September Reports

OCT. 30
CATHOLIC AAAA
La Salle 31, SJ Prep 7
  Once again, the Explorers were close to dominant against a team that didn't play THAT badly. The Prep had looked much better in decent outings and there were hopes that this one would wind up being something close to a goodie, or even maybe a greatie. But since sr. RB-DB Jamal Abdur-Rahman (Villanova commit) can only attend one school, and since that school happens to be La Salle, well, I'm guessing the Hawks, like all members of AAAA, are counting down the number of days until his graduation. "Mal" or "Ab" -- depending upon which group of friends he's with -- carried 20 times for 243 yards and two long TDs, of 66 and 69 yards. He also picked off a pass. Somehow, he did not score in the first half (smile) and the game's only TD went to jr. FB Tim Wade. As the teams came out for the second half, the Prep warmed up at the same end of the field where La Salle's large student section was located. The kids chanted, "The Hawk will die! The Hawk will die!" Yes, it would, with the process beginning almost immediately. A-R returned the kickoff 20 yards to the 34 and then, zoom, there he was in the end zone, closet to the La Salle kids, after his 66-yard burst. The Prep then experienced a three-and-out as sr. DB Mark DiFrangia broke up a pass, sr. LB Connor Daly held sr. RB Michael DeFeo to a 1-yard gain and jr. QB Skyler Mornhinweg passed incomplete. The next drive was refreshing in that A-R did not play a prominent role. Sr. QB Kevin Forster (jr. Matt Magarity is still out with a concussion; he hopes to return this coming week) had a nice 10-yard keeper and launched a right-corner fade on which jr. Colin Buckley made a leaping, 10-yard, in-traffic TD catch. A 48-yard burst by sr. RB Mark Casale helped the Hawks get on the board in the form of a 19-yard pass from Sky Man to sr. WR Adrian Johnson, who was rocked at the 3, but maintained his wits and dove into the end zone, but the last two scores were La Salle's on the first career field goal (22 yards) by soph K-P Ryan Winslow and A-R's 69-yarder. On that play, Mornhinweg made a diving attempt at a tackle at about the Prep 40. He rustled A-R's ankles, but couldn't send him to the turf. MANY times all night, Mornhinweg made stops as the last possible tackler. La Salle's o-linemen were sr. C Ryan Geiger, sr. Gs Cameron Cappo and Shamus McGowan, and sr. Ts Joe Naji and Dan Ezzo.. The TE was jr. Mike Piscopo. Wade added 78 yards on 12 carries and Forster managed 17-44 along with 50 passing yards. That's 420 yards, if you're adding at home (or at work/school Monday morning -- smile). Early, the Prep tried a pair of trick plays and La Salle smelled 'em out. On the first, Mornhinweg gunned a slightly backward pass to sr. WR Paul McGann, who was tackled quickly by DiFrangia for a 4-yard loss. On the very next play, Mornhinweg rifled one even a shade further backward to McGann and, hey, what do you know, HE threw it back across the field TO Mornhinweg. Cappo was right in the area and made Sky Man quickly become To-the-Turf Man for an 8-yard loss. As the night went on, Naji, at DE, added a sack and TFL and DiFrangia had a sack. The Prep did have some good defensive moments. La Salle had to settle for a field goal try on its first possession of the game after sr. LB Jeff Heath dropped Forster for a 6-yard loss and No. 4 sent A-R backward 1 yard. On the next possession, sr. DB Phil Riehl and jr. LB Dan Mancini combined to swarm A-R for a 4-yard setback and Forster was harassed into intentional grounding. On the much-later series that did produce Winslow's 22-yarder, jr. LB Eric Medes made what was likely the pop of the night (weekend?) on A-R. And La Salle's final play of the evening was a 5-yard loss, thanks to the ever-impressive Heath (he showed great footwork/vision on two decent runs). An overflow crowd was on hand at P-W and lots of money was raised for the battle against breast cancer. At halftime, a large, ceremonial, plastic/cardboard check was presented to long-time, great-guy La Salle teacher Bernie Fitzgerald, who's also the basketball coach at Lansdale Catholic. Bernie's wife, Diane, died of breast cancer in '97 and the funds will go to the Kelly Rooney Foundation. (She was the wife of ex-Prep FB player Sean Rooney.) Anyway, Bernie came to the sideline to talk with some folks and placed the check behind the bench against an object he thought would keep it in place. Soon, it was blowing maybe 15 yards down the track and Bernie was trotting it down. As he picked up the check, he flashed one of those what-can-you-do facial expressions while saying, "Hey, it's too big to put in my wallet."

OCT. 30
CATHOLIC AAA
Wood 48, O'Hara 34
  We're going to start with two very weird facts concerning this game. No. 1 -- O'Hara yielded more rushing yards today (349) than it had in its first EIGHT games combined (347). No. 2 -- Though 82 points were scored, 17 plays lost yardage (admittedly, two involved bad snaps). Anyone expecting an old-fashioned, beat-the-crap-out-of-each-other affair was thrown for an early loop. Wood needed just six plays to score. O'Hara ran back the kickoff to da house. Wood drove for another score. O'Hara earned a first down and got across midfield and then, there was a pick and, zoom, Wood owned a 20-7 advantage with just under a minute remaining in the first quarter. At intermission, with the score at 27-20, I half-expected the coaches to ask for even more than the allotted 20 minutes (for O'Hara's homecoming festivities) so tackling drills could be held (smile). What an afternoon! The Peoples on the premises had to love it. And, yes, that sentence is written the way we intended it. By "Peoples" we mean the guys doing the playing and the family members who cheered non-stop for jr. TB Desmon (formerly of SJ Prep, and Cheltenham before that) and his first cousin, Brandon, a jr.FB (formerly of Abington). They combined for 262 rushing yards and three TDs in the first 24 minutes, with Desmon posting an ever-so-slight edge in yards, 133-129, but needing many more carries, 20-4, to claim it. In all, Desmon went 28 for 164 and one score (and he had another on a 95-yard kickoff return) while Brandon managed nine for 168 and three (53, 58 and 8 yards). Wood's coaches obviously saw something in their pre-game film studies because Brandon mostly succeeded on right-up-the-middle gives, and he was often barely touched, if at all, while heading for the second level. Wood's grunts were the same guys who last Tuesday earned Offensive Line of the Week honors in the good, ol' Daily News -- jr. C Brandon Arcidiacono, soph G Nick Arcidiacono (his brother), sr. G Chris Knott, sr. T Mike Moffa and jr. T Frank Taylor (along with jr. TE Colin Thompson). These guys are big and physical and they're not a bunch of fatties; they lay guys out off the snap and then look for more downfield. Jr. QB-FS Joey Monaghan also had a quietly productive ballgame. In the first half, he made a leaping interception to give birth to a "drive" that lasted just one play (BP's 58-yard burst). He also recovered a fumble late in the first half, thus assuring that O'Hara would perform no late miracles, and he tallied the first score of the third quarter, making it 34-20, on a right-side keeper (that might have started as an option play?) If so, there was nothing ever close to a reason to pitch the ball because the Lions didn't pay much attention to Monaghan and the TD frolic was quite the breeze (it came two plays after a fumble recovery by sr. DL Brian Butler). When O'Hara did respond and get downfield for a 14-yard rushing score by jr. RB Jay Watkins, guess what, a Peoples had a response . . . Desmon zoomed for his 95-yard kickoff return. Wood finished with 371 yards from scrimmage and 160 on returns (531 total). O'Hara managed 213 and 216 (429). So the both-team totals show 584 and 376 for 960. O'Hara sr. QB Ryan Laughlin went 8-for-18 for 151 and a pair of TDs to sr. WR Tyler Gallen (4-90). The first one came on a 43-yard fade with a perfectly thrown, laid-right-in-there lofting. Sr. LB Sam McCain led Wood with seven steps. He notched 1.5 sacks and forced a fumble as well. Sr. DL Rory Clark was in on three TFLs. Two sr. LBs, Shawn Driggins and Drew Formica, halved 16 stops for O'Hara (thanks to Huck for helping with defensive stats). The Lions went without sr. FB-LB Brendan McLaughlin (ankle) and jr. RB-DB Damiere Shaw (lingering effects of concussion). Each guy said he intends to return to action next week. These squads almost certainly will meet again in two weeks in the CL AAA final. And you know what the Lions HAVE to be thinking right now: We hung in there without two very important players and we've got these guys right where we want 'em. Wood's counter thought has to be: We rang up billions of points without even showing much of our offense (Monaghan threw just four times) and we look forward to Round Two. Oh, in case either team is inclined to overlook its semifinal foe, consider this: in Pub AA, Imhotep beat Bok by 22 points in the regular season. Yesterday? Bok claimed the final, 41-0.

OCT. 29
PUBLIC AAAA FIRST-ROUND PLAYOFF
Frankford 35, Furness 0
  Maybe 30 minutes prior to game time, Furness coach Anthony Pastore made it seem as if I’d been chosen to appear on that ABC news show, “Would Would YOU Do?” The reason: He dropped this bombshell – star jr. RB Sharif Smith would be unavailable after spending most of the week in Children’s Hospital due to an infection above his knee. Oh, and Smith’s backup was also not in attendance. He’d been scratched by the folks at Palumbo, one of Furness’ football partners, due to too many latenesses. Oh, baby. What would I do? Hmmm. Even with Smith -- he definitely could have added a ball-control element -- Furness would have faced an uphill battle. Without him? How many hills feature a 90-degree slope? I guess I could have made a quick call to Bill Wettstein and asked him to switch games. His assignment was the Fels-Bartram first-rounder, being held not far away at Northeast. But, ah, what the heck, a visit to Frankford’s cozy, tradition-steeped stadium is always pleasant and I just hoped/prayed the game would not get TOO ugly. Frankford indeed had little difficulty, but it wasn’t as if the Falcons were stomped. In fact, they played respectable defense, in stretches, and only a severe inability to move the ball, especially through the air, prevented a hint of drama. DN ink went to sr. DB Marc Price, whose two interceptions raised his season’s total to six. Price, who last year played for Mastbaum (and was the starting QB for a while), attends Charles Carroll, in Port Richmond, and plays for Frankford via a cooperative sponsorship. Some sponsorship (smile). He’s the only Carroll kid on Frankford’s varsity. He’s quick and aggressive and boasts a large chuck of brass and together with jr. CB Savoy Martin, and others, he helped to sentence Furness sr. QB Maurice Harris to 3-for-17, 2-yard passing miseries. Martin had an interception and returned a fumble 30 yards for a score. That was TD No. 3 and came with 0:23 left in the first quarter. The offense had taken care of the first two – 5-yard run by sr. RB Jeffione Thomas (18-186, two TDs) and a 1-yard sneak by sr. QB Michael McGroarty. In between, there was a fumble recovery by jr. LB Geoffrey Phillippe. Martin’s fumble return occurred just two plays after Furness DB Borbor Kesselly (the roster doesn't list years; not sure on him) posted what would be his first of three picks. The sequence was pretty funny (well, in retrospect). McGroarty passed 11 yards to sr. Quinyon Speller and then 24 to jr. TE Aaron Allison and, as I walked up the sideline to get in a good spot for pics, I heard coach Mike Capriotti suggest yet ANOTHER pass play. Oh, my goodness! I quipped to Cap, “Three straight pass plays? Is that a school record?” Offensive coordinator Juan Namnun heard the exchange and said with a laugh, “I’m getting to him. I’m chipping away.” McGroarty gunned one over the middle and . . . Kesselly picked it off at the goal line. Don’t expect to see three consecutive pass plays again for a WHILE (ha ha). McGroarty wound up going 5-for-8 for 72 yards and a TD to Allison, who made his catch at about the 5 and got bumped by a defender who didn’t stick with the play. It looked as if he thought the 5 was the goal line? Weird. Allison damn near walked the rest of the way. Frankford’s o-line included sr. C Lydell Weeks, sr. Brandon Russell and Phillippe at the guards, srs. Dajuan Franks and Corey Young at the Ts, and Allison and Speller at the ends. The Pioneers managed 334 yards. For Furness, Harris did tough out 46 yards on 10 carries and sr. DL Sirea Boone remained tenacious throughout. The AAAA semis (details TBA) will feature Frankford vs. Washington and Fels vs. Northeast. It’s still hard to believe that Fels tuned up Bartram to such a large degree (50-8). The Panthers had all of their points by halftime!

OCT. 28
NON-LEAGUE
FitzSimons 14, Edison 8 (OT)
  My Facebook posting last night read like this: "fitzsimons-edison tomorrow. how will i possibly sleep tonight?" OK, so I did sleep, but I was NOT playing around about being excited about the game. I have ALWAYS loved these slapped-together, late-season battles between teams with no (or few) wins. It's so cool to see have-nots finally experiencing some joy and some of the kids -- and this is no exaggeration -- wind up with memories for a lifetime. FitzSimons was 0-6 through eight weeks with a forfeit and two "idles." Edison was 0-8 with a low-numbers forfeit, as well. Because the teams' lines were basically evenly matched, the skills guys got a chance to do their thing rather than go backward and backward some more. Oh, as you can tell by the score, this was no go-up-and-down-the-fieldathon, but there were bits and pieces of decent movement and a good time was had by all (yes, even by the Owls despite the setback). DN ink went to sr. QB-S Richard Williams, an athletic kid with a positive outlook and recruiting interest (as a WR) from schools such as Rutgers, Fordham and Norfolk State. Join the club, schools. The kid's a player. He ran 16 times for 68 yards -- he lost another 52 on two runs (to holding calls) -- and passed 4-for-12 for 51. His 18-yard, busted-play keeper with 0:03 showing in the third quarter made it 6-0 and sr. Joseph Gainer followed with a conversion run. Edison responded almost immediately as sr. RB Dom Boseman, the Pub's defending shot put champ, broke free for a 72-yard TD on the second play of the fourth quarter. Sr. Chariel Rivera then ran for two. Would someone else reach paydirt in regulation? Nope. Edison sr. DB Eddy Hernandez picked off a pass with 5:12 left, but Fitz DB James Clayton did likewise at 1:48, returning the ball 30 yards to Edison's 30. Uh, oh. On the sixth play, Williams scampered around the right side and got . . . all . . . the . . . way . . . to . . . the . . . 1! Jr. LB Shadeed Purnell made a lunging stop at the right corner and the Rams called time at 0:10. Williams tried a sneak, but small jr. DB Justin Matos, among others, were there to gum up the works. On to OT! Edison won the toss and opted to play defense first. Boseman broke through to record a tackle for a 5-yard loss (his fourth of the game, totaling 40 yards) and Williams then McNabbed a swing pass (at the guy's feet, get it?). On third down, he took off to the right and WR Nature "Nate" Boyer made the leaping snag toward the back right corner (west end of Edison's field, toward Hunting Park Avenue). Williams' conversion run failed as Purnell made the stop. Edison went with four straight runs for Boseman (16-138). The first one produced a 5-yard pickup, but the next three yields were 1, 1 and, yes, 1 again. Not enough. Isaiah Gillman and Jeremiah Bullock combined for the tackle and the Rams exploded in joy. The Owls, of course, were crestfallen, but there was not even a hint of bad behavior. Great to see! Fitz had just 21 players in uniform while Edison, with a JV-varsity combo, managed 29. LOTS of kids are dinged. Down the stretch and into the OT (and maybe beforehand), Fitz had guys with illegal numbers on the o-line. No. 11 (Doane Mitchell) was playing LT. No. 82 (Bullock) was at RG. No flags were thrown. No one saw it? Everyone decided to let it go in view of the overall circumstances? DB Steven Pruitt had an end-zone interception for Fitz right before halftime. Jr. DB Daviel Otero made an earlier pick for Edison, but it was erased due to a penalty. Fitz LB Jack Burris and Edison sr. DL Joaquin Melendez made a series of strong defensive plays. This was a fun afternoon, as I just KNEW it would be. Thanks to both squads for truly gettin' after it and I wish you the best from here on out! So many guys have come and gone. You're still out there, working hard. Be proud!

OCT. 23
CATHOLIC AA
McDevitt 55, Conwell-Egan 14
  Well, gang, this was a 100-point day on the trail, but it was surprising to see 86 of 'em scored by the winning teams. On the heels of Wood's 31-0 win over Bonner came this one. Oh, well. C-E is now 0-8, but I must say the energy level was mostly good through the first half (I spent the second on McDevitt's sideline) as the subs chanted and/or clapped a decent amount of times in an attempt to support their teammates. Early, there was at least a hint of hope of seeing something respectable. Yes, the Lancers stormed downfield to a quick score as a 38-yarder keeper by sr. QB Martin "Nico" Henry set a 3-yard TD by sr. RB Gary Postell. But right away, C-E responded with passes of 16 and 14 yards from sr. QB John Clark to sr. WR Kyle Bonner and sr. RB Rich Brown. The thought was, "OK, this could be cool. Maybe the Eagles are going to throw it almost every play. Try to put the Lancers on their heels." Nope. Run, run, TFL, punt. McDevitt took over at its 20 and needed just three plays to again light up the scoreboard. Postell ran for 38, then was stopped for no gain by sr. DL Steve Humma and sr. LB Austin Oscovitch. Henry then followed with a 42-yard TD pass to jr. handyman Nick Perez. Clark was there to defend, but merely missed the ball as he tried to deflect it. Maybe he misjudged it? A combo sack by jr. DL Bill Hartigan and sr. LB Joe Polansky helped to force a three and out and this drive needed to cover just 36 yards. Two plays did the job, runs of 24 and 6 yards by Postell (with a 6-yard, half-the-distance penalty mixed in). No more details are necessary, folks. Postell, the kind of tough-nut runner coaches just LOVE, turned 22 carries into 213 yards and five TDs. Well, he actually had four TDs (smile). Somehow, he was given six points on a carry that NO DOUBT ended at the 1. Later, the tables were turned. Brown also was stopped short of the goal line, and even lost the ball, but up the TD hands went. Phew. McDevitt's offensive linemen were sr. C Colin Leach, G Hartigan, sr. G Alvin Goodwyn, jr. T Shane Killon and sr. T Kevin Polansky, Joe's twin. Sr. Ray Haines subbed in at G. The most noticeable defender was sr. DE Domonique Robinson, who made three tackles behind the line. C-E's difficulties crested in the fourth quarter as a pair of 26-yard losses on errant shotgun snaps gift-wrapped two late TDs for the Lancers. The recoveries went to jr. DL Curtis Brooks and Robinson while the scores went to sr. Matt Conroy (24 yards), a high-quality safety who hasn't played much offense this year, and jr. Keith/Kieth?? Young (six yards). Brown turned nine carries into 58 yards and two TDs. Clark passed 7-for-12 for 74 yards and ran 17 times for 43 . . . Proof that C-E should be in AAA, not AA: two of its wideouts are named Bonner and O'Hara (Kyle and Matt). Well before the game, I was doing some computer work in Truman's cafeteria and McDevitt was camped out in a nearby locker room. Trying to get the kids moving, an assistant crowed, "Fourteen nude women outside!" A player shot back, "I'll stay in here, then." This was C-E's homecoming and the cheerleaders stretched out a paper banner for the players to run through. Brown and Oscovitch stormed through and, whoa, the main part of the shredded banner went all the way from the 10 to 37 yard line before falling to the turf. A banner traveling 27 yards? Wonder if that's a city record? Clark, Oscovitch and Humma (6-1, 270) were part of the homecoming court. While introducing him, the PA announcer said one thing Humma enjoys "is cooking bacon every Sunday morning." Eating it, too, I'm guessing (smile).

OCT. 23
CATHOLIC AAA
Wood 31, Bonner 0
  After jr. RB Desmon Peoples made more than a few defenders look bad on his first run of the game, a 21-yarder, a Bonner assistant bellowed, partially out of frustration and mostly with the hope of firing up the troops, "How many tackles are you gonna miss?!" Later in that same drive, when jr. QB Joey Monaghan completed a 10-yard pass to sr. WR Sam McCain, an inactive Friar standing along the sideline muttered, "This is too easy." The hope at every game is to see something competitive. That hope was dashed today. The Vikings did not exactly maul Bonner, but there was never the sense that something cool could develop and the proceedings wound up being rather drab. Don't forget, Drexel Hill and Warminster are hardly neighboring communities, so there was nothing approaching natural emotion. The Vikings came close to putting three guys in the 100-yard club. Before leaving with cramping issues not long into the third quarter, Peoples rang up 93 yards and two TDs on 13 carries. (And I was VERY happy when he hurdled a tackler right in front of me along Bonner's sideline to provide an opportunity for a legendary photo -- smile). Desmon's cousin, jr. FB Brandon Peoples, ran nine times for 108 yards and one TD, a 35-yarder. Monaghan, a lefty, passed 9-for-12 for 109 yards. The fourth TD went to D. Peoples' replacement, soph Joe Santospago. The grunts were jr. C Brandon Arcidiacono, soph G Nick Arcidiacono, sr. G Chris Knott, sr. T Mike Moffa and jr. T Frank Taylor (hopefully, those are the correct spots; they were using some unbalanced lines). Soph Nick Visco converted all four of his PATs and nailed a 25-yard field goal. The very first play of the game resulted in a 4-yard loss for Bonner jr. RB Ismir Gibson (tackle by sr. LB Jim Messina), and that was quite the omen. In all, the Friars lost yardage on eight plays and made only a couple semi-serious advancements. On that first series, a 31-yard, trick-play pass from soph James Haley to sr. WR Anthony Jackson placed the ball at Wood's 33. But a 3-yard loss on a backward pass (tackle by jr. DB Kyle Adkins) and an illegal forward pass (sr. G Marcus Collins wound up catching it) were killers. Early in the fourth quarter, an interference call got the ball from the 35 to the 20. Jr. DE Colin Thompson sacked sr. QB Sean Quarterman for seven yards, but at least the Friars regrouped in the form of a 14-yard pickup on a screen pass to McGilligan. A whole bunch of Vikings then swarmed Gibson for a 2-yard loss and Quarterman's fourth down pass was incomplete. Bonner's unquestioned headliner was Collins, who involved himself in at least a dozen tackles. When I'm king of the world, Moffa will be forced to buy new spikes! (smile) I know he's just trying to honor his school's colors with the black-and-gold/yellow look, but more than a few times I saw the yellow and thought a penalty flag had been thrown.

OCT. 22
PUBLIC AA SEMI
Imhotep 18, Comm Tech 12 (OT)
  With maybe four minutes remaining in the first half, curiosity took over and I decided to determine how many times CT jr. RB Rolando Ransom had already carried the ball. Five, 10, 15, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24. He was juuuuust getting started, folks. Ransom wound up with 48 carries and that represents a city postseason record, breaking 43 by SJ Prep’s Joe Rabuck in the 1977 Catholic League final. I know your first question – since this game went overtime, did he need the extra totes to smash the record? Answer: no. He had 45 after regulation. Since we’re in OT, we’ll stay there. Most coaches like to go second in OT -- kind of like baseball, where you like to bat last so you know where you stand -- but CT’s John Gossett opted to take the ball after winning the toss. Ransom ran for 1 yard, then 4 and a defensive holding flag pushed the rock to the 2 ½. On third down, Ransom was dropped for no gain on an ankle tackle by soph DB Eerin Young. On fourth, soph QB Zaki Jamison took the snap and tried to start a right-side rollout. He didn’t get far thanks to jr. LB Byron Cooper and sr. DB Jeraal Boone. Imhotep ended the proceedings rather quickly. Sr. TB Maurice Palmer powered to the 2 on a right-side toss and a late-hit penalty placed the ball at the 1. CT then went offside and that meant the half-yard line. Sr. QB Christopher Lewis then notched his first score of the season, setting off a wild celebration. Palmer rang up 140 yards and two TDs on 23 carries and his contributions were indeed important. But for my money, the most important Panther was sr. SB-CB-KR Devin Sanders. His 57-yard pickup on a reverse set up one score and his 71-yard return of the second-half kickoff assured that the second scoring “drive” would only have to cover 19 yards. Sanders also had an interception and came oh-so-close to another against a much taller foe, CT soph Tikir Trent. That occurred with 8-plus minutes left in the fourth quarter on a play that began at the Imho 28. Jamison launched one toward the goal line and up they went. Way up. It appeared to be one of those simultaneous-possession situations and Trent was awarded the catch. After the guys hit the turf, though, Sanders wrested away the ball and there was momentary glee on the Panthers’ sideline. Given the second life, CT scored as Ransom went 1 yard for the score. Twelve-six became 12-12 with 2:46 left as Jamison scrambled for a 13-yard TD to the right corner. The original plan was another pass to Trent, but Gossett told him to go if the chance was there. Sanders broke up the conversion toss, so that was another very important contribution. Ransom had to settle for 162 yards on all those carries, a reflection both on Imhotep’s strong defense and the fact that CT’s passing game is not refined enough to take off much pressure. Most of the runs were to the short side of the field, an indication Gossett felt his squad would have had trouble stretching things out. Ransom’s longest run was 17 yards (twice) and just one other went for as many as 10 (16). For the record, CT’s starting grunts were jr. C Shamir Blanford, soph G Christopher Stanley, sr. G Kareem Robinson, jr. T Assim Ragin-Nickson and jr. T Joshua Thompson. When Stanley suffered an in injury, jr. Rasheed Brown replaced him. The TEs were jr. James Brunson and sr. Shaneal Lovett. Imho caught a big break on its first TD, Palmer’s 4-yarder 37.8 before halftime. Though SEVEN officials worked this game, they all missed the fact that the Panthers had only six guys on the line of scrimmage. Jr. LB Eric Richardson and jr. SS Elijah Anthony were the major forces for Imho’s defense.

OCT. 21
PUBLIC AAAA SILVER
Fels 22, Furness 14
  For a football team hoping to make school history -- in rousing fashion, even -- there are better approaches than committing four turnovers on the first nine touches. Hey, at least the Panthers showed variety (smile). They botched a punt return, lost the handle on a regular rushing play, tossed an interception and dropped the ball during a handoff. One good thing: Furness could capitalize only to the tune of 6-0 and once Fels got rolling . . . bingo, the school's first playoff spot (with a perfect division record, to boot) was claimed. This is Fels' fifth Pub season. The first four produced a league mark of 3-17. Six-and-oh is much preferred, of course, and the heroes were numerous once the Panthers stopped gift-wrapping opportunities on a chilly night at 10th and Bigler. The first spark, of many, was provided by jr. WR Nijay Kelly, who entered the game with five catches. He matched that total with four officials (for 84 yards) and a two-point conversion. He did some serious leaping on his first snag, a 29-yarder among three defenders, and just four plays after that he steamed down the left sideline to haul in a perfectly thrown ball from sr. QB Tyree "Bam" Rucker. Just 1:11 remained in the half and Rucker's toss to sr. handyman Jared Hines made it 8-6. Pretty amazing. Furness had dominated the ball, but Fels owned the lead. Early in the third, a TFL by LB Aaron Cooper and combo TFL by DL Nadeem Harris and LB Dontay Holder forced a punt and Rucker was able to launch one only 21 yards to Fels' own 46. Star jr. RB Sharif Smith lost two yards, but sr. QB Maurice Harris bailed him out with a 27-yard scamper and then Smith almost matched that with a 21-yarder to paydirt. Harris was TREMENDOUS on the conversion, dropping back to pass and then deciding to run and getting to the end zone through all kinds of trials and tribulations. Fels responded immediately, going 80 yards in nine plays. Rucker passed 5-for-6 for 74 yards on the advancement and scored from the 1. He hit four different receivers and Kelly, the main subject of DN ink (sr. LB John "Montefusco" Counts also got a smidgeon), notched two haul-ins for 28 yards. Sr. WR Chris Miller, Hines and Hines again (this time Jamiel, Jared's soph brother) had the others. Kelly then made it 16-14 with a left-to-middle slant, capped by a leaping, all-hands catch. It should be noted that Kelly (the DN story had fun with the fact that he videoed the post-game celebration with his cell phone) wasn't doing his handiwork against some overmatched okey-doke. On him all night was Smith, one of the league's best players. Of course, it also should be noted that Smith never left the field and, as always, was asked to run and run and run some more (30 carries, 165 yards) in a Furness offense that often uses a double-tight alignment (what a contrast to Fels' no-huddle spread!). Furness responded in handsome fashion with the help of two long bursts by Smith. One problem: near the end of the second one, Jamiel Hines stripped the ball from behind and sr. DB Antuan Washington recovered at the 4. Golden opportunity missed. Good defensive plays by N. Harris and Holder produced a three-and-out and Rucker's punt this time only made it 14 yards to the 19. But Fels rose up in splendid fashion to prevent a score. Soph DL Dezhuante White held Smith to a 3-yard pickup. Sr. DB Misael Perez and Counts combined to dump Smith for a 5-yard loss.  Miller and White held M. Harris to a 1-yard gain. Sr. LB Isaiah Jordan sacked Harris for a 5-yard setback. Offensive interference on Fels immediately pushed the ball back to the 13, but it didn't stay anywhere close to there for very long. Zip, 30 yards to Jared Hines. Zap, 57 more to Jared Hines. Both on quick hitters over the middle. He juggled the first, but gathered it in and coach Bill Harrigan came right back to it. The Falcons were so worried about the outside, the middle was wide open. Furness had two more chances. A combo sack by sr. LB Terrance Lewis and White terminated the first one. The last began with 4:12 left and 74 yards needing to be covered. The Falcons ran 14 plays and every one featured a run or pass by Harris. The ball got to the 23 and then the 18, due to an offside penalty (Counts mistimed the snap count and exploded into the neutral zone), but Counts made up for his mistake by dropping Harris for a 1-yard loss and creating fourth-and-six. Harris tried to hit Smith at the 2, toward the right corner, but a diving effort was not quite enough. Fels then ran out the clock with kneeldowns, but NOT the conventional kind. Oh, baby! The Panthers still used the shotgun and the second one wound up getting messy. However, with the ball sitting on the turf, the Falcons never bothered to storm into the backfield and a Herman Edwards repeat (Google it, youngheads) was avoided. Fels and Furness had clinched playoff spots going in. The AAAA postseason will feature four teams from Gold (first two get byes) and two from Silver. It'll be Furness vs. Frankford and Fels vs. Bartram, with Washington and Northeast hanging around to see who survives (details TBA). Congrats to the Furness/FLC/Palumbo folks for pulling off their three-cheerleading-groups dream. (Those three schools combine to form Furness' football team.) FLC's crew was probably double the size of the next biggest, Furness', and athletic director Andrea Sullivan-Sutkus bought orange Furness T-shirts for her gals. And they still used FLC-colored pom poms (blue and white).

OCT. 16
NON-LEAGUE
SJ Prep 35, McDevitt 14
  At some point, I expected to glance toward Cheltenham High's press box to find that M. Night Shyamalan was filming this game. Or that Rod Serling had been resurrected (oldheads know who he is; young bucks can Google him; he guest lectured a couple of my TV-radio classses at Ithaca College back 43 lifetimes ago -- smile). Three things happened tonight that you could go FOREVER without seeing, and it was truly off-the-charts amazing that they all were packed into one game . . .
  No. 1 -- after McDevitt's Matt Conroy returned the opening kickoff nine yards to the 30, there was a delay of several minutes because the head linesman realized there were no chains on hand. No down marker, either. (Um, you're supposed to check that stuff beforehand, dude!) All was fetched and the game resumed. During the delay, line judge Chuck Gephart came to McDevitt's sideline and said, dryly, "I need two freshmen to stand 10 yards apart."
  No. 2 -- In the second quarter, Conroy drew a penalty for punting the ball TWICE. His first one was blocked by sr. Mark Casale. He picked up the ball, took a few steps and tried to kick it again. He was being jostled at the time, though, and the ball dribbled just a short distance, where a teammate tried to advance it and got nowhere. When the play ended, the refs determined that Conroy had tried his second punt from the 8. The half-the-distance, loss-of-down penalty placed the ball at the 4 (and sr. Jeff Heath scored from that yard line on second down).
  No. 3 -- After McDevitt rallied within 28-14 with 7 1/2 minutes left in the game, the Prep anticipated an onsides kick. Instead, the kick carried to the 20 and it was gathered in by jr. QB-S Skyler Mornhinweg. Maybe an instant after Mornhinweg started upfield, coach Gabe Infante began yelling, "Take a knee! Take a knee!" Mornhinweg did so, settling for a 6-yard return. Yes, the deep guy took a knee in the midst of a kickoff return. I'm tellin' you, this was one CRAZY game. What a three-pack!
  In the midst of a not-easy season, the Hawks needed this triumph. To drop to 2-5, and especially to lose to a squad two enrollment levels lower, would not have been good. Things did not start well. The first two possessions resulted in lost fumbles and McDevitt even jumped to a 6-0 lead on a 9-yard run by tough-guy RB-CB Gary Postell (love this kid's demeanor!). On the Prep's third possession, Heath, who displays many of Postell's qualities, began with carries of 11 and nine yards (they were his first rushes of the season) and I could tell how much his team was energized even from the opposite sideline; he appears to be a very popular kid. Though no points were forthcoming -- a GREAT hit by Postell (recovery to sr. LB Joe Polansky) prevented that -- the Prep at least had faith it wouldn't be facing game-long disaster. The first TD would come shortly thereafter on a 42-yard, middle-to-right, made-it-look-eeeeeeasy punt return by sr. WR-DB Paul McGann. McGann would proceed to have a wonderful night. Among other things, he intercepted a pass in the end zone on the final play of the half, made a diving, 26-yard TD catch late in the third quarter and also reached past his right shoulder to catch an errant snap on a PAT and get the ball down onto the block ever so efficiently after a fourth quarter receiving TD by sr. WR Adrian Johnson. It's the little things that count. One thing McGann couldn't do, despite a draped-all-over-him effort, was prevent a tremendous leaping catch by jr. WR Leroy Chambers early in the fourth quarter. In time, Prep won because of its depth and line play. McDevitt just could not sustain its early gusto. Mornhinweg passed 12-for-19 for 172 and the two aforementioned scores. Heath (9-70), Casale (13-57) and sr. Michael DeFeo (7-22, late TD) had rushing moments. The bruisers were sr. Pat Kueny, sr. G Guy Cook, jr. G Luke Hutkin, soph T David Tracz and jr. T Peter Kelly. Hey, how about this? The rushing game also totaled 172 yards. Heath had a sack and one other TFL. For McDevitt, jr. LB Darren Wright packed several wallops, but twice had to depart with what what appeared to be an arm/shoulder issue. Conroy was his ever-sure, tackling self. In the second half, while perched along the Prep's sideline, three times I did a pretty extensive scan of the stands. I don't think I saw more than a handful of Prep students, if that. That was certainly a first. We'll give the guys (kind of) a pass because the Phillies' NLCS opener was on TV. But I wonder if they've bailed on this team?

OCT. 16
CATHOLIC AAAA
La Salle 42, Judge 14
  When you're facing a 5-1 team in what most people think will be a competitive ballgame, maybe even a classic, and you make the mercy rule take effect just 2:10 into the third quarter . . . phew! Is it really possible these Explorers are as good -- or close to it -- as last year's? Hey, it's only mid-October and many questions will still be posed. (And Washington is getting better and better in the Pub. Remember 2008?) But La Salle made Judge look average, even substandard, on the new turf at Lincoln, if we're going to be honest, and how many people expected that? The offense did mostly what it wanted to do while the starters were in there -- no scoring drive required more than six plays -- and the defense recorded a whole bunch of three-and-outs. Additionally, La Salle's defenders were so staunch, they caused 11 Judge plays to lose yardage. The over-the-top headliner was sr. DT Ryan Geiger, who also doubled as the center on offense and was finished on defense after the first series of the third quarter. What'd he do? Damn, what DIDN'T he do? Geiger recorded 10 tackles. Six went for losses and two others resulted in no gain. He dropped running backs behind the line of scrimmage four times -- for five total yards -- and involved himself in 1 1/2 sacks for 23 yards (an 11-yarder alone, a 12-yarder with sr. DL Joe Naji. Oh, almost forgot. (Not really. Just wanted to build the suspense -- smile.) The 6-1, 260-pound Geiger also returned an interception 59 yards for a touchdown in the waning moments of the first half -- dude was motorin'! (smile) -- and the first points of his grid life. Quite an experience. La Salle's offensive scores went to sr. RB Jamal Abdur-Rahman (8-137) on scampers of 41 (first series) and 51 yards (Explorers' first play of third quarter) and to two receivers on passes from jr. Matt Magarity. Magarity finished 6-for-10 for 119 with two scores going to soph WR Sean Coleman and another to jr. WR Colin Buckley. Jr. FB Tim Wade added 74 yards on 10 rushes (before leaving with a leg ding) and Magarity even uncorked a pair of 20-yard forays. The o-grunts aside from Geiger were sr. Gs Cameron Cappo and Shamus McGowan, Naji at one tackle and sr. Dan Ezzo at the other (hopefully; only one number change was reported and that kid wasn't a lineman). Judge did experience some joy spanning the first and second quarters, driving 81 yards in 10 plays. The TD was a 20-yard run straight up the middle by jr. Raul Quinones, off a wildcrusader give by sr. Connor Thompson. Sr. RB Nick Myers had an impressive 38-yard burst during the drive (Naji ran downfield to snag him) and jr. WR Tim Mills made a great catch for a 12-yard pickup. Mills was just as impressive in the late going, battling hard to gain control of a 29-yard TD pass from the backup QB, jr. lefty Rob Daniels. There was one nice 'Sader moment coming down the stretch. While watching the defensive second-teamers from the sideline, starting sr. LB Steve Owens, a captain, was still into the game. He was calling out formations, making note of guys going in motion and trying to provide general encouragement. Niiiiiice. Otherwise, understandably, it was mostly dead quiet on Judge's sideline. It was nice to see ex-stars Tony Piscopo (Lincoln LB) and George Winslow (La Salle P-K, NFL) along with Bill Wasylenko, who's doing a detailed year-by-year look at La Salle's football history (we've linked to some of it) that, hopefully, will soon appear in full on La Salle's website. All three have sons playing for the 'Splorers. Good crowd on hand, with TWO bands. After this one I headed over to Northeast, knowing I could hang out in the press box and download/crop the pics before heading to Cheltenham for McDevitt-SJ Prep. Mastbaum-Lower Merion was maybe 20 minutes from starting when I was getting ready to leave, which is why the McD-SJP photo set begins with a pic of Mastbaum's cheerleaders.   

OCT. 15
INTER-AC LEAGUE
Malvern 14, Penn Charter 3
  It’s not too often that players’ misfortune brings me joy. But when Malvern jr QB Tommy Rumer and sr. WR Michael Bolte were unable to connect on a fourth-and-six pass with 3:12 remaining (it came below knee level), I was kinda lovin’ it (smile). The reason? I knew that would clinch a VERY unusual factoid and a dig through the archives. Rumer finished 0-for-3 and Malvern had gone a LONG time without posting at least one passing yard in a game. I’ll save the answer for Tuesday’s DN notes column, but let’s put it this way: The current players weren’t alive and neither were many of their older brothers/sisters. There were freaky elements as well. And don’t forget, Rumer (317) and Bolte (206) were the guys who earlier this season broke the school’s one-game record for passing/receiving yards in a loss to Roman. At halftime, everyone had to be wondering, are the Friars headed for their lowest yardage total in school history? Well, at least over the last 40-odd years, since the program became high quality. They owned 31 yards and ONE first down, having run just 12 plays. Amazing. Ah, but the defense had done its job, and the damage was only 3-0. PC easily could have owned a three-TD pad. The Quakers’ plan was to defer and kick with the very strong wind, but Malvern instead won the toss and used that strategy. Backfire time came on play No. 6 as soph RB Eric Neefe uncorked a 41-yard run to the 5; Bolte ran him down a TD-saving tackle. After jr. LB Joe “Polyester” Nilan dumped Neefe for a 1-yard loss, sr. QB John Loughery tried a left-to-middle slant to soph WR Daryl Worley. Sr. CB Sean Gordon made a great early read and made like HE was the receiver, stepping in front of Worley for a pick at the 1. In the second quarter, thanks to an interception by jr. LB Tom Monzo and a fumble recovery by sr. DE Blair Bodek, PC got possession at Malvern’s 25 and 22, respectively. Jr. K-P Shane Carr was wide right with his first FG attempt, then hit his second from 22 on the final play before intermission. Against a quality team like Malvern, you can’t manage just three of 21 possible points and expect it not to hurt. The Friars controlled the second half. Not in eye-popping fashion, mind you, but definitely in effective fashion. A fumble recovery – on a play where it appeared the ball was snapped a count too early -- by jr. LB Sam Schmucker got them started. The drive necessitated 45 yards and was capped out of a “heavy package” (tackle over, two other fullbacks on the field) by sr. FB Bob Scaramuzza. Sr. DL Carl Nassib and jr. DB Blake Gunther made impressive hits on PC’s next series and Malvern took over at its 14 with the wind in its favor. There’d be no need for passing, folks. On first-and-10 from the 38, jr. RB Shawn Wilson (formerly of North Catholic) took a patented, right-side, short-side sweep 62 yards. Scaramuzza led the way and Bolte made a good block on the edge, as well. Very early a PC assistant muttered, “Shoot, he’s gonna go.” PC had two more possessions. No heroics. Wilson finished with 133 yards on 16 thrusts. Scaramuzza (8-40) and jr. PJ Finley (8-44) helped out. DN ink went to Scaramuzza, who two weeks ago was absolutely crushed by Penn Wood giant Shawn Oakman (Penn State commit) and is now wearing elaborate bandaging on his face. He had stitches at the top of his nose after the game and then more stitches the following week when the cut opened again from a practice hit. Halloween has come early this year and Bob was a good sport when talking about his misadventure. In the another-oddity department, we give you this one: all of Malvern’s o-line grunts wear numbers in the 50s – jr. C John Bradford, jr. Gs Joe Smith and Chris Mueller, and jr. Ts Connor Mahoney and Mike Mooney (6-5, 265). His older brother, Sean (6-6, 225) is the TE. Yo, what happened to the 60s and 70s? (smile). Meanwhile, this was the second consecutive week that our DN Offensive Line of the Week followed with a performance that did not produce any TDs. Weird. First to feel the jinx was Bok, which was shut out (by Comm Tech) in a Pub regular season game for the first time since ’97.                    

OCT. 14
PUBLIC AAAA SILVER
Fels 62, Edison 6
  OUCH with capital letters. This one, played at Northeast in regular first-half rain and hard second-half rain, was almost as one-sided as it gets. Edison, hit hard by injuries, especially to important guys, had just 20 players in uniform and some were recent JV call-ups. Fels has mostly been racking up the points this season and its average now stands at 39.3, with 140 fired onto the scoreboard in the last three games. In Pub history, I can’t imagine too many squads outside of the traditional powers have averaged that many. We’ll see where things go from here, but I give coach Bill Harrigan credit for trying something – a no-huddle offense – that’s a foreign concept in the Pub and, even better, for making it work. DN ink went to sr. QB Tyree “Bam” Rucker, a quick little guy with varied skills. He produced 234 yards and five TDs on just 12 plays, running five times for 45 (and the game’s first three TDs) and passing 4-for-7 for 189 and the next two scores, a 62-yarder to sr. handyman Jared Hines and a 79-yarder to sr. WR Kevin Burton Jr.. It was 30-0 after one quarter – it was adios time for Fels’ cheerleaders – and 46-0 at halftime. Other TDs went to Hines on a 59-yard dash, to backup soph QB Nadir Hudson on a 44-yard run to start the third quarter (good downfield block by soph WR Jamiel Hines, Jared’s brother) and, yes, hard to believe, a 95-yard fumble return by soph DL Rodney Drayton with only 47.6 showing. Pheeewww. Fels’ grunts were sr. C Jamal Barksdale, sr. Gs Girard Fleetwood and Isaiah Lawrence and sr. Ts Dontae Bacon and Morgan Willingham. (Uh, oh. The line will have to rebuilt in 2011.) Thirteen of Edison’s plays lost yardage and five of the tackles behind the line were made by sr. DB Misael Perez. For the Owls, sr. Roberto Fontanez made two fumble recoveries and one of them, on the 9, set up the TD, an 11-yard jaunt by sr. tough guy Dom Boseman, the Pub’s 2010 shot put champion. Sr. Timothy Stuckey-Torres turned four kickoff returns into 152 yards and frosh CB Daviel Otero, in his first varsity game, twice ran all the way downfield to try to prevent long TDs. He made contact at or near the goal line, but the points were notched anyway. Still, he showed tremendous hustle. There was a running clock throughout the second half and Edison did wind up with another late chance to score. Believe it or not, Fels called time with 0:05 showing. The reason? There were only nine defenders on the field. When play resumed, there were only 10 and the ball moved from the Edison 47 to Fels’ 12 thanks to a decent run by Boseman and a tacked-on personal foul. The clock read 0:00, but since the game couldn’t end on that penalty the Owls got one more play. Sr. QB Carlos Collado was stopped at the 8. Due to the rain, I spent the two hours in the press box. It was nice talking with Vince Presto, the clock operator and a true gentleman through decades and decades as a coach/AD (and since then in retirement; a driveway on Northeast's campus is named after him -- VERY cool) and to hear some of the funny remarks by a few Fels kids who were taping or just watching from up there. Right before the game, Fels’ players ran through a  banner maybe 10 yards wide reading “Panthers,” as held by the cheerleaders. One of the kids said, dryly, “That’s a waste of good paper.” Ha, ha, ha.

OCT. 12
PUCK DRIVES TED CRAZY YET AGAIN
  So, I'm in the office, working on a story that focuses on linebacker Drew Formica and O'Hara's defense, when Mr. Thomas "Nutman/Hockey Puck/Head Fakes" McKenna comes barreling toward my desk.
  "Yo," he says. "I gonna do my pick now."
  "Good," I respond. "Just go somewhere else in the room. I just started a story."
  "Babble . . . babble . . . babble."
  Not sure what he was saying. I'd tuned him out.
  So, he does go to another part of the office and he comes roaring back about a half-hour later. I hear him before I see him.
  "Yo, my pick done!" he roars. "You bettah call dat goofball Willie and tell him get HIS pick done. That guy cwazy. He gonna fohget a couple dis week, too?"
  By this time he's at my desk.
  "Where are the picks?" I ask.
  "I gonna fax 'em to you house," he says.
  "What!? I'm sitting right here!"
  "No, you might woose 'em."
  "How am I going to lose them? I'll put the piece of paper right on my clipboard."
  "No, I fax 'em to you house."
  "Puck, you have 10 seconds to give me that piece of paper."
  At about 8 seconds, he hands it over.
  And then he says immediately, "Now give it back. I go make copy."
  I hand him the sheet, he goes to the copying machine and indeed makes a copy. Then he walks back to my desk and returns the original.
  Maybe 45 minutes later, having finished the story and left the office, I arrive home. Walk in the door. Greet the wife. She says, "The phone rang a while ago. I didn't answer it. But I think I heard the fax."
  Oh, baby. I walk into the room where the fax is located.
  There's a piece of paper hanging out the back of it. You KNOW what was on it.
  He's Puck. He can't help himself. And that's why we love him.

OCT. 9
CATHOLIC AA
Lansdale Catholic 22, Conwell-Egan 16
  In the first quarter, LC's offense was absolutely putrid. Nah, it was tremendous! Both statements are lies, as anything in between would also be. Reason? It never got on the field. Yet LC led after 12 minutes, 7-3, thanks to a 90-yard kickoff return by sr. Alex Hetzel. That followed a 27-yard field goal by soph RB-LB Dan McLaughlin and if you're asking why C-E was kicking a field goal after eschewing even PATs in last week's 26-20, double-OT loss to Neumann-Goretti, join the club (smile). McLaughlin did play in that game, but he's a straight-on kicker and apparently needed more work this past week before being declared game-ready. Annnnyway . . . this game was pleasing to the eye. C-E came out with extra juice thanks to the return from injury of sr. QB John Clark. They held the ball for 12 plays on that first drive and then for 10 on the second. With a little more savvy, the Eagles could have owned two TDs. The first drive featured first and goal from the 10. Jr. DL Matt Goldstein dumped Clark for a 3-yard loss to force fourth and goal from that same yard line, bringing about the decision to go for the field goal. On the kickoff return, Hetzel attempted to corral the bouncing ball a shade upfield, but it skipped/slithered past and he was unable to gather it in until the ball was at the 10. He broke toward the left sideline and, honestly, faced very few challenges until he reached maybe C-E's 25. He broke a tackle there and scored standing up. On C-E's followup drive, the big plays were passes of 35 and 16 yards, respectively, from Clark to sr. WR Kyle Bonner (later hurt) and sr. RB Rich Brown. But on first and goal from the 3, the Eagles were stymied as sr. LB Devon Barrett involved himself in tackles on three of the four plays. Shades of the N-G game, when C-E slapped together good drives but failed to cash in. Nevertheless (I love that word), the Eagles did lead at halftime by 16-7 thanks to a pair of second quarter runs by McLaughlin (29 yards, then 2). In between, McLaughlin even recovered a fumble by Barrett on LC's return of the kickoff. The Crusaders came out roarin' for the third quarter. A 29-yard return of the kickoff, by soph Kyle Smith, to C-E's 38. A 14-yard rumble by Barrett. A 7-yard keeper by sr. QB Andrew Mandato. A 10-yard burst by sr. RB Mike Bradley. And then a 6-yard score by Bradley. Jr. LB Evan Coughlin picked off Clark on C-E's first play, but a couple of stops by sr. LB "Stone Cold" Austin Oscovitch kept LC off the board. Incredibly, C-E then reeled off 16 more plays, but the last was a wide-left, 27-yard field goal attempt off McLaughlin's right toe. 8:37 remained and LC needed to cover 80 yards. Barrett provided great momentum on play No. 2 with a 42-yard burst to the Eagles' 27. Unfortunately, sr. T Dennis Hoyer suffered a knee injury on that play and had to depart. The three plays that got LC into the end zone: 8-yard sneak for Mandato, 5-yard bull rush by Barrett, 14-yard, left-side keeper for Mandato; he also ran for two points. C-E had no late miracles, though it certainly tried on a last play that began with 1.1 showing. There was a completion and then three laterals before jr. DL Mike Malecki recovered the ball at maybe midfield. (Hopefully, we'll get some help from the game tape in crediting all the proper receiving/passing yardage; pretty sure Clark even wound up with the last lateral. If so, he'll wind up with passing AND receiving yardage on the same play. Gotta love that, right? See below.) If you check out LC's TEAM PAGE, you'll notice that the captains' pic was taken in Truman's cafeteria. Huh? Well, I was in there downloading photos from the Carroll-Penn Charter game and I wasn't sure how long it would take. LC coach Jim "Danny's Dad" Algeo was nice enough to bring the guys into the cafeteria so we'd be sure to have that pic, and he even introduced me to them one by one. Luckily, the downloading went rather smoothly. As I was leaving the building to head for the field, well, here came the Eagles, heading back INTO the school for one last talk before gametime. Coach Kevin Kelly graciously allowed his captains to be photographed right then and there, so that's why the parking lot is in the background. When Coughlin, No. 55, made his interception, I was unsure of his identity at first. He must have worn a number between 34 and 41 earlier this season because that's where he's listed on the roster, NOT between 54 and 56. At this point still unsure of 55's identity, I approached No. 54, standing nearby, a short time later to clear up the matter. No. 54 is soph Steve Snider. Here's how he described himself. "I'm just a nut that walks around the sideline!" Ha, ha, ha. Good stuff!
  Note: C-E's last play featured three laterals and a total gain of 25 yards -- 9 for Kyle Techtmann, 2 for lineman Bob McTague, minus-3 for Rich Brown and 17 for John Clark, who threw the ball to start the play. Thanks to coach Kevin Kelly for going through the video to figure this out.

OCT. 9
NON-LEAGUE
Penn Charter 34, Carroll 20
  Stand and Deliver. That was the name of a movie about an inspirational high school math teacher 20-plus years ago and that title kept flashing into my mind while watching PC sr. QB John Loughery. Although I guess it could have been changed to Stand Tall (he's 6-5) and Deliver Pinpoint Passes. Loughery, a first cousin of the Atlanta Falcons' Matt Ryan, a PC grad, was on target almost throughout this rather entertaining contest. I wouldn't say his receivers flat out were guilty of any drops, but they did get hands on a few that "coulda" been caught as Loughery went a calm and cool 12-for-20 for 190 yards and a TD to frisky sr. WR Joey Sankey, a lacrosse whirlwind. Loughery is still trying to draw sincere big-time interest while considering the options he already has. If it's good tapes the college guys want, by golly that's what he's giving them. And it ESPECIALLY helps when the blocking is close to flawless. Loughery incurred no sacks and there were very few occasions when Carroll's guys made him even close to jittery, honestly. Credit goes to sr. Cornell Harriott, soph G Mark Opaliski, jr. G Tucker Colton, jr. T Tyler Mercer and soph T Mike "Jolly Green" McGlinchey, who's listed at 6-7, 255 and appears even taller. As the game began, PC ran the ball for the first one, two, three, four plays and I was mumbling to myself, "What's the deal here? Same as Prep Charter's game yesterday? I expect an aerial circus and a journey in a covered wagon breaks out?" Part of PC's plan was to work on the running game and, whoa, did that tactic ever pan out well. Soph RB Eric Neefe (despite all the e's, it's pronounced neff), one of the millions of kids to bolt SJ Prep after last season (OK, maybe it was seven), produced 140 yards and three TDs on 31 carries! Bodywise, he resembles a tailback-fullback mix and he definitely boasts the drag-multiple-tacklers gene. Receivingwise, soph WR Daryl Worley (5-90) and Sankey (5-74) were equally effective and sr. Nick Briscella, a LB, had some late-game fun by turning two carries into 47 yards and a 35-yard TD. He must be a popular kid; the Quakers went nuts when he scored. Impressively, he left two guys in his wake near the goal line. PC led at halftime, 20-0, and a Carroll team leader had bellowed at one point in the second quarter, "Wake the (bleep) up!! This is pathetic!!" I appreciated the emotion, but the F-bomb should have been omitted, especially at such high volume -- everyone heard it, clear as day -- and the player draw a quick visit from head ref Nick Raimo. Actually, the Patriots did wake up, though not until the third quarter. Runs of 18 yards by soph FB-LB Sage Stevenson (much to like about this kid) and 12 by sr. RB Julian Franklin got things rolling immediately and Franklin posted a 4-yard TD run five plays later. On third down of PC's ensuing series, Loughery threw his lone crappy pass of the afternoon, a non-crisp out toward Carroll's sideline. Sr. DB Greg DiSanto, who arrived shortly before gametime (SATs were offered today), picked it off and scampered/tightroped 35 yards for a TD. Carroll's other score didn't come until the game's final play, on a 2-yard option pitch from jr. QB Jalal Timmons, a lefty, to sr. handyman Teron Dobbs. PC had forced two turnovers in the second half -- fumble recovery for sr. DB DeShawn "Dusty" Hollis-Baker and interception for Worley. Only one of Carroll's 46 plays lost yardage, and the TFL went to Harriott. McGlinchey, at DE, had some impressive moments, both in scraping down the line of scrimmage and venturing toward the outside to combat speed sweeps. Kyle Drayton, a 5-7, 145-pound soph (unlikely dimensions), drew raves when he made a brassy solo tackle on kickoff coverage. McGlinchey played some TE last year, but now is strictly an OT. "Gotta make a sacrifice here and there," he noted with a laugh. For Carroll, sr. Matt Donaldson (he's also a G) showed "the look" while playing DE. He goes 6-4, 235. His partner on the other side, sr. Billy McClatchy, also enjoyed success. PC began a new tradition today: Gathering after the game to belt out the school song. Coach Jeff Humble brandished a blue card with the lyrics, though some guys (hopefully) didn't need it. In the ol' "You Know You're at Inter-Ac Game When . . ." category, PC announcer John Burkhart gave a running back credit for "a miniscule gain." One year he came out with "negligible." Promise me, John, one of these days (maybe even Friday when Malvern visits) you'll break out "infinitesimal." (smile)

OCT. 7
PUBLIC AAA
Franklin 16, Roxborough 13
  Franklin entered 1-4 and Roxborough’s record was just the opposite. Boro scored on its first two possessions and the prevailing thought was uh-oh, as in, “How much of a rout could THIS one turn into?” Check out that score line again, though. Not only did Franklin keep the Injuns off the board the rest of the game, it managed 16 points of its own and dang if it didn’t win the game. Upsets are rare in the Pub. Especially the kind where someone crawls out of an early hole. Don’t be fooled here. The Electrons did not exactly threaten world records for offensive fireworks while staging their comeback. They did play effective, turnover-causing defense, however, and they were the beneficiaries of a HUGE mistake by Boro in the very latter stages. We’ll flash to that moment, and to what happened immediately afterward. With his team up by 13-8, Roxborough sr. Tyler Renninger, a quality lineman, dropped back to punt from his 24. Alas, the snap sailed over his head – he was able to slightly deflect it -- and, while being swarmed, he could only cover the ball at the 5 with 1:39 remaining. On first down, sr. NG Jeremiah Kendrick and sr. LB Bernard Avery combined to stop sr. handyman Willie Battle for no gain. A procedure penalty -- somehow, the tight end went in motion after getting down in his stance -- pushed the ball back to the 10. Mathis then hit jr. SE Jonathan “Jack Rabbit” Parker (that’s what it says on the roster – smile) on a slant for six yards to the 4. Then, Roxborough was guilty of offsides, advancing the ball to the 2. And then, at 18.1, there Mathis was, burrowing into the end zone on a 2-yard sneak (with a conversion pass to Battle to follow). Incredible! Roxborough did provide a hint of excitement on its last-gasp possession as a hook-and-lateral play showed brief promise, but it failed to advance the ball past its own 27. As the Electrons celebrated – and this was mentioned in my DN story – star two-way sr. linemen Demetrius Town (listed at 6-2, 302; somehow he doesn't look fat) turned toward the stands at 29th Street Stadium, where some Roxborough loyalists had been razzing the Electrons pretty hard (nothing vulgar; just general cube-busting), and roared, "I can't hear y'all anymore! Wait. I'll turn around . . . Nope, can't hear you in this ear, neither!" Earlier, I’d had some fun with Town along the sideline. He’d asked me, “When are you going to start posting defensive stats?” I shot back, “When you stop going offsides.” He laughed and said to nearby teammates, “Oooooh, you hear that? He got me good.” Nothing like friendly banter (smile). Roxborough’s TDs came on passes of 42 and 28 yards from jr. QB Nick Butts to jr. TE Adrian Johnson-Pope and jr. WB Dre’von Williams, respectively. Franklin scored its first TD 3:11 into the second quarter on 1-yard sneak by Mathis. Actually, he bobbled and dropped the ball while trying to cross the goal line and had to recover it to notch the six points. That drive covered 40 yards and followed an interception by Parker that would have been a 37-yard TD, if not for a hold. Soph RB Crusito Cruz (15-yard run) and Battle (10-yard run) had the big plays and sr. OL Safir Dixon kept things alive by recovering a dropped snap. Jr. CB Pontell Wright later posted another pick for Franklin, which had entered with none for the season, while sr. LB Malik Harrison and Wright recovered fumbles that were forced by sr. DL Richard “White Boah” Underwood (yes, he’s Caucasian and attends Elverson Military, one of Franklin’s cooperative sponsorship schools) and Town, a true force at G and DE. Butts finished 7-for-17 for 133 yards while Williams totaled 57 yards on three catches and 12 yards with the lateral. Mathis is an import from Penn, which closed last June (and might reopen after refurbishing; not sure). He’s one of the tri-captains and has numerous ex-teammates as current teammates.

OCT. 2
CATHOLIC AA
Neumann-Goretti 26, Conwell-Egan 20 (2 OTs)
  At several points during this goodie, I was happy enough to do a flip. Wait . . . a flip was the reason I was here in the first place (smile). All week I’d fluctuated on whether to attend this tilt at the South Philly Super Site or West-Ryan at Northeast; N-G was the only one of the four teams I’d seen. When injuries caused Del-Val/Bok to take forever at this same site, I told Amauro the decision would cowm down to a best-of-five, coin-flip series. Heads for here. Tails for there. I used a quarter. West-Ryan took a 2-0 lead! Then N-G/C-E tied things up. I handed the quarter to Amauro and said he could do the fifth flip. The coin hit the turf near the home-side bench and . . . Heads it was. Good job, Amar. You know how to flip 'em. There were lots of interesting moments and how can you not enjoy a game that requires two OTs? It almost ended in regulation and the finish would have been an all-timer – a safety! On third and 26 from the 5 (there’d been a loss and two flags), sr. QB Mark Stinsman stepped to his right and was almost dropped in the end zone by sr. DE Jack McGurrin. Maybe he was, actually. I was downfield a little and the play happened toward the other side of the field, but there’s no doubt C-E’s coaches thought, even KNEW, they’d won it right then. Oh, well. On to OT we surged. N-G went first and the score came on fourth down as Stinsman rolled left and lofted a 5-yard pass to jr. RB Antwoine Powers. Stinsman fired low on the conversion. C-E quickly tied it on runs of 2 and 8 yards by sr. RB Rich Brown, who was outstanding all evening in every possible way. With no kicker on the premises, C-E coach Kevin Kelly had to go for two. The pass by soph QB Kyle Techtmann (rather new to QBing; his dad, Jack, once was Egan’s head coach) was incomplete. Sr. FB Justin Rey took an iso straight up the middle for six to start the second OT. Stinsman’s slant to frosh WR Jamal Custis didn’t come close. C-E’s possession went like this: 1 yard for Brown (tackle by jr. LB Benny Coppola); 3 for Techtmann (stop by sr. DB John Snyder); incomplete pass to sr. RB Vince Benedetti (broken up by sr. LB Aaron Davis); too-long, left-corner pass intended for sr. WR Kyle Bonner. The Saints, of course, went nuts. The Eagles walked slowly off the field and were left to wonder how they’d lost despite a 326-206 advantage in yardage (and 73-43 in plays). Stinsman went 10-for-15 for 95 and 50 came on a left-side, catch-and-run fade to the very promising Custis. Actually, if I’d been coaching the Saints, I would have thrown to him at least 10 times, if not 20, due to his impressive advantages in size (he’s listed at 6-3, 200; appears even taller) and speed; he dusted the d-back on his TD. Jamal’s sophomore brother, Sharif, also had some good moments at DE. Their older brother, Kadeem, is already seeing time at Temple and he turned up to watch the fourth quarter and OTs. Great to see him! Jr. Robert Kralle, listed at 6-2, 235, had some strong moments on the DL for N-G. Brown finished 32 carries for 186 yards and all 20 points. He also hauled in an interception, after batting the pass, and recovered a fumble. Brown tied it with 4:07 left on a 3-yard run, right after Techtmann, sr. WR Matt O’Hara and Benedetti combined on a 29-yard hook and lateral. N-G then tried to copy the play, but Bonner sniffed it out and picked off the lateral. Great job. C-E put together an impressive drive as halftime approached, going 62 yards in five plays. Sixty-three were needed, however. Brown was tackled at the 1 on a play that began at the 4. I was standing on N-G’s side in the first half and I could have sworn I heard Kelly telling the offense to spike the ball after a 28-yard burst by Brown swooshed the ball to the 8 (jr. DB Shane Thomas made a TD-saving tackle, by the way). Somehow the message wasn’t received or processed. This could change, of course, but I might see C-E next Saturday night vs. Lansdale. Here’s hoping another goodie is on the docket.

OCT. 2
PUBLIC AAAA GOLD
Northeast 14, Frankford 13
  Sometimes, a team manages not to lose as much as it wins. That was the case this morning, at least to some degree. Northeast lost three fumbles in the second quarter alone -- two in its own territory, even -- and its usually reliable kicker, jr. Howard Lynn, could not connect on a pair of field goal tries (31 yards, then 33) in the third quarter; he slipped just before hitting the first and the second was ever-so-slightly tipped (though it almost certainly would have been short anyway). But the Vikings ultimately won because Frankford sr. Keone Berry pushed a PAT slightly wide to the right with 5:04 left after sr. QB Michael McGroarty (7-for-19, 60) hit impressive jr. TE Aaron Allison for a 26-yard score in the right corner. Actually, Berry DID hit the kick, at first. But someone slightly moved on the line and that point was nullified. Northeast did pick up one first down thereafter, but the Pioneers then held and took over at their 30 with 2:40 left. The PA man then bellowed, "Make some noise, fans! Get behind the offense!" So much for being impartial (smile). Sr. RB Jeffione Thomas (17-74) ran for 12 yards. Thomas was then dropped for a 2-yard loss by sr. Gary Prince. McGroarty hit Allison for 18 yards to NE's 42. Sr. DE Deion Barnes dumped Thomas for a 2-yard loss. A swing pass to jr. Kelly Johnson resulted in a 1-yard loss (swamped). Barnes then forced a muffled pass and sr. OL Corey Young tried to catch it; that violation placed the ball back on Frankford's 47. McGroarty then went semi-long down the left sideline to jr. WB Savoy Martin at 0:48, but sr. OLB Reindorf "Name Still Wrong on Roster; Will Be Fixed This Week (Hopefully)" Dennis was there in draped-all-over-him coverage and a kneeldown ended it. Northeast, which always seems to play well AT Frankford, had jumped to a 14-0 lead after three possessions. Its first play was a 20-yard burst by jr. RB Marquise Edwards, and that a set a good tone. Three plays later, soph QB Harold Alexander whipped a 29-yard TD pass to sr. WR Rashaun "Military" Sligh. A three-and-out followed and the Vikings were at it again, and this time they needed to cover just four yards after a fumble recovery at the 4 by Dennis. Alexander hit Edwards for three yards, then, oops, dropped the next snap. Edwards was there to pick up the ball, and his lunging-forward dive got him into the end zone. Dennis, jr. LB Junelson Paul and sr. LB Camille Max had big moments throughout the game for NE's D. Sr. DL Brandon Russell and jr. LB Geoffrey Phillippe were forces for Frankford. Against an admittedly challenging schedule, the Pioneers are now an unheard of 1-4. Next up is Overbrook and a W is not a given for that one. Northeast has Lincoln and Germantown before the showdown with Washington.

OCT. 1
PUBLIC AAA
West Phila. 62, Boys' Latin 22
  This result certainly qualifies as a surprise. I mean, there can't be much shock that West won, especially taking into consideration Boys' Latin's status as a first-year Pub member, but to uncork a true pounding . . . did not expect it. West had scored just one TD, total, over three of its four games. In this one it dented the scoreboard after just 13 seconds and the TD did not come on a lengthy kickoff return. Huh? The kickoff was by West, in fact, in the person of jr. TE-DE Khalil Summers (6-3, 235; very strong legs). The ball cleared the second line of returnees and the back-line guys didn't rush forward quickly enough. Jr. William Monaghan recovered on BL's 26 and NO time was wasted. Sr. QB Lawrence Richardson immediately stepped back and zipped one downfield to jr. WR Eric Leslie, who made the catch behind a defender. Richardson and Leslie had been impressive in warmups. Richardson stands tall and shows good velocity along with form. Leslie is as frisky as they come and, as Richardson told me afterward, possesses an OUTSTANDING work ethic. The Speedboys owned a 38-8 lead by halftime and Richardson was 6-for-9 for 136 yards and three TDs, all to Leslie (3-123). He threw no passes in the second half (West ran just six plays) as the mercy rule stormed into effect right after sr. RB Robert Andrews returned the kickoff 81 yards for a score. The play happened on the far side of Gratz' field, but it appeared Rob made a very late decision to pick up the ball rather than let it go out of bounds. DN ink could have gone to Leslie, of course, but Richardson is a senior and he threw some nice balls, plus he gave Leslie some major props in his post-game comments. Andrews also starred; he received a long, mid-week story last year and seemed to mind not at all that he wasn't the highlighted guy today. Good attitude, son! Aside from his four TDs, Andrews also made a heard-miles-away block to help spring Malik Miles for the game's last score, a 69-yard kickoff return. Gotta love that, too. Jr. DL Frank Williams made two fumble recoveries to set up scores and he was one of the grunts on offense. Here they are: soph C Curtis Smith (normally a third-stringer), jr. G Brandon Ford, sr. G Alan Smith, sr. T Chris Brown and Williams at tackle. Unable to play today, lineman Brahim Hanton filmed the first half from atop the press box and held the down marker in the second half. What versatility! (smile) Mostly due to its return and quick-score success, West ran just 30 plays to BL's 59. The Warriors alternated soph Dominique Williford (mostly a runner, back from injury) and soph Erik Lark (mostly a thrower) at QB and they were hounded early and often. The line play just wasn't there, folks. The TDs went to Williford on a 10-yard run, to sr. Terron Fuller on a 15-yard pass from Lark and to soph Ben Coulibaly on a 43-yard run. The Warriors had some other good moments wrecked by penalties and the game ended with a run by Fuller that went from the 7 to just the 2. There was a legendary Only in the Pub moment after Williford's TD. Oumar Diawarra kicked off for BL and barely made contact with the ball. It went sideways to the right and spun around and around and around, while standing STRAIGHT up (it looked like a top), for what seemed like 7-8 seconds before it tipped over and settled dead 1 yard BEHIND the yard line from where it had been kicked. Just seconds earlier, I'd mentioned to Daily News photo intern Mitchell Leff that anything and everything is always possible in The Pub. Immediate proof positive, baby.