Harriton Can't Slow Down Marple Newtown In 49-7 Setback

Matt Barr is a tell-like-it-is straight shooter. The football coach doesn’t do the sugarcoat thing when he expects a certain level of play from his team. It’s why the Rams, who before Barr arrived, used to be laughingstocks. Now, they’ve reached a degree of respectability in the area and in the Central League.

Though it’s games like Thursday night’s 49-7 thrashing at the hands of Marple Newtown in a Central League game that makes Barr gnash his teeth.

The victory gives Marple Newtown a 5-1 overall record and 4-1 in the Central League, while the Rams fall to 3-3 overall and 2-3 in the league.

For Barr, the game served a valuable lesson.

“This was embarrassing,” Barr said. “You have guys who play their butts off like Ryan Kelly, Alex Shippen, Andre Pendleton, and Andrew Korn, who put his head in there, and other guys who didn’t. I challenged the kids after this game to come back and work harder. It’s what we’re going to have to do to get better.”

Marple Newtown scored on two of its first three plays and on five-straight possessions. Going back to its 49-0 rout of Lower Merion last week, the Tigers scored on 12-straight drives.

Behind the explosive tandem of Joey Pham and Cimirrow Moat, Marple Newtown pounded out 279 yards rushing in the first half.

The only thing that seemed to stop Lower Merion was the clock. Pham rushed for 118 yards on four carries—in the first quarter alone.

The Tigers were off to an exceptional start when Pham raced through the Harriton defense for a 70-yard touchdown. On Marple Newtown’s next possession, it was Moat’s turn, taking a handoff and sprinting 38 yards for another score.

Moat finished with 188 yards on 15 carries, and Pham ended his night with 171 yards on 10 carries. The Tigers never threw the ball.

“It may have looked easy, but it wasn’t easy,” Pham said. “We do have a lot of speed on this team. Our offensive line does a great job, and they’re fast. We’re all athletic, we work hard. This was a game when we came out and did what we had to do.”

Harriton, it appears, didn’t.

“We had issues tackling, and we’re a long, way away from being the team people thought we were,” Barr said. “I had a bad feeling about this going in. We have kids who don’t think they have to practice or lift during the week and it showed up tonight.”