With Radnor Looming, Community Rallies Around Aces

Saturday at 1:30 p.m., the longest continuous public high school football rivalry in the country will reconvene for the 114th consecutive autumn when the Lower Merion Aces take on the Radnor Red Raiders at Arnold Field Stadium. The Aces hold a 55-47-11 edge in the series.

Though both programs enter the game having fallen on tough times –they’ve combined to go 4-16 on the season, with the Aces contributing 10 losses and zero wins to that tally– the match hasn’t lost any of its luster for the Ardmore community.

“This is the biggest game of the year for every boy on the team,” said Amy Golden, President of the Ace Boosters and mother of senior halfback Max Golden. “They've continued to work hard throughout the season no matter what the scoreboard says. We are all confident that this week all that hard work and dedication will pay off.” 

The Lower Merion High School student body has celebrated the run-up to Radnor with a “Spirit Week.” They had a pajama day, a day where students wore Lower Merion jerseys, a black out, and will hold a school-wide pep-rally on Friday.

The team is also geared up. While the winless Aces have had a disappointing year, like the Buddy Ryan era Eagles – they of the “I don’t care if we go 2-14 as long as we beat Dallas twice” mantra– this team defines itself, its season, by its success against its bitterest rival. For them Radnor is more than a game; it is a chance at redemption.

“If we win, it’s a winning season,” said Junior quarterback Desmond Ellis “Everybody’s all really focused, our emotions are running high. This is our chance to show the league what we have.”

“We’re ready to go to battle,” added Drew Scheier.

It will be the Ace's final battle of the season. Senior captain Zeke Zimmer is amongst those who will put on a Lower Merion uniform for the last time Saturday.

“This game means everything,” he said. “The games before this were just scrimmages. We look at it like we’ve had ten scrimmages.”

Coach John Rothberg meanwhile was philosophic when asked about the game’s importance not just to the community and the team, but to his legacy.

“It’s a matter of pride,” he said, “but I coach every game like it’s my last.”

Lower Merion is, as it has been all season, a heavy underdog. Radnor has only won four games on the year, but that’s four more than the Aces have garnered. Rothberg is undiscouraged though.

“You’ve got to throw out the box score and the stats in this one. We’re playing our best football right now. Nobody gave us much of a chance last year, and we took it to them,” he said, referring to the Aces 20-7 dismantling of a previously 5-5 Red Raiders team in the final game of the 2009 season.

“These kids always play hard, but they take it up a notch for this one.”

At the end of Wednesday’s practice, following some words from their coach, the Aces gathered in a bouncing, lively, mosh pit around Zimmer. His exhortations were at first muffled by the heavy breathing, the clanging of pads, and the grunts of agreement, but just before the huddle broke, the captain’s voice overcame the cacophony and rang through the empty stadium.

“This is our Super Bowl!”

At that, the Aces scampered off the field and into the locker room. One day till Radnor.