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Special Ed Return to TedSilary.com Home Page Ed "Special Ed" Morrone, a Penn Charter/Hofstra grad and former website legend, is back to file reports. Ed graduated from Hofstra in May '08 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. 26
PUBLIC LEAGUE
Olney 42, Fels 36
It’s always hard to wake up early on a holiday
to go to work, and it’s especially difficult when anticipating a giant
Thanksgiving feast. You know what makes the best meal of the year worth waiting
for, though? A good old fashioned shootout, which is exactly what this one was.
It didn’t start out that way, though, as Olney pummeled Fels at the outset and
seemed hell-bent on sending the Panthers home early for dinner. The scoring
started early, just as the game did. Having never been to Gratz before (where
the game was held), I made a few wrong turns and arrived at the field five
minutes before the scheduled kickoff of 10:30 a.m. Much to my surprise, the game
had already begun AND Olney had already put up a touchdown just 30 seconds into
the game—guess there’s no time to waste when there’s turkey to be consumed. As
Olney coach Barry Strube informed me after the game, Fels had fumbled the
opening kickoff and the Trojans recovered on the 3. From there, Olney needed
just one play to dent the scoreboard as jr. RB Christopher Fountain (24
carries, 109 yards) ran the ball in what was the first of many touchdowns in
this game. After marching all the way down to the Olney 20, Fels jr. RB Terry
Brown (13 carries, 46 yards) took a hand off from jr. QB Tyree Rucker
and ran right up the gut. Problem is, the Olney D was in an unyielding mood,
stopping Brown for no gain and jarring the ball loose, which was recovered by
sr. LB Kareem Clark. The Trojans then embarked on an methodical 16-play,
80-yard drive in which the longest offensive gain was 11 yards. Fountain coughed
up the ball toward the end of the drive but was ruled down by contact. It was a
huge break for the Trojans, as Fels DB Jamiel Hines scooped up the ball
and had an unobstructed path to the end zone. Instead, Olney regained possession
and scored four plays later on a two-yard run by jr. QB Jaron “Snoop” Turner,
good for a 14-0 lead. Fels went three-and-out and was forced to punt, which
Turner fielded on the Panther 40 and finessed his way all the way down to the 6.
However, the Trojans were flagged for a personal foul on the return and were
moved back to the 34. Problem? No way. On the next play, Turner dropped back and
launched an underthrown pass down the sideline, intended for jr. RB Eric
Taggart. Fels jr. DB Kendall Shields got a pretty nice piece of the
ball on the deflection but couldn’t corral it, and unfortunately for him the
tipped ball landed right in Taggart’s hands in the right corner of the end zone,
giving Olney a seemingly insurmountable 20-0 lead after one. But there was no
quit in Fels. Their defense finally buckled down until their offense could make
a move, which it did with 4:11 left in the first half on a very wacky play.
After an Olney punt, Rucker dropped back and threw a quick screen to Jared
Hines. Hines bobbled the ball and it hit the turf, and the Olney defense
stopped chasing the ball thinking the play was dead. However, Hines was behind
the line of scrimmage when Rucker tossed him the ball, making it a live play,
which worked out because Hines picked up the ball and kept running all the way
for a score. The Olney sideline was extremely confused, but the officials got
the call right and Fels was within 20-8. Three plays later, Fountain fumbled
deep in his own territory and surrendered the ball back to Fels. On a
third-and-three from the 21, Rucker dropped back and looked like he was going to
hit Hines again on another screen. But this time it was a fake and the defense
was badly fooled. Instead, Rucker hit a wide open Chris Miller, who
bobbled the ball but was able to hang on for the score, drawing Fels to within
20-16 with just 29 seconds left in the half. A stunned Olney team trudged to the
locker room, while the rejuvenated Panthers had new life. The only problem for
Fels, however, was that they could never completely overcome Olney on the
scoreboard. Whenever the Panthers got within sniffing distance of the lead, the
Trojans came right back with a score. On the first drive of the second half,
Olney again used short run bursts to drive to the Fels 40. There, Turner somehow
found jr. TE Claudy Mathieu on a deep pass down the Fels sideline even
though Mathieu had at least three black jerseys on him. This gave Olney a 28-16
advantage, and their offense was here to stay. But the pesky Panthers wouldn’t
go away, as Rucker hit Kevin Burton on a 14-yard scoring strike in what
was the first of two TD grabs for Burton in the second half, this one with 39
seconds left in the third. Sensing blood in the water again, Turner made sure to
slay the Fels morale again by returning the ensuing kickoff untouched for 90
yards, pushing Olney’s advantage back to a two possession game at 34-22. Fels
kept coming, but they suffered a major loss on the last play of the third
quarter when Rucker took off down the middle of the field for a 25-yard run. The
consequence? Getting completely sandwiched by a pair of Olney defenders, and
Rucker laid on the field for a few minutes before walking off the field on his
own power. He didn’t return, but his replacement, jr. Deric Ware found
Burton for a 36-yard touchdown pass down the middle on the very next play. It
was Burton’s second score in 48 seconds, and what do you know, Fels had again
crept up on the Trojans at 34-28 with 11:51 to go. Unfortunately for Fels,
Olney’s ground game was just a little bit better in this one, and they used it
to eat clock en route to a backbreaking score on the next drive. It also helped
that Olney had Turner, who keyed the drive with a 22-yard dash into Fels
territory. Seven plays later, Turner hooked up with his favorite target of the
day in Mathieu, who made a fingertip catch from 23 yards out while falling out
of bounds in the end zone to give Olney a 42-28 lead with 6:08 to go. Ware threw
a 23-yard TD pass to Hines on the next Fels possession (both of Ware’s
completions were touchdown passes), but the Panthers didn’t get the ball back
due to Olney’s superior clock-killing running attack. Thus, the Trojans held on
for their fourth consecutive Turkey Bowl victory in what turned out to be a
wildly entertaining contest that ran in the three-hour range. Turner was the
show-stopper for Olney, accounting for 251 yards on offense (140 passing, 111
rushing) and five of the Trojan touchdowns (three passing, one rushing and the
long kickoff return). Snoop sure was fun to watch, and he earned the game’s MVP
trophy from Strube and his teammates after the contest was over. Mathieu ended
the day with four catches for 92 yards and the two scores and his strong
performance had Olney supporters coming up to me on the sideline after his
second touchdown asking me to add up his stats to see if he had broken a
receiving record. In fact, Mathieu posted 121 yards in a loss to Central earlier
this season, and neither of those games were as good as the best performance of
the last two seasons by an Olney WR. The best, you ask? That would be 145 yards
against West Philly last year accomplished by none other than Mr. Snoop Turner.
Olney finished the season at 6-4 while Fels fought valiantly to the end in what
was a 2-9 season. For me, the last football game of the season was a dandy, just
like the two that preceded it (Penn Charter-GA and Wood-Lansdale Catholic being
the others) and it made me somewhat sad that the season was coming to a close.
The only consolation? Basketball is on the horizon, and hoops is where Special
Ed got his start on this site all the way back in 2003 as I chronicled the
fantastic Penn Charter season led by Sean Singletary and Rob Kurz.
So get your final fill, football fans, and I’ll be here on the hardwood waiting
for you to join me before you know it. And if I didn’t know any better, I’d say
I’m rapidly ascending the tedsilary.com ladder. Confused? Well, when I
was on the Olney sideline during the game, a younger non-player extended his
hand and said what I thought was “Hey, Ed!” Then he joined some of his friends
and amid the whispers I heard “No you dummy, that’s not Ted!” Apparently, the
young fellow had mistaken me for the legendary proprietor of this website. I
corrected him, but I think this means the people have spoken and chosen your
successor, Ted! Well, either that or Special Ed is not doing nearly enough to
get recognized at these football games around the city. Jeez, I thought the red
hair was the most identifiable trademark in the book… (smile).
NOV. 14
INTER-AC LEAGUE
Penn Charter 25, Germantown Academy 22
Wow! Another year, another classic. They don’t
call this one the oldest high school football rivalry in the country for
nothing, folks. Despite it being a bit of a down year for both teams (PC
finished 5-5 overall, 2-3 in league play, while GA stumbled to a 3-6 mark with a
1-4 record in the Inter-Ac), that fact didn’t stop them from fighting to the
bitter end in this one. While Malvern, CHA and Haverford were busy this weekend
fighting for a three-way tie atop the league, the Quakers and Patriots tussled
over pride, which can be a pretty powerful motivator in a 123-year old rivalry.
This game went how most of them do between these two programs: a competitive,
smash-mouth fight to the end with PC eventually coming out on top—for the 79th
time in the PC/GA tradition (sorry, Patriot fans, but GA/PC Day sounds
ridiculous every time I hear it). Last year, the Quakers won a 6-0 rain-soaked
affair at GA’s Deacon Field. The site of PC/GA Day usually alternates each year,
but was again held at GA for a second straight year due to the 250th year the
school has been opened (the event will be held at PC the next two years). And
while the conditions were close to the same in this one due to brutal rain the
prior evening, the style of play was far from it. This one had it all: a 1-yard
INT returned for a touchdown, a 74-yard blocked field goal returned for a score
and a performance for the ages by one of the quarterbacks…but I digress. Because
this one was so good, let’s really sink our teeth into how it went from a first
half defensive struggle, to what looked like a romp in PC’s favor, to what
amounted to a spectacular comeback by GA to one final, brilliant drive by the
Quakers that stunned a capacity crowd in Fort Washington. For Penn Charter, the
start to this one was as ominous as they come. It took three tries just to run
the first play due to personal foul and holding calls and after a 3-yard run by
sr. RB Michael Brown, all hell broke loose. PC jr. QB John Loughery
(much more on him to come) dropped back at his own 11 only to see a normally
rock-solid offensive line buckle under relentless pressure. Soph. DL Colin
McCarthy seemed to have Loughery wrapped up for a sack near the goal line.
Only instead of taking the sack, Loughery panicked and tried to flip the ball to
sr. FB Jim Lamb, which was plucked out of the air by freshman Chuck
Boddy for a very short INT return. Just 1:12 into the game, GA already had
amped up the crowd with a 7-0 lead. The defenses took over from there, and GA’s
continued to stand out in the first quarter. Highlights included more pressure
on Loughery that led to a pass to Brown that lost nine yards as well as a third
and inches at the GA 34. Loughery went for the sneak and fumbled the ball, which
was recovered by soph. Brian Erb, who had a huge day on defense with the
fumble recovery and two interceptions. In the second quarter, it was PC’s
defense’s time to shine, as they put a clamp on GA sr. QB Austin Kevitch,
who does most of the damage on offense with his arm and legs. With the ball out
of Kevitch’s hands and instead in the mitts of Loughery, the PC offense finally
made its offense. Starting at his own 7, Loughery found sr. WR Mick Foley
for a couple of short strikes to the PC 22 before lofting a beautiful spiral
down the middle of the field which was snapped up by a diving Foley. The play
gained 33, and Loughery had found his rhythm. A 15-yard strike to jr. WR Joey
Sankey took the Quakers to the 30 and the drive ended on a halfback draw to
Brown, who motored down the GA sideline and into the end zone for the score. PC
missed the extra point, but the nifty seven-play, 93-yard drive got them within
7-6 at halftime. Despite it being a low-scoring half, Loughery still threw 20
times for 137 yards, but did have the two turnovers. Foley had a monster first
half, catching eight balls for 115 yards. On the other side, PC’s defense did a
pretty nice job at containing the sneaky Kevitch, who passed for 81 yards and
rushed for 25 more but was kept out of the scoring column. If you thought the
first half lacked scoring and action, then you were in for a super treat in the
second frame. The third quarter was a tale of two drives, as the Patriots had
possession coming out of halftime. GA drove 12 plays to the PC 34 but stalled
and was forced to punt. The Quakers were pinned back at their own 6 on a
personal foul call as well as a sideline warning for PC. (Coach Jeff Humble
was livid after Sankey fielded the punt on a fair catch and contact was made.
However, the refs said Sankey tried to run with the ball after fielding it when
it actually looked like he caught the ball and dropped down to avoid contact.)
Either way, the Quakers were still looking at a 90-plus yard drive if they
wanted to take the lead. After an incompletion and a short toss to Lamb,
Loughery hit sr. WR David Martina for a 13-yard first down strike, then
used a pair of 15-yard penalties to creep all the way down to the GA 30. A
4-yard completion to Sankey and an 11-yard run by Brown took PC to the 15 before
Loughery found Martina across the middle on a crossing route. Martina did the
rest, fighting his way toward the PC sideline and stretched for the pylon for a
13-7 lead, which is where the score stood after three quarters. If you glanced
at the final score above, you would know we were in for a wild and crazy fourth,
which started when Brown returned a punt 36 yards to the GA 34. Brown embodied
his inner DeSean Jackson on the return, eluding tacklers and juking his
way into Patriot territory on a brilliant run. Loughery fired an incompletion
intended for Sankey into the endzone, but it sure didn’t stop Humble from
keeping the ball in his QB’s hands. An 18-yard strike to Sankey, a one-handed
grab that netted 8 yards for Lamb and eight more from Loughery to Sankey got PC
back across the goal line. Boom, boom, boom it went for the Quakers who now held
a 19-7 lead after another missed PAT. With the Quakers thinking they had the
game in hand, all hell broke loose. GA started at its own 33, and after a
13-yard completion from Kevitch to Lamont Jackson, Kevitch lofted a
perfect strike down the right sideline. Foley made his only mistake of the day
in coverage and allowed Jake Biel (six catches, 93 yards) to beat him for
a 54-yard touchdown. The Quaker lead was trimmed to 19-14 but it was far from
over, as the next two drives ended in interceptions, first when Erb picked off
an underthrown ball by Loughery and then two plays later Foley got revenge on
Kevitch on a diving pick across the middle that was a beauty. PC’s next drive to
the GA 18 (highlighted by a 32-yard completion from Loughery to Foley) stalled
and Humble opted for a field goal try, which raised eyebrows on the PC sideline.
Why? Because to this point, PC had missed two PAT’s as well as pushing a field
goal wide right before halftime. This time, Robert Friskey’s 35-yard
attempt was blocked and scooped up by Ryan Dolan, who returned it 74
yards to pay dirt. Just like that, GA had taken a stunning 22-19 lead. With 4:46
still left on the clock, it seemed like ages for the Quaker offense to strike
again, but on the second play of the next drive Loughery threw his third pick of
the game, again into the ready arms of Erb. It looked to be over after a 12-yard
Kevitch run landed the Patriots in PC territory, but a bear-hug stop by jr. DE
Jake Richards and a pass deflection by Brown forced a punt and kept the
Quakers alive. With 2:50 to go and PC at its own 24, it was make-or-break time
for these two ancient rivals. The drive started inauspiciously, as Loughery
fired an incompletion and was sacked by Ryan Crane for a 5-yard loss. On
3rd and 15, Loughery hit Foley for a 13-yard strike and then hooked up with
Martina for 8 on a do-or-die 4th and 2. Sankey drew enough contact for another
pass interference call which got PC into GA territory, and a 17-yard
catch-and-run by Brown took the Quakers to the 28 with 1:14 to go. Loughery then
connected with Foley for 9 yards and a subsequent incompletion brought up a 3rd
and 1. GA must have been playing a little too tight on defense due to the
circumstances, resulting in a defensive holding call on Jackson. An incompletion
and a four-yard pass to Sankey brought up 3rd and goal at the 5. With time
winding down, Loughery calmly dropped back and hit Brown along the PC sideline
and the senior running back fought and stretched his way into the endzone for an
improbable 25-22 lead with 32 seconds left. After the touchdown, an exuberant
Loughery raced to the sideline and attempted to leap into the arms of his dad,
John Sr. The only problem was that the 6-foot-5 Loughery put too much on
his jump and ended up face planting onto the ground. An awkward celebration for
sure, but after the series of events that had just occurred, it’s hard to blame
Loughery for being excited. The Patriots got the ball back but folded for good
when Kevitch threw his third pick of the game to soph. LB Jackson Tamasitis.
A kneel-down by Loughery ended things, and PC’s seniors got to celebrate their
last game on GA’s turf. After the game, Humble awarded the game ball to his
seniors, telling them they had met the challenge of “writing their own book to
become a part of something that will never die.” Hard to argue with him. PC
seniors Brown (84 total yards, 2 TD’s), Martina (five catches, 52 yards, TD) and
Foley (12 catches, 178 yards, INT) were everywhere. Foley won the Geis Trophy
for the game’s MVP. The Quakers will miss these guys as well as Lamb and OL/DL
Casey Maher but will bring back plenty of talent, which starts with the
guy who lines up under center. Loughery, the cousin of Matt Ryan,
prematurely took over the QB reins last season when Matt’s younger brother
John Ryan broke his collarbone. The subsequent year and a half have included
some growing pains for Loughery, but he completed 57 percent of his passes for
2,066 yards and 18 TD’s this season. With still another season to go, it’s no
doubt Loughery has a big-time Division I future ahead of him…maybe follow in his
dad and cousin’s footsteps at Boston College, perhaps? His numbers for the game
were eye-popping, going 30-for-52 for 337 yards and three second half TD’s. The
30 completions were a new city record and the 337 yards a new school record…both
records Loughery had previously broken this season. Wow. Sankey (seven catches,
74 yards, TD, INT) will be back as well if he chooses to play, as the little guy
is bound for North Carolina on a lacrosse scholarship. The Tar Heels may want to
protect their investment, but the Quakers could sure use him back next year as
he is a playmaker on both sides of the ball. PC will also return Richards
(probably a D-I scholarship in his future, as well) and talented TE/DE Blair
Bodeck. The future should be bright for a young GA team as well, although
they will lose Kevitch, who accounted for 232 total yards. In my mind, it would
be no surprise to see both teams back in the title mix in 2010. One other
noteworthy item: Bradley Cooper of Wedding Crashers and The
Hangover fame is a GA alum and was allegedly at the game, though I didn’t
spot him since I’m a loyal guy and planted myself on the PC sideline. And while
I love those two movies and think Bradley is a very funny guy, I only have one
thing to say to him now that I know he’s a GA grad…Suck it, Cooper! (smile)
NOV. 7
CATHOLIC AAA SEMIFINAL
Wood 22, Lansdale Catholic 19
I haven’t seen much Catholic League football
this season, but I knew the basics heading into this one: Wood was very good—top
five in the city good—and Lansdale Catholic had struggled to a 2-7 record.
Needless to say I wasn’t expecting much of a game, especially after Wood had
smacked the Crusaders in the mouth 31-8 just two weeks earlier. However,
Lansdale seemed determined from the get-go, and it was evident that this contest
had a chance to be a competitive one especially after the Crusaders nearly
recovered a squib kick on the opening kickoff. On the next play, Wood QB
Jerry Rahill hit RB Scott Adkins with a 7-yard pass and Adkins
fumbled as he turned upfield and was met by a swarm of Lansdale defenders. On
its next possession, Wood drove all the way down into the red zone only to have
RB Kevin Murt cough up the second lost fumble of the quarter, which was
picked up by jr. DB Alex Hetzel. Hetzel had a big day on defense with two
interceptions to go with the fumble recovery. Lansdale then went on a 10-play,
42-yard drive that resulted in QB Andrew Mandato firing an INT to Adkins,
but nonetheless it was clear that the Crusaders showed up to play and would not
lie down for the mighty Vikings. Lansdale’s defense (more on these guys later)
forced a punt, and the Vikings pinned the Crusaders down at their own 6 early in
the second quarter. But an illegal shift by Wood forced a re-kick that allowed
Lansdale to start on its own 27, which was huge in a scoreless game. The result?
Runs of 22 and 12 yards by Mandato, a 34-yard scamper by jr. FB Devon Barrett
and a 5-yard TD run by Scott Catalano through the right side on Wood’s
defense for a 6-0 lead. Wood took over on offense and went backwards, losing two
on an Adkins run and nine yards when Rahill was dropped for a sack. Then on the
next play sensing some pressure from the defense, Rahill forced a throw into the
middle of the field right into the waiting arms of sr. LB Tom Gaus, who
rumbled 48 yards for a score exactly two minutes after Catalano’s touchdown.
Just like that, Wood held a 12-0 lead amidst a stunned Wood sideline. There
seemed to be some definite discord amongst the Vikings personnel, as the gassed
defense was upset with one another and a beleaguered offensive line was hearing
it from the coaches after Gaus’ touchdown. To Wood’s credit, they came back with
a bang instead of feeling sorry for themselves and looked determined to dig
themselves out of the hole they had gotten into, probably sensing that their
seven-game winning streak—and season in general—was in jeopardy. Starting with
great field position at their own 47, Wood put together a huge 7-play, 53-yard
drive that ended with a 14-yard TD run up the gut by Rahill with 1:53 remaining
in the half that cut Lansdale’s lead to 12-7. The drive was highlighted by five
straight runs totaling 30 yards by Adkins. Lansdale didn’t set the world on fire
offensively in the first half and were definitely aided by four Wood turnovers,
but they went into the break with a lead, which was probably more than most
people expected. The Crusaders also got fantastic play out of its offensive
line—center Gaus, tackles Tom Shields and Dennis Hoyer and guards
Quinn Martin and Mike Malecki—which did a fantastic job creating
space for Mandato, Catalano and Barrett. On its first possession of the second
half, Wood embarked on an 11-play drive that made it look like the Vikings had
their swagger back…that is until Rahill felt some more pressure and tossed a
pass up for grabs which Hetzel hauled in for his second pick. Starting at its
own 10, Lansdale looked poised to keep building on its lead, but an ill-advised
play cost the Crusaders big time. On the first play of the drive, Mandato
dropped back to run the option, something Lansdale had done successfully the
entire first half. But this time, the Wood defensive line finally broke through,
and instead of wisely taking a sack, Mandato tossed as frantic option pitch to
Catalano, who was hit immediately by a brick wall of Viking players. The hit
jarred the ball loose and Adkins (also a DB who was everywhere the entire game)
scooped up the loose change five yards for a quick TD that all of a sudden gave
Wood its first lead of the game, 14-12. The Wood contingent of fans started to
get noisy for the first time, but the Crusaders didn’t buckle. After a short run
by Barrett to open the drive, Mandato, backed again by a superb offensive line,
dropped back and hit RB Mike Bradley in stride across the middle of the
field. Bradley then cut through the defense like butter and raced untouched 54
yards to the house, stunning Wood yet again for a 19-14 lead. It was Mandato’s
first completion of the game and it came 51 seconds after Adkins’ score.
Lansdale took that 5-point lead into the fourth, which was shaping up to be a
fantastic one. The final frame was really a tale of two drives, and it started
with Wood. It was essentially put-up-or-shut-up time for the Vikings, and they
certainly responded. Using a three-pronged ground game of seniors Adkins, Rahill
and Murt, Wood marched all the way down to the Lansdale 9. A personal foul call
set the Vikes back 15 yards and facing a third and long, Rahill picked the
perfect time for his biggest pass of the night. Rahill dropped back, pump faked
to his right before launching down the left sideline and found WR Kevin Shaw
in stride for a 20-yard TD strike with 8:34 remaining. To that point, Rahill had
as many interceptions as completions (three) but showed great poise in finding
Shaw, who cooked up a great fake to beat Bradley, who doubles as a cornerback.
Lansdale got the ball back in plenty of time and kept their drive going after
converting on a fourth-and-1 and got down to the Wood 36. Mandato dropped back
and tossed a prayer down the right sideline and the pass somehow found the grasp
of WR Kevin McGinn all the way down to the Wood 5, causing bedlam in the
Lansdale fan section. The celebration was short-lived though, as Lansdale was
flagged for holding and instead was moved back to their own 48. They punted the
ball away with just under three minutes to go and never recovered, and Wood ran
out the clock to narrowly escape a colossal upset. Lansdale got the loss but
they deserve a serious round of applause for a fantastic effort. They didn’t
have a ton of offensive firepower, as Mandato completed three passes for 61
yards and ran eight times for 57 yards and was backed by 72 yards on the ground
from Barrett. In addition to the great play of the offensive line, Lansdale’s
defense was fantastic. Standouts were linemen Pat O’Hara and Matt
McGouldrick, linebackers Gaus, Nick Seaton and Steve Day and
DB’s Hetzel and Bradley, who was fantastic aside from getting beat on the late
TD. For Wood, they should breathe a huge sigh of relief. They played a very
uneven game and if they cough the ball up five times on Friday night in the
title game against North Catholic then the result may be different. Adkins was
the standout on both sides of the ball, gaining 64 yards on the ground in
addition to an INT and his fumble recovery for a score. Rahill threw three picks
in nine attempts, but made big plays with his arm and legs when he had to. This
game was certainly an unexpected treat and was held at Truman High School in
Levittown, which houses a beautiful stadium that was even more majestic under
the lights. My only mistake? Wearing my Hofstra sweatshirt on Wood’s sideline.
Why, you ask? In the first half, a Wood ballboy asked me if I was a scout for
Hofstra and then in the second half, Wood senior Pat McFadden asked me if
I went there. I told him I had graduated, and he said he asked because Hofstra
had been sending him letters. My advice was while Hofstra has competitive
athletics, the football program is nothing to write home about. Then again,
nothing wrong with following in the footsteps of a Hofstra legend…I meant
myself, but no worries if you were thinking of Marques Colston (smile).
OCT. 30
PUBLIC AAAA QUARTERFINAL
Washington 42, Southern 0
Not too much to say about this one, as it was
pretty much over shortly after it started. Washington, a self-described “team on
a mission” showed it in this one, completely running Southern off of a muddy,
sloppy field in the Public League AAAA Quarterfinals. The Eagles dented the
scoreboard just 38 seconds into the game. Starting at their own 42, jr. RB
English Peay (love that name) broke free on an 18-yard run on the first play
from scrimmage, setting up sr. QB Aaron Wilmer’s first pass of the game.
It was a good one. Wilmer found soph. WR Nate Smith for a 40-yard TD
strike, and it was off to the races from there. The next six drives went like
this: Southern three-and-out, Peay 3-yard TD run, Southern lost fumble, Peay
23-yard TD run, Southern three-and-out, Wilmer 13-yard TD pass. With 2:40 left
in the first quarter, Washington had a 28-0 lead. Ouch. The Eagle offense then
took a backseat to its vaunted defense, which had allowed just 75 points all
season coming into the game. After pitching another shutout, the Washington
defense is now allowing less than 10 points a game this season. Memo to Bartram
and whoever else plays the Eagles this season: good luck! The defensive unit is
anchored by sr. DT Sharrif Floyd, one of the top defensive linemen in the
country. Because of the score, Floyd didn’t play much after the first quarter,
but he did look to be as good as advertised. At one point during the blowout, a
Washington assistant coach came up to me and told me to watch out on this play
as they were going to turn Floyd loose. Sure enough, he burst through Southern’s
helpless O-line and stopped the play for a loss. That really got me thinking…if
Washington can actually choose when to sick Floyd on opposing offenses,
then I pity those poor kids that get in his way. That means they were holding
him back in this blowout and he still made a huge impact on the game. When Floyd
was out of the game, the rest of the stellar defensive line held down the fort.
These guys are end Brandon Chudnoff, DT Abdel Kanan and freshman
DL Justin Moody. These guys were a huge reason why Southern QB
Shaquille Gaskins was running for his life all game. Gaskins completed just
six of his 17 passes for 38 yards, and was brought down eight times for minus-55
in the backfield. As a team, Southern accounted for minus-52 yards rushing…ouch
again! Sr. DB Elliot Leonard also grabbed two interceptions for the
Eagles, and the 6-2, 230-pound Chudnoff accounted for an entire Washington
scoring drive, catching two passes for 40 yards, including the 13-yard strike
that made it 28-0. Washington added two more scores in the third (a
Wilmer short TD scamper and a 30-yard run by jr. RB Trey Pinkney) and
could have made it worse if not for some very flag-happy officials, which put a
stranglehold on at least three Washington drives. On offense, Peay led the way
with 150 yards rushing and two scores, while Wilmer completed 5 of his 11 passes
for 92 yards and three touchdowns (two passing, one rushing). He also tossed two
picks, but they didn’t cost him against an inferior opponent like Southern. And
I give Wilmer props…on his second INT, he was so frustrated that he chased down
the Southern defender and popped him, which is not something you see a QB do
every day. After the game, I interviewed Wilmer for a story I was assigned by
the Northeast Times, and what a good kid he is. A lot of these kids have
never been interviewed by the media before and are often quiet and timid when
approached, but not Wilmer. He was a real pleasure to talk to…very upbeat and
excited about the next game, and make no mistake about it, he thinks this
Washington team is good enough to compete in the state playoffs. They lost in
the state quarterfinals last year to eventual champion Bethlehem Liberty, and it
looks very well like they’re hungry for more. Need more proof? Floyd, Chudnoff
and injured WR Joe Clayborne have all been invited to the U.S. Army
All-American Combine in San Antonio in January, with Floyd being selected to
play in the combine’s prestigious East-West showcase game (he has said he will
announce his college choice at the event, with USC, Florida and Ohio State all
in the mix). Stay tuned for more, because this Eagles team will undoubtedly be
heard from much more this year.
OCT. 20
CATHOLIC AAAA
Roman 29, Judge 14
Sorry for yet another late report, everyone. As
I was on my way home to the Northeast from a friend’s house in South Jersey on
Sunday morning, Special Ed got himself into a not so special car accident. Let’s
just say that the threat of black ice is real and very, very potent…I didn’t see
it coming at all, and the slick road completely took my car and flung it against
a concrete on-ramp median as if it were a marble being released from a
slingshot. Real scary stuff. Luckily, I wasn’t hurt at all, and my car should be
fixable, but it did set me back a few days in terms of getting my vehicle towed
back over into Philly. One word of advice before I move onto the game report:
avoid getting into a car accident in South Jersey at all costs. You see, the
very helpful N.J. State Trooper that helped me get out of harm’s way decided it
would be even more helpful if he gave me a ticket for “careless driving,” even
though he didn’t witness the crash. New Jersey’s finest is doing a bang-up job
of protecting and serving, folks!
Anyway, onto some football. This game was played under the lights in
extremely frigid temperatures accompanied by a light, steady rain at Northeast
High School, and it was a very one-sided affair in favor of the Cahillites.
Judge, which had lost two straight league games coming in, came out completely
flat and produced no semblance of an offense until early in the fourth quarter.
Before the game started, a Judge coach shouted to the Crusaders that Roman would
be treating this game like it was a playoff contest and that Judge had to match
their opponent’s intensity. Well, only one of those two things happened. Each
team traded punts in the early going as they adjusted to the conditions. Then,
on their second drive of the game, Roman really punched Judge in the mouth.
Starting at their own 20, Roman methodically marched down the field on a
19-play, 67-yard drive that stretched into the second quarter. The Cahillites
eventually had to settle for a 30-yard field goal, but they had successfully set
the tone, mostly relying on the brotherly running attack of sr. QB Kevin
Regan and jr. RB Dennis Regan. The Regans got the ball rolling and
the Roman defense continued to give Judge fits, as the Crusaders punted on all
four of their first half offensive possessions. How good was the Roman defense?
Well, Judge got exactly one first down in the half, and it occurred on a pass
interference penalty. Ouch! Still, Judge’s defense was nearly as good for
awhile, but as they spent more and more time on the field, they began to bend.
With the score still 3-0 late in the second quarter, Roman took over on offense
at their own 41. After two first down runs by sr. RB Calvin Garvin (24 of
his 29 yards came on those two carries), Kevin Regan took over. He completed
passes of 13 and 24 yards to his brother, with the latter advancing Roman down
to the Judge 1-yard line. Kevin Regan punched it in from there, giving his team
a 10-0 lead with just 22 seconds left, sending a stunned Judge team to the
locker room with very few answers.
Roman had possession to start the second half and quickly picked up where
they had left off, though this time it would cost them. On a third and short
from the Roman 43, Kevin Regan broke a 51-yard run down the middle of the field
and looked like he would make it to the end zone, but two Judge defenders
sandwiched him inside the 10. Two plays later, Dennis Regan scored on a 4-yard
run, and all seemed well in Roman land with a 17-0 lead, right? Not exactly.
Apparently (and I didn’t notice this until Judge’s coaches brought it to my
attention) Kevin Regan was hurt on the tackle and that was confirmed when I
scanned the Roman sideline across the field and spotted the senior quarterback
in a sling with what turned out to be a broken collarbone. That’s a really tough
injury for a promising quarterback to suffer, as the same thing happened to Penn
Charter QB John Ryan last season. It’s a shame that it will likely end
Regan’s season, as his toughness under center was electric for the Cahillites.
He finished the game with 76 yards rushing on nine carries to go along with 44
yards through the air.
Judge used the Regan injury as their cue to get back into the game.
Trailing 17-0 early in the fourth quarter, sr. sparkplug RB Curt Wortham
(who had been bottled up the entire game) finally broke free on a 36-yard punt
return down to the Roman 36. Judge QB Tony Smith (8-for-25, 91 yards, TD,
INT) connected with Connor Thompson on a 16-yard pass and after a
defensive pass interference, Smith found Matt Gies for a 14-yard
touchdown to bring the score to 17-6. Then on the ensuing kickoff, the ball hit
the turf on the far sideline, bounced up and deflected off a Roman player and
was recovered by Judge at the Roman 25. Just like that, the Crusaders had the
chance to jump back into the game despite playing horribly for three quarters.
However, it wasn’t meant to be. Three plays later, Smith fired an interception
right into the arms of sr. LB Michael Gramlich, who motored almost 70
yards all the way down to the Judge 12-yard line. Five plays later, Roman backup
QB Kyle Gibbons fired a sure interception right into the hands of Nick
Myers, but then something happened that truly proved that it was not Judge’s
night. Instead of Myers picking off the ball for a touchback, Roman jr. WR
Kawaun Chavis literally ripped the ball out of Myers’ hands for a 19-yard
touchdown. It was Gibbons’ only completion of the game, and it was a dandy.
Roman later added a 50-yard touchdown run by jr. FB Christian Seagrave,
who picked up Kevin Regan by rushing for 109 yards on 13 carries (most of which
came in the second half). Dennis Regan added 68 yards rushing for the Cahillites,
while Judge’s Wortham managed 57 yards on 15 carries, but most of those came
when the game was out of reach. This was a very encouraging performance from
Roman, as there was never really a doubt that they were in control for pretty
much the entire contest.
OCT. 9
NON-LEAGUE
Penn Charter 27, Valley Forge MA 20
Sorry for a second consecutive tardy report,
folks, but those Phillies games surely aren’t going to watch themselves (smile).
Seriously, playing until almost 2:30 a.m. on a Sunday night? But of course we
stay up until the last out watching the game. Why? Because we’re diehards, and
that’s what we do…we wouldn’t have it any other way. Anyway, this football game
was a good one, although Penn Charter probably wishes it didn’t get to that
fact, mainly because it would point out that they let a 21-point lead slip to
seven with their opponent having a chance to tie it in the final seconds. But
the Quakers still did a lot of good things in this win, their third in a row as
they enter the beginning of the Inter-Ac schedule this weekend (they open at
last year’s champs, Malvern, on Saturday afternoon). Penn Charter opened the
scoring on their second drive of the first quarter, a drive made possible after
the Quaker defense stripped Trojans running back Dan Berisha on his
team’s fourth offensive play from scrimmage. From there, it was time for the two
PC offensive stars to shine, as jr. QB John Loughery and sr. RB
Michael Brown quickly executed a 9-play, 54-yard scoring drive in which
Loughery completed five passes, including a scrambling 12-yard touchdown strike
to Brown, who accounted for 36 yards of his own on the drive. After the score,
Loughery came to the sideline and complimented his offensive line for protecting
him, and then he excitedly talked about his newfound mobility, exclaiming “I got
to use my feet on that one!” Another star of the game was Penn Charter’s
defense, which punished the Trojans’ offense in the first half and allowed the
offense to build a lead. After forcing Valley Forge to punt from their end zone
early in the second quarter, the Quakers needed only three plays for Loughery to
find sr. WR Mick Foley (four catches, 27 yards, 2TD), for an 8-yard
touchdown strike across the middle for a 12-0 lead. The Trojans kept things
interesting in the second quarter, as soph. Ian Ball returned the ensuing
kickoff 73 yards for a touchdown. Later in the quarter, they were putting
together an impressive drive when QB Blake Robles completed a pass across
the middle to WR Will Holloway, who took the ball seven yards before
running into the brick wall that is PC jr. DE Jake Richards. The impact
jarred the ball loose, jr. LB Blair Bodeck scooped up the loose change
and took it 41 yards for a score to put Penn Charter back up by two scores.
However, the Quakers may have paid a price on the two-point conversion, as
Loughery found sr. FB Jim Lamb open in the end zone for a successful two
points, but Lamb was hit hard on the subsequent tackle and left the game to what
appeared to be a dislocated left shoulder. He didn’t return in the second half,
and this could be a major loss for the Quakers, as the bruising Lamb provides
the protection on a lot of Brown’s elusive runs. The score put PC up 20-6 at
halftime, a lead they would quickly build on out of the gate in the second half.
Brown (who also plays defensive back) picked off Robles’ second pass of the
half, and Brown and Loughery again went to work, orchestrating a 9-play, 50-yard
scoring drive that ended with Foley’s second short touchdown catch of the game.
With the score now at 27-6, Penn Charter then forced a fumble on the ensuing
kickoff and drove down to the Trojans’ 3-yard line and appeared to be ready to
put the game away. However, Brown made his first major mistake of the game on
the next play, getting stripped right before he crossed the goal line. Valley
Forge took this as their cue to get back into the contest. The Trojans scored on
a 59-yard drive to open the fourth quarter, the first of two Robles touchdown
passes in the game’s final frame. Trailing 27-12, VFMA jr, LB Alex Sushko
stepped into the flat and picked off a very poor read by Loughery and returned
it to the Quaker 30-yard line. The menacing Penn Charter defense made the
Trojans work for it, forcing the offense to run seven plays before getting down
to the PC 3-yard line. It appeared that the Quakers had ended the rally after
sr. WR/DB David Martina picked off a Robles pass in the right corner of
the end zone, but Martina was flagged for pass interference penalty that had the
Penn Charter sideline livid (it was a borderline call at best). The Quakers
almost held the Trojans again, forcing a 4th and goal at the 9 before Robles
found TE Brian Kaniuka for a clutch touchdown strike. After a successful
two-point conversion that brought the score to 27-20 with 2:06 to play, VFMA
forced PC to punt after an ugly three-and-out, getting the ball back at their
own 37 with 29 seconds to play. But the PC defense made the big stop when it
needed to, forcing three Robles incompletions to end the game and preserve the
victory. It was an ugly fourth quarter for the Quakers, but a definite character
builder heading into league play. As mentioned, Loughery (13/21, 117 yards, 3TD)
and Brown (22 carries, 130 yards) were the stars, but they also made some
mistakes that allowed the Trojans back into the game. Brown showed his one
Achilles heel was hanging onto the ball, fumbling three times (and losing the
crucial one at the goal-line) while Loughery tossed two ill-advised
interceptions. The first person to greet Loughery on the sideline was PC coach
Jeff Humble, normally not a good sign for a quarterback after committing
a turnover. But instead of scolding the still-developing Loughery, Humble calmly
discussed his quarterback’s mistake and advised him not to make the same one in
the future. Instances like these will certainly help Loughery, who has already
thrown seven touchdown passes this season, one more than he threw in eight
starts in 2008. Having an NFL star quarterback as your first cousin (Atlanta
Falcons QB and PC alum Matt Ryan) to turn to for advice certainly won’t
hurt Loughery’s development, either. This was a good win for Penn Charter to
have over a tough non-league opponent (another NFL star, Larry Fitzgerald,
is an alum of VFMA), but now the real fun begins. As I stood on the PC sideline
during the game, I chatted with Paul Butler, who was the director of
athletics at PC when I was in school there. When I commented about how PC was
starting to look like a pretty formidable team, Butler agreed with me, but was
also quick to remind me that the team is still growing. The growth process will
begin with a bullet on Saturday, as those Friars from Malvern didn’t lose a
single game in 2008, a dominant march that included a 55-21 rout of the Quakers.
This should be a wide-open, extremely competitive season in the Inter-Ac, with
several of the teams having a legitimate shot at the title. The PC game I have
circled on my calendar is Oct. 30 against undefeated Chestnut Hill Academy,
a team many have tabbed as the league’s frontrunner. The Blue Devils are
currently undefeated and possess one of the city’s best players in sr. RB
Ibraheim Campbell who has already rushed for 850 yards in five games.
He rushed for almost 1,800 last season, but the Quakers were one of only three
teams to hold the dynamic Campbell under 100 yards in a game all season, and
Loughery and company swooped in and picked up a huge 20-13 victory.
OCT. 2
PUBLIC AAAA WHITE
Germantown 12, Central 7
Sorry this is coming to you so late, football
fans, but I had a three-day tour of New Jersey, Delaware and New York
immediately following the game and this is literally the first chance I’ve had
to write about this game. The layoff has nothing to do with the game’s result,
though, as this one was a defensive battle that came down to the final minutes
on a cloudy, overcast day on Broad Street. The teams played to a scoreless tie
after one, with Germantown fumbling twice, and a fumble right at the end of the
first quarter quickly set up Central’s only score at the outset of the second
frame. Starting at Germantown’s 27, jr. RB Ravone Cornish (10 carries, 21
yards) gained six yards before Central sr. QB DeVonne Boler hit soph. WR
Richard Drayton with a 20-yard strike inside the 1. Cornish then broke
through the powerful Germantown defensive line for a 7-0 lead, but that was
about all the offense the Lancers would get for the rest of the game. After a
few more punts and halftime rapidly approaching, it was time for the Bears to
make a move, and make a move they did. Using a two-pronged running attack of
Demetrius Saunders and Brent West as well as sr. QB Ramadan
Abdullah’s coolness under center, Germantown used a 9-play, 56-yard drive to
get to within one point at the half. The highlights of the drive were two
third-down passes from Abdullah to sr. TE John Ellis (four catches, 118
yards, 2TD), which was a deadly combination all day for the Bears. After a
23-yard completion to Ellis down to the 10, Abdullah found Ellis on 3rd and goal
from the 8 with under a minute to go in the half, a score that really turned the
tide. The third quarter was more defensive, smash mouth type football, as both
teams smacked each other around all over the field (and neither scored).
Germantown fumbled on a punt early in the quarter and then came up empty on a
nine-play drive that features three Central penalties, so as sloppy as this game
was and as badly as Central failed to move the ball on offense, their sideline
was still buzzing in hopes of staying undefeated (they had come in 3-0,
including a dramatic win the week before in which the Lancers held off Lincoln
in the final seconds).
With the score still at 7-6, we were headed for a dandy of a fourth
quarter. After turning the ball over on downs in Germantown territory, the
Lancers appeared to have squandered another golden opportunity to win the game,
especially after Abdullah hooked up with soph. WR Kenon Frazier for a
41-yard strike to the Central 23. But for the second straight week, Central sr.
Miles Henry snagged a fourth-quarter interception inside the 5-yard line.
Henry returned to a giddy Central sideline, figuring that his continual knack
for late-game heroics had given his team another thrilling win. However,
Germantown wasn’t ready to throw in the towel, sacking Boler on the ensuing
possession for a quick three-and-out. An ugly punt placed Germantown at
midfield, and three plays later, Abdullah lofted one downfield for Ellis, which
he hauled in over a shorter defender and scampered 49 yards for the game-winning
touchdown with 3:31 to play. Ellis and Abdullah were certainly the offensive
heroes for Germantown, but the real star sealed the game, that being the mighty
Bears defense. The defensive line permeated Central’s helpless offensive
counterparts all day, and the final drive was no exception. Boler did manage to
convert a 4th and 15 to keep the game alive (some might call it running for his
life to avoid being planted), but the Lancers didn’t threaten again and
Germantown escaped with their second straight victory after dropping its first
three of the season (all very high-powered opponents). It wouldn’t surprise me
if Germantown has a great year in the Public League, as that defensive unit is
as good as I’ve seen so far this year in terms of busting through the offensive
line and putting pressure on the quarterback.
As for Central, it was certainly a deflating loss, but not a demoralizing
one by any means. In fact, kicker Joseph Guarnieri approached me on the
sidelines late in the game and told me how much the Lancers enjoyed playing for
head coach Rich Drayton. Guarnieri said the team was having so much fun,
which is good to hear after they suffered through their first winless season
since 1940. Oh, and one more thing, directed at college scouts…come take a look
at Guarnieri as a punter/kicker, he’s got a heck of a leg on him. Why am I
issuing this command, you ask? Well, the conversation between Guarnieri and
myself was initiated when he mistook me for a Villanova scout because of my
sweatshirt. I’m no scout, but if either Jay Wright (‘Nova’s basketball
coach) or Andy Talley (longtime coach of the 5-0 Wildcats football team)
are reading this and have a job offer for me…well, I’d be more than happy to
listen (smile).
SEPT. 26
NON-LEAGUE
Penn Charter 32, Peddie School (NJ) 13
It’s always nice to return to the ol’ alma
mater for a football game, even if I did arrive a little late. Gridlock traffic
on Route 1 caused me to arrive at Penn Charter late in the first quarter with
the Quakers already holding a 7-0 lead. I was eager to see Penn Charter play
after covering four of their games last season, a season in which they finished
tied for fourth in the six-team Inter-Ac League. Penn Charter was a team in
transition last season, as they lost QB John Ryan (now a freshman QB at
Brown) early to injury, and Ryan’s first cousin John Loughery took the
reins as a sophomore. Loughery did a fine job, throwing for 999 yards and six
touchdowns and over the offseason grew some more into his now 6-foot-5, 210 lb.
frame. And although Penn Charter had lost their first two games of the 2009
season, Loughery was over 200 yards in each one, throwing three touchdown passes
in the process. Eager to see how Loughery looked as a junior, he did not
disappoint in leading the Quakers to a 19-point victory over Peddie, an annual
opponent of the PC football team that hails from Hightstown, N.J. (about 50
miles away). As I mentioned, I arrived on PC’s campus a bit late, and the
Quakers already held a 7-0 lead in thanks to a 94-yard opening kickoff return
for a score by Quakers sr. RB Michael Brown. Despite missing most of the
first quarter, I was still treated to plenty of action in this contest, and fast
too. After a Peddie fumble deep in their own territory, Loughery needed only
one play to toss his only touchdown of the day, an 11-yard strike jr. TE
Blair Bodeck (2 catches, 41 yards) to put the Quakers up 13-0 early in the
second quarter. Peddie crashed the party on a 5-yard run with 3:33 to go in the
quarter, but that was as close as they would get. Just for good measure, the
Quakers added another score before the break as Brown snared an interception and
returned it 30 yards to midfield. Loughery then fired a pair of 20-yard strikes
to sr. wideouts Mick Foley (4 catches, 74 yards) and David Martina
(4 catches, 41 yards) before Brown (who did just about everything except pass
out water bottles for the Quakers in this one) punched it in from 10 yards out.
This gave Penn Charter a 20-7 lead with 45 seconds to go in the first half. In
the short amount of time they had left and aided by a pass interference call on
Foley, Peddie made it down to the Penn Charter 15 with only seconds remaining in
the half. But Foley made up for his penalty by knocking down a pass in the end
zone to end the first half, securing a 13-point lead for PC. After forcing
Peddie to punt on its first drive of the second half, the Quakers used an 8-play
drive to get back into the scoring column, taking a 26-7 lead on a 6-yard run by
Jim Lamb. Lamb added a 1-yard score early in the fourth to make it 32-7
and the Quakers defense closed it out from there. Penn Charter is going to be
an interesting group to watch this season. Though Chestnut Hill is favored to
win the Inter-Ac, no team should run away with the league like Malvern did in
2008. The Quakers will most likely fly under the radar, but with Loughery
holding strong under center and the combination of Brown (speed and finesse) and
Lamb (bruising toughness) in the backfield as well as reliable targets in Foley
and Martina, there’s no reason to think PC can’t surprise some folks.
Note: It was a bad day to be a placekicker (four missed extra points,
three by PC between two different kickers) as well as a Penn Charter ball boy.
In the second half, one of the kids serving as a ball boy could not fulfill his
duties due to injury. I didn’t see it happen, but apparently he got in the path
of some tacklers on the sideline and hit the ground in the subsequent collision,
injuring his tailbone. By the fourth quarter he was up and walking around
again, but had several bags of ice shoved into his pants. Ouch! I’m sure his
friends will make him the butt of many jokes at school on Monday . . . Oh,
c’mon, I had to do it, it was just too easy! (smile)
SEPT. 25
PUBLIC WHITE
Central 21, Lincoln 20
After witnessing the “abortion” that was West
Philly-Boys’ Latin last weekend, it was a delight to be on hand for this Pub
League treat. The last time I saw Lincoln play, Judge was smacking them around
on Thanksgiving and they had another rough start in this one, marching into
Central territory before sr. RB Ernesto Garcia coughed up the football on
the game’s fifth play. The Lancers then methodically drove down the field on a
12-play, 67-yard drive that ended with the first of three rushing scores for sr.
RB Ervin Johnson. It would get worse shortly thereafter for the
Railsplitters, as Garcia lost five yards on the next play from scrimmage, and
the snap after that sailed over sr. QB Joe McCausland’s head and was
recovered by Central—turnover No. 2 in just seven offensive snaps for Lincoln.
Ouch. Central needed only five plays to get Johnson back into the end zone,
scoring this time on a 1-yard rush to put the Lancers up 14-0 with 17 seconds
left in the opening frame. At this point, I let out a here we go again
type of sigh, as I figured the blowout blues had begotten me again. Not so
fast, though, as the Railsplitters had other ideas. Starting at their own 26,
McCausland hit sr. WR Omar Black on a crossing route across the middle
and the tall wideout kept on running 74 yards to paydirt, giving Lincoln a huge
boost down only one touchdown heading into the second quarter. But things went
south for Lincoln in the quarter, as they ran only six offensive plays, mainly
because Central ate up a huge chunk of clock on an 11-play, 67-yard scoring
drive that put Johnson back into the end zone for the third time before
halftime. To make matters worse, Lincoln lost sr. defensive standout Ali
Baxter to a sprained left ankle which kept him out for the rest of the
game. Things looked bleak for Lincoln down 21-7 at the half, but things soon
took a dramatic turn in their favor. Even without Baxter, the Railsplitters’
defense began swarming like bees on honey in the second half. They were
relentless, constantly having multiple defenders around the ball and forced the
Central offense into some costly penalties. That paved the way for Lincoln to
embark on a 67-yard touchdown drive of their own, doing so on 15 plays.
McCausland really showed his demeanor as a cool customer under center for his
team, guiding them down the field through the heart of a bigger Central
defense. Garcia culminated the drive with a 4-yard touchdown run with 29
seconds left in the third quarter, cutting the lead in half and prompting the
Lancers to begin looking over their shoulders. The crowd also was revitalized
during Lincoln’s third quarter dominance, setting the stage for a thrilling
final frame. On Central’s next drive, they picked up three first downs, the last
of which was a heave down the far sideline from QB DeVonne Boler to WR
Siddiq Cornish that Cornish
somehow came down with, despite the fact that several defenders were in Boler’s
face when he released the ball. This put the Lancers on the Lincoln 13, and
after a Boler sack, the Lancers’ QB found soph. WR (and coach’s son) Richard
Drayton in the end zone for a 21-yard touchdown pass. But the score was
called back due to both a holding and a personal foul penalty, sending Central
all the way back near midfield. Seemingly rattled after that, Boler was picked
off by Shawn Banks, and three plays later McCausland launched a perfect
spiral and hit Black in stride for a 51-yard touchdown pass. This set off a
wild celebration on both the Lincoln sideline and in the stands, and a
triumphant McCausland pumped his fist toward the crowd in celebration. However
McCausland, who also served as the team’s placekicker on the afternoon, made his
first crucial mistake of the game, missing the extra point to keep Central up
21-20. With just over five minutes to play, the Lincoln defense made sure its
offense would have another chance to win the game, creating more havoc in the
form of two more penalties and a sack, forcing Central to punt from deep in
their own end zone with just over three minutes to play. Kicker Joseph
Guarnieri got off a fine punt under difficult circumstances, and Lincoln
started what everybody on the field (myself included) expected to be the game’s
winning drive at the Central 34-yard line. McCausland and Garcia marched
Lincoln to a first and goal at the Central 10, and just when everyone in
attendance expected the Railsplitters to pull off a dramatic come-from-behind
win, the Central defense decided it had other ideas. After an incompletion and
two short Garcia runs, McCausland dropped back and made his second big mistake
of the game, firing a pass right into coverage and it was picked off by
Central’s Miles Henry, who snared the ball at the 3-yard line. It looked
as if McCausland was looking for Black again, but he made an ill-advised throw
that cost Lincoln the game and dropped them to 1-3 on the season. Still though,
McCausland was very good all day and should be commended for his efforts,
finishing 6-for-12 for 179 yards and the two long touchdown passes to Black (3
catches, 136 yards). Garcia finished with 58 yards and a score on the ground
for Lincoln but it was his Central counterpart that had the biggest day, as
Johnson rushed 16 times for 110 yards and all three Lancer touchdowns. With the
win, Central moved to 3-0 on the season, a year removed from an 0-11 season,
their first winless season since 1940.
SEPT. 18
PUBLIC LEAGUE
West Phila. 46, Boys’ Latin 0
Right before kickoff Friday afternoon,
West Philadelphia head coach Pat O’Hara had a message for his team: “Make
something happen. Don’t wait for something to happen to you, you make
something happen to them.” Consider the message received, loud and
clear. Jr. Juan Kelley took the opening kickoff back 74 yards for a
score, and the Speedboys were off to the races from there, although it did take
them some time to get revved up. Boys’ Latin responded by returning the ensuing
kick 56 yards deep into West Philly territory but they eventually turned it over
on down, which, as you can see from the score above, was the beginning of a long
day for them. However, the Speedboys let their opponent hang around, losing
fumbles on each of the next two possessions as the score stayed 6-0 through the
first quarter. But then the wheels began to fall off for Boys’ Latin, a school
I hadn’t heard of before this game. Ted told me they were brand new to football
and weren’t an official member of the Public League yet, and it showed. After
the first West turnover, Boys’ Latin gave it right back after a botched fourth
down snap sailed high over punter Kyle Davis’ head (Davis is also the
team’s starting QB). Unfortunately for Davis and company, this would become a
theme. After West’s second lost fumble of the first half, Boys’ Latin went
three and out once more, only to deliver another botched punt snap over Davis’
head. This one rolled out of the end zone for a safety, putting the Speedboys
up 8-0. But it didn’t stop there. On the next possession, a third snap flew
out of Davis’ reach, and the Speedboys finally got the hint. Two plays later,
jr. RB Robert Andrews scampered 14 yards for a score to put his team up
16-0. On the next possession, Boys’ Latin fumbled again, this time the suspect
was running back Terron Fuller. Six plays later, it was West Philly QB
Charles Walton’s turn to find the end zone, giving his team a 20-0 lead
at halftime, and I think you can imagine where it went from there. It got so
bad in the second half, that after a West player returned an interception for a
touchdown, O’Hara came up to me on the sideline and said, “Hey, stat man! That
kid isn’t on the roster…I didn’t even think he’d make a play today! Anyway, his
name is Lawrence Richardson.” Thanks, coach…and way to go, Lawrence!
There’s not too much else to say about this one. Boys’ Latin turned the
ball over eight times (six fumbles, two INTs) stacked up against four for the
Speedboys…that’s right, they coughed it up four times and still managed to win
by seven touchdowns. The highlight of the day for Boys’ Latin occurred in the
fourth quarter, when Rasheem Clemonts forced a fumble inside his own 10
and huffed and puffed 82 yards all the way to the West 8-yard line. After that,
a West supporter on the sideline came up to me and said, “I really hope they get
in here, they deserve to score.” But it wasn’t meant to be, as Davis lost
another fumble and the game ended in a shutout. Though it was ugly, Boys’ Latin
should be applauded for fighting until the end. A week after being outscored
60-8 by my favorite team, Germantown Academy (I’m a Penn Charter grad to
those that can’t detect the thinly veiled sarcasm—smile), it’s certainly going
to be an uphill climb for them. But like any newcomer to a strong league,
they’ll take their lumps now and hopefully establish a respectable program in
the years to come.
As for West, they improved to 2-0 with a date at winless Southern up
next. The Speedboys earned a blowout win in this one, but they’ll need to
remedy those butter fingers for when the really tough opponents come calling
later in the season. Andrews led the way for the Speedboys, rushing 11 times
for 62 yards and a score (he also converted three two-point conversions).
Walton, Greg "Grasshopper" Richie (four carries, 41 yards) and Markel
Faulk (3 carries, 22 yards) also scored for West, who only attempted two
passes the entire game. Though undersized, the Speedboys have some playmakers
at running back, as Andrews, Richie and Faulk were all elusive and tough to
tackle in this one.
One other note to mention: I was wondering why West went for two every
time they scored, and I soon found out. Place kicker Tauron Henderson
blasted two kickoffs for touchbacks in the game, to the point where Boys’ Latin
had their returners stationed around the 5-yard line by the end of the game. So
why no extra points? Well, considering the goal posts sat about a foot in front
of the fences separating the field from the street, it’s no wonder they didn’t
send Henderson out for any PATs. Had they tried, my guess is he would have
peppered Spruce and Walnut streets with pigskins, and hey, those things can be
expensive to replace if lost.