Lower Merion Loses To Upper Darby, 48-8

John Rothberg is willing to settle for the little things, as the  coach watches his young team grow. Sometimes those learning tools come in bruising, harsh ways, as it did Saturday, in Upper Darby’s 48-8 victory over the Aces in the Central League opener for both teams.

The Aces fell to 1-1 overall and 0-1 in the league with the loss, but there were a few things that Rothberg could wrap his arms around in the defeat. For one, junior tailback Ernest Pendleton, who is emerging as a star, rushed for a game-high 115 yards on 14 carries, including long runs of 42, 35, 17 and 12 yards.

The outcome was a matter of reality. Upper Darby’s offensive and defensive lines averaged at least 35 to 40 pounds heavier than the much smaller Lower Merion lines. The Royals pushed and bulldozed Lower Merion off the line the scrimmage, creating gaping holes for its running backs.

“We know we’re going to be smaller than everyone, but I have to look at things like attitude, and we fought hard, we never stopped fighting, those are the things I look at,” Rothberg said. “Upper Darby is bigger, stronger and faster, they’re better than us. I’ll say this, we’re going to get better as the season goes forward. We ran the ball and moved the ball better than we did against Upper Darby last year.”

Much of that is a credit to Pendleton, who at times sliced right
through the over-pursuing Upper Darby (1-1) defense for huge gains.

“The counters were working well against them,” Pendleton said. “Usually there was a hole there, but we have to come out faster and stronger for the next game, and keep it up the whole game.”

Upper Darby was leading 20-0 before Pendleton busted loose for a 35-yard touchdown. He had 98 yards by halftime, averaging over nine yards a run.

“Ernest is a tough kid, and he took a lot of punishment in this game,” Rothberg said. “He’s just a junior, too, and didn’t come out at all, playing defense and special teams. He took a lot of big hits, and that just shows his toughness.”

Aces quarterback Desmond Ellis found himself running for his life most of the afternoon. The senior did manage to find a few openings in the Upper Darby defense, but he had hands in his face all game.

“I think our lack of practice hurt us,” Ellis said. “We practiced in the gym most of the week, because of the weather, and we didn’t practice at all on Thursday because there was no transportation. You have that and we’re a young team that lacks experience, and that hurt us. We played , and I know Mastbaum is nowhere near as good as Upper Darby, but we’re better than this. We’re somewhere in the middle. We’ll find out who we are.”

Up next: Lower Merion travels to Haverford Sept. 16 at 7 p.m.