NOV. 30
CATHOLIC BLUE FINAL
West Catholic 28, Wood 7
  Well, as I like to call them, the Poor Man’s Prep, West Catholic, captured its second consecutive Blue Division Championship handing it to the Vikings to the tune of 28-7. Yes, in the Red Division, there are the Mighty Hawks of St. Joe's Prep. The powerhouse of the big boys, recruiting the best talent that money . . . oops, can’t say that; rather, assembling the best team that consistently dominates their foes. In the Blue, for the last several years the same can be said for the Burrs of West Catholic. BLUE CHIIPPERS galore. Hey, that sounds neat. It really didn’t take much time to figure out what the difference between these two teams was. SPEED, BABY, SPEED!  Yep, we all know that you can’t teach it. The Burrs had it, unfortunately Wood didn’t, and as a result they couldn’t keep up with the boys from West Philly. Also, the early exit of Wood's feature back, Bob DeLucas, who was the Blue Division MVP, rushing for 1,058 yards (and being an outstanding linebacker), hurt their chances tremendously. Attempting to play as if DeLucas was still around the Vikings stayed with their game plan of running the ball but didn’t have much success. RB. Sean Cunningham [15-38] tried valiantly but the Burr defense was way too tough. Wood boss Steve Devlin had QB Mike Cattolico put the pigskin up in the air 14 times but that dimension didn’t payoff with Cattolico throwing for just 54 yards. Cattolico also threw 4 interceptions. I think that Cattolico may have had a problem gripping the ball. Several times he had more than enough time to throw the ball, however, when he released it, a clean spiral was never seen.  Come on refs, give someone -- or do it yourself -- the responsibility of rubbing the balls down. After all, wasn’t this the Championship? West QB Curtis Drake also had trouble handling the ball. I don’t think that it was that cold for it to have that much effect. The Burrs used their usual tandem of Rob Holloman [ 17-107 ] and Raymond Maples [ 16- 81- 2 TD’S ]  to handle most of the running and Drake contributed with his feet [ 13- 66 – 2 TD’S ] along with his arm [ 3-5-1- 28 ] to aid the West offense. Maples, noted primarily for his power running, showed occasional speed bursts to pick up some extra yards. Holloman, the real speedster, also has other ball carrying abilities. He displayed quick moves along with good vision, thus adding to his repertoire. The spectacular trio all will return in 2008 as the Catholic League enters the world of the PIAA. According to some sources the Burrs would be a Class AA member in the State Tournament and could make plenty of noise attempting to be the first Philadelphia School to bring home a State Championship. We’ll have to wait and see. Although not given any notable props for this contest, Wood’s Mike Maxwell showed tremendous resiliency on defense. After being blocked, pushed, picked or knocked down from his linebacker spot, Maxwell gave 110% every play. He may not have been rewarded for a noticeable amount of tackles, but with my recent laser eye surgery I observed Maxwell causing at least 7 disruptions. [Hey, Ted! There’s a new stat.]  Way to go, Mike, it was a pleasure watching you. Maxwell also caught one ball for 11 yards. After the game I noticed a middle-aged gentleman shaking his head. It was obvious that he was a Wood fan so I tried to comfort him a bit with some positive comments. Yes, he was upset about the Wood loss. However, what upset him the most was the comment that he made to me. “That was it. No more Catholic League Championship Games. It’s all over after 88 years and that’s a damn shame.”  I could say no more. I thought the guy was going to cry. Tradition just went out the door.  This just in. Roman 10, St. Joe's Prep 9!!! Should West be the RICH MAN now?

NOV. 8
NON-LEAGUE
Penn 12, Southern 10
   How does a team come away from a game victorious, after producing just 37 yards of total offense. [ 14 rushing- 23 passing ] . They do it by scoring at the very outset and near the conclusion and not worrying about what happens in between. On the games first offensive play Southern QB Shaquille Gaskins fumbled the snap at his own 35 yard line . The ball was loose and was touched, tipped and yes dribbled by several William Penn players before it was finally picked up at the 12 yard line by the Lions Hakeem Brown. Brown ran untouched for the quick 6-0 lead with 11:44 showing on the first quarter clock. The North Philly squad wouldn’t score again until 1:37 remained in the game. A blocked punt by Khalil Henderson and a recovery by Lester Tukes put the Lions on the Rams 10 with 2:28 to go in the game. After a 5 yard penalty against Penn, two runs totaling 2 yards and a incomplete pass, the Lions were looking at fourth and goal from the South Philly 13 with 1:46 showing on the clock. On fourth down ,QB, Daniel Phipot sprinted out to his left, avoided a tackle then tossed a pass towards the left corner of the end zone. The ball was tipped about 5 yards deep in the end zone by the Lions Emmanuel Pittman, waiting 3 yards away was Braheim Dixon who snatched it and stayed in bounds giving the Penn squad the big six pointer with 1:37 to go. Southern still had their 3 time outs but couldn’t muster a threat near the end as Gaskins heave from his own 29 fell incomplete near the Lion 35 yard line ending the game for the frustrated Rams. For, Southern, I guess you could say the game started for them also at the beginning. The beginning of the second quarter. That’s when the Rams Tyrell Cooper made his first appearance. He had missed practice earlier in the week and was told by Ram coach Stosh Tunney that he would have to sit out the first quarter. On Southern’s first play of the second stanza, Cooper took the handoff and ran a straight dive, straight to the end zone for a 59 yard TD run. Talk about a Grand Entry ! Tyrell was grand all day on defense. He ended up with 10 tackles, 6 solo, 3 TFL’S and a sack. Not bad for a three quarters of a days work. His rushing figures were hindered, when he attempted to pass, but was dropped for a 17 yard loss by Penn’s Darrell Pierce, Henderson and Kenny White. Cooper ran [ 20- 70 ]. He made the “Wow” play of the day when he handled a bad pitch by Gaskins. Cooper scooped the loose ball with his left hand while falling forward. He somehow maintained his balance and did a one handed push up with his right hand to continue forward. He stumbled once again, but did push up number two, the same as one and muscled his way for an acrobatic 4 yard pick up, instead of loosing about 12. Southern’s other score came by way of a Safety. With just under three minutes to go in the first half the Lions were at their own 5 yard line. On third and seven Phipot,dropped back to pass, but couldn’t avoid the Ram’s Muhammed Amin’s initial contact before he was brought down by Jonathan Spuriel in the end zone. The Rams came close numerous times but couldn’t punch it in. Pittman stopped two Southern drives with interceptions. His first came midway through the first quarter at his own 31. He saved the best for last when he picked one off at his own one yard line with 6:39 left in the affair.
Helping Cooper on defense for the Rams were; Nasan Fluellen [ 8-5-3 – sack ], Muhammed Amin [ 7-4 ], Kenyatta Simmons [ 6-5 ] James Rosado [ 5 3- 2 TFL]. Richard White and Dante’ Winn had TFL’S. Winn also recovered a fumble. The Rams defense limited the Lions to 3 first downs. One was a result of a penalty and all of them came in the first half.  The Lion hero’s were; Kenny White; [ 11-5- TFL- 3 pass def. ]
Kevin Minnick [ 10- 6- 3 TFL’S- sack ] Jordan William; [ 7-3-2 TFL’S- sack ] Darell Pierce; 6-2- PD ] Hakeem Brown; [ 6-2- fumble recovery TD ] Kente Wiggins [ 6-2-TFL ] Lester Tukes; 5-2- recovery of Blocked Punt ] and Maurice Clinton; [ 2 TFL’S ]

NOV. 1
NON-LEAGUE
Comm. Tech 18, King 12
   The Marin Luther King 2007 football squad should have known right from jump street that it wasn’t going to be their day. Receiving the opening kickoff at his own 19, the Cougars' Lamont Prophet was greeted immediately at the 20 by Tech’s Stacey Hill. Prophet fumbled the bal,l which was picked up by CT’S William Dennis at the 20. After a 10-yard penalty against King, the Phoenix had the ball at the 10. Hill ran the first two downs for 9 yards. On third down QB Adefumi Garrett sneaked in from the one. The PAT failed, as it did on every touchdown of the contest and the Southwest squad took  early control at the 10:10 mark of the first quarter. On the ensuing kickoff, Phoenix Kicker, Ackeeno Jolly on-sided the ball, which worked to perfection. It was recovered at the Cougar  45 by Richard Kemp. King would eventually get the ball with just over three minutes to play in the first quarter. Neither team could manage any damage the rest of the quarter and it ended 6-0 Tech. A unique play did develop though in that first stanza. Cougar QB Larry Adams dropped back to pass on third down from his own 19. King needed to get to their 27 for a first down . Adams found Tyler Ward on the right sideline at the 30. When Ward caught the ball he began to run in the opposite direction, I guess to avoid some tackles or just attempting to make something happen. Well, what happened was that Ward was brought down at the 26 falling a yard short of the first down. “Holy Jim Marshall”.[note: Marshall was a former DL for the Minnesota Vikings, years ago, who picked up a fumble and ran the wrong way for a Safety ] . The infamous move forced the Cougars to punt.  Ward stayed in the game to launch a 51-yard punt for King. The impressive punter, punted 4 times for a 35.5 average. The Phoenix were unable to move the pigskin and gave the ball back to MLK on the Tech 42. Ward would snag a 14 yard pass from Adams on the next series. After a King penalty, Joseph Montouth would burst through untouched from the 29, putting the Cougars on the board with 7:03 to go before half time. Ward would have more impact on King’s next possession. Standing in punt formation at his 13,the ball was snapped over his head. Ward picked up the ball and tried to advance it from the one yard line. Instead of taking a safety, his mental mistake put the ball in the hands of Tech at the 2. Garrett sneaked in on the first play leaving the score at half, 12-6 in favor of Comm. Tech.  The score remained the same until 3:39 of the last period. With Jolly back to punt on fourth and 11 from midfield, the Tech staff had decided to fake the punt. Jolly initially looked to throw the ball to Hill, but Hill was covered, so he did the next best thing and took off behind one block from up back Philip Hansford. The block cleared the way and Jolly jaunted a half a hundred for an 18- 6  Phoenix advantage. Adams would sneak in from the one late in the game to cut the deficit. Tech’s Akeem Robinson recovered the King onside kick and from there Tech just killed the clock.
NOTES :
  Tech’s Stacey Hill ran the ball 19 times for 141 yards. Hill also excelled on defense. He made 9 tackles, 5 solo with 3 TFL’S. Akeeno Jolly headlined the CT defense with 11 tackles, 7 of the solo variety , 4 tackles behind the line of scrimmage and two being sacks. Marcellus Chiles, 7-4; Anthony Haynes, 7-4-TFL; Philip Hansford, 6-3; Dante Glover, 5-4-Sack and William Dennis, 5-4-fum. rec. pitched in.
  For MLK, Joseph Montouth ran 20-91. Adams passed 7 of 12 for 57 yards. The catches went to: Montouth 1-11, Donye Rosser, 1-3, Tyler Ward,2-21. Kadeem Brown led with 3 for 22. On defense Brown was spectacular at Linebacker. The Junior standout recorded 16 tackles, 8 solo with 3 TFL’S. Other leaders were: Richard Dixon, 8-4; Sanjay Davis, 8-4; David Bunion, 6-3- 2 TFL’S; Dominique Simmons, 6-3- TFL; Brandon Lee, 5-2- TFL and Lamont Prophet, 5-3- TFL.
  HOW ABOUT THIS ONE !!!!: Cougar head coach John Sheroda received two cell phone calls during the game. My understanding was that it was his daughter on the other end, telling Sheroda of some type of plumbing issue at home. I could hear the coach giving “How To” instructions to his daughter. Does anyone need an Electrician?
  King assistant David Dumim asked me to mention his brother, Mike, who’s a retired teacher and coach. Mike was a very successful Wrestling coach at William Tennent and North Penn High Schools.

OCT. 27
PUBLIC WHITE
Bartram 26, Mastbaum 20
   Yo Yo, Yo Yo Yo!!!  Yo Yo Yo Yo Yo Yo Yo!!! If you are wondering what all this Yo stuff is, well, that’s what I heard for 48 minutes of football from the mouth of Mastbaum Assistant Coach Marshall Murphy.  Maybe he likes the middle features section of the Daily News. Perhaps he was auditioning to become a rapper. I don’t know, but he did ALL OF THE TALKING for the Panthers' coaching squad. He Yo-Yoed to get the attention of his players on the field. I thought that Al Coleman was the Head Coach. This guy gave out  instructions to both the offense and defense. In fact at the end of the first quarter, while the officials were switching ends, he took it upon himself to run down the other end of the field and got in the huddle to talk to his players. No No No No! That’s illegal. The refs explained to him that it was not a timeout situation, so the Panthers had to either take a delay of the game penalty, or be charged with a timeout. They choose the later. FINALLY! Yes at exactly 12:59 the “SUN” came out at John Bartram High School Field, just prior to the start of the game. What a beautiful thing. Friday I was soaked. I couldn’t take another day of the precipitation. In fact on Friday, trying to write down figures was almost impossible. Hello, CELL PHONE. Yep. My baby had a Record Audio feature. That’s what I used for the final seconds of that Wild Contest.  To think, a few years back I knew nothing about computers or cell phones. Boy, how times have changed. When I did arrive at the field I didn’t know  that Bartram was still in the playoff hunt?  The trick however, was that they had to win the game by at least 20 points. If not the spot would be grabbed by Simon Gratz. Leading 14-0 at the half, it looked as if the Braves would accomplish their goal when Michael Alexander took the second half kickoff 77 yards to give his team a 20-0 lead.  That lead lasted exactly 16 seconds. The Panthers answered right back with a return of their own as Rasheen Tookes took, {sounds cool, right,} the ensuing boot 89 yards at the 11:31 mark of the third quarter. Mastbaum failed on the PAT and the advantage was shortened to 14 again. The visitors would score next when Donald Vodopija caught a 9 yard pass from Steven Mont and Mont ran for the conversion to cut the deficit to just six, at 20-14. The TD came with 1:14 showing on the third quarter clock. Alexander [21-146- 2TD] soon would increase the lead when he scooted 15 yards after just 13 seconds expired in the fourth quarter. The PAT failed again, to make it 26-14.  Tookes [ 18-127 2TD], scored again on a 3 yard run minutes after Alexander and it was 26-20 with 8:04 to go in the game. The Braves slapped themselves right in face on their next possession. Sitting comfortably with a first and goal from the 6 yard line with 6:45 to go, Alexander took the next handoff into the end zone. However, a holding penalty against Dant’e McCall, nullified the score and moved the ball back to the 18 yard line. It was now first and goal from that point. A false start, followed by a delay of game penalty pushed the Braves 10 more yards back to the 28. After an incomplete pass on second down another false start moved the pigskin to the 33. Second and third downs produced 2 more incomplete passes setting up fourth down. Bartram coach Damond “Smash” Warren figured the best way to score was to get the ball to his best runner. He had his QB, Laquan Williams [ 6-11-1-97 ], swing a pass to Alexander near the right sideline, but Alexander couldn’t escape and was brought down at the 30 by Mont. The Braves held the Panthers on their next series, but Warren decided it was too late and put in his reserves with 2:58 left in the game.

Tackle Leaders:                                                                          Tackles Leaders:

Griffith: 9-5-3TFL-Sack
Stephen Mackey: 10-6 solo fum. rec
Tookes:                 9-6-    pass def                                              King  8-4
Andrew King:       8-4-  TFL                                                       Chesseboro: 8-4-TFL
Mont:                   8- 4- 2 pass def and INT , Fumble Recovery    Mason: 7-4-Int
Turner:                  6- 2-    sack                                                  Williams: 6-3-TFL
Vodopija;               5- Fumble Recovery and Blocked Punt           Shabazz:   5-2 -TFL

OCT. 26
PUBLIC BLUE
Edison 18, Southern 12
   Well Frog, last week you asked for it and this week you got it. Rain, rain and more rain. Yes, it’s always good -- well, at least once a year -- to catch a game in the rain and slop. The two teams played their butts off considering the elements. This one went right down to the final play. Let me try and give the details as best as I can. With just over six minutes remaining in the third quarter, the Owls were leading the Rams by the score of 12-6. Southern was in punt formation at the Edison 35. It was fourth and five. I think everyone knew that SP coach Stosh Tunney was planning a fake punt. If everyone didn’t know, the Owls Kendell Thomas sure as heck did. He anticipated that Punter and QB Shaquille Gaskins was going to throw, which in fact he did. Right into the hands of Thomas at the Edison 32. Thomas scooted all the way down the left side line before he ran out of gas at the Southern two yard line. His 66 yard return, resulted into him going in from that distance on the next play to put the Owls up by 18-6 with 5:22 to go in the third quarter.  The score stayed that way until late in the fourth quarter, when Gaskins tossed a 20 yard TD to Dante Winn to make it 18-12, with 1:44 showing on the game clock. The Rams then tried an On Side kick, which they recovered but it only traveled 9 yards. The Owls attempted to run out the clock but their attempt failed. Facing a fourth and 18,with 51 seconds to go, Edison’s Isaac Folly [ 18-124-2TD’S ] was snuffed inches short by Nolan Davis at the Southern 38. Head Coach Larry Oliver called for a measurement and went out of his mind when he disputed the spot of the ball. Southern quickly lined up -- they had no timeouts -- when suddenly the whistle blew indicating an Owl timeout. That seemed to be a problem, according to the Ram staff and in particular assistant Paul Cammarota. “They have none left. They have none left. Bleep, bleep, we’re getting cheated and I’m tired of it." Tunney tried to calm Cammarota, but was unsuccessful. He kept on going. No flags. I think the officials realized they had made a mistake so they just let the South Philly boy vent his frustration. He asked me, as did Tunney, if the Owls had any TOs left. I usually record all of the them, but with the rain coming down it was difficult for me to script everything. Like, I said, I think the Owls went over their limit and got a freebie, which helped Oliver set up the Owl defense. I guess the refs had as much difficulty charting as I did. Cammarota continued on saying, “I’M PROTESTING THIS GAME!!" To whom? This isn’t baseball. It all became academic when The Owls' Leroy Harris sacked Mike Henry, who replaced Gaskins at QB. The ball squirted loose and was recovered by Edison’s  Daniel Soto with just a few seconds on the clock and securing the Owl victory. Harris was spectacular all afternoon he finished with 10 tackles, 7 solo,2 sacks along with his forced fumble. Folly not only excelled on offense he also contributed on defense with 8 tackles,6 solo and a fumble recovery. His 2 TD’s came from 7 and 8 yards out. John Martinez was also a contributor for the Owls with numbers these numbers [ 8-6 solo, 4 TFL’S and a blocked punt ] Other Edison leaders on “D’ were; Craig Gay [ 7-3-2 pass def. ] Soto put up [5-3] along with his fumble recovery. Jessley Vargas also recovered a fumble for the Owls. The Rams ran pretty decently considering the conditions. They rushed [ 43-286 ]. Gaskins led the way [ 11-108] . He completed 2 of 8 passes for just 25 yards. Tyrell Cooper returned from his one game penalty rushing[ 9-80]. He also recorded 7 tackles,4 solo along with a sack. Dante Winn ran [17-84]. Winn ran mostly inside the box , earning every single yard with his 5’9” ,165 lb frame. Tough Cookie !!!  He pitched [ 5-3-TFL] on defense. Keanan Carter [6-3], Seth Gordon [ 7-3-fumble recovery ], Davis [ 5-2-TFL], Eric Lebron[ sack] James Rosado [Fumble recovery] and Chris Pennington [TFL] impacted the Rams defense.
   Notes: The game may have marked the appearance of the first female referee. Valerie King worked the Southern sideline. She said that she had worked JV games, but this was her first Varsity assignment. Congratulations to Val. Making his varsity debut for the Rams was Freshman DE Muhammed Amin. Ram assistant Craig Scioscia told Amin before he entered for the first time, “Go get that quarterback”. Sure enough, BINGO !!!. A seven-yard sack. Gaskins was on the Ram sideline when on a fourth down situation he screamed out; “Punting team! Punting team! Get out there." Oops. Gaskins is the Southern punter.

OCT. 19
PUBLIC BLUE
West Phila. 31, Southern 0
   Knowing that Southern was without 2 of their premier players due to suspension, Tyrell Cooper and Anthony Buffalo along with 3 other players, I was really hoping for some rain as the weather people had predicted. Why rain? See, when it rains, it sometimes becomes an equalizer, thus making for a closer contest. Well, for about the one millionth time the weather experts were wrong. How do these people continue to have jobs? The heck with all this Radar and Doppler stuff.  How about doing it the old way. Remember this number WE 7-1212. Yes that’s the phone number we dialed as youngsters for the National Weather Service Forecast. Southern came into the game with one loss in the Blue Division. West was undefeated in the same division. Because of tie breakers, Southern needed to win this game by at least 28 points. They had a tough task ahead. The first half was really a dogfight . In fact the Speedboys led by just 8-0 at the Half. The lone TD came at the 10:50 mark of the second quarter when Sr. RB/DB Jabril Brown, [ 27- 157- 2 TD ] ran off tackle for a 21 yard score. QB, Courtney Waiters ran for the PAT after fielding a bad snap on a PAT kick attempt. Waiters threw [ 2-5-1-10 ] He ran [ 9-34]. SP had an opportunity to grab an early lead, but couldn’t connect on a fourth and 9 pass attempt that was broken up by Jr. FS/RB John Davis. Davis was the defensive headliner. He recorded 11 tackles, 8 in the first half and had 2 INT’S. He also rushed [ 7-44] . Playing at the Safety position, Davis cheated up on just about every play in the first half. It seemed like he was playing at Middle Linebacker. It paid off for the youngster early on. The second have he played a True safety since the Rams were behind. After the failed Ram attempt, the Speedboys ran 10 plays topped off by Brown’s TD run. Both squads exchanged interceptions on their next possessions, Davis for West and Nolan Davis for Southern. The Rams then paraded all the way from their own 8 yard line to the Speedboy 16. Facing a fourth and 2, Ram coach Stosh Tunney elected a quick snap and it appeared from my angle that Dante Winn had gained the necessary 2 yards. However, a bad spot by the officials turned the ball over to WP . Credit Sr. LB Marvin Adams with the stop. That would be South Philly’s closest penetration for the rest of the game.  The second half started with the Speedboys Terrell Carroll returning the kickoff 20 yds giving his team good field position at their own 45. Brown scored from the 9 on the drives tenth play. Two key runs were by Jamar Cox and Brown. Cox for 10 and Brown for 13. Waiters completed the conversion with a pass to Keith West [2-10] .  West would later grab a 5 yard toss from Waiters for the Speedboys third TD. Waiters would later finish the scoring ,running 5 yards on a QB draw.  Cox would run for one conversion and kicker Junior Weyeah booted the last point. The Speedboys would total 302 rushing yards on 53 runs.  In addition to Brown, Waiters and Davis. Cox 43 and Terrell Carroll 22 helped out. Mike Henry led Southern [ 7-36 ] . The recipients of Gaskin’s passes were, Sean Allen 15, Mahquill Sims 11, Mike Henry 13, Dante’ Winn 13 and Dominique Winn 4. The game's loudest moment came with the late entrance of WP's So. DL, Howard “Egg Roll" Richardson. Egg Roll, a pudgy 5’ 7” and 222 lbs, seemed to enter the game unnoticed by his teammates. When they realized he was on the field, the mouths opened up . “Hey, man, there’s Egg Roll!" "It’s Egg Roll, Man! Egg Roll!!" "Go ahead, Egg Roll, do your stuff!!" The little fella did OK. He made three stops and had 2 for losses. Good job, Egg Roll. Speedboy offensive coordinator Larry Bledsoe, always conscious of the importance of having a roster and getting the kids mentioned, asked me if I could list the entire staff and support personnel for the Speedboys. Larry is an avid reader of this web site, so it is only right for me to grant his request.
Head Coach : John Lay
First Ass’t  OFF/DEF Line Coach: Gerardo Muhammad
Second Ass’t  OFF Coordinator: Larry  Bledsoe
Third  Ass’t  Special Teams / JV Head Coach : Ed Williams
JV OFF Going Coordinator; Andre Young
Ass’t   : Kenny Going
Manager : Stephan Fortune
Trainer : Melanie Cardell
Stat Man : Ed Wright
Video      :   Jelani Lay
Athletic Director : Pat Cassano
Principal :  Mrs. Cruz
Speedboy Defensive Leaders:
John Davis : 11- 6 solo-    2 int’s  - Pass Def
Marvin Adams :  7-2
Robert Shepard : 6- 4- 2 TFL’S
Anthony Jackson : 6-1- hurry
Michael White : 5-3
Howard Richardson: 2 TFL’S
Southern Defensive Leaders:
James Rosado:  10 – 5
Bryan Lee :         9-  5
Nolan Davis:        8-5-  Int
Richard White:     7-4- TFL
Sean Allen          6-4- TFL- 2 Hurried
Chris Pennington : 5- solo- sack
Keanan Carter :  5- All Solo-  TFL

OCT. 12
PUBLIC AAA
Ben Franklin  36   Comm. Tech. 6
   If  you were to take a child or a woman to a football game for the first time, this would have been the perfect game. Yes, there are 22 guys out on the field during each play, but in this affair there was no need to focus anywhere else, but on certain players. Sometimes I thought that I was at  a tennis match, where all eyes are on just the two participants in the match. There was no doubt about the outcome of this game prior to its start. Ben Franklin rolled fairly easy. The way they did it, or the way it transpired, was really unique. Well, at least to me anyway. Now back to Football 101. There’s a runner and there’s someone trying to bring a runner down. For the  Electrons Chris Sturgis [ 17-146- TD – 2pt run ] was the only ballcarrier in the first half for Franklin except on the last play when Coach  Kenny Geiser sat Sturgis down. The first ten times B.F. ran the football it was handled by Sturgis. His first half total was 97 yards. The Electrons passed just once in the half. That was a Tajidin McGough 6 yard TD toss to Jamel “ Redz” Haggins.  Ahhh.. !! Defense, you ask .  All you had to do was watch the Electrons' number 45. Oh, I forgot, to mention just for simplicity. Sturgis wore 27.  See 27, watch 27 run. Simple.  It was a bit more complicated when Comm. Tech. had the ball . Complicated only if you think that watching  2 ball carriers was more difficult than looking for just one. I didn’t think so.
   The Phoenix featured number 27, Stacey Hill, [ 24-110] and number 30, Kyle Tubbs,[15-52 ]. After they grabbed the pigskin, just look for # 45. That my friends is Linebacker, Calvin Johnson. Johnson made 12 first half tackles and 17 for the game. His forced fumble on a Hill carry allowed teammate Christopher Wood to pick up a loose ball at the Electron 32 where Wood then went untouched for a 68-yard TD. You want  more individual play. How about the Electrons # 34, sophomore running back Marquis Wright. Wright ran the ball 9 times. All in the fourth quarter. He totaled 112 yards and 2 TD’s in that span. Not too shabby.  Hill and Tubbs also led the Phoenix on defense. Hill had 8 tackles,4 solo, while Tubbs contributed [ 7-4 ]  Don’te Glover and Kennari White each put up [ 6-3 ]. Terrick Carson, [ 5-3 ] had a forced fumble which was recovered by Tubbs.  For the Boys from North Broad Street, Wood [ 8-4 solo- TFL ] , Haggins [ 7-4 ], Marvin Watson [ 7-4 ], Dante Morgan [ 6-3- TFL ], McGough [6-3 ] and a Darius Harris TFL paced the defense.
  The games other TD’S included : A Sturgis 24 yd run. A QB sneak of 3 yards by Tech’s Adefumi Garrett and runs of 4 and 47 yards by Wright.
 The one-liner for the day came from Tech assistant Ed Joyner. After watching some unsuccessful plays by the Phoenix, Joyner screams out; “Hey, don’t be like Winston Justice . . . Block somebody!"
  The big hit of the game, and for me the year, was when Franklin’s Jamel Haggins read a screen perfectly that was intended for Stacey Hill and both ball and Haggins arrived at the same time, knocking Hill right on his butt to the delight of the Franklin sideline. For a second, there was a slight pause, but the tough Hill bounced right back up and was ready for the next play. Geiser may have left Sturgis in the game a tad longer than he would have liked, since his star RB complained of a sore hand near the end of the third quarter. Too many carries for me, I thought, but not for Geiser. The coach knew that Bok Assistant Coaches Frank “Roscoe" Natale and Vince Trombetta were both in the stands scouting the Electrons for next week's showdown . Geiser didn’t want to show too much, hopefully putting all his eggs in his basket for the Bok game for the opportunity to compete in the PIAA state playoffs and also a Public League quarterfinal berth with a victory next week. This will be the fourth consecutive year that this scenario has developed. The Wildcats won the first three times.

OCT. 5
PUBLIC BLUE
West Phila. 43, Fels 14
   How’s this for numbers. Well, for the Pub anyway. [Not sure about the other leagues. They tend to tote them up a little bit more than these guys.] 97 plays, 693 total yards, 25 first downs and 18 penalties for 145 yards. One more very important thing, especially if  you’re a stat guy. Both teams for most of the contest ran NO HUDDLE offensives. Boy, did I have fun. Even the officials let out a couple of PHEWS!! I gotta catch my breath, man, slow the bleep down. Sorry, fellas, isn’t this the PIAA, where there are now 6 of you? Hey, man, you should do baskets, where you really have to run. I even heard one official say to another, "Aren’t you glad you have another game tonight?" This was a very entertaining game and unexpectedly rather close, 21-14, at the half. I don’t think the Speedboys really expected this. Some were saying at half. “Man, this is Fels. Fels, man, what’s wrong with us today." Nothing really. Not when the Panthers came out all pumped up with a new QB at the helm. I heard a West coach yell out; “Where did this guy come from?" This guy or that guy was Tyriq Smith. Tyriq tossed [6-14-1-130 ]. Apparently when West Philly scouted Fels, Tyriq wasn’t the QB. Smith’s primary receiver was Malik Jackson. Jackson grabbed 4 balls for 88 yards. The 6’ 1” junior wideout seemed to have all the necessary tools to excel at his position. Speed, strength, leaping ability and great hands. He should be a joy to watch for the remainder of this year and all of next year. Things didn’t start off too well for the Panthers. On their second play from scrimmage fullback Jesse Simpson lost control of the handoff and the ball was recovered by West Philly’s Darius Knight at the Panther 38. Six plays later John Davis [ 13-78 ] took it in from the 7. The PAT kick missed and the Speedboys quickly jumped ahead 6-0 with 9:18 to go in the first quarter. It took the Panthers just 3:04 to answer back, thanks mainly to 2 receptions by Jackson of 20 and 31 yards. Smith sprinted around the right from the 7 and highlighted in the end zone when he twisted his body backwards and nailed the pylon with his butt for the TD. The conversion pass failed and it was even at 6 at the 6:14 mark of the initial period. The Speedboys went right back at them with a nice 70 yd ,12 play drive. The big play of the drive was a 9 yd QB sneak on fourth and one from the Philly 39, by Courtney Waiters,[ 12-59] . Waiters would finish off the excursion when he ran a QB draw untouched from 26 yards out. Jabril Brown [ 11-117] ran the PAT for a 14-6 edge with just 9.7 seconds left in the first quarter. Hey, how about another score in just over 4 minutes. Once again, led by Smith’s passing . 26 yards to Olandis Johnson and 20 to Jackson, ‘Riq finished it off by bootlegging it 8 yards for the score. Smith’s conversion pass to Johnson knotted the game at 14. Waiters didn’t wait too long. [I had to say that… Smile…] when he threw a 24 yard TD strike to Keith West  giving the ‘Boys the lead for good . Kicker, Junior Weyeah, added the first of his 3 PAT kicks which ended the first half scoring at the 4:38 mark. West Philly Head Coach John Lay, made up his mind at the half by coming out and playing the old conventional way. Running, running and more running. Behind the offensive line of Center  Charles Walton, Guards Cameron Scott and Chazz Morris, Tackles Robert Walton and Nikoli Norman and Ends Khalef Sapp and West, the Speedboys wore down the Panthers in the second half, outscoring them 22-0. Two turnovers didn’t help Fels, and it all added up to 3 more scores and an end result of 43-14. Waiters ran for a 3 yd TD, Davis matched the number also and West hat-tricked it, by hauling in a 3 yard Waiters toss for the game's final TD. The two second half turnovers were a sack by Sapp which knocked the ball free and into the arms of teammate Robert Shepard. John Davis made a nifty return of 46 yards after intercepting a Smith pass at his own 34 taking the pigskin all the way down to the Fels 20 yard line. Both turnovers resulted into West Philly TDs. Speedboy kicker Weyeah’s non squib kickoffs traveled rather impressively to the Panther 5,11 and 10 yard lines.
  Odds and Ends: Fels had 77 return yards. The leader was Assan Desrosiers [ 2-50]. Asim Hackett [ 2-27 ] also contributed.
Fels Defensive Leaders:
Charles Vinson: 11- 6 solo
Shamere Brown:  9-  5 solo  Sack
Sean O’Neil:           8-  6 solo
Arlonzo Moran:       7- 4 solo
Claudjone Jules:       6- 3 solo
Tyrone Counts:         5- 3 solo-  2 TFL’S – Sack
Kareem Jackson:       Forced Fumble
Anthony Furlow:       Fumble Recovery
West Phila. Defensive Leaders:
Michael White:     10- 5 solo   - Sack
Robert Shepard;      8-  4 solo- TFL- Fumble Recovery- Hurry, Sack
John Davis:              6-  3 solo   INT
Keith West:              TFL
Chazz Morris:            TFL
Darius Knight:         Fumble Recovery

OCT. 4
PUBLIC AAA
Bok 38, Comm. Tech 0
   Boy, is this a crazy game. Bok ran just 22 offensive plays. [19 rush- 3 pass]. Communications Tech almost doubled them with 40. What happened? Well, when the Wildcats scored they scored rather quickly. Their TD drives consisted of: 48 yards in 5 plays, capped by a Luke Lassiter 31 yd TD; A one-play 7-yd Lassiter TD after a punt return of 48 yards by Brahkim Poole; a 3-play drive after a 21-yard punt return by Calvin Moultrie finished off by a 38 yard Lassiter run; a one-play possession after Daquon Johnson recovered a fumble at Bok’s 34; after the recovery Bok QB Darnell Goddard completed a 66-yard bomb to Troy Martin for another score. Bok’s other TD was a 78-yard interception return by DE Khaleem Williams. The Phoenix overloaded on the right side, with 2 wideouts. QB Adefumi Garrett took a quick snap thinking he would catch the ‘Cats off guard by throwing a quick hitch pass. No chance. Williams timed the pass perfectly and stepped in front of 2 receivers and went for a 78-yard stroll to the end zone. Bok also scored on a safety as DE Terry Lee sacked Garrett in the end zone, freeing the ball for a recovery by a Comm. Tech lineman for 2 points. Lassiter on the day ran just 8 times for 96 yards. Goddard threw 2 for 3, both to Martin for 75 yds. The Wildcats' 3 returns totaled 147 yards while their 19 rushes got them 111. Williams led the defensive charge with 8 tackles, 5 solo and a TFL. Other contibuters were: Terry Lee [ 7-5-TFL-Sack]. Up and coming Raymond Tucker [ 6-5-TFL], Daquon Johnson [ 7-4- fumble recovery], Anthony Rivers [ 6-3-TFL], Leland Sledge [ 6-4 ],  Brahkim Poole [ 6-5], Kendall Johnson [ 6-3-TFL] , Troy Martin [ 5-4] and Ackeem Clarke with a TFL. Bok’s 3 PATs were runs by Clarke, Johnson and Al-Hajj Shabazz. AHHH… You gotta love that name. As for the Phoenix, it was total chaos. Eight penalties in the first half really negated their chance for any type of momentum. The first 2 points of the game came after 2 penalties forced Tech to throw from their own end zone. Elapsed time, 59 seconds. Following the safety, the theme of the day was, "Who do we blame this time." No sideline control whatsoever. Yours truly almost got hit with a thrown helmet. It whizzed right by my head. I never saw it coming. To top it all off there was an incident after the game, which was outside of the facility, but did involve students and require a police presence. I was told that it was a Comm Tech home game and therefore they were responsible for the security. Other than the Tech coaches I saw no Phoenix representatives. Stacey Hill paced the Southwest bunch's rushing [16-69]. Kyle Tubbs, out briefly with an injury, trampled 7-45. The Phoenix overall rushed 37-139. They did not complete a pass. Tech’s D Leaders were; Carson Terrick [6-3-TFL-sack], Ackeeno Jolly [8-4-TFL]. Other Techsters with TFLs included: Garrett and Richard Kemp. All of Lassiter’s TD runs came off of the much ballyhooed TRAP PLAY. The complicated execution requires discipline on the part of all of the lineman and a unique ability to block in areas that are not usually part of a running scheme. The prime participants on the line were: center Jeff Smith, guards Jamar Chase and Anthony Rivers, and tackles Leland Sledge and Ryan Murray.

SEPT. 28
PUBLIC AAA
Bok 40, FitzSimons 0
  Same old, same old, same old.  New program competing in their advent years against teams such as Ben Franklin and Bok, who have been playing with the pigskin for years.
  As usual, the results rarely change. Too bad for Bok and Franklin. No doubt the winner of their game on October 18 will decide the PIAA AAA Public League representative. Thus they will compete first in the Pub playoffs and then move on to the State playoffs. They will then will take on a school that has competed against stronger regular season opponents. This will create an advantage for the non-city foe. Is all of this PIAA stuff really worth it? Paul Vallas, the former School Board head honcho, was a guest on a local radio talk show about 5 years ago. Ron Cohen, the head coach at George Washington High, was listening to the show and decided to call in. The rest, as they say, is history. Shortly after the ball got rolling and unfortunately this is what we get. PLEASE !! Just play for the Public League Championship and forget about the PIAA. As I mentioned before, the only thing these kids care about is winning “THE PUB.”
  As for the game, which was played at Bartram, the Braves' head coach Damond "Smash Warren, said that this game would be like a pillow fight! Instead of writing about the usual impact performers -- Bok’s Luke Lassiter, Ackeem Clarke, Ryan Murray, Leland Sledge, Brahkim Poole and Daquon Johnson -- let's give props to the second and third team players of the Wildcats and also to Iskea Artis, pronounced, [Iss-kee-ya, R-teece] of Fitz Simons. This little man, 5’ 5” 153 lbs., is one tough cookie. He started at nose guard and jumped back and occasionally to the corner. Everybody roots for the underdog and little guy, don’t they? I always do. Yes, this was a good day to do the hooting. Artis told me that this was just his second year playing any type of organized football. He played last year at the JV level. He never roughed it up in any youth leagues as a youngster. If he did, I couldn’t imagine how much more developed he would have been. How’s this for a days work in Southwest Philly ? 10 tackles – 7 solo and a TFL. You should have seen him against Bok’s 6’6’’, 335-lb, Temple bound OT/DT Ryan Murray. Murray played liked an animal, waffling, excuse me, pancaking about a half-dozen Rams, but not Artis. He made real good decisions and played the gridiron like a big Chess Board. Great job Mr. Artis. Hope to see you soon.
  Bok coach Tom DeFelice did his usual thing, inserting his second and third team midway through the second quarter. Most of the shining for the Cat replacements was on the defense. The leader was So. DB Emanueal Gregory [6-4-3 TFL’s] and newcomer So. DB Ray Tucker [6-3]. Tucker, who didn’t man the pads until school began, should see more playing time as the season progresses. Backups, Fred Waring and Jassan Thomas both recorded a Sack and a TFL. Jacqual Dobbs [2 TFL’s- Hurry] and Faison Perry [ TFL] pitched in.  Right after Dobbs' first play, on which he got a TFL, at right DE, Bok defensive guru Vince Trombetta screams out, “Dobbs, Dobbs, you’re on the wrong side.”. Seems that Jacqual practiced all week at left DE. Yo, Pops, do you think you put him on the wrong side initially ? On the next play Trombetta said; “ Dobbs, just stay where the heck you are “. The offensive numbers went to Sr. R/B Luke Lassiter [ 15-156-TD]. QB Darnell Goddard [ 4-6-84] made two notable passes. One was a 45 yard TD to Tyshawn Harper. Harper ran a sprint fly, down the right side. The other was a 16 yard strike, that he drilled between 3 defenders that was right on the money to Brahkim Poole, [ 2- 23] . Poole also had an interception. Wildcat other scores included 1 yard plunges by Clarke and Lassiter. Lassiter also ran for a PAT. Bok scored on runs by  Waring [5], Goddard [3] and Bobby Ross [9]. Backup QB, Al-Hajj Shabazz booted for a PAT.
  The Rams rushing leader was Sr. RB/DB Kevin Coston [ 10-34 ] . Coston also had 3 returns for 66 yards. Sam Polk returned 2 for 35 and Leon Dogan [ 2-13 ] . Fitz Simons totaled 114 return yards. Defensive leaders along with Artis were Polk [ 8-6 ], Tyrell Kennedy, [ 7-3] and Tyree Frisbee, [ 6-2- 2 Pass Def. ] . Tyrell McClean and Rodney Morris each recorded a sack. Other Wildcat D headliners:
Dacquan Johnson: 7-5- TFL
Troy Martin:          6-3
Kendall Johnson :   5-3- TFL- 2 Hurry’s
Brahkaim Poole:      5-2- Int.- 3 Pass Def.
Anthony Rivers :      TFL
Ryan Murray :           TFL

SEPT. 20
PUBLIC AAA
Bok 48, Prep Charter 0
   I don’t know how so many teams can suddenly appear in one league. I believe that last year Prep Charter was playing football for the first time. That’s correct. One year the Huskies are playing JV level football and the next they’re facing AAA powerhouse Bok Tech in a varsity game. It just doesn’t seem fair to the kids and coaches who have to endure all of this unbalanced competition. Don’t forget, playing these teams is also not  healthy for the Wildcats as they prepare for the playoffs. If in fact they are fortunate enough to make them this year. Once again, it appears that the AAA winner will come from the winner of the Bok-Ben Franklin contest to be held on October 18th. Franklin also plays the same schedule as the 'Cats so whoever comes out victorious will have to face much tougher competition from the suburbs. Enough of the Soap Boxing and on to the game. Bok coach Tom DeFelice hasn’t been too happy with his troops as of late. Tom, like myself, thought that the Wildcats would show more enthusiasm and instill that into their games. That has not been the case. On the way over to Bartram Field, which this year serves as Bok’s home turf, I was thinking that this had to be a breakout game for the Mifflin Street Brigade. Boy, was I right. Actually the only person I mentioned it to was Karyne, who is the trainer assigned by the School District to work in the South, Southwest and West Philadelphia area. This affair was a total mismatch. Everyone likes numbers so let me give you a few. The Wildcats used 14 ballcarriers. How about that, Ted? I’ll bet that really screws up your Rushing Category on Bok’s Team Page. Smile!
   In total Bok ran the ball 37 times for 372 yards for an average of just over 10 yards a carry. Speedster Luke Lassiter only ran it 6 times but totaled 107 yards and 2 TD’S. New kid on the block -- I told you to look out for this kid-- Akeem Spratley put up 6-77-2 TDs. Spratley, a transfer from West Catholic, is just a sophomore who played in his first game last week against William Penn. Spratley is not unfamiliar with the game of football. He told me he played weight ball for the South Phila. Eagles, the Roadrunners, the Darby Eagles and Saint Monica’s on the CYO level. He not only likes to run with the pigskin he also does a good job on the other side of the ball as a free safety. Playing limited action because of the lopsided contest, Spratley made 7 tackles, 4 solo and defended 6 passes. I thought I was at a baseball game. Coach DeFelice must have screamed to Sprat 10 times, "Centerfield, Akeem, centerfield." Maybe we’ll see him on the New Diamond at 12th and Bigler for Frank Natale’s baseball squad in the near future. Spratley also likes to lead the charge on the kickoff team. The two games that I have seen him play he has made the first hit on the return man about a half dozen times. Jr. DB Brahkim Poole had 2 Interceptions with one displaying an electric return of 45 yards. Other scorers for the Wildcats included;  Sr. FB/NG Ackeem Clarke [ 2-28 ] on a 12 yard TD scoot directly off tackle. Another first timer had an impact for Bok . Sr. Tyshawn Harper [2-27]  20 yard TD around the left corner. DeFelice surprised everyone on Bok’s first possession, when QB Darnell Goddard dropped straight back and just overthrew Harper, who was wide open running a straight fly pattern to the right flag. That, was Bok’s only pass attempt of the game. Bok’s other score came as a result of a bad snap out of the shotgun. PC QB Jarreau Henderson was forced to fall on the ball in the end zone, giving Bok 2 points. The Huskies had a tough time all day running out of the 'gun. Center Josh Brydges, 6’0 ft. 360 lbs. constantly hiked the ball high to his 2 QBs all afternoon. Charlie Wilson started for PC but was lifted late in the first quarter.  Wilson completed 2 of 4 for 14 yards with one interception while Henderson went 3-8-1-19 yds.  On the rushing side the Huskies could only muster a total of 18 yards on 19 attempts. They had their best success on returns, scampering 5 times for 59 yards. Charlie Barber led the defense for Charter with 7 tackles- 5 –solo and a fumble recovery. Reese DeVose 6-4- TFL – Sack and Shelton Jones 5-3-solo pitched in. Anthony Sacerdote and Barber also recovered fumbles. Bok’s defense was aided by Khaleem Williams [ 6-4-Sack], Second stringer Kevin Bryan [ 6-3-Sack], Fred Waring [ 5-4 ] and Clarke [ 5-3-1 TFL ]. Jassan Thomas blocked a punt while Troy Martin, Leland Sledge, Anthony Rivers and Thomas recorded TFLs.  The biggest cheers of the game came from the Bok first-teamers who were rooting  hard for Sr. RB Aubrey Moody, who usually doesn’t see much playing time Moody was cheered to the number of 5 carries for 26 yards. Bobby Ross also recovered a fumble for the Wildcats.  One final unusual occurrence was Bok using 3 Kicker’s on their kickoffs. They were, Clarke, Ros and Joseph Reeves. Maybe DeFelice is looking for a coaching comeback by former Soccer and Basketball Coach Chickie Chuimento. Chuimento worked with the kickers while at Bok. He has been retired for several years.

SEPT. 15
NON-LEAGUE
Penn Charter 3, McDonogh (Md.) 0
   Upon my arrival to the game I get a quick, WHOA !!!!   You better be at your best today. “This is ‘gonna be a real old fashion shootout." OK, I say to myself, I’m actually here just to enjoy the game, not to do stats since PC has one of the best in their own Gerry Sasse. Mmmmm. I think my good old left hand could use a good workout, so bring it on baby ! Only one problem. My trusty sidekick, Joe McFadden, was sick so he didn’t attend the game. Well, since I’m not the official guy, I’ll do the best I can and if Gerry had a question I would be glad to give him some help. AHH….One more thing. If I happen to mention any type of yardage while writing this, I apologize. Naah… Just look at it as unofficial. The real stats will be on PC’S Team Page of this site. Once you do this type of thing you become a creature of habit. Now let’s get to the game's only score. After missing earlier from the 23 in the second quarter, Sr. Torrey Crawford nailed a 25 yarder with 4:37 to go in the contest. The FG came after a long Quaker drive of 17 plays, following an interception by soph Michael Brown in the end zone placed the ball at the 20. Obviously, the low scoring game had to feature some big defensive stops by the Philly Guys. Well, here they are. With 1:28 remaining in the second quarter, the Eagles were facing a fourth and two at the PC 26. Junior LB Joseph Volgraf cheated up inside a bit and tackled McDonogh’s Brian Ellis after he gained just one yard. Volgraf was big later on, when he stopped Ellis again for no gain on second and goal from the 5.  The next play Brown made his interception. Sr. SS Blaise Fullen read a reverse play perfectly and caught McDonogh’s Curtis Holmes behind the line of scrimmage for a loss of 3 yards on fourth down with 3:39 on the fourth quarter clock. The Quakers took over the ball at the Eagle 43, but gave it back after a 3 and out. McDonogh had one last chance to either tie or take the lead, but all of their hopes were gone when Sr. DB/WR Eddie Bambino (what a great name!) read a quick out pattern and stepped up and intercepted the ball at his 15 and ran 47 yards down the right sideline before being snatched at the Eagle 38 with 33.5 seconds left in the game. Penn Charter QB John Ryan did the kneel-down thing on the next play and that was all she wrote! Or should I say I wrote! Ryan, just a junior, is the brother of Boston College QB and Heisman candidate Matt Ryan. Looks like John’s headed to the D-1 level also. The kid has it all. Good size (6’2”, 190) and a good arm. He has great vision as a passer and is fluid while running out of the option. He toted 14-19-1-162 yds by Gerry's stats. His primary receivers were Bambino (I hope he has a nickname other than Bambi; much too trite for an Inter-Ac institution) with four balls for 58 yards and Fullen with six worth 58.
Defensive Leader’s for PC:
Joseph Volgraf: 7 tackles- 5 solo-sack
Justin Renfrow:   7              4         TFL
Blaise Fullen:       6              4         TFL
Michael Brown:   5  tackles, 6 passes defended- Int
Eddie Bambimo: 4 tackles-5 passes defended – Int. 
Oh well, since I know that McDonogh coaches and players get on this site (they told Joe McFadden a few years back that they do), I’ll pass this info on.
Rushing: Bryan Ellis  16-89, Rudy Johnson 4-6, Curtis Holmes 1-[-3]
Passing : Rudy Johnson   10-24-2 - 99 yds, Gerrard Sheppard  0-1
Receiving: Curtis Holmes  6-45, J.P. Grant  3-51, K. C. Woods 1-3
Returns; Grant 1-29, Holmes 1-23
Defense:
Holmes: 10-7 solo, Malcolm Moses, 8-5, Lance Clelland, 8-6, Milton Gholston; 6-5-1,
Matt Hart, 6-4, Alex Pagnotta; 5-4, Brian Hess; 4- fumble recovery, K.C. Woods; fumble recovery; Shane Milam.

SEPT. 12
PUBLIC AAA
Bok 24, Penn 6
   After William Penn's Braheim Dixon punted for the first time for 27 yds, Bok assistant coach Kyle Benzio made a proposal to Jr. DE Khaleem Williams. He told the 6' 3 Williams that since Dixon was only 7 yards behind Long Snapper Naeem Johnson that Williams should be able to block a punt. Benzio, a former DE for Temple and captain of the squad that upset then number one ranked Virginia Tech in the late 1990s, said to Williams; "Khaleem, if you block a punt today, I'll buy you a hoagie."
   I'd bet that it's a Reds' Hoagie, at the corner of 9th and Mifflin. Seems like they have been there for 100 years. Good stuff! I've had a few myself. Well, more than a few actually. Well, Williams never blocked a punt, instead he stated up; 10 tackles, 6 solo, 2 for losses and a sack. In between he picked up a loose ball at his own 41 and ran untouched for a 59 yard fumble return for the Wildcats' second TD. Sr. RB Luke Lassiter, 17-91-TD, ran for his second conversion of the contest giving the 'Cats a 16-0 advantage late in the third quarter. The heck with the hoagie. How about a nice filet somewhere? Being a kid, Khaleem would most likely prefer an assortment of hoagies, cheese steaks and fried chicken. Speaking of assortments, that's what the Wildcats gave Penn on the beautiful Wednesday afternoon for a football game. A little bit of this and a little bit of that. The South Philly squad snatched 3 interceptions. Brahkim Poole, Troy Martin and Calvin Moultrie did the honors. Sr. QB Darnell Goddard threw 2 passes, both completions. One was to Lassiter for 6 yards. The other was a 26 yard TD to Poole in second quarter. The Cat Mix also included 154 rushing yards and 110 return yards. Throw in 9 TFL's with a few sacks and a Lassiter 6 yd TD run and PRESTO!! You have a 24-6 Bok victory. Bok's always tough defense once again was effective, allowing the Lions just one first half first down. That came as a result of a 15 yd. unsportsmanlike flag. William Penn's TD was a 33 yd. strike to Nathaniel Brown with just 41 seconds remaining in the game. Sr. QB David Allen, 2-10-3- 38 yds., threw for the strike. His other completion was also to Brown.
   Bok would have scored another TD in the second quarter, but Lassiter's 40-yard apparent score was called back for holding. Penn's 5' 8" 150 lbs, Sr. RB Dewayne Daughty took most of the pounding fighting for 66 yards on 18 carries. The little guy primarily ran inside. Don't know why. Too small. While Allen booted several times around the ends for some nice gains, his overall numbers were affected by being sacked or tackled behind the line of scrimmage on occasion. He finished 14-42. On the day the Lions put up 36-107 rushing digits. Defensively they were led by Sr. DB Rashad Nowlin with 9 tackles, 4 solo . Others included Jr. DL Khalil Henderson, 8-4, So. DE/LB Darrell Pierce,8-3, So. DL Hakeem Brown 7-3-TFL and Sr. SS Maurice Clanton, 6-2-force fumble. Clanton and Jr. DB Khalil Brown recovered fumbles for the Lions.
   For Bok, Sr. LB Daquan Johnson 9-5-2, Sr. OT/DT Leland Sledge,7-3-1 Sr. DB Kyle Williams 7-3-1 and Sr. FB/NG Ackeem Clarke 6-3-2 aided Khaleem Williams. Jamar Chase added a TFL.
   NOTES: Special thanks to Carl Benzio, the father of Kyle for helping with the stats. He said; "Boy, you really have to be paying attention to get all of this, but you can appreciate the game more." Hey, don't make it sound like this is fun. One question. “How does a kid who graduates from Seton Hall Prep end up coaching and teaching in the Public School District? The Benzios are originally form the Bucks County area. Be on the lookout for just-new-to-the-Bok-squad Akeem Spratley. Spratley, a sophomore from the South Philadelphia area, is a baby faced RB/DB and near the end of the game and was very impressive running the ball. Coach Tom DeFelice calls Spratley a Slasher. He hit it right. He ran just 2 times for 8 yards. Had some nice hits on special teams and will see more playing time as the season progresses.

SEPT. 7
NON-LEAGUE
Lincoln 7, Dobbins 6
  What if I told you that a team's Total Offense accumulated just 42 yards?
Well you would most likely say that I was out of my mind. No, I 'm not
because I just watched a Public Game where anything is possible. Oh, did I
tell you that they had just ONE First Down. Man, how would you like to be
the loser of that game? In this case it was the Mustangs of Dobbins that
lost the heartbreaker to the Lincoln Railsplitters. Now, I'll give you the
number of plays. Lincoln ran a total of 29 offensive plays, while Dobbins
totaled 51. 34 rushes for 69 yds plus QB Terez Sydnor went 7 of 17 for 74 yds.
Eight penalties, 108 yds, really
killed the Mustangs. The biggest came while they were trailing late in the
game, 7-0. Let me set up the crazy scenario. After two plays of significant
yardage were nullified because of infractions, Dobbins was facing a Fourth
and 33 situation. The ball was on their own 45 with just over 6 minutes to
play. Coach Lou Zambino elected to go for the first down. Holy Freddie
Mitchell. Sydnor uncorked one down the left sideline to Ralston Thomas who
somehow grabbed the ball, but still needed about 7 yards for the first after
the catch. He managed to break two tackles to get first down at the 22 of
Lincoln. The sticks were on the other side of the field. The officials
signaled first down, but 'Splitter coach Gene Kelly requested a
measurement. It wasn't even close. Thomas got it by almost a full yard. Now
with the ball on the 21, it took 7 plays for the Mustangs to score. Sydnor
scored on a 6-yard waggle with 2:16 on the fourth quarter clock. After the
TD, the officials called an unsportsmanlike penalty against Dobbins after a
Mustang player got a little mouthy with one of his opponents. After a delay
of game penalty, the conversion try came from the 23 yard line. On the
attempt, Sydnor scrambled to his right, just looking for anyone. The
coverage was so good that Sydnor was forced to throw in desperation to
Paul McPherson at the 11 yard line while being surrounded by white shirts.
The toss was under thrown so McPherson had no shot for a catch. Now trailing
7-6 and still with one timeout remaining, Zambino elected to kick off and
hope that his defense would give him one last chance. The kick was a line
drive that was picked up by Clarence Fisher at the 27. Fisher almost broke
free, before being brought down at the 50 yard line. The clock now read
2:16. After running three plays for negative yards and a penalty of 5 yds.,
the Railsplitters were forced to punt. At this time Dobbins took their final
timeout with 51 seconds remaining. Sharif Assad, who punted 5 times for a
nice 35.6 avg., came on to do his stuff. Punting from his own 38, Assad
kicked away from the return men and got a nice roll when the ball finally
stopped at the Dobbins 20 at 37.8 seconds. Sydnor's first down pass was
tipped at the 50 by Dylan Gallagher. Now with 30.3 showing the 'Stangs were
called for a procedure penalty. After the mark off the clock started at
21.4. Sydnor mishandled the snap out of the shotgun formation and fell on
the ball at the 7. Now, with the clock moving and quickly approaching 0:00,
Sydnor just beat the clock taking the snap and dropped back into the End
Zone looking for the ultimate "Hail Mary" pass play. He tossed the ball
about 65 yards in the air, but once again the pass was broken up by
Gallagher at the Lincoln 38. Game Over.
   Lincoln's only TD came when Sydnor was back to pass and got hit from behind
by Christian Burrell. The ball squirted loose and was scooped up by teammate
Hakeem Cooper before he was pushed down from behind by McPherson. Two plays
later, Charles Boyd, replacing Joe McCausland at QB threw an 8 yard TD to
Kevin Chilton with 23.8 seconds before halftime. William James, despite
being roughed on his try, nailed the PAT for the game's most significant
point. The 15 yard penalty was assessed on the kickoff.
  All seven of Sydnor's completions were made by Thomas. Thomas also rushed
for 34 yds on 10 carries and had an interception on defense. Randolph
Latimore, all of 6' 4'' 300 lbs, made 9 tackles (6 solo, 3 TFL's). Charles King
(9-4-4) was also impressive for Dobbins.
  Lincoln was led by Jr. 5' 4" 165 Nose Guard Chris Williams. The tough little
guy did big things. 10 tackles 5 solo- 4 TFL's while throwing in a sack.
Chilton, 8-6 solo, Ali Baxter 7- TFL- forced fumble and Burrell 7- force
fumble along with a Clarence Fisher fumble recovery aided the defense.

SEPT. 7
NON-LEAGUE
Southern 14,  Mastbaum 0
  Well, the first thing in order is to congratulate Southern's Head Coach Stosh
Tunney on his first career varsity win. Stosh's Rams battled in the Dust
Bowl at 58th and Elmwood and shut out the Panthers. 14-0. Strong running by
Sr. RB/LB Tyrell Cooper, 15-124 TD, paced the South Philly Boys. Cooper's
highlight scamper came with 4:10 to go in the first half. After SP's Bryan
Lee recovered a fumble at midfield, Cooper took the next handoff and
escorted by left guard and tackle, Steve Hamilton and Cory Quick, went the
few yards needed to force pursuit to the left and then quickly cut right
and headed toward the end zone. QB Mike Henry ran for the conversion and an
8-0 lead. Mastbaum tried to answer; Nolan Davis and Richard White made sure
that they wouldn't by making outstanding plays on defense -- Davis with his
amazing ability to defend and break up passes and White pressuring Mastbaum
QB Jamil Thomas and later Gregory Desire all day long. Davis, a 5' 7, 140 lb.
Jr., made 10 tackles with 5 solo while defending 5 passes and breaking up 3
potential TD's. White, a 5' 8" 180 lb. DT/T, calculated 7 tackles, with 3
hurries and a quick hit on Desire forcing an interception.  South Philly's
second score came on a fourth and goal from the 7 midway through the final
quarter. Henry took a quick snap and sprinted untouched around the left side
for the game's final score. Mastbaum could mount only 56 rushing yards on 24
attempts. It should have been higher but 49 minus yards came as a result of
Thomas not being able to get rid of the ball while being chased by the Rams
defense. Head Coach Al Coleman must have told Thomas 4 or 5 times to do so,
but Thomas was tentative and later relieved by Desire.  Thomas completed 2
of 6 passes for just 10 yds. Desire did a little better with numbers of
3-7-49. He threw one interception. South Philadelphia's Kiaheem Simmons made
the pick. Mastbaum's Rasheen Tookes carried 11-86. Tookes also was a force
on defense with 6 tackles along with a sack and a forced fumble. Jr. MLB/C
Andrew King topped the Panther D, with 10 tackles-5 solo- 2 TFL's and a
sack. Donald Vodapija 2, Shane Simmons, David Santiago, Antonio Powell and
Khalif Workman had TFLs for Mastbaum.  The stubborn Rams -- hey, I like that!;
STUBBORN HIGH SCHOOL RAMS -- had standout defensive performances by several
others along with Davis and White. Simmons had 9 tackles 4 solo and a TFL,
Cooper 6-3 solo, Anthony Buffalo, 6-3 with a sack and fumble recovery while
Nasan Fluellen also had a sack.

AUG. 31
NON-LEAGUE
Bok 26, Southern 0
   Years ago, on the Friday morning of Labor Day Weekend, I would venture early
in the morning down to the Jersey Shore. Not to get a final shot at laying
on the beach, but heading to an Establishment for some "Kegs and Eggs."
Well, on this day it was more of "Begs for Legs." In other words, can anyone
run the football today. Even Bok Senior standout runner, Luke Lassiter,
15-69, 2TD had a rough time. The bulked-up back, who was the game's leading
rusher, would only mount two 11-yard runs as his longest. His first came
early in the first quarter, after Sr. LB Daquon Johnson, 8 tackles, 3
TFL, recovered a fumble at the Southern 11.  Site moderator Ted Silary, who
was on hand to take some photos, said to me; "Touchdown right here, Frog."
Bingo, 6 to zip at the 10:07 mark of the first quarter. Sr. RB/DB Kendall
Johnson ran for the game's only conversion, giving his Wildcats an 8-0 lead.
Since we're on the subject of running, the game's longest was a 46-yard TD,
by Sr. RB/DL Ackeem Clarke, 6-67 TD, who broke a few tackles moving to his
right with 6:32 to play in the third period. Clarke also caused much havoc
on defense (I heard he did it in 2 earlier scrimmages) by gauging the snap
count and hitting the center right at the time of the exchange to the
quarterback. That issue, along with  Bok's always tough defense, resulted
in some ugly rushing numbers for the Rams -- 23 attempts for 13 yards.
Southern completed one pass and that was by Sr. RB/LB Tyrell Cooper, who
seems to be around forever. Well, it only appears that way. Cooper, has
played 4 years for the Rams and has made many impact plays on both sides of
the ball. His pass registered 31 yards to Jr. RB/DB Dante Winn. Bok Sr QB
Darnell Goddard completed 3 of 4 for 32 yards. Two
went to Kendall Johnson but for zero yards, while the other was a 32 yd TD
strike to Jr. Troy Martin late in the first quarter. Lassiter scored the
affair's only other TD, dipping 5 yds with 5:30 to go in the second period.
The TD closed out the first half scoring with the Wildcats ahead, 20-0. The
outsized Rams, competing with just 5 Seniors on their 34-man roster, held
their own against Bok's two well known senior offensive tackles: Ryan
Murray. who is headed to Temple along with his 6' 6" and 335-pound frame, and
his counterpart, Leland Sledge. Bok would rush for only 146 yards with their
32 carries. The Ram defense was led by Sr LB/RB Kiaheem Simmons, 13 tackles,
7 solo and 2 TFLs. Sophomore LB/DB Andrew Auer, all 5' 9'' of him, cashed
in at 8-5 solo. Cooper had 7-4-2 TFLs.  Bryan Lee, TFL and Sean Allen,
sack, pitched in. For Bok Clarke made 6 with a TFL. While, Murray, Johnson,
Jerry Green, Kaleen Williams and Jaqual Dobbs all had TFLs.
   Notes: Welcome aboard Stosh Tunney as the new Head Coach of the Rams. His
staff includes; Franny Mackin, DeWayne Williams, Craig Scioscia (cousin of
former Dodger and now Manager of the L.A. Angels, Mike Scioscia) and
returning for his second stiny, Paul Cammarota. Cammarota, assisted with
former Head Man Lou D' Alonzo.