In a last-minute comeback by the Lower Merion Aces, the Harriton Rams lost to their archrival by a score of 14-10. The comeback was sparked by a controversial intentional safety by the Rams, in hopes of giving LM poor field position.  At this point, the Rams had only a two-point lead over the Aces, at 10-8. Lower Merion was able to lead a successful drive, capped by a touchdown pass, within the last ten seconds of the game to take the lead, 14-10. The Rams did make a final attempt with multiple lateral passes on the last play, but to no avail.

The game had a couple of interesting calls on the field, particularly the “do-over” decision. Mr. Justin Mellor, coach of the Rams, was reached for a quote, “The fumble recovery which preceded the do-over play was inadvertently blown dead by the linesman, so the rule is that the down must be replayed from the previous line of scrimmage. It was an unfortunate break for our team, but we had many, many opportunities in the game that we did not capitalize on. Our motto is to play the next play and not reflect on the previous play or plays so, yes, it was unfortunate, but I don’t think it had any lasting effects on the game or the players.”

Concerning the intentional safety, “Knowing that LM did not have a field goal kicker (they have attempted on 3 extra points all year, 2 of which were blocked, and have not attempted a field goal), it did not matter if we were leading by 2 or 4, [Lower Merion would still need to score a touchdown to win] so the thinking was that instead of risking a punt block for a touchdown, a return for a touchdown, or most likely, a punt resulting in great LM field position, we took the safety to try to flip the field and make them drive a further distance for the score. We would have liked for the kickoff after the safety to have been deeper to flip the field, but that is not what happened. Still, we had many chances to get a stop and we just didn’t get the job done.”

The highlight of halftime was the induction of Lower Merion alumnus, Charlie Friel, into the Hall of Fame. Friel is the grandfather of Harriton quarterback, Patrick Stewart. Therefore, this game will hold a special place in the heart of the Stewart and Friel families forever, and we congratulate them.

The numerous members of The Herd that showed up to support the Rams unfortunately went home disappointed. Both teams came into this game with a 1-5 record; the Aces are now 2-5 and the Rams 1-6. Coach Mellor “would like to thank all the fans for their support before, during, and after the game. It was a fun game with a great atmosphere and that was because of the fans. We look forward to this week’s game celebrating homecoming on Friday night at home vs. Ridley. Together We Will!” Come Support the Rams as they look to capitalize on the energy of Spirit Week!