FEB. 17
CATHOLIC LEAGUE FIRST-ROUND PLAYOFF
North Catholic 66, Judge 64
  Maybe schools should be in danger of closing more often. If North survives, someone should threaten to shut its doors every year. The “final” football game, the Thanksgiving win over Frankford at La Salle University, was an all-timer and this one ranks WAY up the goodies list, as well. Unfortunately, it ended with MAJOR controversy. You know how you can hear a song early in the day and it continues to roll around in your head thereafter? En route to an afternoon Pub game, I heard “Giving You the Best That I Got” by Anita Baker. It kept replaying and replaying and replaying in my mind. Tonight I learned why. It was an omen. The players from North and Judge gave the best they had, putting on a wonderful show. As for the referees . . . Not so much. This game was filled with head-scratching calls and Judge coach Sean Tait, in particular, spent much of the 32 minutes everything from disturbed to irate. Then came the final play. With the score at 64-64, after taking a pass from sr. PG Woody Redding, and after fiddling around a little, North sr. F Bobby Makor hit a mid-range, right-side jumper. But had he let it go in time? My pic shows no time on the clock and the ball sliiiiiiightly out of Makor’s hand. Inconclusive. In a still shot, there’s no way to know whether the zeroes were on the clock BEFORE Makor fired. But as the sequence unfolded, as has long been a habit, I dictated what I was seeing into my tape recorder. Reason? Very simple. It’s easier to watch and talk than watch and write. Here’s what went into the tape recorder as the ball passed through the net, and afterward: “No good! No good! Nooooo good! . . . Ohhhhh!! Rebstock ruled it GOOD! Rebstock ruled it GOOD!” Those last two comments were uttered a good three seconds after the buzzer sounded. The play took place at the basket closest to the hallway where people enter the gym. Amauro and I were camped out behind the basket at the opposite end. I first looked to the ref on the right side, Bill Grutzmacher. He was bent over with his hands on his knees. Nothing. Then to the ref underneath, Rick Dormer. He was partially obscured. Nothing. Then to the ref on the left side, L.B. Rebstock. Nothing, at first. But he then made an understated count-the-basket motion and that was it. Was he incorrect? Certainly appeared so to my naked eye. Was this good-basket-or-not situation a rough one to untangle? No doubt. Either way, it was VERY close. But I was definitely a firm believer in NO GOOD, as evidenced by what went into the tape recorder. Rebstock was the guy who’d tossed up the ball at the beginning of the game, so he was considered the lead ref. From his vantage point, he would have had the best look at Makor AND the clock. When you come down to it, in terms of reffing protocol, I guess it was ultimately incumbent upon HIM to finally pull the trigger since neither one of his partners was doing so. Nevertheless, he WAS the furthest away. In speaking afterward with some North people, and just observing others, there was a definite air of “we got away with one.” No one came right out and said it, of course. Anyone remotely connected to Judge was livid. Back in the office, while doing the story, I received a call from coach Sean Tait. His overall thought on the matter: if the call was that difficult to make, considering the delay, the game should have been decided in OT. Can’t find anything wrong with that rationale. Put it this way: if any one of the three refs had been positive immediately of what to call, he would have done so. Emphatically. That definitely did not happen. OK, on to the rest of the proceedings. What a ballgame! The teams combined to shoot 57 percent from the floor, and Judge (25-for-41) was even better than North (27-for-50). There were lots of athletic plays and smart plays, along with leave-it-ALL-out-there hustle, and, not to sound sappy, every kid who stepped onto the floor deserves kudos. Makor, known mostly for defense, led the Falcons with, for him, 18 whopping points. He shot 7-for-11 from the floor! He also grabbed five rebounds and made two steals, both in the fourth quarter. Boston U.-bound wing guard Mike Terry was even better in the sniping department, going 7-for-9 with three treys for 17 points while adding six rebounds. Sr. WG Jaleel Mack had 13 points, four assists and six steals. He had a bad turnover in the late going and was briefly yanked. But upon his return, he made a key steal. Redding had four assists and three steals. Off the bench, star LB David D. Williams added seven points and four boards while sr. F Alex Amrhein, in brief duty, made his only shot and totaled two steals, two boards. For Judge, jr. CG Reggie Charles further opened eyes by hustling for 11 points and seven assists. He showed great old-school tempo with bursts when needed and methodical sashays when they made better sense. Six-nine jr. C Seamus Radtke, sometimes the king of missed chippies, suffered the same inside fate early on two shots. But then it all came together – catching, turning, making sure he was positioned correctly, everything – and he made his last seven shots en route to 17 points. He added seven rebounds and six blocks. Jr. WG Joe Kehoe likewise struggled early, missing his first four shots. Then he went berserk! (smile) He finished with 16 points, hitting four treys total and three in the final quarter. He also dealt three assists. Jr. F (and QB) Tony Smith was his usual tough-guy-but-also-fluid self. He contributed 10 points, four boards and three apiece of assists and steals. Jr. CG Gavin Whalen made all three of his shots for six points. Jr. sub G Nick Sullivan hit a three and made two steals, and his front end of a one-and-one at 36.3 created the 64-64 tie. His second attempt did not succeed and Williams grabbed the rebound. Judge had two fouls to give and took the second at 7.8. Makor then inbounded to Redding near North’s bench and Woody circled around to a spot just a little to the left side of the court before hitting Makor with a pass on the right. It appears Makor was about 15 feet from the hoop, at about a 45-degree angle? Judge deserves MAJOR credit for rallying from an 11-point deficit in the final quarter. Especially since dunks – one by Makor, another by Mack – were part of the outburst that put the Falcons ahead by that much. They can be very demoralizing, especially for visiting teams. Kehoe’s trey (pass from Charles) got the 'Saders close at 62-61. After Mack’s turnover, they went ahead at 1:19 on Radtke’s basket off Charles’ lobbed, dump-in feed. Makor then slipped on a move through the lane and lost the ball out of bounds. Next was Mack’s theft. Though he missed the layup, Terry was there for the follow. Sullivan then headed to the line and we’ve already discussed, exhaustively, what happened from there. If this does prove to be the final game in North’s history (thought I doubt it), how weird is this: It might have been decided after it “ended.”