FOOTBALL: Cardinals Win 'Battle of Fort Washington' 20-6 Over Germantown Academy

In the Battle for Fort Washington, the Upper Dublin Football Cardinals managed to keep their defense intact long enough to pull out a 20-6 victory over Germantown Academy, at Cardinal Stadium Friday night.

Upper Dublin (1-1) picked up their first win of the season over the debuting Patriots (0-1) in sloppy fashion, but that didn’t bother senior captain Andrew Derr much.

“Just getting the win, that’s all that really matters,” said the quarterback. “Doesn’t matter how we got it, and of course we want to play well, but a win is a win. We’ll take it.”

The Patriots started strong on their first possession, when star running back Keith Corliss broke through the right side for a 26-yard touchdown run, five minutes into the game. The score gave Germantown a 6-0 lead after the extra point was missed.

However, the dash was the lone highlight for Corliss and company, as the Cardinal defense quickly adjusted to shut down the German run game, only allowing 56 yards on the ground.

After starting the first three possessions by missing the mark on four passes, Derr found the light in senior Chris Naughton. Derr’s first completed pass was a 35-yard TD strike that gave the home team a 7-6 lead.

After two unforced Patriot fumbles were recovered by Germantown, the third broke Upper Dublin’s way. The costly fumble by GA’s Corliss was recovered by Josh Cosme, and the Cardinal offense turned into high gear.

The Cardinals capitalized on the turnover, when the first play developed into a powerful 78-yard touchdown run for junior featured back Khalid Weems. Weems would end the night with 145 yards, but gave thanks to the offensive line.

“When our line wore down their [defensive] line, we knew we had them,” said Weems. “We’re well conditioned. I felt good all night and we just kept going.”

Halfway through the second quarter, Naughton came through again, only this time on the defensive side. The junior intercepted Hayes Nolte’s pass to set up a short drive for Derr. On the ensuing play, Derr had his second and final touchdown pass of the night, finding a rough and tumble Jake Gibbons for the 38-yard score. Gibbons bowled through three Patriot defenders before being tossed into the end zone.

The public versus private school showdown didn’t see any scoring in the second half, but big hits were a plenty. UD’s run defense forced Germantown to go airborne, and quarterback Nolte was unable to find success, gaining only 76-yards passing with two interceptions.

“I made too many mistakes,” Nolte said. “Such things as not getting the snap and making the wrong read. I think I made some nice throws and settled down, but still too many mistakes. “

Cardinal head coach Bret Stover was happy with the win, but made it clear during post-game interviews that the team has room for improvement.

“We’re excited about the first win of season, no doubt about that, but we’re not satisfied yet,” Stover said. “We made some mistakes to start the game and missed a few fades. (Derr) knows if he throws a few bad balls to start he can quickly turn around and correct them in the next set.”

Stover quickly acknowledged the way the slow start hindered the team, as it did last week in the loss to Central Bucks West, but this time they found a way through it to win. The Cardinal and Gray will have to log some hours in the video room this week, as they feel they’re not quite at their peak performance.

“We’re not ready to play the elite teams yet,” said Stover. “We’ll go look at the tape and fix what we need to fix, but we’re not ready yet.”

They’ll have a week to get ready before they face off against Truman High in an away tilt. Kick-off is at 7pm.