Harriton High Pulls Out 41-26 Win Over Chichester in Opener

The Rams came out of its season opener at home with a win Friday night over the Chichester Eagles, despite quite a few penalties throughout the game. The Rams had three holding penalties called against them, with one resulting in a reversal of sophomore Andre Pendleton’s touchdown, in the second quarter alone.

IN SHORT            

Harriton struck first with less than two minutes of play in the first quarter with a touchdown pass from junior quarterback Pat Moriarty to junior Eric Korn. Junior Michael Maj intercepted an Eagles' first down pass that led to a 38-yard Moriarty touchdown pass caught by junior Juwan Valentine. But Chichester fought back hard in the second quarter, beginning with an interception caught by senior Eagle Laquan Lambert.

The Rams took back possession, leading to another Moriarty-Valentine touchdown, this time a 22-yard pass to the corner of the end zone. Chichester responded with two touchdowns before the end of the half, for a score of 21-14.

Chichester came out scoring early in the second half, but missed the extra point field goal for a score of 21-20. Senior Dylan O’Donnell was later able to recover a loose ball in the end zone for another Rams touchdown. Lambert strikes back hard, however, with a 67-yard touchdown. The Eagles fail an attempt for a two point conversion with less than two minutes left in the quarter. The Rams took back possession leading to another Moriarty-Valentine touchdown. Valentine comes back in the fourth quarter with a 70-yard punt return for the final touchdown of the game, bringing the score to 41-26.

RAM OF THE GAME

Juwan Valentine—The junior scored his first four varsity touchdowns in the season opener, including a 70-yard punt return for the final touchdown of the game.

“I couldn’t have done it without my quarterback [junior Pat Moriarty],” he said.

OTHER KEY PERFORMANCES

Pat Moriarty—The Rams' quarterback threw one interception to start the second quarter, but still led the team to a solid victory over the tough Eagles.

Eric Korn and Dylan O’Donnell—The junior and senior, respectively, each had a touchdown. Korn scored the first touchdown of the night and O’Donnell recovered a loose ball in the end zone to score a Rams touchdown in the second half.

COACH’S TAKE

“It was a very ugly first half,” said head coach Matt Barr. “We were, you know, disappointed [with the penalties] but we’ve got a bunch of really good kids. We’re going to work it out.”

THEY SAID  IT

“Tonight was a real eye opener for us,” Barr said. “Chichester is tough. They beat us up pretty good. The film session is going to be very ugly.”

UP NEXT

The Rams will host the Springfield Cougars Friday, Sept. 9 at 7 p.m.