Feature Photo: Joseph Mercurio
The Upper Dublin Cardinals traveled up to Bensalem to take on the Bensalem Owls under a beautiful Friday night sunset.
The Cardinals started their season on a cold streak, losing three straight to Wissahickon, Penn Manor, and North Penn. Last week, they picked up their first win of the season over Hatboro-Horsham in a dominant 25-7 victory.
The Owls also started their season losing three straight to Upper Darby, Upper Moreland, and Central Bucks East. In those three games, they were outscored 137-33, not ideal. Last week, they also won their first game of the season, beating Council Rock North 6-0 in overtime. Both teams came into this game 1-3 on the season, with each earning their first win of the season the previous week.
Bensalem started the game with possession on their own 29-yard line. Junior Brennan Farnsworth ran the ball five consecutive times until fumbling the ball. In a chaotic scrum, the Cardinals emerged with the football, taking over possession. Upper Dublin was unable to capitalize on the turnover as they quickly went three-and-out. Bensalem did the same on their next drive and punted back to Upper Dublin. The Cardinals started their drive at their own 37-yard line. Senior quarterback and Holy Cross commit Lawson Tyler rolled out to his left, and his pass intended for junior Jon Block was picked off by Bensalem senior Sean Hennessey. Owls quarterback junior Maverick Syron led the team deep into Cardinal territory. The first quarter ended with no score.Â
On a crucial fourth-and-1, Syron rushed to his right and dove to give Bensalem a fresh set of downs. The next play, Farnsworth ran up the middle for an Owls touchdown. A missed extra point gave Bensalem a 6-0 lead over Upper Dublin. The Cardinals went three-and-out again on their next drive. The Owls blocked junior Braeden Skahan’s punt to gain great field position. Despite beginning their campaign on the opposing 33-yard line, Bensalem was unable to score.Â
Both teams continued to punt back-to-back. Just as Upper Dublin was putting together a promising drive, Tyler completed a pass over the middle to senior Jabriell Epps, but when he turned upfield, the ball slipped from his grasp, falling into the hands of the Owls. Immediately after the turnover, Syron’s pass was intercepted by Upper Dublin senior Tyler O’Sullivan, who ran it back for a Cardinals touchdown. Following a blocked extra point, the score was tied at 6 heading into halftime.Â
 The second half started off slow. With just under six minutes remaining in the third quarter, Tyler had the ball swatted out of his hand and recovered by the Owls at midfield. The ball returned to the Cardinals’ possession just a few plays later when Syron’s pass intended for junior Jeremiah Lugo was snatched by Skahan. Upper Dublin was unable to move the ball out of their own half and was forced to punt to start the fourth quarter. Bensalem sophomore Avery Johnson received the kick and ran it all the way from the Owls’ 33-yard line to the Cardinals’ 21-yard line. Farnsworth carried the ball five times in a row until finally punching through for his second touchdown of the game on a fourth-and-goal. A successful extra point gave Bensalem a 13-6 lead.
Upper Dublin went three-and-out yet again, but on Bensalem’s next drive, Syron and his center miscommunicated. The ball was lost at the line of scrimmage and Upper Dublin junior Ty Greenberg emerged with possession. A determined Cardinals offense stepped on the field to begin their march with 3 minutes remaining in regulation. The drive started with Tyler connecting with Skahan on the right side for a pickup of 15 yards. Next, he found senior Matt Cummins over the middle for a gain of 5 yards. This was also Cummins’ first reception of the year. With Upper Dublin in the hurry-up, Tyler rushed to pick up a first down. Tyler’s next pass was incomplete, intended for Skahan. The following play, Tyler’s pass was intended for Epps but was just out of reach, then Bensalem junior Jimmy Cross came flying in for a late hit. An unnecessary roughness penalty reset the downs and allowed the Cardinals to move up to the Owls’ 29-yard line.Â
Next, Tyler’s pass was caught by Tyler O’Sullivan for a short gain of 2 yards, then Tyler took a rough sack to bring up third down. Just after releasing the ball, Tyler took another violent hit. The throw ended up out of bounds. Tyler had to be helped to his feet by one of his linemen and hobbled to the sideline before returning for the next play. Upper Dublin lined up on fourth-and-12 with three receivers on the left, and one on the right. Tyler dropped back and connected with Skahan down the right sideline to just barely move the chains. With the clock at 1:20 and counting down, Tyler spiked the ball to stop the clock at 1:18. On second down, the Owls’ line converged on Tyler and took him to the grass for another sack. Upper Dublin head coach Bret Stover called a timeout to regroup his team.Â
The Cardinals now faced an intimidating third-and-16. Tyler found Block in stride, who was tackled just a yard shy of the line to gain. Upper Dublin ran up to the line of scrimmage with the clock running. Tyler received the snap with 47 seconds remaining. Tyler saw Epps, who had fumbled earlier, beat his defender in the back of the end zone as he ran to the left. Tyler threw a bullet in front of Epps, who extended to haul in the pass for a pivotal Cardinals touchdown. With Upper Dublin down by one, they lined up to attempt a two-point conversion. Tyler rolled to his right and threw on the run. The pass was caught by Skahan to put Upper Dublin ahead 14-13.
Upper Dublin senior Duncan Boyd kicked off to the Owls. Johnson, who already had a large return earlier, received the kick at the Owls’ 11-yard line and raced down the sideline to the Cardinals’ 41-yard line.Â
To start Bensalem’s drive, Syron dropped back and launched the ball to senior Taylor Callahan with Block in coverage. The pass was incomplete, but a defensive pass interference call moved the Owls up to the 25-yard line and gave them a first down. Bensalem lined up with two receivers on each side with 17 seconds remaining. Syron took a shot to the end zone looking for senior Amir Gray, but Epps knocked the ball away. The Owls lined for second down with 12 seconds left. Syron was caught scrambling and brought down for a sack. Bensalem had no timeouts remaining, and the final seconds ticked away.
Upper Dublin secured the amazing comeback win 14-13 over Bensalem. The victory is Upper Dublin’s second in a row, improving their record to 2-3. Next week, they will hope to keep the momentum as they travel to Council Rock North to take on the Indians.
As for Bensalem, they drop to 1-4. Next week, they will look to get back on track as they will head to Quakertown to face the Panthers.