UPPER DUBLIN — Running the ball for Central Bucks West, it was Ryan Clemens. Catching the ball, it was Ryan Clemens. Scoring touchdowns, it was Ryan Clemens.
And in on many of the tackles, guess who — Ryan Clemens.
Oh, and Clemens kicked off and kicked extra points, too. He probably could have made some field goals, but West didn’t try any.
Behind a formidable offensive line, Clemens had 246 total yards of offense and three TDs, while also making his presence felt as a defensive back, as Central Bucks West powered past the Upper Dublin Cardinals 35-14 in a game that lasted 2 hours, 39 minutes on Thursday night.
“We knew coming in, we had to ground and pound the ball,” Clemens said. “Up front, we have four out of five starters returning from last year.
“It’s great running behind our line,” he said. “You get wide open holes on every play.”
A pivotal play happened through the air late in the first quarter, with the Bucks up 7-6, after UD had just scored on the previous possession. Quarterback Noah Miller connected with Clemens over the middle, and Clemens raced 75 yards to the end zone, swerving beyond defenders and heading down the far sideline.
From then on, for the most of the next three quarters, CB West was in control.
“We saw they didn’t really respect us in the middle of the field,” Clemens said. “They had a safety moved all the way over. Our seam, I ran right up, kind of drifted to the left a little bit. Noah threw to me in stride. I had to run a little faster to catch up to it, and when I caught it, I knew. I just knew right away (I had the touchdown). I just had to get on my horse.”
Fellow senior running back and wingback Vance Morelli, who plays corner as well, also had a big night for CB West (2-0). He racked up 218 combined yards (135 rushing, 83 receiving) and scored a pair of touchdowns — a 76-yard catch and run to the end zone in the second period, and a 50-yard interception return for a TD in the third that put West up by three scores.
“I’m not surprised,” CB West coach Rob Rowan said of Morelli, who rushed for 48 yards and a score in the Bucks’ Week 1 victory over Easton. “I think it’s more validation for him and the work that he’s put in. Look, he’s been behind some really talented players the past couple years, and he’s getting his opportunity to shine, and he’s taking full advantage of it.
“I couldn’t be more happy and proud of him that he has seized the early portion of this season,” Rowan said.
Senior tackle Finn McGowan, center Cole Patterson, guard Christian Pudlo and guard Gio Pellegrino helped set the tone up front as West consistently moved down the field. Quarterback Miller finished 6-of-8 for 199 yards and two TDs.
West’s defense, which featured several two-way players, was similarly imposing in the trenches, as Upper Dublin (1-1) struggled to sustain drives. Four sacks, including a pair back-to-back in the fourth period by West’s Owen Pudlo, killed some series.
The Cardinals gave up multiple big plays on defense — often when they seemed to be climbing back into the game — and they were backbreaking.
Still, there were hints that Upper Dublin could compete against a top-level team, including a resilient effort in the second half and a number of open receivers that were missed throughout the night, as they and quarterback Kevin Etkin just weren’t quite in sync.
Even the pick by Morelli was touched by the receiver first.
“We closed the gap on West from last year,” Upper Dublin coach Bret Stover said. “We battled, and it’s going to help us down the road when we get into our conference and the districts. We left a lot of things on the field tonight, that’s the hard part. But it’s Week, we’re going to make mistakes.
“I thought we took a step back tonight from last week,” he said. “We’re going to learn a lot from watching this tape.
Upper Dublin stymied CB West twice in the red zone. The Cardinals are in the midst of a three-game gauntlet to open the season, which began with a win at Wissahickon, this game, and then a trip to District 1-6A champion Central Bucks South next week.
“That’s a good team we beat,” Rowan told his squad. “Did they give up? No. They’re going to win a lot of games this year. … They made some mistakes, but we made our own mistakes that we have to clean up.”
The Bucks, of course, are coming off a 12-1 season in which they lost to rival Central Bucks South — whom they had beaten late in the regular season — in the district semifinals
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CB West 35, Upper Dublin 14
CBW 14 7 7 7 — 35
UD 6 0 0 8 — 14
SCORING SUMMARY
First Quarter
CBW — Ryan Clemens 10 run (Clemens kick)
UD — Ryan O’Sullivan 17 pass from Kevin Etkin (Matthew Miller kick)
CBW — Clemens 75 pass from Noah Miller (Clemens kick)
Second Quarter
CBW — Vance Morelli 75 pass from Miller (Clemens kick)
Third Quarter
CBW — Vance Morelli 50 interception return (Clemens kick)
Fourh Quarter
UD — Gavin Lapa 1 pass from Etkin (Ron Shepard pass from Etkin)
CBW — Clemens 2 run (Clemens kick)
TEAM STATISTICS
CBW UD
1st downs 16 15
rush-yds 42-239 21-15
pass yds 199 252
comp-att-int 6-8-0 23-45-1
total off 437 267
fumb-lost 1-0 0-0
pen-yds 4-44 6-52
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
Rushing
CB West: Ryan Clemens 19-138, 2 TDs; Noah Miller 16-82; Vance Morelli 3-15; Nick Miletto 4-4.
Upper Dublin: Ronald Shepherd 13-51; Jordan Fields 1-(-4); Kevin Etkins 7-(-32).
Passing
CB West: Noah Miller 6-8-0, 199, 2 TDs.
Upper Dublin: Kevin Etkins: 20-35-1, 216, 2 TDs; Lawson Tyler 4-9-0, 39.
Receiving
CB West: 3-108, TD; Vance Morelli 2-83, TD; Jackson Lindenmuth 1-8.
Upper Dublin: Ryan O’Sullivan 10-116, TD; Eric Bernan 4-64; MJ Stokes 3-31; Ronald Shepherd 2-17; Gavin Lapa 3-15, TD; Mikal Tindal 1-9.
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Follow Christiaan DeFranco on X at @the_defranc.
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