On the Trail With Ted Return to TedSilary.com Home Page  Observations, notes, etc., on games I've seen during the 2004 season . . . September reports October reports

DEC. 4
CATHOLIC BLUE FINAL
Wood 29, West Catholic 0
   The idea that these teams were evenly matched turned out to be WAY false. At least in this one. Wood played with passion and intelligence and won its second consecutive title in impressive fashion. The Vikings strangled the life from the game and by the end, West's frustration was showing in the form of personal fouls and warnings to behave from the refs. Wood got the ball first and jr. RB Bryan McCartney (25-132) ripped off a 32-yard gain on the second play. The drive was capped by a 6-yard pass from sr. QB Chris Hanson to sr. WR James Harrigan. The drive covered 73 yards in 10 plays. Hanson finished 8-for-9 for 94 yards and three TDs and he scored the fourth, his first of the year, on a 14-yard keeper. Hanson got big-time help on his second TD toss, a 25-yarder to soph Chris Lorditch in the second quarter. The ball was the slightest bit underthrown into the end zone and West jr. DB Harold Davis was in the process of making an interception when . . . Lorditch wrested away the ball as the pair went tumbling! It was a wonderful play by the taller and stronger Lorditch. Lorditch also had an interception and a 32-yard punt return to set up TD No. 3, a 1-yard toss to sr. TE Ryan Dolan. While the Burrs indeed wound up getting spanked, they WERE still in the game as the third quarter began. Finally showing determination and going straight ahead behind their huge line, they went straight down the field with big gains from jr. FB Wayne Donahue (16 yards, on the first play) and sr. FB Kelven Quick (17) on the third play. An 11-yard gain from yet another non-feature back, sr. Michael Evans, set up first-and-10 at the 11. Quick's 7-yard gain provided third-and-2 at the 3. Harrigan stopped sr. RB Chris Diaferio for no gain and then sr. LB Bill Gross (big pop!) and Harrigan combined to do the same on fourth down. Instead of being within a TD, West was still down by two and mentally/emotionally whipped. Wood's fourth score (Hanson's run) was set up by a pick from sr. DB John McFadden. Wood's grunts were sr. C Christian Szablowski, rotating Gs Matt Knox (jr.), Mike DelTito (sr., former running back) and Greg Thomas (sr., back from injury) and jr. Ts Brian Holley and Mike Gallagher. Huck will also file a report on this game and provide some defensive stats.

NOV. 27
PIAA CLASS AAAA EASTERN SEMIFINAL
Easton 15, Washington 10
   Is it possible for a team to lose, yet still emerge as a winner? Of course, and that was Washington in this one. Washington coach Ron Cohen said afterward, "We had them scared," and that was probably an understatement. Few observers of upstate football gave Washington much of a chance to hang, let alone "almost" win, but that was what happened. With a crowd of roughly 5,000 on hand at Northeast's Charlie Martin Memorial Stadium, and with pain-in-the-butt rain falling throughout most of the game (it started almost the instant the game began), the teams put on quite a show. As almost everyone knew, this was The Pub's first chance to prove its worth to folks beyond the city limits -- well, at least in the high-enrollment classification; Bok lost earlier in AAA -- and compete for a state title. Those who were there truly know how close the Eagles came to advancing to an eastern final matchup with Neshaminy. First, let me say this. Easton was impressive. The Red Rovers were greatly outsized along the lines, but showed outstanding technique and precision. They are to commended! As for Washington, this game was available for the claiming and the Eagles will think long and hard about what could have happened. We'll move to the fourth quarter. With 10:04 left, and trailing by 9-7, Washington took over on its 18. Sr. RB Jerry Butler (22-118) immediately zipped for a 19-yard gain and then another sr. RB, Lawson Draper, who shone Wednesday night (8-169, two TDs) while Butler sat vs. Ryan, went right up the middle for 34 yards. On third-and-4, out of a full-house backfield, sr. QB Chuck Hughes hit sr. WB Raymond Roy for what would be the Eagles' pass connection of the evening and the 18-yard gain put the ball at the 5. Butler posted a gain of 1 and loss of 2, then Hughes threw incomplete to sr. FB Jerome Lewis. On fourth down, despite great pressure, sr. Mike Kline kicked a 23-yard field goal, his first of the season, to make it 10-9. The joy was short-lived. Sr. RB Ovid Goulbourne got to the outside off a trap and broke free for 34 yards; the play was a killer. Ultimately, frosh Jarred Holley scored from the 1, then sr. LB Justin Presley and jr. DT Demitrius Wilson combined to stop the conversion run. Three minutes, 41 seconds remained. Sequence from there: 23-yard kickoff return by Butler, to the GW 38. Twelve-yard gain by Butler on sweep to right, plus a 15-yard personal foul. Four-yard gain by Roy on a counter. Procedure on GW; ball back to Easton 36. Four-yard gain by Butler on sweep right. Six-yard gain by Lewis on run up the middle. That set up fourth-and-1 at the 26. The call was for a sneak, but as Hughes leaned over, he lost his balance or got too anxious or something and he stutter-stepped, causing the referees to correctly whistle a procedure penalty. On fourth-and-6, Hughes went long and tried to hit Roy in the right corner of the end zone. The pass was just a little long. The clock read 0:41. It might as well have read 0:00. Easton ran it down from there. Some big plays did not go right for the Eagles. Their lone third-quarter drive reached the 17 before Butler was dumped for an 8-yard loss on third-and-3. Butler then picked up nine yards, but was shy of first-down yardage. In the second quarter, Butler dropped a pitchout for a 13-yard loss and a fake that was not carried out smoothly resulted in a Hughes fumble that Easton recovered. So, you might be asking, when did Washington score? Right away. The Eagles began the game with the ball and went 64 yards in three plays. Butler picked up nine (and 15 were added via penalty) and then 38, and then Hughes burrowed in from the 2. Presley and Roy led GW with eight and seven stops, respectively. Sr. DE John McFillin, sr. DB Mikal Sabree and sr. DE/OLB Dominique Curry had five apiece. A testament to Easton's blocking schemes was the fact that sr. DL Dave Gonser made just three stops. Except for Thanksgiving Eve, when he was held out, Butler had scored in every game this season (and all but two last season). He was the last guy through the handshake line and he said again and again to the Red Rovers, "Y'all better win the championship." When the Eagles gathered, he roared to his teammates, 'It's all right! Keep your heads up!" Great advice. Everyone listened. Even those with tears in their eyes.

NOV. 25
THANKSGIVING RIVALRY
Frankford 20, North Catholic 14
   What a weird morning, weatherwise. Early you could have watched the proceedings in a short-sleeved shirt and later you needed a heavy jacket and/or an umbrella. The game wasn't the most normal one I've seen, either. Though the spread was only six points and the outcome was still in doubt until the very end, Frankford pretty much dominated. The Pioneers ran 65 plays to North's 28!! In the second half, Fkd had possessions lasting nine, 14 and 14 plays and only scored on one of those. That was the first of the three, and it culminated with a 27-yard pass from sr. QB Lamont Brown (14-for-22, 153) to sr. WB Maurice Miller (5-63). Fkd's other TD of the half resulted from just an 11-yard "drive" after soph Calvin Spires recovered a fumble. Sr. HB Malik "Flip" Walker ran 4 yards on fourth-and-3. North's only hint of life in the second half came right Miller's TD when soph Daryl Robinson took the kickoff and zoomed 85 yards straight up the middle for an easy-as-could-be score. No one came even close to touching him. North began its final possession on its 29 with 0:48 left. The sequence: 9-yard pass to sr. Dwight Williams from sr. Joe Waclawski; spike to stop the clock; pass from minus-1 to Robinson (plus 15 yards in the other direction due to a personal foul); dropped pass along the sideline; pass over the middle broken up by Miller to end it. Fkd's line: sr. C Terrel Brown, sr. G Matt Toland, rotating sr Gs Nicolas Martinez and Kenyatta Gulledge, jr. T Daniel Bredell, soph T William Ray (jr. T Angel Gonzalez went out with what was rumored to be a broken ankle), sr. TE Kareem Lomax and jr. TE Alonzo Williams. Sr. DE Isaiah Stroman made a tremendous hustle play to prevent a TD late in the second quarter. Waclawski hit Robinson with a middle screen and Robinson continued to the right sideline. Stroman kept running and knocked him out of bounds at the 1. Waclawski bobbled the snap on the next play and Walker recovered. North sr. RB Shane McNamara ran 12 times for 75 yards and made a beautiful spin move on a 24-yard TD. North's side of the stadium was absolutely packed. Frankford's was roughly half-filled. Members of each school's 1954 squad were in attendance and were introduced at halftime. Nice touch! Frankford needed the win to avoid falling to 5-5. It would have been the Pioneers' first non-winning season since 1968 (4-5-1). Considering he returned just one starter, coach Mike Capriotti did an excellent job in his first season. A strong effort was also turned in by NC rookie Chalie Szydlik. Best wishes to Frankford managers Shannon Garrett and Tarryn Pieterson. They've been outstanding and I know all have appreciated their efforts.

NOV. 24
THANKSGIVING RIVALRY
Washington 21, Ryan 12
   When Washington coach Ron Cohen said beforehand we'd be "seeing lots of people," I took that to mean the subs would see plenty of action with the state playoff game three nights away. That did NOT turn out to be the case. Franchise sr. RB Jerry Butler was held out, but the other starters were out there and most played the entire game. That brought about a scare, too, as sr. DL Dave Gonser was chop-blocked while pass rushing in the waning moments. Ryan's coaches immediately yelled at the perp, sr. FB John Ferdinand, and Ferdinand said he slipped. Not sure they bought it. During a subsequent timeout, Cohen came to Washington's huddle and screamed toward Ryan's sideline. But get this: After rolling around on the ground and screeching in pain, Gonser stayed on the field for one more play! Very weird. The portable lights were only 25 to 30 feet high, but did a decent job of illuminating the field. Well before the game, it was raining and somewhat foggy and the lights were not the answer at all. Luckily, the rain stopped and did not appear until the last minute. Butler's replacement, sr. Lawson Draper, ran eight times for 169 yards and TDs of 40 and 85 yards. Sr. FB Jerome Lewis had rushes of 25 and 42 yards en route to a 7-87 performance. The passing game was non-existent, basically, as sr. Chuck Hughes went 1-for-6 for minus-8 yards. His first pass clanged off the facemask of sr. WR Jelani Washington, so maybe the lighting was NOT that great (smile). My DN story highlighted sr. TE-DE John McFillin, the seventh of 11 children and the son of Ryan assistant Frank McFillin. He had 1.5 sacks among seven stops. Hughes made three interceptions and received defensive help from Gonser (1.5 sacks, another TFL) and sr. E-OLB Dominique Curry (one sack, one TFL). Ryan scored on a 40-yard interception return by sr. DB Mike Pinto and an 11-yard pass from jr. QB Charles McGinn to sr. FB Ron James. Jr. RB Joe Zeglinski ran 22 times for 119 yards before dinging his left ankle with 7:21 remaining. He sat out the rest of the way and his thoughts, undoubtedly, drifted to the upcoming basketball season.

NOV. 21
CATHOLIC BLUE SEMIFINAL
Wood 40, Conwell-Egan 20
   Gray, somewhat chilly days in November don't ordinarily produce offenseathons, but this one certainly did. The teams combined for 764 yards total offense and 179 more on returns and no one expected that, I'd imagine. The tone was set rather early in the first quarter when Wood jr. RB Bryan McCartney, back from an injury, rolled for a 46-yard gain. He soon scored from the 7, sr. RB Steve Slaton went 59 yards on C-E's third play thereafter and, Holy Christmas, sr. QB Chris Hanson hit soph WR Chris Lorditch for a 55-yard score on Wood's second play thereafter. Phew! Anybody have a calculator? That pace was not sustained, of course, but there were still some fireworks to follow. McCartney wound up with 200 yards on 24 carries and showed the ability to smart changes of direction just past the line. Sr. FB Bill Gross was a motivated lead blocker. OK, he was a wild man (smile). Hanson , who has quietly thrown 18 TD passes this season, was virtually perfect. He went 11-for-14 for 211 yards and three scores and went 6-for-6 on a drive late in the second quarter that gave Wood a two-TD lead heading into the half. His first three completions went to sr. WR Kevin Hall; the next three went to sr. WR James Harrigan. At times, it appeared that C-E had no one in its defensive backfield. That was how easily Hanson picked apart the Eagles. Wood's grunts were sr. C Christian Szablowski, jr. G Matt Knox, sr. G Mike DelTito (a former running back) and jr. Ts Brian Holley and Mike Gallagher. According to Hockey Puck, who stood on top of the press box, Wood's tackles were spread out. He had sr. LB Jim Fitzgerald, Gallagher and sr. DB Pat Haviland with six apiece and LB Gross and sr. DE Bryan Howard with five apiece. Two of Howard's stops went for losses. Gross, sr. DB Eddie Waddington and sr. DB Ryan McAfee made interceptions. For C-E, Slaton ran for 195 yards and three TDs on 21 totes. He also made 13 tackles. Soph Jr. QB Kevin Schafer passed for 72 yards and raised his total to exactly 1,000 for the season. Assuming good health, he'll wind up with impressive career numbers. Sr. DL John Leahey made 10 tackles and sr. DB Jim Hughes managed an interception. Late in the game, Wood's coaches disagreed with an official's call and Hanson blurted out, "Challenge it! Challenge it!" A few teammates and coaches told him challenges are not permissible in high school ball. He laughed and said, "I know. I was only kidding."

NOV. 20
CATHOLIC RED SEMIFINAL
O'Hara 34, Ryan 6
   This wound up being non-competitive and we're still in the midst of a very busy weekend, so this won't be the longest report ever. Guys were slipping and sliding all night, but somehow the mud/rain had almost no effect on soph RB John Dempsey. On just six carries, he went for 183 yards (!!) and had scoring dashes of 68 yards on a speed sweep, 58 on a draw and 47 on . . . on . . . on . . . can't remember and I forgot to write it down (smile). Maybe a speed sweep, too? Or just a regular sweep? I did note that sr. WR Tom Creighton hustled all the way downfield and made an important block not far from the end zone. Jr. Anthony Walters got the start at QB and launched a 36-yard scoring pass to sr. WR Sean Barksdale. It went straight down the middle. Sr. RB Steve Cook managed just 37 yards on 14 rushes, but had a TD. Hockey Puck kept the defensive stats in the press box (what a wuss!) and of course neglected to give them to me afterward. Sr. DLs Brahiim Washington and John Paul Conneen were in on multiple tackles for losses, though. I can safely say that. Ditto for jr. DL Ed Callahan. Despite giving up a quite-early TD to Dempsey, Ryan was hanging around deep into the second quarter. But a one-play "drive" (the pass to Barksdale) made it 14-0 and another (Dempsey's 58-yard run) made it 21-0 with 1:40 left in the half. People began heading home at halftime. Ryan's highlight was likely a 40-yard pass from jr. QB Charles McGinn to sr. Anthony Carter. AC was the QB starter earlier in the year and then lost his spot to McGinn. It wasn't easy, I'm sure, but Carter stuck around and apparently maintained a good attitude. This was no easy catch in the mud and rain, and he was well-covered on the play. Kudos to Carter! Shortly thereafter, McGinn hit sr. FB Ron James with an 11-yard scoring pass.

NOV. 20
PUBLIC LEAGUE FINAL
Washington 30, Northeast 12
   All neutral observers hoping to see a competitive game had to be encouraged early when NE sr. DB Jeremiah Pitt made two sensational plays, almost in succession. First he delivered a blow on Washington sr. RB Jerry Butler that must have been heard all the way over on Roosevelt Blvd., then two plays later he picked off a pass sr. QB Chuck Hughes and raced 36 yards to the left corner of the end zone for a touchdown. After that? Not much happened. At least not good for Northeast. Washington was back on top within five minutes as Butler -- merely human overall with 15 carries for 115 yards -- zoomed 77 yards for a TD and sr. Mike Kline added the PAT. Disaster then hit the Vikings on their next possession. Back to punt, jr. Chris Mountney bobbled the snap and then decided to run. He was hit by sr. Jelani Washington and the ball popped loose. Sr. OLB Dominique Curry scooped it up and had a easy, 34-yard frolic to the end zone. Just like that, Washington had gone from being slightly on the ropes to exiting the quarter with a 14-6. That's the sign of an excellent ballclub, troops. The Eagles would add one more score before halftime on a 47-yard pass from Hughes (8-for-14, 153) to Curry. Curry had an excellent showing. Aside from those two TDs, he made three tackles worth 19 yards in losses. He goes 6-3, 210 and is academically qualified, plus his bloodlines are solid in that his father and aunt were basketball stars. He could be a big-timer. Washington's ever-aggressive defense sentenced Northeast's rushers to minus-22 yards in the wrong direction. Sr. DE Dave Gonser, as he pointed out more than once with loud yells (smile), could not be blocked. He had two sacks and two other TFLs. The unit: Gonser and sr. John McFillin at E, srs. Jason Patton and Lawson Draper at T, sr. Stefan Ruff at inside LB, Curry and sr. Justin Presley at OLB, srs. Mikal Sabree (one pick) and Raymond Roy at CB, and Hughes (two picks) and jr. Thomas Wilmer at S. Northeast had success only through the air, and it wasn't THAT great. Sr. QB Cordia "Chop/Chops" Mosley did compete 14 passes in 28 attempts, but only 120 yards resulted and 49 came on a last-minute drive, completed by a 6-yard TD toss to star jr. WR Rockeed McCarter (9-89). McCarter's own fumble recovery set up that score. Some curious play-calling by Washington enabled the game to last that long. Ahead by 30-6 with 8 minutes left, the Eagles went with three straight passes instead of chewing clock. I'm not sure what THAT was about but across the way, NE's coaches did not look too happy. Aside from Pitt, sr. DB Kyle Sample had an interception for NE. Well, this was Game No. 1 of 3 for Washington in an eight-day period. The Eagles will host Ryan Wednesday night under portable lights and then meet Easton Saturday night at NE in a PIAA state playoff. It'll be interesting to see whether coach Ron Cohen uses his starters full-blast vs. Ryan. I doubt people want to pay $10 to see subs. Easton has a TG game vs. its across-the-river rival, Phillipsburg, N.J. In the exact same situation last year, Easton went full blast in both games, and dropped both. Jadrien "J.J." Reynolds, the Washington player who suffered a spinal-cord injury in a preseason scrimmage, again was in attendance. As the game ended, he was handed the game ball by ref Tom McClain and he was first to go through the postgame-pleasantries line in his motorized wheelchair.

NOV. 19
CATHOLIC RED SEMIFINAL
SJ Prep 37, Bonner 0
   You look at the players -- because Bonner does have size and strength -- and it's hard to believe there's that much of a gap between these squads. But their first meeting wasn't close and neither was this one and so it must be true: Prep IS that much better. The Friars were hindered in that sr. RB Carl Graham (tender shoulder) could only make a limited appearance, and he wound up with three carries for five yards. Even so, I doubt Bonner would have made a dent even with TWO healthy Grahams in its backfield. The Hawks won this one along the line of scrimmage. The blocking of sr. C Scott Howley, sr. G Brendan Gilroy, jr. G James Dunn (and sr. G David Binck, after Gilroy suffered an ankle injury), sr. T Dan Voss, and jr. T James McKenzie allowed the first-string offense to ch-ching its way to 306 yards through three quarters. Subs played in the fourth. The QBs, like pretty much always this season, were turn-takers Jim McCormick, a sr., and Chris Whitney, a soph. They threw for one score apiece as Whitney's went to jr. TE Matt Leddy and McCormick's went to sr. WR Steve Quinn. Quinn made a diving catch of a fade in the back left corner. The kid was impressive, as always. Jr. TB John Shaw ran 31 times for 176 yards and three scores. Shaw ran on Prep's first eight plays and got the ball from the 35 to Bonner's 7. After jr. DB Ryan Hunt broke up a third-down pass from Whitney to Leddy, jr. Mike Cavanaugh hammered a 23-yard field goal. Bonner had to feel good because the drive, in its earlier stages, had TD written all over it. In capital letters. Prep scored again, though, two series later as Quinn's 25-yard scamper on a speed sweep got the ball to the 1 and Shaw went in from there. Down by 10-0, Bonner needed a big play and it came when jr. Marc Verica hit jr. WR John Hayes for a 34-yard gain to the 50! Oops, scratch that. Bonner was called for holding, pushing the ball back to he 8. The Prep students chanted, "God's on our side!" The Friars had to punt and the next "drive" had to cover just 26 yards. Shaw zipped for 7, then 19 and -- poof! -- it was 16-0. Prep had two more possessions in the half and those resulted in aerial scores. McCormick was a shade off early in the final thrust, but hit his last three flips to Quinn, then jr. Dave Clement and Quinn again. Verica wound up passing 7-for-16 for 57 yards for the game, but Bonner's rushing "attack" went backward (minus-9 yards on 17 carries). The Prep's defense: Leddy and sr. Mike Boyle at E, jr. Charlie Noonan (1.5 sacks) and sr. Alex Wade at T, sr. Andrew Spross at ILB, srs. Quinn and Jim Bogan at OLB, jrs. Clement and Andy Shalbrack at CB, Whitney (interception) and jr. Ryan Malarick at S. Yes, that means Prep will return its entire secondary next year. There was some chit-chat midway through the third quarter between Bonner sr. d-back Ryan Juisti and Prep coach Gil Brooks. Juisti made a comment about one of The Prep's players and Brooks hollered out to him, from rather close range (because Juisti was stationed toward Prep's side of the field), "He's a better player than you are!" A couple more Bonner players muttered Brooks' name and the refs, at Brooks' request/insistence, acted quickly to calm things down. Brooks and Bonner coach Jim Carrigan were civil to each other afterward. No biggie. (I will add, though, that it's not good form for a coach to yell an insult at a player. If a coach is upset/hissed/enraged because of something yelled by an opposing player, he should, in my opinion, direct all complaints to the refs and let them handle the situation.) 

NOV. 18
NON-LEAGUE
Mastbaum 38, Univ. City 20
   The minutes kept rolling by and UC was still nowhere to be seen. I was getting hissed (smile) because I had a feeling this would be a goodie. Eventually, 15 minutes after gametime, at 2:45, the Jaguars strolled in (bus problems, what else?) and the affair began at 3. Then? Fireworks, baby! Mastbaum sr. QB Markies Tavares put on a tremendous show while accounting for all five TDs. Finally given some time by a line that had experienced its share of problems through the season, Tavares had his way with UC's defense. He fired for 265 yards in the first half and finished 16-for-23 for 329 yards and four TDs. (I'm pretty sure that's the No. 2 performance in Pub history, behind the 409 yards rung up by Central's Mike Roche vs. Northeast on Thanksgiving in 1986. That's also the city record). His receivers had all kinds of fun. Surprisingly, sr. WR Sherrod "Sheet Rock" Evers did not dent the end zone, but he made five snags for 114 yards. Sr. slotback Luis Sanchez also topped the 100-yard mark (7-117) and notched two TDs. Sr. TE Rashawn Harris caught a 5-yard score and sr. RB Ifen Onwodi (2-86) went deep for a perfectly thrown 70-yard TD bomb. Tavares (1,408) and Evers (718) broke school marks for yards in a season. The previous record-holders, Shaihie Wynder (1,164) and Eric Plant (638), played together in the '98 season. It was quite a show. Near the end, I was kiddingly telling Mastbaum assistant Derrick Knight to call bad defenses so UC could roll down the field for a quick score and get Mastbaum's offense back on the field. Mastbaum's line featured sr. C Stephon Webb, sr. Gs Nate Jamison and Kareem Wayns, soph T Hector Marrero, jr. T Frank Ross and Harris at TE. I'm sure the guys felt great to finish on such a strong note. Now, about Tavares' TD run. Phew! It covered 45 actual yards and maybe 100 total yards. He dropped back, was flushed to his left, was forced to his left a shade more, wound up near the left sideline, ducked under a guy who had an easy chance to tackle him, circled back to the right, thought briefly about throwing, decided to tuck and run, and scored close to the right corner of the end zone. Absolutely amazing! Sr. LB Pernell Jones rocked and socked his way to eight tackles. Wayns had a sack. UC also did a decent job. Jr. RB Sterling Johnson rushed 14 times for 107 yards while topping 100 for the second consecutive game. He ripped off gains of 35 and 37 yards. Sr. QB Arnold Malloy, formerly a RB, fired a TD pass (he's a lefty) to Sam McCoy. Sr. RB Anthony Williams and Malloy ran for TDs. The Jags' line leader was T Barry Smith. (Sr. T Steve Coleman was out due to a medical issue, and he spent most of the afternoon trash-talking to Mastbaum's players.) UC had great difficulty achieving cohesion. The Jags used more than 25 seconds to get off plays almost every time and once I counted off 42 seconds. Brutal! Ref Tom McClain wanted to keep things moving because of the late start. There was no halftime and a few times he cut timeouts to 30 seconds. Avanti Carson had an interception. A UC parent at one point yelled to the squad, "C'mon, Panthers!" A few players quickly reminded him, "We're the Jaguars!" (Mastbaum's nickname is Panthers.) The game was halted with 90 seconds left when some players got into a minor scuffle. Everyone calmed down, eventually, and the postgame handshakes came off without incident.

NOV. 17
NON-LEAGUE
Overbrook 50, Penn 0
   Yet another milestone for this group. After making the playoffs for the first time in the program's 77-year Pub history, the Panthers have now tied the school record for wins in a season! The '64 squad went 8-1-1. This squad is 8-3 and seven of the wins have come by shutout! Sounds like reason for celebration. One game remains and next week, after a Thanksgiving game with West Philly, this squad could be truly standing alone in 'Brook annals. All of us at the website have been happy to witness the Panthers' good times this season. Because we definitely agonized while watching past seasons. Anyway, the spread reached high proportions because of a late avalanche of inept play by the Lions. 'Brook scored four TDs in the second half and all resulted from turnovers. No. 1 -- a snap sailed far over the head of the punter, then sr. DL Gregory Topping picked up the ball and rumbled 17 yards to the 1. Sr. RB Marquice Freeman went in from there. No. 2 -- sr. DB Devon Starks intercepted a pass on the 'Brook 45 and took it all the way for a score. No. 3 -- Freeman recovered a fumble on the 19 and, on second down, jr. backup QB Sylvester Broxton whipped a 18-yard TD pass to jr. E Naftalia "Talie" Ellis (those two could have a LOT of fun next year). No. 4 -- Freeman recovered another fumble on the 16. Soph Ubong Ikbe ran 14 yards for a score on third down. The Panthers had to work much harder for their first three TDs, all of which were scored by sr. RB William Brownlee (12-123). The first drive required 11 plays and 45 yards. The next drive: seven plays, 75 yards. And the next: four plays, 59 yards (after Broxton recovered a ball that hit a Penn return man in the hand). Starks had two interceptions total. The other pick went to jr. LB Hassan Denmark. Coming down the stretch, 'Brook logged sacks on four consecutive plays as Freeman, soph Allen Hamilton, soph Charles Owens and a whole crew of guys (smile) did the honors. My DN story focused on Penn's LONG season. At one point, 'Brook defensive coordinator David Carter yelled for his group to watch the draw. Penn wideout Ramsey Farrington told Carter, "We ain't got no draw." Carter said with a laugh, "Did you hear that? Can you believe that?" After a teammate made an unwise decision, a Penn player muttered, "Is he dumb? Or retarded?" After Morgan caught a conversion pass, Penn's Tim Robertson said to him, "That was good. Nobody was on you, though." Morgan resisted the temptaton to say, "And whose fault was that?" My son, Kevin, 14, made an appearance and took some photos. He was recognized by some of the players. "Yo, that's that kid from Ted's website." (smile) He had a fun time listening to wacko comments, especially on Penn's sideline. He told me, "You do have fun at these games. I can tell."

NOV. 15
NON-LEAGUE
Lincoln 21, Central 18
   The toughest part of this one was deciding who to interview. The Railsplitters slapped together a strong, overall team effort in bumping off one of the Pub's Big Three. My story focused on sr. RB Rory Stallworth, but the ink just as easily could have gone to sr. RB Terrell Denson or sr. SB-LB Joe DiGrazio, or even sr. QB Kareem Dennis. This is Lincoln's first seven-win season since 1988 and a Thanksgiving win over Judge would not surprise. Judge coach Tommy Coyle, accompanied by two assistants, was on the premises taping. Anyway, Stallworth scored two TDs and accounted for 159 yards from scrimmage. Seventy-five came on a pass from Dennis. The flip itself was short, then Stallworth put on a nice running show and received a quality block from sr. E Khaleef Ings. His rushing stats were eight carries for 84 yards and he went 34 yards for a score. He was basically stopped, but kept churning and Central didn't bother to finish and off he went. Denson ran 16 times for 102 yards and a 9-yard TD. Dennis went 4-for-10 for 121. Lincoln's line: soph C Tyrone Taylor, sr. Gs John Hardin-Bey and Jeff Leriche, sr. T Michael Clark, jr. T Carlin Edwards and sr. Es Ings and Antonio Wessells. DiGrazio was no factor statwise at slotback, but he blocked well and paced the defense with nine tackles. He made the last stop of the game, at the Lincoln 45, on sr. WR Rodney Sykes, after an 11-yard gain. Jrs. Joe Franklin and Justin King had interceptions while Hardin-Bey blocked a punt and sr. DT Ron Williams recorded two sacks. Jr. Lou Purr, who'll be next year's QB, averaged 37 yards on two punts. I don't know what to make of Central. Yes, a letdown after the emotional quarterfinal loss to NE could have been predicted. But once the game begins and a lesser-light visitor is takin' it to you, shouldn't the let's-have-some-pride mechanism kick in? It never quite did, at least to my way of thinking. The Lancers boasted a wide-open offense all season, but in this one, facing a 21-6, fourth-quarter deficit, they ran the ball on 10 consecutive plays. Curious. (Even though that drive resulted in a TD). The Lancers did have balance. Marshall ran for 60 yards and passed for 57. Sr. WB Devon Johnson ran 10 times for 77 yards and a score and also tallied on an 8-yard pass. Michael Lloyd added 54 yards on 11 totes. On defense, sr. E/OLB Cornelius Bunch exploded around the field for 13 tackles. Many of his hits were punishing and he recovered a fumble as well. It'll be interesting to see how Central plays in its Thanksgiving rematch with Northeast. No telling for sure, of course, but it's likely the Vikings will be coming off a convincing title-game loss to Washington.

NOV. 14
CATHOLIC RED FIRST-ROUND PLAYOFF
Bonner 16, Roman 12
   No. 6 seeds with one division win are not supposed to win playoff games. Bonner didn't care about that and came close to dominating. The Friars had more fans and they seemed to care a lot more and Roman was mostly flat, on the field and in the stands. Roman notched two first downs on its initial possession, then had to punt. Bonner needed only four plays to go 80 yards! Sr. RB Carl Graham started the surge with a 22-yard run. Then it was jr. RB Frank Bizzari for 9, sr. WR John Quinn for 17 on a reverse and Graham for 32 more. Phew! That was a statement, folks. The speedy Graham finished with 14 rushes for 145 yards, but suffered a shoulder injury and his status for the semi vs. SJ Prep is uncertain. Jr. QB Marc Verica netted just 103 yards from 12 completions, but he was mostly sharp and the bit-by-bit movement kept Roman's offense off the field. The headlining receiver was jr. Mike Tomasco. Yards after the catch on passes to the middle of the field are something of a lost art, unfortunately, but Tomasco (4-51) made it look easy. Early in the fourth quarter, two defenders were in the vicinity when he made a snag over the middle at about the 20. He spun away and raced to the left corner of the end zone. Nice! That play gve Bonner a 16-0 edge (sr. Ryan Juisti had added a 33-yard field goal; set up by a 40-yard KO return by jr. John Hayes) and the Friar folks were feelin' it. Jr. Sean Woods returned some juice to Roman with a 47-yard kickoff return to the Bonner 43 and an interference call quickly added 15 more yards to the 28. Sr. RB Evin Jones eventually scored from the 1. Bonner's next series was unproductive and sr. Andrew Case came on to punt. Jones caught the ball on the 16 and went all . . . the . . . way for an 84-yard score! The PAT hit the right upright and Roman was NOT within a late FG. The Cahillites got one more possession. It ended with an interception by sr. DB Mike Heppler. Bonner rang up 310 yards. The linemen: sr. C Steve Clement, sr. twin Gs Alex and Dave Fremont, sr. T Matt Minutolo and jr. T Tim Kelly. The defensive guys: jr. Steve Wheatley and sr. Rich Canfield at end, sr. Mike Nolan and jr. Pat Dix at tackle, jr. Matt Boland and soph Mike Dougherty at outside linebacker, jr. Matt Licci (nine tackles, two for losses) at inside LB, and jr. Ryan Hunt, Juisti, sr. Kevin Niedelman and Heppler in the backfield. Jones was outstanding in defeat. He ran for 82 yards from scrimmage, went for 30 with two passes and added 125 on returns (237 total). Roman coach Jim Murphy let loose with some good coach-type sayings as the game began. "That's why we work in the heat. To play in the cold." And, "This game's going to be a memory two hours from now. What kind's it going to be?"

NOV. 13
CATHOLIC RED FIRST-ROUND PLAYOFF
Ryan 21, La Salle 7
   Unless I'm severely mistaken, this tilt at Wissahickon High, in Ambler, was the first CL playoff on an artificial surface since the '90 final was played at Villanova Stadium. The hero? Why none other than a guy who never gives an artificial performance, even when he's obviously hurting. Ryan jr. RB Joe Zeglinski, coming off a leg injury, was maybe 75 percent, or 80 percent, or perhaps even 85 percent. Whatever he was, he still had a slight limp, but the tenderness did not affect his cutting ability, nor his ever-present instincts and magic touch. Ziggy went for 135 yards and a TD on 25 carries and more than once used his downshifting ability to make guys miss before he continued on his merry way. His best effort came on the first play of the fourth quarter and covered 41 yards, taking the ball to the 1. Sr. FB Ron James (13-52) went in from there behind sr. RT Carlos Gonzalez and Ryan led, 14-7. Ziggy was at it again on Ryan's next series. Even though at least one La Salle assistant called the play ahead of time, Zeglinski took a pitchout from jr. QB Charles McGinn, shuffled to his right, encountered hot pursuit and eased back to his left. He then whipped a pass to McGinn and the gain was 47 yards. A pair of 2-yard runs by James got the Raiders into the end zone for the clinching TD. (More than once, and at VERY high volume, La Salle coach Joe Colistra insisted Ryan had two linemen downfield on the trick play. He kept saying he intended to contact Andy Hafele, the assigner of officials. That play, by the way, was Ryan's only completion of the night. McGinn went 0-for-2.) Ryan's first-half TD drive was a thing of beauty. The Raiders went 70 yards in 17 plays before Zeglinski ran in from the 4. They went 4-for-4 on third down conversions. Though the defense did allow sr. QB Mike Lynch to pass 16-for-28 for 186 yards (sr. Tom Jorfi had nine of those catches for 20), it also was largely impressive. Sr. OLB George Colbert hustled for three sacks for nine yards and jr. DB Mike Varanavage had two sacks and one TFL for 21 total yards. An early tone was set when sr. DT Rob Rowan fired across the line and dumped Lynch for a 9-yard loss. A key play occurred midway through the third quarter when La Salle faced fourth-and-goal from the 9. The Explorers set up for a 26-yard field goal. Lynch, the holder, handled a shaky snap, rolled right and completed a pass to Tom Little. He wound up just short of the goal line and Ryan took over. The play was a designed fake. No concessions stands were open. Ryan AD George Todt and La Salle AD Tony Resch said they were not approached by the league -- or anyone, for that matter -- to handle arrangements. "We presumed Wissahickon would set things up," Todt said. On an earlier roster, Gonzalez' name was spelled Gonzales. "It's cool," he said. "A couple years ago they had me down as Carlos Rodriguez." Nothing like progress. I'd been hearing rumors recently that Ryan coach Glen Galeone had ordered the Ryan decals, complete with Indian feathers, removed from the helmets, now just plain black, because he'd determined this group wasn't worthy of wearing them. A couple of assistants smiled knowingly when I hit them with the rumor. One said, kiddingly, "Uh, the glue wouldn't stick to the helmets anymore." Maybe the decals will make a return after this performance?

NOV. 13
PUBLIC LEAGUE SEMIFINAL
Washington 48, Frankford 12
   Yes, Washington IS that much better than Frankford. The Eagles won by 36 in the regular season and did so again today, and that's the worst deficit ever experienced by Frankford against Pub opposition. The headliner, no surprise, was sr. RB Jerry Butler, who zoomed for 182 yards and three TDs on 17 carries. Also crucial was sr. QB Chuck Hughes, who burrowed for a pair of 1-yard scores and passed 7 yards to sr. WR Jelani Washington for another. That Butler and Hughes starred was fitting because they're great friends with Jadrien "J.J" Reynolds, who suffered a spinal-cord injury in a late-August scrimmage while playing defensive back for Washington. J.J. was in attendance -- man, the emotions were FLOWIN'! -- and Butler and Hughes uncorked many a tear. The Eagles' final TD came on a 36-yard run by sr. WR Raymond Roy. Hughes also had an interception. For Frankford, sr. QB Lamont Brown passed 11-for-28 for 175 yards and a 5-yard TD to sr. RB Malik "Flip" Walker. Sr. FB Frank "Cherries" Jubilee ran for a score. Frankford returned just one starter (Brown) under first-year coach Mike Capriotti and did an amazing job getting as far as it did. Thanksgiving should be interesting because North Catholic has a respectable squad.

NOV. 12
NON-LEAGUE
Bartram 12, Germantown 8
   You're never quite sure what to expect from a game featuring teams that lost in the playoffs one week earlier. These guys played hard, though, and this was definitely worthwhile. Despite the driving rain. And the mud that was everywhere. And the fact that the game came within five minutes of ending in total darkness. Near the end, with proper footing (impossible, by the way), anyone could have run for a TD off a reverse. Even Hockey Puck. Bartram's star was soph RB John "Fudgie" Pratt, who produced both TDs and 129 yards on 27 carries. He's not a thick, heavy fullback, but he had the mindset of one and used his body wisely. His go-ahead TD came on a 2-yard run with 7:38 left just three plays after starting QB Kris Brownlee was yanked for dropping two consecutive snaps. His replacement, soph Andre Goddard, picked up eight yards on a keeper, getting the ball to the 9, then Pratt went for 7 and 2. When Bartram later was trying to milk the lead, sr. LB Robert Fisher exploded across the line and caused Goddard to fumble before he had a chance to hand the ball to Pratt. "Fish" also recovered at the Gtn 34. The Bears received a few short gains from jr. RBs Akeem Johnson (17-75) and Reginald Lloyd (9-52) and sr. QB Brandon Cuff mixed in a shot-putted, 7-yard pass to sr. WR Aaron Terrell. But at the 35, with time running out, Cuff bobbled and lost a snap as he was preparing to spike the ball and jr. DE Kevin Pace recovered for Bartram. The Braves' first score was a 4-yard run by Pratt. It capped a seven-play, 30-yard drive given life by a fumble recovery by quality sr. LB Darrel Smith. On the previous play, sr. DB Xavier Shaw had made an interception for G-town. The Bears' successful drive lasted 12 plays and covered 70 yards; very impressive for the conditions! Cuff got the score on a 23-yard keeper right up the middle. Almost no one, literally, was in the vicinity. On a nasty day, and with a long weekend ahead, I decided to watch this from the press box with scoreboard operator Steve Kupsov and assorted G-town guys. They had some funny lines. Wish I'd written them down (smile). As darkness and mud combined to make viewing from that far away nearly impossible, I moved down to the field for about the last seven minutes. Mud was everywhere!

NOV. 7
CATHOLIC BLUE
West Catholic 42, Carroll 14
   I'm usually a big believer in the "hunger factor" in sports, but this result put a big hole in that theory. West already owned first place and Carroll would have snatched second with a victory. The Patriots stormed right down the field and scored on their first possession and then . . . and then . . . and then; mostly nothing. West rolled to 42 consecutive points with a tremendous blend of hard running, mostly by sr. TB Chris Diaferio (21-171, two TDs), and pinpoint passing by frosh QB Eric Brennan (6-for-9, 138). Believe it or not, but the Pats got running-clocked because the halftime spread was 35 points. Brennan hit jr. WR John Maddox (3-94) for scores of 50 and 23 yards, while sr. WR Antoine Stout and jr. WR Chris "Not Huck" Palmer had TD snags for 15 and 25 yards. West needed just five plays to post its first three TDs, and scored on six consecutive possessions. Phew! This was a no-look offense. With sr. TE Derrell Hand sidelined due to a school suspension, coach Brian Fluck went with a two-wideout approach and a full-house backfield. In front of Diaferio were "two" fullbacks, srs. Kelven Quick and Michael Evans. They blocked with fervor and both had excellent showings on defense, as well. Also missing, with injuries, were sr. two-way L Marques Slocum, jr. LB Wayne Donahue, soph DE Anthony Rhoades and jr. DB Harold Davis. At least today, they weren't missed as the replacements performed in excellent fashion. Filling in were jr. Chris Farmer and sr. Tom Davis (also the starting center) on the D-line, soph Marc Holloway at LB and jr. Tyrek Smith at DB. A half-timer, sr. DL James Smart, also saw extended duty. Evans had two TFLs in the early going, both against Carroll's legendary speed sweep. In all, the Burrs posted three interceptions (by Diaferio, Stout and Palmer) and two fumble recoveries (by Quick and Smith). As the third quarter opened, it was obvious Carroll was going to try to regroup and not necessarily try to win the game. The clock was running non-stop, remember, and the Pats did not throw a pass until the fourth quarter. Their first series did yield a TD, though, as nine consecutive runs covered 60 yards and jr. FB Jake "The Snake" Szulinski rumbled in from the 9. Momentarily feeling frisky, as in, "Hey, maybe we could come back and win this," the Pats went with an onside kick. It rolled out of bounds and that was that. Sr. DB Brian Rorick led Carroll with nine tackles; he also blocked a PAT and forced a fumble. Jr. DB Mark Smith had a pick. West sr. K-P Josiah Morley caught a conversion pass from Diaferio out of a trick formation. Pretty cool! He's a soccer player. Who knew he had hands? On one possession, a West fan yelled that Fluck should let Morley run the ball. Maybe that's next? West has a first-round playoff bye. Carroll, which has some injuries of its own (jr. RB Josh Halladay and sr. TE Pete Novak, for two), faces North Catholic.

NOV. 6
PUBLIC LEAGUE QUARTERFINAL
Dobbins 32, Bartram 13
   This game featured one of the all-time weird/sad occurrences when Dobbins players suffered broken bones on successive, first-quarter plays. Sr. WR Cedric Graham broke his forearm when he got hit while trying to catch a pass and landed awkwardly. The delay was maybe 15 minutes and when played finally resumed, jr. TE Michael Harris broke his ankle. The first ambulance had not yet left the premises when Harris went down and attempts were made to bring it back. A second 911 call had been placed, though, and the players wound up traveling in separate ambulances to nearby Jeanes Hospital. Unbelievable. (So was this: During the first delay, an Inquirer photographer was trying to get the name of one of the referees. Maybe with ideas of suing him? Earlier, the ref ran into the photographer along the home sideline, near the end zone, and broke an expensive lens. The photographer also complained to a trainer of a severe headache. He left the premises after being referred by the head ref to Joe Stanley, the PL football chairman. What a crazy series of events.) Sr. RB Rashad "Reds" Williams led the Mustangs with 17 carries for 174 yards and three TDs. He was his ever-speedy, zig-zaggy self and his longest score went for 71 yards. He also scored on a 54-yard fumble return after soph DE Randall Wilson (very promising at 6-4, 210) whipped soph QB Kris Brownlee to the ground and the ball bounced backward for a 17-yard loss. Sr. QB Steve Sydnor (7-139) raced 85 yards for a TD. He began to the left, then slid across the line of scrimmage back to the right and somehow got away. Sr. DB Damond Griffin had two interceptions. Jr. Paul Boldin was a game-long force at OLB while sr. ILB Greg Davis and Sydnor made interceptions. Sr. FB Rufus Skipworth had only three carries beforehand, but in this one came through with 65 yards on seven totes. Bartram is OK now, and could be very good in the next two years. Soph RB John "Fudgie" Pratt showed talent and instincts while rushing 23 times for 210 yards and two scores. Another soph, the quick and strong-armed Andre Goddard, added some electricity and no doubt will challenge another Brownlee for the starting job next year. The Braves had three productive, strong-willed sr. defenders in lineman Kevin Reeder, LB Darrel Smith and FS Cameo Ali. There were 42 first downs and 153 yards in penalties. Another weird item: From the start of the second quarter to the midway point of the third quarter, Dobbins ran just four plays.

NOV. 5
PUBLIC LEAGUE QUARTERFINAL
Frankford 27, Overbrook 8
   The team that's the very definition of postseason action met the team that was making its first postseason appearance in the program's 77-year PL history. So, I guess, in some ways, the result was predictable. 'Brook definitely did not embarrass itself, though, and the outpouring of support from cheerleaders, band members and students was commendable. (Meanwhile, Frankford's turnout was horrible. No more than 60 people). Overbrook could not sustain anything on offense and ran just 33 plays. Twelve of those came on the last two series. A TD finally came with 0:49 left when jr. QB Sylvester Broxton, a lefty with a pretty good arm, fired a 17-yard pass to sr. TE James Morgan. Sr. RB William Brownlee then caught the conversion pass and fought his way into the end zone. On the TD play and several plays beforehand, Frankford had just 10 defenders on the field. An "Only in the Pub" moment occurred after the TD when the onsides kick by sr. Leeshan Hyman went 5 yards backward! He tried to skim the ball and it spun off in a semicircle and wound up at the 35. Frankford ground out 301 yards total offense and, amazingly, had no gains of more than 19 yards. The rushing leaders were sr. FB Frank "Cherries" Jubilee (26-134, TD) and sr. RB Malik "Flip" Walker (21-99, TD). His 8-yard scoring run with 2:29 left in the first quarter was the first TD on the new artificial surface at Northeast's Charlie Martin Memorial Stadium. Sr. QB Lamont Brown scored twice on short runs. The line: sr. C Terell Brown, sr. Gs Matt Toland and Kenyatta Gulledge and jr. G Nicolas Martinez, soph T William Ray, jr. T Angel Gonzalez, jr. TE Alonzo Williams and sr. TE Kareem Lomax. Soph DB Shariff Mintz had an interception and Walker made a tackle for a safety one play after Morgan forced a fumble to get 'Brook the ball on its 1. Sr. DE Isaiah Stroman, the first player to step onto the field for pregame warmups, had two fumble recoveries. Jr. DE Damon Brockington also got a recovery on a fumbled kickoff. Ed Platel had a late sack for Fkd. Jr. DT William Barnes made a tackle for a 14-yard loss after sr. WR Devon Starks dropped the ball on a reverse. 'Brook went back to the play on its next series and Starks ripped off a 36-yard gain to the 4. He was pushed out of bounds by jr. DB Eric Hairston, a midseason transer from Mastbaum. Platel's sack helped to prevent a score. Starks had a third-quarter interception along with a 30-yard return.

NOV. 4
NON-LEAGUE
West Philly 40, Penn 0
   This one was an "obligation game," kind of, because I hadn't seen either team and we're obviously late in the season. Penn, in its first varsity season since 1984, is still winless and did not look good against a team that has also struggled. It rained rather heavily through the first half and the field was a mess, but who better to provide some joy (and comic relief) than a kid named Pleasant? Jr. RB Anthony Pleasant scored West's first two TDs on runs of 11 and 6 yards. The first one came one play after Penn punter Felek McCrae dropped a snap and was swarmed under on his 11. Pleasant scored on a sweep and was so excited, he kept running toward the chain-link fence at the Spruce Street end of the field. He jumped against the fence and, check this out, his right cleat got stuck right in it! It took him about 10 seconds to free himself and everybody was going nuts. His next score came two minutes later one play after jr. LB Tim Mitchell stole the ball from QB Anthony Ellison and scampered 32 yards to the 6. No jumping into the fence this time for Mr. Pleasant (smile). Score No. 3 came with 3.2 seconds left in the half and was a beauty. Back to pass out of a shotgun, sr. QB Chuck Henryhand (just filling in, really a WR) held the ball a mite too long and had to run. He evaded several defenders and ignored a grab-the-mask attempt to tackle him at about the 20 and scored from 54 yards. Sr. RB Buckner Fox, Henryhand and Daniel Bouie (not sure what grade he's in) ran for the other scores, soph Boubacar Diaby hit two PAT and Bouie added a conversion run. West's line: jr. C Lawrence "Juice" Brown (6-1, 315), sr. G Stephen Burton and jr. G Stephon Fortune, sr. T James Destout and jr T Darren Watson (6-4, 300) and soph TE Brandon Johnson (formerly the QB; much promise). Penn's most impressive player was a little guy, sr. Keith Hale, on offense and defense. He formerly played C, but he moved this week to RB and responded with 27 yards on seven carries. He and sr. John McNatt were hard hitters on defense. Hale added an intercerception. The teams had 46 players in uniform, combined. Penn sr. WR Ramsey Farrington at one point went to his position and was left uncovered. West coach John R. Lay bellowed, "Who's got No. 19?!?!" Farrington turned and gave him a palms-up gesture, as if to say, "Who knows?" There were nine spectators on hand when the game began. That number later swelled to maybe 35-40.

NOV. 1
CATHOLIC BLUE
McDevitt 14, Kennedy-Kenrick 6
   This was a strange, but entertaining night. The winner would clinch a playoff spot. The loser would have to settle for play-out-the-string status. The weirdness began before the game when I cross-checked again with McDevitt's tailback about the spelling of his name. McDevitt's roster lists No. 21 as Damien Jordan. Last year I could have sworn he told me his first name was spelled Damian. And he confirmed that. He then added, "Oh, and my last name, is spelled with 'en' at the end." Jorden instead of Jordan? Who would have thought. How common can that be? (smile). Anyway, Mr. Damian Jorden ran 28 times for 145 yards and his 71-yard TD run in the third quarter expanded McDevitt's lead from 7-6. The Lancers' first TD was a 95-yard kickoff return by Syracuse recruit Lamar McPherson. It was his first score of the year. Lamar missed most of last season with an injury and has been bothered this season with a high ankle sprain. He has been a tireless/ferocious blocker at fullback, though, and has starred at linebacker as well (11 tackles in this one). He looked like his old self on the KO return, zipping pretty much straight up the middle and then easing a shade to the right. That TD followed a 65-yard scoring pass from sr. QB Greg Ortlieb to jr. WR Jermaine Pierce, a potential stud at 6-3, 210 (T.O. must have looked like this kid in high school). The pass was underthrown, but Pierce came back and outjumped jr. CB Brian Mitros (5-7, 140) from behind and then frolicked down the right sideline. Sr. DB Steve Merlini blocked the PAT. As mentioned in my DN story, Mitros had fears of a long night. But guess what? He finished with three interceptions and wound up being the star of the game! His first pick came as the first half wound down. His final two came on successive possessions in the middle part of the fourth quarter. K-K had one more chance thereafter, taking over at the McDevitt 47 with 3:19 left. On first down, Ortlieb struggled while trying to hand off and fell for a 4-yard loss. Pierce (3-92) dropped passes on second and fourth down, though neither one was thrown especially well. On third down, soph DB Joe Mitros, Brian's brother and also the kicker (two PATs), delivered a resounding hit on sr. WR Mike Dayton and a would-be, first-down catch became an incompletion. Mickey D ran out the clock from there. One of the all-time weird plays occurred late in the third quarter. McDevitt jr. Tom Maha, also the QB, punted from his 42. Running quickly forward at the last moment, sr. DB-KR Jason "Jay" Rigg tried to make a catch at the K-K 30. Instead, the ball caromed forward off his facemask. At the 36, soph special-teamer John DiCicco was located at the edge of a pile of bodies when he saw the ball, picked it up and began running. He uncorked a 24-yard return to the McD 40, but fumbled and Maha made the recovery. Phew! B. Mitros added six tackles. Jr. LB Steve Gallagher and jr. DL Mike Wojcik had seven and five, respectively. Pierce, sr. LB Chris Matozzo and sr. DL Jared Couchara had eight apiece for K-K. OK, now we move to the end of the night. As the game ended, a McDevitt rooter (not a student) made a slow walk across the field and wound up on K-K's sideline, where he began trash-talking to one of K-K's players. Anyway, the player wound up sucker-punching the rooter in the face and the rooter wound up in the back seat of a Norristown cop car. The rooter had been yelling funny and/or biting comments all night, and he was disturbed because he thought the K-K player had taken an unnecessary shot at McPherson's ankle in a pileup. (At noon Tuesday, I spoke with someone in the records department at Norristown Borough. She said the rooter had been charged with disorderly conduct. When I asked whether the player had been charged, she said, "Not at this time.") Not sure where this will go, if anywhere.