September reports

OCT. 27
INTER-AC LEAGUE
Penn Charter 23, Malvern 19
   Wow, what a finish! However, since we’re always fascinated by the quirky, we’ll start with the middle. How many times do you think THIS has happened in football history: Two TDs and two safeties being slapped onto the scoreboard in a period of 1 minute, 36 seconds? Crazy, right? This version of fun began 28 seconds before halftime when sr. RB Sean McNally ran 3 yards for a score, thus capping an eight-play, 48-yard drive and giving PC a surprising 21-7 lead. Malvern was guilty of a 15-yard penalty as sr. Eric Muller hammered the PAT and it was assessed on the kickoff, allowing Muller to reach the very back of the end zone. Jr. Ryan Nassib (serious arm strength; 9-for-14, 111) passed incomplete on first down, and then the next snap was faulty. The ball bounced and was batted backward (Malvern was lucky that PC did not recover for a TD) and finally squirted out of the end zone for a safety at 11.2. OK, on to the second half. PC jr. Kashif Smith returned the kickoff five yards to the 6, then holding and procedure calls pushed the ball back to the 3. Soph QB John Ryan, brother of Boston College’s Matt and excellent overall in his first start (9-for-13, 91), bobbled the snap and was tackled for a safety at 11:11 by sr. DE Paul Ostick and sr. DT Mike Lynch. Muller kicked off from the 20. Sr. Matt Dolente zoomed his way to a 64-yard return to the PC 10 and Nassib followed immediately with a TD pass to ever-impressive sr. WR Joe Hoban at 10:52. So, there you have it. Two TDs and two safeties in 1:36, not to mention that the times for the respective sequences were 17 and 19 seconds. I repeat. Crazy, right? OK, now let’s go to the fourth quarter, with PC still out front, 23-19. Early, an interception by sr. DB Kevin Sullivan put Malvern in business at the PC 47 and a 15-yard thrust by tough-nut sr. FB Alex Forte (also dominant all game at LB) ultimately placed the ball at the 18. Jr. RB Chris Layne then was thrown for a 4-yard loss by jr. LB Blaise Fullen and again a snap went WAY over Nassib’s head. Nassib did hustle back and get fleeting possession, but the rock then came free and sr. DE Drew Fullen recovered. The big moment in PC’s possession was an offensive interference call against sr. WR Brian Teuber, who made a brilliant catch along the Malvern sideline. He was tackled at the 19 and the flag placed the ball at the PC 28, so that was a swing of 53 yards in field position. Think the PC coaches were a little, um, disturbed at the call? Anyway, Malvern began the game’s last drive on its 44 with 4:36 showing. On the fourth snap, again an interference call went against the Quakers (the coaches’ snapout on this one was vintage – smile) and put the ball at the 30 at 3:00. Here’s what happened from there, and of course with each play the drama built and built and built: 3-yard run for Layne (tackle by McNally and sr. DL Rob McInerney); 2-yard run for Layne (same twosome on the stop); 6-yard pass to sr. TE Ben Bryer (McNally; great job by Bryer to make sure he had first-down yardage); 2-yard run by Layne (McNally yet again); at this point the situation screamed for a timeout and Malvern had two remaining, but none was called until AFTER Nassib threw incomplete to Bryer (ouch); Bryer hit soph RB James Connelly for 13 yards on a left-to-middle underneath pattern at 36.4, putting the ball at the 4 for first and goal; on a pitch left, Layne was held to a 1-yard gain by sr. LB Joe Rauchut (slowed him) and D. Fullen (got him) and Malvern used its final timeout at 13.6. OK, here we go . . . Nassib took the snap and went to his right. He took several looks into the end zone, but found no one open. He then darted forward in an attempt to get the yardage himself. As Rauchut mentioned in a post-game interview, the decision at first appeared promising. But defenders quickly filled the gap, led by jr. DE Ryan McGarvey, and no gain resulted. Phew! The clock, of course, kept running and, wait, what’s going on here?! McNally has the football and he’s dashing upfield! The refs blew their whistles and that was it. One ref said afterward that NO fumble occurred on the play, but that Malvern was not awarded another play "because they wouldn't have been able to get one off." Ballgame. I’m tired again just recounting the sequence. Imagine how the players, coaches and fans felt. Meanwhile, Hoban’s five catches for 74 yards upped his season yardage total to 650, enabling him to break the school record set by Ryan Edginton (642) in 1998. Kudos also go to PC jr. Ed Bambino, who made four snags for 51 yards and a TD. Formerly the QB, he showed desire throughout the day in his new role and should have a lot of fun with Ryan for the rest of this season and next. PC is now 3-0 in league play with Haverford and Gtn. Academy remaining. In trying to piece together how the Friars fell into such a first-half hole, I'm wondering if they got caught in the score-comparison trap. PC needed a very late TD to squeak by Episcopal, 7-0. GA thrashed Episcopal, 38-7. Malvern beat GA by 10, 40-30. Just a thought. 

OCT. 26
PUBLIC BLUE
Olney 27, Edison 14
   Twinkle, twinkle, little Estrella. And all the larger Estrellas, too. Estrella is “star” in Spanish and having a guy with that surname play a prominent role on the very best day in Olney’s grid history certainly provided an interesting twist. At 5-6 and 165 pounds, Wagner Estrella, one of two halfbacks in coach Hugh MacDonough’s double-wing set (and coming off ACL surgery last fall), is literally the smallest guy on the squad. Size never prevents leadership, though, and so it was today as the Trojans earned a chance to munch a piece of the postseason pie for the first time in the program’s 75-year varsity history. Hard to believe, huh? Olney’s biggest problem through the ‘70s, ‘80s and ‘90s was geography. Though it always had a gigantic enrollment, it also had a student body that did not match the other Northeast-area schools’ in terms of stability, football savvy, resources, community support, etc., and that made things impossible when trying to go against Frankford, Northeast, Washington, Lincoln, Mastbaum . . . Ability grouping, though, was a godsend and MacDonough, as you might imagine, was thoroughly in favor (hmm, didn’t he propose it and draw up the plan? -- smile) and the Trojans this season proved to be a perfect fit for Blue. Now, of course, they’ll bounce up to White next season and we’ll see how that goes. Olney needed to win this game to take the division and the early part did not go well. In fact, Edison jumped off to a 6-0 lead late in the first quarter on a 15-yard run by sr. RB Kory Marshall (15-79), a very bright and together young man who could wind up at Columbia. Not long after that, Frankford assistant Juan Namnun called out my name from the fence and asked, “Where’s that Lincoln game?” If Olney had lost, the Blue title would have gone to Lincoln, a 34-6 winner over Fels, on tiebreakers and I’m guessing the Frankford guys were thinking Olney was looking a little sluggish and might not emerge victorious. Not sure if one or more did go to watch Lincoln, but the thought was there (smile). Olney did get rollin’, though, and it happened right away. A pair of nice runs by sr. FB Jamarr Leary (10 yards) and jr. HB Jerrell Toomer (18) got the ball into Edison territory, then the momentum continued with Leary’s 9-yard burst and an 8-yard keeper by sr. QB Mike Reyes, with a 5-yard facemask infraction tagged on. Estrella then scored on a 13-yard sweep right and, after two penalties, sr. C-NG Gerardo Zuviri hammered home a 30-yard PAT. Edison then marched and marched some more and used a 5-yard pass from jr. QB Ernesto Medina to sr. WB Joshua Alicea to set up fourth-and-7 at the 11. Medina then kept and was held to a 3-yard gain by sr. DE Donaldson Jeoboham. At first Olney appeared content to be careful and merely avoid having to punt. But when an 11-yard sneak moved the ball to the 25, the Trojans switched into ah-what-the-heck mode and ordered another sweep right for Estrella. And there he went! For 75 yards and a TD! Third quarter: an early 57-yard TD run by Toomer (5-127, this kid’s per-carry average for the season is still over 10). Fourth quarter: an early 40-yard TD run by Toomer. Edison’s one answer came late in the third on a 1-yard sneak by Medina. I spent the second half on Olney’s sideline, though it made for tricky photo-snapping due to the sun’s placement, because I wanted to see close up what the mood would be. There were occasional yells of “History!!” and “Destiny!!” as the minutes melted down to a precious few and then the emotions really began to bubble as Reyes executed a couple of game-ending kneeldowns. Unfortunately, someone from Edison got frisky on one of them and the refs ordered Olney to back up and remain there. Thankfully, there were no handshake-line incidents. At first, MacDonough was mostly able to avoid getting doused with a jug of water. But then, jr. lineman Brandon Harling and another kid in street clothes came up from behind with an ice-filled cooler and that did the soak-him-good trick. The Trojans gathered in the west end zone and Reyes, who still had the ball, tossed it to MacDonough. The coach gave a short speech and there was major rejoicing and then the Trojans headed to their team buses, lined up along Hunting Park Avenue. A little later this morning, we’ll set up a special page to commemorate this occasion. Olney, by the way, was the only current Pub/Cath team (except for the brand new Pub squads, of course), that had never qualified for postseason action.

OCT. 21
CATHOLIC RED
SJ Prep 42, La Salle 14
   Perhaps it's time to rethink the way we do city rankings. Maybe the second, third and even fourth spots behind SJ Prep should be left blank and then La Salle can slide into fifth. I know that sounds harsh, but the gap is quite wide at this moment and that was clearly evident at Wissahickon before an overflow crowd (largest daytime gathering I've seen in YEARS; except on Thanksgiving, of course). The Hawks, honestly, sliced and diced the Explorers behind an offensive line filled with not only big bodies, but big bodies that can move and show athleticism. Through the years on teams, it has sometimes been tough to tell whether the linemen have made a back or a back has made the linemen. Prep appears to have a perfect balance. Yes, jr. TB Jamir Livingston is quick and fast and perceptive. But he also is give some great early room to work with. Livingston finished with 250 yards on 34 rushes along with TDs of eight and 68 yards. He found that 250 number hard to believe (or else he was just being modest -- smile), but the digits tend to rocket upward when you're getting 5, 8, 6, 5, 4, 8 . . . mixed in with the occasional 14, 13, 15, 10, 68 and 35. Like all quicksters, Jamir looks even faster on an artificial surface and so it was today. "I wouldn't mind playing all our games on turf," said coach Gil Brooks. No wonder. While Livingston worked early and often, sr. QB Chris Whitney packed all of his passing into the first half. He went 4-for-4 for 121 yards and one TD apiece to jr. WR Tim Edger and sr. TE Buster Ousley (filling in for injured sr. Steve Schell). Whitney made two outstanding throws off scrambles, showing poise and patience. One was on the TD to Edger (I'm doubting he was the primary receiver on the play) and the other was on the TD to Ousley. When I interviewed Chris maybe a month ago, he said he was hoping to have some good tapes to send out to those D-I schools that are expressing an interest. Send out these two plays, young man, because they were as good, if not better, than any plays other QBs will be able to offer. Whitney also scored twice and more than once in the first half, while on La Salle's side, I heard assistant coaches mutter, "What's with that kid? He's just so hard to flat-out BRING DOWN!" OK, linemen. I know you're getting impatient to see your names in this report, but hey, you made a post-game appearance on SPORTSfever's telecast with producer Gorden Blain, so it's not as if you were ignored (smile). Sr. C Joe D'Orazio, sr. Gs Adam Kasprzak and John Gazzola, sr. T Pat McCarthy and shared-time sr. Ts Jeff Battipaglia (6-5, 260; also a stalwart on the D-line) and Joe McKendry (6-6, 275). In total, the Hawks churned out 397 yards on 50 plays. La Salle is no defensive weak sister. Its unit is filled with physical, savvy and athletic veterans, but this day did not go well. La Salle took an unheard-of approach to offense: Throw no matter what. Well, almost. Jr. QB John Harrison, sporting a brace on his knee, was able to go despite suffering a slight injury in last week's win over Bonner and sr. RB Chris Ashley was back in the lineup for the first time in a while. Check this out: the Explorers' first 14 plays were passes, and their first run did not come until Ashley was dropped for a 1-yard loss on a pitchout to the right with 9 1/2 minutes remaining in the second quarter. Ashley then gained 1 yard on a draw and, you've got it, it was then pass-pass-pass again. The next 15 plays were also flips, tosses, flings, whatever you want to call them, and this string was broken only when Harrison was sacked for 9 yards by a backup DE, sr. Ross "The Boss" Drueding. This kid must be very popular because his teammates celebrated his sack by going nuts. Overall, Harrison went 23-for-42 for 290 yards! Gotta love it -- 250 for a rusher and 290 for a passer. His main target was sr. WR-SB Jack Forster with 10 catches for 123 yards. Over time, of course, the Hawks paid extra attention to Forster and that helped La Salle get some measure of ha-ha, fooled-ya satisfaction with a trick play that went for a TD. Forster caught a pass heading right-to-left and lateraled to Ashley, who was going left-to-right. The line of scrimmage was the 23, but Ashley covered 27 yards and the play went into the books as a passing TD for Harrison. (His other TD had come on a 2-yard pass to Forster, capping the game's first series). As the third quarter ended, Harrison had thrown 39 passes and I thought he had an outside shot at the city's one-game record of 55. Wasn't to be, though, in part because Prep opted to milk clock. Where will these teams go from here? Will Prep get even stronger? Will La Salle do a fade? One must only think back to '04 and '00 to realize that the season is hardly over. The Hawks appeared rock-solid in those campaigns, yet fell in the title game (to O'Hara both times). Meanwhile, congrats go out to Harrison for roaring past 3,000 career yards. He's now at 3,158 and the pass that lifted him over the barrier (to 3,023) was a 38-yarder to jr. WR Joe Migliarese late in the second quarter. Not bad for a junior, eh?      

OCT. 20
PUBLIC RED
Frankford 38, Dobbins 25
   The adults will fully understand this reference and perhaps the kids will, too, thanks to those channels that air old TV shows: This game would have qualified as an all-time Twilight Zone episode. Let’s start with how things ended, as I was heading to my car. On the corner closest to Frankford’s locker room, there was a kid bent over holding a fishing pole. And on the catty-corner corner, another teenager was holding a video recorder. My guess was that they were trying to trip somebody with the thin wire and catch it on tape. Not sure if anyone was victimized, but the kids certainly appeared to be happy. Hay-zooooooooos. What strange things happened in the game itself? What strange things did NOT happen? Head ref Tom McClain at one point chased away two members of the chain gang because they were messing around and showing gross incompetence. “I looked over and the one kid was dancing!” McClain growled. Before that happened, the kids put down the chains on first-and-10 from the 11 (why the lineman let them, Lord only knows), so McClain later just awarded Frankford a first down after sr. QB Wesley Brown reached the 1 on a fourth down carry. In the second quarter, Frankford sr. OLB J.C. Montgomery was ejected after picking up Brown after the whistle and slamming him to the muddy turf. Oh, wait. About 2 ½ minutes later, as halftime ended, McClain said Montgomery was not ejected because the wrong number had been reported to him by a fellow ref. (At first, McClain thought Montgomery had also been guilty of a second personal foul that followed the first). If the ejection had stood, J.C. would have been out for next week’s Northeast showdown.  There was some pushing/shoving after the incident and the coaches dashed onto the field to make sure control was maintained. Soon thereafter, McClain could be heard yelling to respective captains that he wanted them to relay to everyone, “If I catch you breathing hard, you’re outta here!” Let’s see. What else happened? Well, late in the game, I was upended as a running play extended past the sideline (thanks to those who made sure my left leg was not in two pieces – ha ha); the wind blew quite hard toward Dobbins’ sideline along the way; Dobbins coach Lou Zambino, who’s usually completely plugged in, twice opted for kicks on extra points when his team was down by five points (a “two”, of course, would have left the Mustangs within a field goal of forging a tie); and Dobbins had a great trick conversion play nullified when the refs said not enough men were on the line of scrimmage. However, the flag was tossed by the umpire (the guy behind the defensive line) and there’s no way he could have been sure about who was/wasn’t on the line; that’s not job. There was an involved discussion and I have a strong suspicion the refs “created” something. Would be interesting to see the tape. The ink went to sr. RB Calvin Spires (6-foot, 190), whose surname was formerly spelled correctly on Frankford’s roster but now is spelled “Spiers”. Oh, baby! There’s a lot to like about Spires. He’s one of those guys who is always leaning forward, also on the balls of his feet, as he runs and he doesn’t hesitate to deliver the blow. He finished with 150 yards and two TDs on 13 carries. Rutgers and Temple have made contact. Time will tell whether contact turns to full pursuit. Sr. FB Nate Johnson added 76 yards and a score on 13 rushes. The sr. QB, whose name on the roster has evolved from Andre Hundson to Andreas Hudson (it never ends in the Pub, folks, but I never thought Frankford would be a source of such lunacy – smile), lofted a 5-yard scoring pass to sr. TE Warren Tinsley. The game opened with an 80-yard kickoff return TD from jr. Ervin Goodson and then, for more than a few moments, it appeared sr. Nafis Alexander was going to take the ensuing kickoff 67 yards in the other direction. The half ended with Dobbins causing the Pioneers all kinds of concern, at 23-19. But as the second half started, a short, spinning kickoff reached sr. L Everett Hurtt in the air and he was unable to make the catch. Jr. Dwayne Lewis recovered for Frankford on the Dobbins 43 and Frankford scored five plays later (one play after Spires roared to the 5 on a run). To its credit, Dobbins came right back and went 57 yards in eight plays, with big contributions from Brown (option keeper for 15) and sr. WR Darrell “Butta” Brown (16 yards on reverse toss). A short punt helped the Pioneers take over at Dobbins’ 40 early in the fourth quarter. Johnson went for 17 yards, Hudson passed incomplete, Johnson went for 3 yards, then Spires zipped 20 for a score. Hudson kept the ball on the conversion and splashed through a big puddle into the left corner of the end zone. Many kudos to how tough the Mustangs played, especially since the wind prevented much passing and because the muddy turf should have made an option attack much harder. Frankford had 239 total yards. The linemen were sr. C Alexander Ortiz, jr. Gs James Quiles and jr. William Mount, sr. Ts William Ray and William Austin and Tinsley and Montgomery at ends. Jr. Melvin Smith, who has come on nicely lately, led Dobbins with 97 yards and a TD on 19 carries. Sr. DT Tyree Dudley (6-4, 305) made several plays at or behind the line for Frankford while the LBs, sr. Steven Ortega and jrs. Chris Spence and Josh Burnett, did some heavy-duty rockin.’ Sr. DL Brandon Allen (6-3, 260) also was prominent. OK, folks. That’s all for this one. Got some TEAM PAGES to update before heading for La Salle-Prep. Or should I say Prep-La Salle?

OCT. 14
CATHOLIC RED
O'Hara 14, Ryan 13
   More than a few folks, including members of the coaching staffs, wondered why I chose to attend this game over Roman-North. Well, I hadn't seen Ryan and this wound up with a one-point difference (as did Roman-North), so how bad of a choice could it have been? (smile). Admittedly, the overall entertainment value was kind of low because the game was mostly played in the middle of the field, especially when rushing plays were on the docket. But the stretch did much to stir the juices and, really, isn't that all you can ask? O'Hara to this point had been Team Question Mark and was in danger of missing the playoffs. Could you have imagined? While I'm still not convinced this team is truly going somewhere, forward is better than backward and rarely have giant steps preceded baby steps in any of life's endeavors, right? Since the finish was good, let's go there. Ryan took a 13-7 lead with 6:05 left as soph QB Rus Slawter hit sr. TE Anthony Vinciguerra with a 4-yard pass. It came on a sprint to the right and Vinciguerra made the catch at the right pylon. He was in the grasp of jr. LB Pat Daly and the O'Hara folks thought Daly might have kept Vinciguerra out of the end zone. "Vinnie" did reach forward with the ball, though, and probably did break the plane. Next came a gigundo play as sr. LB Joe Colleluori sped in from the side and blocked the PAT. Not with his hand. With his chest, which was an indication of how well he made penetration. Each team followed with two more possessions. O'Hara's second yielded a TD on a 4-yard pass from soph Tom Savage to a BEYOND wide open Chris Smith, a jr. WR. Smith ran a simple crossing pattern and I have no idea why no one wound up near him, but that was exactly what happened. The TD came on fourth-and-goal, too, after Ryan had looked tremendous with a knockdown by sr. LB Taylor Cave in the right corner (pass to 6-7 jr. Mark Wedderburn), a low throw to a covered Smith on a crossing pattern and a batdown by sr. DT Matt Wilk (6-4, 225; large possibilities for this guy!). The drive had begun at the 30 after a fumble recovery by soph LB Anthony McCloskey. Sr. FB Bob "Cookie" Kilchrist was twisting for extra yardage on a fourth-and-1 play when the ball was dislodged by sr. NG Andrew Neubauer and/or jr. DE Billy McMonigle. Savage made two big plays early, hitting Smith for a 15-yard gain and picking up 16 yards of his own on a tuck-and-go to the left. Meanwhile, the PAT by jr. Tom DuBois made it 14-13 with 0:44 showing. Ryan began on its 42 and used completions from Slawter to impressive jr. WR Nick Ferdinand (two) and sr. Rob McArdle (one) to get the ball to the O'Hara 24. But with only 0:04 showing, coach Glen Galeone had to opt for a 42-yard field goal -- into a stiff crosswind, no less -- and the kick from Bill George only reached the end zone. Savage finished 17-for-32 for 196 yards with most of the assistance coming from Smith (6-81) and sr. WR T.J. Long (7-68). He still takes a few too many sacks for my liking (and his coaches', I'm sure), but once his pocket presence improves (remember, he's only a soph), stat sheets will take a whipping. The 5-10, 195-pound Colleluori was the Lions' defensive leader, often flashing to the ball and keeping from plays with potential from reaching fruition. Soph DT Dennis Mushrush had a pair of sacks. Slawter went 14-for-22 for 122 yards and had the look of someone who would be comfortable working in La Salle High's pass-on-the-move system. In fact, I mentioned that to La Salle assistant Brett Gordon and he said with a smile, "He came to my (QB) camp last summer." There's much to like about Ferdinand as well. He turned seven snags into 87 yards and a score. This game would have been much better, I'm assuming, if the winds had been something close to calm. Sr. Mike Marasheski led Ryan's rushers with 10 carries for 51 yards. Recruiters will definitely hit Ryan to talk with Cave and the two big linemen, Wilk and sr. T Brett Olsen (6-5, 250). And next year they'll be back in pursuit of Chris Wilk, Matt's brother and a play-for-keeps LB with sideline-to-sideline skills and an ornery nature. He goes 6-2, 220. He was never, ever the least bit hesitant. Will McGonigle, the legendary website contributor and O'Hara manager, was of course on hand. I gave him a Player of the Week T-shirt. Let's hope he didn't lose it on the way home. When it comes to wackniess, the Willster has some Puck potential (smile).

OCT. 13
INTER-AC LEAGUE
Penn Charter 17, Chestnut Hill 14
   This was a glorious day for Inter-Ac football and here’s hoping the CHA people don’t lose sight of that, despite their overall disappointment. In 1972, a severe numbers problem cause the Hillers (now Blue Devils) to cut short the season and then follow by dropping out of the league (just for football). Under first Bill Gallagher (later PC’s coach and now Episcopal’s) and then Jack Plunkett (still assisting under Rick Knox), the program became a major force on the smaller-school trail and built itself to the point where a return to the I-A made large amounts of sense. There was major excitement on campus for this affair as students, graduates and parents turned out in kind. Among the onlookers were coaches and players from that ’72 team, including CHA’s defensive coordinator, John McArdle (though his primary sport was baseball -- he played in the College World Series for Temple and several years ago got to ump a major league game as an emergency fill-in – and spent a long stretch as CHA’s hoops boss). OK, have I backgrounded you to death? (smile) The start could not have been better for CHA, witness a 15-play, 80-yard drive that consumed 9 ½ minutes and produced a 4-yard TD run by jr. TB Rashad Campbell. And then, things immediately got even better. PC jr. Kashif Smith was slightly hesitant while returning the kickoff and, as he tried to move right to left across the field, he lost the ball on a strip by frosh Tom Devlin. Jr. Vaughn Smith recovered and, whoa, the BDs were in business at the 2! Campbell went for 1 yard and then another and the PAT by jr. Alex Logue made it 14-0. Heck with the Inter-Ac. At that point, the CHA fans probably felt like placing a call to Andy Reid to ask, “Yo, you guys want to scrimmage?” Maybe the euphoria led to distraction because sr. Sean McNally returned the kickoff 54 yards to the 27 and jr. QB Ed Bambino, on second down, went 26 yards on a keeper for an easy-as-pie TD. The other two scores came in the final 2:36 of the half. Sr. FB Tyler Ahrenhold, playing with a soft cast on his left hand, lost a fumble and McNally (how many big plays did THIS kid make?) perfectly executed a scoop-up, take-off sequence to record a 52-yard touchdown. Next, a motion penalty put CHA into a first-and-15 situation and that wound up being crucial because the next three plays did gain 11 yards, but that of course was not enough. The punt by jr. P Mike Lonergan was snuffed by Smith (nothing like retribution) and sr. Brian Teuber added a 7-yard return to the 13. PC took its last timeout after McNally went for a yard. Bambino threw incomplete to Teuber in the right corner, then was dropped for a 7-yard loss by sr. DL Wayne Crawford and jr. LB Mike Wismer. With the clock ticking, ticking, ticking, PC rushed its field goal unit into position and sr. Eric Muller hammered a 34-yarder straight down the middle as time expired. Phew! How’d you like that first half? As for the second, don’t be fooled by the 0-0 count. There was much to entertain. BD fans will long bemoan a holding call that wiped out a 79-yard punt return TD by Campbell and the fact that Logue was unable to hit a 27-yard field goal and then, especially, the result of the final drive, which began at the 20 with 3:07 left. Early, there had to be some head-scratching because Campbell did not touch the ball on any of the first three downs and that left fourth-and-8. The next play, I’m pretty sure, was supposed to be comeback pattern to Lonergan meant only to get the first down. But he was largely uncovered when he first came off the line and he kept running and the pass from sr. QB Bob Hyson (starter Mike Mattei, a jr., is out with a hand/wrist injury) produced a 47 yard gain. Not to mention all KINDS of excitement from CHA’s fans. The noise level grew when Campbell (31-178) followed with an 11-yard pickup to the 20. On first down, Campbell lost a yard as McNally and jr. DE Ryan McGarvey made the stop. Then, with incredible tension in the air, seeing as how the clock was running out, Hyson suffered three consecutive sacks to end it (4 yards, then 7 and 3). Sr. LB Sam Biddle got him first, then it was Biddle and sr. LB Joe “You Won’t Believe My New Haircut” Rauchut (looks like the horns on the Rams’ helmets, kinda --  smile), and then sr. DE Drew Fullen and Biddle. This was a first guess, so don’t think I’m second-guessing, but after Campbell lost a yard, I probably would have spiked the ball. Yes, that would have created third-and-11, but the BDs needed to catch their breath and regroup. My DN story focused largely on Biddle, who began his PC career in ninth grade as mostly a curiosity. He was maybe 4-11, 95 pounds at that point. He now goes 5-11, 165, and has hopes of playing sprint FB in the Ivy League. He’s part of THE Biddle family – yup, the one that goes back to the early days of this country – and he came out with one of the coolest things a kid has ever said. Speaking of his early varsity days, he noted, "I was SO small. But Penn Charter made me feel wanted. Like I had support. At some other programs, I might have been pushed aside. But here, every player matters. That's something that deserves to be recognized." That’s a wonderful tribute to coach Brian McCloskey and his staff. McNally finished with 15 carries for 90 yards, 106 yards on his two aforementioned returns and a dozen tackles. This was my second look at Campbell and he now reminds me even more of ex-West Catholic all-timer Curtis Brinkley (Syracuse), even down to the fact he does not have the burning, run-away-from-everybody speed but make up for it with quickness, smarts and, oh my goodness, all kinds of toughness. He’s listed at 5-8, 170. He carried 31 times and also went the distance on defense (cornerback)! Amazing. Lonergan also deserves praise, as his four catches yielded 115 yards. After CHA’s first TD, its students chanted loudly and clearly, “We are baaaaack! We are baaaaack!” Yes, you are. And it’s a great thing to see. Thanks to both teams for providing a special memory. (At some point, we'll set up a special page marking CHA's return to I-A play.)

OCT. 8
CATHOLIC RED
La Salle 24, O’Hara 7
   Time for a nickname change. Jack Forster’s has to be downgraded from “Jack of All Trades” to “Jack of Almost All Trades.” Hey, we’ve discovered there’s something he can’t do – pass (smile). The 6-foot, 180-pound sr., who serves the Explorers at WR-DB-P-KR-PR, and who’ll play lacrosse at Penn State (he’s the No. 2 prospect in the country), uncorked a pass off a trick play on La Salle’s second possession. It was intercepted. Since it was his first pass of the season, and it wasn’t followed by more in this one, we’ll cut him some slack and figure he really CAN pass and will show that skill at some point later in the season. In this one, after making a fair catch of a punt (that simple skill is SO underappreciated – it saves gobs of field position), he had no catches as the Explorers drove to a 21-yard field goal by sr. Ryan Cain with 1:29 left in the first quarter. Later? Phew, what didn’t he catch? Forster turned 11 suctions into 116 yards and two scores, with five coming on one drive and three on another. Sr. DB John Dempsey was almost exclusively locked on to La Salle’s most impressive receiver bodywise, 6-5, 205-pound jr. Joe Migliarese, and Forster was able to scorch all others. More than once he had defenders shaking their heads in I’m-tryin’-my-best-but-it-just-ain’t-workin’ fashion. Jr. QB John Harrison finished 20-for-29 for 202 yards and completed all 10 tosses in the second half. He was sacked just once (by sr. DE Joe Goldschmidt), but it happened on the game’s third play and wound up being inconsequential. The backfield had a much different look, as sr. TB Chris Ashley nursed a minor knee injury and his important spot was filled by fellow sr. Joe Perese. (Not to be confused with baseball coach Joe Parisi.) Joe goes only 5-7, 165, and by his own admission he had some first half problems with concentration, execution, etc., and nerves no doubt were the culprit. He regrouped nicely in the second half, though, and his final totals showed 77 yards and a TD on 19 carries. Sr. FB Kevin Tamasitis also had expanded duties and he responded with 29 yards on eight totes. Week after week he takes and gives out poundings while trying to protect Harrison and I hope he receives the proper amounts of appreciation. It would be too strong a phrase to say O’Hara is in free-fall, but something is definitely “going on.” Because the sun at Springfield Delco is so wicked on the visiting side, I spent the full afternoon on O’Hara’s side. There was occasional emotion/enthusiasm, but not much, honestly, and rarely was the large Homecoming crowd moved to get fully involved. I can’t imagine La Salle’s personnel is gigantically better than O’Hara’s and I have the utmost respect for coach Danny Algeo both from the preparation and motivation standpoint. The Lions are accustomed to upper-echelon status, but now find themselves in danger of not making the playoffs. It will be interesting to see where they go from here. After it took a 7-3 lead on a QB sneak by soph Tom Savage, O’Hara collected just two first downs and they came on the same possession. La Salle’s defense was keyed mostly by sr. linemen Scott Waters, John "McBeastly" McBurnie and Dom Baker. Only one of O’Hara’s 29 rushing plays went for more than seven yards. Sr. LB Joe Colleluori, aside from having to punt eight times, was quite busy on defense as well. Two of his many stops went for losses. Amauro and Will “Big Willy Style/Will the Thrill” McGonigle, the budding legend who oversees O’Hara’s managers (just ask him – smile), were on the case as well. And who else was on hand? None other than Kevin Silary, a k a The Son. This was his first game of the season (he’s playing fall baseball) and it was great to have him along. Kevin snapped some of the pics in Special Photos and his check is in the mail (wink, wink). Also, thanks to The Wife, a k a Anne or “Annie Pie”, for helping with some transportation issues and for making the weekly Acme run for ham and cheese and Diet Coke. I'm set through at least Thursday. Don't tell anyone, but Kev had to leave church a shade early so we could make the trip from South Jersey to Springfield Delco. I'll make him say 10 Hail Marys. Oh, wait, we're not Catholic.

OCT. 7
PUBLIC RED
Frankford 40, Gratz 20
   This was the first game at the refurbished Marcus Foster Memorial Stadium, the city's third Super Site following Northeast and Germantown. Though the outcome was never in doubt, here's hoping you did not leave early if you happened to be one of the maybe 300-350 spectators. In the waning moments, three TDs were slapped onto the board in a 25-second span and if that's not a city record, it has to be close. The sequence began with 1:28 left as Gratz' WR-SB Brandon Baxter (the roster does not list classes; nor heights/weights, but what's a few important details among friends?) ran 20 yards for a touchdown. Sr. QB-DB Jerrick Jenkins tried an onside kick and the ball bounced/squirted from person/pile to pile/person until it wound up in the hands of jr. DB-K Ervin Goodson on the Frankford 35. All he did was run 65 yards for a score. OK, that's two TDs. The third? Goodson kicked off and Rasheed Bulknight zoomed 83 yards to payturf, and the point total for the 25-second span reached 21 when Jenkins passed for two to Dominic Marrow. (Goodson also had kicked a PAT.) Phew! Frankford's overall talent/skill level is flat-out higher than Gratz' and it was only a matter of time before that showed. Gratz shot itself in the foot early when a bad snap on a punt enabled the Pioneers to take over on the 14. Sr. RB Calvin Spires (8-88) went over from maybe the 1-inch line after a pair of offsides penalties against Gratz had moved the ball from the 4-inch and 2-inch lines. I'm not kidding. In fact, before the TD play, the referees had to momentarily halt the proceedings because the point of the ball was across the goal line as the center was preparing to hike it. Gotta love that! Spires and sr. RB Nate Johnson later rushed for one score apiece and sr. QB Andre Hudson whipped a pair of no-sweat TD passes to sr. WR J.C. Montgomery (45 and 20 yards). Montgomery moved to Philly from Gaffney, S.C., and in short order has come to own not only Frankford the school but Frankford the neighborhood with his easy-going personality. That word comes from Amauro, who was in attendance and has gotten to know about Montgomery in a basketball context. Montgomery is listed at 6-5, 210, and thoroughly boasts The Look. Long strides. Nose for ball. Soft hands. It will be VERY interesting to see what happens with this kid. Oh, Amar also said J.C. is an off-the-charts dunker. Frankford's line included sr. C Alexander Ortiz, jr. G William Mount, jr. G James Qiulles (not sure I trust that spelling -- smile), sr. T William Austin and sr. T William Ray. The best defensive player was jr. LB Chris Spence. Man, was that dude poppin' people! Again and again, he knocked rushers/receivers/returners backward and, get this, he goes only 5-8, 155. One of his three sacks led to a forced fumble.Sr. LB Steven Ortega had two sacks and a fumble recovery and jr. DB Josh Burnett had an interception. At times, I was little surprised Gratz coach Erik Zipay did not call more pass plays for Jenkins, especially with the wind at the Bulldogs' back. But deep down, I suspect he was afraid for his QB's safety and the season is only half over. Jenkins had no easy moments as Frankford's D-line again and again made mincemeat of Gratz' O-line. Sr. DT Tyree Dudley, a prospect at 6-4, 305, in particular sliced and diced whoever tried to stop him. The PA announcer maintained over-the-top enthusiasm throughout the game, but it would have been nice if someone had informed him of his own team's number changes. The guy went nuts when "Malik Palmer" scored Gratz' first TD. One problem: It was Hal Chambliss, a recent transfer from Mastbaum, on a 33-yard pass from Jenkins (13-for-24, 131). Oh, well. There was a truly legendary Only in the Pub moment as the game wound down. After Bulknight's TD, lineman Khalif Solomon was asked to try an onside kick. The ball squirted off the side of his foot and traveled all of 2 yards where teammate Kyree Jackson recovered. Frankford, of course, got possession because the ball didn't go 10 yards. Solomon, laughing heartily, explained to Zipay, "You told me to try to hit it off the side of my foot." Then, when I went over to make sure of the spelling of his name, which of course was misspelled on the roster, he laughed even more while saying, "C'mon, that's not funny. That's not funny. That's not funny." It was. Believe me. Frankford used four QBs. The last, Jonathan DeRivera, completed a 7-yard pass. Of course, his name is butchered on the roster, too -- Johnathan Diriveria. Hay-zoooooooooooooos. C'mon, coaches everywhere. There has to be ONE person in your entire school who cares enough to make sure players' names are spelled right on rosters.

OCT. 6
PUBLIC WHITE
Central 38, Bartram 22
  It’s one thing to win a road game over a quality team by a comfortable margin. It’s quite another to do so after first falling into a 14-0 hole. Not sure how these guys fell to Franklin a few weeks back on their home field, but I do know how they (eventually) stormed to victory in this one. With solid execution. The rules of football state that teams cannot run east to west in sloppy conditions, that they must go straight ahead. Um, someone forgot to tell the option-oriented Lancers. OK, so sr. QB John Kennedy, one of the best you’ll ever see with footwork and such, was not as totally effective as he would have been on a dry field, but he still held his own (18-86, two TDs) and he received all kinds of help from a guy, jr. SB Ray Harris, whose rushing plays by design go side by side. Muddy field? What muddy field? Harris motored 36 and 34 yards for Central's third and fifth TDs and turned a simple dump pass from Kennedy into a 50-yard gain that provided most of the impetus for the fourth TD, a 6-yard rumble by sr. RB Daniel Barrett. In all, Harris touched the ball six times and all he did was accumulate 139 yards  (4-83 rushing, 2-56 receiving). Right before his second TD, he was standing along the sideline and I was kind of wondering why since the outcome assuredly was not certain. Coach Frank Conway Jr. must have read my mind (smile), even though I was across the way. Harris came back in – Conway said Ray was tired, and was merely trying to give him a short rest – and immediately went 34 yards to the right corner. Harris got the ink and his defensive position is CB, so of course it was necessary to ask him whether he’d been victimized in the early part of the game by Bartram’s passing. He said he wasn’t (and some pics bore that out), but, hey, 14-0 is 14-0 and the pain/frustration is equal for all 11 guys. The lead was built quickly, once it began to build at all. Sr. QB Kris Brownlee lofted a 23-yard scoring pass to sr. WR Shanon Wilson on the second play of the second quarter, then Wilson ran for two behind a muddle-huddle alignment. When Kennedy bobbled the snap on Central’s next play, sr. DL   Tristan Thornton recovered and the Maroon Wave was back in business at the 40. Whoa, right up top again, this time for 36 yards to Wilson. Sr. RB John “Fudgie” Pratt, who would depart before halftime with what was feared to be a broken ankle (he reported hearing a snap), went five yards for the score. Central stayed the course. In methodical fashion, the Lancers went 55 yards in 12 plays and got a 4-yard TD run from Kennedy with 2:00 showing before halftime. (Not showing on the scoreboard, mind you. It wasn’t working. Showing on the watch of a referee.) Second half? The Ray Harris Show. His 36-yard score capped the first series. His 50-yard catch set up the next, Barrett’s 6-yarder. His 34-yarder then followed – though Bartram did score in between – and that gave the Lancers a 32-22 lead. Kennedy’s 5-yard keeper closed out the scoring after Bartram was forced to go for it on fourth-and-18 from its 17. Sr. LB Anthony “Hang Down Your Head Tom” Duley, a game-long force, dropped sr. RB Michael Alexander for a 5-yard loss on a screen pass. Central’s grunts featured sr. C Ramsey Chew, sr. G John McBride, jr. G Ian Miller, sr. T Mark Surma, sr. T Mike Thompson (6-3, 285; also plays basketball). There’s probably more to say, but with your understanding, I’m going to cut this report a shade short. It’s 2 a.m. and a tripleheader looms tomorrow with photos and some TEAM PAGES still to take care of. Crazy. Why do I do this to myself? Is there a psychiatrist in the house? If so, he's assuredly sleeping.