September reports

OCT. 28
CATHOLIC BLUE
Neumann-Goretti 7, Conwell-Egan 6
  Never underestimate the power of desperation, especially when mixed with fierce desire. Without its only truly dangerous rusher, sr. Hakeem “Skiz” Johnson (knee), N-G needed to go 85 yards, after doing little all day, to reverse a 6-0 deficit and avoid being eliminated from playoff contention. What were the odds? Not good. The Saints had only four non-Johnson TDs to this point of the season and, again, the distance needed to be covered was 85 yards. Ah, but this was Homecoming and certain seniors were highly motivated not to leave Penn Wood’s field in despair and somehow it all worked out. The first hero was sr. FB Michael Russo, who did not make his first offensive appearance until the very end of the third quarter and was highly hissed about it. He even reamed out the coaches (smile). He struggled to turn a catch into a just-enough gain at the 25 on third-and-12. Next was sr. FB-TB Adam Malatino, who ran for 6 yards on second down and that was exactly what was needed for another first down at the 35. Disaster then struck in the form of a holding penalty. But soph QB Anthony Mastrando, eager to do well after being reinstalled as the signal-caller after two weeks of watching, responded with a 16-yard keeper and then gain two yards on a FOURTH down surge-ahead to produce another first down at the 46. On third-and-4, Malatino momentarily broke loose and appeared headed for a long gain. But, oh!, he was knocked off-balance by jr. CB Matt Della-Croce and landed hard on his shoulder, necessitating a trip to the sideline. That run created a first down at C-E’s 40. On fourth down, the need was 15 yards. The seniors talked in the huddle. Mastrando scrambled and cut loose with a long pass down along the right sideline. The intended receiver was jr. Frank Coleman, brand new to the squad. But sr. WR Darrell Dulany was also in the area. The pass cleared Coleman, but was caught by Dulany! Among three defenders! Can anyone say Gerard Phelan?! (Google Phelan with Doug Flutie. There’s probably even video on Youtube. Ha, ha. Phelan, believe it or not, played FB at Carroll.) With the ball on the 6, hey, here comes Malatino. Just moments earlier, I’d seen him still agonizing on the sideline. He came to the left on a sweep, got a block from Dulany and got to the 1. He actually wound up with the ball just across the goal line, but he bounced there and the spot was correct. The clock was winding down. N-G still had a timeout remaining, but didn’t use it. Mastrando took the snap and again surged ahead, like before. Touchdown!! Soph Will Huff was perfect with the PAT. He then blasted the kickoff low and hard up the middle. It split the deep returnees and bounced all the way into the end zone. C-E got off two plays, an incompletion and an interception by Russo. As the final whistle sounded, the Saints went just a liiiiiiiittle crazy and coach Bill Sytsma got very wet. C-E’s 6-0 lead had stood since the first quarter, when Della-Croce hit Joe Benedetti for a 9-yard score. Bill Castor slightly slipped as he tried to kick the PAT and the ball sailed under the crossbar. The Eagles had just three  first downs thereafter along with four turnovers. Russo and soph DB Jesse Kinsey had other interceptions and jr. James Dougherty made a recovery (strip by Russo and soph Stan Visack). C-E’s top defender was sr. LB Anthony McCormack. At stages he seemed to be in on every tackle and he also recovered a fumble, as did sr. DB Rob Henry. Roman Valponi, also a LB, made a lot of plays, as well. Pat Henry, a small NG and wrestling whiz (and brother of Rob), created occasional havoc. At halftime, a former CL umpire named Jim Dolan came down from the stands to say hello. We hadn’t seen each other in roughly 20 years, I’d bet. Jim was one of those characters who made every game fun. It was great to see him again! His grandson plays for C-E. C-E and website legend Mike “Tugger” Tos was also in the house. Not a surprise. He has missed just two Egan games in his life and he was in sixth grade at the time. He was driven to the game by the Henrys' dad, Bob. Didn’t get much of a chance to mingle with the Tugger. I was on N-G’s side for pic purposes while Mike watched from behind the fence on C-E’s side. Was able to take pics of each school's cheerleaders. Probably 50 girls in all. Phew! We're guessing you might want to check them out here and rate them against the gals from other schools (smile).                

OCT. 26
PUBLIC RED
Washington 37, Northeast 0
  We’re still in October, but does anyone have the championship plaque? Should we just present it now and be done with it? Now that Frankford, the two-time defending kingpin, has been eliminated from title contention because of an ineligible player, is there any way to prevent Washington from frolicking to 2007 laurels? Doesn’t appear so. The Eagles made a respectable Northeast squad look Blue Division-ish, honestly. You won’t believe how, to a large degree, that happened. With passing. Yes, with passing! Coach Ron Cohen said he was sick of teams throwing eight-nine defenders into the box, so he made plans to throw the rock no matter what. “What” turned out to be the worst day of the fall with a steady rain and a muddy surface. Didn’t matter. Not even a little bit. Sr. QB Clinton “Juice” Granger, who has snowshoes for hands, had very little trouble handling the slippery pigskin on snaps from new C Lawrence Williams, a sr. who formerly lined up at tackle, and he had NO trouble throwing accurate passes. In achieving a career-high 164 yards, Granger merely went 7-for-8. The Eagles’ first play was an 11-yard pass to sr. TE AN-drew GOOD-man! The drive stalled and jr. Will McFillin had to rescue it with a 32-yard field goal. No sweat. On the next series, Granger hit Goodman with a medium-length, over-the-middle toss and Andrew took it 66 total yards to the house. I’m not positive it was totally necessary, but just in case soph Kesson Christopher made a good block downfield close to Washington’s sideline. Northeast committed quick turnovers on its next two series and when the Eagles converted both “drives” (just 22 and 17 yards), the game’s competitive nature pretty much vanished. Jr. OLB Waverly Harris (maybe DE; tough to tell) forced a fumble and sr. DB Devon Wallace had an interception. The TDs, on runs, went to jr. RB James Johnson (14 yards) and Granger (2 yards). Halftime did little to remove GW’s starch. The first drive covered 68 yards in 10 plays and ended with a 14-yard flip in the left corner to a wide-open Marquis Murrey, a sr. handyman. Sr. Damien Wilmer had two snags on the drive. With the score at 30-0, Washington wasn’t finished passing. Granger sat down and Damien’s soph brother, Aaron, took over. He whipped five passes and notched a TD of his own on an 18-yard completion to Murrey. Verrrrrrry interesting. We’ll see if Washington continues this approach in the playoffs. Or will even need to. Let’s face it. It’s not as if Granger is some inexperienced newcomer with scant talent. Heck, some D-I schools are looking at him and Toledo has extended an invite to catch a game. At 6-3, 240, his body is now well-defined (he used to be quite the load) and it’s obvious that he has worked hard on footwork and pocket presence and most of all touch. Performing so well in yucky conditions should have him heading into postseason action with a world-beater’s mind-set. Aside from Williams, Washington’s grunts were Harris, sr. Anderson Rayme, sr. Robert Coleman-Smith and soph Shareef Floyd. Williams also enjoyed some nice early moments along the defensive line. In the first half alone, he notched two TFLs and two more stops at the line of scrimmage. The fumble recovery after Harris’ force appeared to go to one of the two LBs, sr. Brett Sommerer or soph James Fowler. But everyone stood up quickly and I couldn’t see which player actually wound up with the ball. Send an e-mail, troops, and we’ll nail this down (smile). NE played without jr./sr. WR Je’Ron Stokes (hamstring miseries). He would have helped. Some. But mostly, this was an old-fashioned butt whipping and Northeast will have to truly regroup if it hopes to go anywhere in the playoffs. Its quarterfinal foe, the No. 2 squad in White, could be any of FIVE teams. Phew! Gratz, Olney and Roxborough are already finished at 2-3. If Bartram beats Mastbaum tomorrow, those two will also wind up at 2-3. Can’t imagine there has ever been a five-way tie for a playoff spot. Good luck untangling that one, league honchos. In the third quarter, head ref Tommy McClain pulled aside a Northeast player who’d been guilty of some extra nonsense after a conversion and really reamed him out. A Northeast mom yelled angrily, “You ain’t nobody’s father on that team!!” Earlier, a male fan proved that spectators can also make mistakes when trying to bust on the refs for, well, making alleged mistakes. Upset with a call against Northeast, a guy hollered, “What, did you go to Fra-Washington??!!” Frankford was last week’s opponent, buddy. Had a brief halftime chat with budding Northeast baseball star Brian Susten, who has lost even more weight (15 pounds, roughly) and is doing yeoman offseason work. Also exchanged pleasantries with the sister of ex-Central baseball star Jim Benek. She goes to Northeast and if she said her name I missed it. Sorry ‘bout that. **Via email I'm told Jim's sister is Kate, and that she's quite the athlete -- field hockey, soccer, basketball. Thanks to the person who sent this to me.** It was raining too hard to try to take pictures AND keep stats inside the ever-trusty plastic bag. Sorry ‘bout that as well.

OCT. 20
PUBLIC RED
Frankford 28, Northeast 3
  Did anyone get the number of that truck? As in, the one that rolled through Northeast's Charlie Martin Memorial Stadium beginning at about 8 o'clock and caused all kinds of damage? Pretty sure I was able to jot it down correctly -- 20362745. Hey, that's too many numbers to be a Pennsylvania license plate. 'Cause it's not. Break it down like this: 20-36-27-45. Catching on yet? Those are skill position numbers for football players and they represent the numbers worn by the four guys who ran for second half TDs and powered Frankford to what turned out to be, surprisingly, an easy-as-pie victory. Though the Pioneers "mounted" two impressive drives (there's a reason for the quotes, as you'll see later) in the first half, neither produced points. Fkd rolled down the field on its first drive, on a 12-play drive beginning from its 35, but sr. RB Ervin Goodson lost a fumble (strip by sr. DB Tyrik Clary) on fourth-and-6 at the 18 and that opportunity was squandered. After jr. Tim "I Hate It When People Call Me FREE-ling; It's FRY-ling" Freiling nailed a 26-yard field goal 3:49 before halftime, Fkd again got rolling. A 24-yard return by sr. RB-LB Josh Burnett put the ball at the this-side 45. The seventh play, a 13-yard pass from jr. QB Kalif Walker to Goodson, moved the rock to the 5. Goodson took a pitch to the right and was stoned by jr. DB Darius Mosee for a 4-yard loss. Next, jr. Marquis Johnson-Newman and sr. DT Christopher Peterson sacked Walker for 6 yards. Goodson was unsuccessful on a try for a 31-yard field goal. Hmm. A listless loss to Washington two weeks ago. A goose-egg through 24 minutes in this one. Maybe Frankford just isn't up to its usual standards this year. Note: let's now jump ahead to something that happened immediately after the game. As the Pioneers were running off of the field, Burnett yelled over, "Tell everybody we're back on the map!!" Phew! And how! After intermission, the Pioneers sliced and diced Northeast, scoring on four consecutive possessions after the first one did not produce points. The TDs, all on runs, in order, went to Walker on a 24-yard sneak right up the middle; to Goodson on a 31-yard run; to sr. RB Kareem Steplight on a 21-yarder; and to sr. RB Chris Spence on a 71-yard frolic. That last one came off a fake punt. Spence was one of the up men and took a direct snap. Guys always look faster at night, but Spence appeared to be flyin'. Those four drives covered 75, 95, 38 and 80 yards. That's a total of 288 yards. Number of plays required? Only 21. That's 13.7 per play! Last time we all looked, backs don't do this alone and that's where the quotes come in. Fkd's center is sr. William Mount. The other grunts are sr. Gs James Quiles and Naeem Tull-Walker, jr. T Michael Gaskin and sr. T Andrew Jones. Like always, Spence absolutely ROCKED some guys from his LB'ing spot. But Burnett was not far behind, if at all, in that category. It was like these guys were having a competition: Let's see who can make a hit that's heard the greatest distance from this stadium. Amauro was on hand for this game and he'll check in later with some defensive stats. But for now we'll let you know that Fkd's front four included soph DE Tyrell Allen, sr. DE Tyrell Latham, jr. DT Akeem Smith and soph DT Tauheed Smith (6-6, 380; his calves are as big as some kids' thighs). Their work allowed the guys behind them to flourish and they made some of their own plays, as well. NE had minus-15 rushing yards, with 21 of the wrong-direction yards coming on a punt snap that went WAY over Freiling's head. He recovered and ran, but sr. Taryee Quiah stalked and stoned him. NE did get 108 passing yards from soph Malik Stokes, with sr. Keith Scruggs making four snags for 73 yards. Malik's brother, Je'Ron, a jr./sr. (fourth-year junior and a transfer from Penn Charter; this hot prospect will apply for an extra year at NE or perhaps attend a traditional prep school), was limited to one catch for five yards. CN8 aired this game. Head ref Tommy McClain wore a mic to make his calls and I wonder if THIS exchange made the air? On the play before his FG, Freiling tried one from 21 yards. There was a procedure call and a Fkd player leveled Freiling. NE asst Phil Gormley was angered that no flag was called. McClain explained that THAT part of the play didn't count because there'd been procedure. Gormley yelled, "So, you're allowed to blast the kicker!!??" McClain responded in a tough-luck, hey-I-just-work-here tone of voice, "Sorry about that."

OCT. 20
CATHOLIC RED
La Salle 19, North Catholic 10
   Still sunny and rather warm, but there was another factor for this one. And that was wind. Not brutal, but enough to make the coaches think twice about calling for any pass plays with extra-long patterns. The QBs, La Salle sr. John Harrison (14-for-29, 126 yards) and North jr. Dennis Logue (9-for-20, 71) combined to average a measly four yards per attempt. Since the Falcons have a much better running attack thanks to sr. TB Terrell "The Nice T.O." Oglesby, you would have thought the conditions would favor North. And though T.O. did churn for 126 yards on 30 carries and score a TD, the Falcons were victimized by turnovers at inopportune moments and Harrison had just enough hot spells. One of La Salle's heroes was sr. DB Kevin McLaughlin, who, as I found out afterward, was making his first start. All he did was post two picks, one to set up the clinching score and another in the waning moments to REALLY make sure North would somehow not enjoy any late euphoria. Another catalyst was soph WR Connor Hoffman, a k a Mr. 10-Yard Gain or Close to That. He made eight catches for 96 yards and six netted between seven and 12 yards. Three hit 10 on the button. He's had some good moments all season, but his contributions are especially important now that quality pass-catchers Ryan Warrender and Joe Migliarese are lost for the duration with injuries. Oddly, Hoffman did not reach the Promised Land. The two TD throws went to jr. RB Mike Donohoe (great leaping catch in the right corner) and sr. TE Matt Alba, who eased off the line of scrimmage unnoticed and notched an easy 4-yard catch with 2:01 remaining. Though I expected this game to be high-scoring, and maybe even approach shootout levels, that was hardly the case. In fact, it was only 3-3 at halftime as La Salle soph Mike Bennett (37-yarder, first quarter) and North jr. Freddy DiMascia (32, second) matched field goals. North's usual kicker, Mickey Majzik, was absent due to a soccer game. C'mon, buddy, let's get your priorities straight. Football rules!! (smile) Donohoe's TD catch and another Bennett FG (32 yards) occurred in the third stanza. North opened the fourth with a 14-play, 73-yard drive that ultimately produced T.O.'s 4-yard run. But on his first pick, McLaughlin did a beautiful job of reading a slant and jumped in front of jr. WR Tre Stone-Davis as if HE were the intended receiver. On La Salle's second play, though it happened across the field, I got the sense North sr. Pete Sellecchia also tried to jump a route to Hoffman. He arrived just an instant late and a 21-yard gain resulted, setting up first-and-10 at the 13. Donohoe ran for 2 yards, Hoffman caught a pass for seven and the score to Alba followed. La Salle registered two sacks, jr. DEs Bob Siess and Ryan Eidenshink combining for one and the other going to Eidenshink by his lonesome. Sorry, Ryan, one T-shirt per regular season (smile). Soph Matt DiGiacomo also enjoyed some good moments along the DL.

OCT. 19
INTER-AC LEAGUE
Chestnut Hill 28, Penn Charter 7
  The only thing that got stolen today was my chance for enjoyment. Little by little, the quite impressive Blue Devils sucked the life from this game and by the fourth quarter, PC’s fans and subs were mostly so quiet there could have been a Friends’ meeting. Meanwhile, perhaps the biggest cheer from CHA’s faithful came early in the fourth quarter when frosh Pat Connaghan hammered a PAT off the upper left corner of the metal scoreboard. Clang!! It was almost like a “Hey, take that!” moment. Not only are we dominating your team, we’re darn near damaging your property. In time, sr. RB Rashad Campbell posted 29 carries for 192 yards and three TDs. A quiet 192 yards. How can 192 yards be quiet, you ask? Mostly because he posted none of his trademark long-gainers, the ones that come complete with jukes and displays of the tremendous savvy/vision he possesses. Also, he did not truly get rolling until the second half and the Blue Devils were already up, 14-0. So “Shad” was helping CHA maintain. Early, PC mostly “suicided.” An interception gave CHA a short field midway through the first quarter and a fumble gave the Blue Devils no field late in the second. No field? Yup, because after sr. DL Juan Gaskins (also two batted down passes) dislodged the ball from soph RB Michael Brown, sr. LB Mike Wismer made an easy scoop-and-I’m-outta-here and going 54 yards wasn’t much of a problem. The pick (already the Blue Devils’ second of the game) was by sr. LB Sean Goldstein, whose 12-yard return got the ball to the 21. As he threw the ball, jr. QB John Ryan was nudged by a teammate who apparently did not hear an audible?? Four carries by Campbell got six points onto the scoreboard. So, by halftime, PC was down 14-0, even though it owned a 124-54 edge in yardage. Quite disheartening. The ink went to sr. WR-SS Mike Lonergan, a I-AA prospect (likely at OLB) who suffered a disintegrated left pinkie during Week Two when hit by a pass from sr. QB Mike Mattei. Yo, blood, tone down those rockets, OK? (smile) Lonergan had CHA’s first interception and seven tackles. CHA prevented PC from posting any gain of more than 17 yards until the waning moments when sr. WR Kelvin Johnson made a diving catch for 38 yards. He suffered a “kramp” and had to head for the sideline. With the ball on the 18, sr. RB Kashif Smith made a good dash for the left corner. It was close to being a TD and when the ref ruled Smith out at the 1, a fan yelled, “Was the line 27?!!??” Smith scored on the next play. (Maybe – smile.) A hard hit stood him up RIGHT at the goal line. CHA’s offensive line included Phil Thorrell, Tim Gramlich, Alex Scott, Eric Herrera, Gaskins and Wismer at TE. Wismer had a 47-yard catch to set up the score that preceded the scoreboard attack. Ryan went 9-for-22 for 111 yards. His chances to rally the Quakers were hurt when sr. WR Eddie Bambino went out with a deep leg contusion. He suffered the injury early in the third quarter while playing defense. The ballboy on PC’s sideline was Sean Foley, a big fourth grader whose dad, Ed, a multi-sport star for PC, coaches the nationally famous Little Quakers’ pound team. I go way back with the Foleys, who grew up in Flourtown, and all are gems. Not even the Internet has enough space to discuss all of the legends in this family (smile). The skies were threatening throughout, but except for a VERY brief period of drizzle, they behaved.

OCT. 14
CATHOLIC RED
O’Hara 49, Ryan 15
   With jr. QB Tom Savage unavailable (broken foot) and the reins being turned over to a freshman, Ryan Laughlin, it was understood that O’Hara would take a more conservative approach. Thus, the first 26 plays called by coach Danny Algeo were runs and that chomping sound we all heard was yards, and more yards, being gobbled up. Ryan is not its old self these days, folks (38 players in uniform; not even a dozen with linemen’s numbers), and O’Hara frolicked offensively. The Lions rang up 464 yards with only 40 coming via the air. Ink went to jr. FB Evan Higgins, whose 118 yards were more than he’d gained all season. He carried 16 times and notched four TDs, and his last came on a 45-yarder. Evan exchanged chest-bumps with Laughlin after that effort and when kidded that Ryan had posted the more impressive vertical, he kidded, “I got a late jump.” Also prominent in the yardage carnage was soph RB Corey Brown (10-90, TD), and his day was done before halftime due to a shoulder ding that didn’t appear to be serious. After the game, I had a quick chat with Corey’s brother, Courtney Williams, one of the stars for Washington’s 2004 Pub champions. Late, long TDs were added by sr. Steve Werner (63 yards) and soph Dan “Cardinal” O’Hara (48  on his first varsity carry; quite a memory, eh?) When Laughlin did get throwing opps, he came through nicely (3-for-4, 40) with sr. TE-WR Mark Wedderburn getting two snags for 28. The linemen were soph C Matt Williams (already 6-4, 250), jr. G Andrew Glace, sr. G Pete Hladish, sr. T  Mike Pileggi and jr. T Dennis Mushrush (also the punter). Now, as well as the Lions performed on offense, defense was something of another matter. While it’s true that the Raiders scored just two TDs, they went for 327 yards as jr. QB Rus Slawter involved himself in 49 plays! Aside from passing 21-for-35 for 281, he notched 14 carries for 31. “Carries” being a relative term as six of those were losses and even most of his gains came on scrambles, not designed runs. Ryan ran 59 plays in all so Slawter was involved in 83 percent. Phew! He might sleep until Wednesday (smile). The top three receivers were sr. Nick Ferdinand (7-133), sr. Bill Keebler (5-51, TD) and jr. Matt "MasterCard/American Express" Vizza (4-58) while the other TD went to jr. Rick Verrall on his only catch. O’Hara sr. DE Bill McMonigle posted three sacks worth 22 yards and Wedderburn came up with two. However, Algeo and his assistants are no doubt concerned that O’Hara’s future foes are plotting more air-oriented attacks. Ferdinand posted a 3-yard TFL for Ryan and soph DL Dan Oliveri broke through to toss Laughlin for a 4-yard loss on an option. And then, on the final play, when it was backups galore, jr. LB Dan Barreto posted a 3-yard TFL. (Hmm. Maybe he’s related to ex-North Catholic baseball star Javier Barreto?) This was Homecoming for O’Hara and our main man, website and everywhere-he-goes legend Will McGonigle, was a member of the court. As a reporter, I’m not allowed to hope one team beats another in games, but those rules do not apply to battles for Homecoming king (smile). It would have been great to see Will win! Another kid won the voting (recount!!), but it was cool just to see Will decked out in a suit and hear how loudly he was applauded when his name was announced. Kids such as Will are remembered forever by schoolmates and when the ’08 Lions have reunions after 10, 15, 25 years, etc., he will again feel the love. Will did a great report on the Homecoming weekend. I hope you check it out. Thanks. Also, it was great to see O'Hara's newly installed principal, George Stratts, who was a CL head coach at McDevitt, Dougherty and then O'Hara. He handled Homecoming duties and was given a game ball by Algeo. Danny was George's offensive coordinator before becoming the head coach.

OCT. 13
INTER-AC LEAGUE
Malvern 31, Episcopal 21
  Even though this game lasted 2 hours, 28 minutes, and the length meant I didn't arrive at CHA-GA until just before halftime, you'll hear no complaints. This affair was a goodie and I could have watched it deep into the afternoon. The teams combined for 647 yards total offense, with Episcopal holding the edge, 330-317, and the run-pass numbers were eerily similar. EA sr. QB Dan Hilferty went 8-for-21 for 138 (just seven completions before today). MP sr. QB Ryan Nassib (Syracuse) went 12-for-19 for 130. EA's 35 carries produced 192 yards. MP's 32 racked up 187. Pretty amazing. THE defining moment -- and in games like this there are many -- came early in the fourth quarter, just after a 5-yard run sr. RB Bobby FitzPatrick edged EA within 24-21. The first kickoff went out of bounds and Malvern, of course, could have taken over at the 35. Instead, the Friars requested a re-kick and jr. RB Neil Willis made the decision pay off handsomely. He caught the ball on the 21, toward the EA sideline. He angled into the middle, evaded traffic and chose a nice route and zoomed the rest of the way to the end zone. EA did not quit. Not at all. In fact, the Churchmen slapped together a 16-play drive that carried all the way to Malvern's 1. But with fourth down coming up, a grunt got a little anxious and flinched. The penalty pushed the ball to the 6. Hilferty's slant to sr. WR Matt Byrne was successfully defended by Willis and even though 4:39 remained, the place got VERY quiet. Well, at least the Episcopal side. The strangest development of the day, one that wound up having serious consequences for EA when compounded by another, occurred late in the first half. EA soph DL Jake Butts was called for unsportsmanlike conduct before the ball was even snapped. Huh? Double huh? The umpire explained to EA's coaches that he heard Butts chanting, "Hut! Hut!" As in, he was trying to imitate Nassib's signal-calling. EA's coaches explained that they defensive calls named "Hot" and "Cold" depending on the offensive alignment and that was why Butts was yelling. Anyway, the call gave MP 15 free yards and the drive, which covered 81 yards, culminated with 29.8 seconds left on Willis' 3-yard run. Later, Butts was given another unsportsmanlike penalty in a brief dust-up with a Malvern player. Since that was his second, he was automatically ejected. Phew, talk about unfair! EA coach Bill Gallagher said he intends to speak with highers-up so Butts won't have to miss next week's game as well. Though Episcopal is hardly known as a passing powerhouse, Gallagher went topside right at the start. The result was a 53-yard completion to jr. WR John Gormley, down to MP's 5, and sr. FB Andrew Kissner scored from the 2 three plays later. That early gumption, and the positive result, truly indicated how cool of a game this was going to be. This was my first look at both teams this season. As advertised, Nassib has an arm that only the NRA could love. He fired a few deep balls, but mostly settled for shorts and mediums. The one big exception was a 47-yard TD pass to jr. WR Joe Price with 4:06 left in the third quarter. The throw and catch were golden. On a day when 647 yards get ch-ch-chinged onto the stat sheet, it's hard to say anyone was world-beater quality on defense. However, MP sr. DE Mike McKee did make a handful of plays at or even behind the line. Malvern guys were tackled for losses just twice all game, and only for 1 yard each time. It was fun seeing lots of ol' friends -- coaches and otherwise -- along both sidelines. I hope everyone continues to enjoy the season.

OCT. 12
PUBLIC WHITE
Gratz 36, Mastbaum 6
   There was wind, but nothing close to rain was falling and the surface was artificial (at Northeast), so only the Lord can truly know why this happened: In the first quarter, there was a six-play sequence that included FIVE lost fumbles. We kid you not. The, ahem, fun began on the game’s third play as Mastbaum sr. RB Rasheen Tookes dropped a pitchout and Gratz sr. DE Muhammad Dudley recovered. Next play: Gratz sr. RB Hal Chambliss dropped the ball and Mastbaum jr. CB Jamil Thomas recovered. Next play: Mastbaum sr. FB Hason Franklin you-know-whated and Gratz sr. DE Elijah Akbar made a scoop and return for 15 yards to the 10. Next play: No fumble. Woo-hoo!! But, a 10-yard scoring run by Dudley, on a reverse, was wiped out by a holding penalty. Next play: Mastbaum sr. DE Donald Vodopija sacked sr. QB Dominic Marrow for an 11-yard loss and jr. LB John Turner recovered. Next play: Tookes coughed up the rock and Dudley recovered again. It was craaaaaaazy! But the lunacy was hardly over. Five plays later, Vodopija again caused a fumble and jr. LB Andrew King recovered. So, that’s six lost fumble in 11 plays. You want more? This one’s got you covered. Four plays later, against the wind, with the line of scrimmage the 14, Mastbaum jr. Robert Fitzhugh sent a punt pretty much straight up. The ball bounced backward and settled on the 1 for a minus-13-yarder. Chambliss ran 1 yard for a TD. Oops. There was motion and the ball was placed at the 6. Chambliss carried four more times in a row and finally scored from the 1 on fourth down. Hopefully, you believe this entire sequence. If you don’t, I can’t say I blame you. If necessary, I’m willing to testify in court (smile). The game settled down thereafter – well, somewhat – and Gratz imposed its will on the youthful Panthers (just four seniors). The ink went to sr. T-DT Earl Watford and what a prospect this kid is! He goes 6-4, 278, and is only a second-year player. He has added about 3 inches and 50 pounds since ninth grade and he can flat-out run. He logged 11 tackles in three quarters of action and two were made at the sideline! He had a sack and two other TFLs and during our interview, it was great to hear that he’s a B-plus student with a qualifying SAT score. West Virginia, Temple and Rutgers are among the interested and it’s not insane to think this impressive young man could someday earn an NFL paycheck. He reminds me of ex-Gratz star Rod Coleman, who has spent a decent amount of time in the NFL, and I’m sure Bulldogs’ assistant Rich Kozlowski, who goes back to those days, would tell Earl the same thing. Plus, Earl might have good-luck geography on his side. Earl lives at 9th and Erie, just a few blocks from the childhood home (13th and Butler, if I remember correctly) of ex-Mastbaum star Uhuru “Joby” Hamiter, who wound up playing for the Eagles. Sr. LB Kurt Andrew also had numerous playmaking moments for Gratz’ defense. In all, 19 of Mastbaum’s plays went for losses (ouch). Other Gratz TDs came on two passes from Marrow to Dudley, a 23-yard run by jr. RB Daveer Fincher and a 34-yard fumble return by Akbar. Tookes ran 6 yards for Mastbaum’s TD while a 44-yarder for Thomas, the Panthers’ third QB of the day, was lost to a holding penalty. Mastbaum has three excellent players in Tookes, Vodopija (three sacks, one other TFL, two forced fumbles) and King, who looks about 40 years old (smile) and delivers serious wallops. Very impressive fact: Gratz’ defensive signals are called by sr. CB Alphonso Walcott, a true-grit kid who’s only 5-6, 145 (if that). Incredibly, though it lost by 30, Mastbaum threw just one pass all game. There was one other “pass” – a spike to stop the clock quite late. Gratz sr. Jamil Herring blocked a fourth quarter punt. Dudley added a third quarter fumble recovery.

OCT. 11
PUBLIC AAA
Imhotep Charter 20, Penn 6
   Here’s something I always look for when judging a supposed franchise player: On days when he’s not as productive as usual in his main area, does he find other ways to make large contributions? For IC sr. RB Gerald Bowman, the answer was a resounding yes. Though the 5-11, 195-pound Bowman did score two TDs, his 15 carries produced “only” 68 yards. Ah, but in the game’s opening moments, he turned a short flip on a screen pass from sr. QB Julius Legg into a 45-yard burst down the left sideline (that set up a TD) and, right before halftime, when making an infrequent defensive appearance at strong safety, he paid rapt attention as a play developed and made an interception 1 yard deep in the end zone. Very nice! Amauro told me a few weeks ago that Gerald was beggin’ for ink. Ha, ha, ha. Well, he got it. And he deserves it because he’s now within 149 yards of becoming the Panthers’ first 1,000-yard rusher. (The opponent next Friday, 6 o’clock at Germantown, will be struggling University City.) Bowman’s build is deceptive because he’s so solid, he looks more like a fullback than a tailback. He has reasonably fancy feet and respectable quickness, though, and always appears very comfortable running to his left (forgot to ask; maybe he IS lefthanded?) and that can be an advantage because teams usually put their best run-stoppers on the opposite side. Imhotep coach Marc Wilson likes to kid around and say I’m a jinx, so today that was broken. I might be a jinx to Legg, though (smile). Again he had poor stats (3-for-12, with two interceptions) and some mishandled throws were only part of the reason. But at least he provided humor by dragging three/four/five tacklers on rumbles right up the middle. The ‘Hotep line includes jr. C George Gaines, sr. G Luco Refuse (strong contender for coolest name ever), jr. Richard Kirven, sr. T Saladine Walker, jr. T Daniel Jones and jr. TE Saladeem Major. Since four of those guys are underclassmen, somebody’s gonna have some rushin’ fun in ’08. The defensive leaders were the athletic but strong Jones (one sack, three other TFLs) and soph DB Kendrick Lewis. He posted two picks and too the second one 88 yards for a clinching TD. Sr. LB Isaiah King showed good mobility and poppin’ passion. The loss itself was the least of Penn’s problems. Late in the third quarter, sr. RB Dewayne Daughty (14-72, TD), a small guy with a gigundo heart, ran for 13 yards and then screamed out in pain as he hit the Gratz turf. Even from maybe 15 yards away, I could see what Imhotep’s subs could see: His elbow bone was out of place. It wasn’t sticking through his skin, but it was damn close. Ah, man! Talk about getting a sinking feeling. There was maybe a 10-minute delay as an ambulance was summoned and the Imhotep kids were very respectful throughout. They gave Dewayne a wonderful round of applause when he finally, with the help of the on-site trainer, walked down the visiting sideline toward a waiting ambulance. We all hope you make a speedy recovery, Double D. This was the first time I saw you play this season. What a pleasure! Michael Singleton (9-51) and Daughty’s backup, Kenny White (12-45; also the TD-saving tackle on the early screen pass to Bowman), also had some good moments. On defense, DB Khalil Brown and LB Kente Wiggins posted interceptions while DE Darnell Price unleashed a WICKED, right-through-him hit on a short flip to Bowman. The day’s strangest development: It was cloudy throughout except for the time when Daughty was walking toward the ambulance. It was very sunny then, but only for that brief moment. Penn’s coach, Terry Henderson, was a quality DE for Frankford. The man who coached Frankford’s linemen under Al Angelo during that era, Ron Howley, showed up to support Terry. After a LONG run of hot weather, it was much different today. There was a strong wind and I’m sure I wasn’t the only one who was feeling a bit chilly. Actually, it wasn’t that cold at ALL. Just felt like it in comparison with what we’d experienced through the first six weeks. Penn had only two cheerleaders on hand. One said the full squad didn't make it because the coach was afraid of the prediction for rain.

OCT. 6
CATHOLIC BLUE
Wood 47, Dougherty 0
   Quite the recipe for disaster. Not only does Dougherty have much less talent and size than Wood, it was missing 13 players for assorted reasons. Six, coach Chris Riley admitted, were out of uniform because of unexcused absences from practice. The score hit 40-0 with 6:06 left in the third quarter, and the clock rolled nonstop from there. Most of Wood's early TDs were candy-from-baby stuff, truthfully, as the ballcarriers barely got jostled, let alone popped, en route to the end zone. And once, when a much smaller Dougherty did show some brass, sr. RB Bob DeLucas nearly knocked him as far as Oxford Avenue. Hey, it happens. DeLucas finished with 11 carries for 117 yards and three TDs and was his usual manchild self at LB, also. Sr. RB Charlie Wanner added 40 yards and two TDs on five rushes. Sr. QB Mike Cattolico, whose throwing was finished by halftime, went 7-for-11 for 72 yards. I listed the O-line guys last week. They'll survive without another mention (smile). Jr. Sean McCartney was a punt-returning terror in the third quarter. His three efforts went for 101 yards, including a 61-yard TD. I love his hunt-and-peck approach, especially since he's still going forward the whole time and giving defenders few opportunities to truly pop him. That knack is rare! Though other guys had occasionally good moments for Dougherty, the only headliner was sr. LB Sean Kidd. He finished the first half with six stops and most were hole-plugging solos. He also uncorked a Pub-style punt (for minus-4 yards), but we won't hold it against him. "I was trying to angle it," he said, smiling. Next best for CD was the ballboy, injured soph Craig Orlik. He kept up a steady stream of chatter and I hope his coaches appreciated his vigor. Sr. QB Phil Baxter had an interception on defense and frosh L Jolan Hardy recovered a late fumble. The coolest TD was scored by sr. RB Shariff Walker. His vertical was so good on a leap that capped a 7-yard run, he left the frame of my camera. Ha, ha. Half of him is still in there, though, so it's posted. At one point, a Dougherty defender had trouble toward the outside of the field and Riley began yelling. "It's OK. He hasn't been out there in God knows . . . well, it was just last week, but that's beside the point." Assistant Kwesi Solomon kept imploring the Cards to inflict "pain and punishment." Maybe someday . . .

OCT. 5
PUBLIC WHITE
Bartram 19, Roxborough 0
  Anyone have some Visine? Not one of those tiny bottles. Not even a gallon will do the trick, I’m guessing. This fall has been incredibly dry, of course, and Bartram’s field is an absolute disaster area. I can’t imagine what it’s like trying to play. It was difficult just trying to watch. The field is getting more use than ever because the Southern-Bok complex is unavailable and I guess the School District has not heard of a new invention – the hose! It’s something that allows water to be released far from the spigot. What a concept, eh? (smile) Anyway . . . I was kinda surprised this one wound up featuring a three-TD spread because Bartram is short on varsity experience and Roxborough has some savvy vets. But the Indians never got rolling (just three first downs) and the presence of sr. RB Michael Alexander, a player whose skills are exceeded only by his many life qualities, gave Bartram the edge. Alexander did not hit the end zone, but finished with 18 carries for 112 yards. Plus, with Roxborough understandably ganging up on him, his presence gave the passing game some room and jr. QB Laquan Williams came through in grand fashion. He lofted a perfectly thrown ball for a 55-yard TD to jr. WR Antwain Byrd and later hit sr. TE Ishmar Malcolm for a 30-yard score. This ball was a shade behind Malcolm. He did a great job maintaining concentration, and balance, while twisting his body. Alexander came within a yard of getting his TD, in the fourth quarter. He wound up slightly miscalculating on an attempt to break the plane while extending the ball on a mad dash toward the left corner, and was ruled out on the 1. Williams then burrowed in. Sr. C Dante McCall is Bartram's only O-line graybeard. The newcomers are sr. G Kerume Dunkley, soph G Malcolm McNair and sr. Ts Andre Duncan and Troy Griffiths. Every Bartram team has size and so does this one. Not gigantic guys, but solid guys with bulk. Roxborough has been struggling to find a franchise rusher and sr. QB Stephen Tucker is still not 100 percent after a recent ankle injury. Tucker did complete passes to sr. WB Adrese Hicks for 50 and 32 yards, but overall was 3-for-13 for 85 yards. He was pressured early and often and appeared to have trouble planting, probably because of the injury. Bartram’s defense received an interception from sr. DB Eric Mason (interception), a fumble recovery from jr. DE Angelo Eads and a sack from soph DE Shawn Curtis while soph LB Derek "Aztec" King, who already calls the defensive signals, delivered three gold-star pops. For ‘Boro, sr. DT Sheldon Walker notched two TFLs while sr. DE Diante Boney-Stokes had one and one (sack). Sr. LB Amir Boler dispensed some teeth-rattlers. After a Bartram linemen flinched an fell into the neutral zone, assistant Rich “Moose” Carfagno hollered, “If you were not so fat, you wouldn’t fall out of your stance!” Bartram’s cheerleaders did a few laps before the game. Were they being punished? Were they just loosening up? Kinda hot to be running around just for the hell of it. Roxborough assistant Bob Stowman formerly worked at Bartram. He knew the code words for some of the audibles called out by Bartram head coach Damond “Smash” Warren. But as Warren roared after a run by Alexander picked up 11 yards, “If you run the play right, it doesn’t matter if they know what’s coming!” True dat. Back in the day, just by alignment alone, North Catholic’s coaches would call out EVERY single play being run by Frankford on Thanksgiving. It rarely mattered.

OCT. 4
PUBLIC AAA
FitzSimons 16, Prep Charter 8 (OT)
  One of these days, or years, FitzSimons will finally post a “first win” not tied to controversy. Don’t hold your breath. Fitz recently had to forfeit a win over Furness because, without formal approval, it was using players from three other schools (Mansion, Vaux & FLC). And now I’ll tell you what happened today. Shortly before the game began, Fitz coach Irv Sigler, a former Washington star and Division II National Player of the Year as a running back for Bloomsburg, came over and said to change No. 90 on the roster from Dante Simmons to Moses Tucker. OK, no sweat. Thanks, Irv. During the game, because of where the sun was located, I stayed on PC’s sideline (the visiting side at Gratz) and happened to notice that No. 90, who played VERY well at DE, by the way, was being called Dante or ‘Te for short by the Fitz kids who were working the chains. Finally, in the fourth quarter, during a timeout, No. 90 was not too far from where I was standing, so I called out to him and asked whether his name was Simmons or Tucker. His response: Simmons. Uh, oh. Something is goin’ ON here, and it can’t be good. I approached Sigler after the game and explained the sequence of events and said he needed to be straight about No. 90’s identity. He became quite quiet and said only, “To the best of my knowledge, he's Moses Tucker." Eventually, one of the assistants went to get No. 90 and bring him over. When I asked the kid his name this time, his response was “Moses Tucker.” Oh, baby! Who knows where THIS will go? Fitz’ entire athletic program is already on probation because of the earlier mess. Assuming something smelly did occur here, Brad Cashman, the PIAA’s executive director, said the FB program could be shut down for the rest of this season and all of next. The school’s other teams could also be whacked for a while. Incredible. As for the game, we’ll go straight to OT, the backtrack. I’ve always been a firm believer that teams that win the toss should opt for offense last because then they know exactly what’s necessary to win. Fitz did the reverse, but it all worked out, of course. The first two plays went nowhere, bringing up 3rd and goal from the 10. The call was for a flip from sr. QB James Robinson over the middle to sr. SB Samuel Polk. Lo and behold, he made the catch and the Rams jumped ahead, 14-8. Robinson fought his way into the end on a conversion run, despite the best efforts of sr. LB Mike Bariana, and that made for strong pressure for PC’s possession. That increased tenfold when small sr. DT/LB Iskea Artis burst through the line and dropped jr. QB Charles Wilson for a 10-yard, first-down loss. Sr. RB James Hines gained 3 yards on a run (stop by sr. Kevin Coston) and the next call was for a pass. Sr. DE Leon Dogan dropped back into coverage and made an interception right on the goal line, ending the affair and sending the Rams into Total Glee Land. Both teams struggled offensively. PC pretty much dried up after getting a first quarter score on a 13-yard pass from Wilson to jr. RB Shelton Jones. That followed by two plays a 41-yard completion to frosh WR Charles Barber, who’d allowed the drive to start my making a fourth down interception. (The smart play would have been to knock the ball down; the pick cost his team 30 yards. But, hey, he’s young.) Fitz used trickery to score in the second quarter: Coston whipped a 40-yard halfback pass to a wide open Dogan, then Polk fought his way into the end zone on the conversion, just as Bariana had done after PC’s score. Neither team even sniffed a score thereafter prior to OT. Whoever No. 90 was, he notched a sack and three other TFLs. At one point, referring to the backfield,  he even roared, "I'm in there every play!" Other big plays on defense were made by Artis and sr. LB Kwame Robinson. Bariana and Givens, also a LB, paced PC’s defense while sr. DL Joe Crooks (6-4, 294), who beforehand personally guaranteed a victory for his squad (smile), posted two TFLs. Barber later added another interception. In the first half, Robinson executed a beautiful fake and kept on a bootleg. When he came to the sideline for a break, Hines exclaimed, “That fake was crazy! Looked like one of them NFL jaunts!” Before the game, one of PC’s players was complaining that the water in one of the buckets was hot. Injured jr. lineman Josh Brydges cracked, “I peed in it for you.” From across the way in the stands, I could hear a fan chanting before a key play, “Third down, knock ‘em around!” That cheer, of course, would work before any down (smile).