OCT. 31
TEDBITS
  Making blanket statements is always risky because it's possible to check and check some more and somehow still miss someone. So, if I DID miss someone, please speak up . . . Anyway, here's guessing that Judge's Connor Foley and O'Hara's Steve Weyler are the first players in Catholic League major-sports history to earn first team coaches' All-Catholic honors in FOUR seasons. Foley, in AAAA, did so all four times as a kicker. Weyler, in AAA, was the first team kicker in '10 and '13 and the first team punter in '11 and '12. By earning the top kicking honor in '10, Weyler kept 2013 Wood grad Nick Visco from earning four consecutive first team A-C nods. In all, Weyler was named to the A-C squad SEVEN times. He was the second team kicker in '11 and '12, and also the first team punter this time around. Below is a list of the major-sport guys in the Public, Catholic and Inter-Ac leagues who've earned first team honors in four years. Again, if I've missed someone, PLEASE speak up. tedtee307@yahoo.com. Thanks! (Still checking on a Penn Charter baseball player from the '90s. One year's all-star squad is currently unavailable.)

OCT. 31
TEDBITS
  Really, these schools should be named Mid Northeast and Far Northeast, but instead they're known as Northeast and Washington. And they've been hating each other since the fall of 1963, when Washington played a patchwork schedule before joining the Pub for the '64 season. Their next clash will take place Saturday, 3:30, at Northeast in the first game of AAAA semifinal doubleheader (Frankford-Southern will follow at 6:30). Washington leads the series, 30-25-1, and twice so far in this century has claimed two wins in a season over the Vikings ('04, '06 and '08). The '08 final was an all-time classic: The Eagles soared, 41-34, in three OTs. Northeast dominated this series' first 11 games, going 10-0-1. Washington swept all nine games from 1985-93. Sadly, the teams did not meet in '81. A teachers' strike delayed the start of the season, big time, and a single-elimination tournament was eventually held. G-Dub and NE did not cross paths. Stinks, right? Below are the top rushing/passing/receiving performances from 1982 through this fall's regular season meeting. Compared with the SJ Prep-Roman series listed in Oct. 30, these numbers are rather puny. Let's credit good defense (smile).

OCT. 30 (Evening)
TEDBITS
  St. Joseph's Prep and Roman will do battle again Saturday night, 7 o'clock, at Plymouth-Whitemarsh, in a Catholic AAAA semifinal, and they'll be bringing more than a century's worth of history with them. Believe it or not, these teams first met in 1903 (no, I didn't cover that game -- smile) and have met in EVERY year (sometimes twice, due to playoffs) since 1918. These schools -- Roman at Broad & Vine, SJ Prep at 17th & Girard -- are maybe a mile apart and long were intense Thanksgiving rivals (1920-71). They stopped the holiday series only because the CL was preparing to expand the playoffs. Overall, the Prep leads the series, 74-41-2 (those two ties were scoreless). The Hawks won 10 in a row from 1928-37 and 16 in a row from 1963-78, and they've claimed 15 of 19 from 2002 to the present. The Cahillites' decent runs came from 1944-56 (11-2) and 1979-93 (12-4). Below are the top rushing/passing/receiving performances from 1982 through this fall's regular season meeting. The majority are recent. Take note: Joe McCourt, Roman's current coach, owns the Nos. 2 and 4 rushing totals; SJ Prep's Skyler Mornhinweg slapped together four of the top five passing outings; and former NFL star Marvin Harrison (Roman) far and away owns the top receiving number.

OCT. 29 (Evening)
TEDBITS
  The city's 3,000 Club for Rushers already includes five guys with complete/partial ties to West Catholic. Now, Greg White finds himself in the wings, hoping to make the group a half-dozen. White, a senior, now owns 2,691 yards on 342 carries, along with 43 rushing TDs. The one "problem" is that West's season could end at any time, seeing as how the Burrs are now in the postseason and do NOT bother with a Thanksgiving game. We'll see what happens.

OCT. 29
TEDBITS
  The Catholic League playoffs start this weekend in all three classifications and if you're hoping to see a "major" upset, recent history indicates you'll be out of luck. And here's what we mean by "major" -- a fourth place finisher knocking off a regular season champ. The playoffs expanded to eight teams in 1981 and the first-round format was always the same through '98 in each division (North/South): first vs. fourth and second vs. third. From '99 through '07, when the divisions were large (Red) and small (Blue) based on enrollment, six teams from each made the playoffs so the first round featured third vs. sixth and fourth vs. fifth. So, during that span "major" was sixth over third. From '08 forward, there have been three divisions (AAAA/AAA/AA) based on enrollment and four teams in each (or sometimes just two in AA) have again made the playoffs. Listed below are all "major" upsets. The last one occurred in '05. In the North/South era, eight times the victim was a team that had gone unbeaten during division play. Pretty amazing.
Recaps for all playoff games except for finals can be found here.
And finals can be found here.

OCT. 28 (Evening)
TEDBITS
  They've played for different schools in different leagues, but the McAllister brothers have been productive. When Jawan earns his first receiving yard in St. Joseph's Prep's CL AAAA semi vs. Roman, the brothers' combined total will rise to 2,000. Jon played at Chestnut Hill Academy, and his primary sport was baseball. The outfielder starred at Harford CC, in Maryland, and next will play for Long Island University. Jon is the ONLY guy in city history to earn All-City honors six times (four times in baseball, twice in football). Jawan is also an outfielder, and last spring he earned first team All-City laurels. 

OCT. 28
TEDBITS
  Divisional play began in the Public League in 1969 and in the Catholic League in 1963. Mastery North, which entered the Pub last season, has already won a division crown, and that only-in-two-years accomplishment puts coach John Davidson's Pumas in special company. The lists below show how long it took all current Pub/Cath teams to win division titles (or not).

OCT. 27
TEDBITS
  Against Bonner-Prendie, Wood's Jake Cooper scored on a 20-yard punt return. The kick traveled just seven yards . . . Hayes Nolte has thrown 79 passes in Germantown Academy's last two games. Thirty-four completions have produced 399 yards . . . Thanks to three vs. SJ Prep, Ryan's Connor Golden now owns 10 career interceptions . . . The 374-yard, five-TD outburst for Carroll's Austin Tilghman vs. McDevitt could have been even more impressive. He departed early in the fourth quarter with an ankle ding . . . Ryan Whayland has thrown for at least one TD in all nine of Episcopal's games. The school's streak stands at 11, thanks to Adam Strouss (now at Penn) as '12 wound down. Whayland is up to 1,621 yards, the No. 7 effort in Inter-Ac annals. Penn Charter's John Loughery (2,066 in '09) holds the top spot . . . Whayland's prime target, Virginia commit Evan Butts, is up to 688 yards, a highly impressive total for someone who's primarily a tight end . . . Samir Bullock has gotten the call on 65.6 percent of Ryan's rushing plays this season (198 of 302) and has produced 76.7 percent of the rushing yardage (1,542 of 2,011) . . . Major kudos to coach Frank McArdle and assistants for keeping Ryan motivated after chances for a playoff spot went up in smoke two weeks ago. Since then, the Raiders have beaten two teams (Wood in AAA, SJ Prep in AAAA) that won their divisions and Thanksgiving will bring a battle against a team, Washington, that could still wind up as the Pub's AAAA playoff champ . . . Judge's Connor Foley has hammered home 177 career points, thanks to 117 PAT and 20 field goals. SJ Prep's Pat Kaiser (1999-02) and La Salle's Mike Bennett (2007-09) share the field goal record with 26 . . . Outrageous: Haverford School soph Dox Aitken is averaging 40.5 yards per catch (6-243) . . . This week marked the first time no Catholic League teams played on a Friday since Oct. 15, 2010 . . . Twenty-three Imhotep guys have logged carries this season. Oh, and 22 have scored . . . Jeremiah Watson went 7-for-7 on PAT in Central's win over Edison. Teammate Walter Pegues reached paydirt four times and one TD came on a 60-yard punt return. His now owns 13 career TDs on returns (nine with punts, four with kickoffs) . . . Jack Clements, SJ Prep's backup QB, threw 17 passes vs. Ryan; all in the fourth quarter. The yield: 102 yards and a TD to Jawan McAllister . . . Soph Mike Alley, a lefty, threw 36 passes in Conwell-Egan's loss to Neumann-Goretti. Those are the most uncorked by an Eagle over these last 31 seasons. Thirty-two were tossed by Mike Carr in '86 and Bob Zupcic in '83. Zupcic played in the major leagues as an outfielder . . . King, which started 0-2 and hasn't lost since, was won seven games in a season for the first time since 2005. Seven consecutive wins represent a school record, tying the feat of the '97 Cougars. This is King's 38th Pub season . . . Weird occurrence: Phil Gormley's first home win as Northeast's coach came in Friday night's playoff win over Lincoln . . . In its 50-14 playoff win -- its first since 1965 -- over Fels, Southern scored three TDs in 32 seconds. Quavi Jones ran 20 yards for a score at 7:20, Michael Riley returned a fumble 42 yards for a TD at 7:00 (Naim Dykes forced it) and Terrell Miles ran 20 yards for another six-pointer at 6:48 one play after Jones recovered a fumble . . . While going 6-for-6 for 186 yards and two TDs vs. Penn Charter, Malvern jr. QB Alex Hornibrook, a lefty, compiled passing efficiency numbers of 158.3 (NFL version) and 470.40 (NCAA) . . . Del-Val racked up nine sacks (worth 92 yards) vs. Mastbaum. Amir Walker led the way with four. Nate Barnes added two . . .                       

OCT. 27
TEDBITS
  Carroll's Austin Tilghman now owns the No. 4 rushing effort in city-leagues history. Here are the Dandy Dozen:

OCT. 26
NON-LEAGUE
La Salle 42, West Catholic 12
  Somewhere out there, Chris Lorditch is beginning to sweat. The beads are little for now, but by this time next year they could be golf ball-sized. Lorditch was a great receiver at Wood (class of 2007) and then had some terrific moments at Harvard, and he still holds the Catholic League record for career TD receptions with 27. O'Hara's Thaddius Smith owns 22, but he's a senior and his career could include just two more games. Even just one if Bonner-Prendie exacts revenge in a AAA semi. Same for N-G's Jamal Custis, though it's possible the Saints will add one (or even two) while awaiting Thanksgiving. La Salle WR Jimmy Herron is only a junior, however, and his total stands at 17. Two came in this one and were part of a three-score night for the ever-productive two-way star. Herron wasted little time before imposing his will. On the game's second series, he zoomed right down the middle and caught a well-placed bomb from jr. QB Kyle Shurmur for a 53-yard TD. His other score was posted 6:04 from game's end on a 13-yard, right-corner fade. On this play, La Salle employed a trips left and sent Herron out to the right by himself. For versatility's sake, Herron notched his other TD on a 47-yard interception return. This one capped a four-TD, second-quarter outburst and featured two entertaining visuals. First, Herron used a straight-arm to fend off a tackle attempt by jr. QB Antoine McCollum. Then, McCollum tried to steal the ball, or at least knock it free. Herron broke away and frolicked into the end zone. Herron finished with six snags for 99 yards as Shurmur went 11-for-21 for 160. The Jimster now boasts 73 career receptions for 1,191 yards and the 17 TDs. Actually, he never boasts at all and that makes him very popular with his teammates and coaches. La Salle's four-TD outburst began right after jr. WR Ahkil Crumpton made what was likely THE play of the night, thus drawing West within 7-6. Crumpton caught a short pass from McCollum and was major-swarmed. I'd have to think at least one ref (if not more) was ready to blow his whistle within a tenth of a second when Crumpton battled free and roared down the right sideline for a 51-yard score. It was the classic example of why guys should ALWAYS play hard 'til the whistle. So much for momentum, however. Jr. RB Jordan Meachum (11-84) went straight up the middle for a 55-yard TD on the very next scrimmage play and three turnovers helped the Explorers add three more scores in roughly eight minutes. The turnovers: INT by jr. LB Aidan Kerrigan (tipped the ball; gathered it in), fumble recovery by soph Jared Walls (on a kickoff) and INT by Herron (on that aforementioned play). Shurmur and Meachum had 1-yard runs for the outburst's middle two TDs. West's second-half score was an 18-yard run by sr. RB Greg White with 48.7 seconds left in the third quarter. White finished with 134 yards on 14 carries thanks to bursts for 65, 45, 18 and 18 again. Wait, that's 146, right? True, but he also suffered losses of 14 and 8 yards and otherwise was kept in bottled-up mode by the 'Splorers. Sr. LB Ryan Brady numbered six solos among 10 tackles while sr. DE Ryan "Still the Pride of Oreland" Coonahan logged five stops behind the line. His two sacks and three other TFLs were worth 22 yards. Sr. Nick Mazza forced the fumble that was recovered by Walls. For West, frosh LB Marque McDuffy and jr. LB David Swen had matching stats (five solos among seven tackles) while sr. DE/hybrid Romeo Gunt, jr. LB Neil Satterwhite and soph LB Amir Postley thirded 18. Gunt bagged two TFLs as did the other DE, sr. Jalil Branch. Sr. DT Anthony Ukaha made a visit to Sackville. Huck and Cauls were part of the sideline posse as was Mike Prince, who works for the weekly papers in Montgomery County. Had a great halftime talk with Dan Hoban, a West grad who worked for years as a Catholic League football ref (the umpire spot, specifically) and was attending a game for the first time in a while. Dan's brother, Mike, was a second team All-City offensive lineman for the Burrs in 1981. West sr. G Chancellor Linder had a great 18th birthday thanks to the loud support from family/friends in the stands. Some made special signs.

OCT. 26
INTER-AC LEAGUE
Haverford School 28, Germantown Academy 0
  Late in the game, HS coach Michael Murphy cheerfully said to an assistant, "I'm not used to throwing the ball this much. It seems like these games take seven hours." When the final whistle sounded, the regular clock read 4:29 and it did seem much later. Guess what. If the Fords could win every game by four TDs, I'm sure "Murph" wouldn't mind plowing through contests that seemingly last forever. Compared with GA sr. QB Hayes Nolte, HS sr. QB Brendan Burke really did not throw THAT much. He certainly enjoyed terrific results, however. The Fords' first two scores came on flips by Burke. With 30.9 seconds left in the first quarter, Burke hit soph WR Dox Aitken with a left-to-middle slant that produced an 85-yard TD. Not long into the second stanza, the same two guys connected for a 63-yard score. This one was a right-side fade and Aitken was able to thrive despite the presence of two nearby defenders. He caught the ball at roughly GA's 35 and steamed home from there. The Fords brandished the coffin nail, as things turned out, in the final two minutes prior to intermission. On a classic, hurry-up drive, they covered 74 yards in just five plays. The completion came on the fourth play as Burke hit sr. handyman Christian Giubilato for 34 yards to the 11. Sr. RB Phil Poquie then motored to payturf off the right side. He'd also turned two carries into 29 yards to get the possession rolling. The game's other score was posted 3:05 before the end of the third quarter on an 8-yard run by jr. RB Reginald Harris. There were no passes on that five-play drive and Harris notched four of the runs for 31 yards. Burke, for 4, had the other. Burke finished 9-for-22 for 237 yards and the two scores, and here's hoping he feels very proud about his resurrection in the latter part of the season (after some early struggles). On a very windy day, a decent amount of his throws were exactly on point. Nolte, meanwhile, finished 15-for-45 for 164 yards. Under constant pressure, he had some struggles with delivery -- high here, low there -- and that was surprising because he's often Mr. Pinpoint. He also ran 10 times so he'll probably sleep until Tuesday (smile). Direct involvement in 55 snaps. Phew! The Fords batted down at least five passes in the line-of-scrimmage vicinity and the total could have been as high as seven-eight. Jr. DE/OLB Niles Easley notched multiples. Other defensive leaders were soph LB Mickey Kober and jr. DE Mike Gindhart, thanks to multiple sacks/TFLs. Frosh LB Griffin Hunn and jr. LB Ryan Calhoun were especially active for GA in the early going. Early in the fourth quarter, Burke soared to gather in a high snap and followed with a punt that bounced off an unaware GA player. Easley recovered. The Fords have a play called "Daily News." Gotta love that, right? The one time I heard it called, the result was a near interception. Uh, oh. Just a request, Fords folks: Change "Daily News" to a halfback pass and run it once every quarter. That's what I'd do (smile). Murphy said the Fords, along the way, have lost seven starters to season-ending injuries. He also said only 32 guys (out of an original 58) were healthy enough to participate in a recent practice. Spoke briefly with ex-Frankford RB Rick Bozzelli, who is pictured below in a 10/24 Tedbit. Rick, it turns out, is the uncle of SJ Prep RB-S Vince Moffett. Also had a nice chat with former NFLer Mike McCloskey (Judge '79, Penn State). His son, Kyle, a frosh, is in line to become GA's QB next season. Wonder if they team up for workouts? smile 

OCT. 26
TEDBITS
  In a Pub AA semifinal last night, Imhotep rolled to a 55-0 win over Future. That victory margin ranks second (with one other game) in city postseason history. Here's a list of all playoff games decided by at least 42 points.

OCT. 25
INTER-AC LEAGUE
Malvern 41, Penn Charter 0
  Where were you in the fall of 1949? That football season produced the first meeting between these squads, though it was only a non-league affair because Malvern was not a member of the Inter-Ac until 1950. This was clash number 65 between the schools and, as I suspected, it was the biggest blowout in series history. In '57, PC walloped Malvern, 39-0, and exactly 40 years later Malvern almost completely returned the favor, storming to a 37-0 triumph. This one could have been worse. With 2 minutes remaining, soph RB Phil DiTrolio, a sub, churned 11 yards to place the ball at PC's 9. Coach Kevin Pellegrini then ordered backup QB Ryan Antell, a jr., to execute kneeldowns on three consecutive plays as the mercy rule clock ran down to 0:00. Tonight's headliner was sr. RB-WR Troy Gallen, a Delaware commit who'd recently been sidelined with a shoulder injury. Guys always look faster at night, but if Usain Bolt sees this game tape he'll be shaking in his spikes. Gallen was pretty much Olympic sprinterish! (smile). Plus, he appeared to be hitting full speed within two steps of gaining possession. Gallen, interviewed afterward via cell phone by Aaron "Ace" Carter, scored the first three TDs on a 5-yard run and receptions of 67 and 56 yards from jr. QB Alex Hornibrook, a lefty. He finished the first half with 11 touches for 176 yards (9-53 rushing, plus the two catches), then lost a yard (great burst across the line and tackle by jr. DB Rob Keehfuss) on his only carry of the second half. Though it's not unusual for RBs to make occasional receptions, Gallen's situation is different because he sometimes vacates the backfield and lines up, literally, as a wideout. Pretty cool to see that degree of versatility. Gallen's first score came on a run right up the middle and the coaches set up that play in perfect fashion, preceding it with passes to the right, then left, from Hornibrook (6-for-6, 186) to sr. WR Andy Pancoast (4-63). Malvern's next "drive" was the 67-yarder as Gallen raced along the left-side hash marks and caught a bomb in stride. TD No. 3 followed a pair of procedure penalties that placed the ball at Malvern's 44. Gallen caught a swing pass to the left and, zoom!, it was see-ya time down the sideline. A couple guys appeared to have angles to at least push him out of bounds. Oops, no they didn't. The lead soared to 27-0 two plays later as sr. DB Jordan Majors jumped a slant pattern, made the pick in comfy fashion and steamed for a 32-yard score. The final first-half TD resulted from a three-play, 50-yard drive: pass to Pancoast for 22 yards, run by Gallen for 12, run by sr. RB Matt Brown for 16. The third quarter highlights were yet another interception for sr. DE John Nassib (he batted/snagged in one motion) and a 16-yard catch of a deflected pass by Pancoast. Brown's 14-yard run placed the ball at the 3, then jr. RB Trevor Morris powered it into the end zone. After barely missing his first PAT, sr. K Jon Dollfus finished the brisk night with five points. Malvern's most impressive play on defense -- well, maybe this one finished in a tie with Nassib's (smile) -- was made by sr. DB Rich Chakejian. Late in the first quarter, with PC down by 13-0, sr. RB Corey Kelley (9-118) broke through the right side for what appeared would be a no-doubt-about-it, 84-yard TD. Chakejian stayed with it and with it and with it some more and, finally, caught Kelley at the 8. Superior effort. And I'm pretty sure he came from the opposite side. Sr. LB Jake Anderson and jr. DT Pete Cieselski combined to stop sr. RB James Biggs-Frazier for no gain, frosh QB Michael Hnatkowsky passed incomplete, Anderson registered a 12-yard sack and Cieselski batted down a fourth down pass. PC's best defensive moments occurred early in the third quarter when jr. DL Frank McGlinchey and frosh DL William Costello combined for a 12-yard sack and 1-yard gain on back-to-back plays. Later in that session, jr. LB Patrick McInerney surged across the line to record a 2-yard TFL on a sweep. Malvern's grunts were sr. C John Monday, sr. G Kevin McKnight, jr. G Michael McCarthy, jr. T Jacob Rebisz and jr. T Hayden Mahoney. The line of the night was uttered along the sideline by a Malvern player after a penalty was called. "That ref is corny, dog!" Ha, ha.

OCT. 25
TEDBITS
  Through eight games, Franklin has yielded just 40 points for an average of 5.0. If that turns out to be the Electrons' final number, that'll be the fourth best effort of the website era (2000-13). Look below for a list of all teams that finished the season with no more than seven points allowed per game. The city record? Brace yourself. West Philadelphia allowed just two points in 1941 for an average of 0.2! The Speedboys' record was 5-0-4. And all four ties were scoreless! Check this out: they started the season with THREE scoreless ties. Oh, the excitement! The opponents were Bethlehem, Bartram and Franklin. The fourth 0-0 snoozeathon took place in the City Title game, vs. nearby neighbor West Catholic, before 40,000 on Thanksgiving morning at sun-splashed Franklin Field. Yes, 40,000 people witnessed this one! There were only 10 first downs in the game. West Catholic won that battle, 6-4. Eerily, West Philly now occupies the property (at 49th and Chestnut) that at that time was the site of West Catholic (the boys' version). The girls' version was at 45th and Chestnut, and that's where WC's blended version can now be found. The ol' West Philly was at 48th and Walnut . . . In case you're curious: West Philly gave up the two points in a 3-2 win over Roxborough. Wonder what kind of safety that was? Let's hope it did not happen late in the game, on purpose, to help protect the 3-0 lead. That was the season's fourth game, so who knew no opponent would score the rest of the way? In 1933, meanwhile, Gratz stormed to an 8-0-1 record while allowing no points; the tie was in game No. 2 vs. Roman. However, Gratz and Frankford finished 6-0 in league play, so a playoff was needed to determine the champion. In high winds and sleet at Franklin Field, Frankford marched 80 yards for a first-quarter score (Chris Pappas, a k a "The Granite Greek" rushed/passed for 75 of 'em) and held on to win, 7-0. 

OCT. 24 (Evening)
TEDBITS
  Imagine if the oldest Custis brother, Kadeem, had talked Neumann-Goretti's coaches into converting him from grunt to tight end . . . As it is, thanks to Sharif and Jamal, the family boasts career totals showing 104 catches for 2,307 yards and 32 TDs. Archbishop Carroll's Mullen brothers, Kevin (class of '78) and Terry ('83), also combined for 32 TDs. Kevin was the leader with 22 and that stood as the city's career record until Wood's Chris Lorditch reached 23 in '06 (en route to 27). Del-Val Charter's Brad Martin finished his career with 28 in '10 and that's still the record. Sharif Custis played TE for N-G and is now a freshman at UMass. Jamal, a senior wideout, has committed to Syracuse. Below are totals for the Custis brothers, as well as the Lorditch brothers (all three played at Wood; stats for Matt's sophomore year in '95 and Dave's sophomore year in '99 are unavailable, but it's strongly believed they saw little varsity action, if any. If they did, here's hoping they combined for 44 yards, thus raising the family's yardage total to 3,000.)         

OCT. 24
TEDBITS
  Figured we'd go the photo route for the morning edition. The first pic goes back to 1976 and shows Frankford running back Rick Bozzelli. His son, Anthony, a junior, now plays for Germantown Academy. The other pic was taken earlier this month and shows Penn Charter's Corey Kelley. The more things change, the more they don't (smile).

Penn Charter's Corey Kelley in recent game vs. SCH Academy.

OCT. 23 (Evening, Part II)
TEDBITS
  While researching some stats tonight, I came across an article/pic on Cardinal Dougherty from 1980. Included in the pic were three guys I've seen in just the past few weeks. Had to take a pic of the pic and post it here! (smile). Left to right are Gene Kane, now an assistant at McDevitt; Bill Saybolt, who now films games for Joe Malizia (saw Gene and Bill at last Saturday night's Conwell-Egan/McDevitt game); head coach George Stratts, who later became the head coach at O'Hara; and Jim Sinnott, who retired last June from Central High, where he'd been the athletic director and a football assistant (saw Jim Oct. 4 at B-P/Lansdale). All the best, guys!

OCT. 23 (Evening)
TEDBITS
  Like father, like son? Almost exactly like father, like son . . . at least for now. For the heck of it, I decided to figure out how many yards the Mark Ostaszewski guys, of Ryan, have racked up in their four total seasons as mainstays for Archbishop Ryan. Mark the Dad was Ryan's primary rusher in '90 and an important backfield guy in '89. Mark the Son has been the Raiders' quarterback over the last two seasons. At this moment, their yardage total -- running for dad, passing for son -- is close to a match! By the way, that last name is pronounced Oss-tuh-CHEF-skee.

OCT. 23
TEDBITS
  If you ever need evidence to prove how much Pub football has changed in recent years, just show people this list. It includes guys who've collected at least 700 career receiving yards, as well as some others who will/might hit that number before the 2013 season is in the books. Only three of the 15 accomplished their feat in the last century while NINE have done so over these last four seasons. Pretty amazing. Two current players, Fels' Jylil Reeder (743) and King's Delane Hart (738) are already on the list, and they pose big-time threats to current leader Eric "T.O." Leslie (861 for West Philadelphia in 2010). First, Hart will have to break his personal record -- 778 last year while playing for now-closed Germantown. Frankford's Darrell Miller, who later enjoyed a strong career at West Virginia, was our choice for the Pub's Player of the Decade for the 1970s. Mastbaum's Tyrin Stone-Davis, now at Pierce JC, in Los Angeles, has committed to Illinois. So has his twin brother, Tyree, also now at Pierce. He now focuses on cornerback, but he played QB at 'Baum. Another cool 'Baumer was Sherrod "Sheet Rock" Evers. He got his nickname when the mother of one of his Spanish baseball teammates heard his real first name and exclaimed, "What's his name? How you say that? Sheet Rock!?" It was a classic moment! Sherrod had a terrific receiving career at Robert Morris.    

OCT. 22 (Evening)
TEDBITS
  Back in the day, when the Catholic League's divisions were based on geography, the North was considered to be much stronger than the South. And the numbers backed that up. From 1963 through '98, Northern Division teams won 25 CL titles while the Southern Division lagged pretty far back with 11. So, what has happened since? The CL featured two divisions (Red big, Blue small) based on enrollment from 1999 through 2007, and from '08 onward there have been three divisions (AAAA, AAA, AA), also based on enrollment. Schools from the old Southern Division have won 18 of the 33 available championships -- seven for West, four for SJ Prep, three for Carroll and two apiece for O'Hara/Roman. Three schools have combined for the 15 won by former Northern Division schools -- eight for Wood, six for La Salle and one for McDevitt. This season, overall, schools from the ol' Northern Division (we stuck Lansdale Catholic in there) are 32-24 (.571) while ex-Southies are 27-27 (.500). In head-to-head battles, including non-league games, the South leads, 9-8. Here's the breakdown:

OCT. 22
TEDBITS
  Divisional play in Public League football began with the '69 season and Frankford last week earned its 27th regular season title in 44 chances. (There was no divisional play in '81 due to a teachers strike that lasted deep into the season. A single-elimination tournament followed the strike.) From '69 through '76, the divisions were based on who-knows-what. From '77 through '04, they were based on geography. From '05 to '07, they were based on strength and Frankford was stationed in the top division. Since '08, they've been based on enrollment (and strength in the case of AAAA) and Frankford has been in the better division. Below is a list of regular season champions in Frankford's division, the overall playoff champion (in AAAA since '08) and the round/opponent where the regular season champ in Frankford's division lost in the playoffs, where applicable. Frankford has won 19 consecutive regular season division games (3 in '10, 6 in '11, 5 each in '12 and '13). Also, the Pioneers are the first team to win three consecutive regular season division titles since 1994-96 (also Frankford). The most impressive streaks: Washington five in a row (1989-92) and Frankford 10 in a row (1969-78). Here's the breakdown: 

OCT. 21
TEDBITS
  With one game remaining, SJ Prep has already clinched the Catholic AAAA regular season championship. But in the previous 14 seasons of AAAA/Red competition, such an accomplishment hardly assured a playoff title. In fact, upsets took place more times than not. Every table-turner occurred in the final. In the same time frame, there were nine champs in Blue and five apiece in AAA and AA.
Only three of those winners were NOT the regular season champ (all in Blue: McDevitt in '99, Carroll in '02 and Wood in '04). All upsets also occurred in finals. Carroll was the victim in '99; West was saddened in '02 and '04).
Here's the Red/AAAA breakdown:

OCT. 20 (Evening)
TEDBITS
  Some updates on guys who were in pursuit of milestones . . .
  With 62 yards rushing vs. La Salle, Roman junior Dimetri Kelly raised his family's total to 5,006. He now owns 2,153. Marcus (Roman '12) had 2,853 . . . Prep QB Chris Martin now boasts 3,132 yards of passing/rushing. His respective totals are 2,315 and 817 . . . King QB Joseph Walker, formerly of Mastbaum, is up to 3,105 career passing yards. He's 198-for-474 with 39 TDs . . . Walker's top receiver this season is Delane Hart, formerly of Dobbins and then now-closed Germantown. Hart already owns the Pub mark for career receiving yardage and his total now stands at 1,597 (81 catches, 19 TDs).   

OCT. 20
TEDBITS
  In two games this season (Weeks One and Nine), rusher Samir Bullock and QB Mark Ostaszewski have been the only guys to carry the ball for Ryan. Meanwhile, the Raiders' Bobby Romano is averaging an outrageous 35.5 yards per catch (13-461) . . . Recent reunions have not gone well for Wood coach Steve Devlin. Steve was an assistant at SJ Prep, which beat Wood by 31-21 two weeks ago, and he played his high school ball at Ryan, which yesterday topped the Vikings, 22-7 . . . The seven points vs. Ryan were Wood's fewest vs. a Catholic League team since the 2007 Blue final (28-7 loss to West Catholic). This was a very uncommon total overall, too. They also had seven vs. Thomas Jefferson in the '08 AAA state final and were blanked by Selinsgrove in an '09 AAA state semi. In all other games from '08 through Week Seven of this season, they'd scored at least 10 (and often MANY more) . . . The two field goals kicked by Brendan Hanagan in McDevitt's 20-17 win over Conwell-Egan -- the game-winner, a 27-yarder, came at 0:02 -- were the Lancers' first since Week One of '09 (Kevin "Das Boot" Gallagher vs. Lower Moreland). No Lancer had even kicked two FGs in a season since Robert McHugh in '02. He hammered six . . . So, do you like passing more than rushing? You would have loved SCH Academy's 24-21 win over Haverford School. Per the Delco Times, SCH's Paul Dooley went 16-for-36 for 296 yards and three TDs while HS' Brendan Burke went 11-for-25 for 337 and two. Dylan Parsons (7-207, one TD) was Dooley's main target. Derek Mountain (3-116) and Chris Giubilato (2-101, TD) were Burke's big guns . . . Frankford's Devontae Lee scored against Fels on a
102-yard interception return, though the distance must be officially recorded as 100 . . . Frosh QB Kyle McCloskey, a lefty and the son of former NFL tight end Mike McCloskey (Judge, Penn State), notched his first career completion late in Germantown Academy's loss to Malvern. His target, for 11 yards, was classmate Pat McGettigan. His dad, Ed, also played at Judge and is Lincoln's head coach. GA boss Matt Dence is also a former Crusader . . . McDevitt likely set a city record for most penalty yards racked up after setting up for first and goal -- 50! "Only" 35 were marked off, however, because of offsetting personal fouls. Here we go: Stephen Leach ran for 3 yards to the 7; Leach ran for 1 yard to the 6 but three dead ball personal fouls were called after a brief dustup, moving the ball back to the 21; Max Bryson passed for 18 yards to Vincent DiLeo, but a hold in the vicinity of the tackle placed the ball at the 13; procedure moved it back to the 18; Bryson hit Gary Meakim for 15 yards to the 3; another procedure moved it back to the 8; Brendan Hanagan booted a 25-yard field goal . . . The big question: Will La Salle's Jimmy Herron throw a pass this season? As a wildcat snap-taker, Herron has run 15 times for 92 yards . . . How's this for offensive balance? Against Penn Charter, Episcopal's offense featured 13 runs apiece for Dee Barlee and Anthony Feliziani as well as, yup, 13 passes for Ryan Whayland. Their production was also in the good-balance neighborhood: 119 yards for Barlee, 114 for Feliziani and 122 for Whayland . . .           

OCT. 19
CATHOLIC AA
McDevitt 20, Conwell-Egan 17
  C-E created a 17-17 tie with four minutes left on a 4-yard run by jr. Joe Ruggiero -- followed by the kick from sr. Devon Flynn -- and the student rooters belted out that little chant that has become quite popular in recent years . . . "I Believe That We Will Win!! I Believe That We Will Win!!" Not C-E's student rooters. McDevitt's. They must grow 'em smart at Mickey D. The Lancers DID win and the students, on hand for a feel-good Homecoming night at nearby Cheltenham, were so excited they stormed the field. Things weren't looking too good after C-E's score. McDevitt did not own a first down in the second half and a three-and-out, followed by a successful drive by the Eagles, would not have come as a shocker, honestly. But the Lancers magically began to click after a 15-yard kickoff return by soph RB Vincent DiLeo put the ball on the 29. Frosh QB Max Bryson, a lefty with quick feet and good vision, took shotgun snaps and ripped off gains of 21, 22 and eight yards on the first, third and fifth plays. In between, DiLeo managed pickups of four and three. Sr. LB Rich Turchi then dropped DiLeo for a 1-yard loss and Bryson followed with carries for 5 and 0. That last one took him from right to left and was designed only to place the ball in a better spot for kicking purposes. Coach Pat Manzi called time at 0:06 with the ball at the 9. Sr. Dominic Stanton snapped. Sr. WB-WR Gary Meakim held. Jr. Brendan Hanagan drilled. The ball soared through the uprights and McDevitt, which entered 1-6 with a 260-49 scoring disadvantage, owned just its second win of the season. After the final kickoff produced no drama, Manzi looked at his joyous players and said, "They really needed that." So did he. The Lancers' 32-year coach suffered a major scare earlier this season when he thought he'd suffered a heart attack. "I had every classic symptom," he said. "Every single one." This happened early in the week of the non-league game vs. Edison. Manzi wound up missing that game (McDevitt won, 21-6), and he'd been hearing playful barbs from his coaching/teaching comrades ever since. Though exhaustive testing showed he had NOT suffered a heart attack, the coaching shutdown felt like a kick in the teeth. "I hadn't even missed a practice in 40 years of coaching," said Manzi, who'd assisted at Judge, North Catholic and Egan before becoming the Lancers' head man in 1982. The first quarter of this game was played in light/medium rain and it's likely the conditions contributed greatly to McDevitt's 10-0 start. C-E had the ball first, went nowhere and sr. Dean Flynn came on to punt. The snap sailed over his head. Flynn recovered, curled back and was able to get off an under-pressure punt that carried 10 yards to the 29. Bryson kept for 10, jr. RB Stephen Leach lost four (stop by jr. DT Wyett McLeod) and Bryson then rolled to his left. Just before he would have been clobbered, Bryson sent a perfect floater into the end zone to an all-alone Meakim. C-E again went nowhere and Dean Flynn returned. Again the snap was poor. This time, under even worse pressure, Flynn decided to kick the ball while it was rolling around on the ground. The Lancers could have taken the penalty, which would have given C-E fourth down at the 2 (half the distance from the 4, where the illegal kick occurred), but since the kick went out at the 10, declining the penalty was a no-brainer. A mini dustup resulted in three personal fouls (one for C-E, two for McD) and a subsequent hold didn't help the cause, not to mention TWO procedures, but Hanagan, who also punted well all night, finally hit a 25-yard field goal. C-E scored 9:53 before halftime on an 8-yard run by jr. RB Andrew Linder. No sweat. Leach, who would later suffer a knee injury (his brother, Colin, is the line coach), uncorked an 80-yard kickoff return to the 13 and Bryson scored from the 10 two plays later, making it 17-7. C-E created the tie thanks a 33-yard field goal late in the third quarter and the aforementioned TD by Ruggiero; a 48-yard connection from soph QB Mike Alley (likewise a lefty) to Linder set up that one. Late in the second quarter, C-E was on the scoring doorstep when jr. WR Jordan Burney caught a pass down the middle. However, Leach knocked the ball free and DiLeo recovered on the 3. For the game, C-E ran 58 plays to McDevitt's 34. Alley passed 5-for-10 for 104 yards, with all catches going to Burney (3-46) and Linder (2-58). Ruggiero (15-64) and Linder (11-55) were the rushing leaders. For McDevitt, Bryson accounted for 126 of the 142 yards thanks to 4-for-7/66 and 12-60. His grunts were soph C Robbie Brett, Gs Stanton and sr. Aaron Mitchell, and sr Ts John Waldinger and James Clark. (After the game, Mitchell did a pretty good celebration dance before collapsing to the turf -- ha ha). Mitchell, Stanton, jr. DT Sean Murphy and Leach were among the guys who made huge/clutch hits. For C-E, McLeod added another TFL and a sack while Ruggiero also made two stops behind the line. Basketball star Tyrell Long was a member of the Homecoming court and McDevitt's president, Steve Finley, handled PA duties. Best wishes to line judge Chuck Gephart, who's been battling some back woes and worked his final CL game. He'll still handle one more Inter-Ac tilt before retiring the whistle.

OCT. 19
CATHOLIC AAA
O'Hara 36, Bonner-Prendie 35 (OT)
  This game should become a movie. One problem: Everyone would label it fiction. At the end, all theatergoers would say something such as, "What a wonderful story, but no way that could happen in real life." Yes, it could. It did today. Aaron "Ace" Carter will go into depth for Monday's Daily News, but some ins and outs will be mentioned here. One of O'Hara's many heroes was sr. NT Gabe Cordes, who was playing for the first time since suffering an injury in the opener against Ryan. He blocked two PAT, one in the first quarter when no one was thinking it could be outrageously important, and another to cap the B-P possession that started the OT session. That left the victory gate wide open and the Lions, who'd trailed by 29-14 with 8:26 left in regulation and then forced OT with eight points at 0:03, barged through. B-P began with a 10-yard, first-play TD on a TE throwback to sr. Tyler Higgins from jr. QB Collin DiGalbo. Cordes then powered through the line and snuffed the PAT. O'Hara didn't score until fourth down, thanks to a 2-yard, right-side power run by sr. TB J.T. Blyden behind jr. G Andrew Gallagher and sr. T J Kraiza. Sr. K Steve Weyler (Villanova commit) looked up through the goalposts, took an extra-hard deep breath and drilled home the winning kick. All O'Hara folks went crazy. All B-P folks sagged in devastation, especially since a victory would have given the Friars only their fourth win in the last 23 meetings. Once the B-P folks read my mini-version (and then Aaron's longer take) about why this was such a special win for O'Hara, they'll probably agree that a greater power was at work. Gabe Cordes' father, Mark, a former factor at O'Hara and Villanova (he caught a TD pass to help the Lions win the '73 City Title over Frankford, 13-6), beat lung cancer two years ago. Now he is fighting cancer in his heart. Earlier this week, coach Danny Algeo said the game ball would be given to Mr. Cordes -- he was in attendance -- if the Lions could earn a win. Then, they DO win and his son makes two gigantic plays. Tears were flowing in a post-game ceremony along O'Hara's sideline and Mr. Cordes called the game ball "the greatest gift I've ever received." Before heading out of Upper Darby's stadium, each and every Lion signed that ball. Incredible sports/life scenario. Packed with emotion. To win O’Hara had to overcome a sensational performance by DiGalbo, who accounted for 309 yards of passing/rushing. He passed 9-for-18 for 166 yards and one score apiece to sr. WR Mike Ockimey (3-80) and Higgins while adding 143 yards on 19 carries and a 69-yard TD at that 8:26 mark. His running, both off QB draws and bursts of the shotgun formation, was especially important because star sr. RB Joe DePhillipo was limited to two carries by ankle miseries; sr. RB Ricky Wilson did fill in with 56 yards and two TDs on 16 totes. The 69-yarder caused some, even many, O’Hara fans to head for the exits, though they weren’t completely gone by the time sr. QB Dashawn "Day-Day" Darden hit sr. WR Chris Colvin with a 10-yard slant for a score at 6:41. Some of those kids wound up perching themselves on a small building near the home-side stands, and later they rushed back to the visiting side for the OT session. B-P netted three first downs on its series, but on a second down play at O’Hara’s 28, it appeared that the ball was snapped a shade too early. It fell on the ground and the recovery went to sr. LB Nolan Cummings, a force all afternoon. The Lions used 14 regular plays (and two spikes) while negotiating 70 yards. Sr. WR Thaddius Smith (Boston College), whose only contribution to that point had come on a quick-flip lateral (11-yard gain) while mostly being covered by Ockimey, made three catches for 56 yards. His second, a 15-yarder, put the ball at the 20 and Darden’s spike came at 0:30. Two incompletions followed, then Darden hit Colvin at the left hash for 15 yards. The next spike came at 0:08. Darden then lofted a left-corner fade into the end zone and Smith, having freed himself, made what turned out to be a pretty easy catch. On the conversion, Darden targeted sr. RB Lamont Veal with a quick right-to-middle slant and the catch was made in front of a defender. OT, baby! B-P won the toss and elected to go first. I'm not a fan of that. I always feel that teams should go second, given that option, because you know exactly where you stand; it's like being the home team in baseball. As Huck pointed out, perhaps B-P made that decision because it feared O'Hara would have too much momentum coming off the tying score/PAT combo. The first half featured a 2-yard TD by Blyden, a safety for B-P (when Weyler covered a snap that sailed far over his head), an immediate 40-yard TD catch by Ockimey and a 1-yard run by Wilson after a pass to Ockimey produced a 29-yard gain. The third quarter TD, making it 22-7, came on Wilson's 17-yard run. Right beforehand, sr. WR Kyle Dawson evaded a defender early on a pattern and streaked downfield for a 48-yard catch. O'Hara regrouped with a lengthy drive that was capped by Darden from the 1. B-P appeared to create enough of a cushion five plays later on DiGalbo's 69-yard burst, but as we all know by now that was only an illusion. Defensive stats from Huck: Cummings 13 tackles, Blyden nine with a sack and Smith with seven (six solos). For B-P, sr. LB Mike "Huck" Palmer hustled for 12 with a sack, sr. DL Anthony Marcus had seven with a sack. Sr. LB Mike Shanahan and Dawson added nine and five, respectively.  

OCT. 18
CATHOLIC AA
West Catholic 18, Neumann-Goretti 0
  The heck with Juliet. This Romeo is in love with sacks and TFLs. Romeo Gunt, formerly of Overbrook, is a 5-10, 185-pound junior and he lines up for West Catholic as a standup DE/OLB/CB hybrid. And the next time N-G blocks him will be the first. OK, that's an exaggeration, but only a slight one. All night, Gunt EXPLODED across the line of scrimmage and wound up creating major havoc. Late in the game, as the Saints were ready to run a play, the RB standing next to jr. QB Ray Lenhart pointed at Gunt and said, "He's over there." Gunt could be heard chirping, "Ha, ha, ha," as if to say, "As if that'll make any difference." Gunt notched nine tackles. Six were made in N-G's backfield and Lenhart was victimized three times. Gunt also was credited by Huck with "countless hurries" and -- get this -- he twice made tackles on kickoffs after kicking the ball and RACING downfield in what-a-blur fashion. In the first half, I was standing rather close to the sideline and some Burrs (maybe four or five) were a step or three behind. One said to the others, "This is what I live for. This is why God put me on this earth." When I turned around shortly thereafter, No. 28 was one of the nearby guys. That's Gunt and here's a strong guess he made those statements (smile). The night's other primary plot involved the battle between West sr. CB Patrick Amara (Pitt) and N-G sr. WR Jamal Custis (Syracuse). Amara played Custis man-to-man and held him catchless. He also held him, literally, a few times (and/or bumped him) and was hit with interference calls. In the first half, Custis lined up to Lenhart's left and that seemed kind of strange because Lenhart's a right-hander. To start the third quarter, Custis lined up to Lenhart's right and was targeted on three consecutive plays -- a right-corner fade and two middle-distance outs. Custis got his hands on the last one, but could not hold on. He was beyond the sideline anyway. (On the flip side, Amara posted two catches for 20 yards under the watch of frisky frosh CB Aamir Brown; Custis is an end on defense). Heading INTO the game, everyone was wondering how West would fare without star sr. RB Greg White, who was a sideline spectator due to a school issue. It would have been impossible for White's replacements to match his usual feats, but frosh Calil Wortham (17-68; he's the brother of Curt, the former Judge star) and jr. David Swen (13-37) ran for one score apiece while jr. QB Antwain McCollum uncorked impressive runs of 15, 13 and 19 yards en route to 7-52 numbers (a 17-yard sack was a hindrance). West's other TD, out of a trips-right formation, was McCollum's 26-yard connection with jr. WR Ahkil Crumpton. Dude was WIDE open because no one tagged along downfield. Meanwhile, one of Huck's upcoming Edbits will concern the many two-point conversions posted by West in this and other seasons. Somehow, the Burrs had none in this one and that hardly ever happens. N-G's rushing game produced minus-29 yards on 18 carries. And the passing game yielded 38 yards, so the not-so-grand total was nine. Only seven of the Saints' 35 plays gained yardage. Other sacks went to soph DE Andre Mintze, jr. DL Greg Nathaniel and sr. DL Anthony Ukaha while Gunt lost out on another, roughly a 25-yarder, because of a teammate's defensive holding penalty. Soph LB Amir Postley forced a fumble; recovery to Mintze. For N-G, jr. LB Mike DiFrancesco, inspired by his energized posse behind one of the end zones, numbered five solos among nine tackles. Soph DB Khalil Roane (seven solos), sr. LB Danny Murray and soph DL Rashid Saunders added eight, seven and six, respectively. Jr. DB Jack Taylor and soph LB Fabian Matthews halved 10. It was fun to share the sideline with Huck, Matt "Cauls" McCauley, fellow website legend Mark "Frog" Carfagno and Joe McFadden. This win gave West yet another regular season title and a perfect mark at 4-0. Next week will bring a non-league game vs. La Salle. Coach Brian Fluck's Burrs have captured 35 consecutive regular season wins in division play. They lost to Conwell-Egan, 26-12, in their third game of 2006 in the old Blue Division. They won the last four, seven in '07 (still in Blue), then four apiece in AA from '08 through '13. They've also won all 11 playoffs during that span (two apiece from 2006-09, one each in '10, '11 and '12), so their league streak stands at 46. Throw in two subregional wins against AA members -- C-E in '12, McDevitt in '09 -- and you could say the run stands at 48. More from Huck: Since the start of '07, this was West's third most competitive AA game, following 21-12 over Wood in '07 and 28-12 over Mickey D in '09. In the '06 part of the streak, there were four "closeies" -- 28-27 over N-G in OT, 13-12 and 20-12 (Blue final) over Wood and 10-0 over Carroll.

OCT. 18
INTER-AC LEAGUE
Episcopal 30, Penn Charter 0
  Darn, I missed out on another chance to get Evan Butts' autograph (smile). Like pretty much every week, the sr. TE-DE, a Virginia commit, definitely would have been a worthy target. On offense, he made five catches for 102 yards and a 12-yard TD. On the other side, he returned a fumble 24 yards for a score while adding one sack, two TFLs, a forced fumble and a few more teeth-rattlers. Early, however, it was obvious that Episcopal's coaches entered this one with a major belief/desire: Our grunts are better than yours and we're going to prove it early. Though the Churchdudes' first two series yielded only a 26-yard field goal by sr. K Julio Del Peon, soph RB Dee Barlee used his outrageously thick trunk to churn for 55 yards on seven carries and, even then, the Quakers had to be thinking, "This won't be the easiest afternoon in school history." The series that led to the field goal, by the way, was set up when Butts forced a fumble and jr. NG John Minicozzi made the recovery. On Episcopal's third series, a third-and-10 play produced a 59-yard completion from jr. QB Ryan Whayland to Butts. That placed the ball at PC's 6. Though the Quakers' defense stood tall through three plays (jr. DL Frank McGlinchey made a stop for no gain), sr. RB Anthony Feliziani scored from the 1 on fourth and the PAT by EA's other kicker, frosh Connor Ringwalt, made it 10-0. Seventeen-nothing? Coming right up. PC again went nowhere (Minicozzi registered a manchild of a 4-yard TFL) and the Churchpeeps covered 60 yards in seven plays. The big one was a 27-yard burst by Feliziani. With the ball at the 12, EA ran the same play twice in a row. Jr. WR Michael Joloaso scampered to the right corner for a fade as Butts ran an up-along-the-hash pattern. Joloaso was overthrown on the first snap, then Butts was an easy target on the second. Episcopal scored one TD apiece in the third and fourth. First, Feliziani uncorked a beauty of a 59-yard TD along the visiting sideline toward the east end zone, breaking several tackles early and a few more late. Great highlight film fodder! Butts' return TD came with 7:29 left in the fourth, right after PC sr. DB Freddie Perri recovered a fumble that appeared to be co-caused by him and McGlinchey. On the next play, a mass swarming caused a big loss/lost pill combo and Butts had no trouble scooping up the ball and motoring to the end zone. With jr. QB Pat McCain, now the backup, at the controls for the last series against a combination of starters (not many) and subs, PC almost got on the board. Thanks to three completions for 53 yards, McCain helped to advance the ball to the 6. Three plays netted just two yards, however, then Feliziani (LB) exploded across the line to turn a left-side give into a 5-yard loss, thus preserving the shutout. Aside from Butts, Minicozzi and Feliziani, jr. LB Jake Martillotti also impressed for the Churchkids. Meanwhile, I LOVED how soph Christian Feliziani, Anthony's brother, made numerous fair catches of punts, thus saving his squads all kinds of important, field-position yardage. In the second quarter, the refs gave PC a borderline first down without bringing out the sticks. An Episcopal fan bellowed, "Measure it! It don't cost nothin'!" Barlee (13-119) and A. Feliziani (13-114) had almost identical stats. Incredibly, Whayland also threw 13 times, with seven completions for 122 yards. PC's rushing leaders were srs. Corey Kelley (17-92) and James Biggs-Frazier (15-66).

OCT. 18
TEDBITS
  If you're a fan of dual-threat quarterbacks, here's guessing SJ Prep's Chris Martin is one of your favorite players. Because sacks count as rushes in high school ball, it's not common for guys who pass often to also have respectable running stats. However, the ever-sturdy Martin has blossomed into an extra, by-design rushing threat for coach Gabe Infante while still maintaining his passing skills. And check this out . . . He now needs only 86 yards to reach 3,000 passing/rushing yards for his career! Expect the milestone to be reached tomorrow night, 7 o'clock, at Plymouth-Whitemarsh when the Hawks meet Judge. Here are Chris' numbers:

OCT. 17 (Evening)
TEDBITS
  This morning, at the request of several Imhotep fans, we posted a note about star sr. WR/DB Deandre Scott with a special focus on the fact that he now owns 10 return TDs in his varsity career. As you may have noticed, that feat wasn't lauded as a city record. Know why? Who could say for sure, plus, it's not even the best effort by current players. That's right. Time for a little one-upmanship! (smile). Central's Walt Pegues owns ELEVEN career TDs on returns. Granted, his focus is narrow -- all 11 have come on returns of punts (seven) or kickoffs (four) -- but no one would think to question the impressive results. One of Pegues' KO return scores was unusual. Against Washington late last September, Walt and Andy Augustine were back as two-deep returnees and the latter caught the ball. Walt reeled in a short lateral on the 3 and . . . zoooooooooom! . . . raced 97 yards for a score. Pegues' talents are in his blood. His dad, Walter, had some nice moments for Mastbaum (class of '84) in football and baseball. His best one came in football. Late in the '83 season, in one of those slapped-together games designed to keep teams busy until Thanksgiving, Mastbaum was paired against Central. Mastbaum hadn't won a division game since 1976. Over that same span, Central had advanced to the semifinals five times. You know what's coming, right? In a major shock, 'Baum prevailed, 14-12, and Pegues was the headliner. He ran 67 yards for one score and set up another by completing a halfback pass for 50 yards. (In baseball, Walter played third base. Next to him at shortstop was Mike Noel. Down the line behind the plate was Mike Noel. Huh? They were cousins. Mike L. was at SS. Mike J was at C). Can you get this goofy stuff anywhere else? Ha, ha, ha.

OCT. 16 (Evening)
TEDBITS
  Reaching a milestone always feels better if it occurs in a game that results in a win, but Germantown Academy's Hayes Nolte is no doubt feeling rather proud by now, which is Hump Day. Reason? In the Patriots' 34-25 loss last Saturday to Episcopal, he cleared the 3,000-yard hump for career passing yardage. Nolte's career stats now show 222 completions in 443 attempts for 3,015 yards and 34 TDs. He's the fourth Patriot to reach 3,000 and only La Salle, with five, has more members in the 3,000 Club. The Inter-Ac now has seven. Not bad for a league that includes just six schools (five for a lot of years) and whose members often have played fewer games than schools in the Pub and Cath. Here are the Inter-Ac's 3,000-yard passers:

 OCT. 16
TEDBITS

Delane Hart (L), last year at Germantown.

After playing varsity ball for just three seasons (1997, 1999-2000; he had to sit out '98), Ramon Mills of now-closed Bok owned the Public League record for receiving yardage thanks to exactly 1,400. He racked up that yardage on just 50 catches (28.0 average!) while scoring 21 TDs, one short of what was then the city-leagues mark. Mills' record -- with a breakdown of 11-336-4 / 21-558-11 / 18-418-6 -- stood until 2010, when Del-Val Charter's Brad Wilson reached 1,402 yards on 66 catches (21.2). Those 66 receptions led to 28 TDs, enabling Wilson to establish a new city standard (2007 Wood grad Chris Lorditch had earned 27). Now it's time to discuss King sr. WR Delane Hart, who has ALREADY claimed the Pub mark for career yardage. Hart, who played at Dobbins in 9th and 10th grade, and at now-closed Germantown in 11th, owns 78 catches for 1,485 yards and 18 TDs. And his total could be MUCH higher. Hart entered Dobbins as a QB and made brief, backup appearances in that role in 2010. In '11, he started off at WR, but some changes were made and he wound up posting passing stats in 11 of the Mustangs' 13 games. Overall, he settled for 81 yards and two TDs on five snags. A year ago, after transferring to G-town, he turned 43 catches into 778 yards and seven scores. His season stats for King's '13 squad -- with at least three games remaining -- show 30 catches for 626 yards and nine scores.

OCT. 15 (Evening)
TEDBITS
  On Oct. 11, we posted a note about shutouts and which 10 city-leagues schools had gone the longest without suffering one. Now it's time for the flip side: Which 10 schools have gone the longest without posting one? King is way out in front, but perhaps the streak is about to end. In each of their last three games, the Cougars have allowed just one TD (along with one conversion apiece in the second and third games). This list, by the way, does not include games that ended as 2-0 forfeits. Amazingly, before its streak began, Furness posted three consecutive shutouts (over Olney and Mastbaum prior to Southern). King's last shutout occurred in Week Five of 2005. 

OCT. 15 (Mid-morning)
TEDBITS
  First, click here to check out the picture of La Salle football assistant Mike "(Formerly) Stat Boy" Grant, who's wearing the yellow shirt. Take note of the stains on his left sleeve . . . OK, now that you're back, check out the email I received this morning from Jack "In the Box" Crouse, who's in his fifth year of teaching at Holy Ghost Prep and this winter will coach the freshman basketball team:

OCT. 15
TEDBITS
  The Duke-out of Delco (Catholic version) will again take place this week -- Saturday, 1 p.m. (not 7!!), at Upper Darby High -- and here's hoping Bonner-Prendergast manages to put up a respectable fight in front of what, like always, will be a large, energized crowd. Unfortunately, that hasn't been the case too often over the last two decades. This series began in 1965 and O'Hara owns a 38-18 advantage (ouch). Also, it has claimed 19 of the last 22 meetings (double ouch). Due to playoffs, the teams have met twice in eight seasons. Two times have tables been turned in the second meeting (by O'Hara in '81, by Bonner in '89). In the games in '78 and '79, only five total points were scored! O'Hara won by 3-0, then by 2-0. The Lions also claimed a 2-0 victory in '75. In the teams' first 10 meetings, Bonner went 7-3. O'Hara swept six straight from 1975-80, then eight in a row from 1983-89 (one playoff mixed in). Here are the top performances in rushing/passing/receiving from 1982-2012:  

OCT. 14 (Evening)
TEDBITS
  One month and a day ago, Charlie Hemcher played two roles in one of the most legendary plays in Philly scholastic football history. Varsity, that is. We'll explain that play in a moment, but first take a look at Hemcher's game-winning TD catch (the QB was Chris Ferguson) in today's JV game, played at Belmont Plateau, between the Explorers and St. Joseph's Prep (large version here) . . . The plays were similar: The 6-2, 185-pound Hemcher was told to run to the end zone and soar. The other circumstances: Just a liiiiiiitle bit different. On Sept. 13, on the final play of the first half, with the ball at O'Hara's 42, Hemcher is waved onto the field for the first time all game and the hope is that jr. QB Kyle Shurmur will get Hemcher the ball. Everyone leaps (in the area of the left hash mark) and O'Hara sr. DB Thaddius Smith comes down with the ball. Yes, he should have just knocked it down, but he's a competitive kid. Right after making the pick, Smith uncorks a fancy move and no doubt starts to think, "I could take this 100 yards the other way!" But numerous guys are in the vicinity and the sideline isn't THAT far way. In other words, he's kind of boxed in. Then . . . the ball is on the turf, thanks to a poke from Hemcher and La Salle soph WR Charles Headen is making the recovery . . . for . . . a . . . touchdown!!! Unbelievable!!! Hemcher (slot) and Headen (wide) had lined up on the left side of La Salle's offense. The coaches were hoping to get Hemcher a receiving TD. Instead, he wound up making the DEFENSIVE play of the evening. Or season. Or decade. Or lifetime.

OCT. 14
TEDBITS
  Malvern has long been the kingpin in Inter-Ac football, having won 28 championships (21 outright) since 1969 under Jack "Shark" McGuinn, Gamp Pellegrini and son Kevin Pellegrini. But every team, even a powerhouse, feels a very occasional thorn in its side, and for the Friars that thorn is Haverford School. Saturday, the Fords bested Malvern, 34-31, in double overtime, to claim their fourth win in five years in the series (exception: '11). The last time an Inter-Ac foe accomplished that feat was in the stretch from 1967-71, and HS was the magician that time, too (exception: '69). One other school came close in the interim. From 1988-92, Episcopal earned three wins and a tie against the Friars (exception: '89; the tie was in '91). This will come as a shock to many Inter-Ac followers, but the program hasn't always been golden. In the late '60s, Chestnut Hill Academy was still playing I-A football (it was absent from 1973-2005), so league play featured five games. The Friars lost their final league contest in '66 (to CHA), then all five in '67 and '68 before starting the '69 campaign with a win over Episcopal. Racking up their next 11 league losses took them 20 seasons! A loss to Episcopal in '88 was league loss No. 11 since the start of the '69 season. There were also three ties along the way. By the way, the Friars' first two I-A titles, in '59 (three-way) and '62 (two-way) were garnered by Mike Mayock. He later switched to HS and produced matching perfect  campaigns (5-0 league, 8-0 overall) in '70 and '71. His son, Mike, is now a well-known NFL commentator. Malvern joined the I-A for the '50 football season. Its first coach was Stan Jaworoski, who later changed his name to Javie. Does that ring a bell? His son, Steve Javie, was a long-time NBA ref (after earning second team All-Catholic honors at La Salle '72).     

OCT. 13
TEDBITS (Evening)
  Friday night could turn out to be very special for the Kelly family. If Dimetri, a junior tailback, can reach 56 rushing yards for Roman in its game vs. La Salle, set for 7 o'clock at Northeast, he'll enable his family to hit the magic number of 5,000. (Not 4,000 as I ridiculously posted the first time around -- ugh. Sorry about that). Marcus Kelly did two seasons worth of rushing for Roman before graduating in 2012. Dimetri saw some action as a freshman, which meant he got a chance to play with his brother, so this is already season No. 3 for him as a backfield contributor. The guys' dad, Darryl, was a third team All-City defensive lineman (end, specifically) for King in the '82 season. He was also a respectable catcher. Here are the numbers for Marcus/Dimetri:

OCT. 13
TEDBITS
  Time for another off-the-wall city record . . .
  Most visits to the end zone in one game -- 11, Greg White, West Catholic vs. Carroll, 10/12/13
  White scored five TDs and added three conversions in the Burrs' 50-21 win. He also lost three TDs to penalties. The yardage on the scores was 5, 13, 24, 9 (rushes) and 56 (reception). The conversions came on two rushes and a conversion. Lost to laundry on the lawn (well, turf; the game was played at Widener) were a 96-yard kickoff return and rushes of 43 and 62 yards. As reported by Huck, the Burrs did not score on those three possessions, and those were the only times their offense failed all game. The flags came 24 yards into the kickoff return, four yards into the 43-yarder and behind the line on the 62-yarder. For the game, White tabulated 158 rushing yards, 73 receiving yards and 24 on the kickoff (his only return of the game). He added 66 yards of rushing on the drives that followed the wiped out scores, so in all he covered 390 yards for the game, or 399 if you want to count the conversions. In 1983, Bartram's Hector Scott ran for eight TDs against Bok. He had no conversions, though, and lost no TDs to flags.
  Interception oddities: West Philadelphia has four interceptions on the season and they all were made in one game. Three of Roman's four also were made in one game . . . Most interceptions are made by d-backs, right? With maybe some linebackers mixed in. However, Malvern's leader is John Nassib, with four, and he plays end . . . O'Hara's Thaddius Smith is up to 11 TD catches for the season. Dougherty's Mickey King owns the city mark with 16 in 2000 . . . Haverford School owns three TD passes this season. In order, Kevin Carter, Derek Mountain and Brendan Burke have thrown for one apiece over these last three weeks . . . In the Roxborough/Conwell-Egan game, there were four straight penalties: offsides against Roxborough's defense, holding against C-E, then two more offsides against Roxborough . . . Against O'Hara, Roman posted no passing yards in a game for the first time since 2009. The Cahillites lost that one to La Salle, 45-7. They won this one, 30-19, thanks largely to Dimetri Kelly's outrageous rushing exploits (37 carries for 251 yards and two TDs). Sharif Harper, of Thanksgiving rival Roxborough, carried 39 times (for 224 and a TD) vs. Conwell-Egan . . . Versus Franklin, West Philly had first-and-goal at the 10. A sack and holding penalty helped to push the ball back to the 41. Fourth down featured a punt.              

OCT. 12
NON-LEAGUE
Roxborough 27, Conwell-Egan 13
  Hey, we finally have a leader in this series that features far-apart schools with nothing in common. Roxborough now owns a 1-0-1 advantage and you have to wonder, maybe these guys should get involved in fights more often. Just kidding! After experiencing a forced week of inactivity, thanks to a dustup with Del-Val Charter that produced a double-forfeit for that game and another forfeit vs. Mastbaum, the Indians were often terrific in this one. And perhaps they eased the sting for guys in their late 60s who were part of the Boro's 1963 squad, which had to settle for a 16-16 tie in the City Title game, played at Franklin Field. I wonder if any player from either team was in attendance for this one, played at Truman as the centerpiece of C-E's Homecoming? No mentions were made of the 50-years-ago contest. Anyway, the Indians triumphed by giving the ball early and often to sr. TB Sharif Harper. The 5-11, 190-pound Harper carried 39 times for 224 yards and one TD, a 12-yarder that hammered home the final nail with 1:10 remaining. Harper ran hard all night, fighting through gang tackles again and again. He lost yardage on only two runs, and each time the damage was only one yard. His longest gains were 21, 18, 14 (twice), 12 (twice) and 11. Also effective was jr. QB Eduardo Sanchez, who turned 16 rushes into 63 yards and one TD. Passing yardage? It was like we were back in the '60s, or maybe even the '40s, when passing was often a rumor. Sanchez went 0-for-4 with one interception. But he did get great results from one throw, a backward hitch pass to sr. WR Hank Adens that went onto the stat sheet as a rushing play. It occurred in the waning moments of the third quarter and Adens would have notched a 65-yard TD if not for great hustle by sr. LB Joe Ruggiero, who was C-E's most active defender all night. Ruggiero ran down Adens at the 1, and the TD, scored by sr. RB Edington Wright and expanding the Indians' lead to 20-13, did not come until the first play of the fourth quarter. THE play of the night had unfolded earlier in that session. C-E sr. Devon Flynn, who boomed the ball all night with a strong wind behind him (one of his kickoffs landed nine yards deep in the end zone), tried a 45-yard field goal. Adens came bursting in for a no-problem block and the ball squirted upfield to C-E's 47. Wright did a scoop-and-dash for a 53-yard TD and Sanchez' kick made it 14-13. Early, things were not looking good for the Injuns. Thanks to the running of soph QB Mike Alley, back from an early season knee injury, C-E roared to TDs -- a pair of 1-yarders by him -- on its first two series. Alley ran seven times for 68 total yards on those two series while throwing nary a pass. Roxborough finally answered 7:13 before halftime on a 6-yard, left-side keeper by Sanchez. That series was classic old school: 89 yards on 19 plays! Fourteen were runs by Harper. Roxborough's grunts were jr. C Robert Leonard, sr. G Anibal DeBrito, jr. G Khalil Jones, jr. T Nasir Topping and sr. T Kevin Fabien (6-3, 340). LBs Caleb Lassiter and jr. Robert Taylor were active defenders, along with Adens, a CB. For C-E, Alley (91 yards) and Ruggiero (61) ran 14 times apiece. Alley passed 5-for-14 for 38 yards, but the wind was a factor and he's going to have some very special outings over the course of his career. Rich Papirio, C-E's former baseball coach, handled PA duties and provided some laughs. In the second quarter, he announced that a black Camaro was illegally parked and needed to be moved, or else it would be towed. Later, he revealed the winning 50-50 number and added, "If the winner is the owner of the black Camaro, that'll be enough to pay the towing charge." Early in the third quarter, INTO the wind, Sanchez had to settle for an 8-yard punt. Who downed it? He did. After C-E's second TD, Flynn crushed the PAT over the scoreboard. Oops, C-E had only 10 guys on the field. From the 15, he again cleared the scoreboard. Oops, the refs had not blown the ready whistle. Flynn tried again from the 20. Adens raced in for a block. At one point, the ref was explaining a penalty to C-E coach Jack Techtmann. The ref moved his left arm and, pow!, elbowed the back judge, unknowingly standing a shade behind him, right in the jaw. There was a pregame moment of silence for Chuck Knowles, a former coach/AD at Egan/C-E. Chuck, who'd been working as Norristown High's AD, passed last week. RIP, friend. On the back of Roxborough's helmets you can now spot a small 17 decal. That's to honor the memory of Jack Armour, a 1953 grad who died in July at age 77. Since '91, Jack had been a volunteer assistant for his alma mater, serving as a trainer/equipment manager/I'll-do-whatever's-needed guy. RIP, friend. Supporters such as Jack are extremely rare in the Pub, but Roxborough is lucky enough to have another in the person of Eddie "Bo" Peters; he's been part of the program since '90 and is well known by everyone connected with sports in Greater Roxborough.

OCT. 12
INTER-AC LEAGUE
Episcopal 34, Gtn. Academy 25
  With just under 5 minutes remaining in the first half, tight to the right sideline, sr. TE Evan Butts made a leaping catch while reaching over a defender in the midfield area. He then turned and rambled the rest of the way to notch an 81-yard TD. Soon thereafter, along EA's sideline, one Churchman gushed to another, "He's just so good. Every week there's a sicker catch." OK, so in the second half, I stood on GA's sideline and coach Matt Dence was positive that Butts had been guilty of pushing off on another fade pass from jr. QB Ryan Whayland that produced a TD; this one was an 18-yarder. The entertaining Dence sarcasmed toward the nearest ref, "Oh, I forgot. He's going to Virginia. He must be unstoppable." Later, Dence thought Butts was guilty of an illegal block and blurted out, at volume high enough for all refs to hear, "He came out and tackled our guy! You can get his autograph after the game!" The day's other good comment was uttered in the final moments after sr. QB Hayes Nolte powered 2 yards to move GA within 34-23. On the extra point, sr. WR Kyle Donahue, the holder, stood up, ran around, searched and hit jr. TE Andrew Simon, who was seated in the end zone after tumbling backward, for two points. As the kickoff was about to take place, I noticed that Donahue was right nearby on the sideline. I asked him whether that play had been planned. He said no. When I commended him on the outcome, he said, "Thanks. I wish it was worth 11 points, though." I could have lived with that. This was an entertaining game and more minutes, even hours, would have been enjoyable. The Churchguys were coming off a 48-47 loss to Lawrenceville (NJ), which ended their 15-game winning streak. How would they respond to that setback? Not in dominating fashion, but well enough. Also, of course, GA has made nice strides since getting deflated by Lansdale Catholic in its opener. EA did storm to 473 yards total offense. Whayland finished 16-for-21 for 257 yards and three scores, two to Butts (4-114) and one to soph WR Christian Feliziani. Christian's brother, sr. RB Anthony, bagged 136 yards and a TD on 16 carries, getting help from soph RB Dee Barlee (17-58, TD). Whayland started his second half by completing 10 consecutive passes and finished it 12-for-13. An asterisk might be needed, however. (smile). Some of his completions came on semi-handoffs. Actually, they were underhand flips to RBs. When those little flips are forward, they get recorded as passes. EA's grunts were sr. C Connor Longen, sr. Gs Mike Watkins and Kevin Morgan, and jr. Ts Austin Morgan (his brother?) and John Minicozzi. For GA, Nolte enjoyed direct involvement in 38 plays. Aside from passing 14-for-21 for 210 yards and a TD to sr. WR Max Derham, he turned 17 carries into 78 yards and two short scores. He threw one pick (nice leaping snag along the sideline by frosh DB CJ McAnally) while Whayland had a fully clean performance. Whayland's TD toss to C. Feliziani expanded EA's lead to 27-10 with 8:19 left. To its credit, GA zipped right down the field for Derham's score, covering 58 yards in five plays after jr. Kashta Davis uncorked a 25-yard return; Davis also made six catches for 118 yards. McAnally's interception set up A. Feliziani's 2-yard TD with 1:25 left. Again the Patriots showed heart, going 68 yards in six plays. When Hayes scored, Dence fittingly bellowed, "That's how you don't give up!" Indeed. EA's sacks went to K. Morgan and Butts (why is that not a surprise? Maybe yours truly should have gotten his autograph, just in case he becomes really famous -- smile). Whayland had just one rush, and it produced an 11-yard gain. This report is being written in a McDonald's along Route 13 in Bristol. Tonight's stop will be Roxborough at Conwell-Egan. The Mickey D's highlight: About 10 minutes ago, a boy teenager went into the restroom marked WOMEN. He did not come back out quickly, either. I guess no gals were in there because no shrieking was heard.

OCT. 12
TEDBITS
  Don't you love it when a suspicion turns out to be valid? Have you noticed that Neumann-Goretti has scored at least 40 points in two consecutive games? Welllllll . . . that feat has been accomplished only two times in school history! This is the 79th season for N-G, which began as South(east) Catholic, then became Bishop Neumann and St. John Neumann before the merger with its all-girls counterpart, St. Maria Goretti. N-G dropped 48 last week on Carroll, then followed with 41 last night vs. McDevitt. The other back-to-back, at-least-40 games occurred to end the 2002 season. The Saints lost to West Catholic, 55-48, in a doozy of a Catholic Blue final, then annihilated Southern, 68-0. Last night's points were scored by Sihmare Morgan, Khalil Roane (12 apiece), Joseph Richardson (six; on a pass from Ray Lenhart), Danny Murray (also six) and Michael Beck (five on kicks). Last week, Morgan and Roane tallied 12 apiece while Richardson, Beck, Miles Brewer and Jack Taylor all had six. Roane had major fun on returns vs. McDevitt, as noted by Frog. He converted four into 198 yards! We went 33 with a stolen ball for a TD, and 79, 66 and 20 with punts.

OCT. 11
CATHOLIC AAAA
SJ Prep 35, La Salle 28
  In effect, in front of many spectators (not exactly a shock) and very few raindrops (thank you, weather gods), the Prep made three visits to The Comfort Zone. The first two, it turned out, were unofficial. Based on results through Week Six, lots of observers figured the Hawks, despite their youth, could win this one by anywhere from 10 to 14 points. Instead, the spread was seven and the win was not assured until 25.4 seconds remaining, when sr. S Vince Moffett capped a great performance by posting an interception at the Prep's 41 and sr. QB Chris Martin (ditto) followed with an ah-this-feels-good kneeldown. TCZ first was visited 2:28 prior to halftime as jr. RB Olamide Zaccheaus, out of a wildcat formation, took a snap and mad-dashed 66 yards for a score. That made it 21-0 and folks were thinking, "Wow, is this game actually gonna become a blowout?" Visit No. 2 was made with 1:08 left in the third quarter as frosh RB D'Andre Swift -- no "e" between the D and ' -- scrambled out of the backfield straight down the middle and turned a leaping, in-stride catch into a 22-yard TD. That made it 35-14 and at least a few people began heading for the parking lot. Obviously, La Salle mounted responses both times to provide hope that a rematch, if one occurs, will turn out to be quite the game-long classic. Early, the 'Splorers truly sputtered. They did not "earn" their initial first down until 8:09 was left on the second-quarter clock and quote marks were used because it came on one of the game's many along-the-line penalties. While the Explorers were struggling, the Prep was jumping to a 14-0 lead thanks primarily to Martin. He posted score No. 1 on a 1-yard sneak and hit sr. WR Jawan McAllister on a 14-yard fade to the right corner. On those two drives, Martin passed 7-for-9 for 94 yards while showing a perfect combo of touch and accuracy. On the game's first play (though the drive didn't work out), he'd hit jr. WR John Reid for a 24-yard gain. The approach's early success made folks think the Hawks would stick with it throughout, which turned out not to be the case. Anyway, that 66-yard scoring burst occurred four plays after Zaccheaus made an end-zone interception. Interestingly, the third play was also a wildcat-formation run (by Reid). Though obviously reeling, La Salle quickly regrouped as the first play, a swing pass from jr. QB Kyle Shurmur to classmate RB Jordan Meachum, produced a 61-yard gain to the 19. Soph RB Nick Rinella, who's becoming quite the frisky force, followed with a right-side sweep for a score. A TFL by sr. DE Ryan Coonahan helpled to create a three-and-out, but Shurmur's pass was picked off by sr. LB Ryan McNulty, who uncorked a 30-yard return to the 16. Alas, McNulty, who'd set an early defensive tone with a pair of TFLs, got a little excited and an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty backed up the ball to the 31. No sweat. Martin flipped a middle screen to Swift and the result was twist, turn, see ya in the end zone!! The third quarter featured a pair of methodical drives. La Salle opened with 16 plays for 80 yards and the score came on Shurmer's 9-yard, left-corner fade to sr. WR Levi Hardy. The Prep responded with 12 plays for 67 yards and the 22-yard score to Swift. In the fourth quarter, the Hawks called their final timeout with 6:29 left and almost always used the entire play clock in slightly-back-on-their-heels fashion. La Salle, meanwhile, countered with a 20-yard score on a middle screen to Rinella and a 1-yard bull rush by jr. FB Ryan Brady (his only carry of the game). That latter score was posted with 3:58 left. It was a little early for an onsides kick, so the ball floated down at the 14, and Zaccheaus managed a 14-yard return. Stops by Brady and sr. DB AJ Greseszak prevented the first two plays from earning a first down, but Martin then hit Swift for nine yards and the latter added a 12-yard rush. On third-and-four, Brady and sr. LB Zaire Franklin (Syracuse) combined to hold Swift to no gain. Sr. DB Tamar Turner then broke up a fourth-down pass at 50.6. Shurmur scrambled for 13 yards, to exactly midfield, before Moffett did his late-heroics- muffling act. Here's guessing Martin got a great night's sleep. He was involved in 40 plays, passing 18-for-25 for 226 yards and the three scores while adding 62 yards and a TD on 15 carries. He was quite the even distributor, hitting four guys four times apiece (and one guy twice). Swift compiled 105 yards of rushing/receiving while Zaccheaus had 114. Shurmur went 14-for-25 for 167 and two scores. Meachum turned 20 totes into 106 yards while adding that one long catch. Rinella rushed/caught for 81 yards. Huck, who watched the game on TV, credited Moffett with a lofty 14 tackles (12 solos). McNulty made seven (five) along with his pick and TFLs. Soph CB Shawn Harris had seven (six). For La Salle, Brady hustled for nine tackles (five) while Franklin and sr. DB Stephen Hudak halved 16. Jr. LB Aidan Kerrigan, sr. DL Dave Geppert and jr. DB Jimmy Herron thirded 18. Jr. DL Keith Wagner earned the lone sack. My day began at SCH Academy to take pics of the first half of what turned out to be the Blue Devils' 28-21 loss to Penn Charter. Aaron "Ace" Carter covered that one for the DN, then wrote about McNulty off the night game. From his house. The Friday night deadline is outrageously early, so there's only one way to do things. Get details from other guys (Amauro and myself, this time around), interview a guy via cell phone (thanks to Prep coach Gabe Infante for allowing us to grab McNulty before the Hawks held their post-game meeting) and quickly punch out the story. Things went semi-smoothly, even though TV timeouts helped to make this game last until almost 10 o'clock. We say semi because Ace's computer crashed when he was in the middle of crafting his piece! Uh, oh. He did regroup in time to submit about a 10-inch story.

OCT. 11
TEDBITS
  Last night, I looked up some shutout-suffering facts for Aaron "Ace" Carter concerning Dobbins, which, it turned out, had not been blanked twice in one season since 2002 and not twice in a row since 1988. The semi-ancient mind then began spinning . . . Hmm, which schools have gone the longest without being blanked? Here's the answer:

OCT. 10 (Evening)
TEDBITS
  University City closed in June 2013, after playing Public League football for 40 seasons. Communications Tech did likewise after seven. Here's my UC-CT combo team for the 37 seasons I covered the Jaguars (just seven for the Phoenix) for Philadelphia newspapers (Bulletin 1976-77, Daily News 1978-2012).
  (Teams for Bok and Germantown can be found under Oct. 9 and 8, respectively.)

OCT. 10 (Afternoon)
TEDBITS
  Ever since North Catholic closed in June 2010, Judge-Ryan has become quite the heated rivalry . . . not that it wasn't a biggie even beforehand. The schools are scheduled to play Saturday, 1 p.m., at Northeast and the winner will claim the series lead! That's right. After 51 meetings, they're all tied at 24-24-3. Ryan joined the CL for the '68 season, which under normal circumstances would mean they've played 45 times. But in six seasons, they banged bodies twice with the second meeting always coming in the playoffs. Judge won six straight from 2006-11. Ryan went 13-1-1 from the second meeting in '84 through '94. Judge won eight in a row from 1975-82. Below are the top 10 performances in rushing, passing and receiving from 1982 through 2012.        

OCT. 10
TEDBITS
  Click here for a story/stats about an important football game played 50 seasons ago. Those teams will go at it again Saturday night.

OCT. 9
TEDBITS (Evening)
  Edward Bok Tech closed in June 2013, after playing Public League football for 65 seasons. Here's my All-Bok team for the 37 seasons I covered the Wildcats for Philadelphia newspapers (Bulletin 1976-77, Daily News 1978-2012).
  If you go to Bok, you gotta B-O-K!!
  (Tomorrow night, we'll post an All-U. City/Comm Tech combo team. The All-Germantown team can be found under Oct. 8.)

OCT. 9
TEDBITS
  Archrivals La Salle and St. Joseph's Prep are scheduled to bang heads again Friday, 7 p.m, at Plymouth-Whitemarsh. It'll be the teams' 24th meeting this century, counting the regular season, playoffs and Thanksgiving. The Prep leads, 15-8. It won the first 11 meetings (extending its winning streak over the Explorers to 13; two in '99; La Salle won on Thanksgiving in '98) before La Salle triumphed in the 2005 holiday meeting. The Explorers have won eight of the last 12. Immediately below are the top 10 performances in rushing, passing and receiving from 2000 through 2012. Below that are guys who would have made the top list, going back to the first season (1982) in which we began publishing stat leaders each Tuesday in the Daily News.
  ***Update: The teams first met in 1915, playing to a scoreless tie. All time, Prep leads the series, 42-35-5. The Hawks went 13-0-3 from 1920-1943 (no games in 1921-22, 1928-33), the Explorers went 14-3 from 1976-92 and the Hawks went 13-0 from 1999-through the regular season meeting in '05; La Salle won on TG).*** 

OCT. 8 (Evening)
TEDBITS
  Germantown High closed in June 2013, one year short of its 100th anniversary. Here's my All-Germantown team for the 37 seasons I covered the Bears for Philadelphia newspapers (Bulletin 1976-77, Daily News 1978-2012).
  Take it down, Germantown!! All . . . the . . . way . . . to . . . the . . . GROUND!! (I loved that chant. The players used it during warmups. They'd start it as they finished jumping jacks and complete it while flopping to the ground to start pushups -- ha ha.)
  (Over the next two nights, we'll post an All-Bok team and an All-U. City/Comm Tech combo team.)

OCT. 8
TEDBITS
  So, how much has offense changed in city football over the last 30 years? For the heck of it, I dug out final stats from the 1983 season and discovered that 12 rushers averaged at least 100 yards per game. The pack-leaders, by far, were Episcopal's Chris Flynn at 163.5 and Frankford's Blair Thomas at 150.6. Third place was claimed by McDevitt's Joe Vitelli at 119.1. The stats in today's Daily News, as compiled by Huck, show that 11 guys are averaging at least 100 yards (Ryan's Samir Bullock is tops at 178.8). Now for the passing. In '83, only eight guys averaged 100 and just one, West Catholic's Dave Long, topped 118 (at 153.2). So far this season, 17 guys are averaging 100 and 13 are racking up more yards per game than '83's No. 2 finisher, North Catholic's Al DiMascia (118.3). This year's pacesetter is La Salle's Kyle Shurmur at 229.7. The biggest change with regard to offensive approach has come in the good, ol' Pub. In '83, only Southern's John Erby (100.5) averaged 100 per game and only two more guys -- Dobbins' James Parker at 93.9; Northeast's Cary Boyd (83.8) -- managed a norm as high as 82. This year, EIGHT Pub guys are over 100 and two more can be found above 82. Of course, the weather has been incredibly nice this season, and the passing averages will undoubtedly drop when we experience the cold and/or rainy stretch. Still, I thought the numbers were pretty revealing. More Pub coaches have decided to open things up. Also, many games are now played on turf, and they tend to be higher scoring, right? (That might be my next project -- ha ha) . . . And it WAS my next project. So far, there have been 54 games involving Pub teams against each other, both the league and non-league versions. In 41 games played on turf, the teams have combined for 1,554 points (37.9). In 13 games on grass, they've combined for 381 (29.3). Meanwhile, this off-the-wall city record was set in Week Six: Fewest Games Played on Grass Fields, Three. Incredibly, all 12 games involving Pub teams were played on turf. (Two games canceled due to forfeits -- Roxborough-Mastbaum at Northeast; Imhotep/Del-Val at Northwest Super Site -- also would have been played on turf). Played on grass: Penn Charter at Valley Forge MA, Episcopal at Lawrenceville (NJ) and Judge vs. La Salle at Springfield Montco.     

OCT. 7
TEDBITS
  Jermaine Norris has made 13 interceptions in Mastery North's two Pub seasons; nine came in '12 . . . Gratz' 32-0 win over Dobbins marked its first shutout vs. the Mustangs since '02. The teams didn't meet in '05 or '07, but banged heads twice in several seasons . . . Saturday's Judge-Ryan game, set for 1 p.m. at Northeast, will feature six guys who helped the Rhawnhurst Raiders youth team storm to a second consecutive championship season in 2010. For Judge: Marquis Seamon, Joe Niklauski, Nick Rome and Arren Monteleone. For Ryan: Samir Bullock and Rushawn Grange. That squad also included SJ Prep's Vince Moffett and Germantown Academy's Kristian Kergides and Riley Kordek. The team won 24 consecutive games over two seasons, along with two championships . . . That Saturday track meet, in which Episcopal fell to Lawrenceville (NJ), 48-47, came semi-close to breaking the city-leagues record for highest scoring game involving a city team. Ninety-five points are not quite 103, however, so the 2002 Catholic Blue semi, in which West Catholic outlasted Neumann, 55-48, still owns the top spot. In that same season, amazingly, Germantown Academy topped Hun (NJ), 55-44 . . . In the 2012 season, Prep Charter's Curan Simmons made one "catch" and that was on the defensive side of the ball. This season, with star receiver John Graham unavailable due to injury, and with other guys having departed via transfer, the Huskies needed someone to step up and become a reliable pass-catcher, and, whoa, has the 5-9, 150-pound Simmons ever done that. Through just six games, he owns 35 snags for an outrageous 685 yards and six TDs. Four of those scores came in the first half of Thursday's 48-32 win over Future. If QB Dian Volo had not suffered an injury early in the third quarter, it's likely Simmons would have added a fifth receiving TD to break the city's one-game record. The city record for receiving yards in a season is 1,208 by SJ Prep's John Laumakis in 1989. His QB, Frank Costa, went on to play at the University of Miami. The Pub mark is 861 by West Philly's Eric "T.O." Leslie in 2010 . .  . As researched by Huck, N-G's 454 yards vs. Carroll were its most in the website era (starting with 2000 season). Then-Neumann racked up 432 vs. West Catholic in '02 (that playoff game mentioned above), then N-G followed with 432 again vs. C-E in '06 and 437 vs. Southern in '05.

OCT. 6
TEDBITS
  So, I'm on the way home last night and Aaron "Ace" Carter gives me a call on the cell. He sounds frustrated and/or bewildered. He said he filed his Daily News story on the SJ Prep-Wood game, but was getting no responses on followup calls to the sports department to make sure the editors had no questions. Are you a fan of the DN? Do you know what's coming here? No one was answering the phone because no one was there! The DN does not publish on Sundays, so the office is a ghost town on Saturday night. I mentioned that to Aaron and he let out a hearty laugh. "Oh, man. I did know that, and they reminded me when I took the job, but I completely forgot!" Deadlines for night games can be semi-tough, so Aaron said he'd rework the story after touching base today with his interview subject and submit it again Sunday night. This time? The phone will be answered! (smile) . . . Under coach Drew Gordon, who took over for the 2006 season, La Salle is not exactly unaccustomed to pulling out tight victories. Thanks to yesterday's 17-16 win over Judge, Gordon is 9-2 in games decided by a maximum of three points. The losses: 14-12 to Ryan in '07 and 22-21 to Bergen Catholic (NJ) in '10. Among the wins: three over West Catholic (27-26 in '08, 16-14 in '09 and 28-26 in '12) and two over SJ Prep (31-28 in '08 and 28-27 in '12; both in playoff games) . . . Shawn Springs is the picture of receiving consistency. He has made two catches in each of Carroll's last five games . . . Franklin's Kevin Caldwell has thrown TD passes in six consecutive games. That's a school record, breaking five by Tajadin McGough in '06 . . .  When it comes to turning carries into TDs, Ryan's Bob McDevitt has no rival! But I guess we should mention that his workload for 2013 has included just two carries -- a 1-yard score against Wissahickon and a 2-yarder vs. Roman . . . Eighteen guys have already scored for Imhotep! Denniston "DJ" Moore leads Nasir Bonner, 56-52, for team honors thanks in part to 10 kicks . . . Proof positive that education ruins football: wideout DeVaughn Shields, due to injuries, would have made his first QB start for Boys' Latin yesterday, but he was late because he'd been taking the SAT. The start time was pushed back from 1 to 1:45, but 2:30 would have been a better idea. Shields did rush for two scores in the Warriors' 46-12 loss to Overbrook . . . One of Mastery North's QBs, Miguel Azcona, compiled interesting passing stats vs. Bartram. 2-for-2, minus-1 yard, 1 TD. His completions went for minus-4 to Taqee Ross and for 3 and a TD to Jermaine Norris . . . Episcopal's 15-game winning streak, snapped yesterday in a 48-47 loss to Lawrenceville (NJ), was the Inter-Ac's best since Malvern's 19-gamer from 1994 to '96 (last eight, all 10, first one). It ended with a 35-14 setback to West Chester Henderson . . . Neumann-Goretti's 48-point outburst vs. Carroll was the school's second-best since '03 (64-0 over Dougherty). In '05, the Saints dropped a 53-point bomb on Southern.               

OCT. 5
NON-LEAGUE
SJ Prep 31, Wood 21
  Quite the amAAAAzing day-night for the Catholic League's largest schools. La Salle needed late heroics to edge Judge, 17-16, Roman managed to muffle Ryan, 28-16; and, in this one, the Prep was able to breathe easy even before the clock reached 0:00. OK, so maybe the results didn't floor you as if they mirrored the result of a sucker punch, but it's highly doubtful anyone, anywhere, would have predicted this combination of results. The first kudos must go to the Hawks' defense, which held almost-always-explosive Wood to zero points over the final 34-plus minutes. How often has THAT happened since the Vikings became a CL force in '03 under Art Barrett, who has been followed by Joe Powel and Steve Devlin? Then, of course, there was the offense, which over that same time frame -- sometimes quickly, other times methodically -- seized the opportunities provided by their buddies. With the score tied, sr. RB Jarrett McClenton zoomed 24 yards to the left corner on the first play of the second quarter to give Wood a 14-7 lead. The defense achieved a three-and-out and a 58-yard punt by sr. Pat Walsh reached the end zone, placing the ball at the 20. It didn't stay there long. Didn't stay close, either. McClenton immediately dashed for an 80-yard score, making a pair of eye-popping moves. Hmmn, where was this one headed? Surprisingly, in the opposite direction. THE biggest moment occurred four minutes before intermission as McClenton lost the handle on a rush. Sr. S Dillon DeIuliis recovered and jr. RB Olamide Zaccheaus motored 36 yards for a score, breaking free from what should/could have been a tackle at the 15. In the second half, Wood generated only 59 yards and three first downs. The Prep's three scores came off a long drive (80 yards, 11 plays), a shortie (36 yards, three plays) and another longie (40 yards in 11 plays to the 16, then a 33-yard field goal). The point-makers were Zaccheaus on a 6-yard pass from sr. QB Chris Martin (he made a dropping-down catch immediately inside the right corner of the end zone), Zaccheaus again on a 4-yard, right-side burst behind jr. G Mark Ehrlich and sr. T Steve Robinson, and Walsh's right instep. The middle TD followed an interception by sr. LB Ryan McNulty while another pick by DeIuliis closed things out, causing major celebration among the Hawks' players and coaches. At the beginning, it was very clear how the Prep would approach things on defense. Pack the box and force the Vikings to throw. Especially early, the Hawks were stationing six, even seven, guys right on the line, and hardly anyone was even semi-deep in the defensive backfield. Wood, in turn, figured its grunts were good enough to make space; soph QB Tom Garlick threw just three passes through the first half and his first completion, on attempt No. 8, did not come until 4:38 remained in the game. A guy who slivers through the first wall can reap major rewards, and that was what happened on McClenton's two scores. Even on the game's first scoring drive, capped by Garlick on a 9-yard keeper (he did not appear to break the plane, though the overall play was impressive), sr. RB Josh Messina had posted a 19-yard gain on a reverse. But over time, for assorted reasons, the Prep's defense eased into muzzle-'em mode. The defense featured:
Es Armen Ware (jr.) and David DellaPorta (sr.)
Ts Joe DuMond (so.) and Jake Strain (jr.)
OLBs Nick Vandevere (so.) and Shawn Harris (so.)
MLB Ryan McNulty (sr.)
CBs John Reid (jr.) and Rob DiSanto (sr.)
Ss Dillon DeIuliis (jr.) and Vince Moffett (sr.)
On the offensive side, the big-'uns aside from Ehrlich and Robinson were soph C Ed Mooney, jr. LG Shane Davis, jr. LT Jon Daniel Runyan (his dad, Jon, the ex-Eagle, was on the sideline dispensing occasional advice/encouragement) and sr. TE Rob Finegan. The ever-gritty Martin, who at times might as well have been the fullback, accounted for 220 yards of rushing/passing along with one TD apiece to Reid and Zaccheaus. "Z" totaled 98 yards of rushing/receiving along with three TDs. Reid made four snags for 78 yards. For Wood, almost all of the offense was provided on the ground by McClenton (17-174) and Messina (9-93). This game was played at Tennent before a large, energized crowd. Aaron Carter was on the scene and, as it turns out, we should be calling him "Ace". I'd noticed that Aaron's twitter handle is @AceCarterDN. He said "Ace" became his nickname during his basketball career at Bloomsburg (as a takeoff of his initials, AC) and that pretty much everyone calls him that now. I'll try my best to maintain the tradition! (smile).

OCT. 5
NON-LEAGUE
O'Hara 46, Haverford School 7
  This one could have been worse. In the fourth quarter, with the clock running in mercy-rule fashion, O'Hara coach Danny Algeo ordered his backup offensive players to use every last second of the play clock before snapping the ball. The Lions did get three first downs on that series, but moved just 34 total yards as the Lions' number remained at 46. A week after getting sliced and diced by Wood, 41-0, O'Hara needed to slap together a solid performance, and that definitely happened against the outmanned Fords. Dominance came quickly. The Lions scored just four plays into the proceedings as sr. RB Lamont Veal motored 13 yards to the left corner. There's been big gains on the first two plays thanks to Veal (18-yard burst) and sr. WR Thaddius Smith (19-yard pass from sr. QB Dashawn "Day-Day" Darden). O'Hara was afforded five more possessions prior to intermission and four resulted in scores. Smith caught passes of 29 and 69 yards from Darden for the bread while sr. RB J.T. Blyden (13 yards) and Darden (1 yard) provided the meat. Third quarter? Two-for-two on scores. Smith, a Boston College commit, caught yet another TD pass (38 yards) and Blyden powered 10 yards with 16.7 seconds left. Haverford's only fun -- scoring version, anyway -- came on the first play of the third quarter as jr. QB Derek Mountain, a backup and the son of La Salle assistant Steve Mountain, went way up top to jr. WR Chris Sabia for a 75-yard TD. Sabia made a jump-ball catch not far from midfield and zipped the rest of the way. Darden went 8-for-14 for 188 yards and the three scores to Smith (5-170). Blyden turned 16 carries into 112 yards and two scores. Blyden wears No. 1 and at one point his teammates were babbling, "The No. 1 train is leaving the station! All aboard!" Later, Blyden lost his helmet on a run and Fr. Bill Chiriaco, the PA announcer, noted, "Blyden progresses to the 47. His helmet regresses back to the 44." Father Bill uncorked some other gems during the game. After the band finished its halftime performance, he noted, "As they say at Outback Steakhouse . . . well done!" Other times, he'd mention a player's name and then add something such as, "Second seat. First aisle." Maybe where guys sit in his homeroom, or class? On an early punt, sr. K-P Steve Weyler (Villanova) was crunched and suffered a sprained left ankle. He yielded briefly to jr. Jack Horan, but later sent kickoffs to touchback territory despite a Grade A hobble. O'Hara's best play was likely a 30-yard interception return by sr. LB Willie Reyes, who made a series of terrific moves. Alas, the score was erased by a penalty. Soph DB Donovan Pierce also made a wonderful pick, thanks to a well-timed leap. HS had to go without sr. RB Phil Poquie and soph Kevin Carter, who'd recently been looking good at QB. Especially for early October, it was extremely hot and unwindy. They don't call me Sweaty Teddy for nothing! (ugh).