'Splorer Spin, Football 2011

FEB. 1
TRIBUTE TO TOM KIRK, LANSDALE CATHOLIC'S NEW COACH

Mr. Tom Kirk. That name evokes running in the dead heat of August, short spurts of a whistle, and well—football in its purest form. From fifth to eighth grade, three days of my week and sometimes my entire weekend were controlled by Tom Kirk. He was my CYO football coach, heading a combined team from Corpus Christi, St. Stan’s, St. Rose, a few public schools, and my grade school: Mary, Mother of the Redeemer. On Monday, Kirk was offered the head football coaching position at Lansdale Catholic, clinching the job that we long expected of him, and that he long deserved. A tribute to the man that made me love football was in the making for a while, and I felt that this moment was perfect to bring it out. My mom always complains that people have to wait until their funerals to receive praise and tribute. So with that advice in mind, I’ll take a step back from the La Salle basketball beat to honor an important man in my life, and wish him well in his new job.

August 15th . . . when I was in grade school I used to think the devil held a party on August 15th. That was the day when football training camp began—a grueling three week marathon of running, hitting, and sweating. The field next to Corpus was our battleground with the general always being the same. I cannot recall one practice where Mr. Kirk, with his black jacket and whistle, was missing. He was always there and always in football mode. His sayings were legendary: “There’s no substitute for hard work.”… “Each practice, you get better or worse but never stay the same.”… “Stay under the radar boys.” His passion was incredible. During one set of gassers (I cry just remembering them), Mr. Kirk was very frustrated. A single gasser was four 40-yard sprints (so 160 yards in total), and we usually ran two of them at the end of practice. Mr. Kirk was disappointed in our effort during one particular practice and we just continued running. His voice was monotonous: “Next…next…next…” During the car ride home from practice that day, not one person in the car spoke.

Another Mr. Kirk tradition was “country fair,” a set of warm-up stations. You would complete one station, like shuffling between bags, and have to sprint to the next station. On a hot day and in full pads, this exercise could get very difficult. Mr. Kirk always warned us, “Guys, I always notice who comes in first…and who comes in last.” Now I was never the best football player, but I was NOT going to come last in “county fair.” In fact, during the last few weeks of the season, we would chant the number of county fairs remaining. “EIGHT LEFT!”

Football is one of the only sports that truly creates a brotherhood. I spent three months every year with the same guys, growing to know them all very well. Mr. Kirk knew this and helped develop a sense of camaraderie on the team. Even those kids who were not effective players on the A-team (yours truly) would still be respected on the B-team. Kirk always scheduled B-team games for us; while other schools only had about 3 B-team games a year, we always had like 10. During practices, he would enforce a code of respect and honor. He never held favorites. I fondly remember being scolded by Mr. Kirk in the week leading up to my eighth grade team’s appearance in the Archdiocesan Championship. I had made a mistake on scout team, and Mr. Kirk called me out on it. I remember just being dumbfounded that he would care about my mistakes—I surely wasn’t going to be playing much in the Championship—but that was him, caring and inclusive. Sometimes he would give lectures about things unrelated to football. One year we practiced on 9/11 and he closed with a beautiful speech about patriotism and the lives lost on that day. I can remember him saying something along the lines of, “Football matters to a degree guys, and then something like 9/11 occurs.”

During our football team’s season-end banquet in eighth grade, Mr. Kirk gave each of us a gift. That gift was a book, called Of Beetles and Angels by Mawi Asgedom. The book detailed an autobiographical tale from Asgedom about his life growing up in war-torn Africa, and migrating to America. He followed the philosophy of treating all people, “even the unsightliest of beetles, as if they were angels sent from God.” Eventually, Mawi went on to Harvard University and was his class’s commencement speaker. I remember reading that book about four times and just being encapsulated with the message.

I could give Mr. Kirk anecdotes for a long time, but he was never the type of guy who enjoyed the spotlight. In fact, I expect to receive an email shortly which will express in no uncertain terms Mr. Kirk’s anger at me for giving publicity to HIM. So instead, I’ll write about his influence and the inspiration he gave to my teammates and me. When I entered high school, it was evident that football could not remain a part of my life, so I took to the writer’s stage and participated in other competitive activities. But I have followed Mr. Kirk’s example of “if doing something, doing it to your best ability” and have found a new love, not in football, but in debate. Sometimes when I am on the ropes in a debate round, it might seem funny but I channel my inner competitive spirit, and turn the gears on for the final speeches of the round. Mr. Kirk taught me the value of hard work and never being satisfied for second place. Some of his teams won a lot of games, other ones did not, but he never changed his philosophy. He took each game “one at a time” often saying, “We don’t want to be undefeated. We just want to win every game.” I still use this strategy when debating, however different the forensics and football arenas may seem.

The final years of legendary Lansdale Catholic coach Jim Algeo’s reign were tough. The LC Crusaders struggled upon entrance to the Catholic League. Though I don’t expect Tom Kirk to win every game, I do know what to expect. His teams will play with passion and honor, never arguing with a referee, never taunting an opposing player, and always remembering the more important things in life. He will be one of the hardest-working coaches in the Catholic League, constantly challenging himself to succeed. I look forward to watching his team play, and I congratulate my former coach on his new honor. And, I expect that if one were to stumble across a Crusader football practice right around closing time, they would hear an unusual pledge. At the end of every football practice, Mr. Kirk’s players affirm their values to God, each other, and to themselves. They reject illegal substances and pledge to avoid peer pressure. And of course, they pledge themselves to the team. Good job, Mr. Kirk. I expect nothing less than the best.

DEC. 12
YEAR-END REVIEW

I am still in shock. Usually, I try to write my football recaps as soon as possible—really who wants to read about a game that happened a week ago? In this case though, I sat just…thinking. I did not know what to write about this game. North Penn had finally beaten La Salle, taking down the Explorer’s football hegemony 21-14. North Penn’s senior giant, Ralph Reeves, scored three TDs, as his team dominated La Salle, even limiting them to 80 yards rushing. I know that the Knights had a chip on their shoulder (3 losses to La Salle) but WE were the hot team—La Salle was rolling! They had 11 straight wins and were set for this collision course with North Penn. As La Salle teacher Ray Shay said, “They had won the Christmas battle! They beat Nazareth at Bethlehem High!” But alas! this was not the year, and the time has now come to evaluate what we have seen. I decided on three vital topics: teamwork, individual standouts, and the seniors. The 2011-2012 La Salle football season is over…how strange those words sound

The season began and ended with North Penn. A fired up crowd on Labor Day weekend was treated to an aerial show in which senior TE Colin Buckley caught 4 TD passes, as La Salle erased a 21-10 halftime deficit to win 44-27. Senior QB Matt Magarity showed resilience in bouncing back from a benching by coach Drew Gordon to eventually lead his team to victory. This game personified La Salle—courage and strength in the face of an adversity. This theme would be highlighted again when the Explorers faced their “ancient enemy” (as Mr. Wasylenko calls them) St. Joe’s Prep. This time the deficit was 17-0, and the hero was junior Sean Coleman. He reeled in a 34yd. TD pass following his own interception to help cement a La Salle victory.

The Explorers exemplified the word “team” and rallied around each other in times of distress. The untimely deaths of junior OL/DL Andrew Carlone’s father as well as sophomore Tamar Turner’s mother caused widespread mourning across the La Salle community, including the football team. Each individual stepped up when a teammate was down. In the PCL semifinal game, senior RB Tim Wade carried the offense fully in the absence of fellow runner Jared Herrmann, finishing the game with a record-high 300 yards rushing. In the PCL final, a senior leader, cornerback Ryan Otis, had to sit out with an injury. Freshman Jimmy Herron started in place of Otis and helped give La Salle their third straight title with an important interception late in the game.

Seniors defined this team and it is important to acknowledge their friendship. As a basketball manager, I have to run into the trainer’s room a lot to grab things. The football seniors are always together in there, joking with each other and preparing for practice. After games they always hang out with each other. Over their four years in the program, these guys have embraced each other. From the sidelines, the magic of their friendship is evident. To see such a beautiful thing be lost now is sad. North Penn took this season away from us…but just as well, a new batch of seniors will be ready to play ball on Labor Day weekend of next year. Let’s salute our departing Explorers:

· WR Tripp Kenney (a LEADING candidate for TedSilary.com’s Teammate of the Year)

· LB Dillon Smith

· WR Colin Buckley

· WR Devin Merritt

· WR Tom Finnegan

· DB Ryan Otis

· SS Nick McShane

· QB Matt Magarity

· TE/SS Mike Piscopo

· WR/DB Jason DeNofa

· SS Christian Ciammetti

· FB/LB John Palermo

· RB Tim Wade

· LB Sean Burke

· SS Mike Pizzo

· OL Richie Storck

· OL/DL Tyler Kern

· OL/DL Dan Wasylenko

· OL/DL Connor Kerrigan

· OL/DL Andrew Carlin

· OL Pat Flynn

· DL Vince Sacco

· OL/DL Matt Maginnis

· WR Frank Ferguson

· WR/DB Casey Eidenshink

These seniors have devoted massive amounts of their time to something that they love. High school will be ending soon for them, but they have already proven themselves as winners. It has been my absolute pleasure to document their accomplishments (and occasional missteps) during this year. HAIL LA SALLE!

NOV. 11
CATHOLIC AAAA FINAL
La Salle 16, Roman 6
I’ll begin with a short anecdote before moving onto a very eventful PCL championship! This summer, I worked at La Salle right after school let out, from Memorial Day up until the 4th of July. One day, while I was working in the La Salle Alumni House, I had a conversation with Paul Colistra, also a defensive assistant/special teams coach. I asked him what he thought about the season and his words were, "I think we’ll surprise some people.” How prophetic that statement was…and what a bizarre game it took to prove it true.
Yes, La Salle has won its fourth PCL championship in a row, as well as its fifth league title in six years. The Explorers capped an incredible fall sports season for La Salle, where the school took PCL crowns in golf, soccer, and football. The most surprising fact of all though was who the saviors were for La Salle, the defense. THE DEFENSE?! You mean the squad that as of last week, still gave up the most passing yards in the Catholic League? You mean the team that was missing two-way OL/DL Tom Spiteri (a force in the Judge game last week), as well as DB leader Ryan Otis to injury? Oh, yes. Coach John Steinmetz’s unit played at the best level that I have seen them play, recording two INTs, four fumble recoveries, and limiting a strong Roman offense, that dropped 45 points on Prep last week, to just SIX POINTS.
La Salle entered the game with injuries galore. As said before, Otis and Spiteri were both sidelined -- freshman Jimmy Herron acted as Otis’s replacement in the secondary. Herron lit up the stadium with his huge INT in the 4th quarter, catching Roman QB Chris Cruz’ ball deep in La Salle territory and returning it about 40 yards. Herron showed tremendous skill in his INT return, evading Roman defenders at will. I really like the way this kid plays (I am a little biased…he was on my grade-school football team). Herron has size, speed, and agility, all attributes of a strong four-year player in the La Salle football program. I am sure we will be seeing plenty of him in the years to come.
On the offensive side, La Salle was missing backup RB Jarred Herrmann, meaning once again—further production for RB Tim Wade. In actuality, the La Salle offense was bolstered more by the passing game, and Wade only rushed for 43 yards on 20 carries. Jr. dynamo Sean Coleman recorded two spectacular TD catches of 61 and 27 yards. Coleman was also an active player on the defense, stepping up from his role as a DB to record numerous stops on the second-line, alongside the linebackers. His TD catches mattered greatly, as both offenses progressed slowly in this game and made FGs were SCARCE, as shall be seen.
After a scoreless draught for the majority of the 1Q, the game began to get interesting. With Roman beginning a drive at about their 20 yard line, La Salle forced a fumble—recovering it to give the offense great field position. Alas, QB Matt Magarity tossed an INT to Roman sr. DB/WR Darryl Mintz. Roman now had the ball back with 3:21 left in the 1Q, but its possession ended in a punt. The Explorers were now left at their own 40 yard line, with a promising drive ahead. On the first play, Magarity dropped back with great protection by the O-line (hampered by the loss of Spiteri), and tossed a beautiful pass to Coleman, galloping 61 yards for the score. With 1:04 left in the quarter, La Salle had a 7-0 lead.
An elongated Roman possession finished up the 1Q, continuing into the second. Even with two first-down passes from Cruz to jr. WR William Fuller and sr. RB/LB Marcus Kelly respectively, a wealth of yellow-flags halted the Cahillite drive. With Roman driving in the red zone, the La Salle defense took a stand. On second down, sr. DL Dan Wasylenko took down Cruz on a textbook tackle: Cruz broke from the pocket and Waz, following from behind, wrapped his arms around Cruz in a bear-hug, bringing him down. After a penalty on Roman, Cruz was sacked on third-down, leaving the Cahillites with a hopeless fourth-and-long. K Boomer Steigelman lined up to take a shot at a field goal, but lo-and-behold, the overflow crowd witnessed its first of many missed field goals in this CL title game.
The La Salle defensive line continued its reign of ridiculousness (that’s how I’m describing their performance now) after an Explorer punt. On a 3rd and 9 late in the half, a sack of Cruz led to the ball coming loose for another fumble, again recovered by La Salle. The ensuing possession led to another missed FG though, this time the culprit being Ryan Winslow. As Ted Silary noted in his report of the game, Winslow did average 48 yards on 4 punts, really exonerating him from any FG troubles. Winslow and Steigelman did combine though for 4 missed FGs/PATs. Again, both kickers are not totally responsible as certain kicks were blocked.
La Salle next scored with 8:12 left in the 3Q. Coleman caught his second TD pass, while the PAT was missed—giving La Salle a 13-0 advantage. Roman responded with their only TD on the next possession, a 9-yard pass from Cruz to Fuller. Phillip Isaac’s PAT was blocked by La Salle sr. LB John Palermo. My favorite part of the game, Herron’s INT, ended Roman’s game-tying drive, thus leading to La Salle’s final points. Winslow capped the game with 3:32 remaining in the 4Q with a FG. A final fumble recovery by La Salle brought the hubcap out.
Each playoff game to follow will be its own little championship; each game is win or lose. The Explorer football team will now face the winner of the George Washington-Frankford game as they continue through the postseason. Congratulations to the squad on accomplishing the first of their goals! HAIL LA SALLE!

NOV. 4

CATHOLIC AAAA SEMIFINAL

La Salle 26, Judge 16

It was one of those games where you knew history was being made. The only other time that I had this gut feeling in my stomach (Man, there’s something special happening right now) was on February 12th, 2005 -- the 76ers played a home game against the Orlando Magic where Allen Iverson scored 60 points. I remember almost everything about that game (I had strawberry ice cream during halftime) -- and as Iverson scored point after point, I just knew that history was happening. Sometime during the 4th quarter last night, I turned to a member of the La Salle pep band and said, “Dude, I think Tim Wade has like 250 rushing yards right now!” I could not believe my eyes as Wade’s numbers just went up and up. The official stats vary but the effect still remains: on 39 carries, La Salle sr. RB Tim Wade ran for 298 or 300 yards. Wade crushed the La Salle single-game record set by Jamal Abdur-Rahman last year (243). With the added yardage of srs. QB Matt Magarity (9-59), RB/LB John Palermo (5-53), and RB Colin O’Hara (5-35), and others—the La Salle rushing total for the night was about 470 yards. Wade’s breakout moment was looming as he has consistently produced all season; he has run for over 100 yards in 6 games this year, as well as breaking the 200 mark in one game and the 300 (possibly?!) mark last night. After being named 1st-Team All-Catholic, Wade only added icing to the cake with his performance. Now, let’s travel back to the game—a rather cold one, shall I say—over at Northeast High. With some reports, I prefer a generic overlook of the game—who did well, who didn’t, big moments…For playoff games (and especially this one), I like to go almost play-by-play in my recap. I hope to keep it exciting and pertinent.

A game that will be ultimately defined by “rushing yardage” began with a pretty scary running play. On 2nd and 3 from Judge’s own 28 yard line, Crusader sr. RB/DB Raul Quinones scampered 72 yards for a TD. Thus with only 51 seconds having elapsed in the first quarter, the Explorers were already down 6-0 (PAT failed).

Here’s where football games get interesting—La Salle sets up their offense from their own 36…on the first play from scrimmage, Wade runs 39 yards. At this point, the Judge and La Salle fans both agreed on one thing: this is going to be a game. La Salle’s drive only produced a 22 yard FG though from jr. Ryan Winslow—and La Salle still trailed 6-3 with 9:03 remaining in the quarter.

The Explorers took the game over the rest of the way—on Judge’s next possession, jr. QB Rob Daniels set up shop at the Judge 40 on a long 3rd and 20. La Salle jr. WR/DB/maestro Sean Coleman intercepted Daniels at the La Salle 35, bringing the ball 28 yards to the Judge 37. After a five-play drive that consisted of (Wade run, Wade run—first down, Palermo run, Wade run—first down), the Explorers commenced with a Wade 2 yard plunge for a score. The first quarter ended 10-6 in favor of the Blue and Gold. At this point, I had Wade’s numbers at 8 rushes for 78 yards.

Judge punted at the end of the first-quarter to give the Explorers 1st and 10 at the La Salle 4. This drive ate up most of the second quarter and sadly resulted in a turnover-on-downs at the Judge 24 yard-line. While this elongated La Salle possession might seem inconsequential in the eyes of a random fan, it contributed greatly to La Salle’s rushing total. On 13 plays, La Salle ran 9 times—shifting between Wade, Magarity, and Palermo. Apparently, fellow sr. RB Jarred Herrmann was out-of-action for most of the game with an injury, further increasing the production of Wade/Magarity/Palermo. Magarity especially deserves kudos here for channeling his inner Kevin Forster and transitioning into a running-QB. The pocket passer of last year is no more and Matt Magarity has opened up a second-dimension to his game. During the year, I love to say “this will be important when it comes playoff time”…well it has—great job Matt.

La Salle’s next drive began at their own 2 yard line (Judge’s sr. P Dave Faraldo stuck La Salle at their own 4, and 2 on consecutive punts). A 43 yard catch by Palermo to begin the drive culminated with a 22 yard TD pass to sr. TE Colin Buckley. With 1:41 left in the first-half, La Salle was up 17-6. This drive made up some of the only passing gains of the La Salle offense. Magarity threw for 73 yards, one of his lowest outputs of the year (second only to the Bergen Catholic game). What La Salle lacked in the passing game, they made up for by running like track stars—as highlighted above.

Judge soph. K Connor Foley booted a 20 yard FG before the half to give an intermission score of 17-9 La Salle. Wade had now rushed 10 more times in the first-half, giving him a total of 10-145 so far.

La Salle lit up the field to begin the second half. On 2nd down from La Salle’s 28, Wade rushed 41 yards to the Judge 31. On the ensuing 1st down, Palermo ran 31 yards for a TD. Winslow’s kick was blocked, but La Salle still held a demanding 23-9 lead with 10 minutes remaining in the 3rd quarter. To their credit, the Judge defense did prevent what appeared to be another La Salle scoring drive by recovering a Palermo fumble deep in their own territory. The Crusaders’ O could not capitalize though, and Judge punted. La Salle put together another time-consuming drive, resulting in a Winslow FG—leaving us now at 26-9 Explorers. Daniels’s 7 yard TD pass to jr. TE Albi Arapaj gave the final score: 26-16.

On the defensive side, La Salle struggled with many missed tackles but came up big when they were needed most. The holding of Judge to a 3-and-out after Palermo’s fumble was crucial to stopping momentum, as was Coleman’s interception earlier in the game. The leaders of the defense in stops were Palermo, sr. OL/DL Matt Maginnis, and jr. OL/DL Tom Spiteri. Sr. OL/DL Connor Kerrigan, in complement to his already important role as the center on the O-line, also helped with a few stops on D. The Judge defense was led by sr. DB Connor Donohoe, sr. LB Matt Myers, and sr. LB Chalie Stone.

NOTES

Prayers go out to La Salle jr. DL Andrew Carlone, whose father passed away this week.

This week was “Judge Week” at La Salle. The Explorers faced the Crusaders in three separate sports this week. The Explorers’ soccer team triumphed 2-1 (OT) over the Crusaders in the Catholic League championship on Wednesday. The soccer team also beat George Washington 3-0 on Thursday for the District XII Championship. In addition, the varsity hockey and football teams also had wins over Judge, giving La Salle a definite victory in Judge Week 2011.

Either myself and the four other kids in the bathroom were very dumb…or Northeast High has no lights in their stadium restrooms.

The Coaches’ All Catholics for La Salle are as follows:

1st Team Offense:

OL—sr. Dan Wasylenko

TE—sr. Colin Buckley

WR—jr. Sean Coleman

RB—sr. Tim Wade

1st Team Defense:

DL—sr. Tyler Kern

LB—sr. Sean Burke

DB—jr. Dad Poquie

2nd Team Offense:

C—sr. Connor Kerrigan

OL—sr. Matt Maginnis

OL—jr. Tom Spiteri

K—jr. Ryan Winslow

2nd Team Defense:

DL—jr. Tom Spiteri

LB—sr. Mike Piscopo

OCT. 21
CATHOLIC AAAA
La Salle 21, Ryan 7

Well, 6ABC didn’t think Friday’s contest between La Salle and Archbishop Ryan would be much of a game, and they were right. The news station is currently running the Prep-La Salle rivalry game next Friday as their “Game of the Week.” News cameras were at schools on Thursday to film a short “spirit video;” voting for which video is better will take place throughout the week. Even with the La Salle and SJP both having games this week, 6ABC still promoted their annual matchup a week early. I guess Jim Gardner is psychic and could foresee a La Salle 41-7 pounding against the Raiders of Archbishop Ryan. Curious note about Ryan’s location: apparently my dad’s grandfather had a farm at the present location of Archbishop Ryan, back in the early 1900s…well enough of my rambling—on to the game!

While the QB is always front and center, senior Matt Magarity really stood out for me as a playmaker in Friday’s game. Not only did he throw three TD passes, Magarity also ran for a boatload of rushing yards. He constantly took advantage of holes in the Ryan defense to save a broken play. At one instance in the 2nd quarter on a 3rd and 8, Magarity sprinted for a nice 1st down. His drive-saving play produced a 9yrd. TD catch by senior Colin Buckley at the end of the drive. On 1 on 1 coverage, Buckley caught a beautiful fade pass from Magarity to score for the Explorers. C-Buck was able to get away from the defender, find room, and catch Magarity’s ball. After a Ryan punt, Magarity produced the magic again, this time with fellow senior Mike Piscopo. Piscopo didn’t even have to do any work (smile) as his route left him all alone in the left corner of the end zone, almost exactly where Buckley caught his ball, as Piscopo reeled one in from 7yrds. out.

The Ryan offense could not get anything going offensively until a garbage-time TD in the fourth quarter. Meanwhile, junior QB Chris Kane took over for La Salle in the second-half—Kane played well throughout, even catching a TD pass from Magarity early in the 2nd quarter. La Salle received late TD runs of 5 and 58!! yards by seniors John Palermo and Colin O’Hara respectively. Kudos goes out to senior Jared Herrmann, who rushed for 102yrds. in the game. Herrmann stepped up well but left the question in the air: where was Tim Wade? I do not know if Wade was injured or had something else that limited his playing. I arrived a little late in the first-quarter (blame the mother…I am throwing her under the bus), but Herrmann was the Explorers’ primary rusher, besides Magarity’s aforementioned sprints.

Prep Week is here..’nuff said. Mr. Bill Wasylenko, La Salle football’s resident historian (and biggest fan), once shared with me a story about a particular teacher at La Salle, beloved by his students, who later taught at the Prep, and was beloved there. When Mr. Wasylenko attended the funeral of a notable Prepper, the teacher was there. I guess it is funny how two rival schools could both be so touched by the same person. But for next week at least, St. Joe’s Prep is Enemy #1. Sorry, Jim Engler (Jim by the way, the best episode of Curb this season was “The Social Assassin”). Peace La Salle, I cannot wait for next week.

OCT. 7
NON-LEAGUE
La Salle 39, Neumann-Goretti 7
My grade school football coach used to always say, “Guys, each day you get better or worse as a team, but you never stay the same.” For the La Salle Explorers, games like last night’s against Neumann-Goretti and last week’s against Roman Catholic give rise to the question: have the Explorers been improving this season? A down-to-the-wire contest against Roman Catholic last week shed light on the Explorers’ late-game heroics, as well as their ability to close out a win—but can a good La Salle team escape Roman again in the playoffs? Against Neumann-Goretti, a team that the Explorers beat 63-0 last year, La Salle utterly dominated—winning this year’s contest 39-7, but does a victory over a shaky squad really matter? While two wins equal two wins, the expectation that La Salle improved and will be ready for postseason play is on everyone’s minds, coaches included. Have the Explorers really improved this season? I believe so.

When I walked into Plymouth-Whitemarsh last night, the score was 6-0 Explorers with a little over two minutes remaining in the first quarter. To be honest—I was surprised. This is Neumann-Goretti, why are we not destroying? To place an expectation like this on La Salle is quite unfair, but subconsciously that was what my mind was screaming. Ultimately, sr. WR Colin Buckley’s 1Q touchdown pass was cushioned by 2 TD runs by sr. RB Tim Wade, a 27yd. TD catch by jr. WR/DB Sean Coleman in the second quarter, as well as a 43yd. run by fr. QB Jimmy Herron with a couple minutes left in the game. The La Salle defense only coughed up a TD on N-G sr. RB Antwoine Powers’ 1yd. plunge, leaving the final 39-7.

The first way to judge the “improvement” of the La Salle football squad is through the performance of its players. Wade’s rushing totals in the Explorers’ last three games were 130, 160, and 150 yards with 5 TDs in those games. Against N-G, Wade scored two more TDs of 29 and 1 yds. Finally in the starting role, Wade is definitely having a breakout season and his numbers stay high every week. In addition, against Neumann, fr. RB Jordan Meachum again saw time for the Explorers. Meachum previously had 3 carries against Monsignor Bonner. As a freshman, this kid looks very stellar and I would expect to hear his name a lot in his sophomore season. Meachum’s freshman teammate Jimmy Herron is also receiving good varsity time with the Explorers and has been producing. Herron can run with the ball as well as play QB. In his previous appearances it seemed that the Explorers were using him more at the QB position, but he did run with the ball last night, as evidenced by his 43yd. scramble on a broken play.

With due respect, the Explorers’ passing game has dipped a bit in recent weeks. From a three week span out to the West game, sr. QB Matt Magarity’s passing yards have dipped from 160 to 116, back up to 128 against Roman. Last night Magarity did not throw as much, usually relying on Wade’s running, but did complete two beautiful TDs to Buckley and Coleman. Coleman is an athletic player, but in a surprising fact—he only has 2 TDs on the season. To his credit, he is trustworthy source on third-downs and a go-to player for Magarity. My worry for the Explorers lies in their ability to balance Wade’s already-proven running ability with an effective passing game. Colin Buckley has shown reliable production each week, catching one TD a game since his North Penn explosion (excluding the Bergen Catholic loss). Against further challenging opponents, the spotlight will consistently fall on Buckley and Coleman to shine.

In whatever medium I can do so, I will promote the cause of jr. K/P Ryan Winslow. Winslow can kick that ball! First, his 26yd. FG last week provided the difference in a nail-biting win over Roman. I think last Sunday against the 49ers, the Eagles might have preferred Ryan’s leg to the shakiness of Alex Henery. Throughout this season Winslow has been a stable force for the Explorers, almost always good on PATs and even reliable on FGs, as we have seen. Ted Silary posted an old article this week about Ryan’s dad George, who punted for La Salle and later played in the NFL. Ryan Winslow has had to live in the shadow of his dad and that of Mike Bennett, the former star kicker for La Salle. In my mind at least, he is forming his own role. Kudos to Winslow!

This year the influence of La Salle’s defense is at an all-time high. The way La Salle defends themselves against the big play is ever-more important, but it seems that the Explorers have become increasingly susceptible to it. Especially against Neumann, the Explorers found themselves in a hole when the Saints would complete big plays deep into La Salle territory. The unit, to their credit, each time (excepting the lone TD by Powers) was able to cause a couple turnover-on-downs by N-G. The conundrum on the defensive side is the secondary, which seems to be making a major difference in games, while at the same time falling victim to the big play. Allow me to explain: La Salle is last in the Catholic League in Passing Yards Allowed, giving up 171.2 yds. a game as of yet. While this statistic might seem a bit troubling, the secondary has actually been playing very well recently, recording three INTs in the Bonner game as well as three in the Roman game, including jr. Dad Poquie’s game-saving one at the end. Against N-G, Coleman intercepted Saints sr. QB Shane Thomas early in the 2Q, leading eventually to his TD in the game. The only conclusion is that the Explorers, playing with a ton of heart and grit (evidenced by their large rate of interceptions), still fall victim to the big play—which is the cause of their huge amount of passing yards allowed. As explained before, the Explorers are able to fix the problem by holding teams in the red zone, which is beneficial to a victory.

The La Salle Explorers are by no means a perfect team. I have highlighted some flawed parts of their game, but I have done so in an attempt to shed light on their advantages. The Explorers’ defense, while susceptible to the big play, still leaves everything they can on the field. The passing game, almost seeming to dip in production, still provides those magical moments—like when Magarity found Sean Coleman for a 27yd. score in the early minutes of the 2Q against Neumann. The running game, still in mourning over the departed Jamal Abdur-Rahman, has found a new beneficiary in the able Tim Wade. Head coach Drew Gordon’s squad has plenty of a season to go, and I hope my analysis from the early part of this season has dispelled rumors that La Salle cannot fight for a championship. I guess I can say that the Explorers have improved, albeit in a sometimes-strange way. Each game they give everything they can and it shows. The Roman game was tough to the very end, but a “W” was recorded. The tenacity of these players will continue to give all of us fans a wild ride to the end. It is my belief that this team will fight to be there…no matter what.

SEPT. 16
NON-LEAGUE
La Salle 24, West Catholic 0
It seems that each time La Salle and West Catholic face each other in football the story remains the same. West plays a great defensive game; La Salle ultimately breaks through; West’s offense cannot reciprocate. After a scoreless first quarter, the Explorers broke through to take a 24-0 victory over their Christian Brother foes. TDs were scored in order for La Salle on: a 9yd. pass from senior QB Matt Magarity to senior WR Colin Buckley, a 24yd. catch and run by junior WR/DB Sean Coleman from Magarity, a 14yd. run by senior RB Tim Wade, and a 21yd. FG by junior K/P/WR Ryan Winslow. The Homecoming game for the Explorers was a curious one, halted by 22 penalties—including 5 yellow flags in a row during a La Salle possession in the 1Q—but good enough for the Explorers to notch a “W” in this non-league contest.

The 1Q produced an offensive lull for both teams. Penalties galore along with a combined defensive standstill led to an (almost) boring game for the La Salle alumni/students out to see Homecoming. (On an unrelated note, the girl attendance at the game was surprisingly high, given that the St. Joe Prep Mixer was the same night. Once again, La Salle triumphs over the Prep.) A brilliant INT of Burr senior QB Jaleel Reed by La Salle senior DB Ryan Otis led to the ensuing Buckley TD. Reed put forth his best effort but could not get anything going for the Burrs offensively. The pass game fell flat, and running plays to junior RB Dave Williams did not make a dent in La Salle’s defense. The majority of the Burrs’ first-downs came from penalties on the La Salle defense.—with only two noted 1Ds on my sheet coming from an actual Burr gain—a Reed scramble and a Williams run. Fellow website writer Huck said it best, “…did I miss that the West Catholic offense is still on strike?” I do have a soft spot for West Catholic; they have a low enrollment and still play with the big boys each year. I will be sure to root for the Burrs in a repeat of AA State glory, but tonight, they had a tough road to hoe offensively.

The Burrs’ defense (with an assist by two unsportsmanlike conduct calls on the Explorers) held La Salle in check for the opening period. West could not hold on though, giving up 24pts to the victor. Important contributions on defense were made by senior T-J Waters, who recorded a good number of stops for the Burrs.

Besides a gratuitous amount of penalties (sure to leave defensive coordinator John Steinmetz annoyed), the La Salle defense played a pretty solid game. In light of the yellow flags, La Salle still held West Catholic to a scoreless game (according to Huck the first time the Burrs were shut out since 2004), which is a weighty accomplishment. In addition, they limited WC’s offense in every direction, shutting down the passing game and making the run game obsolete. In a way, the La Salle defense on Friday night was a revival of that fearsome Bergen Catholic defense seen last week. Numerous stops were made by Coleman, junior DB Chris Rocco, and senior LB Sean Burke.

On the offensive side, numerous La Salle players deserve kudos. First, the La Salle offensive line (widely doubted and disputed in the media) held their own tonight against a gritty Burr defense. Individual standouts begin with senior TE/SS (and baseball commit to Northeastern) Mike Piscopo, who played a standout game at TE, catching 2 catches for 1Ds and notching a sack on defense. Coleman also played a terrific game, catching numerous passes for 1Ds, including a TD, and making plenty of stops on D. Junior back-up QB Chris Kane received some play tonight in a different role—RB/WR. Kane made a few runs as well as making a 1D catch. Finally, DN Inker senior RB Tim Wade played a game very typical of his year so far. He grinded out some tough runs, and made the most of them—scoring a fantastic TD from 14yds out in the 2Q.

NOTES

During halftime, the 1989 Catholic League champion La Salle Explorers were honored on the field. Among the honorees was head coach Joe Colistra (father of current La Salle assistant coach Paul “Coach Paco” Colistra), notorious not only for his four CL titles, or his record of most wins as a La Salle football coach, but also for providing homework to this writer to sandwich his game report between.

A consistent contributor to the Explorers on both offense and defense has been senior John Palermo. He takes some of the RB slack from Wade on occasion and does supply important tackles on the defensive side.

THE University of Notre Dame finally picked up a win on Saturday against Michigan State. It helps to take away the growing agony of last year’s ending to the ND-Mich. St. game. Even mentioning that game…still brings back bad memories.

SEPT. 10
NON-LEAGUE
Bergen Catholic (NJ) 41, La Salle 17
In the 2nd year of what appears to be a burgeoning annual rivalry game between the Bergen Catholic (NJ) Crusaders and the La Salle Explorers, BC again handed the Explorers an early-season loss, this time in a more obliterating fashion: 41-17. La Salle never had an edge and truly was beaten by the Crusaders in all facets of the game. While a demoralizing loss for the legion of La Salle faithful that attended yesterday’s unusually hot game at Plymouth-Whitemarsh Stadium, this loss will just have to be a motivating factor heading into Homecoming next weekend, and league play soon thereafter. The defining play for the Crusaders in the first-half occurred with 1:05 remaining in the first quarter. Bergen held a 13-0 lead over the Explorers and was kicking off. BC caught La Salle (and their fans for that matter) way off guard and perfectly executed an onside kick. Their ensuing possession went into the second quarter and resulted in a 20-0 lead for Bergen on a 13yd TD pass from junior QB Jon Germano to senior WR/DB Charles Wingate. Wingate had already intercepted a pass from La Salle senior QB Matt Magarity to lead into BC’s first touchdown. At this point La Salle’s possessions went INT, punt, punt. The Explorers finally turned the tide on a god possession taking up close to half of the 2Q. From their own 41yd line, the offense completed a string of successful plays, including a brilliant 8-yd dump by Magarity to senior RB Tim Wade on a 2nd and 10 in the red zone. The drive ended with a 3yd plunge by Wade for an Explorer TD—with the resulting PAT clocked by BC junior DB Kyle Quiero, the score went to 20-6.
While Bergen is obviously full of talent and athleticism (their running game is second to none), some blame for La Salle’s loss has to go to missed opportunities. After Wade’s TD, the La Salle defense recorded a terrific stand; senior LB John Palermo and junior DL Andrew Eidenshink both notched sacks on the drive, and a nice 25-yd punt return by Kevin Forster’s protégé, junior Sean Coleman, put the Explorers in good shape to make a comeback. Here we encounter the missed opportunity: From inside the Bergen 10, La Salle was shut down four times. They had to settle for a 32-yd. FG by junior K/WR Ryan Winslow. The score was now 20-9 Bergen with 1:46 remaining in the half; La Salle had squandered one scoring chance, but still had a hold on the Crusaders. Well, then Bergen simply sealed the game and put all La Salle supporters into a 2nd-half depression. Thanks to a no-huddle offense and three outstanding pass completions from Germano to junior WR/DB John Tsimis (one a 4yd TD), BC put seven more points on the board in 52 seconds. La Salle punted 4 times on 5 possessions in the 2nd-half, only recording 8 more points from a 1yd TD run by junior RB Jared Herrmann, along with a 2pt conversion pass from junior QB Chris Kane to Herrmann. BC meanwhile reached the end zone two more times.
The Bergen machine was made up of the superb QB tandem (though they were not the only two players who took snaps for BC during the game) of juniors Jon Germano and Anthony LoVecchio. Germano played a nice passing game for the Crusaders while LoVecchio made more keepers and runs from the pocket. Truly, it seemed that the Crusaders tossed the ball to anyone with arms, catches being recorded by Tsimis (2 TDs), Wingate (1 TD and INT), junior Justin Kulcsar (87yd TD catch), junior RB James Dawson (TD run), sophomore TE Garrett Dickerson, senior WR Ryan Finkel, and senior RB/DB Mike Gerst. Dawson and Gerst contributed to a powerful BC running game that was complemented by keepers from LoVecchio and occasionally Germano.
La Salle’s offense had a rough game. Magarity did his best in the pocket, recovering from an early INT and making nice plays like the dump pass I recorded earlier (important because Magarity had plenty of Crusaders rushing his blind side, noticed them, and was able to deliver the ball to Wade for a good gain), but sometimes did force bad throws. The O-line had a tough time containing the Bergen rush, and the La Salle passing game suffered as a result. Senior WR Colin Buckley had a few nice catches as the game wound down, but was unable to be a main force early in the game. Coleman also made some nifty grabs, including a spectacular play where he snatched the ball, narrowly avoiding a Bergen defender, and proceeded for a first-down, but also saw his production limited. The offense had to settle for runs from Wade, who grinded and battled in the trenches, being an enormous help in the drive leading to the Explorers’ first TD, ultimately scoring it himself. Wade also appeared frustrated though with a lot of broken runs at the line of scrimmage.
Bergen Catholic’s defense, as noted throughout the game, played tremendously against La Salle. Standouts were senior OL/DL Anthony Davanza (notable for sealing BC’s win over La Salle last year with his end-of-the-game fumble recovery), and the LBs: juniors Dan Grasso and Parker Tobia, as well as senior Scott Santiago. The Crusaders’ D-line never allowed Magarity a rest, providing constant pressure. Senior DL Ty Charles, along with Santiago, both hassled Magarity in the 1Q, with both Crusaders recording sacks as well as being a constant presence in the backfield. The linebacking corps was crucial on tackles, as noted above, while the secondary also deserves props for their coverage of Buckley, Coleman, and senior wideout Mike Piscopo. It is hard to compliment a defense that provided endless angst for us La Salle faithful, but these guys deserve it.
La Salle’s defense, while struggling immensely in the 1st-half, did step up their game in the 2nd-half. I noted stops throughout the game from Andrew Eidenshink (three sacks—wow), Palermo (one sack), junior OL/DL Andrew Carlone (one sack), senior LB Sean Burke (fumble recovery), senior OL/DL Connor Kerrigan, junior DL Jon Naji, as well as special-teams maestro, junior Dad Poquie.
NOTES
La Salle brought a nice student section to the game, proving that us Explorer faithful do not just come to just the North Penn/Prep games.
While this is probably common news to any Philadelphian, I was utterly fascinated the other day to learn that the Nazareth Academy mascot is the panda. While names in the Catholic League like West Catholic’s Burrs and even the Explorers themselves sound non-threatening, I think that “pandas” wins that war. I consulted with my cousin, a Naz grad, who said that “pandas are fierce.” Well, this is how I spend my weekends, besides attending La Salle football games.
Apparently there were some technical malfunctions that prevented La Salle junior Griffin Ripley from singing the National Anthem. Kudos to Ripley for being a trooper even in the immense heat while wearing a suit and tie.
Notre Dame once again lost yesterday, leaving me with losses from both my Blue-and-Gold teams.
I do not particularly like to dwell on a tragedy, but all condolences and prayers go out to anyone affected by the 9/11 attacks that occurred 10 years ago. We still have not forgotten and I doubt we ever will.

SEPT. 1
THREE DAYS AND COUNTING, FOLKS
            The La Salle football team, after making waves this offseason, will begin its run for glory this Saturday at 6 p.m. at Plymouth-Whitemarsh, the Explorers’ de-facto home. Among their many summer achievements, the Explorers won the Battle of the Hogs (a type of weightlifting competition) at Lansdale Catholic. But now the offseason is over and the North Penn Knights are upon us. After taking apart North Penn at their home last Labor Day weekend, and following it up in the state semifinal with Victory No. 2, La Salle once again faces their suburban rival. The La Salle-North Penn match-up is on everyone’s minds, and this column will provide some insight as well as a comprehensive preview of your 2011 La Salle Explorer football team.
            Before moving on to business, I will address this curious matter of the Archdiocesan teacher strike. On Tuesday, teachers from all Archdiocesan schools (a hefty portion of the Catholic League) will vote on whether or not to strike. The overriding opinion is that the teachers will strike, which will cause numerous waves across all fall sports in the Catholic League. If a strike does occur, it most likely will not affect La Salle football as their first two games are non-leaguers against North Penn and Bergen Catholic (NJ). In the event that a strike lasts longer than the next two weeks, La Salle might be out of action against West Catholic. While I bring up the strike as a cautionary problem in the distance, it will most likely hurt sports like soccer and cross-country more than football, which still has non-league games to go before Catholic League play.
            Now on to the good stuff! I’ll first examine La Salle’s scorers, our QB, WRs, and RBs: The spotlight at this point falls on senior QB Matt Magarity. Magarity was at times overshadowed last year due to the play of the now-departed Kevin Forster when Matt was injured. There is no doubt though that head coach Drew Gordon trusts Magarity, because even through his major injuries, Gordon still had Magarity as his starter from the Catholic League Championship on to the state title game. As a senior, Magarity has the respect of the team and the confidence of his coach, which will be extremely valuable as this year progresses. As a junior last year, Magarity had a very successful opening game, outdueling fellow junior, North Penn’s QB Corey Ernst, while going 13-22 for 206 yards and 3 TDs. Magarity also kept his own in a roughshod state semifinal game, reminiscent of a down-to-the-wire Catholic League basketball match at the Palestra. Magarity went 10-19 for 180 yards and 2 TDs. He obviously knows how to play against North Penn, especially important with the absence of RB Jamal Abdur-Rahman, who no longer provides an instant scoring threat. North Penn’s defensive backs will be more focused on securing La Salle’s senior receivers, Mike Piscopo and Colin Buckley, as well as junior star (and our favorite North Penn killer) Sean Coleman. In addition, expect to see much more play from junior QB Chris Kane. Kane will be the heir apparent to the QB role and Gordon should be seen grooming him for the role this year in lopsided games.
            As said, La Salle’s receivers will have to be on their A-game this Saturday. Last year, Coleman lit up the Knights in the season opener with 4 catches for 97 yards and 2 TDs. It will be senior RBs Tim Wade and John Palermo’s jobs to make breathing room for these receivers who surely will be pouncing all game. Coleman, Buckley, and Piscopo should be running the gun each down in an attempt to destroy the Knights with a big play. This third battle should be extremely interesting to watch as each squad has adequately learned from their mistakes. When La Salle faced trouble in their running game last September against North Penn, they changed the game-plan to allow A-R to rush for 142 yards on 21 carries in the state semifinal, after only going 9-18 over Labor Day weekend.
            On the running game, La Salle faces a slight advantage this year as North Penn lost its strong runners, seniors Craig Needhammer and Dom Taggart to graduation. Still though, North Penn retains a strong defensive set that will be threatening to Wade and Palermo. Wade is a proven player, receiving snaps since his sophomore year when the Explorers won the state title. Palermo received some snaps at RB in blowouts last year and should be seen much more in his senior season. The question will be what balance the Explorers’ offensive play-calling will have between the run and passing games.
            Next, the offensive/defensive line: unfortunately, La Salle is a bit depleted here, losing the reliable likes of Ted Marino, Dan Ezzo, and Ryan Geiger. In years past though, the Explorers have always had a strong line up front and the expectation is the same this year. Stepping up into a leadership role will be senior Matt Maginnis, who will most likely be complemented by Connor Kerrigan, a fellow senior who led La Salle to victory at this summer’s Battle of the Hogs. The linebacking corps will be headed by seniors Dillon Smith and Sean Burke. In the secondary, the absence of A-R and Forster will hurt, but hopefully can be recovered by the likes of Piscopo and fellow seniors Devin Merritt and Ryan Otis.
             On a related note: La Salle reputedly has a number of transfer players joining their ranks this year, including one from (ooohh) North Penn. As the games go by, we can judge their impact on this 2011 team and see how these transfers, who are already making noise in the La Salle community, can affect our shining jewel: the football team.
            Lastly, a point on La Salle’s schedule: I am unsure of how much control La Salle has over their schedule, but curiously enough—the 2011 schedule is identical to the 2010 one, with just home and aways switched. We will be at P-W five times, as well as at Northeast High (my absolute favorite place to watch high school football in the city) twice during the regular season. Another season is upon us, so as hundreds of La Salle students rush to finish their summer assignments (Oh yeah I should get on that), we all wait in anticipation for Saturday’s showdown. Hail La Salle!