Crispy's Corner Pete Crispino, a junior at St.
Joseph's Prep, and a member of the school's lacrosse squad, has joined our
reporting squad. We welcome him and we know you wish him all the
best as well. |
 |
Crispy's Corner Pete Crispino, a junior at St.
Joseph's Prep, and a member of the school's lacrosse squad, has joined our
reporting squad. We welcome him and we know you wish him all the
best as well. |
|
NOV. 14
CL RED SEMIFINAL
SJ Prep 41, La Salle 14
Late
in the third quarter, the LaSalle band boldly performed “Lose Yourself”
by Eminem…well, the Explorers did just that. This
game certainly wasn’t as close as we all hoped it would be, but at least LaSalle will
get a chance to redeem themselves on Thanksgiving…oh wait.
A
fairly common tendency of the Prep this year has been to give up a quick touchdown to the
opposing team. This game was no different, as
in the Ryan and Roman games, LaSalle put up a quick 6 before most of the fans were in
their seats. Another tendency of the Prep has
been to answer that touchdown with a 50+ yard run by Danny Jones. This too was no different. Before you could ask
the person next to you if they thought LaSalle could win, Jones was sprinting 72 yards
downfield and simultaneously silencing the rowdy Explorer’s fans. Just like that- 7-7, less than 3 minutes into the
game.
After
LaSalle’s perfect first drive, Prep coach Gil Brooks began blitzing
and sending more guys over to the other side than the Fab Five from Queer Eye for the
Straight Guy. Steve Quinn
led the charge, recording 2.5 sacks, including one colossal hit to force LaSalle QB Mike
Lynch out of bounds for a loss. For
being under so much pressure from the pass rush, Lynch did very well, throwing for 176
yards and accounting for both of the Explorers’ scores. WRs Chris Garzone and John
Trainer played with heart, together accounting for all but 5 of Lynch’s
passing yards. The Explorers running game
must have gotten left behind in Wyndmoor because it certainly wasn’t at the game. They totaled a meager 9 yards on 15 carries.
The
Prep had no trouble moving the ball on offense. Jones
sprinted for 179 yards in the first half and finished with 251 total rushing yards. Sophomore RB John Shaw also
chipped in with 109 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Together
the two standouts averaged just under 10.9 yards per carry.
That’s nearly 2 more yards than LaSalle ran for all night. The
credit for this achievement has to be given to the Prep offensive line, which was led by
game-ball recipient Brendan Gilroy.
The line has many times been overlooked but can’t be forgotten for
their tremendous job of opening gaping holes through which the backs have continuously
punished opponents all season.
The
top play of the night, possibly the season, goes to Prep DB/WR Greg Ambrogi who
made an adroit over-the-shoulder interception then proceeded to run over, around and
through just about every player on the field before reaching the end zone. This was his 12th pick of the season and second
returned for a touchdown. Ambrogi now has
more receptions on defense than offense and has caught more touchdown passes from opposing
quarterbacks than from Prep QB Mark Noonan.
Ok,
so I was a little off in my pick of Roman over O’Hara but I’ll get it right this
week as the Lions look to upset the Prep in the Championship as they did in 2000. Prep had not lost a game all season and didn’t
have too much trouble with O’Hara the first time they met, but in the championship
game, now-Heisman Trophy candidate Kevin Jones dominated- scoring 4 TDs
to cap off his record setting season. Jones
finished the season with 1268 rushing yards and 18 TDs. This year, O’Hara’s
franchise player Anthony Heygood has 1242 yards and 15
TDs. Could history repeat itself? It could, but it’s doubtful for one main
reason- Anthony Heygood isn’t Kevin Jones. Don’t get me wrong, Heygood is an
excellent running back, maybe the best in the city, but Jones was the best running back in
the state. I’d love to see O’Hara
seriously scare the Prep, but it just isn’t going to happen.
Prep takes the crown- 35-14
NOV. 6
CL PLAYOFF PREVIEW
The
highly anticipated Catholic League Red Playoffs are here.
And along with them is the even more highly anticipated playoff preview via
yours truly. The number one question heading
into the post season is “can any team upset the Prep?” In a word…no. The Prep’s squad is just too skilled and
well-coached to come out flat in a playoff game. However, if any team is capable of
pulling such a huge upset it is Roman. During
the regular season, Roman was able to score against a tough Prep defense during a 36-20
loss that was closer than the score reflects. If any team is going to beat the Prep, it
will be through their passing game. In that
regular season meeting between Roman and The Prep, Roman QB Andre Sloan-El
threw 31 passes, 9 more attempts than any other team has thrown against St. Joe’s all
season. However, even passing will not come
easily against a secondary led by Greg Ambrogi and his
league leading 11 interceptions.
The
only other team with a relatively good chance of beating the Prep is O’Hara. Senior
RB Anthony Heygood will lead the charge against in an excellent
individual match up between he and the Prep’s speedy linebackers. St. Joe’s is hoping for a repeat of last year
when Heygood ran 158 yards in their regular season meeting but was held to just 52 total
yards in the semifinal playoff game.
Despite
the Prep’s dictatorial rule over the Catholic league, the playoffs should still
feature some great match ups. Friday
night’s game- Roman vs. Judge should be a rout in favor of the Cahillites, but
Saturday’s contest between Ryan and LaSalle should be a great one. In their regular season meeting, LaSalle QB Mike
Lynch threw for 206 yards and 2 touchdowns in a narrow 18-14 victory for the
Explorers. Joe Zeglinski, who
leads his team in rushing yards, points and interceptions, spearheads Ryan’s squad. LaSalle wins, they will face longtime rival St.
Joe’s in what promises to be a hard fought game.
My
picks for the playoffs go a little something like this:
Roman coasts by Judge- 35-7
La Salle tops Ryan 20-13
Roman upsets O’Hara 21-17
Prep defeats La Salle 42-7
Prep triumphs over Roman 37-14
OCT. 19
CATHOLIC RED
SJ Prep 28, O'Hara 10
For
the second straight week, St. Joe’s Prep took on an undefeated league rival. O’Hara, spearheaded by standout RB Anthony
Heygood, entered the game coming off a 62-6 annihilation of Archbishop Ryan. It looked as if the Lions were sending a message
to the Prep in the rout (that they could run up the score against a mediocre football
team?) The Hawks, however, were coming off their toughest league game of the season to
date, a 36-20 shootout with Roman.
The
Prep coasted down the field on their first drive of the game, putting a quick six on the
board. Later in the first half, Heygood
sprinted 52 yards on a counter play, only to be caught a few strides short of the end zone
by speedy d backs, Greg Ambrogi and Dan Jones. The Prep D then forced the Lions to kick a field
goal following a huge goal line stand. Later
in the half, the St. Joe’s defense came up big again, stoning Heygood on
third-and-3 then fourth-and-1. Soon, Prep QB Mark Noonan gave the Hawks
some breathing room, throwing a 45-yard strike to Steve Quinn for a
touchdown, then running the ball in on a two-point conversion that sent the game into the
half- 14-3.
Early
in the third quarter, Heygood dashed 64 yards, once again being caught by Dan Jones 3
yards shy of the goal line; however, this time the Lions were able to take it in for 6,
giving the Prep an uncomfortable 14-10 lead. Soon,
though, Prep coach Gil Brooks decided to go for it on fourth-and-6 near
midfield. The gutsy move paid off big for the
Hawks as TE Matt Parkhurst caught a quick slant then ran over an O’
Hara defenseman for a huge 28 yard gain. It was this play that turned out to be the
turning point in the game, prompting a speedy 14-0 run for the Prep -- first, Brian
Tracz ran for his seventh score of the season, then O’Hara then went three
and out on their ensuing possession and punted to Steve Quinn who returned the ball to
within a few feet of the previous line of scrimmage.
Then Jones raced 37 yards for a game-breaking touchdown. Prep 28- O’Hara 10.
The
story in the game was the Prep D who came up big on numerous third and fourth down plays
and did a pretty good job of containing Heygood, other than his two 50+ yard runs, they
held him to 56 yards on 16 carries. They
stayed strong throughout the game, getting big time plays from Parkhurst, Tracz, Brandon
Friday and sophomore Matt Leddy.
The secondary also played skillfully, holding the Lions to just 2
completions for positive yardage while Ambrogi made his sixth interception in as many
games on a spectacular diving catch in the first half.
O’Hara’s
offense consisted of almost all running plays, primarily by Heygood. These predictable plays worked on only a few downs
all game. The last of their successful runs came early in the second half; after that, the
Lions were unable to get their offense going again. The
main reason is most likely because of the play calling. On too many occasions, the Lions
handed the ball to Heygood, who lined up as a slot back, on a speed sweep. The play was
designed to fool the defense, which it was successful in doing a few times, but when they
continued to pull the same move so often, the defense wasn’t caught off guard; but
rather, sniffed it out early and forced a meager gain.
Heygood is a very skillful back, however, he isn’t good enough to run
around good defenses when they know what play is coming.
Because of Heygood’s raw talent, O’Hara has been able to
comfortably defeat its mediocre opponents, however, when playoffs arrive, the Lions will
hopefully have changed some of its offensive scheme or else defenses, which will have
undoubtedly studied the Lions’ game tape, should have little trouble containing
Heygood.
With a win next week, St. Joe’s will tie the city record of 32 consecutive
wins. Standing in the way of that milestone is Gilman, a Baltimore-area prep school. Gilman, coming off an undefeated 2002 season that
landed them at #14 in the nation, is in the midst of a disappointing 3-3 season. Despite their record, Gilman could be Prep’s
toughest opponent to date and promises to be an exciting defensive match up. My
prediction: 17-10 Prep.
OCT. 10
CATHOLIC RED
SJ Prep 36, Roman 20
In all of
the games I’ve seen The Prep play over the past three years this one was the best. Not only was it close until deep into the fourth
quarter, but also, it had everything you’d expect from a great game- big time players
on both teams, great defenses, even better offenses and thousands of fans to witness it. The Cahillites
came closer than any league opponent this season to upsetting the dominant St. Joe’s
Prep Hawks.
QB
Andre Sloan-El led the charge for Roman, passing for 214 yards and 2 TDs
including the first score of the game- a jump ball to biggie-sized WR Charron
Fisher in the end zone. Fisher
would later add another score by returning an interception for a touchdown. Sloan-El really impressed me. Although it seemed like the Prep’s D-line got
to him every play, he was exceptionally poised and resilient. He took a pounding but didn’t give up even
when his team trailed by three scores in the fourth quarter.
The
Prep D was sensational after the first drive of the game- allowing only 7 more points.
Corners Solomon Patterson, Greg Ambrogi
and Dan Jones held Fisher to just 2 more catches- a remarkable feat since
Fisher has a four inch, 70 pound advantage over the biggest corner. The shutting down of
Fisher clearly disrupted Roman’s game plan. They
continued passing to him all game but to no avail. Instead
Roman was forced to counter by spreading the passing among the backs and other receivers. The Prep’s defensive line, especially Matt
Parkhurst and Brandon Friday, was absolutely dominant- putting
pressure on Sloan-El all night and not allowing a big play. They also contained Sloan-El, a dangerous running
threat, to just 8 yards rushing.
The
Prep’s offense once again responded immediately to an early deficit by way of John
Shaw who rushed for his eighth TD of the season.
Then it was Greg Ambrogi’s turn- he returned a punt 73
yards for a huge touchdown, kicked a field goal, caught 5 passes and juked a Roman player
out of his shoes on a clutch TD that broke the game open for good. Ambrogi accounted for half of the Prep’s
points in the contest.
QB
Mark Noonan, who is often overshadowed by some of the other playmakers on
his team, looked outstanding as he completed 9 passes on his way to 116 yards and 2 TDs
with a season-high 56% completion percentage. Noonan
can also run as well as any quarterback in the league. He has almost the same numbers as
Sloan-El- a QB who is known for his excellent running ability.
The
win was Prep’s 30th straight and coach Gil Brooks’ 100th,
improving his record to 100-39-2. I was
fortunate enough to be on the sidelines for the game where I was able to see first hand
why Brooks is so good of a coach. His intensity is incomparable as is his ability to
recognize each player’s strengths and utilize them perfectly. Brooks expects the best out of his players and
gets nothing less. Next week The Prep plays
Cardinal O’Hara who is undefeated in Catholic league play. I’m predicting that this game will be no
contest. 39-14 Prep
OCT. 4
CATHOLIC RED
SJ Prep 42, Ryan 6
On
Saturday night, the Hawks of St. Joe’s Prep (6-0) took on their toughest Catholic
league opponent to date in the Archbishop Ryan Raiders.
Despite Ryan’s high-scoring offense and perfect Catholic League
record, the game looked like it was going to be over before it started. I mean, they were
playing the eighth ranked team in the country. Why
would it be a close game?
But
early in the first quarter the few fans in attendance got to see something they
haven’t seen all year- the scoreboard at Plymouth Whitemarsh read: Home- 0 Visitors- 6.
For the first time this season the Prep was losing. Not only that, but star running back Dan
Jones had fumbled on the first play from scrimmage. Could Ryan really upset the Prep? Would the
Prep’s 28 game winning streak come to an end that night? Alright so the Prep came back and scored 42
unanswered points; but these few fleeting moments of doubt were the most exciting of the
season so far.
The Prep has been
unchallenged from within the Catholic League this year and they proved why on Saturday
night. Despite the early mirage of a possible win for the Ryan squad, the game was no
contest. The Hawks showed great poise as they
bounced back from the early deficit and went on the win by a cool 36 points. A predictable 246 rushing yards led by the
dominant trio of Dan Jones, John Shaw and Brian Tracz
was the key to the Prep’s success. Wide
receiver Steve Quinn hauled in three catches for 29 yards and Junior
Mike Boyle recovered a fumble in the end zone for his first points of the season. The top special teams play of the night came with
the score at 42-6, when Prep center Scott Howley, a model of
consistency/precision over the last 2 years (and being eyed by colleges for his
long-snapping skills), sent the ball well over punter Andrew Cabrey’s
head. Cabrey raced back to pick up and ball
and somehow barely got the punt off before getting laid out in the process by the Ryan
defenders.
The Raiders played tough
throughout the entire game, even when they were trailing by double-digits. Their D worked hard and forced multiple turnovers-
a rarity by Gil Brooks’ Hawks.
The offense at least put points on the scoreboard- more than any other
Catholic League team has done this year.
St. Joe’s defense this season has been absolutely dominant. Their run-stopping defense is second to none in
Catholic League play, surrendering only 15 yards rushing all season on over 60 attempts-
that’s 7 inches per carry. Their
secondary has been equally flawless, led by senior Greg Ambrogi whose 7
interceptions are more than twice as many as any other Catholic League player. Next week, the Prep faces its toughest Catholic
League opponent in Roman, led by QB Andre Sloan-El and the second-ranked
defense in the League. It’ll be the best
game of the season so far but I don’t see Roman being able to put up more than 14
points against the Prep D. My prediction:
37-10 Prep over Roman.
SEPT. 28
CATHOLIC RED
SJ Prep 37, La Salle 0
Two
of the Catholic League’s biggest rivals met at Plymouth Whitemarsh Saturday night. The LaSalle Explorers (1-4) took on the
nationally ranked St. Joe’s Hawks (5-0) in front of a capacity crowd. Both teams came out fired up- the Prep trying to
extend its 27-game winning streak and La Salle hoping pull of a huge upset against its
archrival. Two quarters and 37 points later, it was clear that La Salle wouldn’t be
upsetting anyone that night.
On
just the third play from scrimmage, Prep RB Dan Jones dashed 51 yards for
his sixth touchdown of the season. Later in the half, Jones took it 90 yards for another
TD after the Prep was pinned on their own 10 following a La Salle punt. La Salle’s D got explored throughout the
whole first half to the tune of 276 rushing yards and 5 scores. In addition to
Jones’s tallies, TDs were notched by sophomore standout John Shaw,
senior FB Brian Tracz and WR Greg Ambrogi on an eighteen
yard pass from Mark Noonan.
The Explorers were unable to get anything going until the fourth quarter, long
after most of the Prep starters had gone to the bench. LaSalle passing game looked as good
it gets for a shutout. QB Mike Lynch
(9-19 110 yards) was able to complete six passes to John Trainer for 64
yards and threw just one interception against a secondary which went into the game
averaging 3 picks per game.
The
running games of the rivals were exact opposites. LaSalle
was unable to get anything going, rushing 23 times for only one yard. The Prep, on the other hand, ran for just under
300 yards. Shaw sprinted for 116 of those on 9 carries while Jones dashed 143 yards on
just 3 carries. That’s right- the entire
La Salle team combined had 20 more carries for 142 less yards than Danny Jones.
Is any Catholic League team going to beat the Prep
this season? It looks like the teams with the best chances are Roman and O’ Hara. Roman, who plays the Prep in two weeks, will
attempt to overcome the top D in Catholic League using their passing game lead by
quarterback Andre Sloan-El. The
week after, the Prep takes on O’Hara led by top back Anthony Heygood
who will face the challenge of running past the Hawks’ fierce linebacking corps of
Brian Tracz, Steve Quinn and Andrew Spross. However, if a team is going to break the
Prep’s winning streak, I doubt it will be from the Catholic League. Late in the
season, the Hawks take on Maryland powerhouse Gilman.
This is shaping up to be the best game of the season and a critical one at that. Until then, we’ll just have to wait and see
if a Catholic League team is able to upset the #9 ranked team in the nation.
SEPT. 21
CATHOLIC RED
SJ Prep 41, Bonner 0
If you’ve watched a Phillies game this season
on TV, you have probably heard that one rowdy fan shouting, “Everybody hits!
Woohoo!” Inspired by this, St.
Joe’s Prep took on the Monsignor Bonner Friars Sunday night, although instead of
“everybody hits!” it was “everybody scores!”
Six different players scored the
Prep’s 6 touchdowns in this one-sided match up.
Not only that, but 5 of those 6 TD’s came on running plays. The overabundance of running plays, however, was
not surprising. So far this season, Prep QB Mark
Noonan has completed just 18 passes with a Donovan McNabb-like 37% completion
percentage. However, when a team is averaging
almost 5 and a half yards per carry in a season, a passing game becomes nearly irrelevant. Four players have already rushed for 90 yards this
season including Noonan, who sprinted for 27 yards and a touchdown against Bonner. Also rushing for touchdowns on Sunday were Danny
Jones, John Shaw, Brian Tracz and Andrew Spross. The Hawks' only passing touchdown came when Steve
Quinn caught his first touchdown pass of the season on the Prep’s
first play from scrimmage in the second half.
Bonner’s defense looked strong at
the start of the game forcing the Prep to go 3 and out on their first possession then
forcing another punt sending the game into the second quarter knotted at zero.
The second quarter featured two Prep
rushing touchdowns (Noonan, Jones), as well as two more nice defensive stands by the
Bonner D, including a big stop on fourth down in their own territory. At the end of the half, the game was a respectable
14-0.
The surprisingly close game ended when
the third quarter began. The Prep offense
came out and scored a touchdown on each of their first four possessions of the half by way
of a deep TD pass to Quinn, and rushing scores by Tracz, Shaw and Spross,-racking up 27
points in the third quarter. From that point
on it was just a matter of time until the Prep had won their 27th straight game.
Why did the Bonner defense break down
after looking so solid in the first half? Many
factors contributed to the collapse but most of all was actually the Prep’s
defense which forced four turnovers and numerous quick punts causing the Bonner D to spend
little time off the field all night. St.
Joe’s coach Gil Brooks took advantage of the tired Friars' defense
by pounding the ball up the middle all game and wearing out the opposition.
If you watched closely you might have
noticed Bonner on offense once…maybe twice all game.
They had the ball 12 times to the tune of- 3&out, punt, 3&out,
Interception, Punt, Interception, Interception, Interception, Punt(x4). They rushed for an intimidating negative eight
yards while completing just three passes out of fourteen attempts (21%). Ouch.
“Everybody punts! Woohoo!”
Players of the game:
John Shaw RB SJP (15 carries 69 yards TD, 1 reception 22 yards)
Dan Jones (2 int’s, 5 carries, 50 yards)
Jordan McCauley WR Bonner (3 catches 33
yards)
The Bonner Defense during quarters 1, 2 and 4