Upper Dublin knocks off Henderson

LOWER GWYNEDD » It’s particularly thankful — not to mention happy — any time it can get out on the football field for a game.

Especially in light of circumstances it’s faced in the past year.

Upper Dublin is making the most of the 2021 season after going through COVID-19 drama in 2020. The Cardinals came out lilke a house afire in Friday’s District 1 Class 5-A opener. rolling to a 35-7 victory over West Chester Henderson at their “home away from home:” Wissahickon High School, where they’ve played since Hurricane Ida caused considerable damage to their school and stadium this fall.

Colin O’Sullivan threw four touchdown passes, enabling fourth seed UD (9-2) to bring the “running clock” into play early in the third quarter. Djevanni Gerisier added a “pick six” one-third of the way through the second quarter for the Cards, two weeks’ removed from their latest on-the-field action with last weekend’s game against Hatboro-Horsham a forfeit in their favor.

“They didn’t have enough players to play safely,” head coach Bret Stover said. “We were able to stay loose, fortunately for the program.

“The week off helped us get healthy. We came out with a full deck.”

Upper Dublin dealt itself three-of-a-kind through the air in the first half. O’Sullivan, 13-for-20 for 214 yards after completing his first five passes, found Nyfise McIntyre on the other end of a 15-yard toss 5:48 in the first quarter, then combined with Griffin Pensabene on a 60-yard score inside the two-minute mark. After Djevanni Gerisier picked off a pass by Henderson’s Ryan Trice and scampered 52 yards to the end zone at 8:14 in the second, O’Sullivan and Noah Lee added a 24-yard TD pass 1:23 before halftime.

UD upped the ante by making a four-of-a-kind on its first possession of the second half. O’Sullivan and Lee had a four-yard TD less than three minutes in, and when Owen Carl kicked his fifth PAT of the night, the Cardinals had the “running clock” for the remainder of the game.

“We have so many good guys,” O’Sullivan noted. “The coaches put together a good game plan, and the line (Philip Roll, Kyree Butler, Cael Jamison, Riley Hackett, Connor Devitt) protected me. That made it easier for me.”

Henderson (4-7), the bracket’s 13th seed, averted a shutout when Trice ran 70 yards around his right end less than a minute into the fourth. The Warriors got the ball back after forcing UD into a three-and-out, and it got down to the Cardinal eight before the running clock ran out the opportunity to get one last score.

It led to a sorrowful postgame for Henderson, players and coaches embracing at the end of their season.

“This senior group has been through a lot together, from their freshman year to now,” head coach John Lunardi said. “I’m proud of how they stuck together, and the effort they put out.”

Trice’s touchdown run made him the team’s leading rusher, Jordyn Porter and Dylan Grim — he also saw time behind center — combined for 69 yards while the team’s marquee running back, Casey Killoran,

was limited to two yards on five carries.

“Compared to last year, we were able to have a full league season this year,” Lunardi said. “We had our shares of ups and downs, but the kids were there through it all.”

Advancing in the district playoffs holds particular significance for UD, which saw a run in the 2020 state playoffs halted by the pandemic.

“We won the district,” Stover recalled, “then had a couple kids test positive. But we had an off-season, where we were able to get in the weight room.”

“We’re super-fired up to be here,” O’Sullivan added. “Getting to a state final four game, then being stopped by COVID ... it fueled a fire under us.”

NOTES

Lee was O’Sullivan’s favorite target, catching five passes for 55 yards. Pensabene had the most aerial yardage for UD (72 yards on two receptions) while McIntyre had 56 on three catches . ... Henderson got all but one of its 175 yards on runs.