September reports

OCT. 29
CATHOLIC BLUE
Conwell-Egan 30, Kennedy-Kenrick 13
   During a first half with some entertaining, back-and-forth elements, there was a hope that this one could become a classic with the outcome decided in the final moments. Not quite. C-E had too many weapons and too much blocking to let those guys do their thing, and K-K was flat-out worn down. Not counting a bad snap that resulted in a 21-yard loss, C-E ch-chinged its ways to 339 yards total offense as jr. RBs Ray O'Hara (12-98) and Jim Domzalski (6-20) ran for two TDs apiece even though the leading ground-gainer was sr. Rasuel Thomas (15-138). Jr. QB Kevin Schafer passed 6-for-13 for 80 yards and his best connection was a 37-yarder to jr. WR Dave Kuebler. The line: C No. 55 (not on roster), jr. Gs Justin Bainbridge and Joe Snydman, sr. Ts Kevin Dunn and Rob Christine and sr. TE Steve Herrmann. The game began with a bang as K-K posted a 70-yard, first-play score on a pass from sr. QB Gerry DiNolfi (5-for-11, 91) to sr. WR Jermaine Pierce. It was a short slant, right to middle, and Pierce kept steaming toward the left and eventually scored in the left corner. C-E also covered 70 yards on its answer-back drive, but did so in conventional fashion with an eight-play drive. The scoring play had some length as O'Hara, who showed some serious "jukeability" for a white boy (smile), went 32 yards. He appeared to be stopped just inside the 20, then broke free and frolicked into the end zone. Early in the second quarter, sr. LB Rich Dupell recorded back-to-back sacks and dislodged the ball on the second. Sr. DB Dan Cicconi recovered on the K-K 20 and just three plays were needed for paydirt purposes: runs of 4 yards by Domzalski, 14 by O'Hara and 2 by Domzalski. K-K's next "drive" was again a one-player as soph RB Derek Jones zoomed for 55 yards. The second half was quite one-sided. O'Hara and Domzalski ran for short scores and jr. Bryan Hanratty hammered a 20-yard field goal. K-K's highlight came on a punt, believe it or not. The Wolverines had the ball on C-E's 45 when a snap went way over sr. Kevin Lawrence's head. He ran back, got the ball, somehow avoided many pursuers and got off a quick, sidesaddle kick from the K-K 26. The ball went to C-E's 35. I told him it was the best 8-yard punt in CL history. He laughed and said, "Make sure you put in there that I'm the Michael Vick-like punter for Kennedy-Kenrick." As the game wound down, DiNolfi suffered an injury and Pierce lined up at QB in a shotgun. He ran a keeper to his right and was popped by Herrmann. The ball squirted out and jr. LB Tom McCue recovered. Cicconi and Nolte had interceptions. Weird fact: C-E has nine picks for the seasons. Cicconi (six) and Nolte (three) have all of them. After O'Hara ran for his 32-yard TD, one of C-E's ballboys said, "I taught that kid everything he knows." It was Ray's 12-year-old brother, Matt. C-E had a great turnout for Homecoming, especially among students. Eight kids watched the game barechested throughout with G-O--E-A-G-L-E-S painted on their chests. When somehow the wrong song was briefly played over the sound system instead of the National Anthem, the students began singing the NA and kept going until the correct recording came through. All night, they sang the "T.O. Song" for anybody with two syllables in their name. The best version was for Thomas. "Rah-soool, rah-soool, rah-soool, rah-soool . . . rah-SOOOL, rah-SOOOL." In the third quarter, K-K jr. DL Alex Johnson jumped offside and stepped on Christine's hand (UPDATE from May 2007: Alex, now a senior baseball player, insists he did not step on Christine's hand!! -- smile). After one play, jr. FB Keith "Chief" Andrews was standing near the huddle unsure whether he was supposed to remain on the field. The coaches kept hollering "Chief!" and Andrews finally ran off. Coach Mike McTamney said to him, laughing, "Who else would it be? You're the only Chief in four counties!" Not really if one of those counties is Philadelphia. Franklin has a Rodreen "Chief" Howell. K-K had 29 players, 20 cheerleaders and 42 fans. Of course, some of those "fans" were scouts from other schools.

Mike Tos, C-E's legendary statistician, hangs out with the Eagle, Dan Spatafore. Hockey Puck was jealous that he wasn't included. Especially since he swept Huck again this weekend, 3-0, in their nationally famous picking contest. Games, not noses. Though Puck would be a heavy favorite in that contest.

OCT. 29
CATHOLIC RED
Judge 13, Bonner 0
   These are crazy Catholic League times we live in, so, yes, this game between teams with such poor records (one combined win in the league) was important. At stake was one of the six playoff spots in the eight-team Red Division and the Crusaders wound up claiming it. The high school version of NFL Films, not that there is one, will not be asking for the videotape, but there were some good plays and impressive individual performances and this was hardly a waste of time. What turned out to the THE play came courtesy of sr. WR-KR John Tomaszewski on the second half kickoff. He caught the ball at the 8, headed straight up the middle, eased slightly to his right, evaded the kicker (the only guy with a real shot to get him) and completed a 92-yard TD adventure. Tomaszewski wasn't finished, though his next big contribution was not as obvious. Judge had the ball on its own 43, first and 10, when a sweep for jr. RB Jim Lavelle (20-176) was called. Tomaszewsi stepped inside, perfectly sealed off his man and Lavelle sped down the left sideline for a 47-yard gain. Three plays later, sr. QB Justin DeCristofaro hit sr. WR Mark Ryan for an 8-yard TD on a slant. Just 3:25 remained and Bonner was unable to slap together any late miracles. Bonner sr. QB Marc Verica, who's bound for Virginia, finished 14-for-27 for 142 yards. He hit on his first eight passes, then went 6 for his last 19. More than a few of the incompletions were borderline drops, though all would have been nice catches because the balls were a shade too far, too high or too low. Verica was sacked five times. Sr. OLB Anthony Montico recorded two for 23 yards and recovered a fumble after sr. DE Ryan White executed a strip on a sack. Jr. DTs Kevin Keenan and Ryan Kreider shared a sack and soph LB Chris Dowling had one of his own. Keenan also posted a TFL and recovered a fumble. That came on the game's first series after Bonner appeared to have spectacular momentum after Verica hit sr. WR Mike Tomasco for gains of 11, 11 and 25 yards on consecutive plays. The Friars had another excellent opportunity in the second quarter after sr. DE Steve Rugg absolutely plastered jr. Tom Hayes on a punt return and Vince Sculli recovered at the Judge 20. Montico's 10-yard was the huge play in that can't-cash-in possession. Bonner had no fully dangerous thrusts in the second half. Sr. LBs Matt Ricci and Steve Wheatley were the Friars' defensive leaders. Wheatley posted a 4-yard TFL and made an on-the-fly fumble recovery early in the fourth quarter. He managed a 35-yard return before, according to Judge people (the play was right in front of them; I was on the other side), getting accidentally tripped up by a teammate. Bonner forgot its ballbag so assistant Jim Lannigan, who happens to be a Judge grad (class of '97), made a quick trip to nearby Lloyd Sixsmith's Sporting Goods. He came back with three balls. "They overcharged me," he said, with a laugh, "because they saw me wearing a Bonner shirt." Among those strolling the Bonner sideline in the second half was Pat McLoone, executive sports editor of the Daily News and a former La Salle High jumpshooter of some acclaim. I covered Pat back in the day and now he's my boss. Life ain't fair (ha ha). His son, Brendan, is a backup Bonner lineman. I told Pat to get Brendan to take off his helmet for Special Photo purposes. Brendan kept his helmet glued to his head. He's one of those follow-the-rules guys and there is surely nothing wrong with that.

OCT. 28
PUBLIC AAA
Bok 14, Franklin 0
   The thought was that these teams were rather evenly matched and that the home field could make the difference. Twenty-ninth Street Stadium, used by Franklin (and Dobbins), can be an intimidating place for visitors and that's especially so when people are allowed to crowd along the home sideline, as they were for much of this one. It all came down to PLAYING, though, and Bok did that better. The Wildcats found a way to contain and nearly shut down stud running back sr. Maurice Dantzler and forced Franklin into five turnovers and, ultmately, was in control as the final minutes melted away. For my money, it was obvious that Franklin's coaches felt Bok had the superior linemen, which was why they chose to choose mostly East-West plays in the beginning instead of powering straight ahead. Dantzler did get 12 yards on his first carry, then sr. FB Anthony Wright soon was adding a 13-yarder, but then, sr. NG Nick Perrone shot across the line to dump Dantzler for a 4-yard loss and soph DE Terry Lee tackled him for a 1-yard loss and, along Franklin's sideline, I could sense an uh-oh atmosphere. On the next play, sr. QB Frank Anderson lost the ball when hit by Perrone and sr. LB Cortez McLaughlin recovered. Bok didn't capitalize right then, but a tone had definitely been established. Bok's first TD, set up by an interception from jr. DB Maurice Goodwin, came 4:50 before halftime on a 40-yard pass from sr. QB James Jones to soph RB Luke Lassiter. The ball was perfectly thrown along the left sideline and what should have been a sure tackle was missed at about the 5. The 'Cats' other scoring drive began the third quarter and was of the old-fashioned, grind-it-out variety. After getting a 20-yard return from Perrone, they went 51 yards in 12 plays. Jones came through with a nifty 18-yard pickup on third-and-13 and scored from the 7 three plays later. He then ran for the conversion as well. Franklin's next play was a 15-yard run by Dantzler (15-62). But the hint of momentum disappeared on the next play as Lee and sr. DB Dante Quarterman forced a fumble and sr. LB Dahson "X" Exum recovered. The Electrons sank further on their next series when Dantzler had to leave with a neck/shoulder injury. Also, along the way, Anderson suffered what was feared to be a broken arm. Sr. Rodreen "Chief" Howell moved from receiver to QB and provided a hint of life by connecting for 47 yards to sr. WR Bobby Jenkins. The play carried to Bok's 31. Three plays later, Lee intercepted and that was that, folks. Bok's line: jr. C Anthony Brickle, sr. Gs Exum and Shon Thompkins (with sr. Michael McClarin in relief, after Exum suffered an injury), sr. Ts Anthony Gales and Bryant Whitney and sr. TE Darnell Grice. They helped sr. RB Keith Williams tough out 94 yards on 28 carries. McLaughlin recovered two fumbles and Perrone, in addition to his forced fumble, made two tackles for losses. Dantzler was a manchild at linebacker, making 10 solos among 14 stops. As the game wound down, a Bok spectator kept saying, "You're a beast, No. 42. I'm shaking your hand at the end. You KNOW that." Franklin has Olney next week and still hopes to make the four-team subregional as one of two "extras." It might be tough to generate enough power points, though. Bok coach Tom DeFelice was effusive in his praise of top assistants Vince Trombetta (Franklin's long-time coach back in the day) and Frank "Roscoe" Natale (Bartram's previous coach of a more recent vintage). "They won this game," DeFelice said.

OCT. 27
PUBLIC BLUE
Univ. City 28, Southern 0
   Not too competitive. UC scored on its first drive, marching 63 yards in 10 plays, and limited the Rams to four first downs for the game. The Jaguars played with emotion and good football sense (mostly), though coach Lou Williams had a snapout late in the game when he called for a reverse to soph WB Neville Hill-Brown and jr. QB Kenny Moore instead kept the ball and scored a TD of his own. As the play ended, Hill-Brown could be spotted with his palms facing upwards, as in, "What the hell was that?" And Moore was standing in the end zone, handing the ball to the ref after an 8-yard run. Williams immediately called Moore to the sideline and reamed him out, but good. Four seconds remained in the game and after allowing the conversion play to take place (it failed), the head ref blew his whistle to end it. Despite his act of knuckleheadism, the 6-4, 175-pound Moore was impressive. He passed 4-for-9 for 92 yards and hit for one TD apiece to sr. WR Khayri Young (25 yards) and sr. WR Kevin Slaughter (53 yards). The rushing was handled mostly by sr. RB Sterling Johnson (18-104) and sr. FB Jamal Thompson (13-73, TD), though Hill-Brown also added 36 yards on six carries. Amauro was in the house and told me that UC down the road hopes to get Moore an extra year of eligibility. We'll see. He could be very good. UC's offensive line: sr. C Tyrell Minter, sr. G Rick Faison, soph G Freeman Ford, jr. G Montez Osborne, sr. T Alfonso Glover, sr. T Chris Brown and sr. TE Steven Baxley (the former QB). The defensive stalwart was Johnson, at LB. Even though Southern did not run many plays, Johnson hustled for 11 tackles. One was a half-sack and another went for a loss. Sr. E Antoine White also logged a TFL while Brown had a sack. For Southern, jr. TE-DE Jahmel Bashir (6-3, 180) made three catches for 39 yards while adding a sack and TFL worth 20 yards. Sr. DT Demetrius Tillman also had a sack. A little guy, jr. Phil Messina, showed well in a late appearance at QB. He threw for two completions and third was dropped. This was a somber day for the Jaguars, and especially for Rick Faison, one of three players who came to Philly due to Hurricane Katrina. Rick's mother, Edwina, recently returned to New Orleans to check on some business ventures and attempt to salvage possessions, and died of a suspected heart attack. I interviewed Rick earlier this season and found him to be a personable, respectful young man. Our thoughts/prayers are with him. Rick, also a DE, said he did not seek others' input on whether he should play because his mother taught him that standing up and making decisions, even tough ones, is part of becoming a man. "I knew she'd want me to stay strong," he added. Long-time referee Tom McClain, who is almost always the head ref or the back judge, today was the line judge. "They're trying to find a job I'm good at," he quipped. In the first half, a Southern lineman caught a pass downfield, which of course was a penalty. Coach Bill Edger cracked, "Hey, he was open."

OCT. 24
CATHOLIC BLUE
Carroll 21, McDevitt 6
   In the really important news, my son, Kevin, turned 15 today! Happy Birthday, Son! . . . Considering how much it rained over the weekend, Radnor High's field was in excellent shape. There was hardly any slipping and sliding, but there were many turnovers nevertheless and more than a few guys had trouble with calf and other leg woes. The tilt began with a surprise. Carroll is hardly a passing team, but after sr. Mark Smith returned the kickoff 19 yards to the 50, jr. QB Matt Cantafio immediately hit jr. RB Russell Johnson for a 15-yard gain. After a beyond-ridiculous offsides call against McDevitt's defense (Cantafio moved away from center while someone else was in motion; nobody wearing stripes saw it -- brutal, brutal, brutal), Cantafio threw a pass to the left corner. Jr. WR Wiley Flowers (love that name!) was well-covered, but made a leaping catch for a TD. Flowers finished with three snags for 99 yards and one of them, a 47-yarder, came in the clinching drive in the fourth quarter. It was capped by jr. RB Shane McMahon on a 4-yard run with 2:04 left, then Flowers, the holder, easily hit sr. RB Josh "Presbyterians Rule!" Halladay (16-68) with a two-point pass. The clutch play was provided by sr. FB Jake "The Snizz-ake" Szulinski in the form of an 18-yard catch on fourth-and-17. McDevitt had gotten a 5-yard sack on first down from sr. DL Mike Wojcik (6-4, 280) and a 3-yard TFL on third down soph DL Stephen Yuan. There was an incomplete pass in between. The Pats' other score came on a 55-yard fumble return by sr. SS Mark Smith shortly into the third quarter. A lot happened on this play. It began with a shovel/shuffle pass (which term is correct? you always hear both in pretty much equal amounts -- smile) from sr. QB Tom Maha to sr. WR Brian Mitros. Mitros is a top-notch competitor and usually clutch beyond belief, but this time he fumbled after a 23-yard gain, with soph CB Geof Prather making the strip. Smith picked up the ball and was off to the races. In all, Carroll forced five turnovers. Jr. DE John Pettine (6-3, 240; this kid never fails to impress!) also recovered a fumble while jr. DB Ryan Downs (yes, he's part of the famous Downs family), Smith and Downs again made interceptions. For Mickey D, sr. William Murphy and sr. LB Steve Gallagher recovered fumbles while rugged sr. LB Barry Porter and Mitros posted picks. Jr. DT Jordan Faust (another guy to watch!) had a sack for Carroll while Pettine and sr. DE Ryan Bergin shared one. When Huck does his list of top returnees for the '06 season, there will be MANY Patriots (smile). About McDevitt's offense: Maha was usually accurate, but his passes lacked that last little bit of necessary zip to get past the defenders and into his receivers' hands. Sr. RB Manny Harrison, who has been playing on a tender ankle, was very tentative. It was painful to watch, but shame on the person who yelled out at one point, "Get someone in there who wants to run!" Usually, adults are more brutal than kids would ever think of being. Early in the season, this kid was basically the whole offense. He did not deserve that! Soph Jason Golderer uncorked a couple of tough runs, including one for a 10-yard TD. Until I mentioned something to Carroll assistant Al "Strongman" Thompson, who got word to the press box, the PA announcer, the legendary Fr. Ed Casey, kept calling McDevitt WR-LB Abe Doe "Abby." Abe was none too pleased. Not even a little bit. "Case" can be excused for calling Mitros MY-tros instead of MEE-tros. The QB of Bonner's '94 title squad was Mike Mitros (MY-tros). I watched the final moments approach with great interest. The last two weeks, Carroll scored "unnecessary" TDs on final plays. The Patriots could have done so again (amazing coincidence, huh?) and the ball was on the 2. A kneel-down was ordered, and executed. Carroll offensive coordinator Fran Murphy must be getting soft (smile). He also cut McD a break at the end of last year's game. Along Carroll's sideline, a kid hobbled over on crutches and said, "I love your website. It's rockin'." He then turned and hobbled away. Such great sentiments. But I don't even know his name (ha ha).

OCT. 23
CATHOLIC RED
Ryan 29, North Catholic 0
   Not sure what possessed me to think this game would be competitive, but the hunch was dead wrong and this one wound up having very little juice. The most persistent noise in the second half was the chatter of Ryan students in the stands; most were no longer paying attention. Can't say I blamed them. The night started going wrong for North quite early. Faced with fourth-and-inches on their own 21 (maybe 2 inches, no more than 3), the Falcons opted to punt. Sr. Charles Klink was heavily rushed and sr. OLB Mike Varanavage, who did the blocking honors, wound up gaining possession of the ball and running 4 yards for a TD. The Raiders struck again early in the second quarter after a short punt left them only 31 yards to go. On third-and-9, sr. QB Michael "Reds" Davis, a lefty, bobbed and weaved on that side of the field and produced a 13-yard gain. He then threw a 17-yard TD pass and the recipient was his first cousin, jr. WR Rob McArdle. The pass was on one side of McArdle and he waited and waited and then, whoa!, made a quick turn to make the catch. Nice! Frosh Will McFillin later hammered a 26-yard field goal (never can have enough McFillins running around - smile) and rushing TDs went to sr. FB Bob "Cookie" Kilchrist and jr. TB Joe Smith. Kilchrist's scoring run was an eye-popper. He was stopped once, then twice, but powered through and would not be denied. Later, I had to ask him about the nickname because the "real" Cookie Gilchrist played in the old AFL some, what?, 35-40 years ago? Bob said, "The coaches gave me the nickname." That explains it (ha ha). Ryan's line: sr. C Ron Sankus, sr. Gs Kevin Kelly and Matt Amato, sr. Ts Jeff Neveil and Kyle Connelly and sr. TE Greg Williams. Jr. CB Mike Marasheski was an early defensive force, and made a third-quarter fumble recovery as well. Sr. DB Joe DeCree, the former QB starter, posted a pick on the final play of the half. Ryan assistant Jim Emanuel, himself a Ryan all-timer at the position, is very excited about the production/potential of jr. ILB Taylor Cave (6-0, 200). With good reason. North's only highlight came when jr. RB Daryl Robinson ran 12 yards for a third quarter TD. Oops, make that another of the lowlights; a motion call wiped it out. Robinson did finish with 23 carries for 119 yards. It was great to see Falcon grad Joe Kilroy, who is back taking pictures for North's players free of charge. Joe is a solid-gold guy and I hope the kids appreciate his efforts.

OCT. 23
CATHOLIC RED
SJ Prep 21, La Salle 14
   Eagles? They were playing? I'm supposed to care? Hardly ever, if the truth be told, and especially not on a glorious day when two big rivals are going at each other. Prep and La Salle are the only two fully private schools in the Catholic League and, once upon a time, the latter owned the former. Lately, the reverse has been true but there are strong indications the Explorers are primed for a return to glory. Well, maybe not glory. At least not immediately. But serious strides are already being made and this performance was one to build on. In many ways, La Salle got the better of the action. It forced five turnovers and even blocked a punt, but I'll hit you with this cliche and you know it's true: The very best teams find ways to win on off days. This game was going to take place last night at P-W, but there were some heavy late-afternoon rains and there was standing water all over the field and Prep AD Jim Murray made the ultimate call to postpone at roughly 6 p.m., when the teams were ready to run onto the field for warmups. I think I heard a few people curse about the decision (smile). The eventual choice for a site was Germantown's newly refurbished Ben Johnston Memorial Stadium, in Mt. Airy, behind Leeds Middle School and maybe five blocks from the old Temple Stadium. The crowd was nice, not gigantic, but I heard only raves about the facility and, who knows, perhaps more games will be played there in the future. (It was McDevitt's home field in the '70s and La Salle assistant John Mastronardo, a star WR at La Salle and Villanova, remembered scoring his first varsity TD there.) My DN story focused on Prep soph RB Jamir Livingston, now the No. 1 tailback with the difficult injuries (broken leg, torn knee ligament) suffered by sr. headliner John Shaw. Livingston went for 172 yards on 25 carries and scored the decisive TD on a 2-yard run with 7:19 left. Better yet, he was guilty of none of the turnovers. Prep also tallied on a 30-yard interception return by sr. DB Dave Mendez (he perfectly "jumped" the route, as they say) and 65-yard semi-quarterback draw by jr. QB Chris Whitney. Whitney stepped back as though preparing for an option play, then stepped forward a shade to his left, eased through the line and was off. An interception by jr. OLB Sean Saverio gave La Salle a last chance on its own 32 with 3:16 left. Soph QB John Harrison (18-for-34, 191) passed for gains of 5 yards to sr. WR Rick Cosgrove and 11 to sr. TE Drew Wilkins and 32 to sr. RB Chris Ashley, placing the ball at SJP's 20 at 2:01. A procedure call messed up the momentum and four incompletions followed. Worse, the coaches, just trying to be sure they called the right plays with so much on the line, used two timeouts with the clock stopped. Thus, only one TO was left for defense and that proved huge when the Prep failed to gain first-down yardage. The game ended when jr. WR-DB Jack Forster was swarmed right after catching the punt. Forster and Saverio had picks; fumble recoveries went to jr. LBs J.B. Campanella and Greg Frantz and Forster, and sr. DB Jeff Liberatore blocked a punt. Oh, if you haven't heard, the conclusion of the Prep-La Salle freshman game, played at Belmont Plateau, featured a decently sized brawl between some parents and coaches. The kids mostly behaved themselves, rumor has it. If anyone has the fight on videotape, I'm sure officials at both schools would appreciate seeing it.

OCT. 22
CATHOLIC BLUE
Kennedy-Kenrick 13, Dougherty 12
   Every blue moon, we opt to focus more on the losing team than the winners and this is going to be one of those times. I'm sure the K-K folks will understand, especially since a few of the coaches told their Dougherty counterparts that the Cardinals deserved to walk away with the victory. These are turbulent times for the Redbirds. Coach Ernie Covington got into an animated disagreement with an assistant several weeks back and the players had to break things up. Covington was suspended, ostensibly for one game, but this was his second game NOT being in charge and a Dougherty administrator told me that a decision on whether Covington will resume the reins has "not yet been made." The interim coach -- or new head coach, only time will tell -- is Rick Onslager, and his squad played hard and together in this one. The Cardinals amassed 259 yards of total offense and held K-K to 164 and only a fourth quarter drive that covered 82 yards in 12 plays sentenced them to a record 31st consecutive CL defeat (and 28th consecutive setback overall). Their last league win was Oct. 12, 2001, over K-K, by a score of 23-12. Sports writers are not allowed to root, but if Dougherty had won, I would not have minded (smile). Just like I would have not minded to see K-K get a win back in the days when it slapped together what was then the record for consecutive CL losses, at 29. That ended 10/06/02 with a 7-0 success over Wood.  Anyway . . . There was much to like about jr. RB Sean Williams, a 5-6, 195-pound junior. He showed strength and determination en route to 130 yards on 20 carries and rarely went down to a single tackler. The Cards often ran him on quick draws. Soph QB Phil Baxter passed 9-for-17 for 59 yards and of those catches, exclusively on quick middle screens if I remember correctly, were made by Williams for 45 more yards. Jr. WR Roberto Townsend, of budding basketball fame, had two early snags for eight yards. Jr. Brian Williams (3-11), jr. Charles Gladman (6-24, TD) and sr. Glen Anderson (8-30) also got some shots at runnin' the rock. The linemen were jr. C Paul Howard, jr. G Matthew Bryant, sr. G Kellen "Bubba" Kemp (6-3, 290), the Homecoming king, soph T Wrenton Wright and sr. T Matt Boerner (6-2, 357), the grandson of NFL legend Bucko Kilroy. Kemp and Boerner lined up next to each other for 650-odd pounds of pile-drivin' passion! (smile) On defense, Kemp ended the half by recording a 17-yard sack and later posted a TFL for two yards. Jr. DB Corey Key had an interception while Gladman (poke-out by sr. DL Ronald Saunders on one of them, according to some Dougherty players) recovered two fumbles. Gladman's first pounce-upon came in the early moments of the third quarter at the K-K 45. S. Williams immediately rambled for 36 yards to the 9, then carries of 4 and 2 yards by S. Williams and a 3-yarder by Gladman got the ball into the end zone. It was the first time all season that the Cardinals owned a lead (at 12-7), according to a few folks I asked along the sideline. Baxter tried to reach the left corner on the conversion, but was unsuccessful, though the play was certainly close. For the life of me, I don't know why K-K did not throw to sr. WR Jermaine Pierce at least 30 times. Pierce is 6-3, 230, and he was almost always single covered by someone in the 5-8, 145-pound range. Plus, the next closest defender was often 15 yards away and showing that he intended to run into the backfield, not drop back into coverage. Oh, well. K-K's winning drive was given life when soph Derek Jones made an interception at his 18. Big plays came in the form of a 22-yard run for sr. RB Troy Taylor, a 21-yarder for Jones off a counter and a 16-yard keeper for sr. QB Gerry DiNolfi. That last one placed the ball at the 13. Jones gained three, then DiNolfi kept to the right for a 10-yard score. Soph LB Sean Kidd tackled DiNolfi on the conversion, keeping the deficit at one point. Dougherty showed some jitters on its try-to-answer drive, twice drawing procedure penalties. Ultimately, the fourth-and-17 call was a draw for S. Williams. I guess the coaches were going with the theory, "Let's give the ball to our best guy on a play that has worked all day." Um, it didn't turn out too well. Williams was dropped for a loss by soph LB Greg Santangelo (a presence all game long!) and jr. DL Keith Andrews and a few Cardinals could be heard muttering, "A draw on (roughly) fourth-and-15? A DRAW? Why a draw?" Except for kneel-downs, that was it. Will the Cardinals, encouraged by this nice performance, break their losing streak sometime later this season? Will Covington resume command? Does he even want to? Answers to come, folks.

OCT. 21
INTER-AC LEAGUE
Penn Charter 27, Episcopal 0
   Did you ever go to a game and wait, unsuccessfully, for the GAME to actually start? That happened today. Episcopal just didn't have it and one reason was likely the absence of spiritual/playing leader Ben Kissner, who last week suffered a T.O.-style injury and was still in the hospital after undergoing surgery. The Churchmen ventured slightly into PC territory to start the game, but jr. OLB Sean Dressel dumped soph RB Bobby FitzPatrick for a 2-yard loss on a second-down play and then jr. DE Drew Fullen batted down sr. QB Tim Ivory's pass and that was that. PC did nada and EA took over again on the PC 48. This thrust went to the 27 before a holding call behind the line cost the Churchmen 16 yards. Soph DL Ryan McGarvey dropped Ivory for a 7-yard loss, then sr. FS Brendan McNally broke up a pass. That brought up fourth-and-33 and coach Bill Gallagher, PC's former boss, decided to gamble. Ivory, as the up-back in punt formation, threw a pass and it fell incomplete and PC had only a half-field to go. An early spark came on a 31-yard pass from McNally (likely bound for Penn or Harvard) to sr. TE/WR Brian Teuber. The TD came on Dressel's 16-yard run, on which sr. FB Joe Rauchut made a great block. PC added two more scores before halftime on a 5-yard run by Dressel and a last-play, 19-yard field by impressive jr. K-P Eric Muller. Rauchut's interception set it up and an 18-yard pass from McNally to Dressel got the ball to the 2. There were some clock/referee problems beforehand. The two second-half scores were McNally's 45-yard pass to Teuber (one-play "drive") and Muller's 37-yard field goal. The ball cleared the uprights almost at the very top. Ivory was charged with losses seven times. Once he slipped, but the others were sacks. McGarvey was in on 3.5. On one he stripped the ball and Fullen recovered. Sr. LB Michael Weick had a sack and twice was in on TFLs. DLs Zachary Morse and Piero Russo made a series of plays. PC's newly resodded field looks terrific. It held up great to the rains and there wasn't a hint of mud anywhere. AD Paul Butler said the surface was put down in 4x30-foot strips. While leaving this one, I kept saying to myself, "I just KNOW Northeast-Frankford was a classic." It was. NE won, 13-12. Oh, well . . .

OCT. 21
PUBLIC RED
Washington 42, Mastbaum 14
   Ninety times out of 100, at least, the stories I write for the Daily News focus on the athletes because it has always been my belief that the kids deserve the attention. But twice in a five-day period, adults got the ink and there's no doubting they earned it. On Sunday night, Joe Colistra became the winningest coach in La Salle history (150) thanks to a 15-0 success over Bonner. And today, Ron Cohen claimed the top spot in Pub history (185) as the Eagles melted down Mastbaum. This was a red-letter day for the Pub. VERY nice. The District sent out a media advisory so all kinds of TV stations dispatched cameramen to the tilt. Also, the game was broadcast over the Internet (don't ask me how that works -- smile) and the guy whose record was eclipsed, ex-Frankford coach Al Angelo, the very definition of class, showed up to watch and pay homage to Cohen. The Eagles doused Cohen with water just after Mastbaum got a TD at 0:54 on an 80-yard pass, their second scoring hookup of the game, from sr. QB Chris Bennett (10-for-19, 178) to sr. WR Maurice Sullivan (6-154). Ron was later presented a special football and a plaque (with the date already noted -- smile) and his mother, wife and two daughters were among those on hand for the on-field ceremony. The game itself? Sure, we'll throw out some tidbits. Washington's headliner was sr. QB Thomas Wilmer, who passed 4-for-6 for 114 yards and one TD apiece to sr. RB Cecil Wise, sr. WR Albert Odusanya and sr. TE Brandon Bynum. The play to Wise was unusual. Cecil fumbed as he neared the goal line and then recovered the ball in the end zone. For those scoring at home, it goes into the books as a pass play all the way with both guys receiving full credit for equal yardage. Gotta love that, right? The 5-11, 190-pound Wilmer is a beast when it comes to strength (he also plays defense) and next week will meet with Millersville's coaches. Wise also contributed 121 yards on seven carries and started the scoring with a 17-yard run. Jr. RB Fateen Brown was unavailable due to an ankle injury or a bit of misbehavior in school (take your pick on which story you want to believe -- smile). He did thank me for making him a Player of the Week, so how bad a kid can he be? Ha ha. Sr. Akeem Smith added a TD and 41 yards on five carries and the backup QB, soph Lamont Paramore, also ran for a score. Nevertheless, the Eagles' coolest play might have been a 33-yard pass from jr. Scott Marano to Smith. It came out of punt formation and the ball was perfectly thrown/caught! The Eagles' line: jr. C Chris Clanton, jr. Gs Mike Kelly and Kevin Marano, sr. T Demetrius Wilson, jr. T Aaron Murray, and jr. TEs S. Marano (must be brothers, right?) and Bynum. I won't pretend I paid stone-cold attention to defensive accomplishments in this one, but it surely seemed as though sr. LB Joe Devlin made a whole bunch of tackles. Devlin and Clanton combined on a sack while soph DT Rashad Paulhill also notched a sack. Mastbaum coach Al Coleman twice opted not to punt in the early going, first on the Washington 42 (incomplete pass) and then on his own 46. The Eagles roared for scores both times. The next possession, there WAS a punt. Washington took over at its 45. Wise ran for 5 yards and a personal foul put the ball at the Mastbaum 35. Wilmer immediately hit Odusanya for a TD. It was 21-0 just like that. By way of his legendary teammate, Michael Leak, Mastbaum sr. L-DL James Dowden let it be known that he wants his nickname "Eyes" to appear on the website. I could see that happening (smile).

OCT. 16
PUBIC AAA
Franklin 40, Imhotep Charter 6
   Are you sure it's only mid-October? Because this kind of thing is not supposed to be happening already. Just six games into the season, sr. Maurice Dantzler owns Franklin's school record for rushing yards. Jermaine "Beanie" Smith posted 1,126 in 2000. Dantzler already boasts 1,161 and another large chunk came in this one. "Moe" carried 19 times for 231 yards and five TDs, and the distances covered on the scores were 14, 7, 55, 31 and 33. Those last three frolics occurred in a five-touch span in the third quarter and he was barely touched. Dantzler also contributed three conversion runs for a 36-point day at the office and is now averaging 19.3 ppg., and that would be impressive even for a basketball player, right? Franklin's line included sr. C Steven Parr, sr. G Terrell Harris and jr. G Adam Edwards, sr. Ts Joshua Elder and Jeff Boanes Jr., jr. TE Brian Lilly and rotating sr. WRs Bobby Jenkins and Rodreen "Chief" Howell. Walter "Nate" Glover, formerly part of the brigade, is now on the defensive line. The other rushers, Anthony Wright and Joshua McKnight, also block with straight-up passion. The best thing about the QB, sr. Frank Anderson, is that he's a true team player and enjoys Dantzler's feats as much as anyone. Also, he enjoys big moments on defense as one of those typically feisty small d-backs that Franklin ALWAYS has. Anderson was involved in a funny moment. Just before halftime, Anderson threw a pass that was intercepted by jr. DB Gerald Bowman. As the teams readied for the next play, Anderson lined up at CB and a sideline observer hollered, "You better get that ball back for us, No. 1!" Presto. Soph QB Clinton "Juice" Sharpe-Granger uncorked a pass right into a diving Anderson's arms. Great service, eh? A 6-yard TFL by Harris on Imhotep's first series set a strong defensive tone for the Electrons. Soon, jr. LB Stephen Brantley, sr. LB Basil Brane and Wright, at LB, were also registering TFLs. Lilly had a tremendous sequence in the third quarter. First he delivered a bone-crushing downfield block on Dantzler's 55-yarder. Then he recovered the kickoff when Imhotep mishandled, setting up the 31-yarder. Next, after a strip by Wright, he again made a recovery and Dantzler immediately zoomed 33 yards for score No. 5. Wright completed his own strong outing with another TFL. The last 16 minutes were played with a running -- no, flying! -- clock. Imhotep finally experienced joy on the very last play -- after calling three timeouts down the stretch -- as Sharpe-Granger flipped a 9-yard TD pass to Bowman. The head ref was good-guy Gary Butler, who happens to work at Franklin as the disciplinarian. Before the game, I told Parr he should ask Gary about the time he was getting ready to start the coin-toss ceremony and then realized he had no coins in his pocket. He had to walk to the sideline and borrow a quarter and the story became a true Pub classic! (smile). Anyway, Parr said to me with a deadpan look on his face, "Ask him about that? You trying to get me suspended?"

OCT. 16
CATHOLIC RED
La Salle 15, Bonner 0
   Joe Colistra is now the winningest coach in La Salle's l-o-n-g FB history and the win certainly came in a manner he appreciated. Joe has long favored defense first, second and third when compared with offense and, as the score line will tell you, the Explorers pitched a shutout. They also notched a safety and 4-5 guys appeared to be in on the tackle. Assistant Joe Wade checked in with the giddy defenders right after they came off the field and the consensus was that jr. DL Scott Waters and jr. LB Greg Frantz were the first to arrive on the scene. The safety was impressive, too, because mobile sr. QB Marc Verica was chased and chased and the loss wound up being for 15 yards. JoeCo, a first team All-Catholic tackle (class of 1964) under John "Tex" Flannery and later his assistant for 17 seasons, is 150-85-2 in 21 seasons. Tex was 149-115-12 in 29 seasons ending with 1984. Jr. LB J.B. Campanella, sr. DB Jeff Liberatore and sr. LB George "Redenbacher" Hudson (for the way he pops!) made interceptions. Jr. DL John McBurnie recorded a sack and another tackle for a loss. Jr. RB Chris Ashley (30-91) and sr. FB Mike Padgeon scored on rushes while soph QB John Harrison passed 17-for-26 for 148 yards, sprinkling the ball to seven different receivers. The Explorers were not dominant, but they certainly had a stranglehold on the football with 68 plays to 33 for Bonner. Ah, Bonner. What can be said? This was my first look this season at the Friars and I'll agree with others: they're a perplexing bunch. Verica is bound for Virginia and has decent feet to mix with the kind of arm you'd expect. Also, sr. WR Mike Tomasco is an athletic kid (he stars in track's jumping events) with the potential to score at any time. Also, the defense has some impressive players in sr. ILB Mike Licci and sr. OLB Steve Wheatley (all OVER the place in this one, with authority). Why doesn't it come together? Not sure. But I understand the pain of those who have to watch. Verica went just 6-for-17 for 49 yards and three picks. No doubt he was victimized by drops and Tomasco was among the culprits. But also, Verica was a shade high here, a shade outside there. The "rushing game" went backwards 17 yards on the night. Late in the second quarter, Ashley lost a 70-yard punt return for a TD to a block in the back. It was the right call; happened right in front of me. A little while later, Ashley fumbled on a plunge into the line and Harrison wound up in the end zone wth the ball. There were no whistles. I repeat, no whistles. But the score was not allowed and the explanation was a classic case of doubletalk. Even tripletalk. Huck came out with, "The ref should have said, 'That should have been a TD, but we REALLY screwed it up. Sorry.' " Ultimately, the Explorers set up for a field goal. Jr. QB Andrew Dean, the holder, did a great job of catching a way-high snap and he might have been able to get the ball on the block in time. He took off, though, and his pass for sr. TE Drew Wilkins probably would have resulted in a TD if he'd thrown it earlier. Instead, it was picked off by Matt Boland. In a classy move, La Salle did not attempt to score with the ball on the 2 in the waning moments of the game. Receivers assistant John Mastronardo, of La Salle, had a couple of good lines. When an Explorer came off the field and asked, "Is my nose bleeding?", John told him, "No, you look beautiful. Trust me." Later, Harrison got pounded into the turf a couple of times just after throwing and Mastronardo told him, "John, get rid of the ball faster. Better for your health." Colistra was presented a specially prepared football, and surrounded by players for photos and even autographed an old game ball for a former Explorer, Bob Szostak, the president of La Salle's alumni association. Joe acknowledged that he's thinking about retirement, but is still having fun and has reached no final conclusions.

OCT. 16
CATHOLIC RED
O'Hara 33, Ryan 13
   This wasn't the first time O'Hara played a varsity game on its practice field. Was likely the first time in a generation, though. Springfield Delco is pretty strict with its stadium where rain/mud is concerned and a decision was made to bail Friday morning with Homecoming on the docket. Ryan, of course, is missing franchise back Joe Zeglinski (torn ACL) and didn't figure to give the Lions much of a battle, especially on the road. The Raiders certainly did not embarrass themselves, though, and pushed through for a pair of fourth-quarter scores after a second-quarter shot at first-and-goal did not work out. O'Hara showed a new wrinkle. Sr. QB Anthony Walters is now being used as a WR and SB as well, meaning he now has three opportunities to cause damage (well, four counting returns). Walters passed 3-for-4 for 48 yards, carried seven times for 17 yards and a TD and made two receptions for 17 yards on tosses from freshman QB Tom Savage. Is it possible coach Danny Algeo will even line up "Ant" at tailback one of these weeks? Wouldn't that be an interesting development? He said he definitely likes to have the ball in his hands and RUN, much more than anything else. Sr. FB Joe Juisti led the rushing attack with 15 carries for 157 yards and scores covering 1 and 35 yards. This kid is only 5-5 but goes 180 pounds and I just love how he competes carry after carry. With the game on the line, I'd have no problem giving "Juice" the rock. Jr. TB John Dempsey added 88 yards and a TD, a 34-yarder, on 13 rushes. He had a 73-yarder wiped out by a penalty. The offensive line: jr. C Sean Murray, jr. Gs Jerry Penrose and Pete Plousis, sr. T Tim Conneen and sr. T Nate Higgins. Plousis is filling in for the injured Dan Gough, a sr. and a D-I prospect, and I heard the coaches raving about a block he made on Juisti's 35-yard TD. Sr. LB Scott Taylor scored for the defense on a 38-yard interception return, and the defenders also had a huge moment midway through the second quarter. Ryan sr. QB Mike Davis, the backup to sr. Joe DeCree (both are lefties), uncorked a 45-yard keeper to the 1. The sequence thereafter: sr. E Matt McGrath stopped jr. RB Joe Smith for no gain; a procedure call backtracked the ball to the 6; Davis passed incomplete with jr. DB Matt Izzi defending; Davis rolled to his left and was held to a 2-yard gain by Taylor and sr. LB Todd Cannon; and Davis threw incomplete under extreme stalking by Taylor. Wonderful job by the Lions! Ryan's first scoring drive was highlighted by passes from Davis of 35 yards to sr. Greg Williams and 17 to soph Nick Ferdinand. Jr. FB Bob Kilchrist then scored from the 6 on a run. Jr. RB Joe Smith gave the second drive an early boost with a 23-yard run. The TD came with 0:54 left when Davis flipped a 2-yard pass to his first cousin, jr. WR Rob McArdle. Frosh Will McFillin added the PAT. Walters, sr. WR Chris Myers and sr. K Tim "Toe" Moore were in the Homecoming court. All three were also-rans.

This is Bartram frosh Latiff Holt, who says he's 5-1 1/2, 98 pounds. He's a JV running back, but like some other players he dressed for the Gratz game. I told him I admired his heart for being on a football team despite his serious size disadvantage. I also told him I have a website that covers high school sports and that my name is Ted Silary. He then said, "Ted Silary? Are you the owner of the PIAA?" . . . I haven't stopped laughing yet.    Best of luck, Latiff! And stay healthy!    After this appeared, coach Damond "Smash" Warren sent me an e-mail: Latiff played for the Aztecs last year. He has been a ball boy/ helper since maybe 10 years of age. In practice and in JV games he normally wears an Aztec helmet because none of ours would fit him. He wanted to dress so bad with us I told him he had to take his hair out of braids so the helmet could fit. He started taking them out immediately.  He is always the first person to run on the field when I call for a scout team. The funny thing is he will line up at any position, including line. It is a joy to see a kid with that much heart. I just wish some of our big guys had it like that.

OCT. 15
PUBLIC WHITE
Gratz 13, Bartram 6
   Wow! Though low-scoring, of course, this game under the NE lights was decent and then the stretch was highly entertaining. And we'll get right to it . . . With the score at 6-6, Bartram sr. DB Bobby Byrd intercepted a pass and steamed 36 yards down the right sideline to the Gratz 16. On first down, jr. RB John "Fudgie" Pratt was absolutely smacked by little-guy CB Steffon Monroe and a 2-yard loss resulted. Sr. QB Andre Goddard went back to pass and was powdered from the blind side by OLB Preston Lockwood. The ball popped loose and DB Malik Palmer made the recovery on the gallop, adding a 48-yard return to the Bartram 22. A tacked-on personal foul moved the rock to the 11. Jr. QB Jerrick Jenkins, perhaps the Pub's best thrower (arm strength, steady diet of spirals), dropped the snap and had to quickly recover, which he did. Sr. RB Donald "Shug" King (26-131) hustled for gains of 8 and 2 yards to the 1 and Jenkins snuck in from there with 1:46 left. Bartram's final possession was terminated when DB Bradley Martin tipped a Goddard pass and Monroe made a diving pick. I was looking forward to OT with the score at 6-6 for so long, but this ending was definitely cool, too. Gratz dominated early, mostly thanks to the hard running of King, who probably delivered three of the game's hardest hit merely by lowering his shoulder at exactly the right time. He had 72 yards on the Bulldogs' first two series, but an interception (by soph Michael Alexander) ended the first and a TD ended the second. It was not a run by King, however. It was a 22-yard pass from Jenkins to Martin. Bartram finally countered late in the third quarter on two strong plays by Pratt. First, he caught a bouncing punt on the gallop and zoomed 24 yards to the Gratz 27. An incomplete pass followed, then Pratt (17-104) went 27 yards for the score. Gratz had a mild threat early in the fourth quarter, advancing to the Bartram 20. The Braves received three huge plays as sr. LB Kevin Pace dropped King for a 2-yard loss; a pass to WR Randy Newton was a shade short; sr. DE Bradley Davis stopped King for another 2-yard loss; and sr. DB Winston Robinson chased down Jenkins for a 3-yard loss. It was a clutch series. All night, Gratz' defensive leader was LB Bryant Jackson. He played with a certain fury and I know the guys he hit needed to ice assorted body parts. E Rasheed Balknight also played with passion. At one point in the second half, one of the kids working the chains was slow to move because he was talking on a cell phone. Bartram aide Raheem Stevenson told the kid, "She'll be there after the game, I promise you." At most Gratz games this year, our stat men have been told that Gratz "forgot" to bring a roster. The new coach, Erik Zipay, appears to be sharp and caring and when he told me before the game he'd have someone bring me a roster, I was hopeful he'd seen the light. Um, not completely. There are no years for the players and No. 44 is listed exactly like this: "Darryl ?" There are also four guys with the last name "Carver." No, they're not brothers. They attend Engineering and Science, which is officially the George Washington Carver High School of Engineering and Science. My assumption is, the person who slapped together the roster didn't know the last names of the E&S guys and just decided to list them as Carvers. A true, all-time Only in the Pub!!!

OCT. 15
PUBLIC RED
Frankford 20, Dobbins 0
   There were two big surprises out of this morning affair at 29th and Chalmers. No. 1, despite a full week of rain/drizzle, the field was in excellent shape and there's not one hint of mud at the bottom of my pants. Just goes to show how dry it really was beforehand. No. 2, despite the absence of its star rusher, sr. Brandon Norris (knee tenderness), and the fact it was guilty of four turnovers, Frankford won in rather easy fashion. The Pioneers reeled off 61 plays and turned them into 319 yards. Jr. Calvin Spires nicely picked up the slack for Norris, rushing 24 times for 130 yards and two TDs. His longest gain was only 13 yards, but he was never dropped for a loss and never failed to finish the play. Jr. RB Nate Johnson added 54 yards on 13 rushes and sr. QB Ryan Hardy even managed 11-70 math with one TD. Hardy is listed at 6-4, 185, though he doesn't appear to weigh that much. He's an impressive ballhandler who pays attention to his fakes and exhibits good timing. Since he tossed three picks, you'll think I'm crazy, but he's also a decent passer and that weapon could become very important later seeing as how chief-competition Northeast is short in that area. Sr. TE-WR Alonzo Williams (2-53) has soft hands and runs precise patterns and he's a solid kid at 5-11, 190 (he looks bigger) and he doesn't hesitate to truck defenders. Sr. DE Chris "Kringle" Cruz set an early tone when he involved himself in sacks in each of Dobbins' first two series. (Johnson and soph Josh Burnett were the respective helpers.) Cruz, who spent much of the game psyching up Frankford's fans with hand gestures and comes off non-stop as one of those jolly St. Nick kind of guys (not quite as heavy, though -- ha ha), also had a late TFL on a swing pass. Sr. Damon Brockington delivered some strong blows at MLB and came up with an interception. He and sr. DB Joe Bohannon also combined for a stop on a fourth down trick play in the second quarter. It was only 6-0 at the time. A success could have produced a different kind of ballgame. Later, impressive sr. DB Eric Hairston (the roster says "Harriston" -- don't be fooled; he goes 6-3, 175) recorded an 8-yard sack and then a strip/recover sequence on a late, 4-yard sack. This was also my first look this season at Dobbins. Franchise sr. RB Terrance Sample finished with 88 yards on 18 carries. He was dragging late in the game because he'd obviously suffered a ding of some kind. Jr. QB Wesley Brown passed 6-for-13, but netted just 17 yards. Sr. WR Michael Harris (6-1, 195), a straight-A student, made two of the snags for only eight yards. Sr. LB Paul Boldin and jr. LB Leon Baynard were the Mustangs' most active defenders. Boldin posted his team's ONLY tackle for a loss. The interceptions went to jr. DB Darrell Brown, jr. DB Seabrean Riser and jr. DE Randall Wilson. Wilson fumbled right after making his interception and teammate Dennis Gaskin recovered. At least a couple hundred people were on hand and, like always, Dobbins had enough help on hand to make the Saturday football experience well worthwhile. Among those in attendance: ex-basketball coach Rich "Yank" Yankowitz, who's now helping to coach baseball at Penn State-Abington. Yank, a k a "The Eternal Teenager" (smile), is one of the all-time good guys, so it's always great to see him.

OCT. 14
PUBLIC WHITE
King 8, Roxborough 7
   This one was hard on the eyes, folks. It drizzled or rained throughout and the play was anything but crisp. As the game proceeded, especially in the second half, it often seemed like the teams were going backward more than forward. Oh, well. If all games were great, we wouldn't appreciate them after a while, right? The scoring was history after the first 13 minutes. Roxborough tallied first after a King punt was multiblocked and traveled 12 yards backward, putting the ball at the 30. Sr. RB Dionte Wade uncorked a nice run of 23 yards, placing the ball at the 6, then sr. QB Mark Ames went 2 yards on a keeper and followed with a jump pass that produced a 4-yard TD to sr. WR Joe Ball. The legendary Richard "Microwave" Williams then delivered a perfect PAT. Roxborough had a chance to add to its lead after jr. DL Markel Wright recovered a fumble on the King 25 as the quarter was winding down. But on first down, sr. LB Jamal Morris returned the momentum to the Cougars by nailing Wade for a seven-yard loss on a reception and King ultimately took over on downs at its 27. Swoosh! Soph RB Kendell Coleman, who's 5-8, 135 and quite bow-legged (and that means the girls gotta love him -- smile), went 73 yards for a score. Sr. QB Marquis Clark, the subject of my DN story, surged right up the middle for the two-pointer. Thereafter? Truthfully, almost nothing happened. It wasn't so much that the defenses were tremendous; the offenses were bad. Roxborough did get life with 2:03 left in the game when Clark dropped a snap and Nafis Briggs recovered on his own 31. Roxborough had clock-management problems and King cut its own throat with an offside penalty, then Ames' 2-yard keeper provided a first down at the Rox 42 with 1:03 left. Ames hit Williams for an 11-yard gain, but Rox was then hit with an offensive interference call and sr. DL Franklin Beward knocked down a screen pass to the left. Rox had one more chance. Ames hit Williams for a 15-yard gain to the King 47 where he was multismothered to end it. King's defenders dropped Indians for losses on four straight plays (spanning two series) in the third quarter. Roxborough's chief defenders were sr. LB Aaron "A-Trane" Washington (one sack, two TFLs, one forced fumble) and sr. DE Sean Murphy (one sack, one TFL; six other stops). The surprising Cougars are now 5-1 and Roxborough, which is not THAT bad, is somehow 0-7. Roxborough coach Mike Stanley last year was King's boss and his dad, Joe, formerly was King's AD (he's still the Pub FB chairman). Margie Stinson, King's new AD, is very happy with the school's progress. Some bad-egg students have been sent packing, she said, and the environment overall is so much better. The gym has also been refurbished, in total.

OCT. 10
CATHOLIC BLUE
Carroll 28, Kennedy-Kenrick 20
   If you attended this game and left in the waning moments, you missed two touchdowns and one caused something that never seems to be far away when these squads meet in any sport -- controversy. As the final seconds ticked away, Carroll had the ball on K-K's 15 and K-K was out of timeouts. It was only third down, so the Wolverines, down 21-14 at the time, had no chance of getting the ball back. Carroll opted to run a regular play and K-K failed to tackle sr. RB Josh Halladay, and there he was in the end zone at 0:09. An angry K-K assistant immediately yelled over to Carroll coach Dan Bielli, "Dan, you take a knee there!" And head coach Mike McTamney said he was "hissed" and that he indeed would have told his QB to execute a kneel-down. Anyway, on the ensuing kickoff, sr. RB Troy Taylor caught the ball on the 27 and went 73 yards for the score. Or maybe he went 71 or 72. Hockey Puck said he was positive that Taylor did not make it into the end zone, and that even some K-K folks were saying that. They were speculating, Puck said, that the referees "gave" Taylor the TD in recognition of the fact Carroll had been guilty of poor sportsmanship. Can't say for sure. If anyone from K-K's staff or the officiating crew wants to weigh in, I'll gladly listen. It was strange that the outcome was still in doubt deep into the game because Carroll ran just about twice as many plays (65-33). K-K scored twice in the first 8:30 on a 64-yard run by Taylor (12-116) and a 14-yard pass from sr. QB Gerry DiNolfi to sr. WR Jermaine Pierce. In between, though, K-K botched a would-be punt return and soph DB Ellis Rogers recovered on the 11. Halladay (17-83) was held to no gain by soph LB Matt Ganley and sr. LB John Maloney, but jr. RB Russell Johnson then rumbled 11 yards for the score. K-K did nothing after its early two-score burst as jr. OLB Kevin Truitt made eight tackles and jr. DE Rob Sklaroff was in on several TFLs/sacks. Sklaroff also recovered a fumble after jr. DE Tom Ciccoli did the dislodging honors, and uncorked punts of 34, 34, 38, 28 and 30 yards. Carroll's top rusher was jr. Brent Christie, who came up with a series of tough runs en route to a 29-carry, 158-yard outing. The former tough-guy rusher, sr. Jake "The Snizz-ake" Szulinski, is now only playing LB after missing some early games with a neck injury. He and jr. LB Marcus Mattaway give Carroll a sturdy presence in the middle. Oh, by the way, have you noticed how many juniors are on this squad?? The Patriots will be a major player again next season, and perhaps even before this one is over. Carroll's line: sr. C Dan Ferry, jr. Gs Matt Hallinan and Marco Dedda, jr. Ts John Pettine and Bill O'Brien and sr. TE Ryan Bergin. The QB was frosh Luke "Luuuuuuuke" Wischnowski, who has been pressed into service because jr. Matt Cantafio has a broken thumb. He did fine! He passed 3-for-5 for 39 yards, was an efficient ballhandler (loved how he carried out his fakes) and even showed leadership in the huddle, according to my interviewee, Halladay. As for K-K, Pierce needs to get more than two catches, though I realize Carroll's defensive pressure from the ends and jr. Ts Jordan Faust (6-3, 305) and Pettine made that difficult. On its last series, K-K tried a trick play with Pierce gunning the ball way downfield to sr. WR Zach Molyneaux. The ball traveled about 60 yards, and it was there, but Molyneaux was unable to hang on. A completion could have set up a truly entertaining finish. On K-K's last pay, with 2:16 left, Ciccoli ran in hard and knocked DiNolfi off balance and Faust smothered him for the sack. Pierce led K-K's defense with 11 tackles. Included were a sack and two TFLs. In the early moments of the game, after a swarm of 4-5 Wolverines made a tackle, a K-K kid yelled out, "This is a bad day to be Carroll!!" K-K sr. Kevin Lawrence wants it known that he's the best-looking kicker in the CL (smile). He also must be popular in school because he was in the Homecoming court. Controversy aside, congrats to Bielli for becoming the winningest coach in Carroll history. He now has 68 wins (he also coached briefly at K-K). Kevin Clancy had 67 before going on to still-rollin' success at Strath Haven.

OCT. 10
NON-LEAGUE
Malvern 48, Salesianum (Del.) 21
   Malvern coach Gamp Pellegrini expressed some concern before the game about the Sallies' being able to give his team a stern test. Um, no. Malvern rolled and experienced only a few difficult moments. One of those difficult moments came in the first quarter when sr. RB Jimmie Cotton lost a fumble and a Sallie returned it 83 yards for a TD. After finishing the afternoon with 171 yards of rushing/receiving and 77 more on returns, Jimmie smiled and said as the game was winding down, "I had to make up for that fumble." Methinks he did. So do you. His breakdown: 11 carries for 106 yards and a TD run of 65 yards, and three catches for 65 yards and TD snags covering 11 and 40 yards. On the front end was sr. QB Ian Mitchell, who merely went 7-for-9 for 160 yards and added three scores of his own while carrying 11 times for 80 yards. Jimmie and Ian are dynamite on the option. Sr. FB Tom Hagan, who missed much of the first half due to a health issue, finished with 49 yards and a TD on eight carries. The defense did get scorched for one long TD on a pass (mixup in assignments) and Salesianum did slap together one respectable scoring drive, but otherwise Malvern was in control. Jr. DB Joe Hoban made two interceptions and jr. Chris Moore contributed one. In the third quarter, jr. DL Paul Ostick and sr. Edvard "Yes, With a V" Augustin registered sacks on consecutive plays. In a previous report, I referred to Ostick as "ornery." He came over to me on the sideline and said, laughing, "Hey, I liked that you called me 'ornery.' I didn't know what it meant. Once I looked it up; hey, I like it." Gotta love it! Another good line came from sr. WR Trey Womack after Cotton uncorked a 65-yard run for a score. Referring to a Salesianum d-back, Trey blurted out, "That kid got flat-out burnt, dog!" Gotta love that, too! (smile) Hockey Puck was in attendance and before the game I introduced him to Malvern's standout kicker, jr. Joe Buckley. Joe looked on in amazement as Puck babbled on and on about who knows what. His life will never be the same. Hope his family can afford therapy (ha ha).

OCT. 9
CATHOLIC BLUE
West Catholic 53, Conwell-Egan 0
   After maybe the third TD, I heard someone along C-E's sidelines mutter, "These kids haven't gotten out of bed yet." And they never did. C-E looked listless right from the start and West completely had its way. C-E was missing maybe a handful of contributors for assorted reasons, but man oh man, I'm not sure how much it would have mattered. West had 10 possessions and scored on eight, and was stopped only by the halftime buzzer and a third quarter fumble. The Burrs rolled to 459 yards and limited C-E to 80, despite wholesale substituting. According to the legendary Mike Tos, C-E's statman, this is a school record for defensive yield in the program's 48-year varsity history. Ouch. All of the stats are on the Team Page, so I'll direct you there on a somewhat busy night. Here are the names of the starting linemen, though: Sr. C Marty Blithe, jr. Gs Isiah Edmond and Ode Evans, and sr. Ts Roosevelt Ben and Kirk Hinton. The defense: Es Edmond and jr. Anthony Rhoades; NT Hinton; LBs sr. Wayne Donahue, sr. Daniel Chavis, jr. Marc Holloway and soph Marquese Sanders; sr. CBs Tyrek Smith and Harold Davis and sr. Ss John Maddox and Matt Ambrosine. Sr. Parris Shannon had an interception while fumble recoveries went to Ambrosine and sr. Khiry Carter (on special teams). Rhoades was the first to arrive on a play resulting in a safety. No offense to the C-E guys, but only one truly put forth a special effort today. Jr. OLB Rich Dupell, also a catcher on the baseball team, made nine tackles (one sack), and both recovered and forced a fumble. As the half ended, West tried to expand on a 34-0 lead and threw two passes. Assistant Albie Crosby later told me some C-E fans in his vicinity, at the top of the stands, were quite displeased. "We were trying to get the mercy rule in effect," he said, innocently. "Get people outta here a little earlier so they could get home for Eagles-Dallas." I was on C-E's sideline at the time and didn't hear any complaining. As the second half was about to begin, head ref Tom Young walked over to West coach Brian Fluck and the two spoke briefly in hushed tones. They then began walking toward the fence fronting the stands, where an unattended bookbag/backpack was lying. Terrorist activity!!?? Nope, the bag belonged to a writer from another Philly paper (not the Inquirer), who trotted over to tell them so and then moved it to West's bench. I kidded him a little and asked him if he wanted to comment. He declined. He smiled a little, but mostly seemed agitated about the whole thing. Oh well. Fluck smiled while walking past back to the sideline and said, "There's one for the tidbits." Only for the site, as it turns out. The weekly notes won't be published this week because of Monday action. Oh, one more thing: West soph RB Brandon Rook, who turned two late carries into 31 yards, insists his nickname is "Muffin." Maybe the reason will be fodder for a future report (smile).  

OCT. 8
CATHOLIC RED
Judge 13, North Catholic 6
   It's not often a football player has a need for a snorkle, but this was one of those occasions. It rained at least hard throughout, and often quite hard, and the wind was whipping toward the east end of Northeast's Charlie Martin Memorial Stadium. But you know what? A great time was had by all and the players and fans will never forget the experience. For my money, the game MVP was Judge AD Tim Ginter, who said earlier in the day when asked if there was a chance of a postponement, "The idea behind having an all-weather surface is to play in any weather, right?" True! Would more fans have attended -- I'd estimate this crowd at about 200 -- if the game had been moved to Sunday or even Monday. Certainly. But would everyone have been given a talk-about-it-forever experience? No way. This was a legendary night -- reminded me somewhat of the Thanksgiving game one year between Ryan and Washington on a snow-covered field; I know folks involved STILL talk about it -- and I had the feeling it would be so even while hydroplaning once or twice en route to the stadium (ha ha). Considering the conditions, the game was relatively well played. The teams moved the ball and there were several good plays, and it's doubtful that would have happened on a grass surface turned mudbath. But of course there were fumbles and one of them wound up deciding the game. Midway through the fourth quarter, North franchise Daryl Robinson let a punt slip through his hands and soph Andrew McHale recovered on the Falcons' 17. Jr. RB Jim Lavelle (19-56) was called upon five straight times and sloshed for gains of 7, 2, 4, 0 (zero ain't exactly a gain, is it?) and 4 yards into the end zone with 3:07 left. That broke a 6-6 tie and jr. Mike Pacetti added the PAT. North had one last chance. Robinson returned the kickoff 9 yards to the 24. He then had carries for 11, 0 and 0 again and then went out for a pair of passes from frosh QB Dennis Logue. Both were incomplete and Judge did kneel-downs from there. Robinson is a high-quality receiver, but in this one he served mostly at running back. He responded with 90 yards on 30 carries and turned his only catch, a 23-yarder to the right side, into North's lone TD with 1:41 left in the third quarter. The snap on the PAT was a dribbler and sr. DB Will Taggert made quick penetration. A desperation pass had no chance. The score was set up by the second of two fumble recoveries by soph DT Eric French (also eight tackles, with two going for losses). This one was at the Judge 24. His first one, just moments earlier, was at the Judge 17. But sr. LB Anthony Montico (13 tackles, five solos) dumped Logue for a 10-yard loss on third down and the fourth down pass was incomplete. The first half highlights were a first-drive thrust by North and the hard running of jr. RB Joe Thompson. Thanks to the running of Robinson and a 35-yard pass from Logue to sr. TE Charles Klink, the Falcons earned first-and-10 at the 12. But three runnings plays netted just four yards total and Logue's fade-pattern pass to the right corner was too long for Robinson. Thompson, a key performer at DB, did not make his first RB appearance until about four minutes into the second quarter. But then, phew, he made a big impression. By halftime he had 11 carries for 111 yards, along with a TD on an 8-yard run. Second half? Only two rushes for two yards. Strange. He did finish with eight tackles. Soph LB Chris Dowling added two TFLs, sr. LB Jeff McMahon had one TFL among six stops and jr. DL Mike Murphy had a sack among six stops. High among the night's most impressive performances was that of Klink while punting. The ball sounded like a rock each time it hit his foot and he totaled 138 yards on four punts (34.5 average). Joe Malizia, who forever has done game films and is one of the nicest guys you could ever hope to meet, was joined in the press box by his son, Joe Jr., a former Penn Charter player who also does filming. They shot the game side by side. Next to Joe Jr. was Ryan coach Glen Galeone, brandishing a small camcorder (or whatever they're called these days -- smile). Strange sight of the night: A player in uniform in the press box! It was Judge jr. John O'Hanlon, who suffered a hand injury. The trainer brought him up there for treatment rather than try to work in the ridiculously hard rain. I took his picture and just had to ask him if he's related to the O'Hanlons of back-in-the-day Judge fame. He motioned and said, "Right there." Standing in the doorway to the press box, obstructed from my view, was John Sr., a second team All-City linebacker for Judge in 1980. We exchanged pleasantries and then the two headed down the steps. It's amazing how people can pop into and out of your life with so many years in between. We hope young John is OK. Given the chance, I'm sure "older John" would still strap on the pads and rattle some teeth (smile). Right before the game, Judge coach Tommy Coyle yelled up to the press box from field level and told four North assistants to get out, that they'd have to go to the other side. And get out they did. They didn't look thrilled, but they didn't complain. Some of Judge's assistants were within earshot, so I could see why Coyle did not want North's guys nearby.

OCT. 7
PUBLIC RED
Northeast 40, Germantown 12
   G-town has some pretty good players and has a chance for a very nice season. Northeast has more and has a chance for a truly special season. Those facts could change over time, but they're cemented for now. Though the halftime score was "only" 10-6, NE had a clear edge in yardage and would assert its dominance thereafter. The Vikings scored on all five of their second half possessions (four TDs, FG) to turn this one into a borderline romp. In an oddity, the top two rushers finished with identical yardage as srs. Lamone Fox (19 carries) and Harold Miller (17) both went for 142. Fox posted scores of 5, 53 and 1 and Miller tallied from 49. The other TD was scored late by sr. Chris Zepp (7 yards) on his first carry of the season and sr. Chris Mountney, by far the best kicker in the Pub, hammered two FGs (23 and 29 yards) along with four PAT. NE is doing something quite interesting on offense now. Jr. Michael Small is still the QB (sr. Charles McGinn, back from a broken thumb, is just playing DB), but on passing downs he moves to a slotback spot and sr. RB Ste'Shaun Johnson lines up as a tailback and takes a direct snap. Johnson passed 3-for-5 for 45 yards including a 24-yard gain on a shuffle pass to Fox. He also carried six times for 65 yards despite what appeared to be a hip pointer (not sure). Fox, in another big-time performance, also had 93 yards on three returns. So in all he generated 259 yards. Phew! Another prime-timer was sr. WB-DE Jordan Strickland. "Strick" posted a strong two-play sequence in the third quarter with an 8-yard sack and a blocked punt. He also made a crucial block on Miller's 49-yard scoring run. A fumble recovery by sr. DE Jesse Joseph (hit by sr. LB Chris Craddock) set up one score. G-town received 76 yards on 15 carries from sr. Akeem Johnson, but he was mostly held in check and that ain't easy, folks, because he's a threat on every touch. Sr. WR Erik Frazier made a series of difficult catches -- this kid truly has the knack; his polish compared to so many other receivers is WAY evident, as is his true thirst to just go get the damn ball!! smile -- en route to seven total for 87 yards and a score. His grit helped jr. Khalid Purnell finish 9-for-22 for 121. The original starter, sr. Andre "Fish" Fisher, is expected back next week and sr. RB Reginald Lloyd could be helping again in maybe three weeks. Their presence could make a gigantic difference. G-town's most productive defenders in this one were sr. LB Eric Jenkins and jr. LB Eric Williams. Sr. DT Isaiah Williams also made some plays. And jr. Michael Thompson blocked a FG on the final play of the half after NE had slapped together an effective, beat-the-clock drive with the help of two passes from Johnson to jr. TE Sean Evans and a 25-yard run for Small. It came when G-town had only about 5-6 defenders on the field, proper, with the rest trying to run on late. Very weird. Not even sure what happened. As I was interviewing sr. G-LB Seth Shapiro after the game, a bunch of Viking rooters kept yelling for me to mention them on the website (smile). There you go, troops.

OCT. 6
PUBLIC AAA
Bok 38, Penn 6
   It took a while for Bok to get rolling, but overall it had no probem despite the absence of top rushers Luke Lassiter and Keith Williams (minor injuries). Sr. Dante Quarterman, a transfer from West Catholic previously limited to WR duties on offense, moved into the backfield and responded with 12 carries for 103 yards and two TDs. Not bad, eh? Another non-headliner, jr. Tony DuBose, came through also (9-52, TD) and sr. Nick "Popeye" Perrone turned his only official carry into a 1-yard score. The last TD came on the first play of the fourth quarter on a hotly-disputed, 5-yard pass from jr. Mike Nelson to jr. Donald Whitfield. Penn assistant Terry Henderson, among others on that side, was positive Whitfield had stepped out before making the catch. I was on the other side. Who knows? I do know this: Penn had fashioned a great goal-line stand on the first three downs, with all three plays starting inside the 2. The first play went for a yard. The second went for no gain as sr. DE Jason Simpkins (6-5, 210) made the tackle. The third one went for a 4-yard loss as frosh Tyhief Piner and jr. Ryeheim Magobet stormed across the line to dump jr. RB Ron Pittman. Penn's score came on a 71-yard pass from soph QB David Allen (held out for much of the game for missing practice; sr. WR Charles Corley started in his place) to Magobet. Nelson led Bok's defense with two interceptions while soph DE Terry Lee recovered two fumbles and forced another. Sr. DE Michael McClarin made a force/recovery combo and Perrone made two recoveries along with one TFL. Bok had a "Pub moment" on a punt when the ball hit the back of a blocker and was recovered by Penn's Darryl McBride two yards behind the line. Bok's line: sr. C Anthony Brickle, sr. Gs Shon Thompkins and Dahson "X" Exum, sr. Ts Anthony Gales and Bryant Whitney and sr. TE Darnell Grice. They're some big'uns, pardner (ha ha). Only Exum, who added two TFLs, weighs under 250. Bok's field is very dry and the dust was kicking up. Assistant Roscoe Natale commented, "The only difference between this field and concrete is, concrete's not as dirty." The best run of the day was likely turned in by Bok soph Tony Ross, as he uncorked 3-4 zig-zags on a 14-yard burst. Penn's most motivated defender is sr. LB Braheem Clanton. He makes hard contact again and again, whether against rushers or blockers, and could play for any team in the Pub. To me, he has the look of a guy who would have been a back-in-the-day star at Ben Franklin. Bok defensive coordinator Vince "Pops" Trombetta, the former Franklin coach, agrees wholeheartedly. After Whitfield did not fully follow through and make what could have been an interception, DeFelice yelled out to him, "You're allowed to catch the ball!" Amauro was among the witnesses. He went to 29th Street for Communications Tech-Franklin. Alas, the buses never went to pick up CT's team. Only in the Non-League (ha ha).

OCT. 2
CATHOLIC BLUE
Conwell-Egan 27, McDevitt 20
   Nothing quite like the Beach Chair Bowl. That's what I called this one in the story for the good, ol' DN because many spectators along the C-E sidelines watched from beach chairs rather than sit in a few low-capacity sets of stands. Oh, you hadn't heard? This one was played on the practice field behind C-E after problems with the artificial turf during warmups Saturday night at Truman forced a postponement. The field, understandably, is dusty and there are more weeds than blades of grass. But you know what? The C-E folks did a great job of making the place game-ready with yard lines and yard markers and such and there was no admission charge and an interesting time was had by all. The outcome was still in doubt until the very end, too, and how often can you truly say that about a football game? The ultimate hero was C-E sr. RB Rasuel Thomas, a transfer from North Catholic. (Yes, his papers have been signed. Hopefully. They have been, right? smile.) He carried a whopping 37 times for 184 yards in bright-sun, 80-degree weather and he was stronger at the end than he was at the beginning. C-E's winning drive, capped by junior QB Kevin Schafer on a 1-yard run with 0:39 left, and breaking a 20-20 tie, included nine plays and covered 56 yards. Thomas carried five times for 43 and really provided juice with a second-play frolic for 23 yards. His 13-yarder put the ball at the 2. Noticing that it had 12 men on the field, McDevitt tried to call a quick timeout. But the illegal substitution flag came first and the ball was placed at the 1. Schafer went in from there. McDevitt started first-and-10 at its 43. Sr. QB Tom Maha, making his first appearance this season after an injury, whipped a pass to sr. WR Abe Doe. But the ball went off Doe's hands and jr. DB Shane Nolte made his second interception. Props have to go to the back judge, who handled a fair clock (with no scoreboard) and let the teams put in a full day's work. C-E, for instance, ran 72 plays! Schafer passed 9-for-16 for 104 and a TD to sr. TE Steve Herrmann while jr. FB Ray O'Hara, aside from blocking well, managed 64 yards on 11 rushes. C-E's line: sr. C Ron Smith, jr. Gs Justin Bainbridge and Joe Snydman, sr. Ts Rob Christine and Kevin Dunn, and Herrmann. The earlier scores: 10-yard pass to Herrmann; 5-yard run for McDevitt sr. RB Manny Harrison (23-132); 52-yard pass from Maha to sr. WR Brian Mitros; 1-yard run for Thomas; 5-yard run for Harrison; and 30-yard run for Thomas. The score was preserved at 20-20 after that last one, with 10:17 left in the fourth quarter, as sr. LB Barry Porter (strong performance overall) banged through the line to block the PAT. McDevitt received a 16-yard return from Doe and a 22-yard run from Harrison, moving the ball to C-E's 32. The drive died as Nolte and sr. DL Ali Kunter combined to drop Harrison for a 3-yard loss. A 6-yard sack by Herrmann throttled McDevitt's next possession before it had a chance to become dangerous. And the last-moment pick by Nolte ended the Lancers' final opportunity. C-E slapped together a strong drive to end the first half, eventually earning 1st-and-goal at the 4. A spike stopped the clock, then O'Hara, on a trick play, overthrew a wide-open Nolte. Sensing that his defenders were down because they'd been beaten so badly, coordinator Bob Corcoran broke out a baseball reference. "Hey, it's like a long foul ball," he yelled to them. "Strike one. Doesn't count." I thought that was handled well. Porter broke up a third-down pass and the final play was another too-long pass. It should be mentioned that Mitros would have had a pick earlier in this drive, if not for a roughing-the-passer penalty. Mike Tos, that noted C-E football historian, said the school had never played a varsity game on its practice field. And there's no way he's wrong (smile). It just doesn't happen. Also, John Beretzki, who has handled the gate at Egan/C-E games for 40 years, said he probably refunded more money than he took in Saturday night because some late-arriving people who asked for their money back had never paid in the first place. Also, he briefly ran out of $1 bills and had to give folks $5 instead of $4.

OCT. 1
CATHOLIC RED
La Salle 24, Judge 0
   Where were the surgical masks when we needed them? My throat feels like I smoked two packs of cigarettes -- no, two cartons -- and I don't even smoke. The field at Springfield Montco is Sahara kind of dry and there was dust everywhere! After a while, clouds of dust were just hovering over the field. It was bad enough on the sideline. I can't imagine what it was like on the field. Hey, Springfield caretakers. There's this new invention called water. There are even things called hoses and sprinkler systems to get it from one place to another. The game itself? The Jack Forster Show, primarily. The jr. WR-DB scored all three TDs for the Explorers, two on receptions and one on a punt return. His pass-catching TDs capped his squad's first two drives -- first was a 12-yard fade to the left corner; second was a 33-yarder to the left side. He made the leaping snag at about the 10 and followed with a spin move before scampering down the sideline the rest of the way. His punt-return score came in the third quarter and covered 66 yards. If I remember correctly (forgot to write it down, sorry), he made the catch in Willie Mays, over-the-shoulder fashion in roughly the middle of the field and then (I'm sure of this part) veered to the right, made a couple of nifty moves and raced down the right sideline. An impressive play during a night to remember for No. 1 in your program. Forster also made a leaping reception for 19 yards in the drive just beforehand, which yielded a 25-yard FG for jr. Ryan "Kicker" Cain. This was my first look season at the Explorers' rejuvenated offense under coordinator Drew Gordon and his QB coach, son Brett. They were star QBs at McDevitt and La Salle, respectively, and Brett racked up off-the-chart, by-far city-record passing numbers before doing what his dad did -- play at Villanova. The QB under their wing is soph John Harrison, who's listed at 5-9, 150, and looks like he should be your paperboy. He has the knack, though, and all he did was finish 19-for-25 for 171 yards while hitting 10 different receivers. (Admittedly, he did throw two picks, meaning 21 of his 25 tosses were caught by somebody.) Rushing support was scant as only one carry produced as many as 10 yards and it was late/meaningless. The defense was WAY stingy as Judge was held to 41 yards on the same number of plays. The line kicked major butt as jr. DT John McBurnie (spoken about in glowing terms beforehand by an assistant coach) had a sack and a tackle right at the line and helped to pressure sr. QB Justin DeCristofaro into a 4-for-15, 24-yard night. The lefty is a nice prospect, too, but just could not find a rhythm. Soph DE Andrew Wood had two sacks. For Judge, baseball-hockey star Matt Compton launched three punts in the mid-30s; jr. DBs Tim Gontz and Joe Thompson had interceptions; jr. DL Ryan Kreider registered a 9-yard sack sr. LB Anthony Montico made a pair of TFLs; and sr. LB Jeff McMahon exploded across the line of scrimmage to record a 3-yard TFL on a pass play. Former La Salle student reporter Jack "In the Box" Crouse, now a frosh at La Salle, came down to the sideline to say hello. The indication is, he'll again be filing reports during hoops season. Gotta love it! Congrats to La Salle coach Joe Colistra, whose 149 career wins tie him with his own coach, John "Tex" Flannery, for No. 1 in school history. Flannery's grandson, jr. Dan Connors, is one of the starting offensive linemen.

OCT 1
NON-LEAGUE
Malvern 31, Peddie (N.J.) 14
   The main thing to say after watching this one is hmmmm. Penn Charter, on its home field, last week needed two interception TDs and a last-second TD pass to beat Peddie. Malvern, on the road, did not play particularly well and still won in very comfortable fashion. Should we just give the Friars the Inter-Ac title now? (smile) They ARE impressive and appear to have no true weaknesses. The offensive linemen are ornery, sr. QB Ian Mitchell (5-for-9, 109 yards, two TDs) is a good enough athlete that he's drawing I-AA interest for WR and DB, sr. WR Trey Womack (3-68, TD) is a widely sought I-A scholarship guy, sr. RB Jimmie Cotton (13-75) is an athletic basketball player and the FBs, srs. Tom Hagan (11-71) and Steve Layne (6-41), are more than capable of collecting tough yardage in addition to delivering chin-jolting blocks. And then there's kicker Joe Buckley. Although one of his FG attempts was blocked and returned for a 79-yard TD, he hammered a 37-yarder and sent two of his kickoffs 6 yards into the end zone (with no help from wind). He has already been a difference maker and could be later in any tough situations that may arise. The offensive linemen were our choice for Line of the Week last Tuesday, so they don't need their names in this report (smile). The defense was mostly dominant. In a span covering the end of the first quarter and beginning of the second, six consecutive Peddie plays went for losses. Jr. DE Paul Ostick had a sack and two TFLs in that span while jr. DB Bill Miller had two TFLs and Bernier had a sack and a half-TFL. Ostick had 1.5 other sacks while interceptions went to Joe Hoban and Bernier. Cotton had a 50-yard TD on a reverse wiped out by a penalty. His score on a 30-yard pass was a play of beauty as he went in motion to Womack's side and made the catch underneath as Womack took 27 defenders downfield (smile). The PA announcer was a true character. He gave football and baseball scores non-stop and mixed in some funny comments. After Chris Douthett, wearing No. 52, scored on the blocked-FG return, the guy crowed, "We didn't know he had the speed. But he does!!" Also, he implored people to buy hot dogs, hamburgers, sodas and seat cushions at the concession stand, then added in a low voice, "The seat cushions are not edible." He then pointed out that the stand was being run by the seniors "and if you don't go over and buy stuff, they'll be holding their prom in the cafeteria." As always, it was a pleasure seeing coach Gamp Pellegrini and the long-time members of his staff. All class acts! For picture-taking purposes, I stayed on Peddie's sideline and one of the assistants late in the game remarked to the head coach that Gamp had only second-liners on defense. "He's a good guy," the assistant said. "Not a (bleep) at all." Side benefit of making this trip: the NJ turnpike has a rest stop with a Roy Rogers. How cool is that? Don't you miss Roy Rogers? My stomach does.