Upper Dublin

By DANIEL CARVALHO

dcarvalho@timesherald.com

UPPER DUBLIN — Every football team is faced with the difficult task of replacing former two- and three-year starters that graduated over the spring.

The 2014 Upper Dublin roster, for instance, is no different.

“We have a lot of holes from graduation last year,” explained 12th-year Upper Dublin head coach Bret Stover. “We graduated 22 seniors — we only returned eight seniors on the whole team.

“So we have a lot of young kids that are vying for positions and it’s a little tough sledding right now.”

And figuring out a way to shuffle in a young QB without missing a beat will be that much harder for a Cardinal squad that relied heavily on the offensive load that quarterback John Derr carried.

In his time at UD Derr, a duel threat to pass or rush the pigskin, threw for 1,338 yards while galloping for another 766.

“John combined for probably 22 touchdowns, through the air and with his legs,” Stover said.

Derr is now at West Chester University, and junior Ryan Stover (the coach’s son), 6-3, 180 pounds, is ready to step in for the Cardinals.

“Ryan (Stover) had a start last year against Cheltenham and played a good amount of time,” Bret Stover said. “He started at free safety for us last year and I think he’s going to be fine.

“This is going to be a learning year for him, but he’s definitely up for the challenge. He’s itching to get out there and see what he can do.

“He’s kind of been throttled back a little bit, but I think he’s ready to go.”

In the limited time that Stover played a season ago, the QB completed 17 of 26 passes for 276 yards with two touchdowns and no picks.

The quarterback position isn’t the only gaping void on Upper Dublin’s offense. With Marc Conran and Ryan Siwinski gone, senior Matt Thompson is the only receiver returning for duty.

The speedy 5-9, 165-pound senior caught 22 passes and three touchdowns a year ago, and will be a much sought after weapon in the offense.

“Matt (Thompson) has been a great asset coaching up the young kids and getting people in the right spots,” Stover said. “We’re looking for a big year out of Matt at the wideout spot.”

As far as the ground game goes, the tandem of senior John Lee and junior Kaleif Lee are back. John Lee rushed for 542 yards and scored 13 times in 2013, while Kaleif Lee reached the 558-yard mark with 14 TDs.

Both backs will be a major cog to a Cardinals offense that put up a staggering 35 points per game last year.

“I bring back John Lee and Kaleif Lee, both my running backs who accounted for 25-plus touchdowns for us last year,” Stover said.

“We’re going to rely heavily on them early as we break in the quarterback and we get the offensive line situated and the receivers figured out.”

Look for the defensive side of the ball to be a strength for the Cards with eight starters returning and the linebacker corps at full capacity including Henry Winebrake, Jack Rapine, John Lee and Tamir Bailey.

“We expect our defense to be out strength early,” Stover said, “to keep us in some games and hopefully score — find ways to win from that end of it.”

“I’m actually really excited because our defense is bringing back a lot of guys back,” John Lee said. “If the D-line can step up, I think our defense can be a real strong point for us this year.”

Upper Dublin will be looking to bounce back from a disappointing first round District One playoff loss to Abington a season ago after missing out on the conference race to Plymouth Whitemarsh.

The team got off to a desirable start by winning the first eight matchups in a row, but a loss against the Colonials saw the dream fall short as PW took its fourth-straight title in as many years.

“For us, it always starts with conference,” Stover said. “The conference champion is Plymouth Whitemarsh and until we take it from them, or they lose it, they’re the champs so everything goes through Plymouth Whitemarsh this year.”

So all that’s left is for Upper Dublin to wrap up camp, get the younger guys acclimated, and make another run at the conference and beyond with its newest competitive outlook.

“This is probably one of the most athletic teams that I’ve ever coached as far as the way they get after the ball offensively and defensively. We have the potential to cause some teams some problems with our athleticism,” Stover said.

“We’re not big, but we will be in your kitchen before you know what’s up.

“We’re going to try and get after you, because if we sit and wait you’re going to run over us.”