — A two-touchdown cushion started feeling a little less cushy late in the third quarter of Central Bucks West’s road game at Upper Dublin on Friday night.
After Upper Dublin made a goal-line stand, the Cardinals sensed momentum building as they marched the ball down toward the other end of the field.
In an instant CB West senior Vance Morelli halted that momentum in its tracks.
Morelli was in the right place at the right time and made it count. A pass glanced off the hands of a UD receiver and into Morelli’s to start a 51-yard interception return touchdown that sent CB West on its way to a 35-14 victory.
“It bounced off the receiver’s hands I think, and into my hands, and I just took off,” Morelli said. “I don’t even remember. I just ran.”
“It was definitely a momentum shifter. I was getting beat a lot. It definitely helped me mentally to make that play.”
CB West senior running back Ryan Clemens starred for the Bucks in the victory, running 19 times for 137 yards and two touchdowns and adding three catches for 108 yards and a score. He started the game with a 10-yard rushing touchdown and added a 75-yard touchdown catch from senior quarterback Noah Miller after UD’s Kevin Etkins and Ryan O’Sullivan connected for a 20-yard score.
The Bucks (2-0) led 14-6 after a quarter of play and Miller added a 76-yard bomb to Morelli to expand the lead to 21-6 with 11:03 left in the first half. That’s where the score stood at the break.
“We gave a couple of big plays away, and that was really our focus this offseason was not to give up those kinds of plays,” Upper Dublin coach Bret Stover said. “We’ve done it in the last two weeks. We’ve gotta stop it. … But we can move the ball.”
Upper Dublin’s (1-1) goal line stand came after CB West drove 62 yards on seven plays on its first offensive possession of the second half. The Cardinals stopped the Bucks on all four fourth-down tries in the game.
Etkins (20-for-35, 209 yards, 2 TDs) got UD out of its own end with three straight completions, including a 37-yard pass to Ronald Shepherd. It looked like he might have had another before the ball took an unfortunate bounce into Morelli’s hands.
“That was pretty big,” Clemens said. “We got in the red zone a few times and we couldn’t execute, couldn’t find a way to score. Tipped ball, he caught it in the air, and I knew he was gonna bring it to the house right after that.”
After converting a fourth down on a pass to O’Sullivan (10 catches, 116 yards TD), Etkins found Gavin Lapa for a one-yard score with 8:59 to play to give the Cardinals some late life. A quick defensive stop opened the doors for another UD comeback bid.
Instead, sophomore Owen Pudlo came up with back-to-back sacks to chase the Cardinals back off the field. His two sacks were part of five for CB West in the game with juniors Jeffrey Cappa, Matt Berman, and Gavin Todd all adding to the total.
“We lost two of our starting linebackers from last year, Aedan Donnely and Jake Ambuster and we have a next-man-up mentality,” Morelli said. Owen steps in and he’s filling that role perfectly.”
Clemens ran in a seven-yard touchdown run behind senior offensive tackle Finn McGowan with 1:25 to play to cap off a terrific outing. He gave the nod to McGowan, senior Cole Patterson, senior Christian Pudlo, junior Giovanni Pellegrino, and junior Santiago Bustelo up front, who helped the Bucks run for 238 yards on the ground.
He is a three-year starter, who ran 197 times for 1,370 yards and 11 TDs last season, adding three catches for 39 yards and a TD. He also went 44-for-47 on PAT attempts. He is looking to raise the bar higher in his senior campaign.
“I’m trying to stay on my blocks and run the ball,” Clemens said. “I’m trying to get breakaway speed. That’s one thing I need to work on.”
After falling to CB West on Thursday night, Upper Dublin faces the squad that beat the Bucks in the semifinals in 2023, playing reigning District 1-6A champion Central Bucks South on the road next Friday night.
“When you’re playing the two defending District 1-6A champions from the last two years, that really doesn’t do you any favors, but it’s gonna help us down the road — and we got out healthy,” Stover said.
CB West has another huge test next week against Souderton — and still plenty to prove.
“We made a lot of mistakes and were still able to pull out a win. That’s a good thing,” Morelli said. “We just have to minimize those mistakes and we’ll be good.”
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CB West 14 7 7 7-35
Upper Dublin 6 0 0 8-14
Individual Scoring
First Quarter
CBW: Ryan Clemens 10 run 3:39
UD: Ryan O’Sullivan 20 pass from Kevin Etkins (kick blocked) 3:13
CBW: Ryan Clemens 75 pass from Noah Miller (Ryan Clemens) 2:20
Second Quarter
CBW: Vance Morelli 76 pass from Noah Miller (Ryan Clemens kick) 1:03
Third Quarter
CBW: Vance Morelli 51 INT return (Ryan Clemens kick) 4:19.
Fourth Quarter
UD: Gavin Lapa 1 pass from Kevin Etkins (Ronald Shepherd pass from Kevin Etkins) 8:59
CBW-Ryan Clemens 7 run (Ryan Clemens kick) 1:25
Team Statistics
………………………..CBW………………UD
1st downs………..16…………………15
rush-yds……….42-238……….21-15
comp-att-int….6-8-0…………..23-45-1
pass yds……….199………………252
total yds…………437……………….267
fumb-lost……..1-0………………0-0
pen-yds…………4-44…………..6-52
Individual Statistics
Rushing- CB West: Ryan Clemens 19-137, 2 TDs; Noah Miller 16-82; Vance Morelli 3-15; Nick Miletto 4-4.
Upper Dublin: Ronald Shepherd 13-51; Jordan Fields 1-(-4); Kevin Etkins 7-(-32).
Passing- CB West: Noah Miller 6-8-0, 199, 2 TDs.
Upper Dublin: Kevin Etkins: 20-35-1, 216, 2 TDs; Lawson Tyler 4-9-0, 39.
Receiving- CB West: 3-108, TD; Vance Morelli 2-83, TD; Jackson Lindenmuth 1-8.
Upper Dublin: Ryan O’Sullivan 10-116, TD; Eric Bernan 4-64; MJ Stokes 3-31; Ronald Shepherd 2-17; Gavin Lapa 3-15, TD; Mikal Tindal 1-9.
