SEPT. 26
CATHOLIC AAAA
SJ Prep 24, La Salle 17
  Maybe it should pour more often. Yes, the rain is a pain when it comes to keeping stats and taking pictures and just plain watching for all of the spectators, and playing for the guys in pads, of course, but the teams put on a wonderful show before a MAJOR throng at Plymouth-Whitemarsh and all you ever want to see is a game come down to the final possession, and this one did. This contest is worthy of a three-part series, considering everything that happened. For the third time in four weeks, the Prep rallied from a double-digit deficit to claim an impressive victory (also McKeesport and St. Peter's of Jersey City, N.J.). They keep this up, somebody will turn their season into a reality show. The seeds for eventual victory were sown right before halftime and soph RB Desmon "The End Zone's Choice" Peoples did the honors after the Prep, down by 17-6, got a chance at a last possession on an interception and 49-yard return by sr. LB Stephen/Steve "Either One Is Fine" O'Hara that took the ball to La Salle's 11. Soph QB Skyler Mornhinweg lost five yards on first down and then got the same amount back with a dump pass to sr. FB Mike Labor. Mornhinweg next threw a left-sideline pass to scatback Peoples, who made the catch at about the 4. Two defenders were there, but Peoples evaded them by slightly backtracking and then he did a semi-circle toward the end zone and stretched the ball over the goal line to cap a mini-dive. It was a tremendous effort. All kinds of things happened, but there was no further scoring until the final minutes of the game. An 8-yard sack by O'Hara forced a punt and sr. Steve Jones could only manage a 12-yarder, so the Hawks took over at La Salle's 41 with 3:09 left. Mornhinweg hit sr. WR Pete Hurley with a third-and-9, 22-yard pass to the 18 as there was a momentary breakdown in coverage. On second down, after a no-gain, the son of Eagles offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg sent a fade toward the right corner. Two defenders were in the vicinity, but neither one appeared to look up in time -- admittedly, I was on the opposite side of the field -- and sr. WR Bobby D'Orazio was able to record the TD at 1:30 to make it 18-17. A conversion pass to sr. TE Brett Meyer fell incomplete. On La Salle's first play, sr. QB Drew Loughery fumbled and jr. DE Pat Kueny recovered on the 14. (There was controversy on this one. The La Salle folks insisted the whistle blew before the squirtaway.) The Prep opted to play straight-up football. Jr. TB Spencer Reid, son of Eagles coach Andy Reid, gained four yards and then Labor went off-tackle right for a 10-yard score. Cool, right? Not completely. After jr. Conor Murphy blocked the PAT, La Salle had 1:09 to drive down the field to not only force OT but maybe win, depending on coach Drew Gordon's mind-set. It wasn't to be. Here's the sequence: 13-yard KO return by jr. Kevin Forster to the 34. Eleven-yard pass to Forster. Five-yard keeper by Loughery. Down-the-middle passes of 12 and 19 yards to Jones, the TE. Spike at 19.6. The last three passes were incomplete, with none presenting THAT much of an almost-happened scenario, and the Hawks had their victory. The one major downer of the evening for Prep was a third-quarter injury (knee?) to sr. RB Garrett Compton. He was carried off and did not return. On the flip side, La Salle welcomed the return of sr. WR Sam Feleccia, a franchise player who'd yet to see action this season due to ankle miseries. Even before the game, Gordon was saying he wasn't sure how much Feleccia would play because he'd only practiced for one day and stopping/starting was an issue. "Maybe we can use him on fades," he'd said. Well, Feleccia wound up with five catches for 46 yards and a TD, and even posted a 16-yard gain on a carry from the tailback spot. (Maybe we'll see more of that?) This game included 131 plays! Loughery passed 15-for-34 for 189 yards while involving five receivers. With star jr. RB-handyman Jamal Abdur-Rahman (knee) still unavailable, frisky soph Tim Wade got 29 calls and he responded with 157 yards and a TD. In all the Explorers collected 380 yards. The Prep managed 267. An unsung hero for the Prep was sr. DB Kushmir Miller. Overall, he had kind of a tough night and the Explorers appeared to be targeting him. But early in the fourth quarter, on a first-down, left-side out intended for sr. WR Connor Hoffman, Miller jumped on the route and made a diving interception at the 1. The play began at the 7, so the Explorers would have had three more cracks from close in if not for Miller's heroics. At one point along the sideline, I mentioned to Abdur-Rahman that he appears to be getting taller. "Maybe a little. I hope so," he said. He then added with a smile, "But I've got boots on." In the first half, over on Prep's side, I mentioned to one of the student managers that it's cool that he and the other kid are now being permitted to wear game jerseys. He quipped, "Next week they're going to let us wear shoulder pads." Everyone's suspicion, of course, is that we'll see these teams again come playoff (even title) time. Here's hoping for another classic. And if rain is what it takes to ensure/insure/assure a tremendous rerun, we'll all deal with it, right?

SEPT. 19
NON-LEAGUE
North Penn 28, SJ Prep 14
  Deciding which verb to use after one team beats another can sometimes be tricky, especially for headline writers who were not in attendance. With that in mind, I thought "drubs" on philly.com late Saturday night was a little strong to describe NP's victory in this showdown of city-suburban powers. Drubs to me says 42-0, or worse. In this one, verbs such as Handles, Tames, Muffles or even Dominates would have worked fine. After overcoming two-TD deficits in Weeks One and Two against McKeesport and St. Peter's of Jersey City, N.J., the Hawks again found themselves down by two scores. The problem: Only 53.2 seconds remained and any suspense had long since departed, along with about half the members of the full-house crowd at Plymouth-Whitemarsh. That began to happen barely into the fourth quarter. So, what went wrong for the Prep? Lots of things. But the No. 1 truth was/is this: North Penn is VERY good. The Knights' execution was flawless on both sides of the ball. On a number of occasions, a Prep guy would appear to be on the verge of making a tackle for no gain or even a loss. Oops. There'd be someone to block him. Similarly, the Hawks' offensive plays would appear to have potential and . . . thud. A Knight would pop up to wreck things. You know how papers and magazines are writing again and again these days about the national epidemic of childhood obesity? Well, sugar and starches must be prohibited in NP's school district. This squad had very few big'-uns, even along the sideline, and especially on defense every single guy appeared to be in perfect shape. All the linemen looked like linebackers and they flew to the ball. Impressive. None of the Prep's 26 rushing plays went for as much as 10 yards and the total yield was 28. Include a 32-yard loss on a way-too-high snap on a punt and you're talkin' minus-4. Ouch. The passing game yielded 168 yards on 13-for-28. Soph Skyler Mornhinweg turned in an uneven performance, as there were some open guys he was just unable to hit. A few drops did not help matters. Jr. Paul McGann made a fourth quarter appearance and, after battling an early case of nerves (several overthrows), he settled in to lead the Hawks to that final score. That play was legendary, by the way. McGann, the brother of former Prep/Temple star and NFL camper Mike McGann, now a Prep assistant, was trying to hit sr. WR Colin Rodgers in the front right part of the end zone. Rodgers and the defender battled for the ball, and it remained in the air right nearby. And here came Franco Harris! (smile). Well, here came fellow receiver Pete Hurley (4-60), a sr. He made this version of the Immaculate Reception and the play, good for 30 yards, provided a nice, late-game highlight. McGann made a wonderful, early-game play. The game's first possession saw the Hawks march from their 26 to NP's 14. But a no-gain for sr. RB Garrett Compton and two incompletes brought sr. K John Gregitis onto the field for a 31-yard field goal attempt. The kick was a low shot into the line and NP had no trouble blocking it. A Knight picked up the ball on the 20 and an 80-yard TD return looked possible. McGann, the holder, gave pursuit and made the tackle at SJP's 34. A pretty easy TD on a 33-yard pass came four plays later. Late in the first quarter, Mornhinweg took a 15-yard sack on fourth-and-8 from the NP 35 and the Knights needed just four plays to score again. Prep: Three-and-out. NP: Seven plays for another score. A 34-yard pass did the trick this time and it came one play after Mornhinweg got his hands tangled while going for what should have been an interception. Not the Prep's night, folks. NP managed 295 yards of offense, with an even breakdown of 143 rushing and 152 passing. The Knights did not suffer a loss until the first play of the third quarter, when sr. LB Bill Mancini posted a TFL for a yard. Later in that session, sr. LB Stephen/Steve "Either One's Fine" O'Hara absolutely stormed across the line to register a 5-yarder. It was maybe the only time all night that NP experienced a breakdown. Next up for Prep is La Salle (with Judge the week after that) next Saturday night. Geez, what a schedule these guys are attacking. If you want a good seat, you might want to head for P-W right now. Assuming the weather is again decent, some people might have to watch this one from the parking lot.

SEPT. 19
NON-LEAGUE
O'Hara 23, North Catholic 6
  As Homecomings go, this one was decent but hardly spectacular. So it goes for players bound for big-time programs. One weekend after he committed to Ohio State, O'Hara sr. star RB-Rec. Corey Brown probably was expected to post, oh, about 768 yards of total offense while playing a short distance from the Oxford Circle neighborhood (in Frankford's stadium) where he first made his football name. Someone forgot to tell North's defense to sink into reclining positions and allow Brown to do what he wanted. Corey did finish with 101 rushing yards, but that output necessitated 21 carries. He only had one as long as 10 yards. He also contributed five catches for 55 yards and that was how he posted his lone TD -- on a 23-yard slant from jr. QB Ryan Laughlin with 5:27 remaining. In addition, Brown lost a 48-yard TD run to a holding penalty and managed 57 yards on returns. The Lions, as planned at halftime by coach Danny Algeo, ran almost exclusively to the left side in the third and fourth quarters and sr. T Matt Williams, who dominated that side (next to sr. G Kardell Pressley), will be the recipient of Monday DN ink. Both teams scored on long passes -- O'Hara on a 55-yarder to jr. RB Adam Dempsey and North on an 87-yarder to sr. WR Dave Sherman. The problem for North was, it could have posted two more l-o-n-g ones if not for drops. Jr. QB Anthony Reid finished 8-for-17 for 150 yards and Sherman's production was 4-132. Laughlin went 8-for-15 for 128. North turned in a respectable defensive performance overall, despite what a 23-point yield might indicate. Not too many teams, EVER, will hold Brown to one double-figure yardage carry. Also, the Falcons, on first-and-10 from the 12, stood tall to force an early field goal and twice more, late in the second quarter, they kept O'Hara off the board thanks to a 5-yard sack by soph DL Tyrone Brown on one possession and an end zone interception by sr. DB Mark Allen on the other. I suspect those failures were the reason coach Danny Algeo opted to mostly forsake the pass beyond intermission, and pound it while eating up yardage and clock time. North again played without injured sr. RB Eugene Byrd and the rushing game failed to exist in his absence. North now has two guys named David Williams. Sr. David D. is the ever-impressive linebacking force. David M. is a freshman RB. Each received one carry in this one and David M. won the contest, 0 yards to negative 1. Not exactly a vintage battle (smile). In the second quarter, Matt Williams was in on three consecutive tackles and one of them went for a 5-yard loss. One series earlier, he’d gotten a piece of a punt. Soph DB Demiere Shaw had an interception for Algeo’s ballclub. O’Hara’s band and flag brigade were in attendance. Rather impressive, considering the fact that Frankford is not exactly around the corner from O’Hara. From here I headed to McDonald’s for a belated lunch. Drive-thru window, of course. The quarter-pounder with cheese was respectable. The fries were not!! They were whiter than O’Hara’s jerseys. Can’t stand that! Cook the damn things, will ya! Does anyone out there, anywhere, like white fries? Didn’t think so. I scrapped the original plan to head to the office between games and instead went straight to Plymouth-Whitemarsh, site of the evening game between St. Joe's Prep and North Penn. As in previous years, I got some work done while standing up and putting the laptop on a ledge in the ticket booth. When the windows opened at 6 o'clock, the line stretched a good distance into the parking lot.

SEPT. 18
PUBLIC AA
Imhotep 14, Franklin 6
  Three times the third time was the charm. After eight combined losses vs. Franklin and Bok in assorted divisions through its first four Pub seasons, the Panthers finally broke through in game No. 9. And, yes, even though this was a division opener, and we’re still in mid-September, there was wild celebration as the contest ended and lots of emotion from the coaches as they spoke to the players in the post-game meeting. Entirely understandable. Tears weren’t everywhere, but it didn’t take too much effort to see them streaming down the faces of assorted folks. Football isn’t a sport where the outcome is still in doubt on THE final play. It was today, folks. Herrrrrrre we go. A 16-yard punt return by sr. Ronique Felton placed the ball on Imhotep’s 32 with 1:37 left. The Franklin faithful immediately went berserk when jr. QB Evander “Holyfield/Charles” Barkley turned a scramble into a 22-yard run to a hint inside the 10, thus creating first and goal. Just beforehand, Franklin’s defense had done a wonderful job while forcing a three-and-out, with rookie coach Desmin Daniels calling timeouts after the first three downs. Now, for my money, the first move should have been a spike, thus stopping the clock right away and giving the offensive guys a chance to collect themselves before attacking the last three downs. That didn’t happen. On first down, sr. WR Steve "Nerf" Garrett caught a hitch and was tacked for a 1-yard loss by sr. DB Leland Smith. Sr. RB Marquis White then gained 2 yards on a run and was stopped by srs. Anwar Raines and Maurice Howard. Barkley next threw an incomplete slant to sr. WR Malik Johnson. On fourth down, Barkley lofted a left-corner fade to the tallest receiver, sr. Clarence Cohen. Jr. DB Maurice Palmer was right with him. The two soared and battled and tumbled and . . . neither one came down with the ball. Ecstasy for the Panthers. Heartache for the Electrons. DN ink went to Smith, who broke a 6-6 tie by catching a 35-yard, fly-pattern pass from jr. Christopher Lewis with 5:45 remaining. Leland’s mom, Deborah Jackson-Smith, suffered a mild heart attack earlier in the week, so you can imagine how much stress he’s been under, and how concerned he’s been. On the play, Smith did a 5-and-out and then zoomed down the sideline when he saw that the cornerback bit hard on the out. The play was perfectly executed and Smith was WIDE open. Three plays earlier, Lewis had been jostled while throwing and the result was a serious popup. Standing alone, and no doubt dreaming about his about-to-be, 70-yard TD off an interception return, was White, Franklin’s franchise player thanks to his RB exploits. One problem. The ball squirted right through White’s hands. Such an unfortunate development for this upper-level warrior. The Panthers then switched to a Wildcat formation and that put Smith, the starting QB as ’08 began, as the snap-getter. He kept for 8 yards, then threw incomplete, and the winning play followed. Backtracking, the game began with a 10-play, 68-yard drive by Imhotep and Palmer capped it with a 7-yard TD run. Already the Panthers were having problems with penalties and this would become a game-long bugaboo. Franklin would also join in. By game’s end, head ref Denny Williams had marched off 198 yards and he didn’t bother with four other 15-yarders because they happened in offsetting situations. All the flags were incredibly annoying! Franklin’s TD came on a 53-yard run by White (16-91) on the first possession of the third quarter. Just before halftime the Electrons had a great opportunity thanks to a pair of completions by Barkley (to Cohen for 12 yards and Garrett for 24 at 6.6). That placed the ball on the 6 with no timeouts. Barkley took the snap and rolled to his left with run-pass options. Jr. Devin Sanders and Raines came up hard and stopped him at the 2. Halftime. Lewis finished 5-for-11 for 139 yards with Smith emerging as his top target (3-65). Lewis has an impressive arm and could have a lot of fun over these next two seasons. One thing he needs to work on: pulling away from center too early. That maneuver resulted in several procedure calls. Sr. LB Darius Williams had a strong game for Imhotep. As great as the Panthers felt afterward, the exhilaration will quickly fade. The reason? Next Friday brings a showdown with Bok, so there is MUCH work to be done all week. Bok coach Tommy DeFelice and three of his assistants were in attendance, scouting the Panthers in no-doubt thorough fashion. Though the crowd was not THAT sizable, there was a great atmosphere. Both schools’ cheerleaders were in attendance, as was a DJ with ear-pounding sounds, and Franklin had a concession stand as well. Niiiiiiiiiice.

SEPT. 17
PUBLIC AA
Furness 42, FitzSimons 6
  Only one of the F schools experienced much fun. Furness scored on six of its first seven possessions and FitzSimons had all KINDS of trouble due mostly to shotgun snaps that went here, there and everywhere. Mostly WAY high, actually. DN ink went to soph RB Sharif Smith, who's already the Falcons' franchise player (he was last year, too, come to think of it) and today served as his team's only captain. (He lost the flip -- smile.) Smith dinged his left hip last week vs. Fels and coach Anthony Pastore didn't want to push it. Smith, also a star CB, thus played no defense, but he did post 162 yards and three TDs on 16 carries and, out of a Wildfalcon formation, he whipped a 30-yard scoring pass to sr. Ryan Johnson, who had been the QB on the previous play. Sr. Anthony Ings and soph Maurice Harris also ran for TDs. Furness' O-line featured sr. C Henry Greene, sr. G Donovan Betters, jr. G Nadim Harris, sr. T Robert Jenkins and jr. T Rasheed Larke. Pastore said Jenkins (6-1, 285) is receiving preliminary interest from Temple. Anthony's son, sr. FB Victor "Vic the Pick" Pastore, blocked well and added 28 yards on seven rushes. FitzSimons' main guy is jr. QB Richard Williams, who's listed at 6-3, 185. He has excellent speed AND quickness, but his possibly large effect on the proceedings was negated by non-stop snapping woes. This is not an exaggeration: He had to make severe adjustments at least a dozen times and if not for his height and leaping ability, at least five more would have whizzed over his head. Williams and frosh punter Jorden Skinner five times had to chase way-back-there snaps. The total loss on those plays was 96 yards. Ouch! Undoubtedly frazzled by everything that was happening, Williams passed just 3-for-11 for 28 yards. He was intercepted three times -- twice by jr. LB Aaron Cooper and once by jr. LB Kevin Hayes. Cooper made a tackle on one of the snap misadventures in addition notching a regular half sack. Greene recovered a fumble on same. On Furness' only first half possession that did not yield a TD, sr. DE Sean Carter made tackles on three of the four plays. Jr. LB Nate Boyer also had some good moments on defense while sr. CB Tyree Anderson, who's listed at 5-9, 165, but appears to be much smaller, made a brassy, come-up-hard hit to prevent a first down on a fourth-and-3 play in the fourth quarter. Our best wishes go out to Fitz coach Joe "Coach X" Bradley, who underwent surgery this week. He's still overseeing team operations, but he was not in attendance today and the Rams were steered by Bobby "Buck" Davis. Two familiar faces were also on hand for Fitz. The offensive coordinator is Woody Redding, pop of the North Catholic basketball star, and one of the other assistants is former Franklin star Ty "Smack" West. By the way, Furness combines with Academy at Palumbo for football. Or maybe that should be the other way around. The roster lists 41 players (about 35 were in uniform today). Twenty-four attend Palumbo, which happens to be where Pastore works. The situation at Southern, another South Philly school, is similar. Coach Stosh Tunney mentioned recently that only about 15 of the Rams actually attend school at Broad and Snyder. The others are part of combo schools and charters. These are the wacky Pub times we live in, baby.

SEPT. 12
NON-LEAGUE
West Catholic 35, Penn Charter 7
  Still Enjoy the Show . . . Re-enjoy the Show . . . Still Showtime . . . Still Explosive, Show 'Nuff. It's time for another slogan and accompanying T-shirts. Despite major skills-positions losses, West Catholic is ready to again rack up the points and that was very evident very early in this tilt at the Southern-Bok complex. As the Phillies' bullpen was blowing a game against the Mets across the expressway, the Burrs were blowing up and down the field, at will. The first quarter yielded an amazing 290 yards and 28 points! There were "drives" lasting one, three, three again and four plays. There's an old football proverb: Never judge a guy's speed during a night game. The reason? Everybody looks faster under the lights. Even the refs can fly (smile). But when West jr. Joshua Mathis (5-5, 140) sped 80 yards for a TD immediately after sr. LB Dante Dickens terminated PC's first possession with an end zone pick, he looked like The World's Fastest Human. The word along the sideline was that he IS mighty speedy, and we'll trust that. The night's most impressive play, however, capped series No. 2. Sr. lefty QB Jarred Evans, a transfer from Holy Cross (Staten Island), hit jr. WR Quran Kent with a 50-yarder. Kent evaded one guy's dive at maybe the 15 and then dragged another tackler at right about the goal line. TD No. 3 was a 45-yard burst by Mathis. At the 20, he unfurled a pick-up-your-jockstrap move on a defender that will undoubtedly draw major response during the upcoming film session. No. 4? Kent's turn again. At 0:00 he hauled in a perfectly thrown ball in the right corner, good for 31 yards. Eleven plays for the session. Two hundred and 90 yards. Incredible. (The last three scores in the sequence followed punts.) West's fifth possession resulted in a punt, but the return was botched and Kent recovered on West's 45. Next TD, coming right up. Four yards for Mathis. Thirty-nine for Kent on a pass. Then a 12-yard TD to jr. Jaelin Strong-Rankin on a fade to the left corner. The scoreboard showed 4:14 and unless PC scored before halftime, the second half would feature a running clock. Huck and I were rooting against that. We wanted more stats! Ha, ha. But PC could not get on the board as sr. DB Ray "Cholly" Manuel made a goal-line interception and showed HIS speed with a 51-yard return. The second half flew by and the game's competitive edge was mostly non-existent. PC finally broke the shutout with 4:23 left on a 30-yard pass from jr. QB John Loughery to jr. WR Joe Sankey. Somebody missed an assignment because the closest defender was a zip code away. Overall, West accumulated 499 yards on 45 plays (11.1). Mathis finished 10-180 and Evans went 7-for-9 for 182; he completed six consecutive tosses after a first-throw miss and looked very sharp on a variety of throws (touch, velocity). PC is very young overall and this was the opener (West played Roman last week) and the growing pains showed. The Quakers' 43-man roster shows 27 freshmen and sophomores. Loughery, Matt Ryan's first cousin, offered an uneven performance, as I'm sure he'd acknowledge. Some of his early throws were quite off-target, but he later settled in nicely and finished 9-for-17 for 221 yards. He only threw three passes beyond intermission as PC didn't really push the let's-go-crazy-trying-to-catch-up issue; he completed all of 'em for 117 yards. Sr. WR Mick Foley led the way with three snags for 83 yards. Sr. RB Michael Brown, who's also a quickster, raced 49 yards on HIS first carry. He had to settle for 10-63, though, and twice came semi-limping off the field with leg dings. Assuming PC's young line can mature enough to give him the necessary openings, he'll also experience major fun this season. Jr. LB Anthony McDonnaugh logged two sacks for West while sr. DL John Ruppert had one of those and two other TFLs among five stops. PC's defensive highlight was a blocked FG by jr. DL Cornell Harriott. The FG, a 41-yard attempt, would have been the first for sr. Tim Carroll. He scored all 89 of his '08 points on PATs. And all 23 in '07, as well. With three last week vs. Roman and five in this one, Carroll now owns 120 career PAT. The city record belongs to '03 SJ Prep grad Pat Kaiser (157; he was a four-year kicker). Looks like The Show is again good enough to mean that one will be broken. Perhaps even smashed.

SEPT. 12
NON-LEAGUE
N. Catholic 17, Ryan 0
  Despite the best efforts of first-year coach Frank McArdle Jr. and his staff (it includes his dad, Frank), it's going to take a while for Ryan to regroup from its severe recent downturn (capped by a winless '08). The Raiders don't have much size and there's no true game-breaker, but you know what, there's much to like. These kids were bringin' it against the obviously better-manned Falcons and one could not detect a hint of Head Down Syndrome even in the latter stages. If not for a couple of hiccups late in the second quarter, Ryan could have headed into the locker room locked in a scoreless tie. McArdle and crew gambled slightly with about 3 1/2 minutes left, going for a pass over the middle. Jr. QB Dillon Cave was jostled as he threw by jr. DE Sean Reidy and stud sr. inside linebacker David Williams made an interception at the 21, returning the ball to the 9. Ryan held nicely, then lineman Kerry Shields hammered a 25-yard field goal. Ryan followed with what could have been an uplifting drive and feisty sr. RB Mark Golic (15-57) fueled it with a 36-yard burst. Unfortunately for the Raiders, a flag was thrown and Golic had to settle for 26 yards. Two plays later, Cave overthrew his receiver and sr. DB Mark Allen intercepted. On second down, jr. QB Anthony Reid launched a long one down the left sideline and jr. WR Dave Sherman caught it in stride for a 61-yard score at 0:14. Ouch. Just like that it was 10-0. North was missing sr. star RB Eugene "U-Turn" Byrd, who was nursing a leg ding but said he intends to return to practice Monday. Jr. Shawn Wilson managed 82 yards and a late TD on 16 rushes. Soph Taishan Tucker (10-35) helped out. Reid oozes athleticism and must be watched at all times. However, while going 5-for-15 for 98 yards, he did experience a few bouts with McNabbism (you know, throwing the ball at guys' feet -- smile). NC's grunts: sr. C Ray Reusher, sr. Gs Matt Reidy and Micale Allen, Ts Shields and soph Mike Makor. In the fourth quarter, soph DB Gabe "Holy" Toledo and soph LB Jack Schanz registered sacks on back-to-back plays. Sr. E Fran Corbett made a series of plays for Ryan's defense and Brian Murphy hustled through the line to block a punt. Ryan had no roster. Grrrrr. Just a one-time glitch, hopefully, but for now we'll call it just another example of how the Catholic League is becoming more and more like the Pub. Back in the not-too-long-ago day, complete programs with ads and even photos -- let alone just a simple roster sheet -- could be had at almost every CL game. Technology is better than ever, but things are worse? Can someone explain that? Former N-G coach Bill Sytsma is now assisting at North. When I asked him how things are going, he shot back with a laugh, "No gray hairs. I'm growing some hairs back, actually."

SEPT. 11
NON-LEAGUE
Central 6, Dobbins 2
  You gotta love those off-the-wall city records. Here’s the newest: Fewest Pass Plays Called by a Former Receiving Star Making His Head Coaching Debut: Zero. The guy we’re talking about is Rich Drayton, who was often spectacular during his career for Central in the mid-1980s and then starred at Temple. Why’d he never let sr. DeVonne Boler throw any passes as the Lancers (0-11 last year) snapped a 15-game losing streak? Weather. Early, it was rainy and windy and later it was just plain wet (and slightly muddy) and Drayton said afterward with a laugh, “Hey, I know what we do when the ball's wet, and it's nothing good.” All along, you had to figure this game would be decided by a fumble recovery deep in somebody’s territory, followed by a short run. Instead, the difference was a 48-yard, third-quarter jaunt by Boler. It did follow a fumble, though. The play even began with one. Boler said he didn’t remember the ball even getting up to his hands on the snap by center Saleem Rivers. But he saw it on the ground right beneath him, picked it up, broke through the line, eased little by little to his left and scored in the end zone closest to Broad Street. Amazing, huh? You try and try and try with designed plays and then a mistake works out great. On the PAT, the snap was low and the placement on the block was delayed and the kick by sr. Joe Guarnieri, who kicks rightfooted but punts leftfooted (if you’re curious, he said he writes lefthanded), was driven into the line. There would be more entertainment. Midway through the fourth quarter, another snapping misadventure led to a blocked Guarnieri punt (by sr. Justin Small) and Dobbins had only 35 yards to go. The series produced just three yards (sr. LB Craig Williams made two tackles; sr. DL Ryshan Manning had another for a 2-yard loss) and Dobbins opted to punt with 3:59 left. Thanks to sr. 5-8, 150-pound RB Zaim Tahiraj, who was tough all day (21-89), Central maintained possession for at least a little while and then it was time for another punt. Again the snap was wild. This time, Guarnieri retreated and, boom! kicked the ball out of the end zone for an intentional safety. (I think he used his right foot. Smile.) It was a great move and Joe said he’d gotten the idea from an NFL player. His free-kick punt from the 20 carried to midfield and Williams locked up the win with a quick interception on a middle screen. As you can imagine, the Lancers were mighty happy. Last year was not a whole lot of fun. DN ink went to Boler, the third quality player in his family and a guy being eyed as a safety for college purposes. Of the game’s five best hits, he likely posted, say, three of them. Gregory (Northeast) is playing for Florida A&M. Amir (Roxborough) is attending Elizabeth City State and is hoping to become part of that school’s program. DeVonne is a 3.7 student with designs on becoming a math teacher/coach. For Dobbins, tough sr. RB Karon James (5-5, 150) was held to 24 yards on 11 carries. Jr. FB Terrence Stafford, also a hard-hitting force at LB, carried eight times for 40 yards. Jr. QB Kevin Butler could only pass 2-for-9 for seven yards while trying to throw the greased pig. Meanwhile, Drayton’s soph son, Richard, is a wideout. Yes, that’s right. Dad didn’t even call a pass play for son! (smile). He did give him a touch on a late counter, though. A 5-yard gain resulted. Soph lineman David Rosario is also a starter. His dad, David, likewise was a headliner for Central’s ’85 champions. Meanwhile No. 2, how is it possible that Central’s field, the main site a couple years ago in that movie about ex-Eagle Vince Papale, still does not have stands? Supersites all over the place, beautiful new buildings at Lincoln and Fels, and the School District can’t slap together even a small set of stands for a school that’s one of the crown jewels of the system? Everybody has to stand on the track, with most pressed against the restraining fence. Brutal.

SEPT. 10
NON-LEAGUE
Olney 8, Southern 6
  Eight-six games are usually not too good. This one was decent and the fourth quarter featured assorted, and interesting, twists and turns, even though each team had only one possession. At maybe 10 minutes before 3, everyone was wondering aloud, "Will there even be a game?" Olney was nowhere to be seen. As an assistant coach acknowledged later, the bus was slightly late picking up the squad and then the trip down Broad Street required forever and a minute. After being permitted a very short warmup period (only exercises, if memory serves), the Trojans had to start performing and then found themselves in a 6-0 hole rather quickly. A punt capping Southern's first possession was mishandled and sr. Richard White recovered on his team's 30. Sr. RB Sean Allen (15-135), sr. WR Lamar Williams (on a reverse) and Allen ripped off gains of 17, 25 and 19 yards and the ball was stationed at the 8. Jr. FB Izeem Sims ran it in from there, entering the end zone in the left corner. The conversion run failed. Zoom. Ahead to the fourth quarter we go. Well, to the last two plays of the third. Olney begins a 13-play, 72-yard drive that's capped by jr. QB Jaron "Snoop" Turner's 12-yard bootleg keeper dash to the left corner with 5:17 left. One play beforehand, sr. RB Eric Barrow had muscled 2 yards for a score, only to see it wiped out by a very late holding call. How late? The ref didn't throw the flag until tomorrow! (smile) On the conversion, Barrow (14-84) was unable to catch a low pitchout. The ball bounced right back up to him, though, and he made it across the goal line. Turner, a productive wideout in '08, threw just one pass before this drive. Yet he went 3-for-3 and his receivers made some terrific catches for 63 total yards -- 14 for jr. TE Claudy Mathieu, 30 (with a leap) for jr. WR Julius Broughton and 19 for Barrow in traffic over the middle. Southern's last gasp began at its 40. A 22-yard burst by Williams, on a counter, helped to push the rock to the 20. On first down, the call was a reverse to star wideout Shaquille Gaskins (two soaring catches for 53 yards; the Rams HAVE to find a way to get him involved more often). Jr. T Sharif Paige was all over it, dumping Shaq Daddy for an 11-yard loss. Sr. QB Mac Stokes then dropped back and sr. DT Kevin Presley had no trouble storming up the middle to drop Mac Daddy for an 8-yard loss. Mathieu and Presley combined for a no-gain tackle on third down, then Turner got a downfield piece of a fourth-down pass to preserve the win. Jr. LB Nasir Alston and Presley recorded two TFLs apiece. Each guy also managed two sacks, as did Barrow (one shared). Barrow also had a fumble recovery and Turner posted a pick. Sr. DL Tyree Parks had a pair of sacks for Southern and a fumble recovery, plus he got a slight piece of a punt. Soph DL Stephen Hoskins wound up with a recovery on a stolen ball. Mike Reyes, star QB for Olney's first-ever playoff squad in '06, was in attendance and helped out on the chains. His brother, jr. Nelson Hernandez, is a jr. LB. Hockey Puck was also on site. Thankfully, he sat in the press box and, amazingly, mostly left me alone. Will the wonders ever cease?? Ha, ha.

SEPT. 5
NON-LEAGUE
Dougherty 6, Neumann-Goretti 0
  Dougherty hasn't experienced a winning season since 1993 (9-3) and its record during this decade is 15-79. The jump off 14 wins was finally taken today and Jim Grugan was particularly happy (and wet; he got doused) because this is his second season and the first one yielded nine losses. The losing streak was 16 games officially, but the on-the-field total was 17 (Frankford had to forfeit a 25-0 victory early in 2007 due to an ineligible player). Lord and Bishop McFadden only know what might happen to the school itself over the next couple years, but the football program could be in big trouble. The roster lists just four sophs and seven juniors and there are only 60 boys in the incoming freshman class and who knows how many of them show the grid inclination? (Seven are currently listed on the roster. Hopefully, that number will increase when school opens Wednesday. By the way, there were 11 people in Dougherty's stands when the game began. The number later increased to maybe 70.) Though this tilt, played at 4 o'clock in Wildwood, was not exactly thrills-and-chills material, most of the veteran Dougherty guys will be talking about it, perhaps, for the rest of their lives. Maybe they'll remember this oddity: The winning drive covered 140 yards! Huh? Well, it would have been an 87-yard drive, but a wonderful, 73-yard scoring run by sr. QB Trevor Pendleton was wiped out by a block in the back. The ball wound up on CD's 47, so 53 more yards were covered again in a five-play drive that was capped when sr. RB Tarik Morris (15-89, he'll receive ink in Tuesday's Daily News) ran straight up the middle for an 8-yard TD. Here's the complete drive, which began with 3:22 left in the third quarter: 14-yard run by sr. FB Luther Harling (6-38), the 73-yarder by Pendleton (the penalty occurred 35 yards into it); 2 yards for Harling, 9 for Morris, 4 for Harling on a pass from Pendleton (plus 15 more due to unsportsmanlike conduct), then 15 and 8 for Morris. The 15-yarder was gigantic because it ended with N-G star sr. LB Stan "Buddy" Visack sitting along Dougherty's sideline, trying to deal with severe cramping. He'd been poppin' people ALL game, but was not on the field when Morris scored. In its debut under new coach Rich "Moose" Carfagno, N-G mostly shot itself in the foot (and elsewhere). The Saints advanced to the 16 on their first series, but sr. QB Anthony Mastrando bobbled the snap on fourth-and-2 and that threat was over. Right before Dougherty's scoring drive, N-G got to the 8. But procedure was called before the fourth-down play could be run and Mastrando's subsequent pass was broken up by Harling. A field goal attempt by sr. Will Huff, who uncorked a pair of beautiful, 43-yard punts, complete with The Sound (boom!), would have made sense, but I suspect Carfagno wanted to test his offense with the hope that success would result in lingering confidence. Didn't work out. (Coach Carfagno emailed me later . . . "I thought CD would score a touchdown so I figured I needed a TD. In the future I will use Will.") N-G's final two possessions of the game resulted in turnovers. Jr. DE Kyle McDowell wound up with an interception at the line of scimmage when a Mastrando pass was muffled coming out of his hand. With 1:08 left, on a play starting at CD's 39, sr. LB Hovard Harrison forced a fumble and Harling recovered. (Harrison is now a grunt on offense. He formerly played RB, but an '08 knee injury affected his speed and he offered to help out on the line.) Mastrando wound up with 25 touches, running 15-20 and passing 3-for-10 for 47 yards. Sr. Pat Balmores rushed nine times for 29 yards. Jr. DB John Snyder made a number of clutch plays for N-G. Among the Saints' players: frosh LB Blaze Natale, son of Bok assistant Frank "Roscoe" Natale, and frosh DE Sharif Custis (brother of '08 franchise Saint Kadeem Custis -- Temple). Joey Carfagno, Moose's 10-year-old-stepson, served as the waterboy. While running onto the field at one juncture, he tripped and hit the grass as the bottles went flying. He regrouped and received a warm ovation as he continued on toward the players. Dougherty frosh LB Quinzell Lasiter was flagged for a horse-collar tackle. That's a new rule this year in high school ball. N-G basketball coach Carl Arrigale and Bok FB coach Tom DeFelice chatted along the fence at the south end of the field. Also part of the crowd: my wife, Anne, and N-G baseball star Mark Donato. Mark's grandfather, Walt Grady, happens to be my wife's first cousin. I took a pic of Mark with Anne, but since half her face was covered by hair due to an ill-timed wind gust, I won't even ask for permission to post it. I know better (ha ha). Anyway, I asked Mark to write down his email address because I wanted to send him an electronic copy of our All-City baseball team. Guess what? He writes righthanded. He throws and bats lefthanded. It's unbelievable how many good athletes, especially baseball players, have that mixed dominance. Has to be a tremendous advantage for hand-eye coordination.

SEPT. 5
NON-LEAGUE
O'Hara 35, Wood 14
  Here's a first thought: How even would this game have been without the presence of sr. RB Corey Brown on O'Hara's roster? Granted, Wood lost a LOT of high-quality seniors from a squad that last year advanced to the state AAA final. But the Vikings will still find a way to be good and even at this early stage they showed flashes of things to like in this seashore affair played before a large crowd in Ocean City. But O'Hara had Brown and he put his team in the black. The 6-1, 185-pound athlete's athlete is down to Ohio State, West Virginia, Pitt, Rutgers and Miami, according to coach Danny Algeo, and he changes the game just by standing there. Many defensive eyes are on him and if he goes in motion, forget it. Half the field moves with him. You know what that does: creates openings and allows an entire offense to thrive. So it was today. THREE O'Hara backs surpassed 100 rushing yards. Sr. Dan "My Name's My School (And Vice Versa)" O'Hara managed the feat by halftime en route to 10-102 (his only two carries of the second half produced a pair of 1-yard losses). Brown (16-162, two TDs) and jr. Adam Dempsey (9-110, two) joined the Century Club after intermission. Jr. QB Ryan Laughlin also had some fun, going 5-for-11 for 65 yards and a score to Brown. There was an interesting moment late in the third quarter. My angle wasn't the greatest, but Brown appeared to be caught from behind on what turned into a 32-yard run. I mentioned that to Sean Sullivan, former star wideout and O'Hara's director of FB operations, and he said that Corey had been forced to slow slightly while repositioning himself on the run, and that the tackler had enjoyed the advantage of being able to run full speed non-stop. Fair enough. Sean was upfield. He DID have a great angle. Next play? Zoom!!! Brown uncorked another 32-yard burst. This time into the end zone. Niiiiiiiiiiiiice. O'Hara's starting grunts: jr. C Sean McFadden, srs. Steve Rullo and Kardell Pressley, and sr. Ts Matt Williams (6-4, 275) and Joe Whinnery (6-5, 250). Laughlin, meanwhile, also had an enjoyable day on defense, logging an interception and a fumble recovery. Jr. LB Drew Formica uncorked the day's best hit -- it was like he slammed the guy on a countertop -- while sr. E Brendan O'Callaghan was important with two sacks and a fumble recovery. Wood coach Steve Devlin is leaning heavily on new QB Jerry Rahill, a sr. He was involved in 35 plays, rushing 20 times for 27 yards and a TD and passing 8-for-15 for 117 yards and a score to soph Kyle Adkins. Due to some bobbled snaps, Rahill's performance was a shade uneven. But there's much to like about his skills set/grit and he'll be very fine, not just fine. One thing that caught my eye: On a goal-line situation, sr. Scott Adkins received the call on consecutive plays. Scott is listed at 5-9, 170 (maybe) and of course you'd think, "Why would someone that small get the ball two straight times down there?" Well, as he proved OFTEN last season, Scott perhaps owns the Vikings' largest heart and Devlin has tremendous faith in him. This time the situation did not work out, but at least Rahill was able to sneak through on fourth down for a TD. Meanwhile, Devlin also had Adkins covering Brown man-to-man in a goal-line situation last in the first half. Scott was assessed a VERY questionable interference penalty early in that sequence, but O'Hara was not able to score and Scott did his job. Wood's leading receiver was jr. wideout Sam McCain (3-50), a cousin of Atlanta Falcons QB Matt Ryan. Big Willie McGonigle, who's not off to a good start in the Pickin' Parade, was a sideline companion. Another website legend (well, back-in-the-day variety), Kevin "Sparky" Cooney, was covering the game for the Bucks County Courier Times. He opted to remain in the press box. He only texted me 47 times!! Nah, just twice. One of them read, "Put the camera away." Ha, ha, ha. Like THAT will ever happen. Before one third quarter play, there was confusion as one O'Hara kid had trouble finding his proper spot in the formation. From the sideline, Algeo hollered, "Oh my God almighty! I'm gonna wring your neck!" That drew numerous chuckles. For some reason, the scoreboard showed this as Wood's score rather than 14 -- J4. Huh?

SEPT. 4
NON-LEAGUE
Franklin 42, Fels 6
  This was a good afternoon. Except for the fact that I fainted. Nah, not really, but a collapse onto the grass at 29th and Chalmers would have been entirely understandable after Franklin not only opened the game with a pass, but threw the ball AGAIN on play No. 2! There is no doubt in my mind that Franklin has thrown fewer passes than any of the long-established Pub schools, but change is in the wind (well, the air), folks. New coach Desmin Daniels has installed a spread offense and he's using two QBs, interchangably, to run that show. He said that's unlikely to change and that juniors Evander Barkley and Kareem Harris will be sharing the job all season. Don't get the wrong idea. We're not talking aerial circus here. Sr. RB Marquis White is back to create MAJOR havoc with his impressive combination of speed and even more toughness. But now there's another dimension, thanks to srs. Steve "Nerf" Garrett and Clarence Cohen and jr. Willie "Of Course He'll" Battle, and it's going to make for a nice blend assuming everyone accepts his role and the fact that the ball can't possibly to go every guy on every play. Barkley passed 5-for-10 for 41 yards. Harris managed 2-for-2 and a TD to Garrett. (What a play THAT was! Garrett made a juggling catch with the help of pinning the ball against his left shoulder pad, and then later shook off a would-be tackler while covering 45 total yards.) But the overall show was White's. He needed just nine carries to amass 174 yards and his three TDs covered 41, 4 and 55 yards. After missing the final four games of last season, including the AA showdown vs. Bok, with an injury, he's more motivated than ever. And this added passing element -- field-spreading hitches are part of the arsenal -- should help to open things up. Franklin dominated, scoring four times in the first quarter alone. Fels' offense was similar to Franklin's, and when was the last time you saw two Pub squads running the spread (with the QBs operating out of a shotgun) in the same game? Um, never maybe? (smile) Fels coach Bill Harrigan also used two QBs and that situation is more of an ongoing competition. (The roster does not list classes.) Harrigan said the starter, Stephane Smith, is a native of Haiti and has been in this country for only a year. He went 3-for-11 for 49 yards and a TD to Jared Hines. Branden White (No. 91; ever see a QB wearing THAT number?) went 4-for-11 for 16 yards. Fels' lines were outmanned, so things were never easy. Hines needed 11 carries to get to 30 yards. Franklin picks went jr. DB Kairi Mace and jr. sub DB Baron Jackson, who's listed at 5-3, 145. He got the interception on his first play on the field! Nice! Sr. DE Daivon Jackson, also the C and fellow student at Constitution High with best-buddy White, recovered a fumble and happened to be positioned right toward the sideline, so I was able to give him a picture for use on Myspace or Facebook (or some other social networking site that might have come into existence over the weekend -- ha ha). Jr. LB Jonathan Stackhouse also had a fumble recovery (strip by sr. LB Isiah Thorne) and that one immediately preceded Garrett's TD catch. Mace, meanwhile, ran for a 61-yard TD with his interception, but those heroics were nullified by a penalty. Jr. DL Dominique Gibson had the strip to allow Stackhouse's fumble recovery. Dontae Bacon had a FR for Fels (strip to Robert Jones). After tracking down a bad snap, No. 95 (not on roster) side-saddled a punt from the end zone to the 4 yard line. It went into the books as a minus-10-yarder. White had no trouble scoring on first down. Only one game ball was in use. Said one of the refs aloud on the field: "Rendell's gotta sign the new budget!" Thanks to Franklin assistant William Crawford for helping us out at the FitzSimons-Kutztown game, statswise. I noticed him keeping stats for Franklin and asked if he could possibly cover us (NO ONE was available) for Fitz-Kutz at Gratz, which started at 6. He was gracious enough to say yes. Good hustle, William!

SEPT. 4
NON-LEAGUE
Bok 36, Southern 0
  Well, at least both schools' cheerleading squads were in mid-season form. When these teams opened the season in '08, Southern had no girls on hand and Bok had a few who wound up selling food at a concession stand. This year? Organized with major numbers. Great job, ladies! As for the football squads . . . One showed up. One didn't. Bok was its usually efficient self and Southern had problems with attitude/organization in addition to performance. Forever and ever, Bok has done most of its running to the left side and that didn't change today, at least until the second-string offense made its appearance. The Wildcats pounded the left side and moved the ball in steady, if not spectacular fashion. DN ink went to sr. RB Gary Jackson and we focused in part on how he's listed at 5-9, 160 on the roster even though he's 5-6, 142. His heart? I've always loved this phrase: As big as all outdoors. G-Jack contributed 102 yards of offense, all but nine of them in the first half. He had a 51-51 split between rushing and receiving and though he didn't score a TD, he did post a conversion catch. Also, his 44-yard pickup on a screen pass set up a TD. Tough-guy jr. FB Khalil Neal (11-82) and sr. RB Faison Perry (5-35) ran for one score apiece. Jr. QB Andre Frazier, so impressive (at times) last year after being thrown into the job shortly into the season upon the transfer of Al-Haqq Shabazz to Bartram, is now 6-2, 180, and better by the minute. He went a cool 4-for-6 for 85 yards and one of his completions was a 35-yard TD to soph Jihad Ward. He goes 6-5, 245, and is NOT a tight end. He plays wideout. How cool is that? Keep your eyes on this dude! (smile) At the time I wrote down the numbers, Bok's grunts were sr. C Michael Clark, sr.Gs Josh Garnett and D'Andre Coffer, and sr. Ts Kendall Johnson and Khasiem Sledge. Coffer and Johnson were on the left side. Not much to say about Southern. Ten of the Rams' scrimmage plays lost yardage, and the damage was 42 yards. Neal, at LB, made four of those behind-the-line tackles. Soph E Marqui Alfriend and sr. NG Kevin Thompson also had some defensive fun. The Rams are now using highly athletic sr. Shaquille Gaskins at WR and the QB is fellow hoopster Mac Stokes, also a sr. Stokes had no time to throw until the very end, when a shotgun formation was employed. Mac managed a pair of consecutive 10-yard strikes to Shaq and Southern finally enjoyed its second and third first downs of the game. Stokes had bagged the other on an impressive scramble. Overall, the Rams' lines were no match for Bok's. I won't go into detail about some of the aforementioned negatives. The players and coaches KNOW what wasn't done correctly, and/or with enough passion, and here's hoping a good week of practice will start the right-the-ship process. Playing Bok, always so advanced out of the gate, is never easy. Southern's best defender was jr. LB Izeem Sims, who made four tackles behind the line. Sr. DL Tyree Parks also showed game-long effort and made an end-zone recovery when Frazier bobbled the ball while trying to sneak in from the 1. The line of the day was uttered by Neal in the third quarter. After he powered for a nice gain, he had to deal with some chirping from Southern defenders. He said to a nearby ref, "Tell 'em to stop talking, and concentrate!" Due to other assignments, hustling DN photographer Alex Alvarez was unable to make an appearance by the end of the game. So, DN executive editor Pat McLoone asked me to send in one of my pics for use on philly.com's new RALLY page. From the front hood of my car, I sent it by laptop at halftime of the Franklin-Fels game -- it was a pic of Jackson making a catch -- and, zoom, it was posted right away on that site. Supposedly, it'll be in Saturday's DN as well. Can a call from Sports Illustrated's photo department be far behind?? Ha, ha.