ALLENTOWN: Mottram, AHS post big win over HoVal

By Justin Feil, The Packet Group
   Ricky Mottram had the rare opportunity to play on the Allentown High School football team as a freshman last year.
   The sophomore linebacker/tight end has come back this year bigger, stronger and faster and played like a veteran to help the Redbirds rebound from a tough stretch with a 38-14 win over previously unbeaten Hopewell Valley on Saturday.
   ”It was huge,” said Mottram, who made 10 tackles and had a sack. “Winning is always huge. Losing two out of three games is tough. Bouncing back against an undefeated team that was state champs in our division last year was really helpful.”
   Mottram has been a key in the middle of the Allentown defense all season. He has combined his smarts with his athleticism to become a force for the Redbirds.
   ”I definitely know what’s going on a lot more and I’m a lot more comfortable on the defense,” Mottram said. “This year, I feel like I can lead the team instead of being led. I can take control and call out the defenses.”
   Mottram was happy that he was able to contribute as a freshman, but was looking to do more this year and wanted to push the team to higher goals.
   ”I thought it was good that I got to play with the older, more experienced guys (last season),” he said. “It was good that I had the time behind Davoine (Thomas). I learned a lot from him. But you can’t consider it a good season when you’re 5-5 and lose in the first round of the playoffs. We wanted to go a lot farther than that.”
   The Redbirds came into the season with high hopes after returning so much from last year, but two out-of-conference losses could have shaken their confidence.
   ”I don’t think anyone was concerned,” Mottram said. “We know we worked harder than anyone all offseason. We couldn’t put in all that hard work to crumble after a couple of hard losses.
   ”I think in the Lenape game especially we learned how much one yard can change a game and how many different ways a game can turn out by the littlest mistakes, and the less mistakes we made, the more likely we are to win a game.”
   Allentown jumped out on Hopewell, something that hadn’t happened in losses to Lenape and Rancocas Valley. The Redbirds took a 14-0 lead in the first quarter on a 1-yard run by Dean Apostolico followed by a 14-yard run by Michael Curry, the quarterback who stood out the most on offense with 22 rushes for 169 yards and three touchdowns.
   ”He played extremely well in this game,” said Allentown head coach Jay Graber after his team wrapped up one of the top two seeds for the South Jersey, Group III state tournament. “He was definitely one of our main leaders in this game. He was able to run the ball effectively. He’s been a leader all season. He’s been a leader on offense and defense. Our offensive line did an outstanding job in this game also.”
   Curry’s second rushing touchdown of the game, a 6-yard jaunt up the middle, made it 21-0. Though Hopewell answered with a touchdown, Curry’s 40-yard touchdown run following Jake Morse’s interception built back up the Allentown lead that they had established early.
   ”I think we came out more fired up,” Mottram said. “We couldn’t really afford another loss. It was more personal. I’ve been playing some of these guys since fifth grade. They kind of stole the game last year. We needed to take it back this year.”
   Staked to the big lead, there was no way that Mottram and the Redbirds defense was going to relent. Hopewell managed barely 200 yards of offense against them.
   ”We kind of took it personal with the amount of rushing yards that we gave up to Rancocas Valley with their quarterback and running back,” Graber said. “We watched a lot of film and watched what their running back had. We had a good week of practice and I thought our scout team gave us a good look. Practicing better helped us this week.”
   It also helped to have some motivated players like Mottram leading the way. He was ready to shut down Hopewell.
   ”I think the preparation on defense was the biggest part of it,” Mottram said. “We knew the plays they were going to run before they knew what they were going to run. We were preparing all week. We knew what was going on.”
   Mottram credited his teammates and coaches with studying the game film and preparing well. The Redbirds have gotten back to the level they expected of themselves with the win over Hopewell.
   ”We just talked a lot about battling adversity and coming together as a team,” Graber said. “We talked a lot about what kind of team we were. We weren’t really sure what kind of team we were at this point.”
   The Redbirds took an important step Saturday. They played well in all parts of the game. Matt DeRisi’s 28-yard field goal started their fourth-quarter scoring, and Jordan Winston scored on a 22-yard run. Alessi gave the Redbirds a third back with a big rushing night with 89 yards on the ground, and he added an interception on defense.
   ”I was happy with the way we played in all three phases of the game,” Graber said. “I thought we were able to play special teams well. A lot of what they do is on special teams. They do onsides kicks, and we did a good job. We were able to run the ball well. On defense, we were able to stop the run against a good running back.”
   Now they have to keep their momentum going. With the win, the Redbirds are in a position to be a playoff host, and they can take another step this Friday when they host Trenton, a team that beat them last year.
   ”I think it’ll be a really good game,” Mottram said. “It was a good game last year, it didn’t turn out the way we wanted it to be. They’re playing really well, but so are we. We’ll see who’s playing better on Friday.”
   Mottram was encouraged by the play of the Redbirds defense. They fixed some of the issues that came up in their losses and were much stingier.
   ”We’re still getting better every day,” he said. “When we got to the Hopewell game, you could see a huge difference. There’s a lot of chemistry on the defense. It’s a lot of guys working together and we really work together well.”
   Mottram has done his part. He feels more responsible this year as the signal caller on the defense, and he’s been able to contribute as a tight end on offense, particularly with an offensive line that has paved the way to some big games. Allentown rushed for 372 yards against Hopewell.
   ”I think it’s all due to the work that the linemen have put in,” Mottram said. “They’ve changed so much in the last year. We have two guys that started as sophomores and have come back this year, and our senior running backs know how to crease the defense.”
   Mottram was proud of the offensive performance, but he hangs his hat on the play of the Allentown defense, and he came away happy with their efforts in a win that put them back on track.
   ”I take defense more personally,” Mottram said. “I thought it was great we could stop all those dangerous guys. I don’t think anybody thought we’d do that offensively.”