Big night by Evan Myers helps dad get 100th win, Raiders a playoff bye
By Matt Hagy — MikeDragoSports.com correspondent
HORSHAM – Last year Twin Valley took a big step forward by qualifying for the District 3 4A playoffs for the first time in program history.
Friday the Raiders took a big step toward hosting a playoff game for the first time.
“It’s a nice place for this program to be,” said first-year Twin Valley coach Brett Myers after the 55-20 non-league win in the regular season finale. “I am very proud how our guys came out tonight and dominated from start to finish.
“We will see how the rankings play out, but regardless we will get plenty of time in the classroom and on the field to improve.”
The win was the 100th of Myers’ career, including stops at Pottstown, Middletown and Twin Valley.
The Raiders set the tone when Drew Engle ran back a short opening kick back for a 72-yard touchdown and 7-0 lead.
“Drew has done a great job all season returning kicks and it shocks me that teams still kick to him at points,” Myers said. “They keep doing it and he keeps making plays and it was a great way to start the game.”
Dynamic sophomore quarterback Evan Myers got his first passing chance following a Hatters punt and made the most of it by finding Jordan Rose wide open over the middle for a 24-yard touchdown, capping a six-play, 78-yard drive to make it 14-0 Raiders.
Daniel Murphy intercepted a screen pass at the 38-yard line on the ensuing Hatters drive and took it to the 10 to set the Raiders up with excellent field position.
Evan Johnson powered in from a yard out just four plays later to put Twin Valley up 21-0 at the 5:35 mark of the first quarter.
The Hatters got a long kick return out to the Twin Valley 42 and cashed in on the field position when Jaxson Bumpus scored on a 14 yard run on 4th down, cutting it to 21-7.
Evan Myers ended any potential Hatters momentum with another quick scoring drive that showed off his astounding play-making abilities. On third-and-10 from the Hatters 30, Myers spun out of the grasp of a defender 5 yards in the backfield and raced up the right side untouched for a touchdown to extend the Raiders lead to 28-7.
“I never give up on any play and after I escaped I saw a big hole our line created and took it,” Myers said. “Our lineman did exactly what they had to do tonight by creating holes for myself and all of our backs.”
Myers connected with Rose once again just halfway through the second quarter from 33 yards out to give Twin Valley a 35-7 lead.
Myers completed his brilliant first half by finding Ean Winchester for a 13-yard score with 3:05 to go in the first half, making it 42-7.
Jayden Goebel got in on the scoring action to start the second half as he scored untouched from 10 yards out following a muffed Hatters punt return.
Brad Taggart capped the scoring for the Raiders with a 15-yard touchdown run on fourth-and-4 with just over three minutes to go.
Evan Myers finished the night with 170 total yards, 120 through the air.
“It’s been a great ride with these guys, and I am honored to help lead them,” Evan Myers said. “We know the job is not done and we are excited to get healthy and start postseason play.”
Rose finished with two receptions for 57 yards, both touchdowns.
Six different Raiders scored.
Twin Valley’s balanced rushing attack amassed 211 total yards which was led by Myers with only 50. Along with the dominance on offense, the Raiders defense forced four turnovers that turned into 28 points.
Hatboro-Horsham did have some success moving the ball on the Raiders and used a late 73-yard touchdown pass on 4th down to hold the total yards edge at 336-331.
The district playoff brackets won’t be official until Sunday but at this point it appears Twin Valley will have a first-round bye.
“It’s pretty simple, we are going to hit the weight room, the classroom, and if we get it I see it as a good week to work on some fundamentals as well,” Brett Myers said. “We have been banged up and it would be a great week to get healthier as well.”
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Final | |
| Twin Valley | 28 | 14 | 7 | 6 | 55 |
| Hatboro-Horsham | 7 | 0 | 6 | 7 | 20 |
Scoring summary
| 1 | Twin Valley | Engle, 72 kickoff return (Frey kick) | 11:49 |
| 1 | Twin Valley | Rose, 24 pass from Myers (Frey Kick) | 8:13 |
| 1 | Twin Valley | Johnson, 1 run (Frey kick) | 5:35 |
| 1 | Hatboro-Horsham | Bumpus, 14 run (O’Donnell kick) | 1:48 |
| 1 | Twin Valley | Myers, 30 run (Frey kick) | 0:00 |
| 2 | Twin Valley | Rose, 33 pass from Myers (Frey kick) | 6:06 |
| 2 | Twin Valley | Winchester, 13 pass from Myers (Frey kick) | 3:05 |
| 3 | Twin Valley | Goebel, 10 run (Frey kick) | 7:28 |
| 3 | Hatboro-Horsham | Bumpus, 43 run (kick failed) | 0:26 |
| 4 | Twin Valley | Taggart, 15 run (Frey kick) | 3:47 |
| 4 | Hatboro-Horsham | Clauser, 73 pass from Pagano (O’Donnell kick) | 1:29 |
Team statistics
| Twin Valley | Hatboro-Horsham | |
| First downs | 18 | 11 |
| Rushes-yards | 34-211 | 33-228 |
| Passing yards | 120 | 108 |
| Total yards | 331 | 336 |
| Passes | 6-12-0 | 2-6-1 |
| Fumbles-lost | 1-1 | 3-3 |
| Punts-average | 1-38.0 | 2-42.5 |
| Penalties-yards | 0-0 | 6-35 |
Individual statistics
RUSHING
Twin Valley: Myers 3-50, Taggart 10-49, Johnson 9-48, Goebel 5-32, Engle 3-27, Harris 1-7, Rose 1-3, Mendez 2-(-5).
Hatboro-Horsham: Collazo 13-81, Bumpus 5-75, Rapino 5-26, Clauser 7-19, Lebens 1-18, Pagano 2-9.
PASSING
Twin Valley: Myers 6-12-0-120.
Hatboro-Horsham: Pagano 1-5-1-73, Bumpus 1-1-0-35.
RECEIVING
Twin Valley: Winchester 3–56, Rose 2-57, Harris 1-7.
Hatboro-Horsham: Clauser 1-73, Long-Stratton 1-35.
INTERCEPTIONS
Twin Valley: Murphy.
