Marple Newtown Comes Up Short Against Springfield

SPRINGFIELD–can grab some solace in its hard-fought 17-12 Central League to Springfield Friday night. The Tigers came away relatively injury-free and, for once, a setback didn’t hurt in any way.

That’s because Marple Newtown has already qualified for the PIAA District 1 Class AAA playoffs, and it looks like the Tigers will be hosting a home playoff game as the tournament’s No. 4 seed, opening with *Strath Haven next weekend.

But you get the sense that Tigers’ coach Ray Gionta wanted this one. Marple Newtown, starting without star tailback , who didn’t play the first three quarters nursing an injured ankle from last week, moved the ball pretty well against a very good defense. But in the end, it was Springfield that hung on.

“I’m proud of the kids, they battled and played hard, and that’s all I can ask,” Gionta said. “It’s tough. We made a mistake deep in our own end that hurt, but that’s a very good football there in Springfield. The bottom line is we get to move on and play against next week in the playoffs.”

The game got off to a fast start. Marple Newtown took the opening kickoff 71 yards using six plays to take a 7-0 lead. The first score came when Tigers’ quarterback James Ridinger, who hit with a perfect 25-yard strike.

Springfield then responded by taking its opening possession 57 yards, which ended when junior Brad Lord booted a 29-yard field goal with plenty of room to spare for a 6-3 Marple Newtown lead.

The twist is that Springfield kept moving the ball, after its initial drive, Marple Newtown didn’t. The Cougars went up for good when a botched punt resulted in Springfield getting the ball at the Marple Newtown five-yard. Cameron Durham rammed home the go-ahead score from a yard out, putting Springfield up 10-6.

The Tigers plowed through Springfield’s very sturdy defense for 71 yards on their first drive. Marple Newtown gained 55 yards of total offense the rest of the half, and wouldn’t score again until the fourth quarter.

Springfield, meanwhile, boosted its advantage with a time-consuming, 12-play, 86-yard drive that culminated in Ryan Strain’s 18-yard pass to Warren Allen, who fumbled at the two-yard line. The fumbled ball was then picked up by hustling Barry Foster, who scooped up the loose ball and trotted into the end zone for a 17-6 Springfield lead.

The Tigers didn’t get going again until midway into the fourth quarter. Gionta opted to use Moat in the fourth quarter. Moat scored on a one-yard run with 4:50 left in the game. After a Marple Newtown stop, the Tigers regained possession with a chance to win with 2:52 left to play.

But a missed snap hurt the drive and the Tigers’ hopes of driving down the field fell on an incomplete pass with 1:24 left to play. From there, the Cougars ran out the clock.

Marple Newtown will host Strath Haven at 7 p.m. on Nov. 11.

*Editor's note: An original version of this article incorrectly stated that Marple Newtown will host Pope John Paul instead of Strath Haven.