Huck's Corner Football 2012 Return to TedSilary.com Home Page   Ed "Huck" Palmer is a headliner among our trusty statmen/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. Twitter . . . @HuckPalmer.

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DEC. 16
Click here for the final individual stats (on a separate file).

DEC. 11
CATHOLIC LEAGUE STATS

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DEC. 3
CL STATS

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NOV. 28
CL STATS

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NOV. 22
THANKSGIVING/PCL-INTER-AC
SJ Prep 35, Malvern 6
   Nearly two weeks ago the Hawks lost a one-point, overtime, heartbreaker to La Salle in the PCL 4A final. It was a kick to the gut of epic proportions. For my money, this Hawks squad is arguably a top 5 4A team in the state. But when a league opponent also holds that distinction, then one of them is going to have the meaningful portion of their season end before the turkeys are in the oven. And that’s not to say that this relatively new Thanksgiving morning rivalry doesn’t produce juice, but one had to think that many around the Hawks’ program still have to be wondering, what could have been? So, with that in mind, how would the Hawks come out today? Well, on an absolutely gorgeous morning for this time of year, that question was answered right from the opening bell. On the opening kickoff, sr. LB John Antiskay rocked the jr. RB Troy Gallen and forced a fumble; with the recovery going to jr. DB Thomas Johnson at the MP 24-yard line. Now, the play didn’t lead to points, as a penalty pushed the Hawks back, but the tone was most definitely set. Too much character and coaching on this Hawks’ team for any kind of pity party. On MP’s next possession, sr. QB Bill Ford was picked off by Antiskay, who was sensational throughout, along the left-side. Afterwards, Antiskay had little trouble scooting into the end zone 14 yards for the game’s first score. The Hawks would never look back. And though the offense had flashes at times, it was once again the defense that set the tone throughout. However, a fine offensive moment did come on the Hawks’ next series when jr. QB Chris Martin neatly hooked up with sr. WR D.J. Durant on 37-yard fly pattern down the right sidelines. Durant was able to beat two Friar defenders on the play. Late in the second quarter the Hawks would push the lead to, 21-0, on a 3-yard run by soph. RB/DB John Reid. This capped a 12-play, 67-yard drive for the Hawks. Reid was prominent during the drive with early, back-to-back runs of 13 & 16 yards, respectively. He later added a tough 2-yard run on a 4th-and-one from the ten-yard line. Any suspense or possible Malvern comeback was snuffed away in the first 45 seconds of the third quarter when the Hawks scored twice. First, on the second play of the quarter, jr. RB Vince Moffett (5-87) went untouched slightly to the left side of the line for a 58-yard burst. Interestingly, Moffett appeared to suffer a ding to his left shoulder before halftime, as he patrolled the Hawks’ sidelines with his jersey or shoulder pads off. Apparently, he hadn’t clocked out just yet. Smile. The eventual dagger occurred on Malvern’s first play of the following drive, as Ford fumbled on a combo sack by sr. LB Todd Jones and sr. DE James Mooney. Sr. LB Tim Rafter had little trouble scooping up the loose ball at the nine and scored easily. With 11:15 left in the third quarter the score had swelled to, 35-0, and we found ourselves in mercy rule land. A stingy defense had been the Hawks’ M.O. all season and today was no different. Man, what a cohesive and fundamentally sound unit this is. Until Malvern’s final series, with back-ups in the game for both squads, the Friars had garnered just 110 total yards and finished with 9 yards rushing on 28 attempts. The Hawks forced four turnovers and sacked MP QBs a total of seven times. Nine other Friar offensive plays went for losses, too. Antiskay had a day to remember. Aside from the forced fumble and pick-six, he also notched 2.5 sacks, three other TFLs, and registered a total of 10 stops in the game. Obviously, he had ideas of getting his seconds and thirds before the dinner bell rang. Others involved in the sack brigade were: Mooney (1.5), Jones (pair of shared sacks; 7 tackles), soph. LB Tommy Console (One), impressive frosh. DL Joe DuMond (.5), and sr. DE Shane Williams (.5). Sr. DB Pat McCabe (5 tackles) nicely stripped and recovered a fumble on a second quarter reception. Other contributors included; T. Johnson (5 stops), Reid (four), and Rafter (four). Offensively, the Hawks did what they had to and methodically accumulated 258 yards of offense. Martin passed 7-for-12, for 73 yards. He found six different receivers in the game. Three times sr. DB/P Dan Sherry pinned the Friars inside the fifteen on punts; including settles at the four and two-yard lines. Head Coach Gabe Infante and his staff deserve mucho credit for making sure the SJP down cycle didn’t last long. Nearly every contributing skill player returns next season. They do lose four of five OL and 9 of 11 starters from an excellent defense, but you have to like where the program is headed overall. For Malvern, quarterbacks Ford (15-for-22, 103 yards) and soph. Alex Hornibrook (4-for-7, 65 yards) had modest success when given time, but thirteen of these completions were of nine yards or less. The Hawks were very good at making the first tackle after the catch. Gallen (6-49) and sr. WR/DB Joe Carlini (6-37) were prominent in the pass-catching department. Gallen (112 yards on 3 KO returns) added a nice 74-yard KO return. Malvern was able to break the shutout on the last play of the game was Hornibrook found soph. WR James Keating on a 10-yard toss. The PAT was not attempted. Prior to the score Hornibrook had completions to soph. RB Mike Fleagle (26 yards) and soph. RB Dymond Wright (23 yards). Defensively, jr. Jake Anderson (9 tackles) had some real nice moments. Jr. DB Jordan Majors had an interception and made six tackles. Jr. LB Hunter Paulus (five),  sr. DB Ryan Ammerman (four), and soph. DB Trevon Morris (four) all were involved in the tackling area. With the win the Hawks have now evened the series up at (3-3). The catch of the day was had by Infante just before halftime, as he smoothly hauled in an overthrown pass in vintage Wayne Chrebet fashion (Sorry, had to get some sort of No. Jersey reference in there). Then again, maybe Gabe is a New York football Giants fan. Smile! Either way, the Hawks sideline enjoyed it.

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NOV. 10
PCL 3A FINAL
Wood 38, Bonner-Prendie 16
  On a comfortable November night at Plymouth-Whitemarsh Stadium the Archbishop Wood football team was able to capture their fifth straight PCL 3A title despite star sr. RB Andrew Guckin going into a slump. After posting back-to-back 300-yard games, the determined and hard-running Guckin had to settle for ONLY 281 yards (24 carries; 4 TDs) in this one. Smile! His total over the last three games now stands at 71-930-14 (TDs). Of course, since we love gaudy numbers here at TS.com so much we had to check to see if this was the best three-game output in city history. Not quite, as former West Catholic star Curtis “Boonah” Brinkley (Current San Diego Charger) toted the rock a staggering 103 times for 951 yards (16 TDs) in a three-game sequence in ’03. As a West statman, I remember those days vividly and how enjoyable it was to witness such a spectacle. I have little doubt that the Wood faithful aren’t doing the same over Guckin’s recent carnage. Believe it or not, but things didn’t start out easy for Guckin or his teammates. The Friars came is fired-up and most certainly eager to contain Wood’s punishing ground game. It was only 16 days ago that Guckin had torched the Friars for 345 yards. To begin this one, B-P received the ball first and held it for 14 plays; reaching as far as the Wood 17-yard line. However, on fourth down from the twenty-two, Guckin and soph. LB Jake Cooper combined to bring down soph. QB Collin DiGalbo on a sack. Even though the drive didn’t produce any points B-P was at least able to show the Vikings that they were going to hang around for awhile. Interestingly, Guckin had more yards passing (29 on a fake punt to sr. WR/DB Anthony Roakes) than rushing (7-27). Still, the pass actually set-up the game’s first points when on the first play of the second quarter, sr. K Nick Visco slammed a 26-yard field goal. From this point the Wood defense settled in. After B-P’s first drive (54 total yards & 4 1st downs) the Vikings didn’t allow the Friars to move the chains a single time and yielded just a total of 14 yards over their final five possessions of the half. Still, B-P’s defense was matching Wood play for play throughout the opening half, then it happened. With 4:02 left in the half Guckin ripped through the left-side and basically went untouched for a 79-yard score. The next time the Vikes had the rock he went 60 yards to the B-P one on that possession’s first play. He scored from here on the next Wood chance. Prior to the two carry, 139-yard outburst, the Friars had held Guckin to a reasonable 36 yards on 10 carries. Man, how quickly things can change. Wood took a 17-0 lead in the locker rooms and when they exited they left little doubt that this title would be theirs. On the second play of the third quarter, frosh. QB Tom Garlick found sr. TE/DE Benji Abercrombie for 40 yards to the B-P eighteen. On the next play, Guckin roared to the outside, easily shredded a tackle-attempt, and coasted in for his third score. The Friars would finally get on the board late in the third quarter on a nice individual effort of a run from sr. QB/DB Jim Haley. After starting to his left, Haley broke a couple of tackles before reversing fields to the right on a 43-yard keeper. DiGalbo found talented sr. WR/DB Christian Summers for the conversion to make the score, 24-8. But Wood would have none of it. Just three plays later on an un-timed play at the end of the third quarter, Guckin broke free down the left-side sidelines for a leaving-no-doubt 49-yard touchdown. This would be Guckin’s last carry, so one would have to think that getting 300 yards for a third straight game was definitely possible. Still, at this point a comfortable lead was had and Wood has bigger goals to say the least. No need to risk an unnecessary injury to the player that your going to ride in quest of another PIAA 3A state title. Plus, with Guckin’s departure his talented back-up soph. Jarrett McClenton (4-52) was able to join in the good times. His 30-yard burst gave the Vikes a 38-8 lead with 8:25 to play. Haley would add a feel-good 6-yard touchdown with 5:33 left to close out the scoring. Of course, a good back doesn’t achieve this kind of success without the help of the grunts up front. Boy, does Wood have a nice group here. They include; sr. C Fran Walsh, G’s sr. Chris O’Connor and sr. Diego Racanco, and T’s sr. George Griffin and soph. Ryan Bates. Defensively, the Vikes leaders were; Guckin (7 stops, .5 sack), Cooper who shared in three sacks, McClenton (8 tackles), jr. DB Kendell Singleton (4 pass defends), jr. LB Josh Messina (5 stops, .5 sack), sr. DB John Berthcsi (7 stops, 5 solos), Walsh (.5 sack), and sr. DB Chris Rahill (Interception). For B-P, most of their offensive output came after the score was already 24-0. They were able to dial up 60 plays and 346 yards of offense. Haley (6-for-18, 88 yards) and DiGalbo (10-18, 140 yards) each had moments. Haley also rushed 15 times for 96 yards. DiGalbo can really sling it. He’ll be interesting to track moving forward. Sr. WR/DB Mike Roman led with 7 catches and 70 yards. The ornery, yet athletic Summers notched four for 68 yards. Jr. RB/DB Joe DePhillipo contributed 35 yards rushing on 5 totes and notched a 30-yard reception. B-P played without jr. WR/DB Michael Ockimey (Concussion). Defensively, jr. LB Mike Shanahan (sack) hustled for 8 total stops. Haley made a sprawling interception and registered 7 stops. Jr. DL John Durkin added a sack. Roman was in on five tackles, while sr. DL Devin Young (4 tackles) had some moments with a pair of TFLs. Since the PCL joined the PIAA in the 2008 season; West Catholic (2A), Wood (3A), and La Salle (4A) have won all five PCL titles in their respective classes. Wood is now (28-0) versus 3A league opponents over this time. Meanwhile, West (29-0) and La Salle (31-3) also hold dominant totals. Collectively, this trio is (88-3) over league opponents. LaSalle’s losses came at the hands of Father Judge (’08) and to SJ Prep in (’09) and earlier this year. In all three losses the Explorers exacted revenge in finals. Picking partners Tom “Puck” McKenna and Will “Big Willie” McGonigle. Our fearless leader Teddy S. took a group picture at halftime. I’m sure it will be posted. Though, I’m not sure I’m wanting that:) Puck and Willie traveled to this one from the Haverford School/Epsicopal game together. With Willie behind the wheel and Puck riding shotgun. Where is HBO when you need them?

NOV. 10
DISTRICT-1/12 SUBREGIONAL SEMIFINAL
West Catholic 48, Conwell-Egan 14
  Coming into this game as heavy underdogs Conwell-Egan knew it would have to control the ball and possibly throw a few wrinkles in there to have a chance against a more talented West team. And for the first 5:13 of the game that’s exactly what they did. Using a little trickery on the opening kickoff, sr. RB/DB Chaz Cason returned the kick 52 yards after two other Eagles handled the ball before it found Cason’s hands. When Cason was finally brought down the ball sat at the West 37-yard line. From here, the Eagles used nine running plays to find the end zone, as Cason did the honors on a 3-yard run. C-E euphoria would be short-lived, though. West would go onto score on their first five possessions. Meanwhile, C-E’s next five possessions would end with three punts, a turnover on downs, and a interception by West’s jr. LB Patrick Amara, who provided a scintillating 65-yard return on the last play of the half. Alas, the score would be wiped away because of an illegal block during the run. It didn’t matter! By this point the Burrs had built a more-than-comfortable, 36-7, lead. West soph. QB Antwain McCollum had not just a memorable first twenty-four minutes, but a perfect one at that. McCollum was a blistering 9-for-9 passing in that opening half with two scores and 205 total yards. Sr. WR’s Ron Womack (5-97) and Shaquille James (3-82) were just too much for the Eagles’ secondary to handle. Each provided a touchdown; James on a 54-yard easy-as-pie post pattern and Womack on a 25-yard deep out that McCollum neatly lofted over a C-E defender. The unassuming, but sure-handed Womack is quietly having a terrific season for the Burrs. He now has 39 catches on the year, while he and James have combined for 71 total receptions. West’s other three first half scores came via rushes by star jr. RB/DB Greg White. The runs covered 3, 2, and a reverse-the-field 42 yards. When the second half commenced the Burrs would waste no time sending this one into mercy rule status, as White went untouched through the left-side of the line on the first play of the second half. The dash covered 65 yards and would be White’s last tote of the game. He finished with 146 yards on 15 carries. McCollum (6 completions of 20+ yards) would not attempt a pass in the second half, but freshman back-up Josh Holsopple (5’6”, 120 lbs) did toss it once for a 12-yard completion to soph. WR Ahkil Crumpton. Hmm? A combined 10-for-10 outing from a pair of QBs? I guess you don’t see that too often, right? West’s last touchdown came from soph. RB David Swen on a 49-yard burst. For the game the Burrs totaled 419 yards. The offensive line consisted of soph. C Steven Wyant, G’s sr. Eric Rutherford and sr. Josh Gibbs, T’s sr. Jaryd Jones-Smith and jr. Kameron Cotton, while frosh. TE/DE Tymir Oliver and sr. FB Sonny Thai chipped in the space-clearing department. Defensively, the Burrs held the Eagles to 124 yards. Sr. LB Devyn Allen and Oliver each made six stops. Amara was next with five. White, soph. LB Neil Satterwhite, and jr. DB Brendon Slade each made four stops. Sr. LB James Savage added a sack. For C-E, sr. QB Kyle Techtmann scored the second TD on a 8-yard keeper. Cason (10-32) and jr. RB Dustin Mascione (7-27) were their most productive rushers. Cason also returned four kicks for 130 yards. Defensively, frosh. DL Brandon Siravo recovered a fumble. Soph LB Jordan Burney had some impressive moments in the late going where he made three TFLs. Sr. LB Dan McLaughlin led with five tackles, while jr. Rich Turchi (2 TFLs) was next with 4 stops. Next weekend, the Burrs will tangle with Imhotep Charter for the Subregional title. The winner of this game will find themselves in the final eight of the PIAA 2A state playoffs. All kinds of subplots in this one and quite frankly a game that has been much anticipated. It should be a fun week leading up this one. It appears the game will take place at the Germantown Super Site on Friday at 7 PM.

NOV. 6
CL STATS LEADERS

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NOV. 3
CATHOLIC CLASS AA FINAL
West Catholic 30, Carroll 7
(At Cardinal O’Hara)
  With the win the Burrs captured their 7th straight PCL Title within the class that they play. The last five have come in the 2A league, while the first two were had as PCL Blue participants. Though the final score shows a 23-point margin this one was still in doubt heading into the fourth quarter. For a play-by-play sequence we’ll begin here. The Burrs led, 14-7, and were facing a 3rd-and-14 from their 25-yard line. On the play, soph. QB Antwain McCollum let go with a deep pass down the left side, which was intended for jr. WR/LB Patrick Amara. The ball appeared to slip out of McCollum’s hands and was underthrown. A pair of Carroll defenders were in the area and the one closest to Amara, who was trying to come back for the ball, did make some contact. For my money it wasn’t enough contact that prevented Amara from making a play on the ball. Alas, pass interference was called and the Burrs were given new life at their forty. Three plays later, on a 3rd-and-11, McCollum tossed to sr. WR/DB Shaquille James (4-52) streaking across the middle and the speedster easily got outside and was barely tripped up after a 33-yard gain to the Carroll 28-yard line. Right after this the Burrs faced another daunting third down chance. This time needing 15 yards from the thirty-three. On this one McCollum found Amara in the middle of the field for a gain of 21 yards to the twelve. From here; soph. FB Javon Kegler would rush for four yards, then star jr. RB/DB Greg White would go six and the over-the-top from the one for the breathing-room touchdown. This was White’s third score of the game; earlier TDs covered 1 & 44 yards. On the conversion McCollum lobbed to the left-side to Amara to make the score, 22-7, with 8:05 left. Carroll’s next possession started nice when sr. QB Sal Bello connected with sr. WR/DB Jake Keszczyk for 24 yards to the West 45-yard line. However, Bello was sacked on the next play by soph. DB Neil Satterwhite for a loss of nine. On the next play, mammoth sr. DL/OL Jaryd-Jones Smith got to Bello with another sack worth 13 yards and also forced a fumble on the play. Frosh. DE Tymir Oliver made the recovery at the Carroll 33-yard line. Six plays later the Burrs put the final nail in the coffin when McCollum dashed 24 yards on a 4th-and-19 chance. Again, the conversion featured a successful left-side fade from McCollum to Amara; making the score 30-7 with 3:26 left. It wasn’t the crispest of games, but with real practice time more than likely at a minimum this week because of the recent storm, then I suppose this was to be expected. Carroll really played hard and there is no doubt in my mind that they made vast improvement from the beginning of the year to now. In the first half, West really hurt themselves with a pair of costly turnovers deep in Carroll territory. The first one came right before White was crossing the goal line on a hit by sr. TE/LB Evan Harvey. It was very close, but the referees seemed sure of themselves in making the call. Couldn’t tell if the ball was recovered by Carroll in the end zone or rolled over the sideline for a touchback. Later in the second quarter, McCollum was picked-off by sr. LB Tyler Rongione at the six-yard line. At half, West held a 275-to-84 yards advantage, but only lead 14-7. Carroll’s first score was provided by sr. RB/DE Ryan Boornazian on a 2-yard run. It capped a 5-play, 53-yard drive and briefly gave the Pats a 7-6 lead. Less than three minutes later White dashed in from 44 yards. Offensively, West was led by White who rushed 29 times for 183 yards. Carroll did a good job of slowing him down in the second half where he rushed 11 times for only 32 yards. McCollum finished 10-for-13, for 142 yards. Sr. WR Ron Womack (5-69) was targeted the most. West finished with 353 yards of offense. Defensively, the Burrs held Carroll just 51 rushing yards on 27 totes (141 total yards). All total, six different players notched a sack; Jones-Smith, Sattlewhite, sr. LB James Savage, sr. OL/DL Eric Rutherford, sr. DL Dom Toney, and White. Amara had 4 pass defends and all were near the line of scrimmage. Jr. DB Rae’Quan Williams played a strong game and had a team-high 8 tackles, including two for losses. James added five stops. For Carroll, Bello finished 9-for-21, for 92 yards. The Pats had many game defenders in this one. Boornazian (7 total stops) was a man possessed coming off the edge and the Burrs had their hands full all day with this whirlwind. He notched a pair of sacks and two other TFLs worth 24 yards in losses. Harvey forced another fumble and had a game-high 9 tackles. Other leaders on defense were: Sr. WR/DB Dan Bier (seven), soph. DB Joe Gatto (six), Keszczyk (six), sr. LB Ben Lerario (five), and Rongione (five). Soph. DL Joe Desanto had some good moments in the second half with three TFL’s and a forced fumble. Bier added a 54-yard kickoff return. Next week West will begin the D-1/12 subregional versus Conwell-Egan. Oops! Make that the D-12 “sub” regional, as District-1 has opted out of competition. I believe the other game will pit Pub power Imhotep against Prep Charter.

OCT. 29
CL STATS LEADERS

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