The End of Cardinal Dougherty Football . . . Return to TedSilary.com Home Page On Oct. 8, 2009, the archdiocese announced it would be closing Dougherty (and North Catholic) in June 2010. The Cardinals played their final game on Oct. 31, falling to West Catholic, 44-0, in a Catholic AA semifinal. Below are some items concerning the program itself and assorted lasts. |
First, L to R -- Isaiah Howard, Jesse Rosinski, Jared Davenport, Trevor
Pendleton, Nick Newman, Tarik Morris, Craig Orlik, Don Calhoun, Malachai Golden.
Middle, L to R -- Robert Holmes, Isaiah Howerton, Khalif Jackson, LaQuan
Serrano, Isaiah Banks, Luther Harling, Milton Worthey, Joe Bozzelli.
Back, L to R -- Chris Telisma, Tevin Tyler, Javon Campbell, Kedusta Pierre-Paul,
Jason Alexander, Hovard Harrison, Kyle McDowell, Dexter Bush.
Coaches, L to R -- Jim Whitehead Sr., head coach Jim Grugan, Dan Collins, Joe
Perelli, Vernard Abrams, Fred Graziani, Jim Whitehead Jr. (missing: Ron Fulton
and graduate assistant Deuce Colbert.)
The final practice was held on Oct. 29. These players and coaches were in attendance.
Dougherty played 53 years of varsity football,
including a patchwork season in 1957 (2-5 record). The
Cardinals joined the Catholic League in 1958 and remained there through '09.
They won championships
in 1968 and 1982. Their overall record was 227-290-15.
| CATHOLIC LEAGUE HISTORY | |||
| Coach | Years | League | Overall |
| Frank Banas | 1958-60 | 11-14-2 |
12-14-2 |
| Gene O'Pella | 1961-70 | 47-23-3 | 58-32-5 |
| Jack Boyle | 1971-73 | 7-17-0 |
7-20-0 |
| George Stratts | 1974-84 | 51-32-5 | 64-44-7 |
| Gene Kane | 1985-89 | 17-21-1 | 22-27-1 |
| Dominic Damico | 1990-93 | 13-15-0 | 22-22-0 |
| Paul Hackney |
1994 |
2-5-0 |
4-6-0 |
| Frank McArdle | 1995-97 | 6-15-0 | 14-18-0 |
| Jerry McConnell | 1998-01 | 6-22-0 | 10-35-0 |
| Bob McNally |
2002 |
0-7-0 |
1-9-0 |
| Ernie Covington | 2003-05 | 0-23-0 | 2-30-0 |
| Chris Riley | 2006-07 | 1-13-0 | 5-14-0 |
| Jim Grugan | 2008-09 | 1-7-0 | 4-14-0 |
RECAPS OF CATHOLIC CHAMPIONSHIP VICTORIES
1968
At Temple Stadium
Dougherty 31, Bonner 14
David Bland rushed 30 times for 160 yards and three TDs and Ray
Capriotti passed for TDs to Harvey McGee and Bill Chambers. QB John
Cappelletti ran for all of Bonner's points.
1982
At Villanova Stadium
Dougherty 17, Carroll 14
Bill Wright kicked a 23-yard field goal on the final play of the
game as Dougherty, which lost starting QB Richard Ashby (knee injury) in
the second quarter, overcame a 14-point deficit to win its first title
since 1968. Keith Rieser, playing halfback and QB, ran and passed for
scores and accounted for 161 yards total offense. David Bond was the
defensive hero of the fourth quarter, forcing a fumble and making an
interception. For Carroll, Dan Dinsmore rushed 29 times for 188 yards
and Jim Keenan scored both TDs.
RECAP OF CITY CHAMPIONSHIP VICTORY
1968
At Franklin Field
Dougherty 48, Northeast 14
David Bland (10-79) and Dan Heenan (12-76) each rushed for two
TDs as Dougherty stormed to the game's first 42 points and an easy
victory. The Cardinals (11-0) became the first city champ to post a
perfect record since Lincoln in 1958. Ray Capriotti completed 10 of 20
passes for 125 yards and TDs to Bill Chambers, Steve Conway and Harvey
McGee. Bland made three receptions for 57 yards. For Northeast, Tom
Sherer rushed for 50 yards on 18 carries.
ASSORTED LASTS FROM FINAL GAME . . .
(Thanks to Ed "Huck" Palmer)
Rush: Tarik Morris, 4 yards.
Pass: Trevor Pendleton, incomplete.
Reception: Luther Harling, 6 yards (from Pendleton).
Tackle: Isaiah Banks.
TFL: Stephan Logan (2 yards)
First down: Tarik Morris, on a 4-yard run.
Fumble lost: Luther Harling.
Interception thrown: Trevor Pendleton.
Kickoff return: Nick Newman, 46 yards.
Punt: Joe Bozzelli, 36 yards.
Penalty: Offside by the offense, 5 yards.
Person standing on field when lights were turned off: coach Jim Grugan.
OTHER LASTS . . .
(Thanks to coach Jim Grugan for helping to compile this list.)
Touchdown: Tarik Morris, run vs. Carroll 10/24/09.
Passing touchdown: Trevor Pendleton to Nick Newman, vs. West Catholic 10/16/09.
Fumble return touchdown: Tarik Morris, vs. Carroll, 10/17/2008.
Kickoff return touchdown: Corey Key, vs. ???, 2006.
Interception return touchdown: Hovard Harrison, vs. Mastbaum 9/19/09.
Punt return touchdown: ??? (none in this decade).
PAT: Joe Bozzelli, vs. West Catholic, 10/16/09 (following 63-yard run by
Trevor Pendleton).
Field goal: Jerry Abernethy, vs. Wood, 10/02/04.
Interception: Nick Newman, vs. West Catholic, 10/16/09.
Sack: LaQuan Serrano and Jesse Rosinski, vs. West Catholic, 10/16/09.
Recovery of opponent's fumble: Isaiah Howard, vs. West Catholic, 10/16/09
(forced by Don Calhoun).
Player to walk off the field following the final practice: lineman Kyle
McDowell.
Shutout: 6-0 over Neumann-Goretti, 9/5/09.
Playoff appearance: vs. West Catholic, 10/30/2009.
Playoff victory: over Wood, 1999 (first round, Blue Division)
Here is the recap of that victory:
Dougherty 26, Wood 21
Despite being outgained, 338-161, Dougherty became the first
city-leagues team with a regular season record as poor as 2-5 to win a
playoff game. Ben Dever passed 4-for-10 for 101 yards and two TDs to
Sarina Oeub (3-70), the first Cambodian native to make an impact in
city-leagues football, while Rodney Daniels (fumble return) and James
Jefferson (end-zone fumble recovery) scored defensive TDs. Wood's Sean
Murphy ran 22 times for 167 yards and the game's first two scores.