The Norristown Eagles fought a tremendous battle against the Upper Merion Vikings but fell short in a 21-14 defeat last Thurs, Sept. 1.

Before the annual ‘Battle of the Bridge’ game, both teams were pumped, but Norristown’s cheering section was even louder, as the players ran onto the field waving the giant blue and white N flag. Spectators could hear the band pumping, and the energy from the crowd was electrifying. 

The Eagles took a quick lead by scoring a touchdown in the game’s first minute. This opportunity was from a fumble two plays before. Eagles running back Meyon Ferrell rushed for a 16-yard touchdown to put the Eagles up 7-0 to capitalize on this drive. 

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The Eagles held this lead for 15 minutes, but the Vikings tied it all up with a touchdown pass to tight end Nolan Clayton from five yards out. With the score now tied at 7,  the Eagles received the ball but the Vikings immediately took it back by picking off Eagles quarterback Brendan Farell, who was making his first start of the season this last Thurs. Upper Merion gained 34 yards in five plays to score when Vikings quarterback Qwynne Seals rushed for a 22-yard touchdown, bringing the score to 14-7.

On their next possession, the Eagles found themselves halfway down the field, but then an interception off the pads of a Norristown player led to a Vikings 65 yard touchdown return. This created a gap in the score now, which would make it hard for the Eagles to recover after halftime. The faithful Norristown fans did not give up hope.

“I am so excited for this season since it’s most of my friends’ senior year. We’ve been waiting for this moment for so long,” said senior Vannessa Ramos.  

As the 4th quarter began, the score stood 21-7 Vikings. The Eagles capitalized with a 66-yard drive to score, bringing the score to 21-14. The main play of the drive was a 37-yard completion to wide reciever Milan Baird from Ferrell on a 4th and 14 situation. Fullback Jamal Griffin then finished off the drive and ran it in for a touchdown on a third down with only 7:43 remaining in the 4th. The Eagles had time but not much, and they needed to try as hard as they could on the next drive.  

The Vikings got the ball back and were forced to a 3 and out by the Norristown defense. As the clock was ticking, the Eagles got to the Vikings’ 31-yard line with still time to spare. The crowd was on the edge of their seats to see what would happen in the time remaining.  The Eagles were unfortunately called with a block-in-the-back flag along with some false start penalties, which severely hurt them in yardage. This put them in a 3rd and 10 situation. On the next play, Norristown was sacked for a 13-yard loss, which put them at 4th and 23. 

Norristown had to pull something out of a hat to be able to get the first down. Norristown threw it up with seconds to spare until their last breath. The ball was flying like an eagle, but the Vikings’ defense stopped the Eagles in their tracks. This turned the ball over and ended the game with a 21-14 loss for the hometown Eagles. 

Ferrell, who went 11 for 23 with 153 yards, was asked how it felt during his first game as starting quarterback. 

“I feel like our defense played good and our offense played good as well. We just need to limit the mistakes/turnovers,” he said. 

Despite the game ending in defeat, it was clear that the Norristown Eagles came to play during the Battle of the Bridge game, and the fans are more than excited for the 2022 season. The Eagles (0-2) will be looking for its first win of the season at home tomorrow against Pottsgrove.