DEC. 19
CLASS AAAA FINAL
La Salle 24, State College 7
 About time the Catholic League won a state football title, right!? (smile) In just its second year, the CL has broken through and La Salle did the honors in relatively easy fashion. The score was 24-0 when SC finally broke through and the Explorers' defense wasn't the victimized unit because that score came on a 96-yard kickoff return. Sr. K-P Mike Bennett opened the scoring by hitting a 37-yard field goal with 6:23 left in the first quarter. If the distance had been 37 yards and, oh, 3 inches, the kick would not have succeeded as the ball thumped against the crossbar, toward the left side, as it passed through. That was the lefty's 26th career field goal and left him tied with '03 SJ Prep grad Pat Kaiser for the city record. Congrats! The other scores, in order, were runs of 22 yards by jr. TB Jamal Abdur-Rahman, 8 by soph FB Tim Wade and 55 by sr. TB Sam Feleccia. Huh? Since when is Feleccia a tailback? Well, while blocking for Wade on his TD, Abdur-Rahman, lined up at slotback on this play, got dinged on his knee and suffered a partially torn MCL. That came 1:10 before halftime and Jamal spent the second half on the sideline, properly bundled up. Feleccia, a star wideout who had enjoyed some good moments recently out of a Wildexplorer formation, moved to the TB spot and finished with 21 carries for 160 yards. Thirteen of those totes, for 114 yards, came in the second half. The 55-yarder was a lead draw and was the first time Sam ran the ball on a handoff from sr. QB Drew Loughery (general shot). La Salle was going toward the scoreboard and he rolled down the left sideline (State College's). Abdur-Rahman's run was also cool. It was one of the few times all game when a play gave the appearance it was taking place on a bright, sunny, warm day . . . rather than in a legendary snowstorm. He burst through the line straight ahead and then continued to the end zone, dragging a late defender for good measure. Wade, so dedicated all season to blocking, and successful earlier this season when Abdur-Rahman had to miss some time with an injury, got his TD on an audible. Because the TDs were scored on runs, don't think that Loughery was a non-factor. He passed just 11 times, but the five completions went for 109 yards and four came in scoring drives. On the FG drive, Loughery hit Feleccia for 17 yards on third-and-19 and then ran for five on fourth down. Clutch! He connected with Feleccia for 26 and with sr. WR Connor Hoffman for 22 on the A-R drive. Wade scored after A-R's 54-yard TD dash was negated by penalty. The big play was a 40-yard hookup with Hoffman. The last score capped just a two-play "drive." La Salle finished with 361 yards total offense while SC settled for 123. That, of course, is pretty much a 3-to-1 advantage. The linemen were the usual guys and they're listed below with all starters. Right about now, let me tell you how this day unfolded from the coverage standpoint. I was determined to be on the field so I could see/hear things that could help with the DN story and, of course, take pics for the website. I was still mad at myself for missing out on the onfield fun two weeks ago in Bethlehem, when the Explorers beat Easton, 17-14. So, how did we pull this off? Technology and teamwork! If the weather had been normal, Huck and Puck would have been involved with basketball games. But with nowhere to go, they both agreed to watch PCN's telecast and keep stats. There was a trial run first as Puck watched the 10 a.m. AA final -- this one didn't start until 2:30 -- and reported back on my cell phone that the camera work was good and all yard lines could be determined. On the field during the game, I didn't bother writing stuff down. Instead, I babbled details about the key moments into my tape recorder. La Salle's defense notched two turnovers. Sr. DE Steve Sinnott recovered a fumble -- Huck told me he also caused it in impressive fashion (it happened in traffic on the other side of the field) -- and sr. DB Vinny Migliarese intercepted a late pass. When it comes to recording tackles, it's almost impossible for two people to come up with the same numbers. After digesting the contributions from both guys, we'll go with these totals: Sinnott had seven stops, with six as solos or first hits; jr. DB Kevin Forster (two for losses) and sr. LBs Shane Brady and Anthony Cognetti had six apiece; Migliarese and Feleccia had four and three stops, respectively. It was so much fun covering this squad all season. Though every team deserves the championships it wins, these guys REALLY do. From coaches to players to support personnel, they didn't give off one negative vibe in my time around them. And from the emails I received from players/coaches attached to other CL schools, who said they were rooting for them and wanted to see them go all the way, the La Salle folks definitely impressed others as well. Very nice. This day was an all-time memory-maker. After giving slight thought to driving up to Hershey Friday night after the Imhotep-Frankford basketball game and trying to find a hotel room, I left South Jersey at about 8:30 in the morning after making sure, as best as possible, with La Salle coach Drew Gordon and Robert Coleman, the D-12 chairman, that the game would be played. Arrival time: 12:27. Yup, just under four hours! I took my time to some degree and HAD to take it, to another degree, because of the weather conditions. Though snow plows are very helpful, of course, you can't drive too quickly behind them. On Route 322, heading into Hershey, three-four guys zipped past on snowmobiles heading in the opposite direction. Nah, not on the road. On farmland. Since no one was behind me, I took pics. After the game, I stopped at a Wendy's near Hersheypark Stadium to break out the laptop and update the website with the news of La Salle's success. The workers were evil-eyeing me until I assured them I'd be wolfing down a meal momentarily. The double cheeseburger was nice and well done. French fries? Not so much. Grrrrrrrrr. The roads were pretty clear heading home. Well, at least not slippery. Well, at least not much. Late in the turnpike portion of the journey, there was a small hint of a spinout. VERY small. The car went maybe two-three feet off course and then righted itself. Phew. It was SO strange to not see cars ahead or behind for lengthy times and traffic was sparse even on the expressway, and then into SJ. The snow was MUCH deeper over here. My wife's car was dang near buried. Our street was plowed and all I could do was plunge into the snowbank at the end of the driveway and hope to get in at least a little bit. As I finish this report at 9:15 Sunday morning, the car is half in the driveway and half covering the sidewalk. Still lots of work to do. I'll get to it later. Meanwhile, the last pic in the set was taken by The Wife as I trudged up the front steps. I'd taken a pic OF those steps just a moment earlier. They were hardly visible! Well, that's it for football season. Thanks to all who helped, and to those who paid attention. (At some point we'll set up a Tribute Page for La Salle.)

DEC. 12
CLASS AAAA STATE SEMIFINAL
La Salle 35, Ridley 7
  Who would have thought, eh? The hope of Catholic League loyalists seemed to be that La Salle would hang with Ridley, a long-time suburban toughie, and have a chance to win at/near the end. But with an overflow crowd at Northeast as witnesses, the Explorers pretty much had their way, especially in a 28-0 second half. A bit of truth-telling first: The score is SLIGHTLY misleading because Ridley, down by two touchdowns, opted to attempt a fourth-and-two play from its own 13 with 7:07 remaining. When it failed, La Salle of course needed to cover only an extra short distance to expand the lead to approaching-blowout proportions. The Explorers added another score shortly thereafter and, lo and behold, we did have a blowout. Can't wait to see how much Catholic-schools-have-an-unfair-advantage banter will take place on the papreps and pennlive message boards. Here's hoping everyone keeps it light and friendly. (And here's knowing that won't happen -- smile.) So, how'd this monumental result occur? Deeee-fense. Deeee-fense. Coordinator John Steinmetz' crew forced one, two, three, four, FIVE turnovers and, oddly, each one was a fumble. That's semi-surprising because Ridley has long been a passing program and you'd figure one or two of the coughups would have been airway oriented, right? Here's the breakdown: force by sr. LB Shane "Pain" Brady and jr. DE Cameron Cappo, recovery by sr. DT Steve Szostak . . . force by jr. Mark DiFrangia (on a punt return; No. 43), recovery by sr. DB Pat Resch . . . force by jr. DB Kevin Forster, recovery by sr. DB Vinny Migliarese . . . force by jr. DE Joseph Naji, recovery by sr. LB Anthony Cognetti . . . force by sr. DB Ryan Saraceni, recovery again by Cognetti. Incredibly, only one of those turnovers led to a score and that was the fifth. They certainly helped with tide-changing, though, and no doubt had the Raiders second guessing their chances. Cappo helped to set an early tone with a TFL and a half-sack, and his forced fumble occurred late in the first quarter. As the game proceeded, there was a TFL for Brady, a sack for Szostak, a TFL for Brady and soph DB Ryan Otis, a sack for sr. DE Steve Sinnott and a TFL for Naji. Notice anything? Yup, tremendous balance. In all of those scenarios, we mentioned 12 guys! Ridley slapped together just one truly impressive drive all game and that was right before the half. After Alex Nicolino picked off a pass by sr. QB Drew Loughery (general shot here), the visitors drove 73 yards in nine plays to post a TD, making it 7-7, with just 8.1 seconds remaining. They managed just four first downs thereafter. Here's another oddity: all five of La Salle's TDs were scored in rushes. Loughery and jr. RB Jamal Abdur-Rahman (21-118; general shot here) had two apiece while soph FB Tim Wade was rewarded for his blocking passion with a chance to get the last one. He did, on a 9-yard run. That was posted with 2:05 left and a Ridley guy was called for a dead-ball personal foul when he made a foolish move and went after Loughery. The guy was also ejected. In case further nitwitism was forthcoming, the Explorers did not keep Loughery on the field to hold for sr. Mike Bennett's kick. That duty went to soph QB Matt Magarity, who's in line to become next year's starter. After hitting the PAT, Bennett blasted a 55-yard field goal! Well, not really, but his kickoff from the Ridley 45 did split the uprights! Niiiiiice! (And he boomed three other kickoffs into the end zone for touchbacks.) Yardage-wise, this was not one of Loughery's vintage performances. But when a guy goes 10-for-13 (104 yards), how can anyone possibly complain? The linemen -- sr. C Ryan Geiger, sr. G Matt DiGiacomo, Szostak at the other G, sr. T Dylan Gavin, Cappo at the other T, sr. TE Steve Jones -- are to be commended as well. They did allow Loughery to suffer a regular sack (for eight yards) and a really bad one (for 26 yards, plus a lost fumble), but those hiccups occurred in the first half and the guys, especially with the whole starting unit still out there, were pretty much perfect thereafter. Abdur-Rahman showed great heart on some of his late runs. We're talking third/fourth effort, let alone second. Overall, I guess this was a semi-disappointing weekend for CL fans due to the losses that were suffered by Wood and West Catholic. Right or wrong, the largest enrollment group is what people point to the most and La Salle now has a chance to win a state title. Also, in just two seasons, one team apiece in all three groups (the CL has no Class A programs) has earned finals berths; Wood and West did so last year. I can't believe how many people turned out for this one. The stands on both sides were pretty much completely filled and people were standing three-four deep behind the fence at the top of La Salle's stands. Also, Ridley's extras stood behind the fence that rings the far end of the stadium. As things wound down, I found myself wishing the game had been more competitive because it would have been cool to hear so many people roaring back and forth in ultra-tense moments. But I doubt many (any?) La Salle folks minded the domination.

DEC. 11
CLASS AAA SEMIFINAL
Selinsgrove 28, Wood 0
  You’ve heard it a million times: Football games are won or lost at the line of scrimmage. At contests where you see backs and ends frolicking upfield and downfield, that statement is hard to believe. You probably think, “These guys don’t need blocking. They could do this on their own.” Not exactly. The grunts are ever-needed and should always be appreciated. And when one squad’s group overmatches another’s, you get this kind of result. As Wood bested Pottsgrove, 30-28, a week ago, sr. QB Jerry Rahill slapped together an outstanding performance. He ran or threw the ball on 36 of 42 plays and generated 339 yards (9.4 average). Tonight, he got the combined call 44 times and the yield was 175 (4.0; 65 of those yards came on big plays well after the issue was decided). Also, he tossed four interceptions and lost a fumble and the main reason was, he barely had time to breathe. I’d be interested in finding out how many times he was hit, especially as he was passing or immediately thereafter. Selinsgrove jammed the line of scrimmage and brought it again and again. Plus, the Seals’ linemen were well taught: They surged forward with their hands up and got pieces of a number of passes. Once, on a left-side flip, sr. DL Jon Trego used his mitts to surround the ball and he rumbled 18 yards with an interception TD. Wood had no serious drives until the score was already 28-0. They came in the fourth quarter and the last one, frustratingly, was halted at the 1 as time expired. Early in the fourth quarter, a 35-yard pass from Rahill to jr. WR Sam McCain (7-97, also a pick) placed the ball at the 5. But Rahill was hammered to the turf after throwing, resulting in a penalty, and he had to leave the field with what he said later was a hint of dizziness. Backup Joey Monaghan came out, but his “play” resulted in a procedure flag and Rahill returned. Sr. RB Scott Adkins, who had a rough night trying to cover star WR Ryan Keiser (he made some great catches; and Scott even deflected the ball on one of his two TDs), lost a yard on a pitch to the right. Rahill gained five, again to the right. Rahill lofted a left-side fade to Adkins and . . . touchdown! Not. Scott did make the catch, but he was beyond the end line. A defensive penalty was detected, so at least the ball moved forward to the 3. Adkins had to settle for 1 yard on two rushes, then Rahill tried an over-the-middle pass that was batted at the line of scrimmage and caught by a Selinsgrove lineman. Five plays later, Adkins managed a pick on a tipped ball (13th of career) and Wood took over at the 32. An immediate 14-yard pass showed good promise for this possession. Only one of the next four plays, all passes, worked out and the drive fizzled at the 14 with 2:06 left. Next came some controversy. Selinsgrove began taking knees, hoping no doubt that Wood would appreciate the gesture and not call timeouts. That worked for one down. After second and third, at 1:23 and 1:18, the Vikings did ask for stoppages and, yes, that meant they’d get another chance to end the season on a positive note. (Much later in the press box, reporters covering Selinsgrove said the coaches indeed were hissed, but did not go on the record.) That possession began 45 yards away from the end zone with 1:09 showing. Again there was first-play brightness – a 16-yard pass to soph Kyle Adkins, Scott’s brother. Yet another pass was batted down at the line, Rahill then was dropped for a 2-yard sack. A 30-yard, down-the-middle connection to jr. Michael Downs followed at 0:12, and that placed the ball at the 1. The Vikings scrambled into alignment and Rahill tried to surge into the end zone. Didn’t work. He was actually dropped slightly behind the line. The Vikes got a timeout at 0:01! The last play was a pass in the general direction of Adkins and/or Downs. It zipped through the end zone not really near either one and Wood's first zero since the first game of '05 was assured. Despite the overwhelming frustration, even agony, here’s hoping ALL Vikings think long-range about nothing but how wildly successful a season they enjoyed. This kind of record would be impossible to confirm, but I’m suspecting Wood holds it, or maybe shares it: Only team to reach a state semifinal after returning just three starters. And a year ago, those three – Rahill, Adkins and C Dan Grimes – were only one-way performers. Coach Steve Devlin reminded his players of all the positives in the post-game gather-'round. Eight-nine starters will be back, as will frosh kicker Nick Visco. Though the road just in the CL will be rougher, as O'Hara drops down to AAA, I guess we’ll be seeing another semifinal appearance in 2010 (smile).

DEC. 5
CLASS AAAA QUARTERFINAL
La Salle 17, Easton 14
  Memories to last a lifetime . . . No other way to paint this picture, folks. Ten, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70 years from now, people involved in this game, either as a participant or spectator, will be recounting the circumstances. It wasn't that the game itself was sensational. The big deal was the weather. If I heard this phrase once, I heard it, oh, seven times out of the mouths of La Salle's players deep in the bowels of Bethlehem's Banko Field (a very old but appealing facility behind Liberty High). "This was the first snow game of my life!" All of a sudden, PA was Green Bay. There was a hint of moisture maybe 35 minutes before the start of the game. Then, as predicted, the white stuff began falling pretty much at kickoff. In short order the wet flakes became mostly gigantic, and the stuff started sticking late in the first quarter. By just before halftime, the artificial surface was covered and the yard lines were getting tough to decipher. A mini-tractor came out during intermission and went back and forth across the field, making the 10, 20, 30, 40, etc. visible again all the way from one end zone to the other. Workers wielding push brooms cleared snow away from some of the major yard lines in the second half. Keep this is mind, though: Just because a place turns into a winter wonderland, that doesn't guarantee happiness. The Easton folks left with heavy hearts and they EASILY could have switched places with La Salle's. Why do we say that? Well, the Explorers fell into a 14-0 hole -- with most of the team's top players making a slew of mistakes (dropped passes, missed tackles, etc.) in the first 6 minutes, 40 seconds -- and the Red Rovers needed just TWO plays to score those two TDs. A 21-yard fade pattern score immediately followed an interception while the second score was an 85-yard dash off a double reverse! OK, let's take stock here. La Salle is losing, 14-0, and the weather is not exactly favorable for a team with such a reliance on the pass. How could the Explorers possibly have hope? Well, for one thing, time was on their side. For another, you knew there would be turnovers and they had to hope they'd cause them rather than be guilty of them. Just 4:50 into the second quarter, the score was tied! How? Here we go . . . On the last play of the first quarter, jr. DE Cameron Cappo registered an 11-yard sack to assure that La Salle would get the ball. The series started on the 39 and just five plays were necessary. Sr. QB Drew Loughery hit sr. WR Sam Feleccia for 11 yards and sr. WR Connor Hoffman for 33 to get things started. Three plays later, Loughery turned a QB draw into a 17-yard score. Easton's next scrimmage play became a disaster as a running back dropped the ball. Sr. DT Steve Szostak recovered on the 21. Soph FB Tim Wade answered three consecutive calls in fine fashion, posting gains of 9, 5 and 3 yards. Loughery lost a yard, then found sr. TE Steve Jones for a TD on a right-to-left throwback. Just that quickly, the Explorers had turned a likely disastrous afternoon into one with much promise. Coach Drew Gordon said afterward, "Fourteen-nothing, that's your worst nightmare. From what I was hearing, the people up here didn't expect us to be much competition; I don't know why. Maybe that (quick 14-0 deficit) helped us a little bit (from the overconfidence standpoint)." Could very well have been the case. As detailed earlier, Easton's scores covered 106 yards in half a quarter. Thereafter, the RR's totaled just 111 in 3 1/2 quarters and 64 of those came on one play. Way up high in the press box, my partner in stat-keeping crime was the fabulous Nutman/Hockey Puck/Head Fakes. He concentrated on the defensive numbers and they showed great balance. Though sr. DE Steve Sinnott logged eight tackles, five other guys totaled five or four. Five apiece went to sr. LB Shane "Pain" Brady and sr. CB Vinny Migliarese. Szostak, fellow sr. lineman Ryan Geiger and sr. LB Anthony Cognetti thirded 12 stops. The 64-yard pickup, on a shovel pass, placed the ball at La Salle's 12 late in the first half. Uh, oh. Sinnott gave his teammates an immediate lift with a 10-yard sack and, two plays later, Geiger dropped the QB for a 1-yard loss. Someone partially deflected a fourth down pass. Bullet dodged. The third began with three consecutive three-and-outs: Easton, La Salle, Easton. But a 38-yard punt by sr. Mike Bennett had helped to gently swing the field position battle La Salle's way. When the Explorers got the ball for their second, post-intermission possession, they needed to cover "just" 44 yards. A new approach helped immensely: Feleccia lined up as a wildcat snap-taker and ripped off gains of 10 and nine yards. Though the drive ultimately stalled, Bennett was perfect with a 35-yard field goal. Easton had two more chances. Szostak's big third-down tackle thwarted the first. The second should have ended after Cappo and Sinnott hustled for a 5-yard sack on third down. And things looked even better for La Salle when the snap sailed high over the punter's head. A VERY questionable roughing penalty followed because it certainly appeared that the punter took a few steps forward before deciding to punt; that would have made him fair game. Easton got as far as La Salle's 19. Geiger stormed in and came close to sacking the QB; he ducked just enough to remain on his feet. Sinnott finished him off for a 12-yard loss. Sinnott then batted a pass, jr. CB Jamal Abdur-Rahman broke up the next and then A-R made a fourth down interception right on the goal line. Feleccia's 6-yard wildcat gain ended the suspense . . . There were two priceless Puck moments on our drive to the stadium. On Route 309, around Quakertown, I mentioned to him, "I've been looking to see if I can spot any La Salle people on the way up here." His response: "What, walkin'?" Later, as we arrived in Bethlehem, just KNOWING I was setting the proper trap (ha ha), I said to him, "Puck, you do realize that the most famous person in world history was born right here in Bethlehem, right?" Silence. "Who?" he finally said. I piped up, "Jesus. You did know that, right?" Pause. "Yeah, I knew that." Snow from the sky. Legendary comments out of Puck's mouth. How could I EVER forget today? (smile)
  Footnote: When asked whether he'd ever been involved in a snow game, Drew Gordon spoke up immediately. The McDevitt product ('68 grad) played QB at Villanova -- as did his son, Brett, the offensive coordinator and a La Salle all-timer -- and he remembered a '69 game against William & Mary that was played in wicked wind-driven snow. Drew said W&M's head coach was Lou Holtz.
  Another footnote: In the press box, Puck kept babbling about a snow game he saw in 1989. He was referring to Thanksgiving, but he wasn't totally correct. Yes, the field was snow covered as Lincoln beat Judge, 7-0 (and most games that day were postponed), but it had snowed overnight and the sun was actually out while that morning's few games were being played. I covered Washington-Ryan that morning and it wound up 0-0, and that was the first time Washington hadn't lost to the Raiders. (The guy I interviewed that day, Ryan's Tim Wade, is the uncle of THIS Tim Wade, of La Salle. And this Tim Wade is the nephew of current La Salle assistant Joe Wade. Joe's brother is the "snowy" Tim Wade. Got all that? Smile.) . . . As for snow DURING a game, well, in a 1987 CL semifinal, played at Villanova Stadium, it snowed throughout the second half as long-gone St. James beat O'Hara. And I guess there have been squalls a few other times. Not enough to cover the field, though.

DEC. 4
CLASS AAA QUARTERFINAL
Wood 30, Pottsgrove 28
  Two names kept bouncing around in my head long after this one ended and I’d finished not only the story for the Daily News, but also Wood’s website TEAM PAGE. Those names were Ricky Lannetti and Brian Mitchell and now I’ll tell you why. Ricky was a star for Judge 10 years ago and in the course of a five-game span, he scored eight TDs in SIX manners. Amazing, right? He tallied thrice on rushes and once apiece on a reception and returns of a fumble, kickoff, interception and punt. I mentioned at the time that Ricky, who died tragically of MRSA while starring at Lycoming in 2003, might have been the only city player to score four varieties of return TDs in the same season. Well, as this one started, Wood sr. RB-DB-Returner Scott Adkins joined the club, however big it actually is. Scott touched the kickoff on the 15 and it glanced off his body to the right, toward Pottsgrove’s sideline. He managed to control the ball at about the 17 and zoomed right down the sideline to the end zone! That was his 11th total TD of the season and his sixth variety and that is ALL very cool. Somewhere up there Ricky is smiling very broadly and extending heartfelt congratulations to Scott. That’s the kind of kid he was. OK, now for Brian Mitchell. In 2002, Brian was North Catholic’s QB and in a Saturday night game in Levittown, vs. Conwell-Egan, I saw him do the nearly impossible. The Falcons ran 67 plays that game. Mitchell was involved in 62 with 15 runs and 47 passes for 92.5 percent. And here, directly from the goofy part of the city records page, are some other tidbits from that performance:
  He finished the game by being directly involved in 42 consecutive plays (and
  all 40 in the second half). He passed for 166 yards; ran for 85. North
  snapped the ball 77 times, counting conversions. He was directly involved in
  72 -- he also punted seven times for a 34-yard average (long of 50), tried a
  34-yard field goal (blocked) and was successful on two PAT attempts.
  Why are we remembering Mitchell’s dominance? Well, in this one, Wood sr. QB Jerry Rahill was quite Mitchell-like. And the stakes were a whole lot higher, seeing as how this was a state quarterfinal and Pottsgrove had entered with a 14-0 record. Wood ran 42 plays. Rahill was involved in 36 for an 86-percent mark. He crushed B-Mitch yardage-wise, too, ch-ch-chinging his way to 339! Rahill passed 14-for-22 for 245 yards and a TD to soph TE Colin Thompson and his 14 rushes produced 94 yards and two more scores. Oh, he also played defense all night, at safety, and was the holder for frosh K Nick Visco. This was a wonderful game and came down to the waning moments. Thompson’s TD, a 3-yard, nobody-paid-attention-to-him job, occurred on the first play of the fourth quarter and gave Wood a 24-21 lead. With lots of help from a ridiculous, phantom interference call against Rahill, the Falcons rolled downfield and went ahead, 28-24, with 3:30 left. The Vikings then covered 62 yards in nine plays and the clutch performer was jr. WR Sam McCain, a cousin of Atlanta Falcons QB Matt Ryan. The first play was a pass to Sam and he dropped it; tried to turn upfield and run before he caught it. He was big-time after that, though, making three snags for 44 yards and raising his stats for the night to 6-92 (with five coming in scoring drives). The TD, off a broken play, was a 9-yard run by Rahill to the right corner. Pottsgrove could not mount a serious last-gasp threat. A 33-yard field goal by Visco, right before the half, wound up being the difference. The big plays on that drive were a 17-yard pass to sr, RB Kevin Murt, a 19-yard scramble by Rahill and a 24-yard pass to McCain that carried from the 40 to the 16 with 7.1 seconds remaining. “Clutchness” flowed on that drive, as well. Mr. Babbles, a k a Puck, was also on hand for this one and he camped out in the press box. He credited sr. LB Pat Glemser with nine tackles (five first hits/solos) and soph DT Frank Taylor with 10 (seven on assists). McCain managed nine while sr. OLB Charlie McCairns (after the game, I handed him his recent Player of the Week T-shirt) had eight. Rahill and sr. DE Matt Hoch halved 12. This was a great win for Wood, especially since it had to stage a pair of second-half comebacks. Congrats to all!! (And say a prayer for me. Riding shotgun later this morning on the ride to Bethlehem, for La Salle-Easton, will be the fabulous Puckster. He'll be yappin' and yappin' the entire way. But it's why we love him, right? High entertainment value -- smile.)
  One footnote: In 2007, West Catholic's Rob Hollomon scored TDs in SEVEN manners, you could say, because he scored receiving TDs the usual way and the hook-and-lateral way.

NOV. 28
AAAA CITY TITLE
La Salle 31, Washington 20
  The element of surprise is one thing. Revenge is another. After getting smacked around in last year's City Title tilt, no way La Salle was going to enter this one overconfident. Neither were the Explorers going to lack for motivation. There are many Catholic League folks who think the Pub is barely a third-rate league, let alone second-rate, so the 2008 result, to them, was truly a shocker and cause for great embarrassment. The La Salle people aren't like that. Yes, they were surprised they'd fallen, but they didn't bad mouth the Eagles and they showed respect for the amount of talent present on coach Ron Cohen's club. Had there been factors? Of course. And those factors -- brutal cold, strong winds -- were especially counterproductive to a pass-happy squad such as La Salle. If you remember, the Explorers chose to receive and an early interception, thrown into the wind, helped to cause their demise. So, well before this one, when one player and one assistant from each team walked to the scoreboard corner of the field for the real coin toss -- by PIAA procedures; the one at midfield just before kickoff is for entertainment purposes only -- I walked right down there, too, to make sure I didn't miss out on hearing the particulars. Washington won and chose to defer. Right away, La Salle offensive coordinator Brett Gordon, son of coach Drew Gordon, said, "We want the ball." I was not surprised, though it was obvious the Eagles would then choose to kick off with the wind at their backs. I liked the move. It said to the Explorers' offense, "I have faith in you guys. I have no fear that there'll be a repeat of last year." A decision to kick off with the wind would have said, of course, "I can't take the chance that we'll mess up again." Plus, maybe Brett had faith in assorted weather people (smile). All morning there'd been reports that a high wind advisory would end at noon. Coincidentally, that was game time. Did the winds suddenly come to a screeching halt? Of course not. But they definitely were not AS strong through the game as they'd been in the morning and the temps were nowhere near as wicked as they'd been in '08. Mix together those ingredients with the fact that La Salle just flat-out played well and Washington did not, especially with regard to killer turnovers and ill-timed penalties and, well, there you have it. The first series, by the way, did not produce a touchdown. There was a three-and-out and the punt by sr. Mike Bennett went only 17 yards, rolling to a stop at Washington's 42. On the third play, sr. QB Aaron Wilmer turned a keeper into a 47-yard TD. Briefly. Early in the run, La Salle's coaches were screaming that they'd seen holding way across the field. Yes, they had. The score was erased and La Salle soon was taking over at its 20. And marching downfield as if the game were being played on a warm, windless day. The big play was a 28-yard pass from sr. Drew Loughery (how good has HE been in the postseason?) to soph WR Ryan Otis. On fourth and 2 at the 15, the Explorers didn't have to run a play. Sr. megastar DL Sharrif Floyd, who would wind up making a team-high seven tackles, spurted into the neutral zone and the ball advanced to the 10. A TD pass followed immediately as sr. Sam Feleccia, usually a WR but on this one a TE, lined up to the right and just slid off the line toward the right corner. Washington responded wonderfully, zooming 80 yards in just seven plays. Wilmer uncorked runs for 17, 22 and 17, and jr. RB English Peay had an 18-yarder. The latter scored from the 2. The rest of the half, in four parts, decided the game. 1.) La Salle responded with Bennett's 37-yard field goal. 2.) On Washington's third play, Wilmer rolled left and threw a pass not only against his body, but against the wind as well. The ball held up slightly and jr. DB Jamal Abdur-Rahman just flat-out competed for it and came down with an interception. 3.) Though La Salle's possession went nowhere and Bennett could come up with only an 11-yard punt while trying for a coffin-corner job, Washington still had nothing-special field position. The give was to Peay. He just didn't handle it smoothly. The ball hit the ground, popped up neatly to Abdur-Rahman and he easily zoomed 36 yards for a score. 4.) Running or passing on every play, Wilmer willed the Eagles back downfield. An interference call placed the ball on the 13 with 2.9 seconds left. Wilmer threw to Peay in the right corner. Otis got in front and made the airborne interception at the very back end. He landed beyond the back line, though, and the play was ruled an incompletion. If Peay had caught the ball, no way it would have been a TD . . . La Salle scored twice in the third quarter on passes by Loughery, a 40-yarder to sr. WR Connor Hoffman and a 44-yarder to Abdur-Rahman. The first was a broken play as Loughery dropped the snap, recovered while going to his left and found Hoffman standing alone along Washington's sideline. A-R merely outjetted his defender on the 44-yarder. He said the play was a 10-yard corner that turned into a post. That made the score 31-7. To its credit, Washington avoided any hint of an el foldo by scoring two TDs in the fourth quarter. Wilmer ran/passed on 17 of the 19 plays and the scores were tosses: 34 yards to Peay and eight to jr. RB Daquan Cooper. On its two series, which sandwiched yet another A-R pick, La Salle was in conservative, run-some-clock mode. Only one of its nine plays was a pass. Loughery finished 13-for-21 for 188 yards and three TDs, with the major damage being done by A-R (5-82) and Hoffman (5-60). He was sacked just once, so the O-linemen definitely performed in splendid fashion. All Wilmer did was account for 306 yards! He passed 16-for-28 for 166 and bagged another 140 on 18 carries. His top targets were soph WR Nate Smith (5-53) and Peay (4-67). Bennett's impact for La Salle cannot be overstated. He kicked off six times. The first five times, with the wind, he powered four into the end zone and another to the 4. Even against the wind, as the fourth quarter commenced, he sent the ball to the 9. Sr. LB Shane Brady led the Explorers with 11 tackles. Sr. LB Ryan Saraceni had seven and forced a fumble; recovery by sr. DE Steve Sinnott. Jr. DB Kevin Forster managed six and A-R had four in addition to his other heroics. For GW, one of Floyd's stops went for a 5-yard loss (and, on that play, he darn near swallowed A-R whole -- smile). Sr. DB Elliot Leonard and sr. ILB Vernon Dupree had six and five tackles, respectively. Jr. DE Brandon Chudnoff posted one TFL and a half-sack. Many website legends were in the house. Puck and Duck helped Channel 6 with its telecast as a statman and spotter, respectively, while Amauro, Frog and Bill also were in attendance. The crowd on La Salle's side was great. If standees at the top of the stands had been ordered to sit, the entire home side would have nearly been filled. Washington's stands were maybe 60 percent filled? Before the game, someone began announcing the players' names over the PA system and I said to myself, "Hey, that's Joe Parisi." (He's La Salle's baseball coach.) Washington's squad includes some pretty difficult names to pronounce, but Joe fared rather well. Later, someone else took over and Joe came down to the field. Joe said he figured Puck had seen Washington a couple times and, while up in the booth, had asked him for possible help with pronunciations. After telling me that, Joe chuckled and said, "I can't believe I did that. Asked PUCK for help with pronunciations." Ha, ha, ha, ha.

NOV. 27
CLASS AA FIRST ROUND
West Catholic 13, Dunmore 0
  While winning this game, the Burrs could not have Dunmore. Sorry, couldn't help it. That's not even true because, as you can tell by the score, this wasn't exactly a blowout. With a score so close, it's hard to say one team was in control. At any time, Dunmore could have turned a long play into a touchdown and created a tie, or even taken the lead with a brassy conversion. That never came close to happening, though, so I guess the Burrs WERE in control. Dunmore frolicked all season, thanks mostly to the off-the-charts rushing of Mike Perry. Tonight he was held to 48 yards on 18 carries and the Bucks had just one play that netted as many as 10 yards until the waning moments of the third quarter. And that one went great for the Burrs because sr. LB Dante Dickens forced a fumble and jr. DB Brandon Hollomon recovered. BH was the recipient of DN ink -- for his rushing. For the second straight week he needed to carry an extra load due to the absence of a guy who's battling a school issue. (He's expected back for the quarterfinal). While being watched/encouraged by his brother, Rob, the '08 star RB back home from prep school in Massachusetts for break, Brandon hustled for 217 yards on 33 carries. He also went the distance at d-back and handled dual returning duties as well. The 33 totes, he said, were a lifetime high and a couple times down the stretch he had to briefly leave the field after suffering cramping problems. Next time maybe he'll eat two bananas before the pregame warmups instead of one -- smile. A cramp caused him to miss out on scoring the clinching TD. On the first play of the fourth quarter, with Brandon getting stretched, sr. RB Kaheem Summerville took his place and ran for six yards. Brandon came back and sprinted for 17 toward the right corner, down to the 4. Again the calf acted up (and Rob came scrambling down from the stands because he feared a shoulder had been retweaked). Summerville got another carry and went in for the TD. Impressively, too! He appeared to be stopped, cold, at or even behind the line of scrimmage and then, there he was, diving into the end zone. Nice effort. Speaking of cold . . . it was VERY brisk, folks. The temperature would have been enough to deal with. There were also strong winds and they mostly came whipping right across the field toward West's bench. Not fun! West's first TD was a 23-yard pass from sr. QB Jarred Evans to jr. WR Quran Kent. If I remember, Q was lined up in the slot to the left, with jr. WR Jaelen Strong-Rankin further out. He scored toward the right corner. Evans later tried some passes to S-R in a possession that could have worked out, but the winds acted like an extra defender for Dunmore, taking the balls way beyond S-R's reach. Hollomon did most of his damage to the right side behind sr. G Jake Zuzek and sr. T Erik Harper. Early, he was getting hit by two-three guys on most of his carries. By the late going, the Bucks were wearing down and Brandon was absorbing little contact through the line. If not for the lingering leg issues, along with general tiredness, he likely would have broken one. Dunmore's final two possessions produced interceptions for sr. LB Bill Tobin and jr. DB Lamont Davis. Davis' pick came right after Tobin nearly posted a second pick. West statman/website legend Huck "I Now Rule Puck (And Willie)" Palmer had Dickens with eight tackles. Six were solos and he also caused the aforementioned fumble. Sr. DE Jim Lynch had seven stops. Three were made behind the line and two were half-sacks; he shared 'em with sr. DT John Ruppert. Jr. LB Anthony McDonnaugh totaled seven tackles while sr. DB Ray "Cholly" Manuel and Zuzek halved 10. This game was played at Palisades High, in upper Bucks County. The place is so far up, the Pirates don't even compete in District 1. And the area is not exactly 45th and Chestnut. On the road leading to the school from Route 611, I passed a small luncheonette. A sign outside read "Hunters Welcome." Phew. (I wrote the DN story in a McDonald's along 611. Music was playing pretty loudly over the sound system, people at nearby table were babbling away in whatever language they speak in India, and by the time I emailed the story to the folks in the office a shade before 10:30, the computer was about to run out of juice; couldn't find an electrical outlet. Other than that, the work environment was perfect -- smile. I concluded the visit by purchasing a diet Coke and three chocolate chip cookies. Does it get any better?) 

NOV. 26
THE GRANDDADDY OF PUBLIC-CATHOLIC THANKSGIVING RIVALRIES
North Catholic 28, Frankford 22
  Here's hoping North survives, thanks to the Cristo Rey network, and that this was NOT the schools' final football meeting. If so, here's my proposal: Make these schools play one game per month (smile). I've covered almost all of these meetings over the last three decades and rarely have they disappointed. In fact, with the action itself and the energy provided by large crowds, going back to Temple Stadium deep into the 1980s and Veterans Stadium in 1978 for the 50th anniversary game (51st one total), these have been some of the best possible experiences. Today? The all-timer. The site was La Salle University's McCarthy Stadium, which had not been used for football since the school dropped the sport after the '07 season. Portable goalposts -- and, boy, were they flimsy -- had to be set up, but otherwise the field and its artificial surface were football ready. In the first half, in part because of gloomy skies, the mood was somewhat drab, honestly. Frankford rolled to a 14-0 lead and North looked poor, at best, and horrible, at worst. North loyalists no doubt were thinking, "There's so much pressure on these kids. They're playing not only for themselves, but for everybody who ever cared about North. Maybe they just can't handle it. Maybe they're just flat-out overwhelmed. Understandable. We'll forgive them." Well, then the game headed down the stretch and these young MEN, not kids, were simply sensational. They won the game, then lost it, then won it AGAIN and the brass they showed, under incredible stress, if transferred to other aspects of life, will serve them well long after they stop playing football. For recounting purposes, we'll flash ahead to the fourth quarter. A huge moment, which kind of got lost in the later-on shuffle, occurred when Frankford jr. RB Jeffione Thomas took a simple right sweep far up the right sideline (away from the big building). The TD would have been a 98-yarder! However, he stepped on the sideline at the 11 and that possession would prove fruitless. On the next play, sr. FB Zaire "Bam" Anderson rolled 11 yards to the left corner for an apparent TD. But . . . a penalty erased the score and a pitchout was dropped on the ensuing play, with North sr. DB Daniel Clark recovering at 11:09. On third down, jr. QB Anthony Reid sent a long fade down the left sideline. Sr. WR Dave Sherman stretched out fully and brought the ball in while beginning to stumble. The gain was 54 yards to Frankford's 17. If he'd been able to make the catch in stride, he might have scored. Two plays later, sr. RB Eugene "U-Turn" Byrd had to depart with an ankle ding and the TD two plays after that, a 5-yarder, was scored by soph RB Taishan Tucker. It was his first carry since September. Maybe two seconds after Tucker scored, North fans nearby began chanting, "Two! Two! Two!" As in, go for two and the lead. Coach Chalie Szydlik sent out his kicker, John McCarthy. Just as a kick was about to take place, Frankford's defense went offsides. The chanting intensified. Just as THIS snap was looming, Szydlik called time and sent the full offense onto the field. Byrd was there. He got the call on an off-tackle right. He was tripped up by jr. OLB Taron "Ra-Ra" Mills -- what a game THIS guy had! -- and landed at the 1. That play left North on the wrong end of 14-13 arithmetic. A three-and-out followed and sr. LB David D. Williams made two of the stops. The Falcons were getting another chance. This drive covered 67 yards in eight plays. The big one was Byrd's 45-yard burst right up the middle, with a angling toward the right to finish it off. The tackle was made by a lineman, jr. Edwin Burgos, who hustled all the way downfield. Great effort! Mills and Anderson combined for stops on first AND second down, leaving North with third-and-goal from the 8. Reid rolled slightly to his right and launched one to the right corner. Sr. WR Julian Huggins jumped, extended and . . . made the catch!! Another great play. Frankford again messed up by going offsides. Reid powered 1 1/2 yards for two points and a 21-14 lead. On Frankford's fourth play, Thomas ran to the left, stopped shorrt, cut back on an angle, sidestepped a few more guys downfield and wound up in the end zone!! A 56-yard TD!! My goodness. Would Frankford just kick it? Nope. The Pioneers went for the win. Thomas had no trouble reaching the end zone on a sweep right. Frankford was up, 22-21, with 1:11 left. By the way, just as this was happening, the sun came out for the first time all morning. Very brightly, in fact. But only for maybe 45 seconds total. Weird! Here's the play-by-play of North's final possession, following a 1-yard return by sr. Gabriel Toledo to the 38: 4-yard pass to Huggins, 19-yard pass to Sherman, incomplete pass to pretty much no one at 0:36 (almost intercepted by diving sr. LB Peace McClain), 15-yard pass to Huggins on a slant at 0:28, spike at 0:25, 4-yard pass to Sherman on a right-side out at 0:21, 20-yard TD pass to Byrd at 0:13. That play began at 0:21 and North had no timeouts remaining. Almost all game, Byrd had stayed in on pass plays to block because Frankford was bringing it. But on this one, he ambled over the middle, set up shot and hoped that Reid would find him. He did, at about the 10. Byrd then dashed toward the left corner and got a block from sr. WR Tre Stone-Davis, as he was hoping he would. McCarthy's kick made it 28-22 at 0:13. Incredible! THREE lead changes in the final 2 1/2 minutes! Would there be one more miracle? Nope. Frankford went with a trick play, a pass TO jr. QB Michael McGroarty. The gain was only four yards as Clark made the last tackle in North Catholic history (depending). Needless to say, everyone wearing red went nuts. Frankford will long lament three TDs it lost out on. Even four, potentially. Martin lost an early 41-yarder to a block in the back, Anderson lost the one already discussed and on what could have been his 98-yarder, it appeared Thomas simply became disoriented late in the process and made contact with the sideline. I was on the opposite side and far way, but it didn't appear as if he was pushed out. Also, on the final play of the first half, soph DB Savoy Martin made a pick along Frankford's sideline and took off for what folks envisioned as a 90-yard TD. That play was stopped 30 yards upfield when a ref said he stepped on the sideline. Frankford's coaches vehemently disagreed. Mills finished with 179 yards on four returns, including 67 with a punt for a score, made three tackles at or behind the line of scrimmage and, as also mentioned, stopped Byrd on what could have been, if not for the late-game craziness, THE play of the game. The best pregame moment was watching Skip Angelo, son of the legendary former coach, Al Angelo (now deceased), represent the Pioneers as the honorary captain. When his name was announced, there wasn't even a HINT of negative reaction out of North's stands. Up to that point, even slight references to Frankford -- and the Pioneers' appearance on the field -- had caused loud, mostly playful booing. But when the reference to Al was made, there was only applause. I LOVED that showing of respect. And it was returned after the game when I asked Frankford's current coach, Mike Capriotti, whether he felt even a hint of happiness for the Falcons, keeping in mind their pending demise. If I'd asked some guys that question, they would have scoffed. Maybe even called me crazy. But I think I know "Cap" by now. He's truly one of those has-no-enemies guys. He's a '70 Frankford grad and was two years ahead of Szydlik. Here's what he said: "You couldn't have had a more exciting finish. Obviously, I wish we were on the other end, but I am happy for Chalie and the alumni and faculty and everybody associated with North Catholic." I thought that expressed show of class was an appropriate way to end the DN story. Same for this website report.

NOV. 25
THANKSGIVING EVE RIVALRY
Bonner 40, Carroll 15
  This was easy, then it wasn't easy, then it was easy again. The ebb and flow was as weird as the rain. Which wasn't really rain. For a large chunk of the game, a mist fell at Radnor's well-lit stadium. But it was so fine, it didn't even make my note paper wet, thus, the dreaded plastic bag wasn't necessary. The ultimate hero was sr. RB Eric Petransky, who had a goal going in and accomplished it: He's now the leading one-season rusher in Bonner history. Just as impressive, for my money, was Jeff Morelli's performance. He used to hold the mark, thanks to 1,386 yards in 1991, and he showed up to not only watch Petransky take his glory, but to toss him a game ball afterward and pose for pictures. I'm not sure where Jeff lives these days, but even if it's a trailer in Radnor's parking lot it was still a nice gesture to come out on a holiday eve -- in shaky weather, even -- and recognize Eric's accomplishment. Well done! As for why we started this report that way . . . Bonner roared downfield to an easy score, Petransky's 34-yard run, to start the game and then expanded the lead to 14-0 with 2:26 left in the frame on a perfectly thrown ball from jr. QB Sean Quarterman to sr. WR Jack Wichmann. Would this be a mercy rule tilt by halftime? Would the Powder Puff game featuring Carroll and Prendie make for much better viewing? Not so fast. Carroll not only regrouped, it led at the half, thanks to a 54-yard wildcat scamper by soph RB Teron Dobbs, a 20-yard field goal by jr. Andrew Brouwers and a miracle 51-yard TD catch of a tipped ball by jr. WR Greg DiSanto (might have tipped it to himself; pass from sr. QB Chris Shuster). Second half? All Bonner. The Friars scored on four of their five possessions and those drives necessitated just five, six, four and four plays. Petransky finished with 21 carries for 240 yards and three TDs and his season total was locked into place at 1,544. That means he entered with 1,304, of course, and needed 83 to surpass Morelli's number. He claimed the mark on an 18-yard run just 2.8 seconds before halftime; it raised his output for the night to 87 . . . More to come. Just not sure when. Gotta get some sleep before North-Frankford later this morning. And the day will be nuts. Smile. Thanks for your patience . . . Bonner’s grunts were sr. C Michael Murphy, soph G Ron Scull, sr. G Josh Campbell (formerly a TE; had to switch numbers), sr. T James Colivas and soph T Tom Murtha. Quarterman had a fun, efficient night as well. He hit his first nine tosses and overall went 9-for-11 for 129. Wichmann’s four snags netted 99 yards and his two TDs covered 41, then 44 yards. Sr. Dan Vanderslice, whose best move of the season was writing a wonderful Best Teammate nomination for injured sr. LB Donnie Beese, hit four PAT and showed good white-boy vertical while trying to control a bad snap (smile). He could only knock the ball down, however. Bill Ghaul recovered for Carroll on the 14 and managed a three-yard return. Brouwers’ FG came four plays later. Carroll had just four first downs in the second half and there was no desire by the coaching staff to extend the proceedings with a bunch of passes. With the score at 33-15 and 8 ˝ minutes left, eight straight runs were ordered. Bonner offensive coordinator Greg Bernhardt then showed sr. Kyle Schuberth some love by giving him four straight carries. Petransky lined up in as a wide slot on these plays and delivered a couple of blocks, helping Schuberth run for gains of 21, 14 and 11 yards, and into the end zone. (He lost 2 yards on the second play, as soph LB Tim Dugan made the tackle.) This win enabled Bonner to finish 6-6, and that’s the school’s first non-losing record since ’01. Congrats to all of the coaches and players for making sure the program did not go off the deep end. That certainly looked possible, even likely, a few years ago. (And sorry there was such a delay in getting this report finished.)

NOV. 21
CLASS AAA CITY TITLE
Wood 42, Gratz 6
  Well, it'd be nice to be able to say this one rivaled the previous game at Northeast, last night's AAAA CL final between La Salle and SJ Prep. Or even the AA City Title between West and Bok earlier today at the South Philly Super Site. Didn't happen. Wood had an easy time of it and the entire second half was played with a running clock. Sr. QB Jerry Rahill was darn near perfect, accounting for 231 yards and four TDs on just 19 plays. He passed 11-for-14 for 180 and one TD apiece to sr. RBs Kevin "Pres" Murt and Scott Adkins and turned shotgun snaps into scores of 37 and 18 yards. Murt (10-55) also ran for two six-pointers. None of the Vikings' drives required more than seven plays and two of them were one-play bursts. The starting unit played just one series into the third quarter. The game did start off in we-have-hope mode for Gratz as jr. DE Khalil Brown stripped Rahill and caused a fumble, with the recovery going to sr. DT Antoine "Ness" Bland. Sr. WR Stanley Baylis managed a 15-yard gain on a reverse, getting the rock to the 23, but that'd be it. Oddly, Rahill's three incompletions came in succession on the same non-drive. He was perfect otherwise. Wood's hogs were C Dan "Mr. Vertical" Grimes, Gs Rory Clark and Steve Newns and Ts Chris "Why" Knott and Frank Taylor. Sr OLB Charlie McCairns had a great sequence in the second quarter, logging three tackles behind the line and the recovery of a mishandled squib kickoff. For Gratz, jr. LB Nate Gore packed MAJOR wallop on a pair of hits and jr. DB Jamir "Andy" Anderson did likewise when sr. WR Kevin Shaw embarked on a reverse. Later, Anderson was impressive on a 46-yard TD run that came on a speed sweep. He zipped to his right, toward Gratz' sideline, then scored in the left corner. Niiiiiiiiiice. This was on the first series of the third quarter, so Wood's defense still included starters. On the final play of the first half, soph DB Kyle Adkins (Scott's bro) had made a soaring (not just a leaping) interception. Wood now has a down week before heading into the state playoffs.

NOV. 21
CLASS AA SUBREGIIONAL/CITY TITLE
West Catholic 21, Bok 7
  Both during this one and later, while covering Wood-Gratz, I was asked a few times if a Bok win over West would qualify/would have qualified as the biggest upset in city history. Whooooooa. Let's not go off the deep end. A win by Bok would have been surprising, and yes even shocking, but it wasn't as if the Wildcats were sending out a bunch of undersized eighth-graders to face West. These Burrs aren't the '08 variety, who could score as easily as snap their fingers, and this Bok crew does have some size and all the special ingredients -- heart, discipline, togetherness, off-the-charts respect for authority -- that have made this program so successful through the Tom DeFelice Era despite an enrollment much lower than the biggies' from the Northeast section of the city. Also, as I told a few people, Vince "Pops/Trom" Trombetta is a master with the 5-2 and almost every time the Pub has triumphed in the City All-Star Game, he has been the defensive coordinator. When the Burrs entered the South Philly Super Site, they no doubt were looking ahead to the next step, and more, in their hoped-for march to another state final. And then, there they were at halftime, looking at a 7-0 deficit and mulling the fact they could be 24 minutes away from the end of the season. Trombetta's system always highlights the ends and this time was no different. Srs. Chris Sherrod and Jacqual Dobbs were having lots of fun and West posted no gains of at least 20 yards until sr. QB Jarred Evans managed 21 on a shotgun keeper late in the second quarter. In some (most) games, a 20-yard gain has been almost worth a yawn. This one placed the ball on the 6 and you just KNEW the Burrs would power into the end zone, right? Didn't happen. Dobbs and jr. DB Andre Frazier combined to stop jr. RB Brandon Hollomon for no gain. Evans then rolled to his left and was dumped by Sherrod for an 11-yard loss. Evans then whipped a hitch pass to jr. WR Quran Kent and Frazier was right there for a quick, sure stop. No gain. On fourth down, Evans was sacked again, this time for 10 yards by sr. NG Kevin Thompson. What a great sequence for the Wildcats! Bok's offense set no worlds on fire in the first half, but did take advantage of a relatively short field after an 18-yard punt carried only to the West 46. On play No. 5, Frazier lofted a right corner fade to sr. SB Gary Jackson. Jackson was rather well covered, but he gained the upper hand when he was the first to turn around and noticed an adjustment in his route would be necessary. He took a slight step to his left to beat his defender, then sidestepped a late arriving helper and eased into the end zone. It was a great play and the kick by jr. Walravens Daniel made it 7-0 with 7:18 left in the half. So, how did it all fall apart for the Wildcats? Gradually. And it never really fell apart. They just couldn't fully go toe to toe over the final 24 minutes. West made some offensive adjustments -- more on that in Monday's Daily News -- and began to move the ball. Hollomon ripped off a gain for 37 yards with about three minutes left in the quarter and then scored from the 26 three plays later. THE sequence in the game occurred just as the fourth quarter began. Bok was now going north. Frazier threw a pass to Jackson that was similar to the TD toss. Gary flat-out dropped it. No way around that. Things were overcast by this point, but there was a bit of sunshine and he had to look almost exactly to that spot in the sky as he turned. After the drop, he held out his hands, palms up, and looked toward the sun as if to say, "That yellow thing got me." Frazier tried another pass on the very next play. The ball was slightly deflected by jr. DE Jim Lynch and it fluttered into the hands of sr. LB Dante Dickens on the Bok 46. The drive wasn't a breeze, but Hollomon gained 4, 8, 7 and 4 until being dropped for a 4-yard loss by Dobbs. Evans then launched a left-corner fade to jr. WR Jaelen Strong-Rankin. It produced a 25-yard gain to the 2. Evans scored from that same yard line on third down, stretching the ball into the end zone as he was being stood up. Since he got away with it, we'll call it a smart play. If a Wildcat had punched the ball out of his grasp and someone had run 100 yards for a fumble return TD, it would have been an unwise play (smile). Bok did a three-and-out and the highlight was a 6-yard sack for Lynch. West took over with 5:06 left at its 39. Hollomon (29-177) went 6, 7, 29, 0. Evans managed 14 yards on a keeper right and Hollomon went over the left side for a 5-yard TD at 2:15. It was so quiet on the Bok side of the stadium, you could hear upset dreams end. Jr. LB Anthony McDonnaugh led WC with five stops, as reported by Huck. Lynch (three for losses), Dickens, sr. LB Bill Tobin and sr. DB Ray "Cholly" Manuel had four apiece. Sr. S Robert Quarterman led Bok with nine (seven solos). Sherrod and Dobbs halved 14 and combined for seven losses. Sr. LB Naeem Nunnally had six. Thompson and CB Manny Gregory halved 10. This game started at noon and I arrived at maybe 11:10. After conversing for a while with McDevitt coach Pat Manzi and former North Catholic AD Fran Dougherty, I noticed the somewhat trusty digital camera wasn't in my jacket. Nor in either of my pants pockets. Oh, well. Must have left it in the car. Headed back out to the parking lot. It was NOT to be found. Not on the passenger seat. Not even under one of the 47 McDonald's wrappers strewn about everywhere. I'm kidding. There were only 46. Anyway, no camera. Ugh. Talk about frustrating. Huck's best friend, Matt "Cauls" McCauley, said he'd send me a link for his West photos on the Burrs' site done by those two, and he also offered to shoot some pics that would feature Bok. Wonderful! There are so many good guys on the trail. Thanks so much, Cauls! This game was over in 2 hours. I rushed out, headed home, found the camera on a living room chair, posted the West-Bok stats, left the house at maybe 2:50 and made it up to Northeast in plenty of time for Wood-Gratz at 4. With a McDonald's stop mixed in. Check this out: I ordered a No. 2 with only cheese. Those strappers forgot to give me the fries!! No fries?! How am I supposed to harden these arteries? One last thing, as long as we're off on tangents: There was an incredible revelation. When announcing the names of the Burrs, the PA man, a West teacher, called sr. Anthony Fluck, the nephew of head coach Brian Fluck, "fluke." Huck and I were amazed. How can he not know how to pronounce THAT name, especially since he and Brian Fluck are co-workers? Dennis Fluck, brother/assistant to Brian and Anthony's dad, was nearby. We mentioned the gaffe to him. He said, "Actually, our name IS pronounced fluke. Brian never speaks up about it." Say whaaaaaaaaat??!! Actually, I can relate. Many people butcher my name as SILL-uh-ree (instead of suh-LAIR-ee). I usually say nothing, unless people ask. But no one would ever guess that F-l-u-c-k is not pronounced so it rhymes with . . . . . . . . . . . . Huck. (This is a family website. Smile).

NOV. 20
CATHOLIC AAAA FINAL
La Salle 35, SJ Prep 28
  If the folks from the Prep never hear or see the name Forster again, it’ll be too soon. Man, how much anguish have the four boys in THIS family caused the Hawks in football and/or lacrosse? It happened again tonight and the three previous heartache-causers were not only there to see it, but to immediately celebrate with the perpetrator. With 9:02 remaining, jr. WR Kevin Forster caught a quick slant “in space,” as they say these days, and had no trouble sprinting to the end zone for a 37-yard score, thus breaking a 28-28 tie. This game took place at Northeast before a large throng and the Explorers at this juncture were headed toward the east/scoreboard end of the stadium. Standing along the sideline, near the corner of the end zone where Forster scored, were his brothers, Rob, Jack and Randy. Group hug time! Yup, Kevin had seen them earlier and he zipped right over to share the moment. When asked what words had been exchanged, he said he didn’t know because he’d been screaming. With good reason. Rob is beyond college age, but Jack and Randy hustled all the way back from Penn State, where they likewise star in lacrosse. Up in the stands was big sister Katie. If we further explored this situation, maybe we’d find that back in the day she dated a Prep guy and dumped him on the eve of the prom, or something (smile). Anyway, this TD catch was Forster’s first of the season. He finished with four snags for 74 yards as sr. QB Drew Loughery sprinkled the ball around in fine fashion during another strong performance in the CL final. Overall, he went 21-for-31 for 297 yards and four TDs after last year, vs. Judge, going 12-for-19 for 114 yards and three TDs. The scores, in one apiece fashion, went to jr. RB Jamal Abdur-Rahman (5-58), sr. WR Sam Feleccia (4-59), sr. WR Connor Hoffman (6-91) and Forster, of course. Among those in attendance was Huck, who watched the game from the stands with his fiancé, Shannon. We talked by phone well after the game and he suggested I make sure to check out La Salle’s success on third down conversions. Unbelievable. Well, the Explorers went 11-for-15 and two of those non-successes were followed by fourth down conversions. That’s the definition of clutch, folks. In the little games-to-watch blurb we run in the paper every Friday, I mentioned that these teams’ skills guys were pretty similar and that the grunts would make the difference. Well, Loughery was sacked just one time and even though he was “flushed” on a few occasions, he still had enough room to show that, yes, he does have legs in addition to a strong right arm. He wound up with 10 carries for 43 yards and that effort lifted him out of negative yardage for the season. Can a challenge to Abdur-Rahman for best-rusher status be far behind? (smile). The Explorers’ linemen were jr. C Ryan Geiger, sr. Gs Matt DiGiacomo and Steve Szostak, sr. T Dylan Gavin and jr. T Cameron Cappo. The TE was sr. Steve Jones. In all, the Explorers ch-chinged their way to 392 yards. This game featured so many key moments, it probably deserves a 10-part series. We’ll go back to the beginning and ease through them little by little, just so there’s a permanent record – aside from the one on tape, that is -- for those who’d like to have one. La Salle’s first series resulted in an interception as frosh LB Jared Alwan (what a player this kid will be) jostled Loughery as he threw and a floater was caught by sr. Mike Labor, who twice left the game with leg/ankle injuries and battled his way back into action. On the fourth play, soph QB Skyler Mornhinweg threw a perfect right corner fade to sr. WR Colin Rodgers for a 22-yard score (HIS first of the season). 7-0 Prep. La Salle’s next series also failed, but the punt  bounced off Prep soph RB-KR Desmon Peoples and sr. SS Shane Brady recovered at the Prep’s 35. On he eighth play, Abdur-Rahman burrowed 1 yard for a score. Tied at 7-7. Big runs by Mornhinweg (23 yards) and Labor (25 yards) put the Hawks in business at the 9. Peoples went for three and Labor did so for six. 14-7 Prep. Ping one way, pong back the other. The Explorers responded with an eight-play, 58-yard march. The TD was a 23-yard pass to A-R, who went in short motion to his left, then crept across the field just a shade beyond the line and wound up scoring in the right corner. The first thing he did was slip a tackle at maybe the 18. Tied at 14-14. In the game Prep played at Rutgers way back in September, Peoples threw an impressive pass on a trick play. It wasn’t completed, but if he’d stayed at Cheltenham, Desmon this year would have been the starting QB and I knew we’d see the play again at some point. It was now. Peoples whipped a bomb to sr. WR Bobby D’Orazio, and the gain was 41 yards. One problem: the ball was dislodged and Forster recovered. (I was on Prep’s sideline in the first half and a ref running downfield blocked my view. I forgot to ask who forced it when I got to La Salle’s sideline for the second half. That info will gladly be added if someone emails. Thanks . . . We're being told it was sr. DB Bill Thomas.) The Explorers set sail once again. Runs of 11 and 13 yards by A-R got them started and the 76-yard drive necessitated 10 plays. Hoffman dropped a sure TD of 31 yards (he had a rough night until some late heroics) and the last two plays were a 17-yard slant to Forster (on fourth down) and a 16-yard, right-corner fade to Feleccia. The score did NOT become 21-14 La Salle, however, as jr. LB Jeff Heath crashed through the line to block the PAT. 20-14 La Salle at the half. Midway through the third quarter, a 17-yard bootleg by Mornhinweg placed the ball at the 18. A procedure penalty hurt and then a double personal foul hurt even more because, due to the half-the-distance rule, the Prep went just 10 yards forward and then 15 yards back to the 25. Szostak, a DL, notched a 15-yard sack but a facemask flag brought the ball right back to the 25. The next play brought a fumble and sr. DE Steve Sinnott recovered. The rest of the quarter featured some back-and-forth sloppiness that wound up benefitting the Prep. Though sr. DB Vinny Migliarese made a leaping, way-up-there interception on Prep’s 14, Loughery immediately bobbled a snap and sr. DL Mike Zikoski recovered. On third down, Peoples took a left-side screen pass and posted a 12-yard score with a dive to exact left corner of the end zone, stretching the ball out as he did so. 21-20 Prep. A-R lost a fumble on La Salle’s next play and Alwan recovered at the 28 and Mornhinweg hit Rodgers with another perfectly thrown 22-yard, right-corner fade. Prep 28-20. This play happened across the way near where Huck was sitting. He wondered whether Rodgers actually landed inbounds? Not sure. Anyway, with two very costly turnovers fresh in their minds and a key receiver having an off night, one had to wonder what would happen from there to the Explorers. Miracles, mostly. Along the sideline, there’d been good-cop, bad-cop exchanges taking place. The coaches were none too thrilled with Hoffman. Loughery, meanwhile, tried to soothe one of his very best friends by offering non-stop encouragement. The first pass went to Connor. He caught it for six yards. Two plays later came the turnaround. Loughery threw long to Hoffman. The ball hit his hand and . . . oh, man, another drop? No! He regrouped in mid-stride and the gain went for 58 yards, all the way to the 12. On the first play of the fourth quarter, Hoffman caught a left-to-middle slant for a 6-yard score and the Explorers, down by 28-26, had to go for two. This time A-R went in motion right to left and then caught a short flip just a shade into the end zone, with a defender draped all over him. Tied at 28-28. The Prep went three and out. The defensive play on first down was made by Sinnott-Geiger (gain of just one for Peoples). A wide pass followed and then soph DB Ryan Otis broke up a pass intended for Rodgers. As the punt was rolling dead, a Hawk was guilty of a dead ball personal foul (why?!) and La Salle took over at its 47. This was the three-play winning drive, capped by Forster. 35-28 La Salle. The Prep did respond, getting a pair of first downs. But on third and 6, Mornhinweg could find no one open and by he time he finished retreating, he was dumped for the lengthy loss by Geiger. As the Prep lined up to punt, only 10 guys were on the field. Coach Gil Brooks spent his last timeout to avoid a penalty and that came at 5:57. The Explorers ran out the clock with help from their last two third down conversions. One of the big plays was a 13-yard QB draw for Loughery. La Salle has now won three big-school titles in four years, including the last two. And next weekend the Explorers will get a chance to avenge their loss last year to Washington for the City Title. The ever-entertaining Hockey Puck watched the game from the press box and kept track of tackles. Here’s what he offered: Sinnott and sr. LB Anthony Cognetti led La Salle with seven apiece. Forster had five while Feleccia, sr. DB Ryan Saraceni, Brady, Geiger and Szostak managed four apiece. Sacks went to Szostak, Geiger and DiGiacomo. For the Prep, sr. LB Steve O’Hara hustled for 13 stops while jr. DB Michael DeFeo had seven. Five apiece went to sr. DE Bill Mancini, sr. DB Kushmir Miller and Labor. Soph DT Luke Hutkin had the lone sack. There were emotional moments beforehand for Prep’s players and students when sr. RB Garrett Compton, fresh off leg surgery yesterday, was wheeled down the track toward the bench. He then stood up to exchange hugs with the players and accompanied – with a pronounced limp, of course -- the other captains to midfield for the toss. Best of luck, Garrett!

NOV. 17
NON-LEAGUE
Edison 18, Boys' Latin 14
  People ask every so often why I've covered high school sports for all these years. Days like this one, baby. Days like this one. There's no crying in sports writing, but I definitely experienced emotion. The players from La Salle or SJ Prep will go wild Friday night after winning the CL AAAA title. No way they'll feel any more joy than Edison's players did today. People have no idea what some (many? most? all?) of these inner-city kids are up against at a school such as Edison. If it's not a trying home life, it's a crazy school environment that makes learning difficult. And by the time so many of these guys reach high school, who knows how much they haven't learned along the way and how far they're behind. And how much of their spirit has been sapped. Edison, 0-9 going in, had 22 players in uniform. For some, it might as well have been Halloween because those guys were in costumes. Coach Larry Oliver told me a couple weeks ago that 85 players have been part, however briefly, of Edison's team this season. Athletic director Cindy Dougherty thinks the number is closer to 100. Oliver said more than a few guys went to the trouble of getting physicals, showed up for one day, took one hard hit, and never returned. In Edison's previous game, I thought a chance for a win was possible. Instead, the Owls got crunched by a fellow lesser light, FitzSimons. The Thanksgiving game with Imhotep was canceled a while back -- report cards come out Monday; brace yourselves -- and this one was banged, too, last week after heavy rains left Edison's field a mess. Reconsideration took place. BL agreed to come up today even though it'll play again Saturday. The Warriors also knew the deal: A chance for a win would be possible. BL does not yet have a senior class. That should give its opponents a huge advantage, right? Well, Edison had just two -- sr. linemen Christopher Faggins and Bryant Williams. Six others disappeared along the way. Edison and misery go way back. As I've mentioned before, the Inventors (that used to be the nickname when the school was at 8th and Lehigh) once went 27 games in a row without SCORING. And there were many other difficult moments. Once, the school broke a long losing streak only to find that the guy who caught the winning TD pass was in his fifth year of high school. The victory had to be forfeited. Luckily, I've seen some of the unabashed-joy moments and this one ranks up with the others. The overwhelming hero was energetic jr. WR-DB Luis Ortiz, who is sticking with football even though his own issues include a 5-month-old son. Ortiz made four catches for 103 yards and a 51-yard TD, and that snag was sensational. While in midleap, he wrested the ball out of a defender's hands and then ran the final 20-odd yards. He also completed a 30-yard pass to Justin Matos off a trick play, and that came on the same drive on which he scored. The QB was frosh Marcus Mercado, one of SIX guys to start at QB this season. He went 5-for-7 for 108. The other headliner was soph TB Daquan White. No idea where he came from. He hadn't run the ball all season and I don't remember him in any other context. He wasn't even listed on the roster. Had to go over and ask him his name. Anyway, he has some size and he used it to produce 106 yards and a 5-yard TD on 20 carries. The linemen were center Shadeed Purnell, guards Clinton Manning and Robert Fontanez, and tackles Errin Seawright and Faggins. Cortez Dunston, wearing No. 66, the starting QB for a brief stint earlier this season, played tight end. And that fact caused a penalty on one occasion when he went out on a pattern. Oh, there was also an all-time Edison moment. The Owls' offense was hit with the too-many-men penalty on consecutive plays. After the first flag, one guy came off and no one went on. So, yes! That means there were 13 guys on the field for the first play! Gotta love it! Ortiz also had two interceptions. The second one -- oh, the drama! -- came in the end zone on the final play of the game. Trailing by 14-12, Edison went ahead with 3:26 remaining on 32-yard, midair fumble return by safety James Long (another of the former QBs). Just 90 seconds earlier, Edison had failed to score from the 5 after Ortiz' first pick had provided great field position. BL kept the ball for the rest of the game after Long's TD. Here's what happened: 13-yard gain for Terron Fuller on a hitch-pass lateral; 1-yard loss for Ben Coulibaly (tackle by Fontanez); 4-yard loss for Fuller on another lateral (tackle by Long); 7-yard loss for QB Dominique Williford (sack by Williams); 36-yard pass down the left sideline to Fuller on fourth-and-22 (wow!); incomplete pass; 5-yard loss for Williford (sack by Dom Boseman); motion penalty; 7-yard pickup by Quran Grimes on a swing pass to the right; 17-yard gain for Fuller on another lateral, placing the ball at Edison's 21 at 0:01. Williford threw to the left corner on the final play. There was a mass-jump, bodies collided and the ball drifted down into Ortiz' hands. The Owls might have gone just a liiiiiiiiiitle crazy (smile). The postgame meeting was emotional and Faggins, for one, cried throughout. He and Williams made brief statements to their teammates and then they stood next to each other, greeting a line of teammates with handshakes and/or hugs. I spoke with Oliver, Ortiz, Faggins and Long and couldn't wait to get to started on the story. And then post the pics. And then write this report. Our photographer was Chip Fox, of the Inquirer, and I appreciate that he stayed until the end and, I'm sure, took some wonderful pics. Major kudos to those Edison players who stayed loyal to the program, and each other, since practice began in mid-August. Here's hoping that this experience serves you well as your lives proceed.

NOV. 7
PUBLIC AAA SEMIFINAL
Gratz 12, Roxborough 6
  Well, this turned into quite the momentous day on the trail. After watching Chestnut Hill Academy clinch a tie for its first Inter-Ac League title EVER, I headed down to Germantown and Hunting Park avenues and saw Gratz post just its second playoff win in 81 Pub seasons (also 2002). Roxborough dominated the ball, but was burned by a pair of busted plays. Jr. QB Khalil Brown had his hands, literally, in both. After dropping a shotgun snap, he picked up the ball and ran 50 yards for a score. Later, with the count at 6-6, he rolled to his right and while an inch from the sideline (maybe over it; he uncorked a rather sly smile when I asked him about the play), he flipped a short pass to sr. WR Aaron Rice, who zoomed 56 yards for the winning score. This play happened along Gratz' sideline and I was standing on Roxborough's. Even from way over there, I could have sworn I heard a whistle. Oh well. Fully legit or not, it was a great play in a tough spot so Brown and Rice are to be commended for making things happen. Those two scoring plays accounted for 114 of Gratz' 241 yards and the only other truly long gain was an early 37-yard run by jr. RB Spencer Moses. A brassy (some would say unwise) decision that not pay off helped Roxborough score its TD. Early in the second quarter, the Bulldogs tried a fourth-and-three on their own 29. Moses was held to no gain as sr. DT Kwame Bell led a pack of tacklers. The Injuns needed seven plays to score. Sr. WB Braheem "Bizzy" Ford (for eight) and sr. RB Akmed Greene (for 12) had nice runs on the thrust and sr. QB Antonio Murrell capped it with a 1-yard run. Not of the usual variety. He ran toward the right corner and used a dive, while stretching put the ball, to get into the end zone. Greene was impressive all night while totaling 131 yards on 26 carries and making two receptions for 19. With 2:10 left, he made a catch and beat defenders to the end zone for 59-yard TD. One problem: as the ball was being snapped, he and another Indian were in motion and of course that violation negated the TD. Boro tried thereafter to target tiny sr. CB Nafi Lyles (5-3, 125), but he was up to the challenge. In fact, he and another little guy, jr. Jamir Anderson, both got their hands on a late pass. Sr. DB William Wood almost posted a pick on third down, then soph LB Curtis Hunt did so on fourth at the 24 yard line with 26.3 ticks remaining. Special kudos go out to Roxborough sr. DT Barry Jones. After both Gratz scores, he made solo tackles to stop conversion runs. Meanwhile, two thumbs WAY down to the person in the press box who decided to play a rap song with foul/disturbing language that included F-bombs. Gratz' Marcus Foster Memorial Stadium is set right into a neighborhood. Plus, numerous youth football players were in attendance. I'm not naive enough to think they're unfamiliar with that word. But they don't need to hear it booming over a sound system. No one does.

NOV. 7
INTER-AC LEAGUE
Chestnut Hill 27, Haverford School 21 (OT)
  This was a tale of two halves . . . and then some. With the "then some" being the overtime session. First half? Yuck. It ended scoreless as both coaches, honestly, redefined close to the vest while no doubt feeling nervous with so much on the line -- CHA had NEVER won an Inter-Ac Title, and HS hadn't done so since 1971. But in the second half, once the first points hit the board with 5:53 left in the third quarter on a 4-yard run by -- don't faint, the identity of the TD scorer is gonna shock you (smile) -- sr. TB Ibraheim Campbell, the loads-of-fun stage began. You know a game is great when even the neutral guys, i.e. sports writers, get sweaty palms. Though the Blue Devils won, thus thrilling a large Homecoming crowd, the Fords deserve oh-so-much credit for battling back from a 14-0 deficit and then again from 21-14. In OT, however, HS killed itself with a pair of gigantic penalties. The Ford began the extra session, played at the school-building end of CHA's field, and sr. FB Wyatt Benson immediately rumbled 10 yards for a score. Oops, laundry on the lawn. For holding. The infraction happened at the 4, so the ball was placed at the 14. Sr. QB Matt Lengel then rolled right and looked and looked and couldn't find an open receiver and decided to keep. He got to the 12 along the right sideline and, a good five yards out of bounds, a Ford was guilty of jumping on the then-prone CHA tackler. Why he did so, I have no idea, but the dead-ball foul moved the ball back to the 27. Two incompletions followed and frosh Aron Morgan was unable to hit a 45-yard field goal. CHA's first play was a right-side sweep by Campbell. Well, eventually. At first he appeared destined to lose a few yards as a couple-three Fords stormed across the line to swarm him. But no. He fought them off, broke free and ran untouched from there to the right corner. What an effort! The Blue Devils' subs came dashing off the sideline to join with those on the field for a huge celebration. Campbell was simply amazing. He just WILLED that TD to happen. It wasn't as if he was fresh, either. The carry was his 39th of the afternoon (he also plays DB) and, in the second half, only two of the Blue Devils' 21 plays were NOT runs by him. In all, he finished with 234 yards and all four TDs. His grunts included soph C Chris Howard, jr. G Colin Kelly, sr. G Brendan Spearing and sr. Ts Will Emery and Matt Levin (with sr. Tom Devlin , just as passionate a blocker, at FB). OK, back to the wild developments that got us to OT. On the first play after Campbell's initial TD, Lengel hit jr. RB Carl Walrath for a 24-yard gain on a left-side screen pass. The play was tried again just two snaps later, but frosh OLB Bobby Keyes turned a perfect read into a jump-on-it interception. Campbell ran 12 and 15 yards for his second TD. On the first play of the fourth quarter, CHA jr. QB Danny Gallagher was held to 11.99 inches when 12 were necessary for a first down. The Ford stormed 50 yards in three plays, runs of 5 and 35 by Walrath and a 10-yard shovel pass score to Benson (right after the CHA assistants yelled again and again that a shovel pass would be coming). Back to CHA. Keyes made a fair-catch snag of a Morgan's blooped kickoff. First play. Right to middle slant from Gallagher to sr. WR Jon McAllister for a 45-yard pickup down to the 15. One yard for Campbell, then 14 more and a score for 21-7. On the Fords' second play, Lengel fired one downfield. There was a three-way jump ball (at about the 25?) and no one caught it. Well, except for Walrath, who was standing nearby and gathered in the deflection. That TD play covered 56 yards. CHA followed with three runs by Campbell for 0, 3 and 5 yards. The lead tacklers on the respective plays were sr. DT Max Silver, jr. LB Joe McCallion and sr. LB AJ Jones. The Fords took over at their 14 with 6:14 left. This drive necessitated 13 plays with the biggie a 25-yard pass from Lengel to jr. WR Michael Washington. On third-and-goal from the 2, Benson powered in for the score at 0:17 and Morgan added the PAT. Barely. Sr. little guy Brian Dones, as always, burst in there and got a piece of the ball. Fluttering, it just eased over the crossbar near the right upright. Phew! Campbell did provide some late-regulation drama with a 34-yard run to the 21 as time ran out. CHA's work is not complete, of course. The BDs must visit Malvern next Saturday and win to claim an outright title. Won't be easy. The Friars still have motivation as a victory would create a tie for the title. HS needs to get past its vast devastation as it's hardly finished, either. If the Fords, as expected, best Episcopal and Malvern also wins, you'll be looking at a half-the-league-wins-the-title situation. In recent years, that happened in '03 AND '04.