The history of La Salle College High School football is filled with twists and turns that border on legend and disbelief. It all officially started on Tuesday, October 13, 1903, when La Salle lost a 6-3 decision to Catholic High at a field in Haddington, located in West Philadelphia. The first year of football at La Salle resulted in a record of no wins and four defeats, and the school abruptly gave up football until 1915.

  The 1915 squad fared better than the 1903 pioneers. After a scoreless tie with Germantown High, La Salle registered their first ever win by defeating the PA Institute for the Deaf, 7-6, as Frank Mahoney scored the touchdown and was noted as the star of the game. A 3-1-3 record, with three scoreless ties and a loss to Catholic High, was a great season for Coach Walter Dunn’s charges, and in 1916, they were undefeated going into a game against St. Joseph’s Prep for an "unofficial" championship among the three Catholic high school teams. The game was held at Stenton Field, on 22nd and Westmoreland, and the bigger, heavier St. Joseph’s team dominated La Salle, 21-0.

  Meanwhile, a controversy was in the works. Catholic High accused La Salle and St. Joseph’s Prep of utilizing college players on their squads, a not uncommon occurrence at the time for prep schools, though the number of college players was quite low. Catholic High decided to boycott the games against their fellow Catholic high schools in 1917, a year of greatness for La Salle football.

  La Salle’s 1917 team was led by Kenneth "Cy" Simendinger, a great runner and probably the first multi-sport star at La Salle. Simendinger almost single-handedly drove La Salle to a 6-0-0 record, scoring all of their touchdowns till the final game of the season. His touchdown in the first period led La Salle to their first victory over St. Joseph’s Prep, 6-0.

  La Salle decided not to field a team during 1918, as the Great War impacted school enrollment due to enlistments. But the program resurfaced in 1919, and La Salle’s 3-1-1 record featured their first Thanksgiving Day game against a first-ever opponent, West Catholic, winning 13-9, at the Strawbridge & Clothier Field at 62nd and Walnut Streets in West Philadelphia, and garnering a mythical "Catholic Schools" championship. Noticeable in their absence from La Salle’s schedule was Catholic High, but that was to change soon.

  Catholic High was still balking at the use of collegiate players among other Catholic schools, and finally the formation of an official Catholic League, spearheaded by Father John Bonner, came into existence in time for the 1920 season. All teams agreed on using only high schoolers. In addition to La Salle, Catholic High, St. Joseph’s Prep and West Catholic, Villanova Prep joined the league for their first season.

  La Salle brought in a new coach for their new league. Lou Little, fresh off the University of Pennsylvania football team, was La Salle’s head coach while he also played professional football for the Frankford Yellowjackets. Little went on to greater fame as the head coach at Georgetown and Columbia University. His 1920 team ended with the peculiar record of 1-2-3, winning only their last game, a Thanksgiving Day upset over Villanova Prep.

  Just when things now seemed stable regarding their entry into an official league, those things fell apart. For reasons unknown, prior to the 1921 season, La Salle resigned from the Catholic League, and Little set out to put together a challenging independent schedule for his team.

  And what a team it was. The 1921 team, led by their magnificent quarterback Donovan Rochford, won their first seven games without giving up a point, and would take on a visiting team from La Grange, Illinois on Friday November 25, the day after Thanksgiving. In a much ballyhooed game held at Baker Bowl, the Phillies’ ballpark, La Salle lost a 7-6 squeaker to La Grange on a missed extra point, despite outplaying the visitors for the entire second half.

  To add to the drama, right before the start of the 1922 season, Little resigned to become an assistant at Villanova College. This left La Salle’s team in the lurch, as Little had put together another aggressive schedule, and their 0-5-2 record was lowlighted by a 54-7 drubbing from Harrisburg Tech. The Little era officially ended when La Salle sought re-admittance into the Catholic League for 1923.

  They were welcomed back quite rudely in 1923, losing all 4 league games, including a season finale to Salesianum, who replaced Villanova Prep in the league. Things brightened up a bit in 1924 as La Salle started the season with a 5-1 record, but shutout losses to Catholic, St. Joe’s, and West Catholic ended the season on a sour note.

  Similar seasons occurred in 1925 and 1926, with great non-league records but Catholic League struggles. In 1927, Mike Saxe was in his second year as head coach, and La Salle’s league fortunes turned. Led by their rugged fullback Clarence Brehm, and their mercurial quarterback Francis Linus, La Salle amassed a 5-1 league record to tie Catholic High, who they had defeated 7-0 in the regular season. In their first-ever Catholic League championship game, held at Baker Bowl, La Salle was crushed by Catholic, 26-0.

  If that wasn’t enough bad news, it had been rumored that Saxe was using ineligible players, namely, two Jewish ringers from South Philadelphia. The rumors must have been true, because La Salle was summarily banished from the Catholic League starting with the 1928 season.

  Back to an independent schedule, and new head coach Vince Taggart, a La Salle grad, led the team to a 7-1-0 record in 1928, including a Thanksgiving Day win over Burlington NJ High. But 1929’s team won only three games, in a season when the Catholic League did not exist. The league returned in 1930, but still without La Salle, who went 5-3-0 including a Thanksgiving Day defeat of the PA Institute for the Deaf, 14-6. Jim Henry, who would become coach and athletic director at La Salle College, coached the high school for the next two years with modest results, and the reins for the 1933 season were handed over to former Villanova star quarterback James "Snapper" McLaughlin.

  McLaughlin’s 1933 team went 2-3-2, and was shut out 4 times, including a scoreless tie with St. John’s of Manayunk. In 1934, La Salle was granted re-admittance into the Catholic League, and again, were rudely welcomed, going 0-8-1, with just a non-league 6-6 tie against St. Robert’s of Chester to show for it. In 1935, former La Salle College player Bernie Bradley would be hired for one of his two stints as head coach.

  Bradley had a rag-tag group in 1935, going 2-6-0, but the 2-4-2 record in 1936 was deceiving, with only one loss by more than six points. La Salle’s star in those two years was running back John Edinger, a big bruising back who was renowned in the league despite the losing records. Edinger was 6’-0", 205 pounds, and had to be gang-tackled to be brought down. Bradley coached the 1937 team to a 2-6-1 record, and then left to become first an assistant at the College, and then as an assistant and eventual head coach at Loyola in California.

  Another College grad was given the helm. Jim Bonder had played for La Salle College and Roxborough High School, and he was a proponent of the innovative "T" formation that was taking the college game by storm. It took a while for his system to work at La Salle, as the 1938 team went an ignominious 0-9-0, scoring just 19 points, despite the presence of an oversized junior end named John Flannery, whose penchant for reading Western novels earned him the nickname of "Tex" by none other than Bonder himself.

  1939 was marginally better, but the 3-5-1 record featured only one league win, against St. John’s, 26-2 in the season finale. However, Bonder’s system was catching on, and the 1940 squad had the first winning record since 1931 at 4-3-2. Bonder’s teams got progressively better the next two years, at 6-3-1 and 6-2-1, as the ’42 club had just two excruciating losses, to North Catholic, 7-6, and St. Joseph’s Prep, 6-0, just missing a Catholic League title. Jim Bonder announced his resignation soon after the 1942 season, and then enlisted in the Navy. He came back to be a long-time coach at West Chester State Teacher’s College. Tragically, he succumbed to a heart attack on the field in a game in 1965 at the age of 51.

  Bernie Bradley was brought back as head coach when Loyola disbanded their football program in 1943 due to the war. The Little Explorers had a solid 5-4-0 season in 1943, and contended for the Catholic League championship in 1944 with a 6-1-1 record, led by quarterback Bill "Lefty" Whiteside and tackle Bill Gaynor, losing only to the eventual champs from West Catholic, 19-7.

  There were title hopes for the 1945 season, but they were dashed by a 0-4 start. Whiteside and company righted the ship and won their last 5 games, including a Thanksgiving Day win over Germantown High, 24-6. Bradley had another solid squad (7-3-0) in 1946, defeating West Catholic for the first time since 1941, but the 1947 season was marred by the academic ineligibility of many star juniors. Bradley’s last season at La Salle was 1948, and the Little Explorers, with star running back Dick Bedesem won their last two games to finish 4-4-0.

  Like his predecessor Lou Little, Bradley left La Salle to become an assistant at Villanova. La Salle turned to John Meyers, who had coached at Ambler High School. Meyers’ first team went 3-6-1 in 1949, and improved to 5-4-0 in 1950, mostly due to the presence of the stellar running back Ed Bracken. But the 1951 team, the biggest and slowest in the Catholic League, hit rock bottom with an 0-10-0 record, and Meyers left to coach Souderton High School.

  He was replaced by his assistant, James Gallagher, who graduated from La Salle in 1943. Gallagher had developed new offensive schemes that took a while to succeed. After a 2-8-0 record in 1952, the 1953 team started off with a thud, going 0-4-1 in their first 5 games, scoring only 12 points in their first four games. But their fifth game was a 25-25 tie with Roman Catholic, and the following week they upset defending champion North Catholic, 18-0, for the first time since 1941. The stars of the 1953 team included quarterback Bill Magee, end John Duffy, and junior running back Jim Ward. They also had a group of feisty sophomores that would make their presence felt soon. There were great hopes in 1954, but again, the squad started slow, but ended at 6-4-0 by winning their last 4 games, including a Thanksgiving Day game against Germantown, 13-7; the Clivedens’ lone score was on a punt return by none other than Bill Cosby.

  The sophs of ’53 were now seniors in 1955, and this La Salle squad was to become a team of destiny. Breaking out to a 4-0 start, they would meet the defending Catholic League champs, Bishop Neumann, at Mc Carthy Stadium at La Salle College. In what is arguably the most important play in La Salle football history, end Chuck Murray intercepted a 2nd quarter Pirate pass and sprinted 27 yards into the end zone for the only score of the game, and the Little Explorers stayed unbeaten with the 6-0 victory.

  Led by running backs Ray Frankson and Bill Dick, guard Bill Brooks, and quarterback Hugh Brolly, La Salle won the Catholic League championship in the regular season, and defeated a heavily-favored Northeast High School team in the City Title game at Franklin Field, 26-0. Before the season, Gallagher and assistant coach Tex Flannery searched the hallways for a tall athlete to play quarterback to run their new option offense, a predecessor to today’s "read option". Brolly, a basketball star, played his only season of high school football as La Salle’s signal-caller, and ended his football career with a 10-0-0 record, mastering the option play and directing La Salle’s vaunted rushing attack. And the defense was incredible, shutting out their last eight opponents, including Northeast High School, 26-0, at Franklin Field, for the City Title.

  But again, just when success and stability came to the La Salle football program, a twist of fate occurred. Jim Gallagher resigned his teaching and coaching positions at La Salle to take on coaching and administrative positions at Hatboro-Horsham High School. Gallagher eventually became the founding principal at Central Bucks East High School.

  Again, La Salle looked inward, and selected John "Tex" Flannery to be their next head coach. Flannery had been head coach at Bartram High School in the 1940’s, also coached at Malvern Prep, and had assisted at La Salle intermittently after his graduation in 1940 until he became Gallagher’s assistant in the 1950’s. The "revolving door" of head coaches was nothing new, as Bernie Bradley’s 6-year reign in the 1940’s was the longest continuous tenure in La Salle’s history. Little did anyone know that Tex Flannery would direct the gridiron fortunes at La Salle for almost three decades, and his name would become forever synonymous with La Salle football.

  The 36-year old Flannery had a boisterous personality, and was a student of Army Coach Earl "Red" Blaik’s offensive innovations, including the "lonesome end" formation. Tex’s first team in 1956, with a "Pony" backfield featuring Lou Greco, Paul Aita, Ed Dever, and Johnny Herrera, was a competitive 6-2-1, but they were outsized by the Bishop Neumann and North Catholic teams in their losses. Size would not be an issue for 1957.

  Under the leadership of quarterback Aita, and with incredible halfback Herrera, the "Cuban Flash", wreaking havoc on defenses, La Salle rode a high-powered offense to replicate the 1955 team’s 10-0-0 record, winning the Catholic League during the season, and defeating Roxborough High School, 19-6, in the Franklin Field mud for the City Title.

  Many juniors on that 1957 team, including backs Joe "Scotty" Maxwell and Jerry Woltemate, guard Arnie Buben, as well as ends Bob Smith and Ray Weinmann, stepped up as seniors in 1958 and won another Catholic League crown behind junior QB Howie Guarini. But La Salle lost to a powerful and unbeaten Lincoln High School team, 28-20, for the City Title.

  Flannery continued his successes in 1959. After an opening day loss to West Catholic, the Little Explorers ran the table to end up tied with upstart Monsignor Bonner with 8-1-0 records. In the PCL Championship game at Franklin Field, the Friars surprised La Salle, 6-0, on a late touchdown. But, much like 1957, the upcoming 1960 season would bode well for La Salle.

  Behind the all-purpose skills of halfback Tom Crow, the athletic abilities of end Vince Dennery, and a solid defense led by lineman Roger Agin and ballhawk Ed Bogdan, La Salle was unbeaten again for the third time in six years, with a scoreless tie against West Catholic as their only blemish. The defense amassed 7 shutouts, including a 24-0 whitewashing of Frankford in the City Title game at Franklin Field. They had won 4 Catholic League Championships and 3 City Titles in 6 years.

  La Salle was certainly in their Golden Age of football success, and it now seemed like it would last forever. No one could have predicted at the time that the Catholic League title would elude them for almost three decades.

  1961 was a mirror image of 1959, though the loss to West Catholic came when the squad was 6-0-0. Again, Monsignor Bonner and La Salle met for the Catholic League Championship, this time in Temple Stadium. Bonner won 13-6, despite the heroics of QB Frank Daniel, and La Salle would have to look forward to 1962 to get back on top. But a loss to West Catholic, combined with an upset loss to Cardinal Dougherty, deprived the ‘62 Explorers of any post-season glory. Meanwhile, changes were afoot in the Catholic League.

  Due to the new Catholic high schools that cropped up in the last several years, the Catholic League split into two divisions for the 1963 season. La Salle and North Catholic joined newer schools such as Bishop Kenrick, Cardinal Dougherty, and Father Judge in the Northern Division, along with Bishop Egan, piloted by former La Salle star Dick Bedesem. The Explorers were a respectable 4-1-1 in their division in 1963, but the loss was to Bishop Egan, who went on to win the Catholic League championship in their first year in the league.

  La Salle had a great season in 1964, as they won their first four league games, with only games against Cardinal Dougherty and Father Judge standing in their way for a Northern Division crown. But the two new schools, now bursting at the seams, shut down the La Salle offense, and Father Judge won the season finale on a field goal, 3-0.

  Tex Flannery suffered through his first losing season in 1965, as the offense had trouble scoring points. The 1966 season started slow, with just one win and a tie to show in their first four games. But the Explorers buckled down to win their next 4 games convincingly, and would face powerful 40-points-a-game Bishop Egan, already crowned the Northern Division champion, in the season finale at McCarthy Stadium on Sunday, November 13, 1966.

  Dick Bedesem’s best team was heavily favored, but La Salle’s staunch defense, led by linebackers Chuck Zapiec and Kevin Meehan, kept the Eagle offense off the board. Meehan’s interception did not lead directly to a touchdown, but helped give the Explorers valuable field possession as the scoreless tie headed toward the back end of the fourth quarter. Then, with two minutes to play, Quarterback Gerry Murphy hit substitute end Mike Whitaker on a long slant, and Whitaker scored from 50 yards out. The defense would hold, and the 6-0 "upset of the decade" over the invincible Egan team was a monumental achievement for Tex Flannery and his team, as they finished 6-2-1.

  The late 60’s teams were competitive, but could not overcome the dominant Egan, Dougherty, and Judge squads of that era. La Salle was now far removed from their glory days of the late 50’s, but Tex Flannery was continuously searching for innovations that could help his team win, while still attending to the fundamentals. Joe Colistra was a star lineman on the 1963 team who became an assistant coach in 1968, and focused on the defensive side of the ball. The Explorers had great difficulty scoring points in 1970, but the next two seasons would bring renewed hope of a championship.

  The 1971 team had a great running back tandem in Bob Mizia and Bob Hanssens, and junior Jack Flannery, Tex’s son, played a good bit at quarterback, throwing to junior end John Mastronardo and senior end Bill Whelpley. The defense was led by senior lineman Bob Szostak, and the squad won their first four divisional games. But a loss to Bishop Egan, followed by a one-point loss to Bishop Kenrick, killed the playoff chances for the Explorers. In 1972, a loss to Bishop Kenrick and a season finale loss to Archbishop Wood were the only blemishes on a season with playoff hopes dashed again.

  Flannery’s 1973 team was equally competitive, winning some close games, but losing three games where the offense sputtered. The football team in 1974 crashed to earth, losing all 9 games, with many of the La Salle faithful either calling for Flannery’s head or losing interest completely in Explorer football.

  The 1975 squad rose from the ashes of 1974 to compete with pride. The 2-6-1 record belied the effort where four of the losses were by 7 points or less. The juniors from this team would lead a powerhouse in the 1976 season. Led by a stout line featuring Bernie Fitzgerald, Sandy Morris, and Jim Gillies, and an offense featuring all-purpose backs John Gannon and Mike Vesey and junior quarterback Dave Asman, the Explorers were contenders for the Northern Division title. Despite a loss to Father Judge early in the season, the Blue and Gold were 7-1 entering a matchup against Archbishop Wood at William Tennent High School. La Salle broke out to a 13-0 lead, but the Vikings crawled back and overtook the Explorers, 20-13, in a crushing last-minute loss. La Salle won their last two games, with the finale being the first Thanksgiving Day affair against St. Joseph’s Prep, but did not make the playoffs despite the 9-2 record.

  That was to be Tex Flannery’s last great team. 1977 ended with two rousing wins against Archbishop Wood and St. Joe’s, but six early losses dropped the Explorers to the nether regions of the Northern Division. Things were worse in 1978, though the 1979 contingent showed some competitiveness with four league wins, spearheaded by their indefatigable pocket-sized running back Eddie Meehan. After a 3-7-0 season in 1980, rumors would swirl about Tex Flannery’s retirement.

  1981 would result in a .500 record; George Winslow was an all-purpose end/punter/kicker for that team that again had trouble scoring points. While 1982 resulted in yet another losing record, the 1983 team provided one last gasp of competitiveness for Flannery, winning four one-point games and finishing 6-4-0. The 1984 team would prove to be his last. After the 1-6-2 season, despite the heroics of all-purpose star Tom Gizzi, Flannery would retire after 29 years as La Salle’s head coach, amassing a record of 149 wins, 115 losses, and 12 ties. To the end, Flannery stressed fundamentals while still looking for innovative ways to improve his team, but it was time for another man to become La Salle’s head coach.

  Joe Colistra had been an outstanding assistant for 17 years, and the search committee selected him as the next head coach, and would serve for 21 years; "Joco" and "Tex" accounted for a half-century of head coaching at La Salle. Colistra brought in a lot of his own ideas, including weight training, and assembled a coaching staff to lead La Salle football into its next era. But the early adventures were quite difficult, as it took a while for Colistra’s methods to gain traction, much like his predecessors Jim Bonder and Jim Gallagher. His teams would continue to rely on a solid defense, but at first lacked the strength, size, and speed to compete in the Northern Division.

  His first three seasons were struggles, but 1987 brought some hope in the form of the Golden Boy, junior quarterback Jack Stanczak, a multi-sport Frank Merriwell type who would do anything to beat you. The 1987 season finale saw the Explorers blank St. Joseph’s Prep, 22-0, on Thanksgiving Day, leaving a calling card for the Catholic League that they were about to make waves.

  Colistra brought in Joe McNichol, former La Salle back and former head coach at Archbishop Carroll, where he won two PCL championships in the 70’s, as his offensive coordinator. Stanczak, now a senior, would become the undisputed team leader for the 1988 team, and several other seniors stepped up to become stars, including OE/DE Marc Borrelli, FB Carl Mattia, and DB Dave Kratz, and a feisty junior class made great contributions as well.

  The 1988 team would have a magical run through the season, as Stanczak pulled out several miraculous come-from-behind victories. After defeating Bishop Egan to go 9-0-0, the Explorers would face Egan in a re-match the following week in the first La Salle playoff game since 1961. But the Eagles, under former La Salle player Chuck Knowles as head coach, shocked the upstart Explorers, 9-0, bursting the bubble on a remarkable season. The squad regrouped to win the Turkey Day game against St. Joe’s, 22-21, on a two-point conversion from Stanczak to junior TE Dave Demara.

  Despite the playoff loss, there was a sense that La Salle football was back. The squad was bigger, stronger, deeper, and faster, and the interest level had picked up significantly. Everyone in the program was avidly looking forward to the 1989 season.

  Replacing the quarterback Stanczak would be a chore. Colistra knew that the offense would not be as explosive, so he turned to shoring up his vaunted defense. Senior Chris Massella won the quarterback job, and executed his responsibilities efficiently, though without the flair of Stanczak. The juniors of 1988 were seniors of quality and quantity in 1989. Linemen such as OT Ryan Marsh, DE Jim Convey, and Ken St. Clair were joined by a solid group of juniors to create a dominant line on both sides of the ball. Fullback Martin Feeny also excelled at linebacker, and Jason Pennington was a rugged running back. Massella benefited from a great corps of receivers, including WR Jerry Rock and TE Dave Demara. Safety Brian Daly wreaked havoc on defense, and was a dangerous return man.

  But hopes of a start similar to 1988 were waylaid with early losses to Ryan and McDevitt. The ship would have to be righted in a hurry in order to make the playoffs, and the defense rose to the occasion. After giving up 35 points to the Royal Lancers of Bishop McDevitt, the La Salle defense would not give up more than 7 points in any remaining game, running the table for the remainder of the regular season, and they won their first playoff game since 1960 in a quarterfinal game against Judge. A rematch against McDevitt in the semifinals at Northeast High School had the teams tied late in the game, when Brian Daly collected a punt in his own end. He first dropped the ball, crashed into his own blocker, reversed his field, and weaved his way through would-be tacklers and into the end zone to give La Salle a 14-7 lead that they would not surrender. For the first time since 1961, the La Salle Explorers would be playing for the Catholic League championship.

  They would play at Villanova Stadium against their oldest rival, the Cahillites of Roman Catholic. Both defenses were stifling, and La Salle’s first score was when linebacker Martin Feeny caused the Roman quarterback to fumble deep in his own end, and defensive end Jim Convey fell on the ball in the end zone for a touchdown. Brian Daly returned the second half kickoff for the second touchdown, and La Salle’s defense shut down Roman for their fifth PCL Championship, 13-0.

  Could a La Salle dynasty be in the works? Not quite, because Archbishop Ryan would have a dynasty of their own, winning the next four PCL Championships. La Salle had solid teams in the early 90’s, featuring star players such as linemen Dave Gathman, and Keith and Kevin Conlin, running backs Max Guevara and Bill Tatar, and all-purpose back Sean McDermott, but they could not overcome either Archbishop Ryan or Father Judge in playoff games. From 1992 through the first part of 1994, La Salle struggled with their offense, as the still stout defense kept them in many games. A lackluster 7-4-0 record in 1994 disguised the fact that a new offensive scheme would make its presence felt soon.

  In 1995, the wunderkind had arrived as a sophomore signal-caller. Brett Gordon would lead the La Salle offense on the field, guided by his quarterback coach, dad Drew Gordon, former McDevitt quarterback and La Salle nemesis. Featuring a spread offense, with a quicker tempo that got the ball into the hands of many skilled players, the offense started to jell by mid-season, as did the staunch defense. The spirit of the 1995 team was one of relentless pursuit of the championship, featuring senior performers such as defensive back John Mallach, linebacker Pat Coyle, and running backs Brian Curci and Keith Lachawiec, and supplemented by a large group of talented juniors. The Explorers lost their first two games, both non-league, but then ran the table, storming through the playoffs to face arch-rival Archbishop Ryan in the championship game. Second half touchdowns were scored by junior running backs Kyle Mallach and Mike Durso, and the Explorers held off the Raiders, 14-7, to win their first PCL Championship since 1989.

  1996 was a year of perfection, as La Salle went 14-0-0, defeating Father Judge for their second straight Catholic League championship. Brett Gordon, now a junior, led the dynamic offense, and his excellent receiving corps, led by WR’s Mike Mattia, Jack Hammond, and Jeff Pietrak, stormed through their league opponents in the air, but RB Mike Durso’s hard running was the featured attraction of the championship game against Judge. There seemed to be no stopping the Gordon Express as he entered his senior year in the 1997 season. The offense was a point-a-minute marvel, winning games by scores like 59-0, 61-13, and 45-17. But a muddy, rainy day against Archbishop Ryan brought an end to a 32-game winning streak, 14-13, and a shocking playoff loss to Father Judge along with a Turkey Day loss to St. Joseph’s Prep brought the curtain down on the record-setting era of Brett Gordon.

  1998 would have to be a rebuilding year, both with the team and the coaching staff, and there were no expectations that the team would contend for a championship. Except that someone forgot to tell the players. The gritty Explorers, featuring a marauding, gang-tackling, turnover-causing defense, surprised everyone but themselves in winning a third PCL Championship in 4 years, behind senior QB/RB Chris Pennington, supported by sophomore QB Gabe Marabella. They avenged a regular-season overtime loss to Archbishop Ryan to win the last "complete" PCL championship, 17-3, as divisional play in 1999 would now be based on school size.

  Red Division play for the larger schools in 1999 had La Salle in a championship game again, but Roman Catholic defeated the Explorers, 21-7, in what turned out to be Joe Colistra’s last title game. The new century found La Salle a contending team, but St. Joseph’s Prep and Cardinal O’Hara ruled the early 2000’s. In both 2000 and 2001, La Salle used détente, glasnost, and perestroika in hosting (and defeating) the Moscow Patriots in a pair of exhibition games, unique events in the players’ lives.

  Some of the great players in the early 2000’s included quarterback Marabella, linebacker Ed Sabia, and all-purpose back Ryan Parfitt. But La Salle’s divisional dreams would be stymied by St. Joseph’s Prep, who reeled off 13 consecutive victories against the Explorers between 1999 and 2005.

  Joe Colistra entered his 21st season as head coach in 2005, and early on turned to a smallish sophomore quarterback, John Harrison, to lead the offense in what proved to be Colistra’s last year. The offense blossomed, and the Explorers reeled off 5 straight wins to start the season, but were still stymied by losses to O’Hara and Prep. The 15-0 victory against Monsignor Bonner allowed Colistra to pass Tex Flannery for all-time wins at La Salle.

  On Thanksgiving Day in 2005, Colistra would coach his last game, though maybe no one knew it at the time. His team gave him a great sendoff, upsetting St. Joseph’s Prep in overtime, 14-13, breaking the long losing streak, and ushering in a new era of La Salle football dominance.

  Drew Gordon took over as head coach in 2006, and the Explorers surged to a 6-0 record before losing their last three regular season games. But then, a 39-38 overtime win in the quarterfinals against Cardinal O’Hara turned their fortunes around, and after handling Roman in the semis, the Explorers would be looking down the gunbarrels of the vaunted Hawks of St. Joseph’s Prep, who defeated La Salle, 42-14, in the regular season.

  The PCL Championship game between the two ancient rivals would replace the traditional Thanksgiving Day game for 2006, and maybe forever. La Salle’s offense sputtered, and the Prep moved the ball up and down the field. But there was magic in the air that night at Northeast High School, as La Salle stopped St. Joseph’s on four separate drives at their one-yard line. Late in the first quarter, Hawk QB Chris Whitney was hit at La Salle’s 1-yard line by Jack Forster and Rob Saraceni, forcing a fumble, and Greg Frantz scooped it up and raced 96 yards for a touchdown. A Harrison to Joe Migliarese pass led to another score, but the Hawks scored themselves, and threatened throughout the 4th quarter. Finally, a fourth down sack in La Salle territory allowed La Salle to run out the clock and win the Red Division PCL Championship, 14-7, in a most improbable way.

  The following year, 2007, was an injury-riddled season, and the Explorers limped home with a losing record. But, beneath the surface of that team, a stellar group of sophomores, including QB Drew Loughery and RB/WR Sam Feleccia, were getting valuable playing time. 2008 saw La Salle rise to the top again in the PCL, now in the Quad A division under the umbrella of the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association (PIAA), as the Catholic League entered the State playoffs for the first time. The Blue and Gold ended the 55-game regular-season winning streak of St. Joseph’s Prep, signifying a changing of the guard in the "big boy" division of the PCL. With junior QB Loughery slinging passes to fellow juniors Feleccia, Connor Hoffman, Steve Jones, and with the running tandem of senior Mike Donohoe and sophomore Jamal Abdur-Rahman, La Salle won close playoff games against the Prep and Father Judge to win the PCL and to play a District XII championship game, a rebirth of the City Title game, against George Washington High School. On a cold, windy day at Northeast High School, the Eagles handed La Salle a surprise loss, 23-14, and any aspirations to advance well into the State playoffs would have to wait for another year.

  Another year was 2009, where a core group of talented and experienced seniors, some solid juniors, and some feisty sophs combined to make history. The Explorers lost just once, in a regular season game against St. Joseph’s Prep. Those seniors were on a mission to get back to that "City Title" game, and to avenge the Washington defeat of a year ago. They won an exhiliarating PCL Championship game against the Prep, as Ryan Geiger’s 22-yard sack of Prep QB Skyler Mornhinweg in the 4th quarter helped to nail down the victory, 35-28. And they won that "vengeance" game against George Washington, 31-20, copping their first City Title since 1960. They would now be entering uncharted territory.

  They would travel to Frank Banko Stadium in Bethlehem to take on the Red Rovers of Easton High School in a State quarterfinal game. Spotting Easton a 14-0 lead as the snow increased, La Salle did not lose their poise, as QB Drew Loughery led the team to two TD’s to create a halftime tie. Kicker Mike Bennett’s 35-yard field goal in the third quarter proved to be the difference, making for a happy, slushy ride back home.

  The Ridley Green Raiders had pummeled North Penn the week before, and planned to do the same to La Salle in the State semifinal game at Northeast High School. Though Ridley tied the game at 7-7 right before half, La Salle had an edge in the play that expanded in the second half, as the defense, led by linemen Steve Sinnott and Steve Szostak, forced multiple fumbles on the way to a 35-7 victory. Hershey’s kisses and Hershey bars rained down on the team prior to the Alma Mater, as La Salle was heading west to play in the State Championship game against State College on December 19, 2009.

  The weather forecast for that Saturday was ominous, predicting blizzard-like conditions throughout most of Pennsylvania. The 5 PM game time was moved up to 2 PM to avoid the brunt of the storm, but the storm started early, and the field was blanketed in white by game time. Despite the treacherous conditions, La Salle came out firing, as Loughery found several of his reliable targets. Midway through the first quarter, kicker Mike Bennett skidded a 37-yard field goal off the top of the crossbar for a 3-0 La Salle lead, and the Explorers were never headed. Soph RB Tim Wade scored one TD, and junior RB Jamal Abdur-Rahman another for a 17-0 halftime lead, but Abdur-Rahman was hurt, and La Salle would have to make adjustments.

  The snow game in Easton allowed for usage of a Wildcat formation, featuring WR Sam Feleccia, a former running back. At Hersheypark Stadium, Feleccia alternated between the Wildcat position and running back in the second half, and took off for a 55-yard touchdown to give the Explorers an insurmountable 24-0 lead. La Salle won the first ever State Championship by a PCL school, defeating State College, 24-7, as they romped around in the snow after the game. Loughery and Feleccia, teammates as far back as CYO, finished their storied careers at La Salle as State champions.

  Like many post-championship seasons, 2010 was supposed to be a rebuilding year, but many of their players received great experience going up against the State champions every day in practice a year ago, and they started the season off with a come-from-behind 27-14 win at North Penn. After losing a tight game to Bergen Catholic (NJ) 22-21, the Explorers blitzed through their schedule, scoring over 40 points four times under junior quarterback Matt Magarity, who had targets like junior Colin Buckley, soph Sean Coleman, and senior Kevin Forster. The running tandem of senior Jamal Abdur-Rahman and junior Tim Wade were sensational, and the offense stormed through Father Judge, Roman Catholic, and Northeast High to a second straight City Title.

  A rematch with Easton was in the offing, but at Northeast High School, and without any snow. This time, coordinator John Steinmetz’s defense took center stage, and the 19-7 win against the Red

  Rovers set up a State Semifinal game against the Knights of North Penn, seeking to avenge their opening day loss to the Explorers. The game would become an instant classic.

  The two heavyweights slugged it out, marching up and down the field. Abdur-Rahman tallied three TD’s, and a Magarity to Coleman pass put the Explorers up by three with three minutes to go. The Knights started to march, reaching midfield, when a pass was deflected by DE Joe Naji, and DT Ryan Geiger picked it out of the air like a Kodiak bear grabbing a salmon. The Explorers won, 38-35, and would go to Hershey for a second straight year. But this time, North Allegheny was the better team, defeating the Blue and Gold, 21-0.

  Magarity and his receiving corps returned in 2011 to start another march toward Chocolatetown. RB Tim Wade was a one-man wrecking crew in the backfield, and the strong, athletic offensive line opened up holes all year long. The Explorers won their fourth consecutive Quad A PCL Championship by stifling Roman, 16-6, and won their third consecutive City Title by drubbing George Washington, 41-7. They headed up to Frank Banko Field in Bethlehem again, scene of the snow game two years ago. This time, they faced a high-flying offense in the Blue Eagles of Nazareth. A slugfest ensued, reminiscent of the North Penn semifinal game a year ago.

  Then, a watershed moment: leading by 35-33, with less than 5 minutes to play, the Explorers faced a fourth-and-one at their own 43. Coach Drew Gordon went for it, and Tim Wade, behind great trap blocking, burst free up the middle for a 57-yard touchdown. Freshman safety Jimmy Herron’s lunging interception sealed the game, and the team would take on North Penn in a State semifinal game. But this time, the Knights had the upper hand, defeating the Explorers, 21-14.

  2012 was a similar year to 2011, with a different cast of characters. The Magarity to Buckley connection was replaced by Chris Kane to Sean Coleman. The offensive line was massive, and the balanced attack also featured RB/LB Mike Eife and WR/S Jimmy Herron, who also was used extensively out of a Wildcat formation. This team made it 5 straight Catholic League championships in dramatic style, winning over St. Joseph’s Prep in overtime by the margin of K Ryan Winslow’s extra point, 28-27, after Kane and Coleman had connected for their 4th TD pass of the game. The 4th straight City Title was collected after a 37-20 victory over Frankford.

  They hosted Parkland High at Northeast for a State Quarterfinal game, and the defense ran roughshod over the Parkland quarterback, sacking him 12 times in a 28-7 mauling. The high-powered Coatesville Red Raiders would stop the La Salle quest for Hershey, 42-35, as La Salle, led by limping QB Chris Kane, tried to come back after losing some key players to injuries early in the game.

  The 99th season of La Salle football in 2013 would feature yet another new cast of key players, including juniors like QB Kyle Shurmur, WR/S Jimmy Herron, and RB Jordan Meachum, and would be spearheaded by senior LB Zaire Franklin. The young team would have some growing pains, and would lose in the PCL Championship game to a resurgent St. Joseph’s Prep squad, 30-20, but would finish the season with a respectable 8-3-0 record, with all losses coming to teams that made it to Hershey.

  The 2014 season, the 100th in La Salle football history, will be a season of great promise, and, if history continues to repeat itself, one of great plays, great players, and great memories, adding to the rich heritage that is the Explorer football program at La Salle College High School.