Crispy's Corner Return to TedSilary.com Home Page Pete "Crispy" Crispino,
a senior at St. Joseph's Prep, and a member of the school's lacrosse squad, is
back on our reporting squad. He was mostly serious last year. Now we're hoping
he'll get a little nutty (smile). |
|
DEC. 4
CL RED FINAL
O'Hara 14, SJ Prep 13
You find out life’s a
game of inches and so is football. I mean, one half second too slow or too fast and you
don’t quite make it, one step too early or too late you don’t quite catch it.
The inches we need are everywhere around us. In every minute, every second of the game. The words of Al Pacino in Any
Given Sunday could not a have been any more applicable to this game. When a game is this
close, you realize that it is a game of inches and the team that makes the least mistakes
wins. On Saturday, it was the Lions of O’Hara winning their first championship since
the 2000 team starring now NFL running back Kevin Jones.
First quarter looked like
textbook Prep, stingy defense and opportunistic offense.
On the Prep’s opening drive they threatened the O’Hara defense,
especially on a long pass to Steve Quinn who was streaking down the
sideline deep in Lion territory; however, the defender tripped and brought Quinn down with
him a moment before the ball arrived. No call. Prep punts. Later in the corner Quinn got
his revenge, catching a perfectly thrown deep ball from Jim McCormick and
rumbling down to the O’Hara five-yard line for a 43-yard gain that set up a
John Shaw touchdown run on the ensuing play.
The Prep kicker missed the extra point however, making the score 6-0.
For much of the half O’Hara
had nothing going on offense, acquiring just two first downs the entire span; however the
Lions did get on the board when a mishandled snap on a punt landed in the end zone. Three or four O’Hara players followed the
ball closely and rather than, I don’t know, recover the fumble, they inadvertently
kicked the ball out of bounds trying to pick it up. Brilliant. 6-2 Prep. O’Hara struggled on their ensuing drive going
three and out then punting to the Prep 27 yard line. Two plays later John Shaw darted
through the gap and sprinted 71yards in 3.7 seconds for the score. I’m pretty sure Carl Lewis
himself couldn’t have caught Shaw he was running so fast. Now, a questionable call here by coach Gil Brooks
to kick the extra point rather than go for two, although it was understandable given the
situation. Regardless, kicker Mike
Cavanaugh nailed it. 13-2 Prep. Halftime.
The Lions hung around the
entire third quarter, not allowing the Prep to get anything substantial from its offense.
Late in the quarter the Prep got close enough for a field goal attempt, however it
narrowly missed keeping the score 13-2 heading into the final quarter. Game of inches.
O’Hara came alive in
the fourth quarter. Lions’ QB Anthony “Michael Vick” Walters
rushed for 55 of his 76 yards on an option early in the period then took it in from the
two yard line on fourth down to complete your Dodge Drive of the Game. Prior to this game,
Walters had run just 14 times all season. This game he nearly doubled that tally.
Additionally, this was only the second game all season that Walters was the sole
quarterback. Apparently Coach Danny Algeo did have a few cards up his
sleeve. Brooks had a card up his sleeve too;
on third down from their own 17-yard line late in the quarter Brooks called a “hook
and lateral." Now I may be wrong (although it hasn’t happened yet), but the hook
and lateral is more of a desperation play than a let’s-use-up-the-clock-because-we’re-already-winning-late-in
the-championship-game play. Tom
Elliott caught the pass and got hit as he attempted to lateral the ball to Shaw.
O’Hara captain Mike Marotta recovered at the Prep 21 and earned the
Meineke Stop of the Game. The replay on TV
showed that Lutz was down and that the fumble occurred after he was down; however the play
stood. Game of inches. You can blame the refs, blame Brooks or just credit O’Hara for
not giving up that late in the game and making a big time play. Two plays later, senior FB Pat Macaulay
plunged in for the go-ahead touchdown. 14-13
O’Hara.
The Prep answered back
with a 43-yard pass from Chris Whitney to Tim Lutz to
the O’Hara 25. Two plays later Whitney threw a strike to TE Matt Leddy
across the middle but Walters came in and delivered a thunderous hit, knocking the ball
loose and shaking Leddy up as well as earning the Matt Blat Splat of the Game. Now, if your kicker already missed an extra point
and hasn’t made a field goal past 25 yards all season, just wondering why would you
have him attempt a 35 yarder? Apparently
there is good reason but we will never know because O’Hara’s Greg Smith
charged right up the middle practically untouched and blocked the kick. After a couple of run plays the Prep got the ball
back on the O’Hara 44 yard line with less than a minute to play and no timeouts
remaining. After a run by Whitney and a spike, they went deep to the endzone to an open
Tom Elliott but the pass was just barely overthrown.
Game of inches. On fourth down
and a miracle, Whitney’s pass was way short to Quinn across the middle. Game. Set.
Match. 14-13
The name of this game was
mistakes. The Prep made some big ones and O’Hara
played relatively mistake free ball. The
Prep relies on making few or no blubbers in big games but two interceptions, a fumble
inside their own red zone, a missed extra point, a mishandled punt in their own endzone
and two botched field goals did not reflect that. A couple of questionable officiating and
coaching calls also added to their misfortunes. Call it karma? Personally, I think Brooks should have let
McCormick play more at quarterback. The less experienced sophomore Whitney started the
game and played basically the entire fourth quarter.
He looked more and more nervous as the game progressed, fumbling a snap as
well as over and underthrowing passes in the fourth quarter. He’s a great quarterback
and is going to be an outstanding player over the next couple years but I think at this
point the senior McCormick would have been more effective.
The bottom line of this
game though was that O’Hara did not give up. Down two touchdowns in the fourth
quarter to arguably the best team in the city, it looked like this game was wrapped up. But the Lions never once looked like a beaten team
as they took the momentum and eventually the lead late in the game.
Key players of the game-
Prep- Brendan “Boonah” Gilroy, Steve Quinn, Andrew Spross, John Shaw,
Mike “Best Tight End in the City” Boyle. Key players
for O’Hara- Mike Marotta, Brian Giacobetti, Matt Lowry, Anthony Walters, Gil
Brooks.
EXTRA POINTS
This game was
absolutely packed. Hundreds of celebrities were in attendance including Denzel
Washington, Julia Roberts, Danny Glover, Jackie Chan, and even Rocky
“The Rock” Johnson (just some of the millions…and millions of the
Crispy’s Corner fans). Both teams had tons of fans in their student sections although
the “O’Hara” student section was more a conglomeration (that means an
assortment for all you O’Hara fans and a group to all the Carroll students) of “fans”
from LaSalle, Roman, Carroll and other kids who didn’t get into the Prep…Kudos
to the Prep fans for being just as rowdy when their team was losing as when their team was
winning. I know I’m biased but there is not a team in the Catholic League whose fans
are equally loud when both winning and losing besides the Prep. Don’t believe me? Go
to the basketball games this season…Just wondering, why do people from the opposing
school think it’s cool to walk by the Prep student section and taunt them? I guess
you have to be the man to walk by opposing fans and provoke them when you know the dean is
standing right there and they can’t do anything…The O’Hara fans
preemptively stormed the field with 16 seconds left in the game, earning a 15 yard
unsportsmanlike conduct penalty, but I guess when you win that few championships it’s
easy to mess up the celebrations (just kidding O’Hara you know I love you)…O’Hara
DB Brian Giacobetti intercepted two passes this game, doubling his season
total. As Dickie V would say he’s a P-T-P-er baby…the highlight
of this game for Prep fans was without a doubt the pregame tailgate party in the ‘Nova
parking lot…The stadium PA announcer sounded exactly like Howard Eskin…Past
and present Eagle’s punt returnees Reno Mahe and (That’s my) Vai
Sikahema were present on the Prep sideline for the game…Special thanks to
the Wood fans who enjoy sending me detailed “fan mail” about how they own the
Prep after winning two championships already this season. We’re so proud of you,
guys, that we decided to send you all flashlights for Christmas because, hey we know how
dark it can get living in the Prep’s shadow (smile)…But I can’t say enough
how much O’Hara deserved this game and how well they played. Congrats to O’Hara
and Wood and we’ll be looking forward to the rematch next year. Time's Yours.
NOV. 6
CATHOLIC RED
SJ PREP 31, JUDGE 7
This game came down to the last
minute…of the first quarter. It was like watching John “Uncle
Jesse” Stamos take on Bob “Danny Tanner”
Saget (both diehard fans of Crispy’s Corner) in a wrestling match- it’s
just no contest. It started with Mark “Tony
Montana” Giuliani running back a punt 80 yards for a touchdown, later in the
quarter RB John “More Points This Season Than the Entire
Judge Team” Shaw scored twice on run plays. The running game worked so
well that coach Gil Brooks decided to run every play
save two (both completions in the second half) for the remainder of the game. The rest of the Prep’s scoring came from
sophomore K Michael Cavanaugh who booted two field goals including a
26-yarder.
QB Justin
DeCristofaro played well for Judge completing nine of his 17 passes for 121 and
no interceptions. His favorite target was Erik
Frazier, who made 7 catches for 68 yards. The Crusaders only score came late in
the game on a five-yard run from Justin Lavelle, his first touchdown of
the season. For the year Judge running backs
are averaging a meager two yards per carry which could be part of the reason why that is
one more than the number of wins the Crusaders currently have.
EXTRA POINTS
There may not
have been a single Judge student at this game. It’s good to see they haven’t
given up on their team. I’m sure the players appreciate the support…During a
second quarter punt Giuliani, sr. Jim Bogan laid a fierce block on a
Judge special teams player who had been looking in the opposite direction. Poor guy never
knew what hit him…fortunately what did hit Bogan, however, was your Matt Blat Splat
of the Game… Shaw finished with
three touchdowns bringing his season total up to 17 to go with his over 1400 net yards.
Certainly enough to earn him a First Team All-Catholic
nod. Before the teams are announced I’d like to take a look at the battle for
Catholic League MVP, which seems to be a two-man race between RB/DB Steve Cook
of O’Hara and WR/LB Steve “Throw Me the Damn Ball” Quinn
of the Prep. Here’s my take on the two and how they compare.
Size-
Cook stands 5’10 and weighs in at 175 lbs while Quinn is 7’9” and checks in
at a lean 367 pounds of pure muscle. Advantage Quinn
Speed-
Steve Quinn can run the 40 yard dash in four one…not 4.1, .41 seconds. Cook cannot. Advantage Quinn
Agility-
Cook is known for his shiftiness and ability to dodge oncoming linebackers without being
touched; however Quinn actually invented the juke and dodges oncoming “bullet
trains” in Japan during the off season just to stay in shape. Advantage Quinn
Numbers-
Cook is averaging over five yards per carry while rushing for just under 1000 yards and 15
touchdowns. Quinn has caught 217 passes this
season for 10,000 yards and 74 touchdowns. Advantage
Quinn
Defense-
Cook, an excellent DB, has shut down numerous opposing receivers and helps anchor a
talented O’Hara defense that is giving up just 11 points per game. Quinn has registered 617 tackles and 43 sacks
through ten games at linebacker for the Hawks. Instead
of practicing on immobile and defenseless tackling dummies, Quinn tries to simulate
opposing teams’ speedy running backs by chasing down and tackling fully-grown
cheetahs and bench-pressing 747s. Advantage Quinn
Intangibles- Quinn has dated Paris Hilton, Britney Spears and
BOTH Olsen Twins…at the same time. But had to break things off because he
“doesn’t have time for broads during football season.” Recently a spokesman
for Marvel Comics conceded that Captain America’s character was based on Steve Quinn.
Steve Quinn is featured on the cover of Madden 2006.
Quinn invented ESPN, Daylight Savings Time and the printing press. Cook did none of these. Advantage Quinn
So you can clearly see
that Steve Quinn has the distinct advantage here. We will likely get to see the two
phenoms clash in the upcoming playoffs. For further analysis regarding each team’s
chances on winning it all I give you the…
2004
Crispy’s Corner Playoff Preview
Bonner vs. Roman- It looks as if
Bonner Football will miss out on a championship for the 42nd time in an impressive 43 year
streak. However the Friars are hoping
standout QB Marc Verica will lead them to an upset over the Cahillites (don’t get me
started). However the dominant Roman offense
that is averaging over 20 points per game will prove too much for the Friars. 31-16 Roman
La Salle vs. Ryan- Ryan is
the favorite in this battle between the two worst offenses in the Catholic League. Both teams gave the Prep hard times this season
via their stingy defenses and should match up well against each other. La Salle pulls the
upset in an offensive travesty. 5-3 La Salle.
You heard it here first.
Basically the first round
is a battle for who gets to lose to Prep and O’Hara. Roman could pull the upset over
the Lions but it’s highly doubtful. Assuming the O’Hara wins and meets the Hawks
in the championship, the game is going to be one of the most highly anticipated sporting
events of the year. Many people are once
again claiming that O’Hara will come back and beat the Prep in the championship after
losing during the regular season like in 2000. In
a word- no. This blatantly is not going to happen. Steve Cook is not the second coming of
Kevin Jones. Jones averaged nine yards per carry and over 14 points per game during the
2000 season. When the two teams met earlier this season, defense dominated the game. No
offensive player is going to be able to take over the way Jones did. Since that game the
Prep has improved and O’Hara has stayed the same, if not gotten worse. They were
nearly knocked off by Roman, a team the Prep annihilated by 38 points. This game is not going to be nearly as close as
last time.
25-12 Prep. Time's Yours.
OCT. 30
NON-LEAGUE
SJ Prep 28, Wood 13
The
main factor in the game was definitely the field. The suface was
extremely muddy and guys
were slipping everywhere. The running games of
both teams were
ineffective mostly because neither line could get any push
on the other in the mud.
The conditions were the cause of multiple fumbles and dropped passes
for both teams. The
biggest impact was early in the first quarter when the
ball slipped out of Prep
punter Andrew Cabrey’s hands and was then recovered
by a Wood player at the
Prep’s 11 yard line. On the next play, Wood scored
on a pass to the corner of
the end zone caught by Chris Lorditch.
The Hawks went three and out on their next drive however a muffed punt
gave them the ball back at
midfield. Steve “Irving Fryar” Quinn caught a
bomb at the Wood 10.
However the Prep was forced to settle for a chip shot
field goal by Mike
Cavanaugh.
Later in the first half, the Hawks had 4th and 6 on the Wood 40 yard
line. Quinn made a
brilliant juggling catch across the middle before
sprinting the 40 yards in
2.8 seconds for a touchdown. In the second half,
after a Vikings fumble on
their own 23 yard line, Tim Lutz caught a 10 yard
out then sprinted up field
for a touchdown.
QB Chris Hanson passed for 142 yards and two touchdowns while the
Vikings also got strong
defensive play from linebacker and captain Bill
Gross.
Sr. DB John McFadden made several strong plays for the secondary.
The top ineligible player
in the league (smile), Matt Little, received the majority
of the carries for the
Vikings although he amassed just 6 rushing yards.
The Prep quarterbacks carried the offense earning a 92.4 QB rating via
a combined 207 yards, two
touchdowns and no interceptions. The defense as a
whole played extremely
well holding the Wood running game to just two yards
per carry. David
“Strong Like Cement” Clement picked off two passes for the
secondary.
Extra Points
This was the Wood homecoming game. And the homecoming game is a great
tradition at every school,
that is unless one team happens to back out of
the
homecoming/Thanksgiving game because they don’t want to play three times
in a season. Not gonna
name any names but it rhymes with RaSalle…Based on
Wood’s close
proximity to the boondocks, I’d be willing to wager that more
than one of the homecoming
after-parties featured cow tipping…Once again a
huge student section for
the other team was noticeably quiet. At one point
they did manage an
“Overrated” chant. This chant generally works better when
it isn’t the first
quarter of a game that you are obviously going to lose.
Nice try though
guys…The 6’4” 343lb Wood lineman John Hanlon bore a
frighteningly close
resemblance to star lineman Louie Lastik of “Remember
the Titans” also
known as Frankie from “Boy Meets World”…Prep special
teamer
Bradley
Wright’s Jeremiah Trotter-like hit on a Wood punt returner earned
him the Matt Blat
Splat of the Game...Special Crispy’s Corner Shout Out to
the underrated Prep
offensive line consisting of Jim “Big Red” McKenzie,
James “Cake
Eater” Dunn, Scott “#1 Fantasy Long-snapper” Howley, Brendan
“Boonah”
Gilroy and Dan “The Savvy Veteran” Voss…The Vegas line on next
week’s Prep game
verse the 1-8 Father Judge- an act of God. Here are your
Dodge Keys to the Game for
the Prep.
1) The Hawks must show up to the game on time
2) The team should preferably play with their eyes open
3) They should generally try to score more times than the other team
Just kidding all you Father Judg-kins…ok not really. Time's yours.
OCT. 24
CATHOLIC RED
SJ Prep 12, O'Hara 7
Keep
runnin' runnin', and runnin', and runnin’… These
lyrics to “Let’s Get it Started” played by the O’Hara band are
apparently the words by which Lions coach Danny Algeo lives. If he were allowed to have eleven running backs on
the field at once he probably would. This
strategy worked better than any O’Haranian (correct term for an O’Hara fan)
could have hoped for on their opening drive as they ran it six straight times for 69 yards
and a TD.
After their outstanding first
drive, the O’Hara defense opened with an interception by captain Mike Marotta
that was returned to the Prep’s 35…until an ensuing taunting penalty brought it
back to midfield. The O’Hara players were so pumped after the play you would have
thought they had all just received full scholarships to the Prep (obviously the dream of every O’Hara
student).
Later in the quarter, Steve
Quinn, Medicine Woman, intercepted a big third down pass which led to a 31-yard
TD strike by Jim “Ice Water in his Veins” McCormick. This was McCormick’s very first pass of what
would be a standout day for him. The defenses
ruled the rest of the game for both teams. Sr. LB Andrew Spross, who
tallied 12 tackles, led the Prep D. Spross stepped up huge for the Prep linebackers who
have been riddled with injuries to both Jim Bogan (leg) and his
replacement Josh Howley (back, most likely out for the
year). Jr. DB Ryan Malarick
made a clutch interception in the end zone on a tipped pass in the second half. Charlie
Noonan led the D-line with 11 stops, a sack and a fumble recovery.
Late in the third quarter,
after O’Hara punter Pat Quinn pinned the Prep on their own
three-yard line, the Hawks racked up a sensational 11 play, 97-yard drive capped off by a
sky high three-yard lob pass to Mike Boyle in the corner of the end zone. McCormick, who had just one TD pass in Catholic
League play entering the game, earned a 139.5 QB rating via two touchdowns and only two
incompletions.
The game then came down to
O’Hara’s final drive. 44 yards to go. Less than three minutes to do it. The Lions got down to the 32 before Boyle forced a
huge intentional grounding call, pushing the Lions back to miracle distance. Fourth down and Bethesda. A little over a minute
left. Noonan broke through the line immediately and crushed QB John Ward,
forcing a fumble but more importantly earning your Mat Blat Splat of the Game.
Both punters were as busy
as George Bush’s (huge fan of Crispy’s Corner) spellchecker
this game. Both Quinn for O’Hara and Andrew Cabrey for the Prep
played extremely well. Cabrey also stood out at linebacker, especially considering he was
filling in for the two injured players.
O’Hara RB Steve
Cook rushed for 114 yards in an admirable effort.
Brian Giacobetti also picked off a pass for the Lions. The O’Hara line, led by Virginia-bound Matt
Lowry, is absolutely huge. They played very well for much of the game but
conditioning was a factor as they allowed a much more effective pass rush late in the
game.
EXTRA POINTS:
The
fan turnout for this game was incredible, although the O’Hara student section was
lackluster at best. As for the Prep students,
this was probably the loudest I’ve ever heard them. Said one Prep lineman, the
students were so loud “to the point of me not being able to hear the snap
count”…Stat of the game: the Lions’ quarterbacks completed more passes to
Prep players than to their own teammates…All the talk of “It’s good for
O’Hara to get this loss out of the way before the teams meet again in the
playoffs” (obviously this theory was developed by an O’Hara fan) might be the
dumbest justification of a loss I’ve ever heard. I’m sure the players went into
the game saying, “Well we’re gonna lose to the Prep at least once this season so
we might as well lose this game before thousands of fans, it’ll actually help
us”…Special Crispy’s Corner Shout Out to the girls who wore “Go
O’Hara beat Prep” and “Prep Sucks” shirts at the PREP mixer.
It’s nice to know that even girls who hate your school and its students will still pay
money to get with said students. Money, I
should add, that funds the very same football team that they hate- nice work girls,
I’m sure the guys at your school appreciate you paying money to not be with
them…The O’Hara band played some nice little numbers including “Carry on my
Wayward Son”, “Gonna Fly Now”, and even “Simple” by Phish;
however their blueberry-like uniforms, apparently modeled after Willy Wonka’s
Veronica Salt, compounded by an unimpressive flag waving display at halftime damaged their
respectability…After the game the O’Hara players were so bitter you would have
thought the shaved head/grimace combo, OHaraFB04.htm,
went out of style…I apologize to any fans I might have offended in my last
article…Just kidding; no I don’t… Special thanks to all you Cahillites who
provided me with some lovely “fan mail” after my previous column. You guys are
so cool… Next week the Prep takes on Wood at P.W…Prediction Time- 34-12,
Prep…Time's yours.
OCT. 17
CATHOLIC RED
SJ Prep 38, Roman
“We are the Nation
of Domination”. These unforgettable words proclaimed by
former WWF stars Farooq, D-Lo Brown and Rocky Maivia embodied
the Prep’s
performance in this game. What looked like a possible
upset special or at
least a tough adversary in Roman turned into a defensive
seminar as the Prep
held the Cahillites (worst nickname ever) to a mere 1.6 yards
per carry.
But it wasn’t all Prep…ok yes it was.
Total Yardage: Prep- 401 Roman- 71. John
“The Human Highlight Reel”
Shaw amassed over half of those yards (214)
while reaching the end zone
three times. Chris “He’s a
Sophomore” Whitney threw for 111 yards and a
touchdown, earning a QB rating of 145.8 which is exactly 144.1
points higher
than Roman QB Tim Hoban. Hoban obviously
had a rough night, completing one
pass for three yards but was, however, his team’s leading
receiver as he
caught a 23-yard pass from WR Cory Jackson on
a throw that was so high the
Prep DBs let it fall because they thought it was a punt.
Generally you know
you have issues when your quarterback is your leading receiver
and your
“wide receiver” has more than twice as many passing
yards as receiving yards
in a season. For Roman, Evin Jones did
everything he could at running back
and Hoban was resilient to say the least as he continued to run
the offense
with authority even when it was sputtering.
Extra Points
I’m sure you have noticed my absence the past
few weeks. I’m sorry I
just couldn’t miss reruns of The Simple Life with Paris
Hilton and Nicole
Ritchie (two huge fans of Crispy’s Corner)…This game
was packed with fans
for both teams despite a one-hour delay due to lightning. The
Roman student
section was larger than any other non-Prep fan section this
year…Stale Chant
of the Night: “Prep is Gay…Prep is Gay” by the
aforementioned student
section. Oh those savvy Cahillites just radiate
creativity…By the way in
case you were wondering what a Cahillite is, I did some
research and it
turns out Cahillite is Latin for “Kid who didn’t get
into the Prep”…To give
you a summary of the past two Prep games. The Hawks had to
grind out a win
against LaSalle and did not pull away until late in the game.
Generally a
rather boring contest, the high point was probably Prep seniors
Pat Henigan
and Mike Kuklinski getting kicked out for
moving a bee infested trash can
from the Prep side to the LaSalle side (like I said, a boring
game). Next
week the Prep took on Archbishop Ryan who, to be honest, I
didn’t even know
had a football team. Based on the number of fans at the game
I’m not sure
they’re aware either. This game was tight until
midway through the third
quarter when the Prep finally opened it up. The highlight
of this game was
definitely Prep LB Andrew Spross’s
bone-crushing hit on a Ryan receiver as
he went across the middle, the ball popped loose and went right
into Steve
Quinn’s arms for an interception. Not
sure whether or not the receiver
survived the vicious hit but it was definitely your Mat Blat
Splat of the
Game…Next week the Prep takes O’Hara in the Game of
the Week. Here are the
Dodge Keys to the Game:
1) The Prep
has to come out strong, they must score first to take
the home fans out of the game.
2) Do
everything possible to shut down the Lions’ rushing game
that is averaging over 250 yards per game (wow) compared
to a passing game
that averages less than 50.
3) They
can’t depend solely on the running of John Shaw, they
need to use an effective passing game (Chris Whitney) to keep
the O’Hara
defense honest.
4) Finally,
stay away from #76 for O’Hara, I have no idea who
this is but based on his picture on the team pages, he might be
the most
bad-ass guy I’ve ever seen.
So without further ado, my prediction for the game
-- Prep 24, O’Hara 17.
Time's Yours.
SEPT. 25
CATHOLIC RED
SJ Prep 31, Bonner 7
And so it begins. The Prep’s regular
season started off with a bang as they routed rival Monsignor Bonner in front of a
plethora of fired up fans for both teams. Sophomore
Chris “The Future” Whitney erupted for an outstanding
performance of 188 yds and 3 TDs, including a 20 yard strike to TE Matt Leddy
and a 46 yarder to Jr. Tim Lutz in the first quarter. Speaking of 46, # 46 for the Prep- Steve
“Man Among Boys” Quinn, caught 4 passes for 122 yards including an 83
yard touchdown.
Quinn
also led a dominating defensive operation as the Hawks resembled the Prep of old. Other
than one 83 yard jaunt for a TD by Bonner RB Carl Graham, the Prep D held
the Friars to a meager 35 yards on 26 carries (1.3 ypc).
Andy Shalbrack grabbed his second interception in as many
games while a suddenly effective pass rush prevented the Friars from doing much harm
through the air.
Bonner
came out strong and stuck with the Prep for most of the first half. Their opening drive reached the Prep’s 45
yard line, mostly by way of a 27 yard pass to FB Matt Boland. Graham’s TD run came on the first play from
scrimmage after the Prep had scored their opening touchdown keeping it frighteningly close
for many Prep fans. However the game slowly
slipped out of their grasp as Prep RB John Shaw ran over, around and
through their defense on his way to 129 yards and a TD.
Shaw’s
size (or lack of), shiftiness and surprising strength resemble that of Brian
Westbrook (who is a huge fan of Crispy’s Corner). Like Westbrook, Shaw’s durability will be
questioned this season as he makes the switch from a running backs by committee system to
a solo effort. The current quarterbacks by
committee system will likely be put on hold for now after Sr. Jim McCormick
left the game with a concussion. Whitney’s
performance will certainly give coach Gil Brooks more confidence in
starting the sophomore next week against rival LaSalle.
Extra
Points (get it? It’s clever)
The
Bonner students, who arrived together on school buses, were loud and rowdy for much of the
first quarter but became increasingly quiet even while it was still tied which was a
little disappointing…Jim Bogan’s vicious hit on a kickoff in
the second quarter earned the honor of being called the Matt Blat Splat of the
Game…shout out to Prep kicker Mike Cavanaugh, best know for being a phenom on the
Prep soccer team, although he has to share the spotlight with yours truly and my
managerial contributions…the spread on next weeks game is 24 ½ in favor of the Prep.
Any La Salle “fans” of Crispy’s Corner should wait until after the game to
tell me how I was incorrect with that assertion. Which reminds me…this is called bias
journalism. I am in no way a reliable source for anything at all related to
football…or life for that matter…Time's Yours.
SEPT. 19
NON-LEAGUE
SJ PREP 27, BKN POLY PREP 12
Steve
“the Pride of Penn State” Quinn may have just signed on to Joe
Pa’s squad but John Shaw stole the show as the Prep finally got
themselves a win against Brooklyn’s own Poly Preparatorians (yup that’s a word). Shaw spearheaded an effective (though redundant)
running attack that featured plenty of running up the middle, followed by more running up
the middle but as the saying goes, if it’s not broke the third time you try it,
don’t fix it.
Laying
the smack down all afternoon for the Hawks D was Sr. LB Jim Bogan who
along with co-LBs Quinn and Andrew Spross, shut down
BPP’s running game and spear-headed an efficient pass-rush. The Prep secondary, which is suffering from
injuries, played well considering. They
allowed two big pass plays that went for TDs, including a 70 yard strike, but never
allowed Brooklyn to put together a long drive. Meanwhile Jr. Andy Shalbrack
had a nice pick at the Brooklyn 16 yard line that led to a score.
All Shaw did was rack up 193 yards and a handful of
touchdowns while the Prep’s offense finally got it together. Apparently Gil
Brooks remembered that there’s no reason to do anything outside the hash
marks seeing as about 224 of the Prep’s 226 rushing yards came up the middle. Brooks also decided to go with a quarterback by
committee policy as Jim McCormick and Chris Whitney
split time. I’m guessing Brooks used the game to evaluate which QB is better
at not passing based on the 37 more run plays than pass plays in the game.
Next
week kicks off the long-awaited Catholic League schedule.
Will the Prep lose a league game this season? Based on the improvement of
the league (i.e. O’Hara 21, North Penn 20) it is certainly possible. The quest begins as the Hawks take on Bonner, who
won’t be an easy win by any means.
Congrats
to Quinn on his decision to go to Penn State. Now
there are a lot of exaggerated stories about Quinn floating around, and I’d like to
put all the rumors to rest now. For all of
you who do not know him Steve Quinn is seven feet tall and tackles men by the hundreds.
And if he were on your team he would consume the opposition with fireballs from his eyes
and bolts of lightening from his arse…I’ve seen it.
SEPT. 4
NON-LEAGUE
Pittsburgh Central Catholic 38, SJ Prep 12
All
right, it's over. The 35-game win streak was snapped emphatically by the Pittsburgh
Central Catholic Vikings. But hey, it could be worse. It wasn't even the longest high
school football winning streak that was snapped on the day. You could be in California powerhouse De La
Salle's locker room yesterday; after 12 years, 271 days and 151 wins that squad suffered a
39-20 loss to Bellevue, Washington . . . So 35 and 1 really isn't an earth-shattering
event, although that's one bus ride home with head coach Gil Brooks that
I would not like to be on (although I avoid prolonged exposure to the fiery Brooks
whenever possible- some say it can lead to long term physical and mental health issues -
smile). Like most games, this one started with a kickoff.
The Prep's first possession ended abruptly with a pick at their own 18 by Viking's
FS Shane Murray….more on him later.
So right away- bad news, the offense is not looking sharp, however the D then
stopped Central on 6 redzone plays and held them to only a field goal. The Prep caught a break on a fumbled punt
recovered by Senior LB Jim Bogan at the Vikings 33. However the Hawks were unable to convert on
fourth down at the 13 yard line. At
the end of 1 it was 3-0, ok not too bad, The Prep can easily overcome that right? Wrong.
On the first play of the second quarter the Vikings again intercepted an errant pass.
Murray, who also plays QB for Central, proceeded to tear apart the Prep defense on a
series of QB counter plays, including a 5-yard run for a touchdown. Later in the quarter Murray hooked up with a wide
open Charlie Totten on a 41 yard TD strike. The play was preceded by a Prep false start on
fourth and 6 to give the Vikings an easily converted fourth and 1. The penalties would continue to hurt them all day.
--
The Prep can’t beat themselves with penalties and turnovers the way they did against
Central.
--
They must find a way to stop the pass as they face a much better QB as well as pick up the
blitz much better.
--
Finally, the Hawks must score first; they can’t win if they have to rely on the pass
to keep them in it.
That’ll do it for this week . . . You stay classy, Philadelphia.
