NOV. 13
NON-LEAGUE
Southern 12, Mastbaum 6
  No sooner did the lights at Charlie Martin Memorial Stadium go on than they were turned off.  A big time play from sr. CB Lamar Williams ended a chance at potential overtime or defeat and vaulted the Rams towards a chance to post their most successful season since '97 produced eight wins; they have six now with Thanksgiving vs. Neumann-Goretti remaining. Things weren’t looking positive for the Rams in the early going as the Panthers, behind the running of jr. RB Juwan Morrison and blocking of sr. OL Khalif Workman, jr. Roscoe Ezell and soph. Davidson Okrafo-Smart pieced together a 14-play drive until the Southern defense clamped down.  A holding penalty preceded a sack from sr. DT Tyree Parks (nine-yard loss) and Parks, along with jr. LB Izeem Sims, posted another loss of three yards to end the promising scoring chance.  Going with the strong gusty winds, sr. QB Shaquille Gaskins fired an 18-yard strike to Williams but, the remainder of the drive seemed to go south until a muffed Panther punt, recovered by frosh. LB Terrell Wilkinson, put the offense back on the field.  Despite great field position, Southern only went backwards with three penalties for 25 yards forcing a punt. Much like their first, Mastbaum’s second drive was met with individual efforts from sr. NG Richard White and sr. DL Dorrell Wise that left the Panthers with a net loss of nine yards.  The Panther defense countered on two occasions however, leading to the first touchdown of the game.  Jr. CB Jacob Lockley scooped up a mishandled exchange to end a two play Ram series.  Then, as the Rams attempted to convert a fourth-and-inches during their next possession, sr. LB Jeffrey Pugh held the runner as jr. LB Tyree Walker snatched the outstretched ball and skated 70 yards for a 6-0 Panther lead just before halftime.  Lockley came up big again to stall the opening third quarter Ram drive with an interception.  Deep in Ram territory though, the Panthers continued to step backward due to a costly holding penalty and six yards in losses.  This created a 10-yard net punt against the wind and a 12-yard dive, aided by the blocks of White and Wise, from sr. RB Sean Allen that made for an easy two-yard sneak from Gaskins to tie the game.  Mastbaum continued their reverse trend as sr. LB Andrew Auer sacked the Panther quarterback for a 14-yard loss, which gave Southern all the momentum they needed to take the lead.  Starting at the Panther 42, Gaskins scrambled to the 30 and converted fourth-and-inches on the next series.  Despite being dropped for a six-yard loss, he gained eight on the next play and then converted a fourth-and-eight with a 10- yard rollout touchdown lob to Allen for a 12-6 lead.  As Mastbaum tried to claw back on the right arm of jr. QB Tyree Stone Davis, they were again turned back by the Ram defense.  Wise chased down the scrambling Davis on fourth down of the next Panther drive and, perhaps the most stunning gem was executed in the waning seconds of the game.
  Payin the Bill’s Play of the Game: With 2:25 left to go and no timeouts, Mastbaum embarked on the potential equalizer. They passed their way down to the Ram 33 and with seconds remaining, Davis threw a near perfect spiral down the right sideline.  Stride for stride however, was # 33 sr. CB Lamar Williams, who reached up as the ball arrived and batted it to a waiting Gaskins for an interception.  Well done, young man—game over, bill’s paid.

Southern Defensive Statistics:

Mastbaum Tech Defensive Statistics:

NOV. 7
PUBLIC AAAA SEMIFINAL
Northeast 21, Frankford 9
  In a nutshell, two key Frankford turnovers, outstanding Northeast defense and sr. RB Tyleel Taylor.   The Pioneers led off with their usual brand of Wing-T running plays and managed a pair of first downs from sr. RB Zaire “Bam” Anderson, off a good jr. RT Brandon Russell block, and fourth down sneak by jr. QB Michael McGoarty just inside Viking territory.  From there though, jr. LB Treshawn Anderson followed the pulling guard on a second down play, dropping the runner for a two-yard loss, and the third down pass sailed incomplete.  With their first possession, Northeast found light behind the consistent push of sr. LT Mike Mazur and sr. LG Kevin Word.  Taylor sped past linebackers for consecutive runs of seven, 14 and 22 yards before the Pioneers began to clamp down.  On third-and-13, sr. QB Malik Stokes connected on jr. WR Rashaun Sligh’s shallow crossing route for 15 yards for the Vikings third first down of the drive.   During the next series, Pioneer soph. DB Savoy Martin snuffed out a well timed third down screen pass for a loss but, Stokes came right back a fired a strike to jr. WR Deion Barnes to extend the drive.  Inside the Pioneer 20 however, the 15-play, 8:15 drive ended when a fourth down toss to Barnes into the end zone was ruled out of bounds.  Does a player need to have one foot or two inbounds for a legal catch?  Anyway, the well-rested Northeast defense marched out and posted the game’s first three-and-out courtesy of Barnes’ two solo tackles and Taylor then returned the punt to the Frankford 38-yard line.  A little over a minute later, Taylor dove for 21 yards and sr. RB Eric Hines broke three tackles on an improvised slant for a 16-yard touchdown and 7-0 lead with the soph. Howard Lynn conversion kick.  Frankford sr. LG Will Allen then pounced on the curious Northeast “squib” kick at midfield where Anderson, sr. RB Ronnie Mack and sr. RB Tyrell Martin were off and running.  A combination staple running plays, mostly behind jr. RG Edwin Burgos, and a hurry up offense led to a McGoarty one-yard touchdown but, the conversion kick was blocked by soph. LB Michael Brown. Maintaining a one-point lead, Northeast went back to Taylor, who displayed excellent cut back ability, in runs of 16 and 11 yards.  At the Pioneer 48, sr. DE Shawn Johnson intercepted an intended shallow cross and the Pioneers used a 20-yard sr. RB Taron Mills run to take the a 9-7 lead with a 36-yard field goal by jr. Keone Berry as the second quarter clock expired.  As we all know, the Pioneer offense is designed to hold the lead.  Well, they never got that chance.  Let’s just say that the Vikings opened the third quarter with a nice scheme of attacking the linebackers which, allowed Taylor to skate to the Pioneer 26 in just two plays.  A sweet comeback screen from Stokes to sr. WR Eric Brundidge for nine yards set up a deceptive nine-yard bootleg by Stokes and the Vikings were up 14-9 with the Lynn kick.  The combination of linebacker run blitzes, disciplined outside pursuit and containment by Anderson, Barnes, jr. LB Gary Prince held the first Pioneer series to a one-yard net gain.  Perhaps lost in the excitement were the blocks of Kevin Word.  Time after time, he pulled from his left guard position to seal ANY outside pursuit and was key to Taylor’s 23 carries for 171 yards, 14 of which came on the first play of the Vikings next series.  Frankford forced a punt three plays later however but, all the momentum they may have gained was gone in the first crucial turnover.   As the punt rolled closer and closer to the Pioneer goal line someone needlessly touched the ball at five and, frosh. Shimeek Carter recovered.  From there, Stokes found Barnes in the back of the end zone and, just like that, 21-9 Vikings.
  Payin the Bill’s Play of the Game: With 2:13 left in the third quarter, Frankford embarked on their last gasp to keep the game close.  McGroarty bootlegged for 23 yards, and Anderson added 43 more on two carries.  Two plays later, Mack seemed destined for the end zone until sr. DB Rashaan Harmon jarred the ball loose to jr. DB Camille Max at the Viking 10-yard line.  Second crucial turnover, VIKINGS hold the lead—game over, bill’s paid.

Northeast Defensive Statistics:

 Frankford Defensive Statistics:

NOV. 6
INTER-AC LEAGUE
Penn Charter 37, Episcopal 20
  No division titles, playoffs or even spoiler.  Just two teams clawing for a single league win to take some solace out of an otherwise difficult season.  Give the Churchmen credit, this patchwork team made things interesting in the fourth quarter until the experience of the Quakers restored order.  On the game’s opening drive, Penn found the early lead and a playmaker of the near future in the person of jr. SB Joey Sankey.   This 5’6” spark plug ignited the offense with a third down catch from sr. QB John Loughery that looked destined for a mere first down.  Instead, a juke and down the sideline he went for a 46-yard gain.   Two plays later, sr. RB Michael Brown used a draw play to scamper 11 yards where sr. RB Jim Lamb put the icing on a well executed 10-play drive with a three yard run for a 6-0 lead.  Episcopal came right back—kinda.  Sr. RB Brian Taylor diced through creases for 18 yards and the courageous effort of jr. RB Brian Ruditys, who played with a cast on his broken right arm, later broke off a pair of runs for 13 yards down to the Penn 16-yard line.  When the drive stalled after a couple of incompletions, the Churchmen attempted a 25-yard field goal that was blocked by soph. DB John Moderski but, they ended Penn Charter’s next drive and the first quarter with a three-and out.  A heavy dose of Ruditys (15 yards, four carries) and seven-yard pass advanced Episcopal 20 yards before they were forced to punt.  With their next possession, Sankey came up big again as he shook tight coverage on third-and-eight, hauled in a pass from the scrambling Loughery and churned out 18 yards.  Brown moved the Quakers into Churchmen territory with another 12 yards but, this drive stalled four plays later courtesy of a sr. DL Jake Butts sack for a loss of seven.   Shaky PC linebacker play allowed Episcopal to move downfield again until a fumble, recovered by sr. DB Mick Foley, turned into the second touchdown of the game.  A 14-yard run by jr. TE Blair Bodeck was complemented with a nine-yard Brown run and 11-yard sneak from Loughery.  Once the Quakers hit midfield, Brown bounced off right tackle, cut back to the left and out ran the defense for a 13-0 lead with the first of four Robert Friskey scoreboard denting conversion kicks.  Good clock management made the score 16-0 as, with 0:54 before halftime, Penn used a 11-yard net punt to complete passes to Sankey and sr. WR David Martina, which gave Friskey time to split the uprights on a 30-yard field goal.  The Quakers forced a punt to open the third and Loughery found Foley in the flat and he bolted for 30 yards.  He recovered a fumble on the next play that gave Loughery a chance to connect on Lamb’s well-executed slant route for a touchdown.  Episcopal caught a much-needed break when Penn muffed their next punt and Riditys snatched the first play, ran through the middle of the defense to cut the lead to 23-7 with the K Malcolm Carayol conversion kick.  Each team exchanged possessions to run out the third quarter and when the Churchmen held on fourth down to begin the fourth that’s when the fireworks started.   Brown intercepted Episcopal’s first pass and he ran for 20 yards that led to a Loughery to Foley five-yard touchdown toss.  Despite a 33-yard pass from jr. QB Taylor Wright to Taylor and 18-yard pass to WR Jackson Place, Sankey answered again with an interception.  The Churchmen countered with a three-and-out, where Ruditys slid through left tackle for 40 yards and Wright cut the lead to 30-14 with a three-yard pass to jr. FB Chase Seegars standing in the back of the end zone.  Butts put the offense right back on the field with a recovery during the Episcopal on side kick and Ruditys, lined up in the slot, slipped beyond the secondary on a go route and caught a 51-yard touchdown strike from Wright but, that’s where the comeback ended.
  Payin the Bill’s Play of the Game: As he had done all game, sr. RB Michael Brown used the great blocking of frosh. OL Mike McGlinchey and sr. OL Casey Maher for big gains.  With less than five minutes to go in the game, they gave him a huge hole that resulted in a demoralizing 44-yard run.  Perhaps the best three-yard catch you’ll ever see was snared by Bodeck and Loughery bulled in from two yards out—game over, bill’s paid. 

Penn Charter Defensive Statistics:

Episcopal Defensive Statistics:

OCT. 30
PUBLIC AAAA QUARTERFINALS
Northeast 19, King 0
  “Frankford’s next.”  Those were the words of Northeast head coach Chris Riley to his players following an interesting game against the spirited Cougars of M.L. King.  Whether that meant he was satisfied with the effort that seemed lacking at times or just preferred to turn the page will be a question for the players at practice this week.  Although the Vikings ran a simple vanilla offense for most of the game, they tried some trickery early when jr. Gary Prince recovered an onside opening kickoff and attempted to run out of punt formation four plays later.  This one was snuffed out however, by sr. LB Joseph Montouth and he proceeded to lead the Cougar offense on an 13 play opening drive.  Montouth’s toughness and a nice quick out from impressive frosh QB Harold Alexander to jr. WR Quadir Lewis for the third first down kept the drive and the Cougar bench alive until a pair of missed pass plays (just barely) returned possession to the Viking offense.  A 16-yard run by sr. RB Tyleel Taylor couldn’t make up an earlier holding penalty and forced Northeast’s second punt.  Montouth 28-yard scamper off an option pitch put the Cougar’s right back in business inside the Viking 35 but, a sr. DB Rashaan Harmon interception two plays later turned back the promising scoring chance and instantly created one for the Vikings.  Outstanding drive blocks by sr. C Jerome Brown and sr. LG Kevin Word opened a gapping hole that sr. RB Eric Hines found as he skated 55 yards untouched for a 6-0 Northeast lead as the first quarter came to a close.  Back came the Cougars.  Speed sweeps and option plays kept the Viking defense off balance and the combination of Montouth, sr. RB Frank Wilson and soph. RB Jadonte Richardson moved King inside the Northeast 20 where they met with 15 yards losses from soph. LB Daniel Peterson and excellent fourth down coverage by Taylor.  King countered with the hustle of sr. LB Donye Rosser and sr. DE David Sharpe whose tackles for losses were enough to force another Viking punt.  Penalties prevented either team from mounting much of a threat in the last two drives before halftime.   Defense set the tone early in the third even though the Cougars effort actually led to the second touchdown of the game.  First, Montouth’s great read on a Viking screen pass resulted in a five-yard loss and an eventual punt.  Sr. DL Keith Freeman recorded two tackles for losses after a 16-yard option keeper that led to a 59-yard punt return by Taylor put Northeast at the King 26-yard-line.  On the third play of the drive, Hines went around right end but, as he approached a touchdown, sr. DT James Colburne reached around and punched the ball to Viking sr. Daniel McCarty, who was standing in the end zone and caught the easy pop fly for a 12-0 lead.   Sr. DB Rakeem Conover stepped up to stall the ensuing King drive with an interception.  Following a Northeast punt, the Viking defense clamped down again with a tackle for loss by Harmon and 10-yard sack from jr. LB Deion Barnes that helped put the offense in position to seal the deal.
  Payin the Bill’s Play of the Game: King’s seven yard net punt after the Barnes sack gave the Vikings just 22 yards to cover for another score.  The accuracy and poise of sr. QB Malik Stokes (an incredible transformation for those who saw him as a freshman) was displayed on a pinpoint 12-yard slant completion to jr. WR Rashaun Sligh.  On the next play, the Northeast offensive line of Brown, Word, sr. LT Mike Mazur, sr. RG Kenny Kline and jr. RT Mike Peele executed textbook cut blocks which, allowed Stokes to glide in from five yards out.  With the soph. K Howard Lynn conversion kick, a 19-0 lead and—game over, bill’s paid.

Northeast Defensive Statistics:

King Defensive Statistics:

OCT. 30
PUBLIC AAA
Dobbins 19, Mastbaum 12
   Unhappy with the result of the game?  Well, stop back next week and you may see a different outcome as these two teams tangle for the right to advance to the Pub AAA final.  This one was close most of the way until the Mustangs put together a fourth quarter drive that featured a clinic on improvisational running (if there’s such a thing) by sr. RB Karon James.  He opened with a 12-yard run to help erase one of two first-and-15’s the Mustangs faced in the game’s first drive.  Mastbaum’s jr. FS Jacob Lockley batted down a third down pass during the next third down play to force a punt.  Their first series however, was met with a flurry of tackles for losses started by Mustang sr. DB Joshua Bangura, and ended with a thumping tackle from sr. LB Brian Gibson.  A 14-yard net Panther punt gave the Mustangs all the momentum they needed to spring James, behind fine sr. OL Michael Graham block, for 13 yards and to send jr. FB Terrance Stafford the remaining 10 yards for a 7-0 lead with the jr. Kevin Gransby conversion kick.  The Mustang defense held for a three-and-out but, their offense missed on an opportunity to cash in on a six play drive that featured a pair of nice James runs for 24 total yards when Panther jr. CB Sean Hubert snagged a key interception.  Key in that jr. RB Juwan Morrison pulled Mastbaum within a point of a tie with three straight carries capped with a 50-yard bolt past a somewhat flat-footed Dobbins defense for their first touchdown.  They immediately followed that up with an onside kick, recovered by jr. DE Markeith Fuggs, and the combination of Morrison’s five carries for 23 yards and Dobbins penalties produced an eight-play drive that ended with a field goal attempt that sailed low of the cross bar.  As panic began to set in, head coach Lou Zambino kept his Mustangs together and they answered with an 11-play drive that almost ended in disaster.  Once jr. QB Kevin Butler connected with jr. Jamil Williams to move Dobbins inside the Mastbaum 30-yard line, a second pass to Williams was punched out by Morrison and the fumble bounced right to Stafford, who dashed in from 24 yards out to give the Mustangs a 13-6 lead.  Ah, the scoring wasn’t over yet.  With 0:06 left before halftime, Panther jr. QB Marc Price launched a ball 55-yards in the air and sr. WR Fermin Castellanos displayed good catching technique and hauled in the impressive pass to pull them to a point.   The Panthers led off in the third and were promptly met with a blocked punt from Mustang soph. LB Aaron Walker.  Although they failed to score on the ensuing drive, they set the tone for what was to come.
  Payin the Bill’s Play of the Game: Behind a quick three-and-out by the defense, RB Karon James’ outstanding display of speed, quickness and durability was more than the Panthers had the energy to stop.  With 11:40 left in the game, he used the outstanding blocking from jr. OL Yusef White and sr. Jamar Samuel and produced runs of six, 10 and 20 yards.  Grabbed a breather and rattled off four more carries for 17 yards then, three straight carries right into the end zone.  End result: 15 plays, 8:51 elapsed time, 19-12 Mustangs—game over, bill’s paid.

Dobbins Defensive Statistics:

Mastbaum Defensive Statistics: