Philadelphia High School Football
History of Frankford (Philadelphia, PA)

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 This page details much of the football history of Frankford High in
Philadelphia, PA. The Pioneers played a patchwork schedule in the
1913, 1914 and 1915 seasons, then joined the Public League for the
1916 season. They have remained there since.
  If corrections are needed, please contact Ted Silary at tedtee307@yahoo.com
and provide verification of new information, if possible. Thanks!
  More elements to be added . . .
  Click here for a Tribute Page for long-time coach Al Angelo. It was
created in 2009 after he passed away at age 77. And here for pics
that were taken in 2007, when he was honored by a local group.

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SCHOOL RECORDS

Most Wins Season
          12 in 1975 and 1987
Longest Winning Streak
          20, last nine games in 2002 and all 11 games in 2003
Most Losses Season
          7 in 1929 and 2014
Longest Losing Streak
          7, games two through eight in 1929
Most Points Scored
          Season: 457 in 1997 (11-1 record)
          Game: 66 vs. Southern in 2001
Most Points Allowed
          Season: 313 in 2014 (5-7 record)
          Game: 56 vs. Pennsbury in 2014 (56-8)
Fewest Points Scored Season
          33 in 1929
Fewest Points Allowed Season
          18 in 1936
Most Shutouts Season
          8 in 2003
Most Times Shut Out Season
          7 in 1929
Biggest Winning Margin
          65 vs. Bok in 1975 (65-0)
Biggest Losing Deficit
          48 vs. Pennsbury in 2014 (56-8)
Longest Shutout Streak
          6, games two through seven in 1933
Longest Streak Times Shut Out
          5, first five games in 1929
Longest Streak Without Being Shut Out
          128, last three games in 1973, all games in 1974 through 1984 (118 total), first seven games in 1985
Longest Streak Without a Shutout
          24, last five games in 2013, all 12 games in 2014, first seven games in 2015

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DETAILS OF FRANKFORD'S CHAMPIONSHIPS

1933
At Franklin Field
Frankford 7, Gratz 0
    Wearing a specially-constructed helmet to protect a head injury,
fullback Chris Pappas ran or passed for all but 5 yards in a
game-opening, 80-yard march that produced the game's only score. Gratz
had allowed no points all season. In the third quarter, Gratz drove to
Frankford's 1 before jumping offside and losing its momentum. The game
started on a snow-covered surface and was played in sleet accompanied by
biting winds.

1940
Decided in Regular Season
Frankford (6-0-0)
    Frankford completed a 6-0-0 regular season by downing Germantown,
14-6, before 7,000 at La Salle College's McCarthy Stadium. "Indian" Joe
Nejman was involved in both Pioneer TDs, passing 30 yards to Ed Rzepski
and running 1 yard in the first 10 minutes. Overbrook was second at
4-1-1.

1947
Decided in Regular Season
Frankford (6-0-0)
    The host Pioneers finished 6-0-0 by edging Germantown, 7-0.
Craig Stearn recovered a fumbled punt in the end zone to score a
touchdown late in the first quarter. Southern (5-0-1) placed second.

1948
Decided in Regular Season
Frankford (6-0-0)
    Once again, Frankford captured the title at 6-0-0 by carving out
a close, hard-fought win over Germantown, 6-0.Thanks to a short punt,
the visiting Pioneers had to cover just 28 yards for their TD, scored by
George Foedisch from the 1-foot line. G-town almost scored late in the
half, but John Terry and Jack Kitabjian combined to tackle Manuel
Mathios at the 4. Runner-up West went 5-1-0.

1954
No Game
    Frankford and Bok had identical 7-0-0 records during the season
and compiled the same number of strength points. A vote was held among
PL coaches to pick the champ. Frankford won the vote, 15-1.

1960
Decided in Regular Season
Frankford (8-0-0)
    The host Pioneers went to 8-0-0 in their finale, but did not
have an easy time. Midway through the third period, they trailed Olney,
8-0. But then, Connie Snyder recovered a fumble, ran for a TD, passed to
Mike Sidelsky for another and added two conversion runs. Bill Samuel's
blocked punt set up the second score. Bartram and Lincoln knotted at
6-1-1 for second.

1964
Decided in Regular Season
Frankford (7-0-1)
    In heavy rain, the visiting Pioneers completed a 7-0-1 campaign
by wilting Washington, 14-0. Gary Friedhoff sloshed for both TDs -- 60
yards with a blocked punt (Bill Murphens and Gregg McLaughlin did the
honors) and 4 yards from scrimmage (following another blocked punt by
Murphens). The runner-up spot went to Germantown and Southern at 7-1-0.

1969
At Northeast
Frankford 30, Dobbins 8
    Craig Henry was the hero in the first regularly-scheduled
championship game. Henry, who'd spent much of the season serving only as
a blocking wingback, caught TD passes of 5, 39 and 23 yards from Warren
Mays as Frankford rolled. Henry scored two of his TDs in the final 24
seconds of the first half. The Pioneers picked off four passes.

1971
At Northeast
Frankford 15, Central 0
    Rather than its patented wing-T, Frankford used an I formation
and Gary Hegh responded with 24 carries for 144 yards and a score. Steve
Ebbecke passed to Mark Townsell for a TD and Mark Brenfleck kicked a
33-yard field goal. On defense, the Pioneers used a six-man line for the
first time all year and Central was limited to 107 yards total offense.

1972
At Northeast
Frankford 14, Mastbaum 6
    Gary Hegh rushed 24 times for 207 yards and two TDs and, in his
first start at safety, twice caused fumbles that Frankford recovered.
Willie Debnam added 101 yards on 23 carries. The Pioneers' winning
drive, which broke a 6-6 tie, covered 63 yards and began with 4:07 left.
For Mastbaum, Nick Zampitella ran for a short score.

1973
At Northeast
Frankford 14, Southern 13
    In a wild affair, three touchdowns were scored in the final
3:52. Southern took a 7-6 lead as QB Mike DiFeliciantonio gained 2 yards
on fourth-and-3 then had the ball wrested out of his hands by teammate
Frank Otis, who ran 42 yards for the score. With 1:10 left, Frankford's
Anthony Turiano scored his second TD and Cliff Hutchens hit Jim Wetzel
on the conversion. Southern roared back as Mike McKenna raced 80 yards
for a kickoff-return TD, but on the conversion, George Hall was stopped
inches short of the goal line by Wetzel and Bernie Mullen.

1975
At Northeast
Frankford 18, Mastbaum 6
    George Benson rumbled to 170 yards and two TDs, including a
65-yarder, despite losing four fumbles. Receiver Darrell Miller scored
the other TD when he fell on a fumble by back Rick Bozzelli. The
Pioneers' dominant lineman was Bernie Laster, who played throughout the
season with a hernia. Mastbaum scored on a 32-yard return of a blocked
punt by John Adams.

1978
At Northeast
Frankford 7, Lincoln 6
    Chris Yurkow scored Frankford's TD on a 56-yard, first-quarter
interception return and made another interception on Frankford's 5 on
the final play of the game. He also recovered a fumble, forced by Mike
Seonia, to end Lincoln's next-to-last series. Tony Verrillo kicked the
decisive PAT. For Lincoln, Zachary Armwood rushed 29 times for 106 yards
and a TD and Wendell Birch passed 8-for-15 for 102 yards, with Corey
McElveen making two catches for 70 yards.

1980
At Northeast
Frankford 22, Central 18
    Scott Croft threw an 18-yard TD pass to Mike Gourdine to give
Frankford a 15-12 lead, then ran 2 yards for a score with 1:40 remaining
after Central had stormed ahead on a 58-yard bomb from Joel Murphy
(6-for-16, 127 yards) to Vic Bellamy. At 10-0-0, the Pioneers posted the
best record in school history and its first-team defense allowed just
three TDs all season.

1981
At Northeast
Frankford 34, Washington 8
    George Heineman scored four TDs as the Pioneers collected their
eighth title in 13 years. Heineman returned a fumble 48 yards for a
score to wreck Washington's first play from scrimmage. He also rushed 27
times for 158 yards and two scores and caught a 9-yard scoring pass from
Dave DeNofa. For the season, Heineman scored 17 of Frankford's 29 TDs.
DeNofa, who in the regular season had set an area record by kicking nine
PAT in one game, hammered field goals of 25 and 29 yards and added four
PAT.

1984
At Northeast
Frankford 16, Central 0
    Blair Thomas carried 42 times for 167 yards and a TD to give
retiring coach Al Angelo a 172-39-5 record in 20 seasons along with nine
PL titles. Thomas finished his career with career city-leagues records
for rushing attempts (626), rushing yards (3,941), rushing TDs (55) and
total TDs (59). For Central, Rich Drayton made three receptions for 50
yards.

1986
At Northeast
Frankford 42, Bartram 6
    Under John McAneney, who'd coached Northeast to its 1983 title,
Frankford frolicked after spotting Bartram a 6-0 lead. Kevin McCoy
rushed 13 times for 106 yards and two TDs and added a third score on an
85-yard interception return. Sean Parish contributed 64 yards and two
TDs on nine rushes. The Pioneers' primary lead blocker was 5-2,
135-pound fullback Demetrius Mims. Bartram was limited to 40 yards total
offense and five first downs.

1987
At Northeast
Frankford 42, Dobbins 14
    With Al Angelo back as coach for one final season, Frankford set
a city-leagues record for points in a season with 454 (Bishop Egan had
scored 438 in 1966) and became the first PL team to finish a season
12-0. Darren Swift (19-137) and Sean Parish (11-106) rushed for two TDs
apiece. Angelo finished 184-39-5 and broke the city-leagues record for
career wins (170) set by Neumann's Paul Bartolomeo from 1946-78. For
Dobbins, Marcel White passed 11-for-29 for 195 yards and two TDs while
Marc Keller made six receptions for 121 yards and a score.

1996
At Northeast
Frankford 28, Dobbins 0
    Running through a driving rain on a bare field that was reduced
to mud-pit status, Eddie Gaskins produced 160 yards and two TDs on 17
carries to give nine-year Frankford coach Tom Mullineaux his first
title. Gaskins became the second 2,000-yard, one-season rusher in city
history (2,061) and tied the one-season city mark for TDs (29, 28 on
rushes). Also, he raised his career rushing yardage total to 4,182, best
in city-leagues history. Steve Szydlik ran for one TD and passed to
James Clay for another. Frankford finished 11-1 (20-19 Thanksgiving loss
to North Catholic) and scored 417 points (34.8 average). Linebackers
Chris Covington and Danny Owens and lineman Ronald James helped to hold
Dobbins to one first down, 4 yards total offense and 27 plays.

1997
At Northeast
Frankford 31, Northeast 21
    Capping the most productive career, by far, for a running back
in city-leagues history, 5-10, 205-pound halfback Eddie Gaskins rushed
26 times for 206 yards and a game-record three touchdowns. Gaskins
finished the season with 200 carries for 1,940 yards and a record-tying
29 TDs. He tied the record for overall TDs (31) and broke the record for
points (195). In his career, Gaskins rushed 675 times for city-leagues
marks in yards (6,122) and TDs (84) while also claiming marks for total
TDs (87) and points (536). Nevertheless, Frankford's rushing leader was
145-pound fullback Herbert "Pitter" Sample, who produced a game-record
250 yards and two TDs on 24 carries. When Sample ran 19 yards for a late
TD, the Pioneers broke their own city-leagues record for points in a
season. They scored 457, averaging 38.1. They'd scored 454 in '87. Also
setting a game record was Northeast's Dante Poole, who ran 93 yards from
scrimmage -- longest run in PL postseason history -- for an early score.
Poole finished with 16 carries for 178 yards. In Gaskins' four seasons,
Frankford roared to a 43-4 overall record.

2002
At Northeast
Frankford 14, Washington 6
    The game was postponed twice and was finally played Dec. 14
in mud and off-and-on drizzle. On the game's second series, Frankford
jumped to a 6-0 lead as freshman Brandon Norris (21-119) zoomed 48
yards. The Pioneers punted to end their next series and when the ball
bounced off the return man, Michael Washington recovered at the 25.
Darrell "D.J." Turner's TD toss to Adam Hartman followed. Washington
answered three plays later on Larry Turner's 26-yard TD. In the fourth
quarter, Washington saw drives end at Frankford's 28, 15 and 32. On the
game's final play, Sharif Nash and Hartman were present to make sure the
pass would fall incomplete.

2003
At Northeast
Frankford 12, Washington 0
    The Pioneers (11-0) sent coach Tom Mullineaux into expectedretirement
by giving him a second consecutive title (four total) and extending their
winning streak to 20 games. Also, they set a school record with theireighth
shutout. Jeremy Benson (16-84) and Arnold Mullins (13-67) ran for one TD
apiece while soph Brandon Norris added 80 yards on eight carries. Ervin
Hook picked up a blocked punt and ran for first-down yardage, setting up
Mullins' score. He also had an interception at the 10 to preserve the
shutout. Andre Mungin also had a pick. Isaiah "Zeke" Thompson posted
two sacks and Ray Williams recovered a fumble. For Washington, junior
Jerry Butler (15-37) lifted his season rushing total to a school record 1,247.
This game was postponed by snow, from a Saturday to the following
Wednesday night, and was played in the rain on a surface that was muddy
even beforehand.

2005
At Northeast
Frankford 14, Northeast 13
  The Pioneers, who won their first two playoff games by three points total,
again walked the tightrope and had some hairy moments while making it across.
After Calvin Spires (16-80) ran 5 yards for a TD with 6:42 left, second-year
coach Mike Capriotti at first sent the kicking unit onto the field. He then called
time out and changed his mind after getting a signal to go for two from his father,
Ray; both had been rushing stars for Frankford. QB Ryan Hardy then ran for the
conversion. A strip/recovery by Jesse Joseph gave Northeast a last chance, but
three downs produced just two yards and Chris Mountney was unable to hit a
38-yard field goal. Christopher "Boobie" Wilson made a fumble recovery to set
up Spires' score and the Pioneers' first TD came on Nate Johnson's 33-yard return
of a midair fumble (hit by Damon Brockington/Chris Cruz). Charles McGinn scored
on a pair of 1-yard sneaks for Northeast while Lamone Fox rushed 22 times for
98 yards.

2006
At Northeast
Frankford 15, Washington 14
  On fourth and goal from a foot, Ervin Goodson hammered an 18-yard field
goal high and true through the uprights as the Pioneers went to 4-0 all-time in finals
decided by one point. Steven Ortega and Terrell Lewis had combined to drop
Washington's punter (dropped snap) for an 11-yard loss back to the 5 with 2:18
left. Washington called two timeouts in an attempt to ice Goodson, who was
attempting his first career FG. Frankford's TDs went to Goodson (3-76) on a pass
from Andreas Hudson (7-for-13, 130 yards) and Nate Johnson on a run. Josh
Burnett and Dwayne Lewis, Terrell's brother, halved 16 tackles. Fateen Brown
(21-82) and Jay Sloh ran for Washington's TDs while Rich McPhail and Anthony
Bright posted picks.

2012
AAAA DIVISION
At Northeast
Frankford 30, Washington 16
  Marquise Poston notched a TD on a 12-yard, midair fumble return (ball dislodged by
Kadar Jones) as the Pioneers rolled to a 23-0 lead. Then, with Washington down by
just seven points midway through the fourth quarter, he needed to make two more big
plays. First he used a late dive to down a punt on the 1. Three plays later he intercepted
a pass on the 10. Though Poston fumbled after being hit by the intended receiver, Rene
Villafane, the ball was scooped up on the 5 by Anthony Wright-Downing, who
trotted into the end zone for the clinching TD. With coach Will Doggett in his native
Louisiana due to a family emergency, the Pioneers were guided by chief assistant Juan
Namnun. With the players gathered 'round, Namnun called Doggett on his cell phone and
yelled that a championship had been won, inducing everyone to roar with glee. Tim DiGiorgio
passed 6-for-14 for 114 yards and a TD to Brandon Jack while Damion Samuels raced 64
yards for a score. For Washington, Dave Gavrilov passed 13-for-29 for 172 yards and two
TDs to Shaquon Allen, but was victimized for four picks (two by Christian Santiago).

2013
AAAA DIVISION
At Northeast
Frankford 30, Washington 3
  Damion "Jawsy" Samuels churned for 111 yards and two TDs on 10 carries as the
Pioneers claimed a second consecutive title. Quinton Ellis (rush) and Prince Cooper
(catch) also scored six-pointers while Ellis and Marquise Poston hustled for interceptions.
Chris Schlegel kicked a 25-yard field goal for Washington, which failed to score a TD for
the only the second time in coach Ron Cohen's 71 playoff games.

DETAILS OF FRANKFORD'S CITY TITLES

1940
At Franklin Field
Frankford 13, West Catholic 0
  "Indian" Joe Nejman passed 5 yards for a TD to Ed Rzepski with 15 seconds remaining
in the first half, then ran for a third-quarter score of his own and Vince Galeone kicked
the PAT. Rzepski had an interception to set up his score and helped set up Nejman's when he
recovered the ball after Ed Kotz blocked a punt with his face. West's best thrust took it only
to Frankford's 37. Frankford QB Romeo Capriotti missed the game with an injury. West
running back Jack Kelly left the game with a broken ankle.

1978
At Kennedy Stadium
Frankford 27, Wood 7
    In a driving rainstorm, which turned the natural surface at Kennedy Stadium into a
mud-covered mess, Frankford relied almost exclusively on the straight-ahead running of
fullback Joe Galasso, who responded with 155 yards and two TDs on 30 carries. The
Pioneers were just the PL's third winner since 1951. Coach Al Angelo had been 0-8-1 in
city title appearances as a player, assistant and head coach. Chris Yurkow ran for one TD
and completed his only pass for another. Walt Parrish made four tackles for losses and
recovered an errant pitchout. For Wood, John Kafel returned the second half kickoff 80
yards for a TD.

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