SEPT. 30
PUCK THE KNUCK-KNUCK
  As many of you know, Mr. Thomas "Puck/Nutman/Head Fakes/MANY Other Nicknames" McKenna is very competitive when it comes to his Pickin' Parade competition with Huck and Willie. So today, he calls to give me the details on the Future-FitzSimons game and talks about how it was close, and how FitzSimons almost won "for him." (Puck picked Fitz. Huck/Willie picked Future.) Then he says he talked FitzSimons' coaches into doing an onsides kick! "Dey wecovah," he adds, "but dey coont go down and scohe." So I get the rest of the info and then say, "Hey, Puck, let's back up a little! You were trying to 'coach' FitzSimons so you could win that game over Huck and Willie!!??" He then gets all defensive. "Nah, nah. Dat ain't twue. I ain't do dat. I lyin'." So around 9:30, I called Huck to tell him about this latest Puck classic and he says, "He called me. Told me the same story about telling them to go with an onsides kick." Oh, my goodness! So, now The Puckster thinks he's Andy Reid? And he's trying to "coach" teams to victory so he can win the Pickin' Parade? Did he do it? Did he not do it? I don't know for sure, but you can take this to the bank: The entertainment nevvvvver ends with this guy, folks. Never comes close to ending. (And I'm thankful for that every day -- ha ha).

SEPT. 30
PUBLIC AAAA SILVER
Furness 14, Olney 0
  Well, gang, there IS a way to keep Olney sr. QB-DB Jaron “Snoop” Turner from racking up the interceptions; Don’t throw the ball. The Snoopster entered this game with seven picks on the season and he’d pilfered four last week vs. Mastbaum. But in this one, played in rain and wind on a somewhat muddy surface at Olney, Furness sr. QB Maurice Harris heaved the rock just ONCE. He did so late in the first quarter, after just a 14-yard punt, and the play went for a 40-yard TD to sr. WR Kevin Hayes, who beat everyone straight down the field by a large margin and easily caressed Harris’ pass. Truthfully, that was the only impressively productive play through the entire game. Just that kind of day as the defenses were helped by the shaky conditions. As those who follow me know, I always like the offbeat tidbits and here’s a classic: In his last four games, Harris has intercepted as many passes as he has completed (five). Gotta love it! He’s 5-for-13 and three of the completions have gone for TDs. Today’s second pick was a classic as he jumped, made contact with the ball and tipped it to himself, gathering it in almost at ground level. Jr. RB-DB Sharif Smith, who missed part of this one with an ankle/leg ding, is still the Falcons’ headliner, but Harris has become a VERY important playmaker. More and more he’s stirring thoughts of Shaquille Gaskins, who starred last year for Southern. Today’s ink went to sr. T-DT Sirea Boone, who’s only a second-year player and the lone Falcon who attends World Communications. He involved himself in three tackles behind the line in the first half and recovered a fumble on the third play of the third quarter as Turner bobbled/dropped a snap. Boone recovered on Olney’s 19 and the game’s second TD came four plays later – runs of 6, 5 and 6 yards by Smith, then Harris’ 2-yard keeper. Harris’ interception occurred on the first play of the fourth quarter, with a 23-yard return to the Olney 30. The Trojans stiffened – sr. Joseph Bryant made a good play for a 2-yard loss – and Smith wound up fumbling the ball at the 1 on fourth down (recovery to Turner). On second down, jr. backup QB Adonis Fountain dropped back to pass and, whoa, Hayes and DE Lewis Martinez wound up right in his face. The ball popped out and dribbled over the back line just before Furness made the recovery; the play went down as a safety. Overall, Olney hurt its chances with some dropped passes. The guilty parties were wearing facemask shields and interim coach David DiEva ultimately ordered all guys to take them off. Olney had a rough day along the sidelines. Only two coaches were on hand (at least that I saw) and some of the players were acting childish, honestly. The crap began when one of the non-starters yelled a VERY unacceptable comment toward the Furness guys just before the opening kickoff. Two Silver teams will make the playoffs and Olney still has a great chance to be one of them. The knuckleheadism must end NOW, however. The legendary Amauro Austin was in attendance; one of his mail routes is right around Olney. He was in his postal uniform, complete with waterproof sun helmet, and his shoes were covered by plastic bags, so as not to get them muddy. I always knew Amar was a smarty (smile).

SEPT. 25
NON-LEAGUE
O'Hara 36, Roman 24
  Early in the fourth quarter, a reporter from the Delco Times noted that this game had "more people laying on the ground than a yoga class." A few were guys who'd been injured, but most were the victims of cramps (sometimes even both legs simultaneously) on a very hot night at Germantown's Super Site with little to mostly NO hint of wind. Keep drinking those fluids, guys, and keep games like this one coming. The teams combined for 685 scrimmage yards and the affair didn't end until 9:48. Roman soph Michael Keir outpassed O'Hara sr. Ryan Laughlin, 261-255, in terms of yardage, but Keir needed more than double the amount of attempts (38-18) and Laughlin got a lot more help from his ground game (136-33). As I've often said, all you ever want is a game that's still up for grabs late in the fourth quarter and we very much had that. Somewhat surprisingly, though. Down by 17-14 at halftime, O'Hara racked up 15 points in the first eight minutes of the third quarter and appeared to be in command. That feeling mushroomed on the second play of the fourth when sr. RB-SS Adam Dempsey picked off a pass right in the middle of the field. With spirited play from defenders such as jr. DL Tyrone Brown, sr. LB Dan Pellicciotti and jr. DB Darryl "Breath" Mints, all of whom racked up TFLs, the Cahillites held O'Hara to one first down and then, here they came, baby. With Keir passing 5-for-6 and with soph WR William Fuller making a tremendous catch on a 25-yard, right-corner fade (despite right-there defense), Roman charged within 29-24. Only another TD would be necessary. Not even the PAT. Sr. DE Jack Gallagher (with help sr. DL Kyle McDowell) maintained the momentum, sacking Laughlin for 10 yards right away. The subsequent punt put Roman at its 37. Pass to jr. RB Marcus Kelly for seven. Pass to Pellicciotti for seven more. Were the Cahillites going to pull this one out? Nah. The next four plays went incomplete, scramble for five, incomplete, incomplete (broken up by Dempsey) and a dead ball personal foul put the ball at Roman's 41. It didn't stay there long. Breaking two sets of tackles rather early, Dempsey broke free on a left-side run and gleefully scampered to the south end zone. Score one for the little guys, folks. Well, not completely little because O'Hara is still considered a large school. Just not as large as before. The Lions are now in AAA and a win over AAAA Roman qualifies as feather-in-cap material. (Ditto for Wood's win over SJ Prep and Carroll's success over Ryan. In fact, Bonner, which fell to La Salle, 28-0, was the only AAAer NOT to bump off a big-daddy foe this weekend.) Dempsey formed an impressive tandem with sr. Brendan "Horse/Stud/Brute/Manchild" McLaughlin (10-66); when room was available. Not that he isn't tough, because he very much is, but Dempsey mostly relies on darts and bursts. McLaughlin is an absolute punisher and trying to bring him down with any fewer than three tacklers is not advised. He also fared well coming out of the backfield, witness his 26-yard TD catch. Early, Roman was bitten by the same long-pass bugaboo that had surfaced vs. Malvern. Laughlin hit jr. WR Damiere Shaw for 78 yards and sr. WR Tyler Gallen (son of Mike, ex-star Lion) for 92 in the first seven minutes. Neither pass was a bomb. Instead, the guys made short catches and "housed" it from there. Roman's first half TDs went to Kelly on a 34-yard run and Fuller on a 53-yard pass. (It was nice to see Marcus' dad, Darryl, ex-football and baseball star at King, while entering the stadium.) Also, sr. Kyle Haber hammered his two PATs and a 39-yard field goal. There was a very weird happenstance as the first half ended. McLaughlin was stopped for a 2-yard loss by jr. DE Jack Schanz and his helmet popped right off his head. Didn't wind up on the ground, though. Where was it? Attached to Schanz'! That's right. The facemasks got tangled so Schanz briefly was wearing TWO helmets. Gotta love it. After Fuller scored his 53-yarder, a teammate was heard to marvel, "Dat young boah do his thing!" (smile). O'Hara's offensive line included sr. C Sean McFadden, sr. Gs Kyle Hilsey and Rob Hladish, jr. T Hunter Tierney, sr. Casey Strus and sr. TE Shawn Driggins. Sr. LB Drew "Tabletop" Formica was a key defender, doing some serious poppin'. He, too, went to Cramp City. Soph Brandon Chatmon blocked a punt (recovery to jr. Pat Funchion) to set up McLaughlin's receiving TD. A safety followed shortly thereafter when Keir was engulfed and Roman recovered the ball in the end zone. Had a nice postgame chat with Tom Jones, father of all-time O'Hara legend Kevin Jones. Tom said Kevin is thinking about playing indoor ball with the hope of getting back into the NFL. Another of Tom's sons is a freshman at O'Hara. Props to O'Hara's student rooters, who provided noisy, game-long support. Beforehand, when PA announcer Dan Hoban was finishing a prayer, one of them bellowed, "We love you, Jesus!!" And Jesus loves you back, young man.

SEPT. 25
NON-LEAGUE
McDevitt 32, Germantown 6
  Some of the coolest parts of this game occurred toward the end. And on the McDevitt side, a little guy provided many of the special moments. Late in the third quarter, jr. DB Nicholas Perez, listed at 5-8, 150, made a leaping interception. He was just getting started, folks. Two plays later, on the offensive side, he made a good downfield block to help sr. RB Gary Postell (16-145, three TDs) rip off a 21-yard gain. Soon, the Lancers had first and goal just inside the 10, but a holding penalty helped to create third-and-goal from the 25. No matter. Perez scooted downfield, turned and caught a TD pass in the left corner from sr. QB Martin "Nico" Henry, a lefty. Very nice. And Perez wasn't finished helping out. After G-town finally got on the board, Perez muscled up and recovered the onsides kick. Little guyz rule! Though McDevitt didn't quite toy with the Bears, it did win in rather comfortable fashion. And in this era where so many teams throw the ball non-stop, it was interesting to see the Lancers break out the ol' option play. Well, they did it out of a shotgun/Wildlancer formation (whatever you want to call it), but it still had the back-in-the-day elements. Henry, new to the position, still needs some work on footsteps and angles, etc., but he is very brassy and had no problem holding onto the ball until the very last instant before pitching it to the just-as-feisty Postell. Probably because Henry's a lefty, McDevitt seemed to do the best to that side. There was constant shuffling on the O-line, but the main guys were sr. C Colin Leach, sr. Gs Eric Edwards and Kevin Polansky, sr. T Alvin Goodwyn and jr. T Shane Killian. Henry was a threat in his own right (13-67) and all he did passingwise was go 5-for-6 for 120 yards. For my money, the most important play happened right out of the gate. Well, out of the G-town gate. Already down by 6-0, the Bears' first play was a run by jr. Aaron Boyd. He was absolutely crushed, with a full-body, head-on tackle, by jr. LB Darren Wright. Young teams still trying to find their way do NOT need that. The Bears only began to move the ball after halftime. Soph QB Hanif Dockery completed two passes and added two respectable runs on flush-outs and the situation wound up being first-and-goal at the 8. Also, there was an immediate procedure penalty and later a hold and, on fourth down, Dockery showed his lack of experience by intentionally throwing the ball way out of bounds. On fourth down. Hey, he'll learn. G-town's TD drive featured frosh QB Cedric Wright (6-foot, 190) and there's much to like about him. His throws were strong and true and he showed no fear, even when defenders were counting his fillings and ready to seriously unload. He hit jr. WR Myles Brooker for a 50-yard bomb (perfect touch!) and Brooker again for a 26-yard TD. Wright later threw a pick to sr. S Matt Conroy, but that resulted in part because the receiver did not go full-out for the rock. Jr. LB Deon Garnett had some good moments for G-town's defense. As is his custom, Bears' coach Mike Hawkins came out with a goodie. After sr. Ibrahim Abdul-Malik suffered a cramp issue and was making all kinds of gyrations. When the refs momentarily held up the game, so Abdul-Malik could be moved further off the sideline, Hawkins quipped, "It's a cramp! It's not like he's giving childbirth!" Later, Germantown jr. Kwame "Big as All Outdoors" Miller (6-5, 390) made a TFL on jr. RB D'Andre Miller and, shortly after the tackle occurred, with the guys still on the ground, Kwame's left hand wound up inside D'Andre's facemask. Naturally, D'Andre tried to pull away and Kwame's hand did the twist. No problems resulted.

SEPT. 23
PUBLIC AAA
Roxborough 26, University City 6
  Roxborough is 4-0 for the second time in five years (also ’06) and has outscored its victims by 117-12. Indian fans might want to temper their enthusiasm, though. Said victims are a combined 0-12 and have been sliced and diced by 414-63. I’d imagine coach Mike Stanley will be reminding his squad of that fact again and again before next week’s game vs. Dobbins. From what I saw today, 'Boro is respectable and nothing more. It needs major improvement before it can think about being mentioned in the same breath with Dobbins and Gratz. That’s nothing derogatory, folks. Just trying to keep things real. DN ink went to sr. NG Jeremiah Kendrick, a former safety (up until '09) who notched THREE fumble recoveries and returned one of those bad boys for a 23-yard TD. That was the game’s first score and already his second recovery. The Indians did notch three offensive TDs, but did not exactly move the ball at will. Its longest gain was 18 yards and just three of its 46 rushing plays earned as many as 10. I’m feeling generous, so we’ll mention the offensive linemen’s names (smile), but as they well know, they’ll need to play with much more passion, along with skill/cohesion, down the road: jr. Anthony Ebo and srs. Tyler Renninger, Shaquille Sistrunk, Josh Myers and Ben Chapman. Jr. QB Nick Butts passed 6-for-9 for 59 yards and a TD to sr. TE Adrian Johnson-Pope. Jr. WB Dre’von Williams made four snags for 33 yards while sr. FB Bernard Avery (11-48), Williams (13-43) and sr. RB Vince Bennett (11-31) posted nothing special rushing numbers. UC got absolutely squashed last week by Gratz, 62-0, and I was very curious to see not only how the Jaguars would play, but how things would be on the sideline. One thing impressed me VERY much. With 9:11 left in the fourth quarter, sr. Marcus Speight batted down a pass and the ball settled into the arms of soph DE Davon Wise (6-2, 200), who motored 45 yards for a TD. On the conversion, one of UC’s important players was guilty of unsportsmanlike conduct and rookie coach Lorell McCook made him sit for the rest of the game. Great to see that message-sending discipline! UC’s offensive linemen basically were overpowered all game long and the offense netted just two yards on 22 plays. Its defense had some very good moments. Many of the guys were physical and showed strong pursuit. Wise (two sacks) and sr. LB John Casey (TFL) combined for three eye-popping plays pretty much right in a row. Sr. DL Martin “Booca” Monroe and sr. DB Desmond Smith also made a game-long impact. Frosh RB Robert Hall had two impressive late-game runs. Former Bok star Eddie Williams is  now an assistant with UC; he’d been with West Philly. Ex-Lincoln all-timer Marc Foster, who also starred at Purdue, came over to say hello after the game with a guy who was asking about Roxborough jr. Josh Anderson; maybe his dad/uncle? Marc was my choice as Lincoln’s top athlete of the 35-year period. Not positive, but I think greetings also came from Joell Hilton, star lineman on Roxborough’s ’08 squad. (As hard as I try, I can't automatically remember everyone - smile).

SEPT. 18
NON-LEAGUE
North Penn 38, SJ Prep 0
  It's not often The Trail yields two legend sightings on the very same day. Believe this, though: The guy at night is a liiiiitle more famous than the morning version. Legend No. 1 wore No. 24 for Imhotep Charter and he wasn't exactly a major contributor as the Panthers halted Bok Tech's 43-game winning streak against PL regular season opposition. So, you ask, how is he a legend? That's his name, folks. Legend Whitfield. He's only a soph, so maybe he WILL live up to his name. The legend at this non-contest -- NP scored on its first five possessions with four TDs and then a field goal -- was Charles Barkley. No explanation about why he's a legend is necessary (hopefully). The Chuckster is friends with the parents of Prep sr. DB Phil Riehl and he stood on the Hawks' sideline, just watching the tilt and talking with anyone who approached him. I might have played a role in getting his presence announced by the PA guy. Late in the first half, ex-website stalwart Kevin "Sparky" Cooney, now kicking butt for papers in Bucks and Montomery County, sent me a text from the press box. "Is that Barkley on the Prep sideline?" I texted back nothing but "yes." He shot back, "Thought so," and moments later, 1:21 before halftime, the announcement was being made. Among other things, the guy called Barkley "a Philly icon." There was loud applause throughout the stadium and the Prep kids chanted, "He's on OUR side! . . . He's on OUR side!" Barkley mingled with the fans along the fence, signed a decent number of autographs, flashed big smiles when asked to pose for pictures and, well, could not have been nicer. With just over four minutes left in the third quarter, NP's cheerleaders came running around the track to the Prep's side of the field with the express desire, of course, of getting THEIR picture taken with CB. When the Prep kids noticed, they bellowed, "Girls gotta go! . . . Girls gotta go!" As Barkley walked over to pose for the pic, the kid in the Hawk costume scurried over and then stood behind the back line, making sure HE would be in the picture, too. I'm smellin' a photoshop (smile). Anyway, all of the Barkley stuff was an entertaining diversion because the game left much to be desired for those who'd expected (hoped?) it would be competitive. In its last two games, admittedly against high-quality opponents, the Prep has been outscored, 73-14. Ouch. Disaster struck early tonight. On the game's second play, jr. QB Skyler Mornhinweg -- it wound up being his only "carry" as he never was sacked; that part was good -- dropped the shotgun snap and NP recovered on the 27. The Hawks did provide opposition (jr. LB Eric Medes made two rock-'em stops) and NP needed eight plays to score, but score it did. Only one first down was registered on SJP's next drive and NP assumed possession on its 40. With the help of an interference call, the Knights needed just four plays to double their lead. Bad luck followed in the form of a wickedly bad snap on a punt. Soph P Dan Sherry could only cover up the ball 25 yards behind the line of scrimmage and NP's next "drive" would need to cover just 20 yards. Four plays. Score. 21-0. Finally, the Hawks had an answer, in the form of a 67-yard TD run straight up the middle, pretty much, by sr. TB Mark Casale. But that would be it, folks. NP had significant advantages in crispness and "orneryness." Casale did finish with 167 yards on 21 carries. Mornhinweg went 7-for-15 for 65 yards and his two best completions went to Casale for 20 and 24 yards. Against second-line players, Casale and sr. RB Michael DeFeo went back and forth, back and forth down the field on the Prep's final possession, but the game ended with the ball at the 3. Except for Casale's long TD, the best moments occurred midway through the third quarter. On a right-side fade, DeFeo defended a guy low and Mornhinweg came over to absolutely CREAM him high. The pass went to the other side on the next play. Apparently beaten, sr. DB Paul McGann reached out at the very last instant, with his left hand, to prevent a TD. After the game, McGann encouraged his passing teammates non-stop as they headed toward the end zone for the time-honored chat. Prep's PAT was kicked by sr. newcomer Pat Kardish, who was making his debut. After Casale's TD, Kardish kicked off and made the tackle to prevent what would have been a 76-yard score. "I play rugby," he said. "I'm used to tackling." I hadn't been to North Penn's stadium in forever. Rather disappointing. The grass was spotty -- with weeds, even -- and the lighting was nothing special. I figured such a proud program would have a palace. (Honestly, I expected artificial turf since so many places have it now. Oh, well.)

SEPT. 18
PUBLIC AA
Imhotep 28, Bok 6
  Let's say you're a player or a coach with a team that boasts a very long winning streak. When it's time for the fun to end, how would you like to have it happen? Emphatically? Or in heartbreaking, last-second fashion? Well, over nine seasons, Bok had posted 43 consecutive wins in Public League regular season play. And it wasn't too long into game No. 44 that coach Tom DeFelice and his assistants and players pretty much knew they'd be waving bye-bye to such a wonderful accomplishment. Imhotep was THAT impressive. Coach Marc Wilson's Panthers blocked and tackled and ran hard and defended the pass and "everythinged" with skill and passion. The far-and-away headliner was sr. TB Maurice Palmer, who scored all four TDs while accumulating 131 yards on 27 carries. Late in the first quarter, Palmer uncorked an 18-yard gain on one of the best runs you could ever hope to see. He powered through three-four "sure tackles" -- groups of tacklers, actually -- while getting the ball from Bok's 27 to 9. It was just outstanding! Imhotep already led at that point, 8-0, and I'm guessing lots of people at the South Philly Super Site had the exact same feeling I did . . . This could be the day. Bok did momentarily stiffen, but a regular facemask penalty helped to move the ball from the 6 to the 3 on third down, and Imhotep took advantage of the do-over to get into the end zone; Palmer ran 1 yard, then 2. An interception by jr. LB Eric Richardson (his dad, also Eric, is an assistant) set up the first TD while the second followed a punt of minus-3 yards. On each drive, 'Hotep received one big gain -- 24 yards, then 31 -- from soph. RB/WR Eerin Young, a transfer from McDevitt. The plays were passes from sr. QB Christopher Lewis, but since they were backward the resulting stats went into the book as rushing plays. Young also posted the first conversion in that manner. Sr. WR Devin Sanders got the second on a pass from Lewis. Let's face it: 16-0 is much more daunting than 12-0 or 14-0. The Panthers scored once more before halftime as Palmer took a draw for 38 yards. The defense was also performing at a high level. On the ensuing kickoff, jr. DB Elijah Anthony absolutely crushed the return guy and sr. LB Maurice Howard recovered. Later, jr. FS Shakur Nesmith, a basketball player who goes 6-4, soared for an interception. He also had one in the second half. As the second half opened, there again was a "sign." Bok's franchise player, the very physical/spirited sr. RB-LB Khalil Neal, could not control the kickoff as it skidded right through him all the way back to the 4. Uh, oh. To its credit, Bok did quickly regroup and zipped down the field for a TD. Jr. QB Marquise Brown, the third-stringer (the first two guys are out with injuries), notched three straight completions (of just four for the game) and Neal followed with a 45-yard TD burst straight up the middle. So much for momentum: Bok ran just 11 plays thereafter and garnered no first downs. The four possessions yielded two turnovers as Nesmith made his second pick and frosh DE Tyrone Barge recovered a late fumble with Bok's second unit on the field. The Wildcats ran 31 plays and nine went for losses. That's unheard of, folks, and goes to show how much Imhotep controlled this game. Jr. DE Byron Cooper had one sack while jr. LB Zamir Bell and Anthony shared another. Anthony added a TFL sr. DL Nicholas Johnson added two. As the game wound down, an assistant coach emptied one of those big, round buckets of whatever was in it (water or Gatorade, not sure) in an attempt to protect coach Wilson's long locks. Well, sr. Corey Stroud picked up a small plastic bottle of water and wound up dousing Wilson anyway. A little bit, at least (smile). This is Imhotep's sixth year as a PL member. Counting a playoff last year, the teams had met six times. Only in '07 had the Panthers come close, at 20-14. Major props, of course, go out to Bok for the skill -- and better yet, the CLASS -- it showed while rolling to those 43 consecutive wins; that's the longest league winning streak in Pub history. Almost half (21) resulted in shutouts and only four times did they win by seven points or less. The average score was 27.8 to 5.2. Here's that page. Monday or Tuesday, hopefully, we'll set up a page to celebrate Imhotep's accomplishment like this one from '08 when La Salle ended SJ Prep's 55-game winning streak in CL regular season play.

SEPT. 16
NON-LEAGUE
Roman 35, Chestnut Hill 10
  Junior lineman Shane Wiggins is probably a very nice kid and someday you might get to read about him in the Daily News. He alllllmost got the ink after this game because dear ol’ Ted proved to be quite the knucklehead. Ugh. The story did go to sr. DE Jack Gallagher, who wears No. 51. Wiggins wears No. 57 and when I approached him after the game, I guess the angle made the 7 in his number look like a 1. I said something along the lines of, “Just to make sure. You do go by ‘Jack,’ right?” He then pointed out that he wasn’t Jack Gallagher and was nice enough to summon Jack from Roman’s sideline. Oh, baby. What a goofball move I made, huh? Next thing you know, people will think I’m related to Puck. Or even his twin (smile). Thanks for your help and understanding, Shane. Anyway, the DN story focused on Gallagher in the context of quite a goofy afternoon for the Cahillites. Their team bus stopped dead going up a Manayunk hill and everybody had to scramble off, lest they be in there when the brakes gave out and the piece of cwap (that’s Puckese) rolled back down the hill. Didn’t happen, but the players did have to walk, according to Gallagher, about three blocks before being able to reboard the bus. Only in the Cath (smile). As expected, Roman won in comfortable fashion. The Cahillites were bigger and more experienced and boasted more team speed, as well. Gallagher (6-2, 225), who’s earning sniffs from Temple, Stony Brook, Monmouth and Akron, had two sacks, one TFL and a fumble recovery to set up a touchdown. He did his best work on back-to-back plays right before the end of the half, scraping down the line to register a 1-yard loss on a shovel pass and then bursting through to drop sr. QB Danny Gallagher (no relation, yet a pretty good friend thanks to interaction on the combine circuit) for an 8-yard loss. Sr. Christian Guinan then was straight and true with an impressively hammered 44-yard field goal at 0:03. As Roman fans might remember from last week, Malvern sr. WR Michael Bolte scored on two VERY long TDs (80 and 62 yards) a short span apart. Well, in this one, jr. RB Marcus Kelly zoomed for scores of 80 and 72 yards just 2:18 apart in the third quarter and his handiwork (feetiwork, actually) expanded the lead from 14-3 to 28-3. Those were TDs No. 2 and 3 of the somewhat rainy day for Kelly, who finished at 12-209. Roman’s other scores came courtesy of the right arm of soph QB Michael Keir (6-for-12, 125). Shortly into the game, he sent a left-side fade to jr. WR Michael Boccelli for a 38-yard score. There was an interesting subplot here. As the play was unfolding, a CHA assistant was yelling, “Watch No. 10! It’s going to No. 10!” That’s sr. Dennis Regan. With the ball in the air, two defenders eased toward Regan and that allowed Boccelli to slip behind for an easy catch. One of the two then got reamed out for leaving Boccelli. Not fair! Dude was following orders (smile). Late in the third session, Keir showed his improv skills after being harassed/flushed. I’d bet money that the play, as originally diagrammed, called for a pass to sr. FB Christian Seagrave. But at the last second, soph WR William Fuller came flying in out of nowhere and made a snag at the top of an impressive leap. Seagrave likely would have notched a TD, but the six points instead went to Fuller, who made the catch at the 5 and maneuvered into the end zone. With both teams’ second units participating, CHA finally got a TD with 1:10 left as soph Michael Hayes hit jr. WR Jamie Young on a right-to-middle slant through double coverage. Roman’s line featured sr. C Matt Long, sr. G John Hardy, jr. G Roberto Harris-Barron, sr. Ts Jim Bell and Kyle McDowell and sr. TE Dan Pellicciotti (also some impressive moments at LB). At safety, Regan intercepted a pass (tipped it to himself with his left hand) and forced a fumble (recovery to soph S Chris Cruz). The Cahillites' four-man D-line featured end jr. E Jack Schanz, jr. T Tyrone Brown and sr. T Corey Bronson in addition to J. Gallagher. For CHA, D. Gallagher, under siege all afternoon, mixed 117 yards of passing (5-for-15, 102) and rushing. Jr. TB Cedric Madden battled for 67 tough yards on 18 rushes; included was one carry with sensational second/third effort through major traffic. With a shade over 4:00 left in the first half, CHA managed first-and-goal at the 5. There were three straight up-the-middle rushes for Madden, with the stops going to Pellicciotti, Regan/Cruz and then Cruz. Fourth down brought a right-side pitchout to Madden. Schanz had it all the way, dropping Madden for a 5-yard loss. Like always, it was impossible not to be impressed by CHA sr. DB Brian Dones, who’s listed at 5-7, 145. He came up hard and stopped Regan for no gain on a fourth down play and made other licks, as well. Also, like always, he made fully-stretched dives in attempts to block PATs. Mike Ferris, wizard behind the ol’ northcatholicfootball.com and occasional DN statman, was in attendance, checking out former Falcons. Also on hand was one of Huck’s good buddies, Fran Dougherty. (Not to be confused with the 27 other guys named Fran Dougherty I've met through the years – smile). One was North’s former AD. Another played basketball for Wood the past few years.

SEPT. 12
PUBLIC GOLD
Washington 28, Frankford 13
  Maybe 10 minutes after game's end, Frankford's players were on the home side of Northeast's stadium, about to leave the field area and head up the concrete steps. Right nearby, chatting with a couple of them, was star jr. RB-KR Hakeem Sillman, of Washington, who starred through his youth for the nationally famous Frankford Chargers' youth program and even attended Frankford as a ninth grader. In a playful manner, Frankford sr. QB Michael McGroarty yelled to Sillman, "Yo, Hak, get your little fast (butt) outta here!" Sillman laughed and back he went to the other side with Washington's players (which he'd been just about to do, anyway). Sillman's "little fast (butt)" had begun the evening with an outta here moment, as in a lengthy kickoff return for a touchdown. Eighty-five yards, to be exact. Right before THAT, one Frankford guy had been hollering at Sillman from the front row of the stands. "Hey, Hak, you OK? How you been? Everything cool?" I expected to hear any second, "You ready to get rocked? 'Cause we're gonna kick your (butt)!" Didn't happen. We'll have to assume the guy was a friend. Maybe even someone who'd coached Hak with the Chargers. Anyway, the kid can be downright electric and he was certainly was on this return. Later in the first quarter, he zoomed for another long TD on an 84-yard dash from scrimmage. Oops, no he didn't. Somehow (maybe a hint of fatigue?), he was caught from behind by jr. DB Savoy Martin at the 3. An offside flag moved the ball halfway to the goal line and sr. QB Tony Smith bulldozed in from there. So, there we were, at 14-0, and Frankford's own star RB, sr. Jeffione Thomas, came trotting onto the field for the first time. Where had HE been on Frankford's first two series? Cooling his heels on the sideline. He'd been held out due to a minor violation of team rules. Thomas (23-118) scored on a 1-yard run early in the second quarter and there was a hint of the ever-desirable feeling, "OK, now we have a ballgame." Washington answered quickly with a 60-yard drive on just five plays that showed many of its weapons. Sillman ran for 16. Sr. RB English Peay frolicked for 21. Smith passed for nine to sr. WR Albert Gaye. Next, sr. DL Brandon Russell, who had several impressive moments (also a fumble recovery), broke through to register a 3-yard loss, but the momentum was short lived. Smith stepped up and launched a way-too-easy, 17-yard TD pass to jr. WR Nate Smith (no relation) on a left-corner fade. Ballgame. Pretty much. I spent the first half on Frankford's sideline and was surprised to hear bits and pieces of grumbling among the players toward each other. Just when I was about ask coach Mike Capriotti about that after the game, he made unsolicited comments about "needing to address" that issue. It WOULD be addressed, he added, and I sensed he meant even back at Frankford after the bus ride or DURING the bus ride. Anyway, the game was semi-lifeless through the rest of the half and the final 24 minutes. You hardly ever see that at Washington-Frankford, correct? Sillman finished with 127 yards on nine carries while adding 101 on returns. T. Smith went 4-for-10 for 112 and the other TD, a 67-yarder, went to Temple-bound sr. WR Daquan Cooper on a right-to-middle slant. The catch was a reach-up, all-hands snatch and off he went, between and through a few guys. With 1:25 left, Peay (5-75) came within a whisker of a 56-yard TD dash, but he was caught from behind by sr. LB Marcellus Little. With the ball on the 7, the refs asked Washington's coaches whether a knee would be taken. The answer was no. Hmm, more blood would be sought. However, after Frankford went offside and the ball moved up to the 3 1/2, the Eagles reconsidered and kneeldowns by T. Smith ended it. Sr. DE Brandon Chudnoff, now wearing No. 55 and also headed for Temple, delivered two serious, full-body pops right at the line of scrimmage. Sr. DB Donovan Morris had a leaping interception. Gaye recovered a fumble. Frankford did manage two picks: by sr. DB Marc Price and Little. Marcus "Dink" Waddy, star running back for Frankford's '01 squad (also played at Bloomsburg), worked the chains.

SEPT. 11
NON-LEAGUE
Roman 34, Malvern 21
  Jr. QB Tommy Rumer (317) and sr. WR Michael Bolte (206) now own Malvern's one-game school records for passing and receiving yards, respectively, but it's doubtful they'll be dancing around the campus come Monday. As often happens, passing and receiving marks get broken in losing performances and that was what occurred today on West Chester Henderson's artificial surface; Malvern's field is being redone. It's not fair to say Roman was totally dominant because some of its best moments resulted from gifts, but the Cahillites had this one in control coming down the stretch. Coincidentally, one of the visitors along Malvern's sideline was all-time halfback Chris Downs ('98), who still holds the school mark for rushing yards in one game with 308 in his senior season. The passing/receiving standards used to belong to Steve Santarlasci (293 in '69) and Joe Price (172 in '08). Amazingly, this game yielded 551 total passing yards while lasting 2 hours, 40 minutes! While Rumer went 15-for-32 for his 317, Roman soph Michael Keir went 9-for-17 for 234. Their halftime totals were 192 and 196, respectively, and stat-lovers everywhere were rejoicing. Imagine if they'd come close to doubling THOSE totals. Rumer's TDs were a 62- and 80-yarder to Bolte just a short time apart in the second quarter and a 23-yarder to sr. WR JoJo Rava with only 22.4 seconds remaining in the game. All three of Keir's went to classmate William Fuller, a wideout. They covered 44, 47 and 13 yards. Counting a bad snap on a punt, Malvern's rushing total was minus-1 yard. Jr. RB Shawn Wilson, formerly of North Catholic and so impressive in his Friar debut last week, lost two fumbles deep in Malvern territory and Roman needed to slap together "drives" of only 4 and 13 yards. Also, the bad snap had to be followed by only a 23-yard "drive." Roman was not exactly a rushing powerhouse, but jr. Marcus Kelly did manage 64 yards and one TD on 13 carries. Sr. RB-Rec. Dennis Regan settled for just nine yards (and one TD) on four carries and twice he was sidelined in the second half by cramping problems; he sat out things from there. Regan's 4-yard run and Fuller's 44-yard snag (roughing the kicker kept that possession alive) handed Roman a 14-0 lead with 2:24 left in the first quarter. The first of Bolte's long TDs moved Malvern within 14-7, but Roman rebounded two plays later with the 47-yarder to Fuller. Malvern's next play? WAAAAY too easy: the 80-yarder to Bolte. The half ended as jr. DL Connor Mahoney, who had notched a sack earlier in the quarter, blocked a 24-yard field goal attempt by sr. Kyle Haber. Sr. LB Abdul Basil, who'd already notched a TFL and sack in the session, recovered a fumble to set up the 13-yard flip from Keir to Fuller. Also, Basil batted down a long pass on third down right before the bad snap on the punt gave Roman life at the 23. Sr. LB Jack Foley also had special moments throughout the game. As for Roman's d-backs, well let's just say that the coming week's practices will include LOTS of work against fades and streaks. Rumer had his best moments on the long patterns. His performance was uneven, at best, on outs and swing routes. Hey, it takes time. He's just getting started. This one started at 2 and Frankford-Washington was set for 6 at Northeast. I opted to take the turnpike and Roosevelt Blvd., rather than chance the Expressway, and an arrival was made at about 5:50. If I'd been late, Amauro would have covered the early portion of the game. After Bolte logged his second long TD, I heard him telling teammates, "It's the socks." He was referring to white cloth spats on his cleats. Regan appeared to be wearing them as well. Gotta love it. Also, Malvern has a "disco" defensive call. One of these weeks, I want to see, say, a defensive end wearing bell bottoms.

SEPT. 4
NON-LEAGUE
SJ Prep 36, Washington 25
  Anyone still hearing that death knell with regard to SJ Prep's 2010 football season? Yes, the Hawks were hit with multiple, even major, defections in the aftermath of coach Gil Brooks' firing and this squad features very few players of impressive size; almost none, truly. But the record is now 1-0 and the win came against the Public League's glamour program and, best of all for the confidence factor, it was accomplished while coming from behind. Oh, first the wacky quirk. Somehow, these teams combined for just one conversion in 10 chances. The Prep went 0-for-6 and the Eagles received only a kick from jr. WR Nate Smith after TD No. 3 for them and No. 6 of the game. The scoreboard operator got carried away and momentarily awarded TWO points, making the count 20-18 rather than 19-18. There were lots of great plays in this tilt, staged (at Northeast) before a rather impressive crowd considering it was the holiday weekend and school hadn't even opened yet. The first was turned in by sr. WR Paul McGann, who got behind two faster d-backs on a right-to-middle slant and jumped/reached to pluck a pass from jr. QB Skyler Mornhinweg right out of the air. A 40-yard TD resulted. That drive, a 51-yarder, followed a punt that went for minus-3 yards after thumping into the line. The most important play, meanwhile, came with 7:34 left in the game. With Prep up, 30-25, and still vulnerable, Washington sr. QB Tony "Transfer From Judge" Smith treated on third-and-8 while receiving heavy stalking from assorted D-linemen. Wanting to make a play, he tried to loft one to sr. WR Jamear Seals along the right sideline. It was windy and the throw was short and standing there all alone, his eyes as big as saucers, was sr. DB Michael DeFeo. He caught the ball on the 50 and steamed downfield for a TD and the Hawks maintained from there. Mornhinweg was OUTSTANDING. The Stanford commit finished 12-for-17 for 202 yards and three TDs -- another to McGann (5-71), the brother of ex-star QB Mike McGann and still listed as the backup to Mornhinweg, and the other to jr. WR Jim Hurley (4-68) -- while adding two more scores and 38 yards on 10 rushes. On his second TD, McGann caught an out a shade inside the 10, shook off a leaping, would-be tackler and forged ahead into the end zone. Hurley made an impressive catch at the top of his jump, using his body to fend off a solid defensive effort by sr. DB English Peay. That score came just 1:06 before DeFeo's pick six. The Prep's top O-lineman, jr. Luke Hutkin, is still out with injury, but he said he's hoping to resume practicing about halfway through this coming week. For this one the grunts included jr. C Pete DellaPorta, sr. G Guy Cook, jr. G Eric Medes and jr. Ts Pete Kelly and Jim Udovich. The roster I was given did not have heights and weights (though I could tell you the names of each player's parents -- smile), but I'd be surprised if any of those guys except for Udovich are much more than 200 pounds, if that. Especially early, the top defender for coach Gabe Infante's ballclub was sr. OLB Jeff Heath. On one series he made stops on all three plays and his effectiveness was one reason Washington, which has vast inexperience on the line (same for Prep, for that matter) largely abandoned its running game after one quarter; coach Ron Cohen has moved Temple commit Brandon Chudnoff, a TE, to guard to try to shore things up. Smith finished 13-for-30 (most attempts by a Washington QB since at least the '99 season) for 158 yards and one TD, a 3-yard fade to N. Smith (no relation). Another Temple commit, sr. WR Daquan Cooper, dropped what would have been a 72-yard TD pass, but he did wind up with five catches for 69 yards and a couple were VERY impressive. Jr. RB Hakeem Sillman carried 16 times for 104 yards. This kid is small, but has an extremely powerful trunk along with ultra-quick moves and vision. Late in the third quarter, he mad-dashed for a 52-yard score and then a 10-yarder just 18 seconds later after impressive soph DL Justin Moody recovered a bobbled snap. Those two scores made it 19-18 and, yes, the Prep had an answer. The drive covered 65 yards in eight plays and the two big ones were passes of 22 yards (to Hurley) and 30 yards (again to Hurley). All night, the Hawks had been opting for medium-length, chip-shot kickoffs. This time, noticing that the deep return men were cheating up in anticipation, the coaches made a last-second decision to tell sr. Charles Foltz to send it long. Unfortunately, they made just enough of a fuss that the return men noticed and began backing up. Peay gathered in the kick on the 15 and . . . see you later! From the middle to the left sideline and all the way to the end zone. That made the score 25-24. Next came the series capped by Hurley's TD and then, three plays later, DeFeo's score on the interception. Washington did follow with a drive that carried all the way to Prep's 12. Four incompletions followed (the last at 1:59) and all drama disappeared. This was quite the football day and night, folks, with this one following Furness' 24-23 last-second triumph over N-G. Among the sideline visitors: RB Jerry Butler, the star of Washington's '04 powerhouse. Before the game, I took a pic of him throwing the ball around and kidded that HE should have been the Eagles' '04 QB, not Chuck Hughes. He laughed then added that the coaches at Delaware briefly had visions of him operating a wildcat offense but had to abandon them because "I just can't throw. I'm horrible." 

SEPT. 4
NON-LEAGUE
Furness 24, Neumann-Goretti 23
  OK, so it's not unusual for one guy to score most or even all of Furness' points. But his initials are always SS . . . except for today. Star jr. RB Sharif Smith sat this one out with a ding, but my oh my, sr. QB Maurice Harris certainly offered a spectacular imitation. For volume and timing and flair. Harris carried 11 times for 145 yards and scores of 13, 1, 81 and 15 yards. The last two came on busted plays and the final score occurred with 2.5 seconds showing on the scoreboard, lifting the Falcons to an improbable victory! Phew! On the 81-yarder, Harris took the snap, retreated slightly, looked to hand off this way, then that way, then, what the heck, since no one was in the vicinity, he decided to tuck and zoomed all the downfield. The clock showed 5:09 and Furness owned an 18-15 lead. Here came the Saints: They marched 73 yards in 10 plays -- the big one was a 25-yard run by soph Eric Neill (only carry of game) -- and sr. RB Justin Rey (16-104) posted the TD on a 2-yard surge at 1:32. Furness' last surge began at its 31. Harris ran or passed on all eight plays. BIG help came from a dead ball personal foul, which moved the rock from N-G's 30 to 15 at 21.7. There were two incompletions and the clock read 13.1. Harris stepped back looking to pass, naturally. Alas, he was almost tackled by one N-G defender, and then another. Still on his feet, he decided to trust his feet and -- bingo! -- they got him to the left corner of the end zone at 2.5! Amazing. There'd be no further drama. Harris was nothing special as a passer, going just 2-for-9 for 21 yards and even throwing a pick to leaping jr. DB Shane Thomas. But, man, was he clutch. His main blocker was big T Kyle Smithson, who was scheduled to wear No. 00. Turns out that's illegal at the high school level and he was forced to switch to No. 74 shortly before the game began. Furness' most impressive defender was LB Aaron Cooper, who seemingly was involved in maybe two-thirds of his team's tackles in the first half. He was everywhere! Then, oops, he was on the sideline, having suffered a minor injury. Cooper also ripped off a 30-yard gain to set up the Falcons' first score. N-G widely outgained Furness, but killed itself with ill-advised decisions and/or sloppy play. Coach Rich "Moose" Carfagno was none too pleased with his squad's lack of focus and he reamed the guys out, at high volume (but without blue language), on more than one occasion. A way-high snap on a punt gave Furness life at the 7 yard line not much before halftime. That play resulted in a TD. Also, a Saint was tossed after incurring a personal foul. Sr. RB Sinclair Whiteman turned 11 carries into 94 yards. Jr. RB Antwoine Powers managed an 8-59 outing. Sr. QB Mark Stinsman was only 3-for-12 for 28 yards, but we'll cut him some slack due to the very windy conditions (it was coming straight across, west to east, at the South Philly Super Site). I did like his leadership qualities. N-G's line featured sr. C Mike LaFauci, jr. Gs Teddy Furia and Sal DiFrancesco, sr. T Aaron Davis and sr. T James Otto. N-G basketball star Lamin Fulton was among the sideline visitors, as was former Neumann FB/base force Billy Canady. If Billy follows through on something I asked him to do, he could be getting his own special page very soon (smile). Meanwhile, check out this pic. See the piece of paper stuck to the fence at the northeast corner of the stadium, near 10th and Bigler? Well, that's my sheet for the fourth quarter. The wicked wind literally ripped it off my notepad shortly after game's end and it took off down the field at world record pace. I was standing at maybe the 30 yard line at the south send of the stadium. As the paper was flying up and across the field, at ground level, one of the chain-crew guys noticed what was happening and tried to intervene. Zip. The sheet went right between his legs and kept on going. It finally stuck to the fence and the man -- he said earlier how I'd covered Frankford when he was there in 1980 -- was nice enough to pluck it off the fence and walk it over to me, as I approached the spot. In all these years, I've never lost a play-by-play sheet. This almost became the first time. Crazy.