Mighty strong finish for La Salle over Prep

By TED SILARY

silaryt@phillynews.com

  IT PROBABLY won't make an appearance on the list of world's greatest battle cries.

  Start strong. Finish stronger.

  See? Nothing spectacular. But it made perfect sense for a La Salle High football team that now is covered in glory, and if it's not remembered years from now or copied by other teams hoping for postseason miracles, its significance to these guys will never be minimized and, really, isn't that all that matters?

  The way linebacker JB Campanella figured, the Explorers indeed needed to grab onto something after finishing the Catholic Red regular season with three consecutive losses.

  Start strong. Finish stronger.

  "We repeated that quote again and again in practice. Every single day," Campanella said. "Through each round of the playoffs."

  Actually, Campanella did more than say those words last night. He yelled 'em.

  High volume was necessary because, all around him, players and coaches and fans were making incredible amounts of noise and students, one after the other after the other, were still hopping over the fence on the visiting side at Northeast's Charlie Martin Memorial Stadium to dash onto the field to be part of the postgame party.

  La Salle 14, St. Joseph's Prep 7.

  Yes, whether you want to call it merely surprising or downright I-don't-believe-it shocking, that was the final last night in the championship game.

  Campanella involved himself in 13 tackles and, with 27.5 seconds remaining, on a fourth-down play beginning at La Salle's 30, he combined with down lineman John McBurnie to drop quarterback Chris Whitney for a 5-yard loss. A kneeldown ended it.

  "We're probably one of the smallest teams in the league, but that doesn't matter," Campanella continued. "We have the biggest heart. We keep fighting. We don't give up."

  Nearby, his teammates were hamming it up for cameramen and taking turns getting the feel of the championship plaque and receiving hugs and handshakes and kisses. And first-year coach Drew Gordon was telling reporters, "It shows what you can do when you believe."

  Meanwhile, the stunned Hawks, winners of 48 consecutive division games going back to 1999 but now an upset victim three times in finals of the last seven seasons (also 2000 and '04 to Cardinal O'Hara), were trotting/walking off the field to face an endless stream of "how'd-that-happen?" questions. Both from others and themselves.

  La Salle's Jack Forster, a receiver, safety and punter bound for Penn State to play lacrosse, was saying how turnovers had made the difference, especially in comparison with the Hawks' 42-14 frolic in the regular season, the one that commenced the three-game losing streak.

  "Going into that one," he said, "we were forcing four turnovers a game. We got none. And then, what did we get tonight? Four?"

  Exactly. None was bigger than the second.

  For the second time in the first quarter, Whitney lost a fumble within whiskers of the goal line. As Forster tried to down him with one arm and pry loose the ball with the other, Rob Saraceni came barreling in and delivered a pop that reverberated throughout the almost-packed stadium. (Some empty seats on Prep's side. Overflow on La Salle's.)

  The ball flew out. Greg Frantz made a scoop at the 4 and dashed 96 yards for a touchdown. With 1:54 left in the first quarter, La Salle was on top, 7-0.

  "I knew he'd score," Forster said. "Even though he's kind of big [6-2, 210], he's one of our faster guys."

  Said Frantz: "We practice picking up fumbles every day. It was just bend down, pick it up and try to run all the way. I was praying no one would catch me. I'm not our fastest, but I got lucky tonight."

  In practice, Frantz acknowledged, the post-pickup runs are rather short.

  "Only about 10 yards," he said, smiling. "That's why I was a little winded."

  La Salle's other score came early in the second quarter as junior quarterback John Harrison (17-for-29, 175 yards) marched his squad 78 yards in eight plays, all passes. Chris Ashley and Forster collected gains of 26 and 21 yards on Nos. 2 and 3, respectively, and the TD went to 6-5 Joe Migliarese on an 18-yard fade to the left corner over a smaller single defender.

  Fourteen-nothing over a team averaging 32 points per game. Could this be believed? The team whose fans verbally taunted Forster during warmups and even chanted again and again before the kickoff, "It's all over! It's all over!"

  "Yeah, I heard them," Forster said. "No big deal. You expect that stuff."

  La Salle's defense, coordinated by John Steinmetz, made one major adjustment from the first Prep meeting to this one. Each guy was under orders to play his position, especially against rushes, and not give lightning-quick tailback Jamir Livingston the opportunity for cutbacks.

  Livingston finished with 145 yards on 30 carries and ran 18 yards for an easy touchdown with 2:25 left in the third quarter. But that was his longest run.

  "We knew we could control them," said Campanella, whose tackle number was even exceeded by his fellow inside linebacker, Andrew Wood (15). "I looked around and had faith in every single guy who was out here with me. I know they had that faith in me, too. That's what it takes."

  La Salle's interceptions went to Mike Donohoe, at the goal line on the final play of the half, and to Forster 1 yard deep in the end zone with 3:15 left in the game.

  Two plays later, Forster had the wind knocked out of him while being tackled and had to leave the field for a play. On fourth down, there he was again, uncorking a 45-yard punt to the Prep's 43.

  Whitney hit Tim Edger for gains of 14 and 12 gains and Whitney managed 1 on a left-side scramble before stepping out of bounds. The next two plays resulted in incompletions and brought up fourth down.

  Scramble... look... sack!

  "This is the best night of my life," Forster said.

  Care to wager that sentiment was not his exclusively?