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Special Ed Return to TedSilary.com Home Page Ed "Special Ed" Morrone, a Penn Charter grad and former website legend, is back to file reports for the site as his job search continues. Ed graduated from Hofstra in May with a degree in print journalism and has written for USA Today, the Phila. Daily News and Phila. Metro. Ed welcomes freelance ideas/opportunities and will cover your child's t-ball game if the price is right (smile). He can be reached at edward.morrone@gmail.com. |
NOV. 8
INTER-AC LEAGUE
Penn Charter 6, Germantown Academy 0
Looking at the score of this one you’d probably
think it was a frustrating, boring clunker of a game, and at halftime I probably
would’ve agreed with that assessment. Even after three quarters, the game
remained scoreless and the two ancient football rivals combined for seven
turnovers (four for GA, three for PC) in dark, dreary and wet
conditions—although the heavy rain did stop right before kickoff and stayed away
for the most part throughout the 122nd meeting between the two programs.
Although GA won the overall day (five wins to PC’s three), the Quakers took the
day’s most important event for a stunning eighth consecutive year. This win
wasn’t as aesthetically pleasing as last year’s hook-and-lateral shocker, 2003’s
late punt-return TD by current PC assistant Zack Zeglinski or 2002’s
328-yard rushing clinic put on by Tony McDevitt, but the Quakers will
take it nonetheless and now lead the all-time series 78-33-11. The first half
was a prime example of why it has been a down year for both programs (PC came in
with one league win; GA had none) as the Quakers and Patriots traded turnovers
and missed opportunities. After three consecutive three-and-outs to start the
game, GA used a short field and the legs of freshman RB Keith Corliss (19
carries, 47 yards) to march down to the PC 8-yard line. But the Patriots missed
wide left on a 25-yard field goal try, and on the next play PC jr. RB Jim
Lamb raced for 53 yards down the GA sideline to the Patriots’ 27. However,
there was some miscommunication on the ensuing pitch between Lamb and PC soph.
QB John Loughery, who looked like he pitched it high over Lamb’s shoulder
and the loose ball was recovered by the Patriots. On the play, Lamb appeared to
partially dislocate his right shoulder as several PC folks crowded around him on
the sideline to pop it back in. Lamb was in a sling for the rest of the first
half but returned to action in the second frame, earning my respect and proving
that he is one gnarly dude. Anyway, nothing else extremely notable occurred
until the end of the second quarter, when PC whiffed on two more nice scoring
opportunities. After pinning the Patriots down inside their own 10 with a nice
punt by jr. jack-of-all-trades Dylan Moody (who serves as a RB, DB,
punter and punt/kick returner), the Quakers began to show off their most
underrated weapon—their defense. The biggest talent on that side of the ball is
sr. DE Justin Renfrow, an absolute monster of a player that is bound for
the University of Virginia. Just as he has been all season, Renfrow was
double-teamed all day but that didn’t stop him on a 3rd and 7 where he burst
through the coverage and slammed into GA sr. QB Pete Haines like a
freight train, forcing the Patriots to punt from their own end zone. After the
play, I wrote “Renfrow = Relentless” on my notepad, and also tons of style
points to Justin for the UVA logos he donned on top of his eye black. Anyway,
Moody returned the short punt 21 yards down to GA’s 19, setting up a golden
opportunity for the Quakers. However, two plays later Loughery fired the first
of his two interceptions, this one into the waiting arms of sr. TE/LB Tim
Vernon, who then did the opposite of redeeming himself by fumbling Haines’
next pass right back to PC deep in GA territory with 49 seconds left in the
half. After an incompletion and a sack, Loughery dumped a shovel pass off to jr.
RB Michael Brown, who raced down the sideline with the end zone in his
sights before being stood up inside GA’s 5-yard line with zeroes on the clock.
Neither team fared much better in the third quarter, as Loughery threw his
second interception and Haines threw the first of three second half picks, this
one to Moody on GA’s first drive of the half. The action really picked up early
in the fourth, when a Haines pass was deflected at the line and reeled in by PC
soph. DE Jake Richards. The Quakers then gave the ball to Brown (25
carries, 66 yards) five times on a seven-play drive that culminated in a 1-yard
TD run with 7:10 to play. The PAT failed, but that didn’t matter as the PC
defense continued to swarm all over the field. On GA’s next drive, PC forced the
Patriots into a fourth down situation, but sensing that GA may go for it PC
coach Jeff Humble kept his defense on the field. Good decision. GA did
opt to punt, but a three-man wrecking crew of Renfrow, Richards and sr. LB
Jordan Studevan teamed up to block it. This seemed to be the dagger, but the
Quakers turned the ball over on downs and gave it back to GA again, and the
Patriots turned it over again, this time on Haines’ third and final INT into the
hands of Alex Starr. PC punted again after a three and out with under a
minute to go, forcing the Patriots to go 91 yards to try to win the game. They
did pick up three first downs, but PC’s defense held one last time for the
hard-fought victory. As inefficient as PC’s offense was all day, it somehow did
just enough to escape this game. Loughery had his worst game, completing 10 of
22 passes for 80 yards and three turnovers and despite having the game’s only
touchdown, Brown averaged well under three yards a carry on the day. The good
thing for the Quakers is that both of these guys will be back next season and
will definitely improve…my prediction is that Loughery will make strides into
earning a D-I scholarship somewhere because his ceiling is evidently high. Of
course the story of the day was PC’s defense, who rebounded a week after
allowing 55 points to Malvern and had their strongest showing of the season.
They’ll lose Renfrow but will bring back Richards. The awarding of the Geis
Trophy for game MVP must have been a tough decision because so many of those
defenders had a hand in the win, but it ultimately was handed off to Starr, who
is an animal on both sides of the ball as an undersized DB and tight end. PC
ended the season with a 4-6 overall record and a 2-3 mark in league play, and
they should be much improved next year and could perhaps make a run at the
Inter-Ac title. GA lost every one of its league games and needs a few more
playmakers at the skill positions before they can be considered truly dangerous.
“Special” Sauce: As I
mentioned in a previous report, I was good friends with Alex Starr’s brother,
Tim, when I went to PC and the “T-Unit” was on hand today to see his brother
win the Geis Trophy. When the trophy was announced after the game, I shook Tim’s
hand to congratulate him but then turned to ’05 PC grad and former website
writer Liam “Red Hot” McGettigan (who unsuccessfully tried to follow in
my footsteps writing for the site…no worries Liam, I’m a tough act to follow)
and said “Did you ever think you’d live to see the day where a Starr would win
MVP at PC/GA Day?” to which Liam replied, “No way” before adding about Alex
“Better looking and more athletic than his brother.” Ouch ... Speaking of Alex
Starr, I got to speak to him after he posed for pictures with everybody, and the
first thing he says to me is “Hey, you got that phantom interception wrong in
the Malvern game!” It took me a moment to remember what he was talking about,
but when it came to me, I realized he was right. On the blown call where the
refs gave Malvern a pick instead of PC a catch, it was Starr, and not Moody as I
had reported, who was on the wrong end of the whistle. I told Alex I would fix
my mistake, but I still don’t appreciate being called out, bro! I guess he
forgot how I stuck up for him down the shore a few years back on the mini-golf
course when Tim was ordering him around like an indentured servant (smile). Alex
also joked that he was bringing the Geis Trophy to the PC/GA Day dance later
that night at PC…I wonder if he actually put that thing down to dance with any
PC cuties … I got to talk to Mike Ryan (father of Falcons QB Matt,
PC assistant coach Michael and PC sr. John) after the game, and
apparently he is a fan of my work. “Special Ed!” he exclaimed. “That’s just
great. I love that!” We try our hardest, Mr. Ryan.
NOV. 1
INTER-AC LEAGUE
Malvern 55, Penn Charter 21
As you can tell by the score, there’s really
not too much to say about this one other than Malvern is really, REALLY good. I
was curious to see just how talented the Friars were considering of their eight
wins (to zero losses), they’ve scored 40-plus points in seven of them and
50-plus in three of their four league games, and needless to say I was not
disappointed. It wasn’t as if Malvern was immensely more talented than PC…they
were just much bigger, stronger, faster and more experienced than the Quakers so
I guess when you carry those factors around the Inter-Ac, you’re going to win a
ton of 30 and 40-point blowouts. In the first quarter, Malvern only needed three
plays on each drive to get into the end zone, using their speed and mammoth
O-line to create time and space for the offensive standouts to make plays. After
PC punted on its first possession, the Friars started on their own 40 and on the
first play from scrimmage sr QB Billy Conners hit sr. RB Neil Willis
for a 52-yard strike down the middle of the field. Two plays later, Willis
found the end zone from seven yards out on a left side pitch that PC (3-6, 1-3
Inter-Ac) had no chance of defending. And as if Malvern (8-0, 4-0) needed any
additional help, they were given a takeaway courtesy of the zebras in black and
white on the very next possession. After PC jr. RB Dylan Moody returned
the kickoff 61 yards out to Malvern’s 38-yard line. Two plays later, PC direct
snapped the ball to jr RB Jim Lamb, who tossed a pretty pass down the
left sideline in the direction of sr. TE Alex Starr. The ball was a bit under thrown, and Conners, doubling as a DB, turned around just in time to get his mitts on the
ball at the goal line. However, just when it looked like Conners had hauled in
the INT, Moody seemed to jump over Conners’ back and rip the ball away over the
defender’s helmet (think David Tyree in the Super Bowl) and come down
with it just shy of the end zone. It looked like a spectacular catch, but the
refs ruled in Conners’ favor, causing PC’s sideline to erupt in fury. I can’t
say I blame them, because I was standing about 15 yards away with a good vantage
point and I was sure Starr had caught the ball. A touchdown there at least gives
PC the illusion that they can hang with the Friars for a little while. Instead,
Malvern took over on their own 3 and after 15 and 17-yard runs by sr. RB
James Connelly, Conners hooked up with sr. WR Joe Price for a 60-yard
TD strike. Connelly added a 33-yard TD run at the end of the quarter, and
Malvern added four more touchdowns (two more long receiving TD’s for Price and
another each by Willis and Connelly) in the second quarter to make it a 48-7
game at the half. From there on out there was nothing much else to report, as
the Friars played their second team the entire second half. Some of Malvern’s
stats: Conners completed five of his six passes for a whopping 244 yards and
three touchdowns; all three of those passing scores went to Price, who broke the
school record for most receiving yards in a game with 170; and Connelly carried
the ball nine times for a whopping 139 yards and two scores. More on Connelly:
it was just really nice to see a guy with bright red hair have success on the
football field. The last time I played football at PC, it was a pick-up game
with a bunch of friends in tenth grade and I got tackled and broke my thumb on
the game’s second play, so I like to say I am now living vicariously through Mr.
Connelly. On behalf of all unathletic, redheads everywhere, we thank you, James.
On the PC side, soph. QB John Loughery continued to improve despite the
blowout conditions, completing 17 for 30 passes for 195 yards, two touchdowns
and no turnovers. Jr. WR Mick Foley hauled in a nifty 41-yard pass down
the left sideline in the second quarter and was taken down hard and left the
game with what appeared to be a left ankle injury. He was on crutches on the
sideline in the second half and obviously did not return, possibly leaving
Loughery without one of his top targets heading into PC/GA Day on
Saturday. After one of Malvern’s seven first-half touchdowns, PC ballboy
Michael Lamb (younger brother of Jim) commented on Malvern K Mark
Tiberi’s ability to clang his booming extra points high off the PC
scoreboard, saying “They have an unbelievable kicker.” My response? “They have
an unbelievable everything, my man.”
“Special” Sauce: My
apologies for the lateness of this report, but the last week has been ridiculous
because of the Phillies winning the World Series. Even PC adjusted their
schedule, pushing this game from Friday afternoon to Saturday, my guess being
because Phillies president David Montgomery and new general Ruben
Amaro Jr. are Penn Charter grads and the administration knew nobody would
show up to school or for the game … Also want to send a congrats to PC injured
sr. QB John Ryan (brother of Matt) for officially committing to Brown
University, and John apparently wants to have a career as a doctor or dentist.
Best of luck to him.
OCT. 18
INTER-AC LEAGUE
Penn Charter 20, Chestnut Hill Academy 13
When I was at Penn Charter, it was hard to
imagine any win over CHA to be a crucial one, because the Blue Devils always
seemed to be one step behind a few years ago. However, today was an absolute
monster win for PC, who went into Landreth Field on CHA’s homecoming and put
themselves right back into the thick of the Inter-Ac title hunt. The young
Quakers are nowhere near as talented as mighty Malvern (who PC will host in two
weeks), but today all that mattered was evening the league record at 1-1,
something most didn’t think was possible against a Blue Devils team that came
into play with a 5-2 overall record, including a 31-3 drubbing at Germantown
Academy last week. Not only did PC pick up an enormous win, but they did so with
tremendous poise. It all began with a rock-solid performance from soph. QB
John Loughery, who is still learning the offense after being thrown into the
fire following his first cousin John Ryan’s (brother of Atlanta Falcons
QB, Matt) season-ending collarbone injury. Loughery played like a seasoned vet
on a perfect Saturday autumn afternoon, looking calm and collected in the pocket
a week after many of his throws were way off target. After two PC punts and a
missed Blue Devil field goal, the Quakers caught the game’s first break late in
the first quarter when CHA soph. Jon McAllister fumbled a punt on his own
32 that was recovered by PC’s Joey Volgraf. Charter took over marched
smoothly down the short field, and the drive ended when Loughery hooked up with
a wide open sr. WR Alex Starr (more on him later) in the back of the end
zone for a 5-yard touchdown strike with 14 seconds left in the opening frame.
That score became possible on a perfectly-executed fake draw-turned pass that
Starr hauled in for 10 yards down to CHA’s six. But the Blue Devils answered
immediately, carrying momentum into the second quarter on a 75-yard kickoff
return for a score by McAllister—not a bad way to redeem yourself after a lost
fumble—to give his team a 7-6 lead (PC had missed their extra point). After PC
turned it over on downs, the Devils struck again on jr. RB Ibraheim
Campbell’s 38-yard touchdown run, which resulted from a broken play when
Campbell actually dropped back for the halfback pass, found nobody open and
decided to scamper to pay dirt instead. A week after Campbell gained 310 yards
on the ground at GA, the Quakers held him to 80 yards on 16 carries with almost
half of those coming on the second quarter TD run. PC’s defense did a phenomenal
job on the strong, lightning-quick Campbell all afternoon, completely taking him
out of the game plan and holding him to under 100 yards for just the second time
all season. After Campbell had his one big run of the day, PC jr. RB Michael
Brown one-upped him by gaining 42 of his 64 yards on a touchdown dash
through the heart of the Blue Devils’ defense to knot the score at 13 with 1:25
left before recess. Momentum: Penn Charter. After the two teams traded punts the
first three possessions of the second half, the Quakers ate a ton of clock on a
12-play, 70-yard drive that culminated in Loughery’s second TD pass, this time
to jr. WR Mick Foley (not to be confused with the professional wrestler
of the same name). The touchdown pass was a thing of beauty, as Loughery
uncorked a perfect throw to the end zone’s left corner with Foley somehow
managing to stay in bounds for the deciding score. That would be all the PC
defense needed, forcing a fumble and two turnover on downs on CHA’s final three
possessions. With Campbell running nowhere, Charter forced QB Danny Gallagher
(4/13, 67 yds) to beat them through the air, which was not happening on this
day. Gallagher completed three of his four passes on his team’s final drive in
an attempt to tie the score in the waning moments of the fourth, but the defense
stood Gallagher and company up after the QB's three consecutive completions
totaled 50 yards (including one as he was hit that McAllister caught on his
knees). Loughery made tremendous strides in completing 11 of his 17 passes for
134 yards and no turnovers, but it was the PC defense that deserves a lion’s
share of the credit. Players like DE Justin Renfrow (Virginia), DE
Jake Richards, DB Joe Sankey and Starr (doubling as an undersized
corner) were all over the field, making big plays on CHA’s homecoming on a day
where their players just wanted to go home when this was over. Starr got the
game ball from PC coach Jeff Humble after the game, and he earned it. In
addition to providing fantastic coverage on defense, he emerged as Loughery’s
no. 1 target, tallying 64 yards on six catches, all of which either resulted in
first downs or a touchdown. The win was Humble’s first league win as head coach
and more importantly moved PC into a three-way tie for second place in the
Inter-Ac with three to go, one game behind first-place Malvern, who have
outscored their two league opponents 96-8.
“Special” Sauce:
Speaking of Mick Foley, I got to meet the one that wrestles while covering a
Hofstra-Stony Brook basketball game my junior year of college. While Mick
terrified me as his wrestling alter-ego Mankind when I was growing up,
apparently he lives on Eastern Long Island now writing children’s books and
sitting courtside at Stony Brook hoops games (why I’ll never know). I’m not sure
if he still wrestles, but a nice guy this dude was. He was pretty much the
opposite of what you see in the ring, and leapt at the opportunity to do an
interview with our school radio station … More on Alex Starr: I used to be good
friends with his older brother Tim Starr a.k.a. The “T-Unit”, who played
for PC and graduated with me in 2004. Tim was much more imposing (translation:
fat) than his brother a few years ago, and he used to push Alex around like any
normal older brother does, so it’s nice to see the younger Starr have success on
the field. Alex’s mom told me last week he was looking at schools like Trinity,
Tufts and Hobart (his brother’s alma mater), and he could probably walk on to
any of those schools’ football teams if he chose to … Got to talk to the
infamous Puck during halftime, and by talk I mean he accosted me on the
sideline and snatched my stats notepad from me to compare with his own. If I’m
going to be back in the Ted Silary website fold again, I have to re-acclimate
myself to the endearing Puck eccentricities … Seeing as how it’s been a long
five years since I was in Chestnut Hill, I had forgotten how to get there and
thought I’d giddily use my new GPS (What did I say in last week’s report?
Special Ed is a technological conformist, people) to get me there. While the GPS
borders on the greatest invention of all time (right up there with EZ-Pass and
the DVR), my new favorite toy certainly let me down today. In addition to taking
the scenic route through beautiful Olney and Germantown, the GPS made sure I hit
each red light and pothole while stuck behind every mentally challenged driver
in Philadelphia. These things need to come with a “Please don’t get me killed”
button when selecting your route is all I’m saying … It was nice getting to talk
to former PC football/basketball/baseball standout Zack Zeglinski (a 2005
PC grad), who currently attends Temple and is a PC assistant football coach,
where he -- no surprise -- works with the running backs. I feel like every Penn
Charter game I’ve attended over the past five years had a Zeglinski involved in
one way or another, and it’s good to see Zack milking the alma mater for all
it’s worth (smile). And speaking of former PC greats, correction on last week’s
report: Sean Singletary (also PC class of ’04) plays for the NBA’s
Phoenix Suns and not the Sacramento Kings, who traded him away as part of the
Ron Artest deal. Sorry folks, not quite into NBA mode yet…the Phillies need
to win four more until that happens.
OCT. 10
INTER-AC LEAGUE
Haverford School 32, Penn Charter 22
Back when I was at Penn Charter from 2000-04,
this game was an automatic ‘W’ for PC on the schedule, so I guess things have
changed a bit as I continue to descend into old-age oblivion. The score wasn’t
nearly as close as it looked, although Charter did make it interesting at the
end, closing to within 10 points with possession deep in their own territory
before the Fords snuffed out the potential rally. Let’s rewind. The name of the
game for Haverford today would be offensive efficiency, by my count tallying 14
first downs to PC’s six. They marched 75 yards downfield on their first drive,
with sr. QB Dan Judge finding sr. WR AJ Jones on a 2-yard TD
strike. However, PC answered with a bang 13 seconds later, as sr. Michael
Brown returned the ensuing kickoff untouched 85 yards for a score to knot
the score at 7. This was the first of two kick return scores for Brown, who
showed all kinds of tackle-elusive savvy on the second one, an 86-yarder that
breathed faint life into PC’s hopes in the fourth. This kid looks like a heck of
a player, and I’m not sure what he’s got planned for his future, but football
can be in it on some level. Unfortunately for PC, there was not enough Brown and
too much Judge and sr. RB Terance FitzSimmons (24 carries, 125 yards),
who got one big first down after another for the Fords. The second quarter was
the turning point, as the Fords outscored PC, 19-0 using three different, albeit
equally effective scoring methods. First, it was some more of that offensive
efficiency, as a 9-play, 75-yard drive culminated in the second Judge-to-Jones
hookup, this time on a perfectly placed ball that Jones (who also had a fourth
quarter INT to ice the game) caught across the middle between two defenders for
a 23-yard score. On PC’s next drive, RB Jim Lamb caught a short pass
before being hit and putting the ball on the ground, recovered by the Fords on
their own 45. Four plays later, Carl Walrath ran it in 14 yards for a
score, putting his team up 20-7. Then, just as PC marched deep into Haverford
territory late in the first half, the Fords found another way to score (or maybe
it was Charter finding another way not to score). As PC sr. K Billy
O’Boyle lined up for a 22-yard field goal try, something went haywire
between the snap and the hold and O’Boyle booted the ball straight on the ground
into his offensive line. The ball deflected toward Haverford’s sideline, and
after a moment of confusion, the Fords’ Wyatt Benson (this is the second
time since ’04 I’ve got to write someone named Wyatt into an Inter-Ac site
report…I think I’ve found the name of my first born son) picked up the live ball
and motored 84 yards for the score, making it 26-7 and completely sucking the
wind out of PC’s sails right before halftime. According to Ted, who was also on
the PC sideline for this one, the return almost broke a 33-year old city record,
missing by 3 yards (Ted was apparently also on hand for that return in ’75—geez
Ted, think it’s getting time to hanging up the clipboard and handing the reins
over to Special Ed? Just sayin’…smile). Anyway, PC tried to rally in the second
half, but it was too much clock control and too many first downs on Haverford’s
part to make that possible. PC soph QB John Loughery (cousin of injured
sr. John Ryan, who is the younger brother of Atlanta Falcons starting QB
Matt Ryan—a 2003 PC grad) got a lot of work in the second half, and two
things became evident: 1) Loughery has the potential to be a very good high
school signal caller, and 2) He’s not quite there yet. Thrust into the lineup
after Ryan broke his collarbone earlier this season, Loughery (10/27, 83 yards
and his first career TD pass) at times showed some nifty presence in the pocket
and threw some impressive spirals downfield, but he’s still got work to do on
his accuracy. I asked Loughery after the game if he had any hopes of following
his father (who played QB at PC in the late 70s) and cousin Matt as a Boston
College QB, and he said maybe, but for now he’s just concentrating on growing as
a football player. He’ll get there. But for now, this day belonged to the other
quarterback, as Judge (a Richmond recruit) finished with 79 yards on 8-for-12
passing. He kept his team cool and collected in the huddle and was seemingly
able to rally his team to every needed first down. The Fords improved to 5-1 and
1-0 in the Inter-Ac, while PC fell to 2-4 and 0-1.
“Special” Sauce: It
was nice to be back on PC’s campus again for the first time in a few years. I
got to see some old faces, including my old baseball coaches Rick Mellor
and Gerry Sasse, who approached me before the game and deadpanned, “Geez,
they must let anyone on the sidelines these days!”… Special thanks to the Ryan
and Loughery families, who were kind enough to take some time to talk to me
before and after the game for a freelance story that I’m working on. I knew Matt
well while I was at PC, and according to his family, he’s the same old Matt that
he was in high school. The riches and fame of the NFL haven’t gone to his head,
and it doesn’t surprise me at all. It must be something about Penn Charter that
always keeps its family’s feet firmly planted on the ground and like me, I’m
sure Matt will always remember PC for giving him a chance for future success. He
deserves all of the success he gets … Another special thanks to PC history
teacher/PA extraordinaire John Burkhart, who provided constant updates of
Game 2 of the NLCS between the Phils and Dodgers to the crowd. I was following
the game on my BlackBerry (yes, Special Ed is a technology conformist) and snuck
out to my car at halftime to listen on the radio, but the updates appeared to
please the PC faithful, who erupted into cheers when Burkie announced they had
taken a 6-2 lead … Speaking of the Phillies, you have no idea how exuberant this
World Series run is making me. After four years of college in the thick of New
York Mets territory and another five on the unemployment line, the Philmasters
have been keeping me going these days. And man oh man would it be nice to stick
a World Series title in the faces of those lousy New Yorkers (as well as being
the first title in my lifetime). Go Phils!
OCT. 3
PUBLIC AA
Furness 38, Esperanza 0
Ahhhh…after four-plus years away from tedsilary.com, this is the
nailbiter that Ted decides to bring me back on board with. Not to knock the
Public League, but watching this game was only slightly less thrilling than
following the likes of Sean Singletary (now with the NBA’s Sacramento
Kings) and Rob Kurz dominate the Inter-Ac during my senior year at Penn
Charter back in 2004. However, considering a college degree in journalism and
an internship at USA Today seem to mean squat in the present day’s
economy, it seems slightly fitting that my first published work in nearly five
months involved a barn burner like this one. With that in mind, after watching
Gratz-Mastbaum grind it out with Ted on Thursday, I should’ve known that
this game would be won on the ground. But what I did not know was that it was
somehow possible to not only win a game without attempting a single pass,
but that you could do so convincingly. Don’t believe me? Well that’s exactly
what Furness did on this brisk, sunny October afternoon. After being outscored
48-0 the previous two weeks, the Falcons ran right through Esperanza, who made
it painfully clear that they are still very much in their unforgiving first
season of varsity football. Despite managing hardly any offense at all,
Esperanza kept it competitive through one, trailing 8-0 on Furness QB Anthony
Ings' 1-yard touchdown scamper. Unfortunately, that’s when the
wheels fell off for Esperanza. After going three-and-out (this would become a
recurring theme), sr. John Johnson corralled a punt at midfield and took
it to the house untouched. Then, after Esperanza’s longest offensive drive of
the game (17 yards) stalled on a turnover on downs, Furness frosh Antyone
Satchell carried three straight times for 23 yards before deferring to jr.
Charles Pullett, whose only carry of the day was a 21-yard score on a
reverse that put the Falcons up 24-0. The fun didn’t stop there, as Esperanza’s
next two drives were thwarted by interceptions, the second of which was returned
25 yards for a score right before the half by Johnson to make it 30-0. (Note: An
INT and punt return for scores in the same game? Nice work, Mr. Johnson.) Then,
after going three-and-out again to start the second half, Esperanza’s defense
was quickly burnt on a 53-yard touchdown run by jr. Aamir McCleary to put
the finishing touches on the 38-0 romp. Moments after returning to the
sideline, McCleary spotted me on the Furness sideline and asked me if I was
keeping stats for Ted’s site. Sensing my cover was blown, I said yes, to which
he replied, “You better get my stats right!” McCleary was hard to miss all day,
also picking up gains of 13 and 14 en route to 91 yards and his score (as well
as some nice tackles on D). Hope I got those right, Aamir (smile). And just
how do you win a game by 38 points without attempting a pass? Well, a good
start is giving the pigskin to 10 different ball carriers…and picking off
Esperanza QB Brandon Abner four times didn’t hurt, either. Abner
finished the day just 3-for-10, as his INT total (four) doubled his total
passing yards (two). Yikes.
“Special” Sauce: One
of the officials asked me if I was covering the game for the site as well. I
suppose he found time to chat with me when he wasn’t flirting with the cute girl
that held the down marker on the sideline the entire game . . . Among the
handful of spectators on hand for this one were two guys behind the Furness
bench who I began chatting with at halftime. When I let them in on some of the
many rushing stats, the younger of the two (who had hair like former New York
Times movie critic Elvis Mitchell—if you don’t get the reference, Google
it) asked me how many yards he had on the ground. I told him 200, an answer
that clearly pleased him. After the game was over, when some confused girls
asked me when the game was starting, Elvis told me to tell her 15 minutes. When
I complied, he told me I was going to hell. My response: “I’m taking you with
me, guy.” . . . Perhaps I led a sheltered life growing up in the Far Northeast,
but this game was played in a ROUGH part of town just four miles down Torresdale
Ave. from where I live. Once I crossed Harbison Ave, I felt like I was in an
episode of HBO’s “The Wire.” ... I suppose I’ll continue filing reports
for the site for as long as I remain unemployed, but I’ll be sitting Saturday
out. My reason? Game 3 of the Phillies-Brewers NLDS. Sorry, Ted, but the
Phightins’ take priority in this man’s life (smile).