Todd's Tidbits

Todd Tranausky is a student at Conwell-Egan with an interest in writing. He hung out with me one day last summer to see what a sports writer does, so of course he still doesn't know (smile). Please give him your support.
Todd may be reached at philsfan18@msn.com.

NOV. 3
CATHOLIC BLUE
Conwell-Egan 17, Neumann 0
The Eagles came out prepared to make a statement that their playoff berth was legitimate and that they could play with the upper echelon teams in the CL. Coach John Quinn said after the game that he team before the game, that "We are not going to back in" [to the playoffs] and that he felt like a win today would "legitimize" the Eagles playoff berth. Quarterback Derrick Savage had could arguably be called his best game this season, complete with some long yardage routes. The Eagles had 101 yards of total offense and led 3-0 at the half. In the second half, the Eagles came out and showed some playoff desire with some hard running by Joe Lamina and Steve Slaton. Lamina had a 9 for 45 day while Slaton had a 19 for 59 day. Lamina also had 2 interceptions and was presented with the game ball by coach Quinn. Dan Acevedo also added an interception for the Eagles. While Pat McLaughlin's struggles helped the Eagles, they also had a great running day and a passing game that finally showed up. The momentum of a back to back winning streak will only help the team as the playoffs loom ahead next week.

OCT. 27
CATHOLIC BLUE
Conwell-Egan 40, Kennedy-Kenrick 6
Conwell-Egan dominated this game right out of the gate. By the end of the first quarter, Conwell-Egan led 20-0. Kennedy-Kenrick was looking for the mercy rule after Vince Salvatore managed to put such a beating on their quarterbacks that KK was forced to cancel Monday’s JV game. One KK player had to be taken off the field by the ambulance after sustaining a big hit and his condition was unknown.
Steve Slaton had another big game, rushing for 143 yards and multiple touchdowns. This did little to amuse a high ranking athletic department official who privately would like to see the All-Slaton Game. This coupled with the 21-6 loss by Dougherty at the hands of West on Sunday guarantees that the Eagles will make their first playoff appearance since 1988. If CEC wins this week @Neumann, they will likely play McDevitt in the quarters and if they lose then they will most likely play Wood in the quarters. This experience is giving this largely junior squad the confidence that it needs to make a sustained playoff run next year.

OCT. 20
CATHOLIC BLUE
Carroll 40, Conwell-Egan 0
It was a lot worse then it looked. Egan simply couldn’t compete with the reigning league Champion Patriots of Archbishop Carroll. Even when Carroll committed three straight off-sides penalties, the offense still failed to create anything. Derrick Savage went 2 for 10 for 23 yards with 2 interceptions. Steve Slaton led the Eagles in carries and yards with an 11 for 35 night. Joe Lamina led the team in yards per carry going 5 for 32. Maurice Stovall had three receptions totaling 138 yards for Carroll. Pat Brochet commanded the Patriots offense going 3 for 8 for 130 yards.
All in all, the Eagles were quite overmatched and now need to win one of their remaining two games (Kennedy-Kenrick, @Neumann) for a chance at the playoffs. It is looking as if that possible playoff game would be against Egan archrival Archbishop Wood right now.

OCT. 13
CATHOLIC BLUE
West Catholic 35, Conwell-Egan 13
Conwell-Egan took West lightly after spending all week talking trash about how they would kill West. Well, the Eagles did take them lightly and in doing so damaged their slim playoff hopes. West came in and very quietly took it to the Eagles who were unprepared for a West team that looked to have a lot of weapons. Steve Slaton led the Eagles with 143 yards on the ground, much to the pleasure of Egan associate Athletic Director Mike Tos, who believes Slaton should get the ball every play. The Eagles have one more winnable game on their schedule and that is in 2 weeks against Kennedy-Kenrick for a shot at the playoffs. It is a must win game if the Eagles want a shot at the post season.

OCT. 6
CATHOLIC BLUE
McDevitt 35, Conwell-Egan 13
One week after thrashing Cardinal Dougherty, the Eagles got thrashed by the Royal Lancers of Bishop McDevitt in the Eagles’ Homecoming Game. Steve Slaton was relatively a non-factor as he had only one sizable gain, that for 45 yards. Other than that, the Royal Lancers did a good job of containing Slaton and the Egan offense. The Egan offense was abysmal and both offenses were victims of a great number of procedure penalties. Egan lacked an ability to tackle or block that led to a good deal of penetration by the McDevitt defensive line and helped the McDevitt offense out immensely. They really didn’t need any help. McDevitt’s Brandon Edwards lit the Eagles up with his running ability.
The Eagles can only hope for a better performance next week when they play West Catholic. The Eagles are looking for a few more wins as they would like nothing better then to be a legitimate playoff contender this year. To get those wins, however, they need to play better then they did against McDevitt.

SEPT. 29
CATHOLIC BLUE
Conwell-Egan 46, Dougherty 27
Conwell-Egan’s offense showed up for the first time this season as they lit up Cardinal Dougherty for 46 points. The offensive line gave the running backs holes and the quarterback time. This translated to a 22 for 290 rushing day for Freshman Steve Slaton. This was a new school record, breaking the old one set by Tom Seger in 1980. Slaton made his first start of the season and head coach John Quinn said that that decision wasn’t made until Thursday’s practice. Quarterback Derrick Savage looked better today then in his three previous starts. Joe Lamina had another stellar game for the Eagles and was a good complement to Slaton. In addition to Lamina’s 8 for 49, he also had a 21-yard interception return. Dan Quinn also had a few good receptions for the Eagles. Dougherty quarterback Sean McGovern passed to a plethora of receivers for a total of 103 yards.
All in all, it was Egan’s day to shine as they got their first win of what everyone around the program hopes will be a multi-win, and possibly playoff season for the Eagles. This win will give the team much needed momentum as they will no doubt be "fired up" next week against McDevitt which is the Eagles Homecoming Game.

SEPT. 22
CATHOLIC BLUE
Wood 23, Conwell-Egan 12
    Different week. Same story.
    The first half of this game was the stuff that Mike Tos, Egan's legendary equipment/stat man, has nightmares about. The passing game that I said last week was so necessary for success was M.I.A. again, as Egan quarterback Derrick Savage started the game going 2-for-6 with 2 interceptions.
    Wood scored early and often with most of its points coming in the first half. John Spinosa was by far the game’s best player as he kicked a 31-yard field goal, threw a 40-yard touchdown pass to Dave Lorditch, and ran for another Viking touchdown from 2 yards out.
    Egan didn’t get on the board until the fourth quarter in this one. Joe Lamina was the only source of offense for the Eagles, scoring both touchdowns.
    Mike Smith and Matt Brazil also had an impact against the Vikings. Also, the return to the Eagles' sideline of Brad Becker after his injury in the opener against Bristol is said to have provided an emotional lift for the team.
    The Eagles are now 0-3, and 0-1 in the Catholic League. We will have to see if the team can right itself next week against Cardinal Dougherty to get some positive momentum as Homecoming approaches.

SEPT. 15
NON-LEAGUE
North Catholic 10, Conwell-Egan 7
    This game was a defensive struggle throughout and both offensives sputtered mightily. All of North’s points came in the first half. North’s only points from a sustained drive came off a field goal by sr. G-LB-K Mike "Pio" Piotrowicz with only a few seconds remaining in the first half.
    Conwell-Egan played well and came out for the second half with a desire that was lacking earlier in the game. Sr. RB Joe Lamina was responsible for Egan’s only points on a 2-yard touchdown run in the third quarter. It looked as though C-E was gearing up for a comeback when the team faded. As one player, who asked not to be identified, said, "We don’t get beat, we self-destruct."
    This wasn’t necessarily true, but the Eagles simply didn’t have an answer for North sr. RB Jamar Little, who rushed for 154 yards and made Egan’s tacklers look very bad. Egan’s leading rusher was the aforementioned Lamina, who racked up 107 in a losing cause.
    QB Derrick Savage played decently, but he showed less than I expected from this cocky junior. Egan needs to work on throwing the ball more before next week’s game against Wood or it might as well call it in. The Eagles cannot have Lamina as the sole source of offense. While a solid running game is necessary, and they have it, any good team needs balance and Egan hasn’t shown any in its first two games.