Frog's Corner                                                          Football 2012                           Return to TedSilary.com Home Page   Mark "Frog" Carfagno is yet another of our trusty statisticians/observers. He's fun to be around and very thorough. He's also loyal to the schools in South and Southwest Philly, but if you're from someplace else and can play, he'll admit it.    Frog may be reached at markcarf@verizon.net.

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Dec. 21
Final Overall Standings/Winning Percentages

RANK	TEAM	RECORD	WINNING PERCENTAGE
1.	Episcopal Academy	10-0	1.000
2.	Imhotep Charter	14-1	.933
3.	St. Joe Prep	10-1	.910
4.	La Salle	12-2	.857
5.	Gratz Charter	10-2	.833
6.	Archbishop Wood	12-3	.800
7.	Edward Bok Tech	9-3	.750
7.	Frankford	9-3	.750
9.	Washington	8-3	.727
10.	Mastery North Charter	8-4	.667
11.	Roman Catholic	7-4	.637
11.	West Catholic	7-4	.637
11.	Haverford School	7-4	.637
14.	Del-Val Charter	7-5	.583
14.	Prep Charter	7-5	.583
14.	Overbrook	7-5	.583
14.	Boys Latin	7-5	.583
14.	Northeast	7-5	.583
19.	Penn Charter	5-4	.555
20.	Central	6-5	.545
20.	Conwell-Egan	6-5	.545
20.	Archbishop Ryan	6-5	.545
20.	Malvern Prep	6-5	.545
20.	Neumann-Goretti	6-5	.545
20.	West Philadelphia	6-5	.545
26.	Lansdale Catholic	5-5	.500
26.	Cardinal O’Hara	5-5	.500
26.	Communications Tech	5-5	.500
29.	Germantown	5-7	.416
29.	Southern	5-7	.416
29.	Mastbaum	5-7	.416
29.	Dobbins	5-7	.416
33.	Archbishop Carroll	4-6	.400
34.	High School of the Future	4-7	.363
34.	University City	4-7	.363
34.	Roxborough	4-7	.363
34.	Bonner-Prendie	4-7	.363
38.	Furness	4-8	.333
38.	Ben Franklin	4-8	.333
38.	Lincoln	4-8	.333
38.	Germantown Academy	3-6	.333
38.	Father Judge	3-6	.333
43.	Samuel Fels	3-9	.250
44.	Springside Chestnut Hill	2-8	.200
45.	Olney Charter	2-9	.181
46.	John Bartram	2-10	.167
47.	Bishop McDevitt	1-8	.111
48.	Martin Luther King	1-10	.091
49.	Thomas Edison	0-10	.000

November 22
Thanksgiving Rivalry
Neumann-Goretti 21 Southern 12
  Good old time rock’em - sock’em football down at the South Philly Super Site on a lovely Thanksgiving morning. Neumann-Goretti surprised the nice sized crowd storming onto the field with the old South Catholic/Bishop Neumnann/ St. John Neumann orange jerseys and black pants with the word Pirates inscribed on the back of each jersey. The orange fire didn’t last too long as Southern with the aid of a 15 yard penalty marched 47 yards after the opening kickoff for a quick 6-0 advantage. The score came on a 4 yard TD pass from Ryan Stewart to Devon Ford. Sr. RB/LB Wayne Brunson garnered most of the yards rushing 6 times for 38 yards. Brunson who rushed for 162 yards on 23 carries needed 236 to break the Rams single season record which was set back in 2004 by Lamone Fox. Fox rushed for 1,280 yards in his record year while Brunson fell short finishing the season with 1,207. With Southern trailing by 9 points and needing 2 scores to go ahead Brunson’s last run occurred with about 4 minutes left in the third quarter. It should also be noted that Brunson did not play in three of Southern’s games. He no doubt would have been the all time single season leader had he played in just one of those games. After Ford caught his TD pass he spiked the football into the ground and was called for an unsportsmanlike 15 yard penalty that was assessed on the kickoff. Not to be outdone the Saints also patrolled 47 yards on 11 plays with the big play being a 16 yard pass from Raymond Lenhart to Sharif Custis  which  set up Sihmare Morgan’s 4 yard TD run. Michael Beck booted the conversion and N-G led 7-6 at the 2:12 mark of the initial stanza. After both teams exchanged punts on each of their following possessions the Rams took control of the ball at their own 11 yard line after a 39 yard punt by sr. Eric Holt. On first down Brunson ran for 5 yards. He then ran three more times for gains of 3,1 and 4 yards. His last run came on a gutsy fourth and one call by Southern head coach Scott Pitzner from his own 20 yard line. Brunson then did what he does best and that was burst through the line and get to the outside and race 76 yards for a Ram TD. SP failed on their conversion but still led 12-7 with 7:26 to go before halftime. After the score it didn’t take long for the Rams to get the ball back as Ford intercepted a Lenhart pass. Ford would later add another pick to his defensive stats. However Southern couldn’t capitalize and was forced to punt. After a 21 yard punt by Ford the Saints had good field position at the South Philly 41 yard line. On first down Morgan ran for 26 yards and 3 plays later would run 3 yards to pay turf with just over 2 minutes left in the second quarter. Beck again kicked the PAT to close out the first half scoring as N-G led at half 14-12. The punting game would once again cost the Rams when Ford’s punt was blocked by Downing and was picked up by teammate Jamal Custis at the SP 12 who went untouched into the end zone. Beck’s PAT kick made it a two score game at 21-12 with 5:14 left in period number 3. Southern looked like they closed the gap when T.J. Thompkins picked up a fumble and ran 58 yards for an apparent TD late in the third quarter. The play began at the Southern 24 when Morgan ran to his left where he was being chased by a number of Ram defenders in the Saints backfield. The ball popped free after Morgan was hit by Brunson, Quazi Jones and Khalil Lewis. The ball then started rolling back to the 42 where Thompkins scooped it up. As Thompkins was running a flag was thrown late and then the confusion and frustration began. Before I continue I must say that I was on the Southern side of the field and all of the commotion was on N-G’s side. The Touchdown was disallowed because of a 5 yard face mask penalty on the tackle. The crazy thing was that it was called on number 42. Number 42 is Thompkins who was nowhere near the tackle. He just happened to be the lucky guy to pick up the pigskin and get the 6 points. When the Southern coaches heard who the penalty was on, needless to say they were not too happy. The officials then concurred on the other side of the field and perhaps were considering wiping out the penalty. But with the N-G coaches nearby and knowing the repercussions they called the play back and as a result the screaming and hollering on the South Philly sideline continued, not only on that play but for the remainder of the game. Yes the word CHEATED was heard numerous times on the sideline. Southern played physical as did N-G but the Rams were penalized 15 times for 125 yards compared to 6 for 65 for the Saints. The Rams held the Saints after the penalty but tried a trick play pass play by Brunson that was read perfectly by John Mastrando who intercepted it at the Neumann-Goretti 40. Ford would later grab his second interception midway though the fourth quarter as the Rams were forced to go to the air. Two quick strikes by Stewart to Brunson for 45 yards and Thompkins for 11 yards and a penalty of 15 yards against the Saints saw the ball move to the N-G 29 yard line with just less than 2 minutes left in the contest. Four straight incompletions  with two that were broken up or defended by Eric Neill ended all of SP’s hope for a comeback. For the Saints Morgan rushed 18 times for 75 yards and Fr. RB Tyliek Raynor impressed with 7-83. Lenhart passed 5-13-2-47. In addition to his 16 yard snatch Custis also grabbed one for 7. Holt caught one for 8 and Neill had 2 for 16. Michael Schiela 7-5-2 and Blaise Natale’ 7-4-2 paced the N-G defense. Sharif Custis who was named the Saints MVP for the game finished with 6-5-2-sack. . Also numbering 6 tackles for the Saints were Michael DiFrancesco, Jack Taylor, Khalil Gabriel and Mastrando. Morgan also had an interception. For the Rams Stewart passed 4-14-1-65. Brunson grabbed 2 balls for 50 yards to lead the receiving for SP. Brunson who was named the MVP for Southern paced the defense with 8 tackles. Eric Johnson 7-5-2-sack-fumble recovery, Jones 6-4, Samid Williams 6-3-1, Lewis 5-4-2 sacks - fumble recovery, Tahir Brown 5-3-1 and Thompkins 5-3-1 pitched in for the Southern.     

November 10
Public AAA Final
Bok 28 Gratz 22
              1        2        3       4         Total
Bok      12      16       0       0           28
Gratz    14       0        8       0           22
Bok:  Riley 1 run [run failed]
Gratz: D. Freeman 81 pass from Cornish [run failed]
Bok:   Riley 1 run [run failed]
Gratz: Middleton 73 pass from Cornish [D. Freeman run]
Bok:   Whitney 2 run [Whitney run]
Bok:   Whitney 41 pass from Riley [Riley run]
Gratz: Cornish 7 run [D. Freeman run]  

  Daily News stat man Amauro Austin handled the statistics for this contest as I had a previous engagement and wasn’t sure of my arrival time for the game. Fortunately I made it just before kickoff and saw one crazy game. I heard someone call it a version of Electric Football another call it a videogame and another refer to it as a game in the park. Whatever you want to call it, it definitely was entertaining and had a wonderful storyline for the Bok football program. Missing three of their crucial players, including 1,365-yard rusher Larry Pelzer, the Wildcats managed to prevail. Pelzer’s shoes were filled by Sr. WR/DB turned Running Back Antoine Whitney, who ran for 132 yards on 29 carries. Whitney rushed for a 2 yard TD in the second quarter but made his biggest contribution with the thing he does best and that is catching the football. His spectacular, off-balance, managed-to-stay-in-bounds, 41-yard TD reception turned out to be the game-winning play and closed out the first half scoring. Bok’s QB Michael Riley ran for the 2-point conversion after the catch and the first half ended with the Wildcats ahead 28-14. The zaniness started when Whitney ran about 80 yards early in the first quarter for an apparent TD. A block in the back penalty at the 10-yard line put the ball back to the Gratz 20. Riley would sneak in from the 1 a few plays later and it was 6-0. Gratz answered right back when Daquan Freeman scored on an 81 yard TD reception from QB Davone Cornish. Bok came right back to score on another Riley keeper that was set up by a long run by FB/DE Vittorio “Vitto” Goggins. Goggins also surprised the Bok camp, rushing for 111 yards on 8 carries. The Bulldogs jumped ahead when Cornelius Middleton caught a ball that was tipped and almost intercepted and turned it into a 73-yard TD. Freeman ran for the PAT and Gratz led 14-12 at the conclusion of the first stanza. After Whitney’s 2 TD’s the Wildcats would have to hold on with their defense. Cornish scored on a 7 yard run in the third quarter and Freeman again ran for the conversion to make the score 28-22. Cornish completed just 8 of 21 passes but threw for 235 yards. Most of the completions were in the middle of the field and that upset the Bok coaching staff tremendously. Missed tackles also hampered the Wildcats in the early going but some halftime adjustments by the South Philly squad seemed to make the middle of the field appear smaller in the second half as Bok shifted linebackers and defensive backs and smacked the Bulldogs real hard when the pigskin went flying towards the red jerseys of the boys from North Philly. Also missing the contest for the Wildcats was Sr. OT/DT Marcus Terrell Owens and Sr. LB Marquez Walker. Replacing Owens at guard was So. Shalie Williams. On defense the Cats moved several players, but the most noticeable was the addition of Fr. Casey Williams at defensive tackle. As they did in the semifinal against Boys' Latin the Wildcats came fast and furious in the fourth quarter. Leading the charge once again was DE Goggins and his counterpart on the other side Terrell Miles. DT Mark "Spider" Webb and Williams held the line and Dylan Edmonds-Carty contributed at DT and LB. Trequan Walton, Naim Dykes, Nasir Granberry and Saamir Gentry were the LB’s. Protecting the secondary was Whitney, who had an interception, Demetrius Robinson and Rasul Jackson and Riley. For Gratz, Freeman rushed 19 times for 89 yards.   

November 8
Non-League
Univ. City 49 Furness 16
  The Jaguars jumped out to a quick 6-0 lead at the 10:21 mark of the first quarter on a 9 yard TD run by Jalil Neal- Savage. The Falcons took control after the score and registered 2 first downs on the running strength of RB Devin Nottis and QB Khaaliq Shuler and were at their own 47 yard line when Shuler ran 3 yards to midfield. What happened next brought back a Frog Flashback Moment. Number 72 of UC was running the other way with the pigskin and went 50 yards all the way into the end zone. This scenario looked familiar. Where did I see this before? On November 3RD of last year U City beat Southern by the score of 24-14. Here is part of what I wrote in my report of that game. Big players make big plays and the gentleman with his hand in quite a few of them was U City’s 6’3 240 lb Jr. DT/OT Davon Wise. The Wiseman notched 8 tackles, 7 solo but he also recovered a fumble while forcing three others and intercepted two passes which he returned for 24 yards. As for his forcing technique it was the old punch the ball out of the ball carriers hand trick. I asked him after the game what he thought about his big afternoon he simply said, “I don’t like the offense sitting on the sideline too long. I want them on the field so they can score points.” Well the Wiseman was at it again against Furness forcing three fumbles and recovering two doing all the damage in the first half as UC entered their halftime locker room leading 42-0. His second forced fumble allowed Quahdire Gordon to scoop up the ball and trance 7 yards for a TD. His third force set up Lindon Caesar’s 94 yard TD burst with 11 seconds left in the second quarter. As for his 2012 stripping style it featured a more physical take away technique. In fact Wise could be heard screaming out, “This is my ball baby, this is my ball. My ball all day and you can’t have it.” You just have to love a man with so much confidence. After the game he came up to me and reminded me of last year's performance against Southern on the same field. He said something about me being his good luck charm and it would have been great if I covered all of his games throughout his high school career. Well if he moves on to play college ball I’ll have to make it a point to stop by if he plays in the surrounding area. Good luck, young man, it was a pleasure watching you. Wise finished with 8 tackles 5 solo and 2 for losses in addition to his other gaudy numbers. Robert Hall led the Jags tackle board with 10-6-1 while Raymond Jefferson contributed 9-6-3. Shakeem Bradley and Gordon both had TFL’s. QB Karim Karamoko passed 3-6-1-71-TD. Jefferson caught 2 balls for 63 yards including one for a 42 yard TD. Other UC scores were a 45 yard run by Hall and a 1 yard plunge by Keith Tate-Sumpter. For Furness Nottis ran 18-80-2 TD. Kyle Goldsmith 13-66 and Shuler 10-56 both ran for respectable numbers. Michael Wilson paced the Falcon defense with 7-4-forced fumble. Thomas Drummond numbered 6-3. Shuler had and interception while Larry White, Rasheed Felder and Abraham Toussaint each had a TFL. Felder and Toussaint both recovered fumbles.             

Nov. 3
Public AAA Semi-Final 
Simon Gratz Charter 36 Mastery North Charter 12
                            1      2      3     4        Total
Mastery North    6      0      6     0           12
Simon Gratz       8     16    12    0           36
Gratz:      D. Freeman 3 run [D. Freeman run]
Mastery:  Norris 16 pass from Johnson [run failed]
Gratz:       Rouse 40 pass from Cornish [D. Freeman run]
Gratz:       Rouse 47 interception return [D. Freeman pass from Cornish]
Gratz:       Rouse 84 interception return [run failed]
Gratz:       Colmon recovered fumble in end zone [run failed]
Mastery:   Johnson 17 run [run failed] 
  Calvin Payne took the opening kickoff for the Bulldogs 81 yards down to the Mastery 3 yard line. On the games first play from scrimmage Daquan Freeman rushed for a TD and then ran for the conversion for a quick 8-0 lead. The Pumas got within 2 points when Jermaine Norris hauled in a 16 yard pass from James Johnson at the 1:38 mark of the first quarter. Gratz answered right back with a TD pass of their own from Davone Cornish to Nydair Rouse that covered 40 yards early in the second period. Rouse would also score the Bulldogs next 2 TD’s via interceptions that covered 47 and 84 yards. Gratz would score unconventionally again when Ronald Colmon forced and recovered a fumbled kick return in the end zone by MN’s Sloane Thomas just 12 seconds after Rouse’s TD. The Pumas closed out the scoring late in the game on QB’s James Johnson’s 17 yard dive into the end zone. Johnson passed 11-28-2-145 but lost his primary receiver Norris with a concussion early in the second quarter. Norris ended the evening with 2 grabs for 31 yards. Malik Williams numbered 2-27, Rondell Bazley 1-24, Armani Fuller-Williams 2-26, Troy Franklin 2-19 and Taqee Ross 1-9. Ala Duppins caught 1 for minus 1. Isaiah Freeman paced the Pumas defense with 7-4-1. He was aided by Christopher Batts 7-4 and Quinlin Lambert 6-4. Reggie Nelson had a TFL and also recovered a fumble for MN and Bazley had an interception. For Gratz Cornish passed 4-9-1-88. Fulani Freeman snatched 2 balls for 26 yards and Steve Johnson had 1 for 22. With the 3 previous mentioned long returns overall Gratz numbered 4-232. They rushed just 23-88 and operated only 32 offensive plays from the line of scrimmage. The Pumas totaled 55 plays. Mastery rushed 27 for 36 yards. Saeed Sheard led the defense with 8-6-3 sacks-tipped ball. The members behind Sheard included: Fulani Freeman 7-5-1, Shawn Jenkins 6-3-1, Mir Bostic 6-3 and Cornelius Middleton 5-3-tip. Eric Nguyan had a TFL.

Nov. 3
Public AAA Semi-Final
Bok 12 Boys Latin 6  
                     1      2       3      4      Total
Boys Latin     0     6       0      0         6
Bok               0    12      0      0        12
Bok: Pelzer 1 run, [pass failed]
BL: Lark 16 run, [pass failed]
Bok:  Goggins recovered fumble in end zone, [run failed]
  For the first 3 quarters Boys Latin QB/DE Eric Lark completed 9 of 17 passes for 115 yards. However with his squad trailing 12-6 in the final period Lark was running for his life while trying to pass and completed just 4 of 14 for 45 yards. Bok came with plenty of pressure when they needed it most and it paid off as Lark’s passes were way off the mark and at times just simply thrown away. DE/FB Vittorio “Vitto” Googins led the Wildcats charge with 10 tackles, 6 solo, 3 for losses including 2 sacks, 3 hurries and 2 batted down passes. His last bat down was a ferocious smack at the ball on the game's last play. With 50 seconds to play and no timeouts and the ball on the Bok 43, the Wildcats forced 4 consecutive incomplete passes as time expired. Googins wasn’t the only Wildcat penetrating the Warriors pocket. LB Naasir Granberry had 3 hurries, DE Terrell Miles 2 and a tipped ball and LB Marquez Walker had 1. When Lark was able to escape up the middle because of the outside pressure he was often greeted or shall we say pounced on by MLB Dimonte Powell who made 10 tackles with 7 being of the solo variety. Other tackle board leaders included: Granberry with 7-3-2. Trequan Walton 7-4, Antoine Whitney 6-3, Miles 5-3-1-sack and Walker also with 5. Bok also recovered 4 fumbles. Walker had 2, Walton 1 and Goggins recovered a mishandled snap by Lark that was scooped up in the end zone for the games final TD with 1:45 remaining in the second quarter. RB/DB Larry Pelzer intercepted a Lark pass just before halftime at the Bok 43. Pelzer who scored the games first TD rushed for 147 yards on 29 carries. Pelzer who according to head coach Frank “Roscoe” Natale weighs just 129 lbs became Bok’s all time single season rushing leader with 1365 yards. He passed the previous leader Luke Lassiter who ran for 1343 yards in 2007. BL’s only TD was a 16 yard QB draw by Lark. It came with 4:48 left before intermission and tied the score at 6. After the TD Bok went 3 and out and a huge 46 yard punt by Whitney put the Warriors deep in their own territory at the 4 yard line. On first down Lark ran for 5 yards to the 9 but on second down he couldn’t handle a shotgun snap that resulted into Goggins’s TD. For the Warriors Tahir Perlote caught 5 passes for 76 yards and David Peterson grabbed 3 for 45 and he also had an interception. Lark’s final passing numbers were 13-31-1-161. Chris Hudson paced the Warriors defense with 9-5-1. He was trailed by Chris Hillian 8-4, Lark 7-4-sack, Melbert Robinson 6-4-sack and Mark Bowser 6-3. Hudson also recovered a fumble.

NOV. 1
NON-LEAGUE
West Phila. 36 Furness 0
  The Falcons operating without the services of star running back Kharee Ruley, out with a badly bruised right shoulder, and a depleted offensive line, knew that it would be a difficult afternoon. Furness was able to generate just 34 yards of total offense, all of which came on the ground as the Speedboys defense held their opponents to just one first half first down and a negative 4 yards of total offense at intermission. Meanwhile West Philly scored on all four of their first half possessions. The 4 drives consisted of 53 yards on 5 plays followed by 66-8, 47-4 and 31-8. West Philly QB Ricardo Streams 8-14-1-114, threw for 3 first half TD’s. He connected twice to Stephen Pressley, a 29 yard strike with 6:51 remaining in the first quarter and again at the 23.5 second mark of the second stanza on a 13 yard heave. Pressley also caught another pass for 8 yards giving him 50 yards on 3 snags. Streams also hit Tayquan Bardlavens with an 11 yard TD toss early in the second period. Bardlavens grabbed 4 balls on the afternoon for 33 yards. Rashaun Wade was the recipient of Streams other completion that being for 31 yards. Senior RB/CB Shakoor Daye rushed for 115 yards on 14 totes. Daye scored on a 37 yard scamper midway through the second quarter. Daye was scheduled to leave this Friday for a visit to North Carolina A&T. Daryll Jacobs ran for WP’s final TD, an 18 yard burst with just 30 seconds left in the contest. The Speedboys converted on 3 of their 5 PAT attempts. Daye ran for 2 and Bardlavens and Streams did their thing after their TD. West Philly ran the ball 24 times for 194 yards for an 8.1 average yards per carry. Streams who was not sacked at all and ran 3 times for 26 yards. Jacobs ran 6-47. The men doing the blocking for WP included: Center Marques Garrison, Right Guard Mustafah Owens, Left Guard Erickson Tarlue, Right Tackle Kwadere Flemming and Left Tackle Hasson Drago. Pressley, Bardlavens and Wade supported both as Tight and Split Ends. Kyle Goldsmith rushed 11-41 for the Falcons. Charles Moresi had an interception for Furness while James Saunders, Zahree Isaac, Khaaliq Shuler and Goldsmith all had 6 tackles. Saunders had 2 TFL’s while Isaac and Goldsmith had one apiece. Michael Wilson recovered a fumble for the Falcons. Shuler who struggled at QB rushed 9 for minus 21 and attempted just one pass which was incomplete. This was the third consecutive game that the Falcons have failed to complete a pass, although Ruley has attempted just 23 all season and has completed 6. Shuler did punt 7 times for a respectable 30.6 avg. Tymire Harris led the West Philly defense with 7 tackles, 4 solo, 2 for losses including a sack. Shaquille Postley 6-4-1 and Pressley 6-3 also contributed to the Speedboys defense. Making other TFL’s were: Tahir Jennings 2-sack, Brian Davis 2, Desean Robertson 1 and Quaseem Brown 1. There were only 3 penalties called on the day. The first one didn’t occur until there was just 1:06 left in the second quarter.

SIGHTINGS FROM SOUTH PHILLY
October 19-20
Public AAAA Silver
Southern 24 Edison 6
  Southern’s Wayne Brunson ran 14 – 108 – 2 TD’s to lead the way for the Rams. Nick Coffie returned a fumble 31 yds for a score and QB Daquan Snaith connected with Khalil Lewis on a 31 yd TD toss to produce the 24 Rams points. Edison scored late in the game when Deon Nicholson scored on a 10 yd run. Nicholson ran 12 times for 67 yds. Zamir Boney led the Owls defense with 9 tackles including a sack and Kareem Smallwood had 7. Smallwood also recovered a fumble. For Southern, Qazi Jones had 10 tackles with a sack while Darrell Robinson and Eric Johnson each had 8.  Robinson also had a sack. Johnny Rodriguez snatched an interception for the Rams, Jones also recovered a fumble.

Public AA
Imhotep 47 Prep Charter 0
  David Williams led the Panther party rushing 18 – 194 – TD. Eerin Young ran 7 – 105 – 2 TD’s as Imhotep totaled 387 rushing yds on 37 attempts. The Panthers also scored via the ground on 2 TD runs by Aaron Watkins of 7 and 22 yds. Nasir Bonner also scored on a 13 yard burst. QB Andre Dreuitt 5 -10 -2 -91-TD tossed a 42 yd TD strike to Khalil Stewart. Kicker DJ Moore converted 5 of his 7 PAT boots. The tough Panther defense limited the Huskies to just 56 yds rushing on 27 carries. A rotating defense saw a multitude of Panthers register between 5 and 7 tackles. Najee Goode and DeAndre Scott both had interceptions. Quinzell Lassiter recovered a fumble for the Panthers. The PC defense was led by Markey Toe with 9 tackles. Trailing Toe were Eddie Thomas 7, Timothy Scott 6, while Charles Anderson, Anthony Wyche and Faheem Williams each had 5. Ronald Stokes had 2 Prep picks. After smoking Strath Haven 68-13 early in the season, their head coach said he heard Imhotep was a top 2A team in the state. After the thrashing, he said the Panthers could likely be a 4A powerhouse. For all you football geeks out there, the Panthers remind me of the very talented Ridley Raiders of Delaware County. Noted for their speed and quickness the Raiders usually succumb in the state tournament to a team much bigger and stronger. However, Imhotep does have the size along with the speed and quickness and may be the first Public League team to capture a state championship.

Public AAAA Silver
Furness 42 Olney 6
  Kharee Ruley 18 – 79 scored on TD runs of 3 and 12 yds and also returned a kickoff 81 yds for a TD as the Falcons captured the Public League 4A Silver Division crown. Furness also scored on a 5 yard Kyle Goldsmith run, a Khaaliq Shuler 31 yard run and a 32 yd interception return by Derek Seang. Shuler also ran for 2 PAT’s and Ruley scooted for one. The Trojans scored on a 32 yard pass from Kadir Chisholm to Ziere Shoemake. Charles Moresi led the Falcon tackle board with 7 – 4. Thomas Drummond 6 – 4 -1 and Goldsmith 5 -3 -1 were the trailers. Along with Seang, Ruley also had an interception. Michael Wilson, Rasheed Felder and Goldsmith recovered fumbles. For the Trojans, Tyrell Gross rushed 9 times for 88 yards. Erik Andrews, Darnelle Stahlworth and Gross each recorded 7 tackles. Amir Williams had 6. Chisholm also had an interception. Shoemake caught 3 balls for 49 yards.

Public AAA
Mastery North 18 Bok 8
  The Pumas may have been helped somewhat by 15 Bok penalties totaling 142 yards and some missed tackles and assignments by the Wildcats, but it was the passing of James Johnson that led the Mastery charge. Johnson tossed 15 – 21 -167 – 2TD’s and rushed 20 – 30. Johnson ran or passed on 41 of the 45 Mastery offensive plays. The 4 times Johnson didn’t handle the ball were 4 rushes for a negative 16 yds. Jermaine Norris snagged 7 balls for 88 yds and a TD. Malik Williams caught 4 for 54 – TD. Norris also had an interception and a fumble recovery. Christopher Batts led MN in tackles with 9. Isaiah Freeman and Troy Franklin both numbered 8. Norris also had 7 tackles with 2 passes defended and Idris Mateen made 6 tackles. Reggie Nelson forced a fumble for MN.
For Bok, Larry Pelzer rushed 21 times for 102 yards and Michael Riley passed 5 – 10 -1 -49. All 5 balls were caught by Antoine Whitney who returned to action after missing 2 games for personal matters. Whitney scored the Wildcats only TD on a 13 yard run. He also ran for the PAT. Mark Webb and Vittorio Goggins each totaled 8 tackles. Terrell Miles 7, Marquez Walker 6 and Demetrius Robinson pitched in with 5. Goggins and Miles recorded sacks along with Dylan Edmonds-Carty.

OCT. 12
PUBLIC AA
Prep Charter 37 Comm. Tech. 0
                        1     2    3    4        Total
Comm. Tech   0     0    0    0           0
Prep Charter   6    8    7   16         37  
Prep Charter: Manley 4 run, kick failed
Prep Charter: Matthews 1 run, Graham pass from Manley
Prep Charter: Manley 50 Int. Return, Dolo kick
Prep Charter:  Matthews 21 run, Dolo kick
Prep Charter:  Dolo 26 field goal
Prep Charter:  Manley 53 Int. Return, no attempt
  The Huskies went 65 yards on 7 plays on the games first possession. Aided by a pass interference call and big run of 43 yards by Jovan Matthews, 16-130, PC punched it in on a 4 yard run by Asa Manley. After a 3 and out by Comm. Tech. Prep started their second possession from their own 34. They managed to move the ball to the Phoenix 4 for a first down. A 20 yard pass from Vion Dolo to Anthony “T.J.” Wyche [still trying to find out why they call him T.J.] and a 21 yard run by Manley contributed 41 yards to the drive. After a short gain by the Huskies, a 5 yard procedure penalty moved the ball back to the 7. Matthews got 6 on second down but two QB keepers by Dolo from the one yard line were unsuccessful and the Phoenix took over from there. Tenacious PC defense, which held Tech. to just 64 rushing yards forced them to punt from their own 3. A boot of only 14 yards gave PC excellent field possession at the Huskies 17. Matthews would carry 3 times picking up 12 of the 17 yards and would score from the one yard line. A fake PAT kick worked perfectly, when Manley serving as the holder, threw to a wide open John Graham for 2 points. After that my friends it was “The Asa Manley Show”. Manley would intercept 4 passes and return 2 for TD’s of 50 and 53 yards. Matthews would also contribute with a 21 yard TD run and Dolo would kick a 26 yard field goal. Comm. Tech. was missing RB/DB Losseni Karamoko because of injury and as a result Abdur Saaba and Diquan Gilbert were forced to run the ball 12 times each. Saaba would gain 61 yards while Gilbert managed just 29. Gilbert who usually serves as a lead blocker at fullback and does a good job, doesn’t look like your prototypical runner in that he runs mostly from a stand up position and it appears to be a struggle any time he runs the pigskin. With that being said he’s still one of the better players in the city on the other side of the ball at DE/LB. The Comm. Tech. defense was paced by Saaba with 10 tackles, 6 solo and a TFL. Tyliek Guilford 8-5-1, Gilbert 7-3 and William Chislom 6-3 also aided the defense. Terrence Brown and Herron McBride had TFL’s. McBride also recovered a fumble. In addition to his 4 interceptions Manley also ran 9 times for 39 yards. On the evening PC rushed 40 times for 204 yards. The men doing the pushing included; Center Charles Anderson, Guards Marcus Bryant and Faheem Williams and RT Jahbree Sullivan and rotating LT’s and sometimes declared TE’s were Macquel Hardy and Eric Taylor Jr. It’s always a treat to watch 5’5”-135 Tarr Monway run the ball late in the game. He only got one chance but gained 16 yards before he was stopped just short of the goal line at the 4. The Huskies defense was led by Timothy Scott 8-4-2, Matthews 7-5-hurry, Davante Coney 6-4-sack and Manley 6-3. TFL’s were notched by Williams, Ronald Stokes, Taylor and Charles Anderson. Wyche recovered 2 fumbles for PC. Next up for the Huskies the Mighty Panthers of Imhotep. Both squads are undefeated in league play.

OCT. 5
PUBLIC AA
Prep Charter 59, Future 6
                       1    2    3    4     Total
Prep Charter  14  30  15   0       59
Future              0    6    0   0        6
Prep Charter: Manley 79 kick return, Dolo kick
Prep Charter: Wyche 24 run, Dolo kick
Prep Charter: Safety
Prep Charter: Wyche 64 kick return, kick failed
Future:            Blount 78 kick return, run failed
Prep Charter: Wyche 48 run, Dolo kick
Prep Charter: Wyche 19 run, Manley run
Prep Charter:  Graham 54 pass from Dolo, Dolo kick
Prep Charter:  Monway 23 run, Dolo run
Prep Charter: Matthews 16 run, Dolo kick     
  As you can see from the above box score this was not much of a contest and was a big day for numbers if you were a Huskies fan. The men from South Philly totaled 628 all-purpose yards on just 38 touches of the ball. However I am not going to start off this report with PC accolades. Let me first acknowledge Future’s RB/DB Tawaun Vickers. The tough and athletic young man never quit on an evening when he could have just packed it in. In fact I heard one of the Prep assistant coaches commenting to his players that if you want to play football the right way, that’s the way to do it. Vickers' body took a pounding rushing 23 times for 63 well deserved yards. He also caught a pass for 11 yards and returned 3 balls for 40 yards making his all purpose number triple digits at 114. If that wasn’t enough he also forced a fumble and led his team in tackles with 8. Nice job Tawaun. Asa Manley ran the opening kickoff 79 yards for a TD to set the tone at the South Philadelphia Super Site. The Huskies' Anthony Wyche had a unique performance as he scored 3 TD’s the first 3 times he touched the ball. He scored on a 24 yard run with 6:56 left in the first quarter. After a Huskies Safety he returned the ensuing kickoff 64 yards for a TD at the 10:45 mark of the second stanza. The Firebirds Khalir Blount then ran the next kickoff 78 yards to pay turf  for Future’s only score and Wyche then followed with a 48 yard burst with 10:08 left in the second quarter giving him 3 quick TD’s. The game also featured 4 scoring plays in just 49 seconds. It started with the safety at 10:57 of the second period and ended with Wyche’s run at 10:08. In between were the Wyche and Blount kick returns for scores. For PC Wyche ran 4 times for 88 yards and 3 TD’s. Manley rushed 4-53 and Jovan Matthews numbered 9-85-TD. Dolo passed 5-11-92-TD. John Graham was the receiving leader with 3-71-TD. Manley returned 3 balls for 138 yards while Wyche added 2-67 and Ronald Stokes returned 2 interceptions for 74 yards. Overall the numbers read 26 rushes for 257, 5 receptions for 92 and 7 returns for 279 for a total of 628 yards on 38 touches for an average of 16.52 yards per touch. Eric Taylor paced the PC defense with 8 tackles,6 solo, 3 TFL’s with a sack. Timothy Scott 7-4, Faheem Williams 6-4-1-forced fumble and Charles Anderson 5-3 also were instrumental. Other TFL’s were had by Stokes and Tony Nguyen. Manley also forced a fumble while Matthews and Davante Coney and Quadir Strothers recovered fumbles for PC. For Future Ronald Wade passed 3-12-2-24 yds. Along with Vickers, Adrian Elliott snagged a pass for 25 yards. Wade also completed one to Blount but it went for negative yards.  Richard Smith recovered a fumble for the Firebirds and also made 5 tackles. John Walker numbered 5-3-1 while Kayode Oduwaiye recorded a sack and Demointree Banto along with Jefte Pierre had TFL’s.

OCT. 5
PUBLIC AAA
Mastery North 12, Bartram 6
  The Pumas scored the lone Touchdown of the first half when QB James Johnson connected on a 35 yard TD strike to Jermaine Norris with 1:03 left to play in the first quarter. Norris was Johnson’s favorite receiver of the day, catching 6 passes for 88 yards and a TD. Johnson put the ball in the air 17 times and completed 11 for 139 yards. Trailing 6-0 midway through the third stanza Bartram tied the score on a 2 yard TD run by Elijah Clark. The conversion run failed and the score was tied 6-6 entering the final period.  After both teams exchanged punts Mastery began their game winning drive from the Braves 45. The first 2 plays were a rush for zero yards and an incomplete pass. On third down Johnson scrambled for 11 yards and a Puma first down. RB Sloane Thomas came up big when he ran 12 yards to the Bartram 23 and another first down. However the biggest play of the day came on fourth and nine from the 22. That’s when Johnson hit Norris for 16 yards on a perfectly executed slant pattern moving the pigskin to the 6 with just over 6 minutes left in the contest. The stingy Brave defense prevented the Pumas from entering the end zone on the first three downs and now Mastery was looking at a fourth and goal from the one yard line. Two defensive infractions moved the ball a few inches closer and a third one that I thought should have been against MN because of movement by the Pumas' TE was called once again against the Braves as their coaching staff went ballistic on the sidelines, pleading with the officials but to no avail. Finally a play was run and Johnson just barely stretched his arm across the goal line with the ball for a TD with 3:54 showing on the fourth quarter clock. Bartram QB Braheem Edwards tried to bring his squad back when he hit Rondell Calloway for 29 yards and Toty Boley for 7 advancing the ball to the Puma 47 yard line. Edwards again looked for Boley but Norris intercepted the ball at the 20 yard line with 2:12 to go. The Braves forced the Pumas to punt and got the ball back at the MN 47 with 1:23 left after they called timeouts on three consecutive plays. Their only real opportunity to score was faltered when Zafair Evans dropped an Edwards pass at the 25 on second down. On third down Edwards was sacked for a 7 yard loss by DE Troy Franklin and on fourth down Edwards was chased out of bounds at midfield ending any chance of a comeback. Neither team had much success rushing the ball as Mastery numbered 27-49 and Bartram totaled 21-48.  The Puma defense was led by Christopher Batts with 7 tackles, 4 solo and a fumble recovery. Isaiah Freeman 6-4, Franklin 5-3-sack and Reggie Nelson 5-2-hurry also contributed. Clarke was the defensive star for Bartram with 9-6-2. He was followed by Chris Miller 8-6-4, Davon Crawford 6-3, Shareef Parker 5-3-hurry and Montez Burke 5-3. Monte Green recovered a fumble for the Braves.