On Harriton’s homecoming night, the Rams lost to the Ridley Raiders by a score of 47-20. The Raiders controlled the game through all four quarters, en route to a solid 5-2 record, keeping them in the upper echelons of the Central League standings. Despite the loss, the Rams rallied throughout the game, scoring three touchdowns by the end. Additionally, Harriton showed great sportsmanship, allowing the Raiders’ team manager, John Toriello, to score a touchdown. John, who has autism, was recently crowned homecoming king in a Ridley home game against Upper Darby. The Rams tried to capitalize on the energy of Spirit Week with an excellent fan turnout.

Mr. Justin Mellor, the Rams’ coach, commented on the game, “Without a doubt, the highlight of the game was when John Toriello, Ridley’s autistic manager, scored a touchdown at the end of the game. Last Monday night, at our weekly Central League coaches meeting, I was speaking with Ridley Head Coach Dennis Decker and he was telling me how he wanted to allow John to suit up but he was having trouble finding a helmet for John. We reached out to Don Smolenski, President of the Philadelphia Eagles, whose son Jake plays for us at Harriton and the Eagles were able to hook John up with a helmet, which we presented to him before the game. Late in the fourth quarter, and with the outcome decided, Coach Decker called timeout and let me know he was putting John in at wide receiver. After a couple plays at wide out, I called timeout and called Dennis over and said, why don’t we give him the ball and let him score? As he crossed the goal line, the Ridley benches stormed the field and everyone cheered. Countless Ridley players, coaches, and fans thanked us for our actions–which was nice, but totally unnecessary.

“As a program, we believe in the power of high school athletics and the life lessons it can teach those who participate. We saw this as an opportunity for another one of those lessons. It’s not very often that we think of compassion as a trait of football players, but this situation gave us an opportunity to demonstrate this to our football programs. Go Rams!”

The Raiders received the kickoff to start the first quarter, and immediately set the tone for the game with a rushing touchdown on their first drive. Ridley would go on to score another touchdown during the first quarter. The Rams were able to get on the board midway through the second quarter, on a passing touchdown thrown by quarterback, Patrick Stewart. The half ended with Ridley leading 34-7.

Each team would go on to score two more touchdowns in the second half, resulting in a Raiders’ victory 47-20. “The Herd” capped off the Rams’ spirit week with great attendance. Come support the Rams as they look to bounce back at Strath Haven Friday night!