Philadelphia Scholastic Football, 1997

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All-City

Public League

Quarterfinals
Frankford 42, Bartram 6
   In cold, wet conditions, Eddie Gaskins rushed 10 times for 203 yards and three touchdowns to become the leading career rusher in Philadelphia-area history. He finished the game with 5,453 yards, bettering the effort of 1997 Ocean City grad Kevin Sinclair (5,380). When Gaskins broke the record on a 69-yard, first-quarter TD, Frankford coach Tom Mullineaux, not normally moved by his players' personal accomplishments, ran to Frankford's press box and told PA announcer Gene DeLaurentis to inform the crowd. For Bartram, Paul Northern (16-111) ran 78 yards for a late TD.
Dobbins 9, Mastbaum 7
   Andre Davis began the scoring with a 26-yard field goal and ended it with a TD pass to Raymond Northan. Davis finished 11-for-15 for 100 yards. Lonzo Edwards preserved the win by intercepting a pass on the Dobbins 10 with 50 seconds remaining.
Northeast 15, Southern 2
   Steve Godfrey scored an early TD on a 3-yard run and later made a heads-up play as the punter when he kicked a bad snap through the end zone, preventing a TD recovery by Southern. Dante Poole added 127 yards on 22 carries and Mike Konrad ran 9 yards for a score. Southern, which in 1996 had terminated a 56-game losing streak, longest in city-leagues history, entered the game with an 8-0 record and a school-record seven consecutive shutouts (29 quarters total).
King 28, Germantown 8
   Andre "Smurf" Wilson (11-87, two TDs) and Christoper Dorman (10-57, TD) led the rushing attack. Germantown's score came on Rashad Razzaaq's 90-yard kickoff return.
Semifinals
Doubleheader at Northeast
Frankford 63, Dobbins 29
   In the highest-scoring game ever played involving a city-leagues team (or teams), Eddie Gaskins (19-261, four TDs) and Herbert "Pitter" Sample (17-119, three TDs) ran wild and Jim Nagle passed 5-for-8 for 115 yards and two scores. Frankford scored on its first nine possessions. Bill Sheerin set a city-leagues postseason record with seven PAT. For Dobbins, Andre Davis passed 13-for-23 for a city-leagues postseason-record 306 yards and four TDs -- two apiece to Rondell Clement (5-165) and Danny Johnson (4-134). In the waning moments, Dobbins's Khary Dennison returned a fumble 61 yards for what appeared to be yet another TD, but a clipping penalty was called. The teams combined for 903 yards total offense and 178 on returns (1,081 total).
Northeast 42, King 0
   Dante Poole rushed 18 times for 138 yards and two TDs as the Vikings advanced to the final for the first time since 1983. Nate Brooks added 69 yards and two TDs on 15 carries and Steve Godfrey, who should have been serving as head usher at his sister's wedding, passed 6-for-8 for 134 yards and a score to Ray Hines (3-60). King was held to 111 yards total offense.
Final
At Northeast
Frankford 31, Northeast 21
    Capping the most productive career, by far, for a running back in city-leagues history, 5-10, 205-pound halfback Eddie Gaskins rushed 26 times for 206 yards and a game-record three touchdowns. Gaskins finished the season with 200 carries for 1,940 yards and a record-tying 29 TDs. He tied the record for overall TDs (31) and broke the record for points (195). In his career, Gaskins rushed 675 times for city-leagues marks in yards (6,122) and TDs (84) while also claiming marks for total TDs (87) and points (536). Nevertheless, Frankford's rushing leader was 145-pound fullback Herbert "Pitter" Sample, who produced a game-record 250 yards and two TDs on 24 carries. When Sample ran 19 yards for a late TD, the Pioneers broke their own city-leagues record for points in a season. They scored 457, averaging 38.1. They'd scored 454 in '87. Also setting a game record was Northeast's Dante Poole, who ran 93 yards from
scrimmage -- longest run in PL postseason history -- for an early score. Poole finished with 16 carries for 178 yards. In Gaskins' four seasons, Frankford roared to a 43-4 overall record.

Standings

Coaches' All-Public

Champs' Thumbnail Sketch

Frankford
Coach
Tom Mullineaux
Record
4-1-0, 11-1-0
All-Stars
Terrrance "Ted" Cook, L
Eddie Gaskins, RB
Herb "Pitter" Sample, RB
Michael Statham, DL
Danny Owens, LB
Rasheed Muhammed, DB

Catholic League

Quarterfinals
Judge 47, La Salle 14
    Jim Casey ran for 222 yards and three TDs on 29 carries to pace
an explosion that netted 444 yards total offense and brought an emphatic
halt to La Salle's 32-game winning streak, longest in city-leagues
history. Ed Guzak (19-114) and QB Joe Tyer (11-87, four TDs) aided the
cause. La Salle's Brett Gordon passed 13-for-28 for 199 yards and two
TDs, but was intercepted three times.
Ryan 19, North 14
    Joe Corsanico passed 12-for-24 for 137 yards and one score
apiece to Tom DeCree and Bob Lynch and the winning TD was scored by Joe
O'Connell (22-95) on a 1-yard run. North's Brian Kulb passed 16-for-30
for 167 yards and scored on a sneak.
Carroll 28, O'Hara 14
    Ed Stefanski rushed 25 times for 155 yards and two TDs as
Carroll rolled to the first 28 points. Freshman Kevin Jones scored twice
for O'Hara, first on a 60-yard pass and then on a 4-yard run. He rushed
10 times for 80 yards.
SJ Prep 33, Bonner 0
    Soph Milton Johnson generated 99 yards and two TDs on 13
carries. Aaron Brown (19-110, TD) also rushed well while Steve Comly ran
for one score and passed for another.
At Plymouth-Whitemarsh
Semifinals
SJ Prep 27, Judge 6
    Victor Hobson returned the opening kickoff 95 yards for a TD and
Steve Comly passed 8-for-15 for 153 yards and two scores to Jermaine
Slade (6-122) as the Hawklets earned a spot in the title game for the
first time since 1977. For Judge, Joe Tyer passed 6-for-16 for 99 yards
and a TD to Sean Hennigar.
At Northeast
Ryan 13, Carroll 0
    Jeff Moore (27-111) and Joe O'Connell (22-108) ran for one score
apiece in the first quarter, and then the Raiders relied on defense.
Keith Ulrich, Chris Lorenc and Jim Hughes had interceptions. Carroll's
Ed Stefanski rushed 15 times for 49 yards.
Finals
At Northeast
SJ Prep 14, Ryan 3
    Kevin Komelasky (nine tackles), Victor Hobson and Aaron Brown
(seven apiece) led the defense as the Hawklets limited Ryan to Mike
Gavaghan's 22-yard, first-quarter field goal and won their first
championship since 1977. Ryan's chances were damaged early in the second
quarter when leading rusher Jeff Moore suffered a broken ankle. The Prep
scored on Jermaine Slade's 6-yard pass from Steve Comly and Brown's
62-yard run. Brown ran eight times for 89 yards. Milton Johnson added
93 yards on 20 carries. Johnson and Ryan's Joe O'Connell (28-106) were
the first sophs in CL history to surpass 1,000 yards in a season. Their
totals: O'Connell (1,147), Johnson (1,032).

Standings

Coaches' All-Catholic

Champs' Thumbnail Sketch

SJ Prep
Coach
Gil Brooks
Record
7-0-0, 12-2-0
All-Stars
Nick Faiola, C
Frank Cacciola, L
Chris Minetti, L
Aaron Brown, RB
John Wagner, RB
Dan Gress, DL
Kevin Komelasky, DL
Sean Killeen, E/OLB
Victor Hobson, LB
Jermaine Slade, DB

Inter-Ac League

Standings

Coaches' All-Inter-Ac

Champs' Thumbnail Sketch

Malvern
Coach
Gamp Pellegrini
Record
4-0-0, 9-2-0
All-Stars
Eric Carroll, L
Clarence Green, L
Ryan Edginton, Rec.
Shaun Gallagher, QB
Chris Downs, RB
Jim Woodward, DL
Greg Oschell, DL
Dan Bonner, LB
John Dilworth, DB