Stars abound for Owen J. Roberts in season-opening 49-14 win over Conestoga

BUCKTOWN >> Owen J. Roberts head coach Rich Kolka knows a good thing when he sees it,
and a defense he describes as “strong” returning 10 starters from an eight-win team certainly
qualifies.

But Kolka wasn’t satisfied. “This year, we’re looking to take a step forward from a good defense
to an elite defense,” he said in the preseason.

The first step is officially an unqualified success.

OJR limited visiting Conestoga to 155 total yards, while running back Mekhi Graham rushed for
197 yards and three scores as Owen J. Roberts built a four-touchdown halftime lead and cruised
to a 49-14 opening win over the Pioneers.

Quarterback Corey Schock was flawless in his first career start, going 9-for-9 for 144 yards, a
passing touchdown and two rushing scores in commanding the Wildcats’ rout.

“I’ve been looking forward to this moment for a long time,” said the senior signal-caller, who
went through a training camp battle to earn the first start Friday night and did plenty to show he
deserves more.

“I’m excited about the win, I’m excited we’ve got guys like (Graham) on our team. Tonight was
a dream come true.”

Schock says his goal is to have the team perform as they did Friday night.

“Every time out, I’m trying to take advantage of my opportunities – complete my passes, control
what I can. I can make plays myself, but we’ve got some dudes on this team.”

Things couldn’t have started better for ‘Stoga, as senior James Quici followed great blocking on
the opening kickoff for an untouched 93-yard touchdown to open the 2024 season with a bang
and give the Pioneers a 7-0 lead.

That was about all for the highlights for the visitors, however, as the rest of the opening quarter
turned into a “can you top this?” contest between the OJR defense and sophomore running back
Graham.

The remainder of the first half followed a pattern—an OJR rushing touchdown followed by a
brief Conestoga possession. Three times the Wildcats forced Stoga into a three-and-out, while
Justin Daubert recovered a fumble inside the red zone after Conestoga strung together a few first downs in the second quarter.

“This is a good start,” said OJR linebacker and leading tackler Brody Mazzerle. “Only one
touchdown against our defense, I thought aside from that we looked great.”

Mazzerle admitted the Wildcats were taken aback by Stoga’s lightning-quick start to the contest,
but as the final score indicates, they weathered the storm.

“Yeah, it obviously hit us,” he allowed. “But we don’t show it, we don’t get rattled and we were
able to recapture momentum.”

Once OJR took possession after the kickoff return score, the story in the early going was
Graham, who equalized with a 25-yard scoring run to tie the game at 7 and added a second score moments later to give the ‘Cats the lead for good.

He was far from done, however, taking the first carry of the third OJR drive through a gaping
hole and up the right sideline 79 yards for his — and the team’s — third score in as many
possessions.

“I feel like I made a mark last year,” said Graham, an all-area first-teamer as an all-purpose back as a freshman. “I’m just trying to pick up where I left off.”

Leg cramps would sidetrack Graham in the second quarter, but Schock picked up where the sophomore left off. Schock was 7-for-7 before halftime, the highlight a 31-yard completion to Dylan Drumheller to set up Schock’s own 2-yard scramble—his second TD of the half—sending OJR to the break with a 35-7 lead.

As strong as his night was, all but twelve of Graham’s rushing yards came before halftime as he
battled cramps throughout the evening. He says he’s fine going forward, but the experience
pushes him to improve.

“A lot,” he agreed when asked if he felt he left opportunities on the field Friday night. “It pushes
me to work harder moving forward.”

Aside from the opening kickoff return, Quici provided the majority of the offensive highlights
for Conestoga, corralling three passes for 53 yards in the opening half.

“This is a young team, and we gained some experience tonight,” said first-year Conestoga coach Scott Gee. “These guys sat behind some very talented players in the classes ahead of them, and they’re having a lot asked of them out here tonight.”

Arjunn Narang’s diving reception of an 11-yard pass from Timmy Bruder brought ‘Stoga within
35-14 early in the third quarter, but OJR responded with another sophomore standout, Matt
Gregory, taking an end-around 47 yards for the score on their ensuing drive.

After a Pioneers fumble, Schock found Adam Stahl in the corner of the end zone from 12 yards
out to start the running clock with a minute to play in the third quarter.

The Wildcats stay at home next week to host Pottsgrove in a cross-divisional matchup, while
Conestoga looks to break into the win column when they travel to Upper Darby to start Central
League play.

For Owen J. Roberts, last year’s 8-3 finish qualifies as a good year, but as Kolka said in
preseason, the Wildcats are looking to take another step in 2024.

Friday night showed they’ve got the playmakers and the defense to make it a reality.

BOX SCORE

Owen J. Roberts 49, Conestoga 14

Conestoga —             7   0   7   0   —   14
Owen J. Roberts —   21   14   14   0   —   49

SCORING PLAYS
C — Quici 93 kick return (Irani kick)
OJR — Graham 25 run (Touhey kick)
OJR — Graham 6 run (Touhey kick)
OJR — Graham 79 run (Touhey kick)
OJR — Schock 7 run (Touhey kick)
OJR — Schock 2 run (Touhey kick)
C — Narang 11 pass from Bruder (Irani kick)
OJR — Gregory 47 run (Bold kick)
OJR — Stahl 12 pass from Schock (Bold kick)

TEAM STATISTICS

STOGA              OJR

First Downs                 5                  21
Rushing Yards            55               306
Passing Yards            100              144
Total Yards                155               450
Passes C-A-I           8-13-0           9-9-0
Fumbles-Lost             4-3               1-0
Penalties-Yards         4-30             3-20

Punts-Avg.              4-39.2            2-35.5

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

Rushing
Conestoga – McLaughlin 9-14, Bruder 7-34, Sarmento 2-3, Quici 1-4.
Owen J. Roberts – Graham 19-197; 3 TD, Kish 7-21, Schock 6-14; 2 TD, Dowdell 4-6, Gregory
3-69; TD, Copeland 3-(minus-2), Flynn 2-1.

Passing
Conestoga – Bruder 8-13, 100 yards, TD.
Owen J. Roberts – Schock 9-9, 144 yards, TD.

Receiving
Conestoga – Quici 3-53, Narang 2-37; TD, D. Cavanaugh 2-10, McLaughlin 1-0.
Owen J. Roberts – Justin Daubert 2-26, Gregory 2-24, Stahl 2-17; TD, Drumheller 1-31, Graham
1-24, Jeremy Daubert 1-22.

Sacks: Conestoga – Harmon.
Owen J. Roberts – Fanucci.