The Burrs before the game . . .

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A Burry Amazing Victory . . .     On Sept. 15, 2012, at Upper Darby High, West Catholic bested  Bonner-Prendergast, 42-24, in a non-league football game that featured what was likely the craziest comeback/reversal in city history. There was a 66-point swing in the first 13 minutes, 42 seconds after halftime.   Bonner entered intermission with a 24-point lead, then West roared to 42 consecutive points. Junior tailback Greg White (shown at right taking handoff from Antwain McCollum) paced the avalanche with five TDs.      Below are the boxscore, Huck Palmer's website report and Ted's Daily News story.      **Photos by Matt "Cauls" McCauley.**

WEST CATHOLIC 42, BONNER-PRENDIE 24

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WEBSITE REPORT BY ED "HUCK" PALMER . . .

SEPT. 15
NON-LEAGUE
West Catholic 42, Bonner-Prendie 24
  I know it’s a cliche, but you watch enough of these games and there’s always a chance to see something you’ve never witnessed before. I’m pretty sure today’s resounding comeback win by the Burrs fits into that category. Man, where did this come from? As the second quarter clock expired the Burrs trailed the Friars, 24-0. And quite frankly, I’m not sure it was this close. Trust me, but they were whipped in that opening half. Just 2:16 into the game, Bonner capped a 5-play, 80-yard drive to take a 8-0 lead. Jr. FB/LB Kyle Dawson (10-105) supplied the big play when he went untouched straight through the middle for a 64-yard jaunt to the 6-yard line.. Two plays later jr. RB/DB Joe DePhillipo (11-48) scored on a 4-yard run. Sr. QB Jim Haley, who missed last week’s game with a slight shoulder separation, provided the conversion run. The next time Bonner got the ball they once again found the end zone. Dawson did the honors on a 4-yard run that finished a 9-play, 55-yard drive. Haley found Dawson for yet another conversion and the Friars increased their lead to, 16-0. The second quarter featured more of the same, as in Bonner glee and Burr misery. West would the end half with four straight turnovers (3 fumbles; muffed punt). Meanwhile, the Friars added a third TD with a 11-play, 92-yard drive. On this score Haley found jr. WR/DB Michael Ockimey on a 17-yard pass. Afterwards, Bonner successfully executed their third two-point conversion in as many tries when Haley slithered in on a run. Believe it or not, but the Friars could have had an even larger lead at the intermission. In the final minute the Burrs muffed a punt and Bonner recovered (jr. LB Sean Hughes) on West’s 30-yard line. A pass interference call moved the ball up to the fifteen with 40 seconds left. However, the Friars would only reach the 7-yard line, as Haley’s fade to Ockimey was defended well by West sr. WR/DB Shaquille James. Ok, now it’s time for the amazing. And based on how West played in that opening half you would be hard-pressed to find a single person in the stadium that thought any sort of comeback was possible. But hey, that’s what makes H.S. athletics so great, right? You never know what can happen. West went onto score FORTY-TWO unanswered points in the first  13:42 of the second half. Unbelievable! And the momentum started right from the get-go when sr. WR/DB Ron Womack took a squib kick 50 yards to the Bonner 10-yard line. On the very next play, jr. RB/DB Greg White rumbled in to make it 24-6. Next, a three-and-out forced a Bonner punt. Afterwards West use eight plays to travel 65 yards. Again, White did the scoring. This time from the two. He was just getting started, folks. A conversion pass from soph. QB Antwain McCollum to James made it, 24-14, with 6:17 left in the third. Ok, there’s life here, but would it last? I’m afraid so. Bonner’s next two possessions ended with fumbles that were recovered by West. The partners on these were sr. TE/DE Dominic Toney (recovery)/sr. LB Devyn Allen (forced) and then jr. RB/DB Rae’Quan Williams (recovery)/frosh. DE Tymir Oliver (forced). Both allowed West to take over in Bonner territory at the 39 and 47-yard lines, respectively. Both opportunities were capped by White’s 3rd (3 yards) and 4th (2 yards) TD runs of the quarter. The latter (2-point conversion pass from McCollum to Womack) gave the Burrs their first lead of the game at 28-24 with :19 seconds left in the third quarter. So, would the Friars regroup and put this game on a see-saw? The answer to that would be uncovered shortly and for Bonner is what not what they were looking for. A Bonner fake punt attempt in the early moments of the final stanza was cut short by a yard, as Williams and sr. LB Winston Trabi teamed on the stop. Wasting little time, McCollum went on top to James for a neat 37-yard scoring strike. McCollum found Toney on the conversion to make it, 36-24. Bonner’s next offensive play produced a pick by West’s jr. DB Brendon Slade after sr. DL Eric Rutherford deflected Haley’s pass at the line of scrimmage. Two plays later, White romped in from 22 yards to close the scoring. Phew!! West’s finals three scores came in a 2:01 span. Bonner would have one last drive in them, but it stalled at the Burrs’ 9-yard line with just under six minutes to go. From here, West would ice the game with three first downs. All total, the Burrs went for 415 yards of offense. During the first 13:42 of the second half the Burrs ran 22 offensive plays (6 TDs), accumulated 226 yards, and managed 11 first downs. The grunts up front included soph. C Steven Wyant (6’0”, 280 lbs), G’s sr. Josh Gibbs (6’3”, 340 lbs) and jr. Kameron Cotton (6’0”, 244 lbs), T’s Jaryd Jones-Smith (6’7”, 320 lbs) and jr. Khalim Hadas (6’3”, 250 lbs), and Toney (6’3”, 243 lbs) at TE. Rutherford (OG) and Oliver (TE) spelled the regulars when needed. White finished with 23 totes for 193 yards. Again, displaying power running mixed with good speed. Soph. FB Javon Kegler blocked admirably and chipped in with 46 yards on 7 lugs. McCollum ended 7-for-13, for 140 yards. He showed poise and confidence in directing the comeback. James (3-83) and Womack (3-47) were his favorite targets. Defensively, Smith-Jones (7 tackles, forced fumble, 3 batted balls) was forceful in the final twenty-four minutes. Sacks were notched by Toney and Trabi (5 stops). Jr. OLB Patrick Amara added a fumble recovery. Williams and Oliver evenly split ten stops. For Bonner, Haley mixed 164 yards of passing/rushing. He finished 9-of-23 (90 yards) thru the air. Defensively, jr. DL Mike Palmer (9 tackles) and jr. LB Matt Hughes (7 stops) were active. Dawson and jr. DL John Durkin (6’4”, 225 lbs) forced fumbles, while sr. DB Michael Roman and DePhillipo (two) recovered fumbles. The teams combined for 108 total plays and 898 all-purpose yards.

TED'S DAILY NEWS STORY . . .

White is red-hot in
West's Comeback

By Ted Silary
          Greg White's father, who's also named Greg, experienced some success in the pound ball version of football, but drifted away from the sport before reaching high school.
          He still regrets that decision and often expresses that thought to his son.
          "He keeps telling me to follow his dreams," young Greg said.
          Speaking of dreams . . .
          By now you might be aware that on West Catholic High topped Monsignor Bonner, 42-24, in a non-league game Saturday at Upper Darby. The kicker is this: the Burrs did so thanks to one of the most amazing comebacks in city history, both in terms of the deficit and the outrageous swoooosh that erased it.
          The intermission score was 24-0. West then stormed to 42 points in the first 13 minutes, 42 seconds of the second half.
          "That was crazy," said the 5-9, 180-pound White, a junior tailback and strong safety. "I've been playing football for about 11 years. Never been involved in anything like that."
          All White did on offense was contribute five touchdowns while finalizing his overall numbers at 23 rushes for 193 yards. His scores covered 10, 2, 3, 2 and 22 yards and only the fifth of the six TDs, a 37-yard pass from Antwain McCollum to Shaquille James, wasn't his.
          At halftime, the scene offered constrasts.
          "I'm not really an outspoken guy," White said. "I mostly keep to myself. But if you look at my face, you can tell whether I'm mad or happy. Yes, I had the mad look.
          "Coach (Brian) Fluck was kind of calm, actually. He knew we'd come back and win. The defensive coaches, they weren't too happy. They were snappin' on us."
          And White was part of the "us."
          In the game's early moments, he'd been victimized for a long run -- 64 yards by Kyle Dawson -- that set up Bonner's first TD.
          "I want to say the fault was mine on that one, but you could really say it was the linebackers," White said. "The guy ran straight up the middle and they failed to fill the hole. He did run past me, then I had to go down there and get him."
          The second half opened as West's Ron Womack returned a squib kickoff 50 yards to Bonner's 10. White immediately scored.
          "When Ron did that kickoff return, I knew we had it," White said. "That showed right away that we were coming back out there with more intensity. More pride. We knew we were supposed to beat that team. They weren't better than us. We had more speed and athleticism. And through that second half, we showed our heart."
          White said the huddles featured occasional hints of emotion during the points avalanche, but nothing too pronounced.
          "We couldn't get ahead of ourselves," he noted. "Even when we got to 42, there was still almost a quarter left."
          West's line included center Steve Wyant, guards Josh Gibbs and Kameron Cotton, tackles Jaryd "Burger" Jones-Smith and Khalim Hadas and tight end Dominic Toney. Guard Eric Rutherford and tackle Tymir Oliver saw duty as well while the fullback, whose blocking is always crucial in West's I formation, was Javon Kegler.
          Three of West's scoring drives were given life by turnovers -- fumble recoveries by Toney and Rae'Quan Williams, pick by Brendon Slade -- and another might as well have been because a run off a fake punt came up 1 yard short at the Friars' 37 (stop by Williams and Winston Trabi).
          For Bonner, Jim Haley passed for 90 yards and ran for 74 more.
          Until recently, White lived in Upper Darby and he misses the ol' neighborhood because it included many friends. He now can be found near 66th and Lansdowne, in Overbrook. Well, sometimes.
          "I mostly stay inside," he said.
          At football games . . .
          "My father always comes and so do my mom, Vive, and stepdad,  Lamar Williams," Greg said. "He played high school ball in New Jersey (Rancocas Valley) and he's been coaching me since I was 7 years old. My father gives me good help, too. As a kid, he played on the same team with one of West's assistant coaches."
          Now, everyone has a story to tell for life.