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

SEPT. 25
CATHOLIC RED
SJ Prep 31, Bonner 7
   My life is complete. I've been mistaken for Prep jr. RB John Shaw. As I walked over to where Bonner's players were warming up, one of the assistants nodded toward me and told a player, "Look, there's the joke of the week guy." Huh? Last Monday I wrote a story about Shaw and QUOTED him as saying some of Prep's division games would be like jokes because the non-league schedule had been so tough. The theme was continued a few times through the pre-game time and first half as Bonner's players and coaches muttered, "Joke of the week, huh?" I'd imagine the Friars were also upset because Puck picked against them by 49-10 and listed the game in a section called, "Ted, You Better Not Send Me Here." Anyway, The Prep won in comfortable fashion and the major reason was soph QB Chris Whitney, who's still sharing time with sr. Jim McCormick. Whitney went 7-for-9 for 188 yards and one TD apiece to jr. WR Tim Lutz, jr. TE Matt Leddy and sr. WR Steve Quinn. The pass to Lutz was a perfect bomb and Lutz caught it in stride for a 46-yarder. Leddy's was a 20-yarder and he had to power along the left sideline. Quinn's was an 83-yarder. It was a medium pass over the middle and he was off to the races. His ankle is still somewhat tender and he was caught near the goal line, but made it across. Add Whitney's passing to the rushing of Shaw (23-129, TD) and the Hawks will again be dangerous offensively. I can't emphasize enough how much potential Whitney has. Bonner's best moment came right after Lutz' TD when sr. RB Carl Graham raced 83 yards from scrimmage. Like a few times last week vs. BPP, The Prep was in a defense (not sure why) where all 11 players were within 3-4 yards of the line of scrimmage. Once Graham made it through, there was no doubt he was going to score. Jr. QB Mark Verica also gives off a nice aura as a passer/leader; he had little time to do his thing. Also hurting the cause was the absence of his favorite target, sr. WR Mike Heppler (injury). Quinn, who's bound for Penn State to play LB, was in on 1.5 sacks. Sr. LB Jim Bogan had the half. Jr. DB Andy Shalbrack had an interception and was one of four QBs used by coach Gil Brooks (jr. Sam Puleo was the fourth). Bonner sr. DL Pat Dix had a pair of fumble recoveries and a half-sack. Jr. LB Matt Licci also had a sack. Sr. Alex Kowalski, who's listed at 5-3, 200, made a late-game appearance at guard. He pounded some people and no doubt earned respect. Both schools had large student rooting sections and the crowd overall was maybe 4,000 (I'm not the best judge of that stuff). Some of Bonner's guys painted their entire bodies. Wild. Late in the game, the Prep's kids chanted, "Maybe next year! . . . Maybe next year!" Pause. "Maybe never! . . . Maybe never!"

SEPT. 25
CATHOLIC RED
Judge 7, Ryan 0
   This certainly qualifies as one of the more significant surprises of the early season. Judge is quite young and many of its players are short and/or thin. Didn't matter in this one, though, because the Crusaders showed game-long defensive intensity and got a hint of offense exactly when it was needed. When Ryan has a puzzling performance, it traditionally happens in the daytime and since Northeast's field is currently undergoing renovations, this was played at 1 p.m. at Lincoln. Plus, Ryan had given Neshaminy a tremendous battle before losing, 23-21, and Judge had been swamped by those same Redkins, 42-0. Also, Judge was coming off a heartbreaking loss to Absegami, N.J., 30-18, having coughed up an 18-17 lead in the last minute. Anyway, let's move to the fourth quarter . . . Judge jr. LB Jeff McMahon receoved a fumble by jr. RB Joe Zeglinski (19-86) at the Judge 19, but the Crusaders were unable to move. In fact, due to a penalty, they faced third-and-22 when coach Tommy Coyle called for a quick kick. McMahon delivered a 53-yarder and that shift in field position became crucial. When Ryan went nowhere, Judge got the ball back on its 38. On third down, jr. QB Justin DeCristofaro (7-for-15, 109) completed a swing pass to jr. RB Erik Frazier for a 22-yard gain and Judge was as deep into Ryan territory, at the 40, as it had been all day! Then, on fourth-and-7 at the 37, DeCristofaro had to scramble to his left and made a last-moment spot downfield of Frazier. The pass was underthrown, but Frazier did a great job of coming back for it and his diving catch placed the ball at the 8. Frazier ran for two yards and McMahon (out of a full-house backfield; it was his only carry) took it the rest of the way with 0:48 left. Sr. RB John Ferdinand, who earlier had the misfortune of dropping a certain TD pass from Zeglinski, atoned somewhat with a 33-yard kickoff return to midfield. The sequence from there: 23-yard pass from sr. QB Anthony Carter to Ziggy; 4-yard run by sr. FB Ron James; incomplete pass; incomplete pass; 12-yard scramble by Carter to the 11 with 0:05 left; incomplete pass to sr. WR Jim Roche (he was beyond the back line, anyway) after early pressure by sr. DE Pat Lynch. As the Crusaders celebrated in hearty fashion, Coyle was hollering, "I told you it would feel this good!" Judge's defense: Lynch and sr. Pat Taylor at E; soph Mike Murphy and sr. Fran McIntyre at T; sr. Nick Hoch, soph Luke Seagrave and McMahon at LB; jr. Matt Rodriguez and jr. Will Taggert at CB; and soph Tom Hayes and sr. Greg Gontz at safety. The shutout was only the third by Judge in six seasons of Red play. The other two were against Ryan in the '01 season (regular season & playoff). DeCristofaro, a lanky lefty, showed good zip and thread-the-needle ability. Since he, Frazier and the main receivers are juniors, Judge could have some offensive fun next season. Sr. DB John Michalowski had an interception for Ryan. Sr. DL Joe Jackson, a big'un at 6-4, 290, had a sack while a combo sack went to sr. LBs George Colbert and Mark Wyszynski. The crowd was decently sized and involved.

SEPT. 24
PUBLIC NORTH
Frankford 20, Lincoln 14
   For a team that lost all but ONE starter, sr. QB Lamont Brown, Frankford is still quite respectable and has a hint of a chance to become a championship factor. But it could have lost this game and only some sloppy play from the visiting Railsplitters, especially at the most inopportune moments, kept it from happening. You know how the exchange from center to QB is supposedly simple? And how nothing almost never goes wrong? Well, "things" went wrong again and again for Lincoln. Sr. QB Kareem Dennis dropped the ball shortly after or while taking the snap four different times and twice the ball went flying back through his legs as though he'd never placed his hands in the proper spot. It was a combination of strange and comical. I don't know WHAT was going on but you can bet on this: there will be plenty of practice on snaps in the coming week. Frankford scored in the first 2 1/2 minutes when the ball was dropped twice on the same play and jr. LB Ernest Canales (short but strong and feisty; I like this kid) returned it 48 yards. Early in the third quarter, shortly after a fumble recovery by tough-guy sr. LB Joe DiGrazio, Dennis lost the handle and sr. OLB Joseph Morris recovered at the 20. Early in the fourth quarter, an 18-yard run by the ever-impressive Terrell Denson, a sr. RB (22-134), helped to get the ball to the 4. But again there was a bad exchange and jr. DE Damon Brockington recovered on the 7. Plus, late in the first quarter, Lincoln lost a TD (6-yard run by Denson) to a holding call. Lincoln has not beaten Frankford since 1979 and this opportunity was golden-plus. Oh well. Brown and jr. Alonzo Williams have become a reliable combo. They combined for TDs of 50 and 17 yards and 104 of Brown's 117 total yards. Sr. RB Malik "Flip" Walker never quite got off (17-49), but sr. FB Frank "Cherry" Jubilee nicely took up the slack (15-82). It's not too often Frankford scores three TDs, with none coming on the ground. The fourth quarter was quite interesting as Frankford coach Mike Capriotti twice nixed the play-it-safe route. On third-and-8 from his 24, with the score at 20-6, Brown was given a chance to pass deep downfield. He was hit as he threw by sr. DE Antonio Wessells and Denson made the pick, returning the ball 22 yards to the 33. Dennis immediately launched a 33-yard TD strike to sr. WR Khaleef Ings. On Fkd's next play, Brown surged forward on a wedge and was struggling to get extra yardage when HE lost the handle. Jr. DE Robert Keels recovered on the 26. Lincoln only got as close as the 20 as a series of clutch plays were made by sr. DB Maurice Miller, sr. DE Isaiah Stroman and Morris. On its next series, Fkd faced fourth-and-2 on its 43 and "Cap" nixed a punt. Jubilee was held to a 1-yard gain by Wessells and Lincoln took over with big dreams. They went poof! In fact, the 'Splitters lost 21 yards total on the series. On fourth down, Dennis was backtracking under heavy pressure and he tossed a screen to Denson way behind the line of scrimmage. Brockington tackled Terrell for a 14-yard loss. Many members of Frankford's 1954 PL champs were in attendance and they came onto the field at halftime to be introduced and bask in applause. PA announcer Andy Folino did a great job of explaining the old single wing offense, and the players lined up in their old positions. Very strange: at least for the moment, Fkd does not have enough kids for a band. The stadium sounded very different without the music. Early in the second quarter, Fkd volunteer assistant Rasheed Muhammad said aloud, "We've gotta go to the air on these guys." Within an instant, Brown hit Williams for the 50-yard TD. Rasheed then roared with a big smile, "I know my stuff, don't I?!" Before the game, when the Pioneers were in their big warm-up circle, doing exercises, Capriotti went to every player, one by one, to offer encouragement. He pretended to punch most of them and/or slap their shoulder pads. It was pretty funny.

SEPT. 23
PUBLIC SOUTH
Overbrook 6, Franklin 0
   Man, oh, man. This is getting amazing. Overbrook last had a winning season in 1970 and in 25 of the seasons since then has had two, one or zero wins. But now, the Panthers/Hilltoppers are 4-0 and all four wins have come by shutout! That's a school record and this is the 77th Pub season! Phew! Not only that, but this win came in what overall was a sub-par performance. Franklin rolled up 170 yards total offense to Overbrook's 119, but failed early and often when the chance to score presented itself. My DN story focused on sr. DL James Morgan (6-1, 245), who made 10 tackles in all and caused one fan to keep hollering, "Stay away from 82!" Six went for losses totaling 12 yards. The loss total would have been higher, but James kept bursting across the line right away before the plays barely had a chance to get started. He also had 'Brook's lone catch -- a 19-yarder over the middle -- and he'll likely get more tight end assignments as the season progresses. 'Brook had just three first downs and none in the first half. Only two of its rushing plays picked up more than eight yards and sr. William Brownlee (13-79) both times did the honors. As the third quarter was winding down, Franklin jr. QB Frank Anderson was hotly pursued right after the snap by Morgan. James didn't grab Anderson, but he made him change direction and sr. LB Khalif El-Harre-Bey was able to deliver a hit that dislodged the ball, enabling sr. LB Kyle Jones to recover at the Franklin 30. Brownlee went for 24 yards to the 5 on second down and sr. RB Marquice Freeman scored from the 2 two plays later, on the first play of the fourth quarter, behind the block of sr. T Gregory Topping. (Earlier in the game, Topping picked up a fumble by sr. QB Jarrett Johnson and advanced the ball eight yards. Check out the stats. His name's in there. Big thrill for the kid, no doubt! -- smile.) Franklin's ensuing possession began with scrimmage runs of 36 yards by jr. Maurice Dantzler and 11 by sr. Barton French. The Electrons rolled on and had first-and-goal at the 9. The sequence: 2-yard gain for Anderson (tackle by jr. LB Eikeem Barron and sr. DT James Scott); 4-yard sack of Anderson (soph DE Edwin Negron); 6-yard gain for Dantzler (Brownlee and Barron); 5-plus gain for French (El-Harre Bey). French actually got to about the 1-foot line, but a TD would not have stood up as a Franklin player was guilty of holding. Franklin had one more shot: on fourth-and-9 from the 33, Anderson tried to hit sr. WR Chris Thornton in the right corner of the end zone. Sr. CB Devon Starks was there to make sure nothin' was doin'. Franklin had two respectable chances in the first half; Johnson ended one of them with an interception. With the permission of the refs, jr. Darien Wiley, wearing No. 77 (not a legal number) played TE for Franklin. At least once he lined up at WR. Led mostly by volunteer assistant Wilbert Nesmith, a former King player, Overbrook's sideline troops showed plenty of energy. I liked the chant when 'Brook was on offense, "Move the chains! Ah, ah . . . Move the chains! Ah, ah." Near the end of an unproductive first half, 'Brook was called for three procedures and two holds in a seven-snap sequence! A manager was heard to mutter to the players, referring to coach Ken Sturm, "He's gonna have your asses in the locker room." When I relayed that comment to Sturm, he smiled and said, "He's right." Overbrook's defensive coordinator, David Carter, played at Franklin and West Virginia, and he's doing a great job. He has the players' respect, and no doubt admiration. When an Overbrook player short-armed (no-armed, really) a pass over the middle that looked VERY catchable, head ref Ernie Gallagher quipped, "Was that Ricky Watters?" (Adults will get that. The kids might be too young.)

SEPT. 19
NON-LEAGUE
SJ Prep 27, Brooklyn Poly Prep 12
   Game No. 3 of The Tough Test Tour went much better than 1 and 2. Little by little, the Hawks seized control and wore down a squad with only 30 players in uniform and won going away. The headliner was jr. RB John Shaw, who answered the call 35 times and produced three TDs along with 193 yards. He did some impressive hunting and pecking at and just beyond the line of scrimmage and showed his ever-present quick bursts as well. He's only 5-7, but is TOUGH to bring down because of his strength and sheer will. At QB, coach Gil Brooks used 6-3 soph Chris Whitney and sr. Jim McCormick. Everyone speaks highly of Whitney, who's expected to be a stud. I watched him during warmups and he stood tall and exhibited a seamless delivery. He was a shade nervous, I'd imagine, in the game. In case he becomes a special one down the line, you'll be able to win money with the answer to this question: Who was on the receiving end of Chris Whitney's first varsity completion. It was sr. WR Steve Quinn, on a 16-yarder to the left sideline through a stiff crosswind. Due to injuries, Whitney also went the distance at safety. The Prep's line: sr. C Scott Howley (also a premier, high-velocity long-snapper), sr. G Brendan Gilroy, jr. G Jim Dunn, sr. T Dan Voss, jr. T Jim McKenzie, jr. TE Matt Leddy and sr. TE Mike Boyle. Sr. LB Jim Bogan set a strong tone on defense. He even had a pair of ferocious hits while covering kickoffs. Jr. DB Andy Shalbrack had some rough early times as he fell down early in a pass play that went for a long TD and later was beaten for another long pass TD. The kid who caught them is headed for Boston College, so it wasn't like he was bested by a nobody. Andy hung in there, though, and he made an interception late in the third quarter. Jr. DT Charlie Noonan made consecutive TFLs early in the third quarter. Quinn, who announced for Penn State on Friday as a LB, hurt his ankle over the summer and is still running with a very slight limp. Prep, as pretty much always, had a strong fan turnout. When Whitney ran onto the field for his first play, a student yelled, "Whitney Houston!" When BPP passes were poorly thrown, the kids bellowed, "Who was THAT to? Who was THAT to?" Not bad, but better chants should be forthcoming (smile).

SEPT. 18
CATHOLIC BLUE
West Catholic 20, Conwell-Egan 7
   It was mostly windy and cooler than it's been so far this season, and the hard-hitting gave this one a mid-October feel. The teams went at it hard and there were stoppages along the way for assorted injuries. This was C-E's first game on the new artificial surface at Truman HS and everyone seems to give it rave reviews. It's reasonably soft and even the refs said their legs weren't aching; there are very tiny slivers of old, chopped-up tires beneath the fake grass. West ran 63 plays and received a quality performance from its RBs, sr. Chris Diaferio (23-129) and soph Dennis Shaw (12-75). Diaferio never got into the end zone (except for a conversion catch), but he had gains of 12, 9 and 14 yards late in a drive that Shaw capped from the 11 with 6:32 left. That TD made it 20-7. Diaferio was particularly impressive on the 9-yarder. He broke a few supposedly sure tackles and showed that extra drive that's so important in crunch time. Frosh QB Eric Brennan scored on a 1-yard burrow and passed 4-for-10 for 41 yards and a 10-year TD to sr. WR Antoine Stout. On one of his carries, Brennan loped along in deer-like fashion and assistant Eric Rutherford immediately blurted out, "It's Bambi! He looks like Bambi! That's his new nickname, Bambi!" We'll see if it sticks. The ever-athletic Stout added two late interceptions, and jr. DB John Maddox had one beforehand. West received a scare late in the third quarter when stud two-way lineman Marques Slocum went out with an injury to his right ankle. It appeared serious initially, but 'Ques got taped and soon returned to action. C-E's franchise rusher, Maryland-bound sr. Steve Slaton, was limited to 61 yards on 16 carries. He did add two catches for 37 yards (we might see more of this) and twice put good, late-game blocks on a pass-rushing Slocum. The TD went to sr. WR Jeff McClenton on a pass from soph QB Kevin Schafer (8-for-24, 86). McClenton had to dive low among two defenders. Very nice! C-E is small defensively, especially heightwise, but aggressive. Puck and Huck were in attendance. Huck and I lured Puck into having a photo taken and of course Huck made Puck look foolish. It's not that hard, folks.

SEPT. 18
NON-LEAGUE
Episcopal 39, Neumann-Goretti 0
   This isn't supposed to happen. On a day better suited for water polo, a quarterback in charge of an option offense is not supposed to be proficient enough to account for five TDs and 275 yards total offense. Rain and slop are for fullbacks, but sr. Brian FitzPatrick is indeed a QB and he indeed turned in a memory-making performance in this mismatch. "Fitz" posted 29 carries for 220 yards and TDs of 30, 1, 1 and 33 yards and passed 3-for-5 for 55 yards and a TD to sr. WR Dylan Brown. Oh, he also had the Churchmen's lone interception and got to enjoy watching his brother, a freshman named Bobby, run 32 yards for the final score. Again and again, Brian made smart decisions on whether to keep and, when needed, he used those pitter-patter footsteps that help guys succeed on slippery surfaces. A few times, it didn't hurt that Neumann exhibited hiss-poor tackling technique. In the first half alone, when the rain was coming down BIG-TIME, he reeled off big gains of 30, 16, 35, 12, 18 and 11 yards en route to 20 carries for 174 yards. His 33-yard score came with 3:19 left in the third quarter. He had five "carries" thereafter, but on four of them he dropped the slippery ball while taking the snap. EA recovered all of them, with Brian himself mostly doing the honors. Sr. RB Pete Wichmann added 62 yards and a TD on eight carries. EA's line: jr. C Scott Ritrovato, jr. G Ben Kissner, jr. G Matt Ebert, sr. T Greg Isdaner and jr. T Zach Morse -- four underclassen, notice! Neumann had just three first downs and two came courtesy of penalties. The only legit first down came on a 15-yard run by sr. Khaillier Harris-Stevens. Only one other play, a 9-yard keeper by sr. QB Kenny Brown, gained more than six yards. Isdaner (6-4, 310) had two first-half sacks. Jr. LB Rob McCallion and frosh DL Elliot Faust recovered fumbles. Neumann's two GIGANTIC players, jrs. Brian Fleming and John Gamble, saw some late-game duty on the DL. Combined, they have to be more than 750 pounds. Fleming wound up helping on a tackle and the Episcopal guys on the sideline were groaning in sympathy for whoever was under the pile. The rain was mostly heavy through the first half and again, pretty much, from the middle of the third quarter on. Huck was in attendance and sloshed through the sideline mud right along with me.

SEPT. 17
PUBLIC MID-CITY
Central 40, Dobbins 21
   By Pub afternoon standards (school was off, remember), a decent crowd was on hand and there was surely an assortment of interesting plays. One of the all-timers came in the third period when Dobbins sr. QB-DB-P Steve Sydnor went to punt and smacked the ball into his up-back blocker. Central sr. LB Cornelius Bunch caught the ball in mid-air and raced 26 yards for a TD. Wild, eh? On the ensuing kickoff, Central sr. Andrew "Kicker Guy" Thompson, who's being tutored by the legendary Joe D'Angelo, a long-time rock for the City All-Star Game (among other things), sent the ball close to the sideline and it likely would have gone out of bounds. Ex-Dobbins star Khalif Boldin, among others, was yelling across the field at the top of his lungs, "Let it go!!" Instead, jr. Terrance Tate picked it up and went 67 yards for a TD (smile). Tate appeared to be boxed in and stopped at maybe the Central 30, but nobody finished the job and Tate headed untouched for the end zone. Central received a number of strong performances. Sr. FB Michael Wilson did not get his first carry until midway through the second quarter, but finished with 66 yards and three TDs. At LB, he added a sack and another tackle for a loss. Sr. WR-DB Rodney Sykes (my DN interviewee) had three interceptions and two receptions for 47 yards. Rodney is hearing early and often from Hofstra and Lehigh, among others, and has run 40 yards in 4.37 seconds. He displayed excellent "close-ability" on plays that looked promising. Along with good hands, of course. He looks to be another in the recent line of Central athletes who should be able to go I-AA. Sr. DB Christian Chaves also had an interception. Sr. Devon Johnson, normally a slotback/wingback, again was at QB as sr. Joe Marshall continued to nurse an injury. Devon had problems with a couple of pitchouts, but otherwise did more than fine. He ran for a late TD (when Dobbins simply neglected to tackle him, after he bounced and spun off someone) and passed 5-for-10 for 127 yards and a score to Bunch. Dobbins usually receives good line play, but Central's was the better unit in this one. The O-line: sr. C Daniel Buyag, sr. G Cornell Pitt, jr. G Darryl Ray and sr. Ts David Parillo and Rashid Collins. Sydnor ran for two Dobbins scores, but threw all four picks and departed late with a tender leg. Sr. LB Jon Rawl was the most impressive defender. Soph DE Randall Wilson bears watching for the future. He's 6-4, 210. The electricity is not hooked up to Dobbins' new scoreboard. But coach Doug Macauley secured a generator to make it operational. Central's players reported to school at noon, but couldn't get into the locker room until 1.

SEPT. 16
PUBLIC SOUTH
Bartram 16, Southern 12
   Bartram is quite young in key areas -- witness that the QB (Kris Brownlee) and prime rusher (John Pratt) are sophs. But the team without the savvy veterans made the plays on the conversions and that made the difference. Bartram mostly depended on its defense as the numbers for Brownlee (4-for-6, 63 yards, 20-yard TD pass to sr. TE Sherman Hopkins) and Pratt (20-66, TD) were merely OK, nothing sensational. The two leaders were sr. LB Darrel Smith and sr. DE Kevin Reeder, a transfer from West Catholic. Smith was primarily responsible for shadowing Southern's franchise back, jr. Lamone Fox, and holding him to 40 yards on 11 carries. Smith was in on six tackles, along with a stop on a conversion run, and had a late pass deflection (it was probably an interception/fumble). Southern ran just 19 plays where tackles were possible. Bartram scored on its first drive, as Pratt went in from the 5. Out of a muddle-huddle formation, the Braves/Maroon Wave got a conversion run from sr. Terrance Tate. Southern did not overshift and Tate easily reached the end zone after taking a flip. Sr. QB Jalil Harris (7-for-13, 96 yards) had an excellent series on Southern's second-quarter scoring drive. He completed all four of his passes (for 72 yards) and the score went to sr. Michael McClain on a 19-yarder. Harris shows a soft touch and good decision-making. Much against their wishes, many Pub QBs get converted into DBs in college ball. Maybe at only the D-III level, but I believe Harris is the kind of QB who could remain at that position. Put him on a team with a whole line's worth of quality blockers, and he could be quite successful. Bartram went 80 yards in eight plays to start the third quarter and Brownlee hit Hopkins with the TD pass. He was wide open in the right corner. Pratt then ran for two. With 6:52 left in the fourth, Brownlee dropped a snap and sr. LB Mark Pisa recovered for Southern at the Braves' 24. On third and four from the 18, Harris ran for nine yards and Fox bulled nine more for the TD. Smith tackled Harris to prevent the two-pointer. Next, it was time for my new favorite little guy, Cecil Waters, to do his thing. Cecil is listed on the roster at 5-6, 155 pounds. He told me afterward he's really 5-4, 140 (smile). Anyway, Cecil took the kickoff and motored 57 yards to the Rams' 26. Huge! Fox intercepted four plays later, but Southern was deep in its own territory and had little prayer. After Smith's deflection, Bartram took over on the 4. The game ended after sr. FB Cameo Ali was tackled on the 1. Southern's scoreboard is dead and the back judge doing the timing was extra shaky. For much of the game, the teams were averaging just a shade under a play per minute. Impossible! Southern has an impressive looking freshman on the line. Marquise James goes 6-4, 305! Amauro and Huck were in attendance. West Philly coach John R. Lay was upset that Gratz got a writeup in the Thursday DN even though West beat the Bulldogs last Saturday. As I told John, I can't help it if there were millions of games last Saturday and only one Wednesday. Some of West's players called me over to the fence after the game to express, ahem, disappointment in picks by Huck and/or Puck. I said to take it to the proper authorities: THEM! (smile).

SEPT. 15
PUBLIC MID-CITY
Gratz 24, Edison 6
   Phew, this is getting to be a habit. This was my fourth game of the season involving Pub teams and the third time one started with a kickoff return for a TD. The guy doing the honors this time, for 84 yards, was Gratz sr. Richard Sheppard (the subject of my DN story). "Shep" is a 6-2, 200-pound senior with a 3.5 GPA and qualifying SAT score. He played TE last year and had one catch, a 96-yarder for a TD. Now he's a WR, KR and safety and a prominent member of the squad. He also scored, easily, on a 17-yard pass from sr. QB Kevin Lane while adding a forced fumble and half a sack. Cool tidbit: he lives right near Gratz on none other than Gratz Street. Also impressive was sr. FB-LB Anthony Wallace. He had the hardest hits on defense and combined with Lane for the play of the day. Lane is also the punter and he wound up roughly 35 yards behind the line of scrimmage after a snap sailed over his head. He maintained his cool, began running upfield and eventually flipped a pass to Wallace. Wallace made the catch, chugged forward and turned the play into a 17-yard gain for a first down! Gratz' chief rusher is jr. Donald "Shug" King. He's a compact tough guy and I liked his approach. He finished with 120 yards and a TD; he lost another TD to a holding call. Gratz' O-line: sr. C Lamont Lee-Edgefield, jr. G Raymond Butler, sr. G Steve Kilcrest, sr. T Kyle Alston, sr. T Dwight Williams and soph TE Nisia Dunaway. There's some size and athleticism and very little blubber. Edison had one, and only one, good moment on offense. On the second play, QB Johnathan Baez tossed a lateral to wingback Lloyd Junius and Junius fired far downfield for an easy, 60-yard TD to sr. TE Mathew Padro. Edison had no other first downs and only 16 more yards. Sr. DLs Willie Pace, Dwight Williams and Damean Antrom had solo sacks while soph OLB Frank Adams and Sheppard shared one. Edison's best player was Carlos Maldonado, a sr. LB and FB. He made 11 tackles and sometimes seemed to be out there alone. This kid would be a big factor on any team in the league. He got just three carries and settled for 13 yards. On all three, he willed himself beyond what should have been losses or no gains. I know Gratz' players left the field with much respect for 'Los. Sr. LB Anthony Coltrane (nine tackles) and Padro (eight) also played hard every down. Whenever I see an uncommon spelling on a roster, I try to cross-check. Gratz' No. 5 is listed as Gourdie Corbin. When I asked him to spell his first name, he said, "G-o-u-r-d-i-e . . . or G-o-r-d-y. Either one is fine." On the sidelines: ex-Mastbaum star and NFL player Uhuru "Joby" Hamiter and ex-Gratz FB Chris Rhone. Dunaway is Joby's stepson. Backup tailback Desean Carter is Rhone's son. Chris holds the city record for longest TD reception, a 99-yarder. Gratz coach Rich Kozlowski sat in the stands wearing headphones. His new chief assistant, Gus Felder, ex-Penn State lineman, also wearing headphones, ran the game at field level. Gratz all-timer Tyree Watson, who fueled the 2002 playoff run with a series of huge performances, was also in attendance. He and other Bulldogs are playing for the prep school team at Berean Institute. Don't forget to check out Special Photos. Never know what you may see (smile).

SEPT. 11
NON-LEAGUE
Roman 13, Gtn. Academy 10 (OT)
   Roman sr. RB Evin Jones was a handyman last season, and now wants to be viewed as a franchise back. Under difficult circumstances, he received a chance to lift his team to victory in this one -- with help from his linemen, of course -- and did so . . . though it's doubtful GA would agree, and would likely disagree in heated fashion. Here's the deal: GA went first in OT and the left-footed Phil Azarik hammered a 28-yard field goal. HE also got hammered -- well, run into anyway -- and Roman was hit with a 5-yard penalty. So, Roman had to start its possession from the 15 instead of the 10. Jones (25 carries, 123 yards) got the call on four straight plays. Twice he ran to the right, getting 6 and then 5 yards, and then twice he ran to the left, getting 1 and 3. Actually, he might have gotten 2 and maybe 7/8 yards on that last one because GA's defenders were highly distressed when the ruling was a TD. I was standing on GA's side in the second half, and the play was to the opposite side, and there was a mass tangle of bodies, so it was tough to tell. Overall, this game wasn't a classic. There were very few crisp, successful plays on offense. Were there some good defensive plays? Of course. But shaky offense was more the story, it appeared, on a great night at a great stadium (Wissahickon HS), where the surface is artificial. Roman had a burst of competency late in the first half as jr. WR-DB Cory Jackson caught a punt on GA's 36 and returned it 24 yards to the 12. Jones was dumped for a 2-yard loss by sr. DT Tom Matteo (very strong game), sr. QB Tim Hoban threw incomplete (deflection to sr. LB Greg Sih) and then Jackson ran a right-to-middle slant and caught a 14-yard scoring pass. GA's regulation TD came with 4:22 left in the third quarter. It also came out of nowhere. Sr. Matt Brown (13-82) went 48 yards off a trap straight up the middle and I'm 99 percent sure he wasn't touched. GA had just 68 yards on its other 44 plays. Jr. DT Joe Mulhern had a sack for Roman along with another TFL. Sr. LBs Tim Plona and Jones also dropped sr. QB Tyler Stampone for losses. Jones and Jackson had interceptions. Stampone exacted revenge on the other side of the ball by making two picks of his own. There was a wild play late in the first half. GA soph RB Alex Holcombe lost a fumble and three different Roman players participated on the return: sr. LB Brian Chiodi, Jackson and Mulhern. The ball was flippin' and floppin' and bouncin' and hoppin'; it was crazy. After a Roman PAT was almost blocked on a straight-through rush, coach Jim Murphy said, "Hey, we should not have seepage in the middle!" As the third quarter ended, GA coach Michael "Pup" Turner gathered his players and suggested the winner would be the team "with the bigger sacs!" Notice the absence of a "k." He wasn't referring to tackles for losses of quarterbacks (smile). GA's players got a kick out of Pup's choice of words. One of them said, "I know I'VE got a big sac!" GA jr. Joe Traynor plays T and TE and his numbers are 62 and 82. Little hunks of white velcro were placed on the 6s to make them 8s. By the time Joe finally went out for a pass, though, the hunks were not in place and he was wearing 62, front and back. The pass fell incomplete, the refs let GA slide on the illegal number thing and Joe suffered a slight injury anyway. One of GA's assistants said the jersey altering was "insired by Martha Stewart." You know how captains sometimes hold hands when they walk to midfield for the coin toss? GA's captains were holding hands as they waited and waited for the pre-OT meeting. One of the suburban sports writers finally noted, "They've been holding hands for so long, they're ready to start dating."

SEPT. 11
NON-LEAGUE
O'Hara 41, Penn Charter 13
   Match a strong team playing its second game against a still-unsure team playing its first game, just days after its franchise player is lost for the season to injury, and you wind up with something not very pretty. O'Hara dominated and probably should have won by a larger margin. Led by sr. T Matt Lowry, who's bound for Virginia, O'Hara's offensive line is big and ornery and effective, and it often produced large holes that made yardage-gobbling easy. The Lions stormed to 378 yards total offense and six TDs. Sr. RB Steve Cook did the major damage, rushing for 175 yards and two scores on a heavy workload of 29 carries. Sr. FB Pat Macaulay added 58 yards on 10 totes and was a bulwark of a blocker throughout. Sr. QB John Ward flipped a pair of fade-pattern TD passes to sr. WR Sean Barksdale. Macaulay showed his resolve late in the game, when the outcome was long decided. First he made a vicious block to help spring sr. backup QB Tom Creighton for a 32-yard gain on the left sideline. Creighton kept again on the next play and headed for the right corner of the end zone. The key block, as you may have guessed by now, on the 9-yard TD was made my Macaulay. He received deep appreciation from O'Hara's players as he returned to the sideline. And there were MANY of them. By my count, the Lions had 99 players in uniform!! I'm told there are 102 on the squad in all. Phew!! Barksdale, a gamer from 'way back (it runs in the family), also had a recovery on a squib kickoff. On one of his TD catches, he had a leaping duel with PC jr. DB Kamal Marell. Though Marell came down with the ball in the end zone, it did appear Barksdale had momentary possession while the two were in the air; that's all it takes. O'Hara's line: sr. C Jerry Feehery, jr. G Dan Gough, soph G Jerry Penrose, sr. T Joe Glace and Lowry. O'Hara jumped to a 14-0 lead, then PC bounced back with an 88-yard kickoff return TD by Marell. The score went to 27-7 as Cook ran for TDs of 11 and 30 yards on successive plays (with Barksdale's recovery in between). A recovery of a dropped handoff by jr. LB Greg Smith set up the first of Cook's two scores. PC had an answer before the half on a 10-yard pass from sr. QB James Hannah (6-for-15, 71 yards) to Marell. The Lions tacked on two more in the fourth quarter. We already talked about the last score. The other, a 21-yard run by soph John Dempsey, was set up via an interception by jr. DB Harry Duke. PC's franchise, sr. Zack Zeglinski, is out for the season with a torn ACL. He'll be sorely missed, but once PC's mostly green line gets its bearings, all should be OK. Maybe not great, but OK. Special mention must be made of sr. DT Colin Hitschler. At 6-foot, 190, he is certainly not a giant. But he involved himself in 11 tackles. You can go through a whole season without seeing a defensive lineman make that many. They weren't cheapies, either. Eight were solos or first hits. You know you're watching a game at an Inter-Ac field when: the PA announcer says, "The gain on that play was incremental." Zack was making notes on a clipboard as the game unfolded. I offered him an opportunity to write for the website. He politely declined, saying he could never be as good as 2004 PC grad Ed "Special Ed" Morrone (now at Hofstra and already working for the sports information office.) One of the PATs by O'Hara sr. K Frank D'Angelo cleared the scoreboard.

SEPT. 10
NON-LEAGUE
Lincoln 27, Germantown 0
   Will a Public League game ever again start on time? G-town had bus problems getting the students at its Lankenau campus to its field house, and didn't walk onto the field until 2:58, so the game was held up until 3:30. Then the referees got into the act and made the game take forever and ever, amen. There were 21 penalties for 198 yards (at least another seven were declined) and the head ref almost always took verrrrrrry long deciding what to do and how to assess the yardage. At one point, during a long delay to untangle things, PA announcer John Constantine, Lincoln's baseball coach way back in the day, said, "When I know, I'll let you know." Lincoln is 2-0 and appears to be decent, but honestly, G-town had big problems in this one so it's tough to be sure. My DN story focused on sr. FB-DT-NG Charles Whittington, who goes 5-10, 250, and packs a wallop. He had a wonderful, truck-guys run for 20 yards along with a 6-yard TD and he blocked like a man possessed for sr. halfbacks Terrell Denson (7-53) and Rory Stallworth (16-67). All three had one TD apiece and the fourth came on a pass from sr. QB Kareem Dennis (4-for-4, 51) to sr. WR Khaleef Ings (he pulled in the ball with one hand). Whittington also two stops for losses (one was a half-sack) and kicked a PAT. The DEs, sr. Antonio Wessells and John Harden-Bey, exerted constant pressure on sr. QB Brandon Cuff while forcing him to go 0-for-13. "Cuff Daddy" is a competent QB, but his receivers are tentative and his line, at least in this one, gave him very little time. On one of the incompletions, the ball was touched by sr. WR Aaron Terrell, then by Lincoln sr. DB Quaron Billups (who later had a pick) and then again by Terrell. Lincoln sr. Joe DiGrazio, a force at LB, made a sparkling block to help spring Denson for a 47-yard punt return. At one point, G-town coach Mike Hawkins tried to rally his troops with, "These guys are going to laugh you all the way home! And you know most of them live in your neighborhood!" Lincoln coach Gene Kelly is recovering from knee surgery. Assistant Kevin Reilly, the basketball coach at Edison, is calling the shots.

SEPT. 9
NON-LEAGUE
King 16, Bok 8
   If the early pace had been sustained, this game would have produced 1,440 points!!! Yes, 16 points were scored in the first 32 seconds as King jr. Marcel Rivers returned the opening kickoff 82 yards for a score and Bok sr. Cory Moultrie returned the ensuing kickoff 77 yards for another TD. Rivers barely was breathed on as he went straight up the middle. Moultrie scooted left to right and had to make a couple of moves and shake guys off. The conversions went King jr. Marquis Clark, on a pass from sr. QB Jeff Campbell, and to Moultrie on a run. After King sr. Raheem Isaac returned the next kickoff just four yards, order was restored. The game's only other TD came on, what else, a return. With 4:06 left in the second quarter, Bok sr. WR Gregory Thomas was running a counter and sr. DE Larry Brown made a strip. King sr. CB Sammy Tranks scooped up the ball and raced 87 yards for the score. My DN story focused on King sr. LB Cyril Woodland, the middle man in the Cougars' 5-3 alignment. The outside LBs are spread kind of far apart, so Woodland has a lot of territory to cover. He didn't have much activity in the middle, as Bok mostly ran sweeps. He scooted to the outside early and often and made 14 tackles in all. One of his hits was downright ferocious and drew a big response from those in attendance. Cyril also recovered two fumbles. One came in the waning moments (on a backward pass that went errant) and he should have scored an 18-yard TD. But he stepped on the sideline and the ref had no choice but to blow the whistle. Sr. LB Darnell Gindrow and sr. DE Deshan Lupton added sacks for King. Sr. NG Andre Jones had a tackle for loss. Sr. FB Tirrell Dekeyser (14-60) and sr. HB Jared Williams (9-42) led King in rushing while Campbell, perhaps the Pub's best QB prospect, went 2-for-6 for 21 yards. It was EXTRA windy, so passing was problematical. Dekeyser lost a 22-yard, third-quarter TD to a holding call. Bok is young and inexperienced and had trouble moving the ball. The Wildcats were limited to 82 yards total offense and had just one sustained drive, the one that was terminated by Tranks' fumble return TD. Moultrie showed some RB instincts and toughness, but rarely had running room. Sr. DE Sean Jessup had a TFL and a sack on back-to-back plays and jr. LB Cortez McLaughlin, who's not a very big kid, exhibited big-time grit by leaping to block a punt and uncorking a series of hard hits. Ex-Bartram coach Frank "Roscoe" Natale is now a Bok assistant. The weather was quite weird. It rained a shade beforehand and again right afterward, but at some points during the game itself the sun was shining brightly. Bok coach Tom DeFelice said his squad's locker room was broken into Wednesday night into Thursday morning and that eight helmets, about the same number of shoulder pads and other assorted items were stolen.

SEPT. 4
CATHOLIC BLUE
North Catholic 15, Neumann-Goretti 12
   Chalie Szydlik is the Falcons' third coach in four years and it was important, I'd imagine, for him to make an early positive impression with his players. It happened here in Wildwood as NC claimed a tough W. We'll start with the stretch. A 44-yard burst by sr. RB Bruce Holloman (two TDs) put N-G on the North 13. Soph RB Anthony Davis then posted gains of 4 and 8 yards and the Saints (nee Pirates) had the ball on the 1 with a tremendous chance to pull out a win! Didn't happen. N-G used its last timeout before the third quarter ended and some indecision here led to a delay-of-game penalty. Ouch. Holloman ran 2 yards to the 4. On the next two plays, sr. QB Kenny Brown had trouble with his footing and slipped for losses of 3 and 1 yard, respectively (soph DE Edwardo Fonseca and sr. LB Dave Tankelewicz were in the backfield and would have had good shots at TFLs anyway). On fourth down, Brown tried to hit Holloman in the right corner. The pass was low and Holloman probably would have trouble staying in bounds even with a catch. All North had to do was run out the clock. North sr. QB Joe Waclawski had a nice performance, passing 6-for-14 for 82 yards and scoring the winning TD on a 10-yard keeper. His best moment, however, likely came on an option play to the left on the last play of the first quarter. North's coaches, in fact, were telling Waclawski to let the clock run out, but the snap occurred and, hey, might as well make the best of it. Waclawski advanced 9 yards downfield and made a well-timed pitchout to sr. RB Shane McNamara (11-156). Lo and behold, McNamara went 67 more yards for a score! (In case you're wondering, Joe gets one carry for 9 yards and Shane gets NO carry for 67. Not bad, eh? -- smile.) Also for NC, Charles Klink blocked a PAT and McNamara registered a sack for 8 yards. For N-G, Holloman rushed eight times for 80 yards and had a miracle TD catch of 44 yards as North's Rich Frisco deflected the ball right into his arms at roughly the 10; he coasted in from there. Jr. RB Keith Williams ran nine times for 77 yards. Sr. DB Brian McLaughlin had a wicked hit. On Waclawski's TD keeper, sr. WR Dwight Williams broke off his pattern, backtracked and delivered a rockin' block. Impressive. As the half wound down, North's staff had a bit of a brain cramp. The refs were darn near ordering them to take a timeout, but none was called. At the first-down signal, of course, the clock started and the Falcons could run just one more play (incompletion) before 0:00 appeared. Nothing personal, but I can't stand N-G's new uniforms. They look like the New Orleans Saints', kinda, but the faint yellow is on the uni only in thin stripes and the color is visible only from close up. Otherwise, they look like black-and-white uniforms. Black and white? What fun is that? (smile)

SEPT. 4
NON-LEAGUE
West Catholic 14, Roman 0
   It appears that John, a junior at St. Joe's Prep, is not the only quality running back in the city named Shaw. Say hello to Dennis Shaw, a 5-9, 150-pound sophomore at WC. His varsity career is all of one game old, so it's WAY too early for any Halls of Fame. But he has speed and vision and cutback ability and more than a little heart, so who knows what will happen? As the Burrs triumphed, Shaw rushed 13 times for 144 yards and a TD. He only had two touches in the first half, and one of those went for 51 yards. Then, in the third quarter, thanks to a nifty cutback about 20 yards downfield, he steamed for a 60-yard score to break a scoreless tie. Getting yards through easy holes is one thing. Getting them because you do your thing downfield is another. If the Burrs, the favorite, wind up winning the Blue title, they might point to a late-third/early-fourth-quarter sequence as a solidifying series of moments. Late in the third, freshman QB Eric Brennan, a lefty, was stripped by sr. LB Brian Chiodi, with the recovery going to sr. NG Jim Moore. As the fourth started, on second-and-7 from the 17, sr. QB Tim Hoban threw a fade to the right corner of the end zone. There happened to be double coverage and jr. DB John Maddox made a leaping interception. Huge. When West faced fourth-and-2 at its 28, coach Brian Fluck gambled and went for it. Sr. RB Chris Diaferio (20-91) delivered a 6-yard gain. Huge again. Shaw, Diaferio and jr. RB Wayne Donahue made runs to sustain the drive, mostly behind Triple Thunder -- sr. G Marques Slocum, sr. T Matt DeMarco and sr. TE Derrell Hand; they weigh 980 combined! -- and then Maddox made a nifty, 20-yard catch to place the ball at the 4. Diaferio bulled in from there. Donahue, at MLB, made 11 tackles and soph DE Anthony Rhoades chipped in with seven. But the hardest hitting likely was done by jr. DB Harold "Don't Call Me Howard" Davis (5-7, 160), who showed no hesitation at sacrificing his body. Early in the game, Roman used Hoban at QB and WR (he had one catch for nine yards), but he was strictly at the helm later on. Sr. RB Evin Jones was limited to 29 yards on 12 carries. Roman is extremely young and for the moment it's showing. On defense, sr. LB Sean Matthews was anywere and everywhere and jr. CB Aaron Pryer came up hard for pop-delivering purposes. Though soph DB Dominique Joseph made an interception, he cost his team 23 yards. It was fourth down and he should have just knocked the ball down. Oh, well. Lesson learned. Right after that, Roman was scrambling to get off a play and one of the backs stepped on the foot of referee Tom McClain. He was none too happy at the time and muttered something. The back said, "It was nothing personal." Tom said later, with a smile on his face, "I wanted to throw a 15-yarder."
  Special Note: After speaking with Huck Tuesday night, we decided to do some research. This shutout by West was just the fourth in 14 seasons. The Burrs had one in the fifth game of the '90 season (5-0 over Neumann), then none again until game four of the '99 season (14-0 over Neumann). They've had three since: 32-0 over K-K in game six of '90, 42-0 over Dougherty in game nine of '02 and this one over Roman.

SEPT. 3
NON-LEAGUE
Northeast 7, Franklin 6
   The original plan called for coverage of William Penn's first varsity game since 1984, but the Lions, mysteriously claiming injury problems, canceled their trek to Stenton and Haines early yesterday morning. (My DN story will deal with that fiasco.) So, I wound up at 29th and Chalmers and the game was OK, though clearly not exciting. Early? Very exciting as Franklin jr. Michael Anderson, who also does the punting and kicking, took the opening kickoff 87 yards for a score. The conversion run failed and that wound up costing the Electrons the game. NE scored in the second quarter on a 15-yard pass from sr. QB Cordia Mosley (8-for-16, 66 yards) to sr. TE Khaliyl "Whatchu Talkin' 'Bout" Willis. Willis made a nifty, stretched-out grab as he neared the sideline a short distance into the end zone. Jr. Chris Mountney added the PAT. Sr. FB Chris Banks, who has written game reports for this website at various times (he first attended Father Judge), led NE with 20 carries for 86 yards. He did some tough, late-game running to help preserve the lead. Sr. RB Jeremiah Pitt, a transfer from Washington, ran 11 times for 55 yards. Jr. WR Rockeed McCarter, one of the league's truly impressive prospects, had two catches for 30 yards. One had the suspicion he would have produced early and often, but that coach Mel Hinton (he's carrying a cane for extra support after hip-replacement surgery) wanted to see his team develop some running-game toughness. Jr. LB Jeff Jones posted several hard hits and a fumble recovery. McCarter had the pop of the game, though. For Franklin, I was impressed with jr. QB Frank Anderson. He's only 5-8, 135 pounds, but he's brassy as all get-out and twice he delivered passes, on the run, into tight spots along the sideline. Volunteer assistant Al Hill said of him, "He's a very hard worker. Always shows up early and does extra wind sprints." Sr. DE Kordell Morgan (6-3, 250) was a difference-maker, notching seven tackles and forcing a fumble on a great read of a screen pass. He made two stops on the opposite side of the field from where he lined up, so his pursuit was good. Jr. DB Rodreen "Chief" Howell had three pass breakups. Jr. DE Anthony Wright, sr. LB Michael Hooper and jr. LB Joshua McKnight all notched solo tackles for losses. NE arrived at 2 p.m. Franklin had bus problems and didn't arrive until 2:58, so the game was delayed until 3:30. Mountney hammered the opening kickoff before referee Terry Moore blew his ready whistle. No flags were thrown, but a Franklin fan drew some laughs when he bellowed, "Give 'em a penalty, ref! Don't take that crap!" I wore an ESPN hat and one of Franklin's subs thought I worked there. Um, not quite. Another Franklin sub was telling a teammate about the website and asked him if he knew about it. "Yeah," he said. "That's where guys go to get their stats." Hmm. Maybe I should put that on the home page: "TedSilary.com . . . Where Guys Go to Get Their Stats."