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Where There's a Will Willie McGonigle is a 2004 graduate of now defunct Our Lady of Charity Elementary School, in Brookhaven. After his days at Charity he attended Cardinal O'Hara, graduating in 2008. While at O'Hara he was manager of the football program, specializing in stats. He currently resides in Brookhaven and serves as stat man for Springfield Delco. You may reach him by email at springfieldcougarstatman@gmail.com. |
SEPT. 20
NON-LEAGUE
Bonner Prendergast 34, Chester 27
OK, folks, time to take a trip in our time machines and go back to the
year 2001. I was a 6th grader at Our Lady of Charity and it WAS the last time
the Friars of Bonner were 4-0 that squad went on to win the first seven in a
row. Fast forward to the current day and while OLC has been closed for a couple
years now the Friars are again unbeaten after 4 games. Entering the final non
league contest before league play begins, many experts had BP frolicking over
the visiting Clippers of Chester who are coached by former Prep Charter boss
Tony Beaty. Chester put up a fight and even jumped out to an 13-0 lead in
the first quarter. The Clippers took the opening kickoff and marched down on the
field and struck first when JR QB Nahmir Ishmail took it in from 2 yards.
Then Ishmail would add the PAT, giving the Clippers the 7-0 lead. Ishmail would
add another scoring run, this one from 10 yards out, to give the Clippers the
13-0 lead and it appeared as if the Clippers would be the ones to control the
game but QB Collin DiGalbo would not let his Friars roll over that easy.
In the second quarter he took over with two scoring runs one from 6 yards out
and the other from a yard sending the teams into the locker room at half tied at
13. DiGalbo gave the Friars their first lead of the game with 10:18 left in the
3rd when he took it in on a 30 yards run. Right back came the Clippers, showing
the big play when Ishmail connected with Zameer Mcmillian for a 75 yard
touchdown. The Friars responded when DiGalbo found a wide open Joe Oquendo,
who had nothing but green grass in front of him for a 46 yard touchdown. Talk
about a dual threat QB. That’s what DiGalbo is; he finished with 323 total yards
including 149 on the ground. WOW! It's no wonder why defenses need to game plan
for him. Joe Hartley Vittoria put a little more distance between the
Friars and the Clippers with his three yard plunge putting the Friars up 34-19,
But the Clippers wouldn’t go down without with a fight with Ishmail connecting
with Darnell Wildeman for a 20 yard score. Ishmail would then connect
with Anthony Sterling for the two point conversion. From there the
Friars were able to milk the clock with the running of DiGalbo and Hartley
Vittoria. The Friars will look to improve to 5-0 when they open league play with
Archbishop Carroll Friday night while the Clippers will look to get back on the
winning trail when they host Penn Charter Saturday morning, Prior the game I was
able to catch up with a good friend from my time with Chester Spirit
in Chuck Crews, who was the former head coach at Chester before joining
coach Greg “Bubba” Bernhardt B-P staff.