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Huck's Corner Return to TedSilary.com Home Page
Ed "Huck" Palmer is one of our trusty statisticians/observers. He
is not to be confused with Tom "Puck" McKenna. (Huck is normal.
Puck is not even close). He will make reports on games he sees. You may contact him at TEDDYCAT10@aol.com. |
SEPT.
25
CL BLUE
West Catholic 37, Dougherty
0
The Burrs wasted no time and seized
control almost immediately in this one. Quite frankly, they should have. The Cardinals are
severely undermanned and have struggled mightily in the early portion of the season.
Furthermore proved by their first possession of the game. They started the drive at their
own 21-yard line. The drive went like this: incomplete pass, procedure penalty, completed
pass that went for minus-five yards, and then a sack losing three more yards. Time to
punt, right? Not exactly, as the snap from center whizzed over the punter’s head and
through the back of the end zone for a safety. The Burrs went on to score on all three of
their first quarter possessions and never looked back. Offensively, the Burrs did most of
their damage through the air. Frosh. QB Eric Brennan put forth his best performance
of his young career. He did so in relying on the talents and experience of his two go-to
receivers, sr. Antoine Stout and jr. John Maddox. Stout and Maddox had their
way with the Cardinal secondary, who for most of the first half were left out on an island
with one-on-one coverage. Brennan finished 7-for-10, with 168 yards, all in the first
half. It was Stout (3-67) who struck first when he hauled in a 9-yard touchdown on a
slant. Later, Maddox (4-101) took in Brennan’s prettiest pass of the day as he calmly
ran under a 38-yarder on a deep post pattern. Jr. FB/LB Wayne Donahue and sr. RB/DB
Chris Diaferio (10-56) also added first half scores on runs, and the Burrs led
commandingly 30-0 at the intermission. Three plays into the second half the Burrs made it
37-0 on another short touchdown run by Donahue. The score was setup by a 46-yard burst by
sr. FB/LB Kelven Quick, his only carry of the game. After the run Quick took some
ribbing from coaches and teammates for being caught from behind. Following this score the
mercy rule came into effect and the final 22:38 was played with a running clock. Speaking
of clocks the scoreboard was not running and time was kept on the field. Can you say, Pub?
Oh yeah, the game was played at Germantown High’s field. I guess I should have
expected this. Nothing irks me more about high school football than inoperable
scoreboards. If Head Coach Brian Fluck has
a negative issue about his team’s performance it probably lies in the turnover
department. The Burrs committed four turnovers. Two were of the freakish nature. First,
Stout had the ball ripped out of his hands by jr. LB Eric Richards during a 23-yard
catch-and-run. Later, West sr. DB Darnell Jackson intercepted a pass and went
streaking down the sideline, apparently on his way to a sure score. Not to happen, as
soph. DB Charles Gladman kept up pursuit and punched the ball out of Jackson’s
hands around the two-yard line. The ball ultimately bounced out of the back of the end
zone and the Cardinals were awarded with a touchback. I applaud the hustle of Gladman who
never gave up, even with his team so far behind. However, on the West sideline, in a
lighter moment Jackson quickly became known as Leon Lett. For those of you who
don’t remember, the former Dallas Cowboy star had a similar thing happen to him in
the Super Bowl some years ago. Defensively, the Burrs dominated and allowed a mere 59
yards on 42 offensive plays. Ouch! Sr. DT Derrell Hand (6-4, 315) had a solid
outing and made his presence felt with four stops. The Burrs leading tackler was Donahue
with 6 stops. Soph LB Marc Holloway was next with 5 tackles. Sr. DT James Smart (5-10,
265) added a sack. Quick registered four stops and recovered a fumble. Jr. DT Marty
Blithe also recovered a fumble and sr. LB Michael Evans, playing or the first
time in three weeks added an interception. The lone offensive bright spot for Dougherty
was soph. RB Sean R. Williams who toughed-out 58 yards on 16 carries. He had decent
runs of 14 and 11 yards. Defensively, sr. DB Luke Ashenbrenner had four tackles and
an interception off a deflected ball. Soph. DT Steve Hart (5-10, 283) recovered a
fumble. Sr. DB Ralph Smith led the Cardinals with five tackles. Both teams were
missing arguably their best players in the game. West, sr. OG/DT Marques Slocum (6-6,
325) sat out the game with a high-ankle sprain. He will more than likely return next week.
Dougherty’s sr. RB/DB Bashir Haynes was forced to sit out after an altercation
he got into last week against Carroll. Fluck drew the ire (mixed with a few obscenities)
of at least one Dougherty assistant coach early in the fourth quarter. Leading 37-0, on a
third-and-9 play from the Dougherty 23-yard line he called a pass play. The play, a short
slant went incomplete. I can understand the assistant coach’s beef, but in
Fluck’s defense the quarterback back at the time was jr. Steven Powers. Powers
was projected as the Burrs starter at the beginning of the season before breaking his
thumb in camp. This was his first game back and in my opinion Fluck was only trying to get
him some game action, not trying to run the score up. West had PLENTY of deep subs in the
game at this time. The Burrs are playing as well defensively as I have seen in a long
time. This group so far has controlled the line of scrimmage and flies to the ball.
Amazingly, it has been the offense that has not started clicking on all cylinders yet,
specifically the running game. Sure, they have had some good moments, but I haven’t
seen that dominance with the huge offensive line that I expected. However, even when they
had RB Curtis Brinkley this team has been notoriously slow starting in that
department. Stay tuned!
Making an appearance for the Burrs at QB as the game wound down was soph Jerrick
Jenkins. He began the season playing for Gratz, but made just one
appearance (vs. West Philly).
SEPT.
24
CL RED
Roman 25, La alle 12
The
Cahillites used two big pass plays to set up their first two scores, and then relied on
the legs of sr. RB Evin Jones to salt the game away in the late going. Trailing
6-0, sr. QB/DB Tim Hoban hit sr. RB Mike Guinter down the middle of the
field for a 41-yard completion. Nine plays later Jones bulled in from the two to knot the
score. The touchdown capped a 12-play drive that answered an Explorer score. The PAT was
pulled to the left, and we went into the half all even at 6-6. The Cahillites started the
second half with a little bit of razzle-dazzle. On their first play, on what appeared to
be an inside reverse Hoban handed the ball to Jones, who immediately handed the ball to
Guinter, who then pitched it back to Hoban, and waiting in open spaces was jr. WR Dan
Jordan. The wide-open Jordan was brought down at the Explorer 5-yard line for a
55-yard gain. Hoban gave the Cahillites a 12-6 lead as he scored on fourth down play
shortly thereafter. The score remained this way into the fourth quarter, and with less
than nine minutes remaining LaSalle was driving. They advanced to the Roman 17-yard line,
and were faced with a fourth-and-one. They gave the ball to soph. RB Chris Ashley
who went left, but appeared to run into a couple of bodies before being dropped by sr. LB Tim
Plona for no gain. Four plays later Jones was off to the races on a 65-yard scoring
jaunt that gave Roman some much needed breathing room. On the play, Jones started left
behind the lead block of sr. FB/LB Brian Chiodi before cutting back to the right.
Late in the run Jones showed his strength in easily shredding a tackle attempt by an
Explorer defensive back. The Explorers didn’t quit and went 71 yards on five plays to
draw within six, at 18-12 with 4:54 remaining. Again it was Jones who came up large.
Expecting a possible onside kick the Cahillite deep men were up around the 25-yard line.
Instead, the Explorers did send the kick deep. The ball sailed over Jones’ head, but
he calmly retreated and carefully gathered the ball in at the 8-yard line with his back
facing the oncoming Explorers. After regaining composure he found a crease and turned a
potential bad situation into a 45-yard return to the La Salle 47-yard line. It was Jones
who cemented the game away with his third touchdown of the game on a three-yard run. The
touchdown was setup by a 27-yard burst by Jones two plays earlier on a third-and-four. For
just over three quarters Jones was merely ordinary, rushing for 66 yards on 20 carries.
Then, with an I’m taking this game over attitude he exploded. His last seven carries
produced 119 yards. Throw in the 45-yard return and he went for 164 total yards in a
little over seven minutes. He finished with 185 yards on 27 totes, with three scores.
That’s 18 points for a player who was in the midst of celebrating his 18th birthday.
Save some room for cake and ice cream, why don‘t you?! Jones has a strong build, and
his best attributes are probably his patience and quick feet. Some lower D-1’s are
sniffing. I think programs like Villanova and Delaware could do a lot worse than this kid.
The gritty Hoban turned in probably his best performance of the season. He went 6-for-11,
with 137 yards. His two deep throws were perfectly thrown and he appeared to be playing
with lots of confidence. For good measure he added an interception to thwart La
Salle’s last drive. Roman’s offensive line did an excellent job for a group that
won’t overwhelm you with tremendous amounts of size. However, what they lack in size
they do more than make up for it in the grit and brass departments. This group included:
sr. TE’s Matt Schenk and soph. Matt Marcinek, sr. C Jim Moore,
G’s sr. Plona and sr. Joe Crisanti, and T’s jr. Joe Mulhern and
sr. John Haughney. Job well done fellas! Defensively, aggressive jr. DB Aaron
Pryer had a team-high 9 tackles. He also supplied the hit of the game, bringing down
an Explorer rusher in the open field. Plona and Mulhern evenly split 12 tackles. Mulhern,
a transfer from McDevitt added a sack. Jr. LB Ryan McAdams had a sack and a half.
Jr. DB Cory Jackson contributed five stops. Defensive leader sr. LB Sean
Matthews sat out the game with a strained ACL. He expects to be back next week and
said he would have played tonight, but the trainer didn’t give him the okay. However,
he was as intense on the sideline as he usually is on the field. Supplying constant
encouragement and even taking the water out during timeouts. You be hard-pressed to find
this kid’s motor not running. The Explorers even in defeat had some decent moments.
Sr. QB Mike Lynch got somewhat back on track and went 9-for-18, with 130 yards and
two scores. He gave the Explorers the lead when he hit wide-open sr. WR/DB Rob Forster for
a way-to-easy 33-yard touchdown. He later hit sr. WR Tom Jorfi on a 5-yard scoring
strike. Forster was the most impressive Explorer on this evening, and not far behind was
his younger brother (I think, I didn’t notice this until I got home) soph. DB Jack
Forster. The elder Forster had three grabs for 75 yards. Besides the 33-yard TD, he
had a 40-yarder that setup their second score. Defensively, he had 8 tackles and an
interception. The younger Forster was equally as impressive on defense with 9 tackles and
an INT. I was impressed with the quickness of Ashley, who finished with 61 yards on 17
carries. He reminds me somewhat of Bryan McCartney of Archbishop Wood, and should
have many good moments ahead. The defense also got good play from soph. LB Dominic
Baker who had 8 tackles and jr. George Hudson who made 6 stops. Sr. DE Joe
Sobocinski made a fumble recovery. There is a good news and bad news about
Conshy’s field since my last visit, just four weeks ago. The good news is that a
brand spankin’ new scoreboard has been added and tonight was its first action of the
year. The bad news was the entire scoreboard went out with 5:32 remaining in the game and
did not return. Stay tuned! A nice touch by Roman Head Coach Jim Murphy who awarded
the game ball to soph. QB/DB John Clark after the game. Clark, lost his father and
then a short time later his grandfather during Roman’s camp prior to the season. It
takes a special young man to be able to continue and persevere after such a difficult
situation. A couple of updates on former Cahillite players from last year. Last
year’s QB Andre Sloan-El, now at Minnesota will more than likely redshirt, so
says his father. Also, NG Lenny DeMalto will be making his first varsity appearance
for Penn tomorrow against Villanova. Under the lights at Franklin field against a local
rival, doesn’t get much better than that! I wish both of these former Cahillites all
the best at the next level.
SEPT.
19
NON-LEAGUE
O’Hara 21, North Penn 20
I’m sure
many people around the state (PIAA folks) are viewing this outcome as a surprise or upset.
Even yours truly picked against the Lions this week. However, with that being said, I view
this outcome as neither a surprise nor an upset. O’Hara
is a GOOD football team!! Not only was this a big win for Head Coach Danny Algeo and his program, but also for the
entire Catholic League. A league that is commonly thought as an afterthought by many of
the power leagues around the state. North Penn came into the contest as the second ranked
4A team in the state and the number one team in Southeastern PA. The Lions needed plenty
of late-game heroics to pull-off the victory on a breezy, but otherwise gorgeous
afternoon. The Lions’ offense sputtered for much of the afternoon, but the defense
was beyond solid. It was this unit that got the ball back in the latter stages. With less
than three minutes to play North Penn had a third-and-5 from their own 18-yard line. They
called a quarterback keeper to the left, the play was strung out and eventually forced
NP’s star Adam Hearns (Syracuse recruit)
to reverse fields. Waiting for him was sr. DB Brian
Giacobetti, who brought him down for an 8-yard loss that forced a punt. Sr. RB Steve Cook returned the punt 11 yards to the
North Penn 38-yard line with 2:29 to play. The game-tying drive started with Sr. QB John Ward hitting sr. WR Sean Barksdale for a 19-yard reception. Then, runs
by Cook (nine) and Ward (two) situated the Lions with a first-and-goal at the eight.
Consecutive runs by Cook netted just three yards. On third down, Ward attempted to hit
Barksdale on a fade pattern to the left side of the end zone. The ball was slightly
overthrown and traveled over the head of Barksdale, who was covered reasonably well on the
play. After a timeout, the Lions perfectly executed their fourth down play. Again, it was
the clutch Barksdale who supplied the drama. Starting on the left he went in motion to the
right. From the left hash Ward beautifully floated the ball to Barksdale, who rather
easily caught the pass beyond a trio of North Penn defenders with just :23 seconds left.
Sr. K Frank D’Angelo calmly drilled the
PAT to knot the score. The Lions lost the OT coin flip and got the ball first. Algeo and
company went to the well again and try to hit Barksdale on another fade pattern. This time
NP was ready and a couple of defenders knocked the ball away. On second down, it was Cook,
following the lead OL jr. Dan Gough (6-4, 255)
and sr. Virginia recruit Matt Lowry (6-6,
292) that burrowed down to the two-yard line. On third down Cook plunged in from there to
give the Lions the lead. D’Angelo again was successful on the PAT. NP’s jr. FB Ian Carpenter scored from the four-yard line on
second down and it appeared we were on our way to another overtime, right? No exactly, NP
still needed to add the point-after. Jr. LB Greg
Smith convincingly made sure that there would be no second overtime when he blasted up
past the center and easily blocked the kick. Sending the O’Hara faithful into a
joyous celebration. It was Barksdale who opened the scoring in the game, on yet another
fade pattern, snaring a 14-yard touchdown from Ward midway through the second quarter.
Barksdale finished the game with 5 receptions for 69 yards. Showing good concentration and
soft hands in doing so. He now has six TD receptions in just three games, all have come on
fades. All of Ward’s completions went to Barksdale, he finished 5-for-13 in the game.
His fades to Barksdale were very impressive. Cook ran hard and tough throughout, and was
rewarded with a third consecutive 100-yard performance. He finished with 114 yards on 24
totes. Earning every one of these yards. I’m sure Cook is not underrated to those
close to O’Hara, but in the area he may not got the credit/exposure he deserves. Look
for this to change! I read recently that his coach compares him to former Roman star Joe McCourt in his running style. I couldn’t
agree with this assessment more. The Lions defense was superb. They did allow 244 yards in
offense, but North Penn needed 65 plays to generate this yardage. That’s just 3.8
yards per play, more than adequate against a team of North Penn’s prowess. The NP
ground attack could only muster 140 yards on 48 carries, less than three yards a rush.
O’Hara did an excellent job of bottling-up the talented Hearns. He completed 9-of-17,
for 104 yards, but only gained 27 yards on 13 carries. Smith’s biggest play may have
been the blocked extra-point, but prior to that he was everywhere. He led the Lions with
13 tackles (7 solos). I was very impressed with sr. DE John Paul Conneen (6-3, 235). This kid has a
non-stop motor and finished with 11 tackles (6 solos) and forced a fumble. Undersized sr.
DT Kevin Murray played a very strong game. He
notched two sacks and had two other TFL’s, in total the losses amassed 23 yards. He
finished with 8 total stops. SR. DT Brahiim
Washington (6-0, 230) registered 9 tackles and split a sack with sr. LB Bill Kerr. Jr. DT Ed Callahan recovered a fumble. Jr. DB Anthony Walters displayed great closing speed on a
couple of pass-defends in the defensive backfield. The first one prevented what would have
been a significant gain by North Penn. Sr. S Mike
Marotta and jr. LB Scott Taylor were also
key defensive contributors. Jr. P Pat Quinn got
tremendous hang-time on a 54-yard punt that was muffed by a North Penn returner. The
muffed punt was recovered by soph. RB John
Dempsey and led to O’Hara’s first score. This victory will undoubtedly give
O’Hara plenty of confidence going into CL Red play. League play for the Lions will
start in two weeks, next week they play CL Blue opponent McDevitt. O’Hara should be
right in the hunt for that CL Red crown. I understand that until someone knocks off SJ
Prep that the title still goes through the Hawks. However, this bunch of Lions has as good
as chance as anyone to unseat the three-time defending champs. Expect a war, (or two ?)
when these teams meet later in the season.
SEPT. 11
CATHOLIC BLUE
Kennedy-Kenrick 6, Carroll 0
Pointwise, the Wolverines’ defense
fully put the clamps on Carroll’s usually productive offense in this one after having
come close to doing so (one TD) in last year's meeting. The game remained scoreless until
hard-nosed sr. FB/LB Chris Matozzo plunged-in
from the four-yard line with just :41 seconds left. The scoring drive began with 4:58 left
on the clock at K-K’s own 22. Faced with a third-and-14 at the 18, it was Matozzo who
rumbled up the middle for a gain of 17 yards to keep the drive alive. Other key plays on
the drive were; 17-yard pass completion to jr. WR Zach
Molyneaux (2-49) from versatile sr. QB Brian
Gillin, and two (26, 11) runs by Gillin. The 26-yarder was a designed quarterback
keeper to the left and the short side of the field. Sr. OT Brian Kilmartin was out front paving the way on
the run. Carroll advanced to the K-K 43-yard line on their final drive, but K-K’s sr.
WR/DB Jay Rigg sealed the win with his second
interception of the game. Though it was a defensive game both teams did move the ball
somewhat between the 30s. However, drives usually stalled because of a busted play or a
penalty. It was Matozzo, the heart-and-soul of the Wolverines, who dictated play all
evening. He rushed for 92 yards on 17 carries. Most of his runs came on belly plays right
at the Carroll defense. He also made the hit of the night defensively when he hammered
Carroll jr. FB Jake Szulinski (6-0, 235) for a
two-yard loss. He was giving up 60 pounds on the exchange. Not to go unnoticed was the
play of Gillin. The more I see of this kid, the more I like. He accounted for 145 yards in
offense -- rushing 12 times for 77 yards and passing 4-of-10 for another 68 yards. Twice,
in the open field he showed toughness and aggressively ran over would-be tacklers. The
first came against Carroll’s hard-hitting and emotional sr. DB Brian Rorick near the K-K sideline, sending the
Wolverine faithful and team into a frenzy. Defensively, no Wolverine stood out
individually, but as one unit they were very impressive. Jr. DB Matt Trabosh made an interception preventing a
possible scoring opportunity for Carroll at the 4-yard line. Sr. DB Mike Dayton and sr. DE Matt Pugliese evenly split 12 tackles. Sr. DT Jared Couchara and soph. LB Sean Wise evenly split 8 tackles. Six other
Wolverine defenders had at three tackles apiece. The usually potent Carroll offense
sputtered all night. They were inconsistent to say the least. Their ground attack, usually
the staple of their program, could only muster 132 yards on 28 carries. Modest numbers at
best for them. Szulinski (15-71) is a first-year starter at fullback. He is a load with
good size, but aside from a few decent runs never really got out into the secondary. Soph
RB Brent Christie is the speediest of the
Patriot backs. However, he only garnered 6 carries, but did get 54 yards. Sr. QB Greg Kobilka was picked off three times in the
second half. He finished just 4-of-12, with 51 yards. The team leader appears to be
Rorick. This kid rarely leaves the field, as he does the punting and the returning for the
Pats. He finished with a team-high 10 tackles (7 solos). He did have two receptions for 35
yards, but he probably could see the ball a little more on offense. Possibly on reverses,
or as one of the wingbacks. If he does have an area of concern it might be his emotion. On
a few occasions he was told by referees to cool it and that if he kept it up he would be
sitting. However, I love the way this kid plays, as he leaves everything on the field. Sr.
LB Greg Ritter (seven) and sr. LB Mike Kelly (five) were next in the tackling
department. Jr. DE John Pettine made an
interception off a batted ball. Soph. OT/DT Jordan
Faust (6-3, 290) is worth keeping an eye on as his career continues. This was huge win
for the Wolverines and their program. These two teams are heated rivals and playing
Carroll seems to bring the best out in K-K. The win will also go along way in K-K’s
playoff aspirations as they nicely sit at top of the CL Blue Division (2-0). Playing hard
and being prepared won’t be a concern for this team, but having enough on the line of
scrimmage against the physical teams in the division could be. It’s back to the
drawing board for the Patriots as they have suffered two disappointing losses in
consecutive weeks in opposite respects. Defensively poor one week and tonight offensively
inept. This may be a product of being young, so improvement in the weeks to come should be
expected.
SEPT. 11
CATHOLIC BLUE
West Catholic 20, Wood 12
In a rematch of last
year’s CL Blue championship game the Burrs got some revenge as they held off the
Vikings in the game’s waning moments. Wood moved deep into West territory on their
last two possessions only to be denied. First, on a first-and-goal play, jr. RB Bryan McCartney’s fumble was recovered by
soph. DE Anthony Rhoades at the seven-yard
line. Next, with time running out the Vikings drove 49 yards to the West three-yard line.
With less the twenty seconds to play and the clock running Wood gave the ball to sr. RB/LB
Bill Gross, his only carry of the game. He was
stuffed by sr. DBs Chris Diaferio and Kelven Quick for no gain. Wood sr. QB Chris Hanson hurriedly got the troops to the
line and managed to spike the ball with just a second to play. On Wood’s last play
Hanson attempted to hit sr. Kevin Hall coming
across the endzone, but Diaferio stepped in and made a nice play by slapping the ball
away, thus preserving the win. In the early going it looked like the Burrs would frolic.
After an interception by jr. DB Harold Davis
(more on him to come) placed the ball on the five, it was freshman QB Eric Brennan scoring on a sneak three plays later.
The Burrs made it 14-0 when Quick went 91 yards untouched down the left side of the field.
He showed good speed in outrunning a couple of Wood defensive backs. Later in the first,
West drove to the Wood 25-yard line, but stalled and failed to put the Vikings away. Wood
got within two, at 14-12 after two great individual efforts by receivers, combined with
some poor tackling by Burr defenders. First, Hanson found jr. TE Ryan Dolan for a 27-yard scoring strike. Dolan was
hit twice early after the catch and then bobbed and weaved down the sideline. Then, with
just over a minute to play and West in a soft prevent defense, impressive soph Chris Lorditch (2-111) again broke more than a few
tackles while scoring on an 82-yard reception. The score remained that way until late in
the third quarter. Then, the Burrs increased their lead when sr. WR Antoine Stout (6-5, 185) made a spectacular
catch at the back of the endzone. The ball was slightly under-thrown and initially tipped
by Lorditch, but Stout somehow came up with it and got his knee down before falling out of
bounds. It was Brennan’s first career touchdown toss. The youngster finished just
2-for-10, with 47 yards, but was victimized by at least four drops. Neither one of the
Burr tailbacks, Diaferio (15-35) and the dangerous soph. Dennis Shaw (9-42) really got going. However,
Quick (6-105) and jr. Wayne Donahue (8-52)
experienced success from the fullback position. Donahue is also the leader of defense and
finished with 7 tackles and a forced fumble. The big guys in the middle of the Burr
defensive line, sr. DT’s Marques Slocum (6-6,
325) and Derrell Hand make it extremely
difficult for opposing teams to run up the gut. Slocum played much better today than last
week and was the Burr leading tackler with eight and a sack. Both are receiving
wide-ranging D-1 attention. Jr. DB John Maddox (6-4,
165) shook off some drops on the offensive side of the ball and made his second
interception in as many weeks near the Burr goal line. It was Davis who appeared to be
headed towards a monster game in the early going. On Wood’s first seven offensive
plays he made a pick and two tackles for losses. On the second of those tackles he got a
scare when he bruised his neck. He did not return, but seemed reasonably OK afterward.
I’ve only seen him now for two games, but already he is possessing qualities that
have him as one of the better Burr D-backs during my time here. Quick (six), Rhoades
(five), and sr. LB Frank Pirrotta (five, forced
fumble) were active in the tackling department. Jr. DB Matt Ambrosine also recovered a fumble for the
Burrs. Offensively, Hanson who threw for 191 yards, on 8-for-19 passing led the Vikings.
Sr. WR James Harrigan made three receptions for
35 yards. Wood’s ground-attack never got on track and was held to just 93 yards on 31
carries. McCartney, who rushed for over 1,400 yards last year has struggled in the early
going. Today, he gained just 31 yards on 18 carries, and fumbled twice and nearly lost a
third before a teammate recovered the ball on their last possession. Defensively, the
Vikings made not be as dominant as last year, but nonetheless there is some talent there.
Leading the charge is hard-hitting and heady linebacker Gross. He only had 6 tackles
today, but on many plays he does the dirty work, taking on the opposition’s FB and
allowing teammates to clean up the play. Harrigan was the leading tackler for the Vikings
with nine. Sr. LB Jim Fitzgerald, also in the
mold of Gross was next with eight stops, including 3 TFL’s. Sr. DB Ryan McAfee was next with 6 tackles and sr. DB John McFadden had an interception. Jr. DT Mike Gallagher turned all three of his stops into
losses. Both of these squads should be near the top of the division by year’s end and
a rematch of last year’s championship would not be the strangest of things.
SEPT. 11
NON-LEAGUE
Episcopal 44, Chestnut Hill 8
If someone would
have told Episcopal Head Coach Rick Knox prior
to the contest that his team would commit ten penalties for 85 yards and turn the ball
over six times, and that his offense would only score ten points, you could only imagine
what his reaction would have been. Despite all of this his team still went on to wallop
the Hillers/Blue Devils. As the Churchmen, disguising as the Baltimore Ravens defense,
scored five, count 'em FIVE defensive touchdowns. In order; jr. DB Tim Ivory 47-yard INT return, sr. LB Pete Wichmann 21-yard fumble return, sr. DB Brian FitzPatrick 42-yard fumble return,
Fitzpatrick 22-yard INT return, and then the granddaddy of them all a 99-yard INT return
by jr. DB Jim Byrne. At this very moment our
fearless leader, Mr. Ted Silary, is checking
on record-breaking proportions at both the local and national level. It was Wichman, from
the fullback position that opened the scoring on a 61-yard burst on the Churchmen’s
first offensive play. Then, their first three defensive scores came on the next three
Hiller possessions. Therefore, with still 6:34 remaining in the first quarter, Episcopal
led commandingly 27-0 and had only run one offensive play. Amazing!!! To say the game was
sloppy would be an understatement. The teams combined for an astonishing 15 turnovers, 8
INT’s and 7 fumbles. Believe it or not, but Chestnut Hill fumbled another four times
only to make their own recoveries. Offensively, the Churchmen did have success on the
ground led by FitzPatrick at quarterback. Using quick feet and good decision-making
FitzPatrick rushed for 89 yards on 11 carries. Wichmann finished with 79 yards on 7 totes,
Alas, jr. RB Chris Lenane ran well with 61
yards on 7 carries. Aside from the defensive scores soph DE Chirs LeVine (fumb. rec), sr. DB Dyan Brown (INT), freshman DB Jimmy McGoldrick (INT), and sr. LB Lou Calabrese (INT) also got into the turnover
party. It was Ivory who supplied the hit of the day as he jarred the ball from a
Hilltopper receiver just after he made a reception 20 yards down field. The ball flung
into the waiting hands of Fitzpatrick who returned it for the score. Sr. OT/DT Greg “Izzy” Isdaner (6-4, 310) was as
strong and mean as advertised. Sr. TE/LB Joe
Rosati is unquestionably one of the team leaders. He registered 6 tackles. All of the
stops came in the first half, as he sat out the second half with a tweaked knee. He seemed
to be moving around rather well, so hopefully that’s all it was. The Churchmen cannot
afford to lose him for any extended amount of time. Finally, for the Churchmen OG/DT Ben Kissner handled all of the kicking chores.
He connectd on three PAT and calmly hit a 24-yard field goal. The Hillers run a mostly shotgun offense.
That’s where this game began and ended. Sr. QB Scott Dziengelski had a day he soon forget,
going 5-for-21, 86 yards, and a dismal 6 picks. So. RB Sean Fitzpatrick (9-77) scored CH’s only
touchdown and ran hard in the latter stages. Defensively, jr. DB John Salem made 8 tackles, and had an INT. Jr. DB Mike Flannery was active with 6 tackles, and both
a fumble recovery and forced fumble. Sr. LB Tim
Martz added an INT and fumble recovery. So. DT Matt
Letner and freshman DT Tim Gramlich each
recovered fumbles. The Churchmen have enough talent to make some noise in the Inter-Ac
this year, but they’ll have to stay away from the sloppy play to do so.
SEPT.
10
NON-LEAGUE
Interboro 14, Bonner 3
The difference in talent between the
two teams was not as big a gap as many would expect. The Friars played hard and spirited.
However, the Bucs have been one of the more successful teams in Delaware County during the
last decade. One of the reasons is the style of football they play. Interboro has built
its program with a belief in execution and playing mistake-free. Tonight, they did just
that, while the Friars committed just enough mistakes to prevent them from a momentum
boosting win. Bonner only committed seven penalties for 39 yards, but it was how, where,
and when they committed them that hurt. Six of the seven miscues were either procedure or
delay-of-game calls. The Bucs marched seventy yards on eleven plays in the game’s
opening possession to take a 7-0 lead. The rest of the half was evenly played with each
team having a field goal blocked. On the opening possession of the second half the Friars
marched to the Interboro twelve and had a first down. Then, they were whistled for a
procedure call pushing the ball back to the 17-yard line. They never recovered and had to
settle for a 34-yard field goal by, sr. K/DB Ryan
Juisti. The kick would have been good from at least another ten yards. On
Interboro’s next possession the Friar defense was faced with two, third and longs.
First, Interboro rolled off a 48-yard run on a third-and-15 from their own 33-yard line.
Then, they put the game away when they scored a touchdown on a beautiful pitch and catch
play from the 27-yard line. This came on a third-and-18 play and was a backbreaking one at
that. Offensively, the Friars sputtered, but had some decent moments. Sr. RB Carl Graham (11-43), a transfer from West
Catholic, had a couple of almost type runs. He had dashes of 16, 18, and 13 in the first
half, but never got on track in half number two. I was impressed with jr. QB Marc Verica (6-3, 175). Verica showed lots of
poise and good feet in the pocket. He finished 9-for-16 with 109 yards. At the moment it
appears that Verica has surpassed, sr. QB Andrew
Case as the Friars starting QB. Case, who has been sidelined with an ankle injury,
suited up for the contest. He played one series that started at the end of the third
quarter and went into the fourth, but the drive stalled at the Bonner 46-yard line. In my
opinion, with the Friars already trailing by eleven the move seemed questionable at the
very least. Seven different receivers caught passes for Bonner. Sr. WR Mike Heppler (3-33) was the most active. Jr. WR Mike Tomasco made the catch of the night, a
15-yard snag along the sideline. Defensively, the Friars were active all night and kept
the offense in the game throughout. Leading the charge was, jr. DT Pat Dix (6-2, 255) who registered a team-high 8
tackles. Juisti (7 tackles) supplied the hit of the night and also blocked a field goal
for the second consecutive week. Jr. LB Matt Licci
and jr. DB Ryan Hunt evenly split 14 tackles.
Sr. DE Rich Canfield was next with five stops.
The Friars were also victimized by the strangest start of the game penalty. Bonner was
called for offsides because they didn’t have five players on the line of scrimmage
wearing a number between 50 and 79. We don’t usually mention players from teams
outside our coverage area, but I’d be remised if I didn’t mention
Interboro’s bruising sr. FB/LB Sean Wasson.
This kid was force all evening on both sides of the ball. He ran for 132 yards on 19
carries and scored the game’s first touchdown. Defensively, he had 10 tackles (7
solo’s) and had a late-game interception. Also, sr. OG/DT Zack Anderson (6-3, 270), a D-1 prospect stood out
on the o-line. Zack is the younger brother of former Bartram, University of Pittsburgh,
and now Chicago Bears star Brian Anderson. In
closing I would like to give kudos out to Bonner’s jr. WR John Hayes. Hayes hauled in two receptions for 29
yards in the game. You may be wondering why such modest numbers are being mentioned. I
know John personally, and he is a tremendous kid with a heart as big as a football field.
He entered Bonner as a stud athlete, and even broke a few CYO track records as an eighth
grader. However, shortly into his high school career John was diagnosed with cancer. The
last two years have been very hard for John and his family. The thought of playing sports
again was just an after-thought for those close to John. However, in typical fashion,
using unparalleled determination and courage John as beaten the disease and is back out
doing what he loves to do. Being an athlete and a competitor!! I commend you and wish
nothing but the best.
SEPT.
3
CATHOLIC BLUE
Kennedy-Kenrick 28, Dougherty 6