October reports
September reports

NOV. 30
CATHOLIC BLUE FINAL
West Catholic 28, Wood 7
   West is best. Wood is left to wonder. Actually, the Burrs are probably doing some wondering as well. As in, What was so hard about this? This was West’s sixth straight appearance in the championship game. The first four produced losses and the Burrs were starting to experience those hmm-maybe-we’re-snakebitten feelings. Those are long gone now and this second title wound up being rather easy to claim. West forced five turnovers (four down the stretch as Wood became discombobulated) and won the yardage battle by a shade more than two to one, 286-140. So, why would Wood “wonder” after being dominated to that extent? Because its franchise player, sr. RB-LB Bob DeLucas, suffered an early ankle injury and spent the second half hobbling along the sideline with the aid of crutches. Could one player have made enough of a difference? Merely from the playing-wise standpoint, probably not. But who knows what emotions were swirling inside the Vikings’ hearts and minds after DeLucas was forced to depart? This night was borderline frigid and both QBs had problems. The big difference: West jr. Curtis Drake bobbled and dropped the ball three times, but lost it only once (and that directly set up an easy Wood score). Meanwhile, Wood sr. Mike Cattolico was victimized for four interceptions. Even some of his other throws were off-kilter and one can only surmise he had difficulties achieving the proper touch because of the cold. Anyway, West received a gigantic early boost when jr. DE Artis Carroll thumped Catttolico for a 12-yard sack. West took over at its 42 and had little trouble going 58 yards in nine plays. Jr. TB Raymond Maples, who shares the position with classmate Rob Holloman, said after the game that he sensed (feared? – smile) that West would have to throw a lot, what with Wood jamming up the box. But on the second play, Holloman went 11 yards and Maples followed immediately with a 17-yard burst and those two plays no doubt went a long way to lifting the Burrs’ spirits. The TD came on a 4-yard keeper to the right by Drake. Wood forged a tie 6:38 before halftime on a 3-yard run by jr. RB Sean Cunningham. That “drive” had to cover just 15 yards after Drake fumbled on a delayed draw and sr. DE Anthony Narisi made the recovery. DeLucas was getting taped by that point, so Cunningham had all three carries. The Burrs rolled straight downfield, thus seizing the game by the throat. Eleven plays (all runs), 67 yards. Maples had the only carries for more than 10 yards (11 and 17), but four more plays produced eight or nine yards, so you can there was dominance. The TD occurred at 44.7 on Maples’ 9-yard run. “Syrup” (apparently, no one else calls him that; I like it, though – smile) then added a late interception. Third quarter: Why throw when there’s no need? Right out of the gate, West rolled 82 yards in nine plays. Drake was the man on this drive as the Burrs switched things up and attacked the outside much more than it had in the first half. The TD, Drake’s 36-yard run, was a beautiful option keeper. He evaded two tacklers a shade before the 30 and stole candy from babies thereafter. Now down by 21-7, Wood had to do SOMETHING or else forget it. To their credit, the Vikings formulated a nice drive. Cattolico went 3-for-3 for 31 yards, West committed an offsides penalty to provide a free first down, jr. backup QB Sean McCartney ran for 11 yards and jr. FB Nick Devine rolled for 16 yards to the 9. Maples held sr. RB Charlie Wanner to a 1-yard gain. Jr. DE Chris Williams stopped Cunningham after a 2-yard pickup. Williams and sr. LB Pre’Andre Watson (two jarring tackles in first half) combined to drop Cunningham for a 1-yard loss. On fourth down, Wood had the wide side of the field to the right. During a timeout, good-guy assistant Virnest Beale called over four of the Burrs and impressed upon them his belief that the Vikings would be coming in that direction. Wellllllll . . . The play was a screen left. Luckily, the guys on that side of the field stayed home and Cattolico’s flip to Cunningham resulted in only a 3-yard pickup. The final 9:30 featured six turnovers (phew!) as Wood, unfortunately, “won” that battle, 4-2. Jr. DB Haleem “P-Nut” Hayward, jr. LB Jordan Culbreath and sr. DB Rodney Blango had picks for West while Watson (force by Culbreath) recovered a fumble. McCartney, with a late leap, made a great interception for Wood on a long pass to Blango. Cunningham recovered a fumble. McDevitt’s Pat Manzi, the CL FB moderator, was handing the plaque to West coach Brian Fluck even before time expired. So, does that mean we’re finished? Of course not. The names of West’s O-linemen must be mentioned, especially since their performance in this game allowed Holloman AND Maples to surpass 1,000 yards for the season. Here they are: sr. C Aaron Maggio, sr. G Brandon Terrance, soph G Jake Zuzek, sr. T Earl Griffiths, jr. T Victor McNair and Watson at TE. Also, the FB was jr. Juan Rozier. Have you noticed? The entire backfield was comprised of juniors. Here’s the last question to ponder: Will anyone be able to prevent West from doing great things next season, as well?

NOV. 22
THANKSGIVING RIVALRY
Frankford 47, North Catholic 21
   Where was Boyz II Men when Frankford’s football team needed them? In a symbolic gesture, someone should have made sure this Philly group was invited to sing the National Anthem and/or provide halftime entertainment. Or, better yet, serenade the Pioneers as they headed to the locker room after they posted a stirring victory. Football is only part of what a coach is supposed to teach his players and Mike Capriotti, along with his assistants, definitely did something right over the last month after the Pioneers were forced to forfeit four wins, and lose their spot in the Pub playoffs, for using an ineligible player. There was one more Red Division contest to play. And then two of those meaningless non-league, stay-busy tilts. And then a two-week wait until Thanksgiving. Cap credits sr. LB Chris Spence for keeping the squad together and that thought does make sense because “Waterboy” (he’s nicknamed that after the Adam Sandler character in the movie of the same name) is the unquestioned leader. If Spence had acted immaturely, others would have followed. But Cap also deserves tons of credit because the good vibrations all began with him. I’d be saying this even if Frankford had dropped this game, by the way, because staying together and maintaining a positive attitude was the point. But as long as you’re going to play the game, and as long as the opponent is your fierce neighborhood rival, and since it would be great to triumph after dropping the last two as the Pub champ . .  .  Bingo! The Pioneers not only won, they did so emphatically. They more than doubled the score on North and had things wrapped up by halftime; though, to its credit, North dominated the third quarter and provided a hint of uh-oh before Frankford regrouped. DN ink went to jr. QB Kalif Walker, a converted RB who should have loads of fun next season. Capriotti advised Walker to be ready to pass and, guess what, he wasn’t lying. (smile) On third down out of the gate, Walker whipped a 9-yard completion to sr. TE Malik Ballard. On the next third down, this one with 9 yards to go, he turned a keeper into a 22-yard pickup and sr. RB Ervin “Mack Daddy” Goodson followed immediately with a 21-yard sprint to the 1. Walker eased into the end zone from there. Walker showed his two-pronged versatility within minutes. With sr. RB Terrell “The Nice T.O.” Oglesby doing much of the work, North found itself on the 4. A call was made for a slant. Walker jumped the play and posted an end zone interception. KEY moment. Second quarter? All Frankford. The Pioneers scored four TDs and North did nothing right. In fact, the Falcons did everything wrong. Jr. TE Eddie Ferrell made a great catch with an EZ dive toward the Fkd sideline to post a 13-yard TD catch. Next TD: soph DE Tyrell Allen not only blocked a punt by sr. Pete Sellecchia (productive all game on defense), but immensely enjoyed the fact that the ball bounced right back into his hands. It was amazingly good fortune and he easily ran into the end zone. Next TD: Jr. DL Terrell Lewis stripped Oglesby and Allen recovered at the 11. Fkd got help from a third down roughing-the-passer penalty, which moved the ball to the 4, and Goodson immediately ran for an easy score. Next TD: This one required a 52-yard drive. The big plays were a 12-yard pass to Ferrell and a 23-yard run by jr. FB Akeem Whipple to the 1. Sr. RB Kareem “Spotlight” Steplight scored from there. The Pioneers even scored AGAIN before halftime on a 20-yard pass from Walker to Steplight, but that one was nullified by a holding penalty (and Goodson’ pick set it up). Thereafter? Well, North did regroup nicely. Sixty yards in eight plays. Forty-three yards in 12 plays. In between, Dan Clark made a recovery of sr. Mickey Majzik’s onsides kick. Though jr. QB Dennis Logue did regroup and complete four passes during the drives, T.O. did much of the work and, let’s face it, ground games take time. The two drives required 10:35. This time, jr. Freddy DiMascia tried the onsides kick. Ballard made a leaping recovery and Fkd put the game away with a five-play drive for six (29-yard run by Goodson). The Pioneers’ last TD was a beauty as Ferrell made a high-traffic catch between two defenders at North’s 25 and dashed the rest of the way for a 46-yard score. North came back with a 1-yard TD by Oglesby and once again, his younger brother, Jamell, came over to ask how for his Terrell’s yardage total. When Fkd fumbled with 2:52 left, North coach Chalie Szydlik had a decision to make. Go with second-liners or give T.O. the chance to break Daryl Robinson’s year-old school record for season rushing yardage. The second O was in, but after a procedure penalty the first unit went back in. Thirteen yards for T.O. Then 1. Then 3. Then minus-1 (thanks to Spence’s third TFL.) Then a 13-yarder for T.O. That raised his total to 1,445, eight better than Robinson’s 1,437, and he departed to warmth from the coaches, players and spectators (though I doubt many of that latter group were aware of the record thing). Sr. FB Ricky Williams stayed in and, oh my goodness, actually got to carry the ball. For the first time in four games and only the seventh time all year! And there he went, uncorking a gain of 14 yards. After watching him block and block and block and block and block and, oh yeah, block, it was nice to see him get a chance to run. I’m sure he’ll never forget the moment. Right after the game, those who stayed around got to witness one of the coolest traditions in sports. Two by two, after the final game, Fkd’s seniors push a two-man sled up and down the field as the other players and coaches, and even some fans, stand right nearby, cheering and going wild. It is VERY emotional and any guy who has played for Fkd undoubtedly has vivid memories of his involvement. This year’s final two participants were Spence and fellow LB Josh Burnett. They powered that baby for about 25 yards, all the way to the back of the south end zone! Quite the stirring finish to a Boyz II Men day.

NOV. 17
PUBLIC LEAGUE FINAL
Washington 34, Bok 6
   Conventional wisdom said Bok, a medium to heavy underdog, had to do well early to have hopes of making this a respectable contest. So what happened on the first scrimmage play? Receiving a great block from sr. E Damien Wilmer, among others, jr. FB James Johnson sped/rumbled 69 yards for a TD. Uh, oh. Bok did respond with a semi-drive, getting one first down. But on third-and-8, very promising soph LB James Fowler made a terrific read on a screen left and dumped sr. RB Kendall Johnson for a 6-yard loss. The punt was short and Washington was back in business again with a short field (46 yards). Wilmer caught a 23-yard, third-down pass from sr. QB Clinton "Juice" Granger to move the ball to the 19 and sr. E Andrew Goodman followed with a nifty TD catch. He made the snag between two defenders at the 5 and, as they crashed into each other, easily negotiated the rest of the distance. Only six minutes and 12 seconds had elapsed. Washington was lookin' good. Luckily for all involved, the game never turned into a laugher. Also, it was nice to see Bok's heart and soul, sr. RB Luke Lassiter, hustle and bustle his way to 163 yards on 25 carries and even get into the end zone in the fourth quarter. Even better, Washington still had some first-team defenders out there, so it wasn't as if the score was a freebie. Down by 13-0, Bok did have a respectable chance to slice the lead early in the second quarter. The Wildcats, thanks in part to a 22-yard run by Lassiter, advanced to achieve fourth-and-2 at the 15. On fourth down, Lassiter slipped as he took the handoff and a 2-yard loss resulted (with sr. LB Brett Sommerer making sure). No need for other play-by-play details, troops. Johnson finished with 97 yards on seven carries before suffering an Achilles injury early in the third quarter. Granger, who shows some hot-and-cold tendencies, was zeroed in today. He went 6-for-9 for 130 yards. Goodman, who never fails to do make at least one (two? three?) impressive plays, notched three catches for 122 yards. His last snag, a 48-yarder, came on a pass from backup QB Aaron Wilmer, Damien's brother. Granger burrowed for a pair of 1-yard scores and sr. RB Devon Wallace had one on an 11-yarder dash to the left corner. Duck handled defensive stats and we'll post some of that stuff late tonight or early tomorrow morning (along with some others tidbits). This is title No. 9 for coach Ron Cohen and he's now within one of ex-Frankford boss Al Angelo, who captured 10 in 21 seasons (1965-84, '87). Cohen owns his nine in 23 seasons. This will be the Pub's last full-scale title. Next year, with the Catholic League joining the PIAA as a full-fledged member, there will be City Title games in the various classifications and Pub finals in each one prior to those.

NOV. 16
CATHOLIC RED SEMIFINAL
SJ Prep 35, O’Hara 0
  Greg Castillo likes to think of himself as a d-back first, and that makes sense because that’s the position he’ll play in college. (D-I schools are after him.) His other position is wideout and it’s not as if he’s a liability. The 5-10, 170-pound senior now owns 16 catches for the season and EIGHT have gone for TDs. Plus, his yards-per-catch norm is 27.7! The three most recent  scores came last night in this one-sided contest at ch-ch-chilly Plymouth-Whitemarsh and doing the throwing was sr. QB Aaron Haas. Yes, he finally remembered him (smile). Haas and Castillo connected nine times in the first two games and No. 2 produced three TDs and 166 yards on only three catches. But in the next seven weeks, Greg somehow posted just one snag (for 23 yards). What’s with that? A few times in these many years, I’ve wondered about the relationships between QBs and receivers. Whether guys favor buddies and ignore others they don’t really care for. I’ve even heard muttering to that effect on sidelines. Nothing close to that was going on here. Haas and Castillo, the son of Eagles offensive line coach Juan Castillo, are good friends and even share a lunch table each day. Just chalk it up to a freak occurrence. Anyway, Castillo now owns a piece of the city’s postseason record for TD catches in a game and Haas does likewise for TD throws (four, his other one went to sr. WR Tim Edger). Greg’s scores came on a 7-yarder, a simple swing pass where he fought his way into the left corner; a 21-yarder, a looper toward the left where he made the catch at the 5, faked out a defender and stepped easily into the end zone; and a 57-yarder, a right-to-left slant where he made the catch at about the 30, again used a move to free himself and received an outstanding block at the 5 from fellow sr. WR Brett Tiagwad. Of that play, Castillo said with laugh, “I didn’t see it. I just heard it.” Those heroics came just 5 seconds before halftime and drove a stake, hard, through the Lions’ heart. The Hawks had expanded their lead to 21-0 with 2:05 left on Edger’s score (one play after sr. LB-DB Paul Fitzgerald executed a poke away/recovery against jr. QB Tom Savage) and now here they were, squeezing in one last score prior to intermission. What made things worse, O’Hara had just down its first hint of life. Passes of 30 and 29 yards to sr. WR Mark Wedderburn had moved the Lions to Prep’s 31. Four incompletions followed. On the last one, for a split second it appeared Savage was going to hit sr. Steve Werner for a healthy gain. (Forgot to mark down whether it would have been a score.) At the very last instant, sr. Jim McGoldrick arrived to knock the ball away. Big play! As the second half started, jr. DL Joe Ventresca immediately dropped Savage for an 11-yard loss and O’Hara endured a three-and-out. Prep drove 44 yards in nine plays and Haas scored the TD on a 9-yard bootleg to the right with 5:43 left in the third quarter. The offense featured subs from there. Haas finished 8-for-10 for 137 yards (and hit his last eight). Castillo’s five snags produced 110 yards. OK, quick: What name have you have not seen yet? Sr. RB Jamir Livingston. Though he didn’t get into the end zone, at least not officially, he was also outstanding. He produced 153 yards on 24 carries and zoomed for a 68-yard score on the second play of the second stanza. Holding was called 11 yards downfield, however. Edger hit all five of his PATs and put one of them, against a strong crosswind, OVER the fence. Phew! Defensively, Ventresca later had 1 ½ more sacks. The early defensive stalwart was sr. E Ryan McGinn, especially when he recorded a sack and TFL on back-to-back plays. O’Hara had to settle for 42 rushing yards while Savage passed 7-for-15 for 76. I spent the first half on O’Hara’s sideline, mostly with the legendary Big Willie Style McGonigle. Late in the half, we noted that Wedderburn (6-7, 240) was being covered by Pat Jordan. Though frisky and definitely competent, Jordan is only 5-10. Willie said, “How about a fade to Mark?” Bingo! That was the play that produced the 30-yard gain. In future years, maybe Willie will not only be the principal, but the head coach, too! Or at least the offensive coordinator (smile). Check this out: Prep is going to the final for the eighth straight year and almost always has frolicked in the semis. The average rounded-off score has been 38-7 and the last three semis have produced a total count of 124-9. The Red final (against the Roman-Judge winner) will be played Dec. 1. In between the Hawks will meet Malvern Thanksgiving morning at Villanova Stadium. Quite a demanding back end of the schedule. My apologies to O’Hara assistant Mike Gallagher, whom I called Dougherty in a story last week about Werner. His buddies were calling him “Coach Doc” all week and Mike mentioned to me before the game, “Know what’s funny? My mom’s maiden name was Dougherty.”

NOV. 9
NON-LEAGUE
Dobbins 37, Olney 7
   It’s not my habit to let a lot of time pass before doing a website report, but this weekend was very busy and a decision was made to focus on the meaningful games and save this for last. Hope you understand. It’s amazing how much better Dobbins has gotten since the early part of the season, and now I understand even more why Overbrook was able to give Washington a hard way to go in a semifinal played yesterday (I’m writing this Sunday night) since the ‘Brook-Dobbins quarterfinal was a one-point game. Teams can sometimes be lifeless for these late-season non-league affairs. I can’t picture a Lou Zambino-coached team ever being lifeless; his assistants, John Sullivan and Martin Baldwin, are also into it big-time. Nothing against the Mustangs’ regular QB, sr. Terez Sydnor (in street clothes), but it was fun to watch jr. Terrell “Mouse” Barringer direct the squad. I’ve gotten to know him a little through baseball and this was the kid who leaped completely over Fels’ catcher in a playoff game last spring. Here is that pic. Mouse is the excitable sort and it took him a while to settle in. Once he did, he put together a solid effort, passing 4-for-8 for 75 yards and a TD to jr. RB Ralston Thomas and posting 49 rushing yards on five carries. He even turned a keeper into a 13-yard, scoring mad dash to the right corner. Five backs notched from three to eight carries. Saturday ink went to sr. LB Chuck King, a true teeth-rattler. He made tackles on Olney’s first three plays and failed to do so on the fourth only because he was making sure no tackle would be necessary; he notched an interception. He was one of THREE  defenders in front of an Olney receiver and he outfought everyone for the ball. Here is that pic. King finished with 11 stops. He came close to a second pick and caused a fumble (recovery by jr. DT Darryl Clark). Olney had trouble doing much of anything on offense. Eight plays lost yardage and Clark was a factor on some of them. The only Trojan to experience some rushing success was a newcomer, Earl Spearman. He had a run for 25 yards, but had the misfortune of fumbling at the end of it. The strip was made by sr. DB Paul McPherson (also a pick) and sr. LB Chris Perkins recovered. Olney finally got on the scoreboard on a 1-yard run by sr. Eric Barrow. The play was fourth-and-goal and feisty sr. QB Mike Reyes had just suffered an injury. His replacement was jr. Terrell Smith and I wondered whether coach Hugh MacDonough would entrust him with a sneak. Barrow took a handoff and ran to left. He avoided being tackle for a 4-yard loss and somehow surged into the end zone. Jr. Ossie Emmanuel hit the PAT. There was a wild sequence as the fourth quarter began. When McPherson fumbled after making an interception, the intended receiver, jr. WR Stefon Broughton, picked up the ball and continued for 22 yards to the Dobbins 18. Reyes tossed a pitchout too high and sr. LB Tyrek Hagins recovered. Next, sr. RB Melvin Smith was guilty of a coughup (hit by jr. DL Emmanuel Stotts) and sr. DL Don Stevens recovered. On runs AND returns, Smith uncorked some tre-mennnnn-dous moves, stirring fans and teammates alike.

NOV. 8
NON-LEAGUE
Freire 34, King 13
  These slapped together non-league games, held after the playoff spots have been decided, can sometimes be dicey and uninspiring. I never mind them, actually, because it’s a good chance to see teams I’d been unable to catch beforehand and sprinkle some ink to guys who are definitely deserving. Today that was sr. QB-RB-KR-CB-FS Antoine “Blueberry” Singleton and, man, did he light it up. ‘Berry began at QB, but later spent lots of time at RB, his more natural position, after impressive soph RB Kirk Wright suffered an early injury. Nobody broke out a stopwatch, but Singleton is FAST. More than once he left defenders way behind while dashing to four TDs. He started with an 18-yard keeper that saw him impressively wiggle his way into the front right corner of the end zone. His next two, covering 37 and 33 yards, came on tosses to the right. The TE, jr. Isaac Yorro, edged out to become more of a slot, and helped him with downfield blocks. His last one was a 42-yard keeper on which jr. QB-RB-WR Donte Blow hustled downfield to make one last necessary block at about the 10. Singleton, who’s also a quality basketball player, finished with 12 carries for 162 yards, 101 passing yards on 5-for-9 and 66 more yards on three KO returns. Not a bad day, eh? 327 total yards. We can live with that (smile). Frosh Marcus Rothmiller, already a big/strong kid, added 61 yards on 17 rushes. The linemen were sr. C Masceo Johnson, frosh G Mark Brown, ?? G Chris Smith, sr. T Cassius Morris and jr. T Stephon Fulton. Johnson, an obvious team leader, got quite emotional afterward about the end of his high school career and was still crying even as the Dragons posed for a group photo. Freire’s other TD was cloaked in controversy. It came on a play that I’m 99 percent sure should have been a safety. Aamir McCleary dumped jr. Larry Adams toward the back of the end zone and the ball came loose. AFTER the tackle, it appeared. Maybe even LONG after the tackle. Rothmiller recovered and a TD was ruled. Head ref Ernie Gallagher went over to explain to King coach John Sheroda that the call had been made by head linesman Tommy McClain. Sheroda said later that was all he’d needed to hear. He and Tommy had a pretty significant blowup a couple of years ago. Sheroda, obviously, felt Tommy was stickin’ it to him. I’d like to think not. Whatever the reason, I did think the call was wrong. Oh, well . . . It was interesting to finally get a look at King soph RB Joe Montouth. He’s listed at 5-10, 170, but has decent strength and appears to be a shade bigger than that, actually. He was running pretty much at will early, and could have posted even more yardage with a shade better speed. Overall, he ran 23 times for 212 yards. Akeem Melvin (not listed on roster) posted one sack and two other TFLs for King, while Singleton absolutely BURST through the line to notch a 5-yard sack on the play immediately preceding the safety-turned-TD. By the way, as King’s offense came off the field after that play, one of the linemen muttered, “That’s a damn shame.” Singleton’s 37 and 33 yarders were separated only by 37 seconds. In between Jamal Davis recovered a badly spinning KO that wasn’t meant to be an onsides-er, but had the same effect. Sr. linemen Richard Dixon and Brandon Lee had some good moments for King on both sides of the ball. It was nice, as always, to see King AD Margie Stinson. She always has a handle on how things should be done and is an untiring advocate for all things Cougar.

NOV. 4
CATHOLIC BLUE
W. Catholic 21, Wood 12
  Perhaps the first five weeks of division play were TOO easy for the Burrs. But really, should a lesson not have been learned in last week’s game vs. Carroll, which required an overtime session before a 29-21 win could be claimed? Were the Burrs again big-headed going into this one, which produced a 6-0 deficit going into halftime? No excuse for that, if so. Anyway, the definitive answers about teams are never provided in late October and early November. They come in late November and early December, when the money games are played. Plus, doesn’t it make sense that West has come back to the pack mostly because it wasn’t THAT far in front in the first place, and because it appeared it WAS mostly because the bottom part of this division truly is light years behind the top? Well, the playoffs will tell all. As this one began, Wood’s intent was obvious. Coach Steve Devlin wanted to punch the Burrs in the gut again and again. Sr. RB Bob DeLucas was given the ball again and again on between-the-tackles carries and the Vikings went rumbling downfield toward what had the look of a certain six points. But on second-and-7 from the 6, sr. LBs Pre’Andre Watson and Marquese Sanders broke through to toss DeLucas for a 2-yard loss and after jr. DB Rob Holloman held DeLucas to 3 yards on third down, the Vikings had to settle for a 22-yard field goal by jr. James McFadden. Though I understood the attempt at making a statement, I felt Wood should have tried a pass or two on this drive. For variety, yes, but also to give those guys some good feelings for later, in case they’d be needed. The other score of the half came on the final play as McFadden hammered a 35-yarder. A 12-yard punt, just the Burrs’ sixth in division play, put Wood in business at the West 40 with 28.5 showing. Jr. QB Mike Cattolico passed incomplete to jr. WR Mike Maxwell. On a trick play, jr. Sean McCartney could not hit sr. WR Eric Loughnane. But on a slant, Cattolico found sr. WR Greg Colbridge for 22 yards and Cattolico, though the clock was racing toward 0:00, calmly organized the Vikings and executed a spike, thus giving McFadden a shot. West awakened in the third quarter. A 10-play, 70-yard drive, fueled almost exclusively by the running of Holloman and Raymond Maples, produced a 10-yard score for Maples. Now, the Burrs were getting bodies on defenders and creating a we’re-movin’-this-thing mindset. Wood responded to a respectable degree, but the drive lost its steam when Cattolico dropped the snap and had to flop on the ball for an 8-yard loss. West took over on its 8. The momentum intensified. Holloman for 15. Maples for 2. Jr. QB Curtis Drake to Watson for 18. Holloman for 9. Maples for 13. Drake to jr. WR Haleem “P-Nut” Hayward for 17. Holloman for 9, then 7. Chugga-chugga, chugga-chugga. The train was rollin’. First-and-goal at the 2. Maples scored from the 1 on second down, then Drake passed for two points to sr. WR Chris Palmer. Wood responded in fine fashion. Sr. Matt Rankin zipped 25 yards with the kickoff, getting the ball out to the 45. On the seventh play, DeLucas posted a 21-yard score, and even showed some fancy footwork at the 5 and when he unfurled a pick-up-your-jock move on a stunned West defender. The Vikings, of course, had to go for two. Cattolico threw a fade to the right corner. The ball was thrown to Sr. TE Anthony Narisi’s outside shoulder. He appeared to try to guide the ball to himself. It was a noble attempt, but didn’t quite work. The time left was 3:50. Wood opted for an onsides kick. McFadden sent it to the left. The ball took a high bounce and West jr. Devir Moody made a leaping snag. On second-and-5, West sent Watson from TE to WR and called for a toss to Holloman. Rob ran, Pre’Andre punished and a 42-yard score resulted. Down by 21-12, Wood did a decent job in a hurry-up offense until advancing the ball to West’s 24. Four straight incompletions followed. West wound up generating 257 yards as Holloman (15-136) was the unquestioned main man. DeLucas (23-143) was also stellar. West’s line deserves some props especially since it had to be reconfigured in the absence of sr. C Aaron Maggio (ejected from Carroll game; automatic one-game sitdown). The crew: soph C Jake Zuzek, jr. G Paul Murtagh, sr. G Brandon Terrence, sr. T Earl Griffiths and jr. T Victor McNair. Huck said he sent some defensive tidbits, but my work email is unavailable for the moment. Please check back later.

NOV. 3
CATHOLIC RED
SJ Prep 36, Roman 7
  Should we be surprised? Probably not. It's not as if SJ Prep is unaccustomed to dominance. OK, so as many WELL know, the Hawks have experienced occasional difficulty in championship games. But during the regular season? Forget it! This was win No. 55 in a row and concluded an eighth year of perfection (plus one game to end '99). Amazing. Conventional wisdom said Roman would at least give Prep a game and perhaps make things QUITE interesting. Not at all. Not even close. Some folks were probably switching to other channels by halftime (this was carried on CN8) and the in-person crowd was quite thinned out by game's end. Anyway, the attendance was highly disappointing. I expected something approaching a throng. Didn't happen. Wonder what THAT was about? Throughout the game the Hawks made big play after big play and many were simple in nature. Sr. WR-K-P Tim Edger kept sending his kickoffs either into the end zone or onto its doorstep. He also punted well and got big-time help on the first play of the second quarter, when sr. DB Pat Jordan hustled downfield and made a leaping save to keep the ball on the field of the play. It was downed on the 1. Sr. WR-DB-Ret. Jim McGoldrick contributed a 35-yard catch on the game’s first drive, capped by sr. QB Aaron Haas on a 3-yard rollout keeper; Jordan maintained his concentration and caught a tipped ball for an interception; soph Garrett Compton made a spectacularly crushing block on a punt return by McGoldrick . . . Roman, meanwhile, did very little on offense. The Cahillites had just three first downs in the first half and only one play gained as many as 10 yards. The miseries continued in the third quarter as no first downs were achieved. Jr. LB Mike Pereira and sr. DE Ryan McGinn were early forces. Major deflation for Roman’s players and fans occurred right before halftime. With the score at 10-0, McGoldrick returned a punt 10 yards to Prep’s 46. Sr. RB Jamir Livingston ran for 24 yards. Haas hit Edger for 26 yards. Livingston went 4 yards up the middle. Man, just like that. Three plays, 54 yards, 43 seconds. Roman got the second half kickoff, then suffered three-and-outs on its first two possessions. The Prep scored twice on a 10-yard run by sr. FB Mike McCarthy (he’ll get Monday’s ink) and a 25-yard pass to sr. WR Brett Tiagwad (perfect delivery by Haas to the right corner). McCarthy added a 10-yard scoring run on the first play of the fourth quarter, then Roman finally saved some face with an 84-yard, 14-play drive that was capped by sr. RB Balial Lewis Sloan-El from the 1. The clock was running throughout due to the mercy rule, so that score came with 4:10 showing. Prep backup QB Mark Giubilato, a jr., provided late joy with a 14-yard keeper. Prep’s grunts were sr. C Marty O’Shaughnessy, jr. Gs Shawn Davis (nephew of Bartram coach Damond “Smash” Warren) and Mike Pinciotti, soph T Seth Betancourt and jr. T Mark Arcidiacono. Take note: four of those guys are underclassmen. I had to make a quick call on the cell phone during the part of the post-game gathering when coach Gil Brooks handed out game balls, but here’s hoping one went to Greg Latran, who’s listed on the roster as the special teams coordinator. Those assorted people were outstanding in every phase all night. Roman’s best defender, especially early, was sr. LB Marty Bernard. His tackling was sure and definitely necessary because most of his stops were solos. The Hawks will have a week off and then a semifinal against an opponent, of course, to be determined. Oh, in addition to 55 consecutive regular season wins, they have advanced to the final in every season since 2000. So that means seven consecutive wins in semifinals. Finals? That’s another matter. And it does give Judge, Roman, O’Hara, La Salle and North some semblance of hope that there’s no reason to award the plaque just yet.

NOV. 3
INTER-AC LEAGUE
Malvern 43, Penn Charter 21
   Who invented fumbles, anyway? They can certainly wreck a good game (smile). Visiting PC and Malvern eased into halftime tied at 14-14 and enjoyment was being experienced by all. OK, Malvern then took the kickoff and drove for a score, on a 19-yard counter by blossoming-by-the-moment jr. RB Neil Willis, and just as most folks were thinking, "The way this game is going, PC will probably slap together a nice response," disaster struck. A handoff went awry and jr. DE Charles "CJ" Mooney recovered at PC's 26 and, whoa, the Friars were right back in business. With a short field, no less. Jr. FB James "My Hair's So Red It's Orange" Connelly went for 3 yards. Willis added 5. Connelly then went right up the middle and came within inches of scoring. What happened? Well, he fumbled also and the ball trickled across the goal line. Jr. WR Joe Price was there to pounce and pick up six easy points on the Malvern TEAM PAGE (smile). In less than 2 minutes, 14-14 had become 27-14 and major wind was taken out of this game's sails. The Friars' next drive covered 54 yards in seven plays, four of which produced 12 yards or more. On one of them, sr. QB Ryan Nassib showed one of the reasons he has earned a scholarship to Syracuse. After dropping a snap, he recovered, maintained his poise, rolled right and found Price for 17 yards. Willis turned the next play, a counter, into a 12-yard score. Do we need to go into further play by play? (Especially on a busy night? Thanks for your understanding.) Malvernr rolled to 383 yards of total offense. Connelly rushed 21 times for 142. Willis managed 14-85 production while adding three catches for 73. His 32-yard TD snag was one of the best plays of the season. He made a leaping catch of a sideline-left pass from Nassib at a shade outside the 10. He then used a move to evade two nearby guys, uncorked another a few more yards downfield to slip another guy's attempt at a tackle and breezed from there into the end zone. Willis, also a standout wrestler, had just five catches total through Malvern's first six games. He boasts three apiece in the last two, though, and his dual-threat presence next week could be very important against CHA in the showdown for the title. I'm not around any team on an every week basis, but I'd have to guess PC jr. QB John Ryan slapped together his best half of the season. Aside from passing 6-for-9 for 81 yards and one score apiece to srs. Blaise Fullen and Colin Still, he added 50 yards on nine rushes and just once was dropped for a loss (1 yard). His second half performance was spotty and he finished with 175 total yards. Malvern exerted much more pressure after halftime (I can only imaaaaaagine what was said in the locker room). Sr. DE Mike McKee had two TFLs and a sack for the game. The game began with an interesting sequence. Sr. Eddie Bambino fumbled the kickoff (recovery to jr. Billy Conners), but immediately gathered in a tipped ball for an interception. PC used an interesting ploy that momentarily baffled good-guy umpire Dan Hoban. As the O-linemen came up to the line of scrimmage, they would bend over but not allow a hand to touch the ground. Depending on the play call, they would shimmy closer together and then put hands down, or just stay in their original spot and touch the ground. When Hoban saw that moved the first time, he threw a flag. As he acknowledged later, he feared he'd made a wrong assumption about the strategy's legality. He had. The penalty was waved off by the head ref. But at least it came before the snap. No harm. In the second half, a PC parent yelled something quite loud about the officiating. A Malvern player standing nearby me muttered, "PC's a bunch of idiots. Every person that comes out of that school." Hey, yours truly came out of PC!! Since I can be an idiot, early and often, you might have to do research on others to see if your theory holds water (smile). It was again nice to see injured Malvern sr. RB Chris Layne. He said he'll have to wait roughly a month before beginning light activity and three before he can engage in any kind of contact (in preparation for lacrosse, his primary sport). He suffered serious injury to his spleen in a recent car accident that also produced fatal injuries to a friend. A third youth in the car remains hospitalized and his mom, a single parent, is currently out of work. Malvern's players (per-point donations in this game) and general community were raising funds for her today. Wonderful gesture, especially since the other youth is not even a Malvern student.

NOV. 2
PUBLIC LEAGUE QUARTERFINAL
Bok 14, Central 6
  After watching a particularly sloppy Pub game earlier this season, I remember joking that league officials soon might have to put in this off-the-wall rule: every team except Central must snap the ball on the first count. After all, these are the smart guys, right? The disciplined guys, right? Not in this one. Somehow, the Lancers NINE times were guilty of procedure, motion or delay, including three plays in a row, and those lapses certainly did not help. Even though Bok is a AAA squad, it’s hard to imagine Central entered this one overconfident, especially since it had to travel to Southwest Philly and play the game on Bartram’s field. There were other mess-ups, too, and an early one helped Bok jump on top, 8-0. Central’s first series stalled at its 40 and jr. Barron Johnston went back to punt. The snap was off-kilter (some seemed to think there was supposed to be a trick play) and came skidding back to Johnston. He was smothered by jr. DE Khaleem Williams and Bok gained possession at the 30. Zip! Sr. RB Luke Lassiter uncorked a 19-yard burst. He then ran 4 yards for a TD on the third play thereafter, and added the conversion run, and you could just sense along Bok’s sideline that the Wildcats, if not fully OK, were at least going to make this one very interesting. Central’s next series started at the 25. The Lancers had the ball for 18 plays. But after sr. RB Ray Harris ran 5 yards to the Bok 35, flags for motion, procedure and delay – quite the disheartening trifecta – pushed the rock back to the 50. Sr. QB Kyle Yeiter, a solid horse of a kid who earned great respect from Bok’s defenders, completed passes of 15 yards to jr. WR Tony Rosa and 9 to Harris and the Lancers were regrouping. But with the ball on the 11, Yeiter slipped while retreating (pressure by jr. Jasaan Thomas) and the loss went for four yards. Then? Ugh. Procedure again. Brutal. Harris picked up five yards and that brought up fourth down. A pass was dropped, but the toss was a shade low and first-down yardage would not have been achieved anyway. Bok also scored on its first possession of the second half. Lassiter again was the catalyst. Not only did he return the kickoff 26 yards to the Bok 33. On the fourth play, he raced for 43 yards to the Central 13 (Harris finally ran him down) and sr. QB Darnell Goddard burrowed in from the 1 shortly thereafter. The score immediately followed his only completion in three attempts, an 11-yard flip to jr. Brahkim Poole. Lassiter had a wonderful afternoon. What a gritty kid! He turned 23 carries into 186 yards and wondered aloud shortly after game’s end, “Did I get it?” As in 1,000 for the season. EEEEEasily. His total is now 1,092. As always, he experienced much of his success behind sr. LT Ryan Murray, who’s bound for Temple. With 1:15 left in the third quarter, Central embarked on another long drive. But right at the start and then again two plays later, the Lancers were guilty of procedure. Phew! Bok helped out shortly thereafter with 15-yarders for interference and facemasking (phew again!) and Central had 30 free yards. This drive lasted 17 plays. The score came on a 2-yard QB delay by Yeiter. There was a problem, though. Kyle came up gimpy afterward. Not because his leg was hurt. Because he’d taken a helmet to the lower back and that made it difficult to even stand. Though Central did recover the onsides kick, a whistle had already blown on Bok’s sideline to stop the play because of – you got it – procedure. The next attempt by sr. Carl King was recovered by Jamar Chase. Bok had a chance to run out the clock. But, no! Lassiter had his only down moment of the day, losing a fumble to Harris. Yeiter passed incomplete. On the next play, after executing a fake (not sure what the rest of the play would have brought), he was plowed into by Thomas and suffered a 5-yard loss. Not only that, the back problem would not allow him to continue. Two plays after that, while backing up under severe pressure, replacement Devonne Boler, a soph, floated a ball that was picked off by sr. LB Daquon Johnson. This time, with Lassiter and Goddard taking turns, the Wildcats did ice the win. The ink went to sr. CB Kyle Williams, who was in on nine stops. This kid is always aggressive and brassy and exactly the kind of player who thrives in the system masterminded by defensive coordinator Vince Trombetta. In the semis, Bok will meet Northeast while Washington faces Overbrook. Can the Wildcats beat another squad from the league’s glamour division, Red? We’ll have our answer early next Saturday afternoon (since the game starts at 10:30 a.m.)

NOV. 1
NON-LEAGUE
Bartram 8, Edison 0
   If they gave out an Oscar for best first carry of this game, Bartram’s No. 25 would have gotten it. He had to wait a while, too. Through the first quarter, Bartram sr. FB Oscar Lawrence had no chances to run. But as the second quarter began, he was given the rock on a carry straight up the middle (do FBs ever get anything else? – smile) and he responded with a 40-yard TD. Sr. RB Dominique King followed with a conversion run and those two end-zone visits would take care of all the scoring. Hey, what’s going on here? I’ve seen only 38 total points in my last three games. It’s almost like I’m watching soccer. Ha, ha. Bartram did score – well, momentarily – six more points as sr. RB Michael Alexander scooted 78 yards with the second half kickoff. But a hold was called and the heroics were nullified. Edison’s best shot came just before halftime after sr. DL Nelson Pagan recovered a botched handoff on a reverse at the Bartram 35. Sr. RB Isaac "Feisty" Folly (21-116; pleasure to watch you, little guy!!) used five straight carries to advance the ball to the 10. On second-and-7, Folly was thrown for a 5-yard loss by sr. DE Nakeem Smith. A pass by sr. Kendell Thomas was lofted toward the right corner. One problem. It did not go far enough and sr. DB Siddeeq Shabazz made a leaping interception 1 yard deep in the end zone. Neither team threatened hard in the second half. On its final possession, Edison did get rolling to some degree and moved from its 19 to the Bartram. Disaster then struck in the form of 9-yard sack against jr. QB Jessley Vargas (Smith again did the honors) and the drive fizzled. Lawrence (6-61) picked up 6 yards on third-and-4 to clinch the win. Sr. DL Troy Griffiths had a pair of TFLs for Bartram. Edison’s best defensive play was a sniff-out of a screen by jr. Bryant Keals; he dropped Alexander for a 5-yard loss. Also, jr. E Larry Trippett and jr. LB Daniel Soto combined for a sack. Edison sr. linelady Christiana Morales was sidelined with an injury. She went across the way to the top of the stands to tape the proceedings. Bartram’s field was pretty darn barren in the middle. The recent rains kept the dust to a minimum. My lungs were appreciative.