Upper Merion

By DANIEL CARVALHO

dcarvalho@timesherald.com

UPPER MERION — Viking football is making a comeback.

Following a dreadful three years where the Upper Merion High program won just two games and went winless in 2010 and 2011, the team was able to bounce back with a commendable 2013 season by winning a total of four games with one coming in the Suburban One League American Conference.

Obviously the Vikings were hoping to reach a higher plateau in the win department, but fourth-year head coach Harold Smith and the players around him are starting to buy into a winner’s mentality.

“Right now we’re cautiously optimistic,” Smith said. “Kids seem to be ready and they worked hard in the offseason.

“Every year we’ve gotten better. There’s a sense of pride amongst the kids. They want to be a part of the football program right now.”

Determined to climb out of the cellar of the SOL American, the Vikings have reloaded an offensive and defensive attack with depth on the entire team.

Junior Isaiah Graham-Mobley is replacing the graduated Carmen Fortino, and has some experience in the backfield having picked up some reps in the regular season last year.

Tyler Thornton will be one of Graham-Mobley’s targets at the receiver spot, and senior Zach Lane rounds out a strong offensive line corps tasked with opening up holes for the running game.

Defensively, keep an eye out on junior d-lineman Marcus Elliott, who brings a high energy and someone the coaching staff is looking to lead the charge.

“On both sides of the line we’re really deep, so we’ll be fresh the whole game and be able to give it all,” Lane said.

With games against Norristown and Octorara to begin the season, Upper Merion has a chance to halve the amount of wins it reached last season against non-league teams, but it’s in conference play that the Vikings expect to improve on from previous years.

“We’re just trying to win every game we can,” Smith said. “Every team in the conference I have respect for.

“We should have confidence that we can compete in this conference,” Smith went on. “We showed that last year (when) we lost a lot of games that were close. We played well against certain good teams, so we should have the confidence we can compete and be victorious in the conference and we’re no longer the door mat of the conference.”

Certainly for the players, getting back on the right foot has been a long time coming for the senior class. They want to prove that they can compete with the best in the conference.

“Ever since we were freshman, it’s been a losing streak,” Thornton said. “I got a really good feeling with our skill level. We’re in the right shape.”

“We’re stepping up as a program and that’s being reflected into games and teams we’re playing,” Lane said.

“We’ve been getting better and better every year so why not continue the pattern.”