Non-Public dances to rout over Public in 35th annual
Daily News-Eagles City All-Star Football Game
Mark Giubilato has never been busier.
Yesterday morning he trekked to Lebanon Valley College to practice for next month's East-West all-star game for Pennsylvania seniors. And today you can find him where he will be next fall, Milford Academy, in New Berlin, N.Y. There he'll participate in no fewer than three College Day practices while continuing his pursuit of a big-time college scholarship.
This past Saturday night? He's glad you asked. Along with his teammates, the 6-3, 230-pound quarterback from St. Joseph's Prep experienced all kinds of Giubilation.
The 35th annual Daily News-Eagles City All-Star Football Game, played in front of a large crowd at Northeast High, was over almost before it started. Giubilato helped see to that.
As Non-Public frolicked past Public, 40-0, raising its series edge to 19-15-1, Giubilato smashed the game record for passing yards per attempt (13.5) and tied the mark for yards by going 8-for-13 for 175, good for two scores. Andre Sloan-El (Roman Catholic, in '04) had also thrown for 175 yards.
Primary among Giubilato's playmates was Father Judge wideout Tom Ryan, who's bound for Towson.
Know where he was at halftime? Headed for his prom.
"He told me before the game, 'If we're up by 35 at half, I'm out,' " Giubilato said.
Close enough. The score was 33-0.
Ryan made an all-time snag on the first play of the second quarter, outleaping two defenders and hauling in the ball with his off (left) hand for a 42-yard gain. Rob Hollomon (West Catholic) capped that drive three plays later with a 6-yard run to make it 21-0.
Very next possession. Another downfield launch, this time by Penn State-bound Curtis Drake (West Catholic). Two defenders again in area. Ryan rises. Ball loves the feel of his hands. Forty-four-yard gain. Drake runs for a 9-yard TD four plays later.
Final N-P possession of the half. Giubilato is again under center. Tosses a left-corner fade. Ryan makes the catch and is darn near wearing his tux by the time he flips the ball to the ref.
When asked to describe Ryan's performance, Giubilato began by blurting, "Oh, my God!"
He continued: "In our whole 4 weeks of practice, out of all those passes I threw him, he dropped one. One. On that [42-yarder], I just knew he was going to get the ball. He always says, 'Just put it up there for me. Nobody's going to beat me to the ball. I'm going to get it.' I got knocked down, so I didn't get to see it. Just heard cheering."
Of the fade play, he said, "I knew that was going to be a touchdown in the huddle. If he's one-on-one, forget it. With his hands and the way he jumps? Touchdown."
Giubilato's story is quite compelling.
Last June, thanks to strong camp/combine showings, and at a time when his career Prep passing totals stood at 0-for-3, no yards, he was offered, and accepted, a scholarship from Temple.
As he acknowledged, his early senior-season outings were spotty. He felt much more effective as the season concluded, but decided he wanted to experience another scholastic campaign before entering college. He'd been dreaming of playing bright-lights college ball pretty much since toddlerhood. He nixed his Temple commitment in February.
Giubilato recently visited Iowa. Boston College is upcoming. Twenty D-I schools were expected to watch him throw today at Milford.
N-P coach Brian Fluck (West Catholic) began the game with a twist, using Giubilato at QB and Drake at the position he's being projected to play at Penn State, wideout. The second play was a hitch pass. Oops. Drake could not hang on.
Later he dropped another and one was thrown slightly behind him. At QB, Drake passed 4-for-6 for 83 yards and rushed three times for 21 and the TD.
The game's first score came on Giubilato's 33-yard pass to Eric Young (West Catholic). Burrs posted all but one of the TDs, in fact, thanks to, in order, runs by Raymond Maples (18 yards), Hollomon, Drake and Juan Rozier (eight).
The N-P's primary line featured center John Lavelle (Judge), guards Shawn Davis (SJ Prep) and John Matthews (Roman), tackles Mark Arcidiacono (SJ Prep, Penn State) and Blake Graham (North Catholic) and tight end Ryan Langdon (Judge).
Davis is the nephew of the Pub's head coach, Damond "Smash" Warren (John Bartram).
The final 22 minutes, 34 seconds of the 60-minute game were played with a running clock. The Judge guys were boogeyin' down by then.
"They were going to try to stay for three quarters," Fluck said. "The way the first half went, they didn't have to."
N-P faced a strong, east-to-west wind at the outset. Worked out handsomely. With no specialists on the squad, Fluck had open tryouts for kicker and kickoff man. Drake, using a straight-on style, hit three of four PAT.
Giubilato kicked off and his first one, after Young's TD, went uncaught at about the 20. The ball bounced backward and was recovered by N-P's Terence Johns (Cardinal Dougherty).
Later, scores were set up by an interception by Marty Bernard (Roman Catholic) and a fumble recovery by Mike Pereira (SJ Prep). Kasseim Everett (Roman) added a leaping pick just before the end of the third quarter.
The Pub did not post a gain for more than 7 yards until late in the first half - 17-yard pass from Stacey Hill (Communications Tech) to Saledeem Major (Imhotep Charter) - and wound up with just 120 yards. The N-P stormed to 455.
"Curtis is awesome, obviously. An unbelievable athlete," Giubilato said. "I was happy that we got to split the time. It was a lot of fun.
"Those Pub guys hit you hard. And they let you know about it, too. They really put some hits on me. But I got enough time and just let the receivers go make their plays."
Next fall, he will be doing likewise in prep school.
"My dad [Mark] is all for this," he said. "He's willing to make the [financial] sacrifice because he knows big-time college football is my dream." *