For the second straight year, the Rams failed to build on a dominant season opener and fell to 1-1 on the year after losing their Central League opener to the Springfield Cougars 35-19. The squad looked promising after drubbing Chichester 41-26 in their first game, but hit a roadblock Friday night against the powerful Springfield rushing attack.

Coach Matt Barr, who was light on praise even after the Chichester win, was not pleased with his team’s play. “Our kids need to make a commitment to the weight room,” he said after the game. “Right now, we only have a handful of kids who have made that commitment.”

On Friday, his criticisms appeared justified. The Rams, with their spread passing attack, jumped to a quick 7-0 lead, but were dominated by the Cougars for the remainder of the half en route to falling behind 21-7. They would cut the lead to nine in the third quarter but the comeback attempt fell short when Springfield scored late to extend their lead to sixteen points and put the game away.

The loss was no fault of the passing game, which accounted for 193 yards and two touchdowns, both from Pat Moriarty to Ryan Kelly. The Rams, however, became more and more one-sided as the game progressed and consistently failed to stop the Cougars running game– Springfield accounted for over 300 yards on the ground.

Kelly, a senior and captain who played one of his best games, was frustrated that Harriton let this one get away. “We had our chances,” he lamented, “We had them and we let them go. We have a lot of talent on this team, I think, but there were a lot of little things that went wrong.”

Those little things include a defense that must shore itself up if the Rams are to become a contender in the Central League and and uninspiring running game that is going through a youth movement after heavy senior losses. There are certainly positives to take away from Friday night, however– Moriarty appears to have come into his own this season, and the passing game is clicking on all cylinders. Take away a few dropped passes and penalties, and Harriton could have found themselves in a much closer game. Instead, they will try to regroup for next week and come away with a victory at Radnor. We’ll see if they’ve learned from last year not to let that opening game momentum slip away.