George Stratts . . .
As O'Hara's Principal in 2007
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Cardinal Dougherty's 1982 Catholic League Football Champs
 
  This story was written after George Stratts steered the Cardinals to the 1982 CL crown . . .

By Ted Silary
  There was 1977.
  That was the year Cardinal Dougherty High entered the Catholic League football final as a solid choice over St. Joseph's Prep and proceeded to look more sickly than an octogenarian with malaria and Rocky Mountain spotted fever while losing, 19-7.
  There was 1978.
  That was the year the Cardinals were poised at the Archbishop Wood 3 with 0:27 remaining in the Northern Division final, only to lose the ball - and the game, 21-15 - on a fumble that was about as well-received as ants at a picnic.
  There was 1980.
  That was the year the Cards scored a late-game touchdown to creep within 20-18 of Wood, again in the North final, and watched in dismay as the conversion pass was intercepted. Thereafter, school officials set up a watch for the coaches at the foot of area bridges.
  There was 1981.
  That was the year the Cardinals trailed Bishop Egan, 13-7, in a North semi and had first-and-goal at the 9 with 0:51 left. Two 4-yard gains placed the ball at the 1. The next play lost 8 yards. The last one gained back only 4.
  Armed with ammunition such as that, people began to whisper that Dougherty should change its mascot from a Cardinal to an apple, the variety that seems to get stuck in throats.
  However, some must have whispered in a voice that resembled a father's when he admonishes a son for trying out a crayon on the new wallpaper.
  Or else Coach George Stratts would have uttered a different first comment last night at Villanova Stadium after junior Bill Wright kicked a 23-yard field goal with no time left to give Dougherty a 17-14 win over Archbishop Carroll and its first championship since 1968.
  "All I know," Stratts said, " is that the team that chokes was down 14 points - without its quarterback - and came back to win . "
  Stratts, who has coached Dougherty for nine years, and coached for four before that at Bishop McDevitt, wasn't yelling when he made that statement. Nor was he poking a finger in anyone's chest.
  But make no mistake. The goings-on inside Mount St. Helen's on May 18, 1980, had nothing on the post-game goings-on inside George Stratts on Dec. 16, 1982.
  "If somebody says that winning the big one isn't important, don't believe it," Stratts said. "That's crap . . . It eats at you.
  "We feel we have a shot at winning the championship every year. Realistically, the 1977 team should have won. Last year's team should have won. One or two others could have won. When they didn't, I blamed myself first.
  "You think you're snakebit. But you keep doing the things you think are right, you keep working hard and, every year, you hope your program is improved. "
  Last night, it appeared the Cards were intent on losing the game at the start, perhaps because they had learned through lots of experience that losing close to the end is too painful.
  Keith Rieser, the North MVP, lost two fumbles (one led to a Carroll touchdown, Chris Olivieri's 6-yard pass to Jim Keenan) while playing halfback in the first 14 minutes.
  On the next two series, Rieser went from HB to QB to HB to QB as Richard Ashby suffered injuries to first his left knee (not bad), then his right knee (enough to knock him out for the duration).
  He also threw an interception, which made him suffer almost as much as Ashby.
  "I couldn't show anybody that I was down," said Keith, the Cards' captain. " It would have killed us.
  "The first time Richard got hurt, the coaches said he'd be back after a couple plays. The second time, they didn't say anything. I could hear him screaming in pain. I knew he wasn't coming back. "
  From one standpoint, losing Ashby was the worst thing that could have happened to Dougherty. From another, it was the best because it left Rieser (he will not be asked to replace the fella on "Saturday Night Live" who juggles bowling balls) with the knowledge he would be able to focus his attention on one position.
  When Rieser led the offense onto the field with 1:34 left in the half, Carroll owned a 14-0 lead, thanks to Keenan's 1-yard run. With 0:13 left, it was half of that because Rieser tossed a 28-yard touchdown pass to Lance Toomer, which came one play after he completed a 25- yard pass to Louis Ramos, which came two plays after he ripped off a 15-yard gain on a keeper.
  " I wasn't worried about Keith going south on me," Stratts said. " He doesn't go south. "
  Meanwhile, Carroll Coach Kevin Clancy ventured out on a limb with 3:08 showing and the score tied, 14-14, when he told up-back Dan Dinsmore to run out of punt formation on fourth-and-two from Carroll's 32. Linebacker Steve Hopkins stopped Dinsmore after a gain of a yard.
  "Before we went out," Rieser said, "(guard) Henry Endt came over and said, 'This is it for our senior year. ' Which was all I needed to hear. "
  On third-and-4 at the 14, Rieser kept for an 11- yard gain and the Cards called their second timeout.
  They called their third, at 0:04, after Vernon Smith was blasted by linebacker Joe Bello for a 2-yard loss . . . also after several observers and participants wondered if Stratts would signal for the players to call time in time.
  "Two times this year," Rieser said, smiling, " I called time out when he didn't want one. I caught heck for it. I saw the time running down and I almost did it again because I didn't know what he was doing. "
  Jim Gallagher was the snapper. Andy Garczynski was the holder. Bill Wright was the guy who pounded the ball deep behind the goal posts, then was almost buried by delirious teammates.
  "When the clock was running down, I was thinking he'd decided to go for a TD," Wright said. "The whole drive, I was thinking it would come down to me and that was the way I wanted it. I'd been hoping all year for a crack at a last-second, game-winning field goal. "
  For 13 seasons at two schools, George Stratts had been hoping to win a title.
  Last night, with no time left, the time was finally Wright.
  TITLE TIDBITS: Junior safety David Bond was the defensive hero of the last quarter. He forced a fumble ( Steve Lauch recovered) at Dougherty's 7 and made an interception at Dougherty's 33, tacking on a 23-yard return . . . The Cards' second TD was scored by Keith Rieser on a 4-yard run with 5:12 showing in the third quarter. A 25-yard punt return to the 9 by John O'Brien set it up . . . Carroll had to start the series on its 4 because George Cowden made a leaping effort to keep Bill Griffenburg's punt from the end zone and Henry Endt was there to down it . . . There were 10 turnovers . . . Rieser: " Two interceptions and two fumbles. That's not too hot. I just thank God we won."

By Ted Silary
  It was 6:43 p.m. and the tension was mounting.
  Cardinal O'Hara and St. Joseph's Prep were 17 minutes away from clashing for the Catholic Red football title, and there was O'Hara franchise Kevin Jones, trotting across the field with only his father, Tom, an assistant coach.
  As they passed within easy earshot of Prep's rabid rooters, the chanting started.
  "Ky-le's bet-ter. Ky-le's bet-ter. "
  And then a little louder. "Ky-le's bet-ter! Ky-le's better. "
  It might have been a good idea to stay quiet.
  Kyle is The Prep's Kyle Ambrogi, a junior and the city's No. 1 rusher in total yards this season. Jones is the No. 1 career rusher in Catholic League history and, before the season, he was anointed the consensus No. 1 prospect in the country.
  Last night, finally, in his very last chance, he carried his team to a championship.
  continued right below . . .

QUARTERFINAL
Dougherty 38, Egan 7
    Keith Rieser rushed for 200 yards and three TDs on 24 carries. Bill Wright booted a 34-yard field goal and five PAT.
SEMIFINAL
At Veterans Stadium
Dougherty 28, McDevitt 14
    Richard Ashby passed 9-for-13 for 186 yards and one TD. John O'Brien caught two TD passes, one on a halfback option from Keith Rieser. McDevitt's Matt Kolen passed 14-for-27 for 194 yards.
FINAL
At Villanova Stadium
Dougherty 17, Carroll 14
At Villanova Stadium
  Bill Wright kicked a 23-yard field goal on the final play of the game as Dougherty, which lost starting QB Richard Ashby (knee injury) in the second quarter, overcame a 14-point deficit to win its first title since 1968. Keith Rieser, playing halfback and QB, ran and passed for
scores and accounted for 161 yards total offense. David Bond was the defensive hero of the fourth quarter, forcing a fumble and making an interception. For Carroll, Dan Dinsmore rushed 29 times for 188 yards and Jim Keenan scored both TDs.

  Recaps of O'Hara's Playoff Games . . .
 

FIRST ROUND
  Bye
SEMIFINAL
At Norristown
O'Hara 23, La Salle 21
   In an all-timer and then some, the teams combined for 18 points in the last 1:48 and O'Hara's Frank Vinci won it by kicking a 26-yard field goal with 0:06 left. For O'Hara, Mike Lomas passed 13-for-21 for 198 yards and a TD apiece to Ryan Barksdale (3-73) and Harry Dougherty (5-61), and Kevin Jones carried 30 times for 137 yards. For La Salle, Gabe Marabella passed 5-for-14 for 109 yards and ran for two TDs, including a 1-yard keeper with 0:51 left. Tom McCaffery's
PAT made it 21-20.
FINAL
At Northeast
O'Hara 35, SJ Prep 10
  Capping a sensational career, Kevin Jones posted four TDs and 196 all-purpose yards as the Lions rolled to an upset victory. He ran for scores of 2 and 39 yards, returned a kickoff 86 yards for another and made a 34-yard reception of a Mike Lomas Hail Mary pass for yet another.
Lomas (6-for-12, 137 yards) also fired a TD pass to Ryan Barksdale. Prep entered at 12-0 and thus became the first team with a perfect record to fall in a CL title game since St. James in 1969. Kyle Ambrogi rushed for 50 yards and fell nine yards short of overtaking Judge's Bill Foley (2,116
in '68) for the No. 1 spot in CL one-season rushing. Mike McGann passed 18-for-37 for a game record 245 yards.