WILLOW GROVE — Friday night's season-opening 41-0 road loss to Upper Moreland was Hatboro-Horsham's 14th consecutive defeat, dating back to a 20-19 victory at Upper Moreland on Nov. 28, 2019.

A year ago, the Hatters were outscored 179-21 in their four contested games and forfeited four games, including the final three, due to safety concerns brought on by their low numbers with so many inexperienced players forced into important roles.

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But third-year coach Ken Remaily and senior lineman Mikey Carroll were encouraged by the Hatters' performance and think they're on the way to turning things around.

"I really believe in this team," Carroll said. "We have so much potential."

Of the 42 players listed on Hatboro-Horsham's roster, 20 are sophomores. Starting quarterback Chris Roughton, running back Mason Bynum, back Michael Clauser, offensive linemen Dan Rash, Andy Alameda and defensive lineman Ryan McCarthy are among the starting 10th-graders in 2022.

"When you look at our team, not only is it just the sophomores but our kids only played four games last year," Remaily said. "And they were tough games. We started off with the number we had and what happened, happened. We're moving forward and staying together."

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Then again, the Hatters' primary goal isn't to complete the 8-game schedule with a winning record and earn a District One playoff berth — it's to complete it on the field.

Pass protection and snaps on punts were issues for the Hatters on Friday, but that's not surprising under the circumstances.

"We just focus on the small things," Carroll said. "Don't beat (ourselves) up when we miss a small thing."

This season and next, Hatboro-Horsham, whose enrollment places it in the second-highest PIAA classification (5A), moved from playing in the Suburban One League Continental Conference to an independent schedule in an effort to return to the SOL as a viable squad. That should help in the transition.

Meanwhile, Upper Moreland is coming off of a 7-4 campaign in which it lost to Pottsgrove in the 4A playoffs with Adam Beach returning for a third stint as Golden Bears' coach. It wasn't a fair fight, though Hatboro-Horsham gave it a solid effort.

Upper Moreland is bigger, stronger, faster and more experienced than Hatboro-Horsham, which is a difficult combination to overcome.

The Hatters forced turnovers on the Golden Bears' first two possessions, with junior linebacker Jaxson Bumpus' hit causing a fumble that junior defensive back Ryan Kutz recovered on the first play from scrimmage and senior defensive end Ben Lee coming up with the recovery on the next possession, only to come away with no points.

There was a three first-down drive right before halftime that was all done on the ground, too.

"The takeaway is we're doing exactly what we're supposed to do — we're staying the course and playing as a team," Remaily said. "… We want to compete and we want to finish our season. That's where we're at."

There's plenty to work on in the bye week before visiting Springfield-Montco on Sept. 9.

As for Beach, he began coaching at Upper Moreland as an assistant on Joe Shannon's staff in 1998. They built the program from the ground up, with Beach going 81-45 from 2005-10 and 2013-17 as head coach. His teams reached double digits in wins three times, including a 2008 campaign in which the Bears were 11-2 and reached the District One Class AAA title game.

"We had 20-some kids on the team (in 1998)," Beach said. "I was in his situation. I understand what he's going through and I told him before the game 'just keep coaching your kids and it'll turn around.'

"It took a while. We were saying at the end of this game it used to be the other way (on the losing end of a one-sided score). We've been there. They're going to be better."

Tom Moore: tmoore@couriertimes; @TomMoorePhilly

This article originally appeared on Bucks County Courier Times: Hatboro-Horsham hopes to follow same path as Upper Moreland with Adam Beach