Key Players Injured in Aces Football Loss to Upper Darby

On a warm, damp final Thursday of summer, Lower Merion continued a disappointing beginning to their own season, losing 36-0 to the Upper Darby Royals.

The game began well enough for the Aces. Two Royals tripped as they raced onto their home field through an evidently unyielding "Go Royals" banner. And, after a handful of plays and Ace administered bruises later, the Royals were forced to punt away their first possession. On the ensuing drive though, Ace receive Najee Williams let a third down pass slip through his hands that would have given his team at least a fresh set of downs, and given the population of Royals between he and the end zone – zero – likely would have resulted in a touchdown. It was not the last missed opportunity for the now 0-3 Aces.

After the Aces punt, the Royals drove to the visiting 15 before the burgundy and white defense stiffened. Safety Jimmy Chemekas nearly intercepted an errant pass on second down, and two plays later Lower Merion forced a turnover on downs on another Upper Darby incompletion.

"Our defense did play well early on," said Coach John Rothberg after the game.

The offense struggled throughout though. They fumbled the ball on the next play, before the defense bailed them out again, with an interception in the end-zone and ill considered return out of it, by cornerback Michael Lyde. The woebegone Aces offense then fumbled the ball again, falling on it in their own end zone to give the Royals a 2-0 lead. And then the floodgates opened.

Upper Darby scored on their ensuing possession by way of a 13-yard scamper by Amara Kamara to extend the lead to 9-0. They got another score a couple possessions later on another rumble of identical length by the large but unencumbered Kamara.

In a sixteen point hole with the half winding down, the Aces made a bit of a run. Sort of. Michael Lyde made a leaping catch on a pass from Ellis, did a 180 as the ball hit his hands, landed on his feet, and raced to the opposing two before being pulled down by two Royals. Lower Merion was unable to capitalize though, going backwards on some runs before a last ditch fake field goal attempt on fourth down fell short and ended their possession. A couple minutes later Royal returner Gary Smith took a punt back for a touchdown and sent the Aces into the visiting locker room facing a 23-point deficit – a third insurmountable halftime deficit in as many games.

The Royals padded their lead after the break with a 12-yard touchdown rush by number Corey Harrison, then added to it further with a 64-yard score on the first play of the fourth frame. The rush – the final scoring play of the game – was punctuated by a multi-player scrum between both teams that broke out on the Upper Darby sideline and was resolved with a stern lecture for each side and a 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalty on the Royals.

After the clock wound to zero, and his players walked off the field through the now cold drizzle, coach Rothberg was philosophic.

"The biggest factor tonight was that some guys got hurt, they were coming out faster than we could get other guys in" – Zeke Zimmer, Jimmy Chimekas, and Najee Williams suffered injuries – "but we were right in the game."

"We played hard," said the coach.