High Flyin' Viking Football 2008 Return to TedSilary.com Home Page   Tom Zulewski is a senior at Archbishop Wood. He plays baseball, plans to study journalism in college and envisions being a sports writer. He's a rabid hockey fanatic, especially the Flyers, and has already established himself as one of our all-time stalwarts. Now, he's also the sports editor of Wood's school paper.   Tom may be reached at flyersfan91@verizon.net.

DEC. 12
CLASS AAA FINAL
Thomas Jefferson 34, Wood 7
  Men, don’t put your head down. You guys should be so proud of what you have accomplished this year. To make it all the way to the state championship game, without even being picked to win the division, is remarkable. People will be remembering this game for the rest of their lives. Someday you might look back, maybe 10, 20, or even 40 years from now, and say, “Damn, we were one hell of a football team.” Guys, it’s been a privilege to cover you all year. I’m so grateful to Coach Devlin and his coaching staff for giving me the opportunity to travel with you guys. It was something that I will never forget. To the seniors on the squad, I love you guys like brothers. OK, let’s get to the game.
  I’ve never felt so much energy in a stadium for a high school game then I did last night. The Wood crowd was awesome. Unfortunately for the Vikings the game didn’t start out how they would have liked. The opening kickoff was muffed, and the Jaguars recovered. Two plays, later TJ scored on a 3-yard Tyler Wehner run up the middle. Everyone was in a bit of shock, but it had happened to us before and we knew we could bounce back. After TJ’s opening score the Vikings looked good, and seemed to be able to find their rhythm. That momentum stopped when Sean “Smack” McCartney ( 9-23 100 yards, 16 rushes for 74 yards) was picked off by Steve Lict. Four quick plays after that and 69 yards later, TJ was on the board again. This time it was Wehner to Dan Virgin for a 13 yard touchdown. It would be 14-0 after 1.
  The Jaguar offensive onslaught was in full effect in the second quarter. Things looked bright for the Vikings after a McCartney to a wide-open Anthony Narisi, 26-yard touchdown strike tightened up the score. But that would soon be evaporated as TJ concluded a nine-play, 80-yard drive with a Wehner to 6’5 Brock DeCicco 33-yard touchdown pass. This kid was huge. The only thing the Jags had to do was just lob the ball up to DeCicco every time. The kid was really good player. DeCicco would catch another TD, this a time an 18 yard reception to extend the Jaguars lead to 28-7. Pretty much everyone was in a state of shock.
  Overall Wood held their own against TJ in the second half. They only gave up the one touchdown late. I really think that the muffed opening kickoff set the tone of the game. If that doesn’t occur, who knows what might have happened. No matter what anyone says Thomas Jefferson was a great football team. Quite honestly they were a fun team to watch. But I’m proud of our boys for a great season. Sean Cunningham, who are a beast. I’m never seen a tougher kid than you. Mike Maxwell, you played with so much heart and determination the whole year. You showed a ton of courage playing on that bad foot. Smack, sometimes I don’t know how you can walk. I don’t know how you do it, but you're one hell of a football player. Scott Kajmo, way to come back after taking a year off from football and being a dominant force. Nick Devine, you’re a quiet guy, but your tough as nails. Adam Citko, I know you will succeed at the next level. You’re a dominant force. Vince “Five Dollar” Furlong, way to step up and become a really good receiver this year. Andy Hutchinson, coach said it best in the locker room last night, “Without you player, we wouldn’t be here.” That’s so true Hutch. Gerry Campi, you may only weigh in at 184 right now, but you played your heart out, and had a great year up front. Scotty Adkins and Jerry Rahill. This is your team now. Bring us back to Hershey next year. Great season guys! Anthony Narisi, you're one of the best athletes I’ve ever seen. You’ve always been so nice to me, man. Great year! Shane Miller, great year. I think people underestimate how valuable you are to the team. Ryan Hannings, you are the funniest guy I know. James McFadden, who stuck it out kid. Great year kicking! Finally this kid has been asking for some love all year long. So Chuck “Duckets or not” McIntyre, here’s your love man. Thanks for the ride home as well. Shout out to Gina and Karlee as well. Funny times! Anyway it’s been a wonderful year. No matter what anyone says, you guys are still number one. Thanks for the memories, guys!

DEC. 10
CLASS AAA FINAL
Wood vs. Thomas Jefferson Preview
  Coach Devlin pretty much summed it up in his address to the team after their 13-7 defeat of Selinsgrove in the eastern final last week. “A lot of kids dream of playing in Hershey. We get to do it twice in one season.” The improbable run continues for Wood. Yeah, it was awesome to beat the Seals to advance to the state final, but there is one more road stop in the way to achieve glory. Boy, it is a huge roadblock literally, and figuratively. The Thomas Jefferson Jaguars are up next for Wood. TJ comes into the game with a 14-1 overall record and No. 1 ranking in the state in Class AAA. Wood is ranked No. 2. Oh, and did I mention that they have won the 2 out of the last 4 PIAA state titles? This team is for real. In the week leading up to the Selinsgrove match up I remember reading that Selinsgrove head coach Dave Hess compared Wood to TJ. Well, from what players and other people have been telling me, and from highlights I have watched, these two teams are carbon copies of each other. I just want to give a little background on TJ’s players. They are led by their 196-pound bruiser of a running back, Brian Baldridge. Baldridge has accumulated well over 2,000 yards on the ground rushing. He’s seems like a workhorse of this team. Kind of sounds familiar, right? He reminds me of Sean Cunningham. Like I’ve said before Wood has seen its share of great backs this year, and they have held their own every time. I think a reason for Baldridge’s success is his mammoth offensive line. Now, I thought Wood had some big boys up front, but these kids are just huge. They are led by 6’6, 274-pound senior Pat Eger. I’ve heard that, yeah, they're big on both sides of the ball, but if you just continue to pound on them, they are beatable. Well, so far no one has had success doing that. The thing that I’m really intrigued about seeing is this so-called vaunted TJ pass attack. They are led by senior QB Tyler Wehner. In last week’s win against West York, Wehner threw for 274 yards on 10-14 passing with 5 touchdowns. I know if I was Coach Cherpak I would be throwing the ball all day. Their receiving corps is led by junior Jim Giansante. Giansante pulled in 6 catches for 197 yards and three touchdowns last week. From, what I have been reading the kid has ridiculous speed, and good hands. Another interesting component TJ can throw at you is their 6’5 tight end Brock DeCicco. I don’t know if he has good hands or not, but man I would just throw the ball up to him all day with his size. Shane Miller and Scotty “Skeet on em” Adkins will have their hands full for sure. I’m really looking forward to this match up against the Wood defense. They were able to stop Cory Briggs and Ryan Keiser last week, why not Tyler Wehner and Jim Giansante next? I’ll be straight up honest with you. I know nothing about TJ’s defense, but I’m sure they are stellar. Wood definitely didn’t play their A game last week against the Seals, and they still won. They will have to bring their A+ to beat TJ this week. If they continue to do their thing of running ball effectively, and completing timely passes, then I think they will be fine. The battle will be in the trenches on both sides of the ball. That should be fun to watch. I’m hearing many different predictions and from what I’m hearing everybody and their mother has TJ winning. That’s perfectly fine by me. We’ve gone unnoticed all year, and we’ve continued to win. Plus, who cares what people are saying. The bottom line is the game is up to the players and coaches. This game might just come down to special teams, and field position. I know it sounds like such a cliché, but whoever wins the field position battle might just go on and win the game. As of Tuesday afternoon we had about 500 students or so signed up for the bus. That is awesome everyone. Keep it up! Plus, I found out that some fans, players, and coaches from Selinsgrove are going to make the ride down to Hershey to cheer on the Vikings. Our PCL counterparts, West Catholic, will also be in attendance. Good Luck West! Bring home a state title! History can be made Friday night in Hershey with one more win. To all the seniors on the squad: Let’s go out with a bang. No matter what happens this will be you last game in your high school career. All those days watching film, lifting in the weight room, and two-a-days in the summer. This is what that was all for. A chance to call yourselves state champions.  How do you want to be remembered?

DEC. 5
CLASS AAA STATE SEMIFINAL
Wood 13, Selinsgrove 7
  What just happened? Those were the words that came of Sean “Smack” McCartney (10-14, 135 yards, 1 rushing and throwing TD, 75 yards rushing)  as he gave me hug at the conclusion of the game. I still can’t believe we did it. Wood and West Catholic will be advancing to the State Championship games in their respective classes. It’s an awesome feeling. I’ll tell you that right now. We were all pretty pumped this morning in school. There was just a certain buzz. There was even more of a buzz on the bus ride out to Hershey. Which was a very interesting bus ride to say the least. Riding with the guys was a very neat experience for me. I saw how players get ready before a game. For most of the bus ride, the guys just took a nap, or listened to some music. We arrived at Hershey High School I would say around a little after 3:00 for a pre-game meal. The food was awesome. It was good time for the guys to relax, get some food in their stomachs, and just have a good time. It was kind of funny seeing the students at Hershey High seeing us walk in. They were probably like, "Who are these guys?" Someone said, “Citko is probably the biggest kid these students have ever seen.” I thought that was funny. So after our hour and half stop at the high school we boarded the buses and departed to the stadium. That’s where things got really intense. The players became more and more focused on the game. Some guys were just rocking out to there IPODs, or you had Anthony Narisi (3 catches 36 yards)  giving us a little rap session. As we drove up to the stadium, it was sort of fictional. Are we really here? We're at Hershey! This stadium is huge. It was just an awesome atmosphere. Ever so slightly the clock keeps ticking away to game time. In the locker room everybody is going through their own personal pre-game rituals. That was interesting to watch. As both teams were warming up on the field, the gates were being opened to the fans, and pretty much the whole town of Selinsgrove was pouring into the stadium. I’ve never seen that many people for one team in a high school football game. At least 1,500 people or so, all dressed in red. With the two lonely guys dressed in their bright orange hunting jackets. The atmosphere was just unreal in the stadium tonight. As for Wood’s fans, we had a decent crowd. I’m still very disappointed about the overall support, though. Our spirit is  absolutely pathetic, not to mention the school is totally clueless when it comes to events like this. No pep rally. No special sendoff. Nothing. Just a stupid "good luck" over the PA system. Terrible! What a joke! It better change next week! . . . Let’s get to the contest!
  Wood won the opening toss, and drove right down the field on the Seals. The highlight of the drive was Vince “Five Dollar” Furlong’s (4 catches, 67 yards) 27-yard catch on a fade, which set the Vikings inside the ten. A few plays later McCartney took the QB draw 6 yards for the score. Seals fans seemed a bit surprised. The PAT was blocked by Ryan Keiser. On the first possession for Selinsgrove running back Kyle Reinard (15 attempts, 75 yards, 1 TD) ran through a hole a bus could get through for 46 yards and the score. Their fans were going nuts. We were kind of shocked a bit. But no big deal, we’ve been there before. It was 7-6 Seals after 1 quarter. The Seals' 3-5 defense was really interesting to watch. It involved a lot of pre-snap movement, and jumping up and down. They did a great job of limiting Sean Cunningham to 76 yards on the night. There a really good defense with great athletes. The scary thing is that they are very young team. A McCartney to Narisi 8 yard touchdown pass would give the Vikings a 13-7 lead. It would be that way going into half. I felt confident going into half, but I knew that the Seals were going to get their passing game going. The whole second half was all about the defense. Time after time both defenses came up huge. Wood was driving midway through the fourth, looking to put the icing on the cake. The Seals came up with some big stops, and forced Wood into a field goal situation. Ryan Keiser once again came up with a huge block. At this point Selinsgrove started to get its groove through the air, but the Vikings defense came up with a huge sack by Narisi at the 4:30 mark of the fourth. Wood got the ball back, and on 3rd and 7 from around the 35, Smack scampered to pick up the first down. Wood would then go to run the clock out by kneeling the ball, since the Seals were out of timeouts. Let the celebration begin. The defense did their part tonight, limiting a 1,200-yard, 19-TD receiver (Ryan Keiser) to three catches, and a 2,000-yard passer with 30 TDs (Cory Briggs) to fewer than 100 yards passing. In total they limited the Seals to 92 yards. Not too shabby, eh!? After all the celebration, interviews, and tears stopped flowing, we all boarded the buses for a sweet two-hour ride back to Warminster, knowing that will be going back to Hershey again next Friday to face the defending Class AAA Champs, Thomas Jefferson. Oh, how sweet it is! The bus ride home had to be one of the funniest experiences of my life. Whether it was Ryan Hannings cracking jokes, Mike Maxwell sticking his foot out the window, or my discussion with Matt Kane, Smack, and Narisi about UFOs and Bigfoot, I was definitely entertained. What a great time! I have to thank Coach Devlin and his staff for bringing me along, hopefully they will allow me to do the same next week. What a night! Hershey we’ll see you next week! Let’s do it again!

DEC. 3
CLASS AAA STATE SEMI PREVIEW
Wood vs. Selinsgrove
  Pinch me!! Is this really happening? Am I in a dream right now? We are really in the state eastern final. Yes, we really are! Wood got to this position by knocking off District 1 Champion Bayard Rustin, 37-7, last Friday night at P-W. This team keeps on amazing me. They let nothing bother or frustrate them. It’s been like that all year. If you recall, the local pundits didn’t even predict Wood would win the division this year. They said Lansdale Catholic would. Umm, you think they might have wanted to change that prediction? Nevertheless, I kind of like that fact that they are flying under the radar.  I can only imagine what some of these teams in the western part of the state are saying, or even the teams in the anthracite coal region of the state. Who’s this Archbishop Wood and where did they come from?  The Pennsylvania High School football world just doesn’t revolve around western and central PA. We know how to play ball in Southeastern Pennsylvania as well. This game should be a very intriguing game to watch, especially the way Wood handles the Seals' offense. The Seals are a talented team for sure, especially on offense. Selinsgrove primarily passes the ball. They have an excellent quarterback who is pretty big and can rifle the ball. QB Cory Briggs has 2,179 yards passing with 30 TDs. Pretty good numbers if you ask me. His main target is Ryan Keiser. On the year Keiser has 68 catches fro 1,242 yards and 19 TDs. Wood hasn’t faced a prolific passer wide receiver duo like Briggs and Keiser all year. The Vikings DBs will be tested for sure. So far all year Scotty “Skeet on em” Adkins, and Shane Miller have done a marvelous job of taking away the opposing team's best receiver. The reason for their success is the play of defensive line up front. Scott Kajmo has been a absolute beast at tackle since returning to football. Scott, along with tackle Matt O’Connell and ends Nick “AK” Devine and Anthony “Ying Yang” Narisi, and Adam Citko, have been able to generate tons of pressure on the quarterback. Not to mention they have been pretty stout against the run. At times they will bend, but almost never break. The linebacker corps has been  impressive this year as well mostly in stopping the run. Mike Maxwell, Jerry “Whatever” Rahill, and Andy Hutchinson have been warriors all year. Andy took over Nick Devine’s linebacker position after Nick switched to DE earlier in the year.   Selinsgrove also poses a pretty good running attack, but their forte is the passing game. On the offensive side of the ball everyone knows Wood loves to run the ball. Sean Cunningham has been a beast all year. 1,673 yards with 27 TDs. Not too shabby, eh!? If they take away the running game, Wood can beat you through the air as well. Sean “Smack” McCartney doesn’t get the credit he deserves with his passing ability. Sean throws a very good ball downfield. He’s a smart quarterback, and field general. Yes, it is nice being surrounded by tremendous players but Sean can create his own plays with his legs. He’s a very dangerous weapon. Sean wouldn’t have the numbers he has if it wasn’t for his O-Line. They don’t let anyone lay a hand on Sean. I can’t recall the last time Sean was sacked. Led by 6’5 300 pound tackle Adam Citko, the offensive line has been a strong point for the Vikings. They’re great in pass block, and provide large holes for Cunningham to run through. Heck, even when starter Gerry Campi was out with the flu last week, junior Dave Messina stepped and played the game of his life. Selinsgrove plays a 3-5 defense, something I don’t think Wood has seen all year. From what I could gather from the highlights on their website, they're very shifty and show a lot of motion. They love to blitz as well. That’s pretty much all I know. It should be an intriguing match up. Both teams have solid kickers as well. That might just be the deciding factor in the game. I know Coach Devlin and his staff will get these boys prepared to go into battle Friday night in Chocolate town against the Seals. This game is for all those former players and coaches who didn’t have a chance to play on this stage. This game is for all the students and faculty at Wood. This game is for the Wood community. Most importantly this game is for you guys in particular the seniors. Guys, go out there and play your heart out. Leave it all out on the field. Do it for your family, friends, community, and Wood. Think about it seniors. This maybe the last high school football game you will ever play in your career, I hope it’s not but it just might be. That fact alone might just will you to do your best on the field.
  OK, now it’s time for me to rant a bit. Listen up Wood students. I’m sick and tired of everyone having no Viking spirit. Especially all the underclassmen. There is no excuse for the whole student body to come out to the game. ( Yes, I know there are SAT’s Saturday morning.) I heard chatter around the school saying. Oh, it’s too far, I don’t want to drive. Well, Wood is providing a fan busses to the game. So how about signing up for that. This is history everyone. No Wood or PCL team has ever made it this far, let alone a chance to play for a state title. ( I know West is still alive as well, best of luck to them as well) These guys need all the support they can. Selinsgrove is taking this seriously. Practically the whole town is shutting down for this game. This is what these people live for. So let’s go out can support this team. Let’s show these people what we are all about. Go Vikings!
  Note: For all you Viking basketball fans out there, I am aware that the season starts on Friday night. I will hopefully provide a basketball preview sometime in the next week or so, but right now my focus is on football. I will resume covering basketball once football season is over. Thanks!

NOV. 28
CLASS AAA STATE QUARTERFINAL
Wood 37, Bayard Rustin 7
  Boy it was a bitter cold night at Colonial Stadium at Plymouth-Whitemarsh High. The weather sure didn’t affect the Vikings, though. Honestly, I’m running out of words to describe this team right now. Coming into tonight a lot of so called “experts” predicted that Rustin would win. I heard the arguments that were presented. Oh, Rustin played a tougher schedule and were more battle tested. I’ll give them that argument. Wood pretty much rolled through the Catholic AAA division this year. Hey, we did lose to West Catholic. Last time I checked they're in the Eastern final of the state playoffs.  The bye week may have hurt Wood. Are you kidding me? When was the last time a bye week was a bad thing. I think it was a non-factor actually. It gave the boys a much needed couple days off, but they were back at it later in the week. How about this one for you? Wood hasn’t faced a running back like Rondell White of the Golden Knights. Umm, Ibraheim Campbell from Chestnut Hill is pretty darn good. How about the boys from West? Or the kid from Caravel Academy? ( By the way, we handed Caravel its only loss all year). I think we faced our share of quality backs. Anyway let’s get to the game!
  Rustin won the opening toss but decided to defer. Coming into the game Wood was hampered by a few injuries. Senior wide receiver Mike Maxwell was on crutches due to a foot injury he sustained earlier in the week. That’s a tremendous loss. Mike is awesome receiver and a force on defense. The other receivers had to step up their game tonight and that’s exactly what they did. Up front on the O-Line Gerry Campi wasn’t playing due to the flu. Wood marched the ball right down the field on the Rustin defense. The big play of the drive was Sean “Smack” McCartney’s ( 9-12, 132 yards, 1TD, 1INT) 36-yard pass down the sideline to senior Sean Lindenmuth. Lindy (2 catches, 47 yards) stepped up his game tonight, with the absence of Maxwell. I’m happy for the kid. The drive was capped off by a 2-yard TD run by who else: Sean Cunningham. I’ll get to this kid in a bit. The PAT was no good so the score was 6-0 Wood. On Wood’s second possession they continued their bread and butter of running the ball. They mostly limited Cunningham to short yardage. Smack was able to find open receivers however. The O-line played tremendous, as he had all day to throw the ball. Wood was knocking on the end zone’s door again, just as the 1st quarter was ending. 6-0 Wood after 1. Second play of the quarter Cunningham punches it in from 5 yards out. PAT good this time. Wood up, 13-0. Rustin finally got some rhythm running the ball late through the 2nd quarter. Rondell White (30 attempts, 175 yards and 1 TD) was finally starting to get on track. He’s a tremendous athlete. I guess you have to be when you’re a workhorse running back, a pretty solid DB, and the team’s punter. At times tonight, he was gaining yards of 13, 14, 12 on every single rush. He showed up to play, that’s for sure. I think he just got so tired towards the end of the game. Just ran out of gas. The turning point of the game in my opinion was at the 5:32 mark of the 2nd quarter. Here’s the situation: 4th and 4 on the 5 yard line for Rustin. White has been stopped on three consecutive runs. Now, remember it’s only 13-0 at this point. The Golden Knights were getting into sync, and were about to score. Instead of going for the field goal, they called on White again. What happens? The d-line busts through the line and pushes White back for a loss of yardage and downs. The reason why this was the turning point because just a few plays later Sean Cunningham ripped off a 69-yard touchdown run to give Wood 20-0 lead. Just like that the game changed. I was going nuts I couldn’t believe it. That’s all it takes. Just one play like that to bust the game wide open. James McFadden would tack on a 25-yard field goal right to make the score 23-0 Vikings at halftime. I honestly didn’t expect that. I was contemplating getting some hot chocolate at half, but the line was too long. So I decided to pay a visit to my adoring fans in the stands. What can I say, they all want some love in the reports. By the way, I have no idea why three kids from Great Valley were sitting in the Wood section talking crap on Wood. There were talking about how they knocked us out in the lacrosse state playoffs or something like that. Who cares, buddy? It’s football season. You guys lost last week. We're still playing. Take that. Then they broke out a "Let’s Go Wood!" chant. It was just so random.
  The players come out from half and Mike Frendak comes up to me and was like “Some reporter guy was looking for you.” I was like “Who?” He said, “I don’t know. He just asked who the stat man from Wood was, and he wants to catch up with you at the end of the game. He was wearing a blue jacket with a hat, glasses and binoculars.” I was thinking to myself, "Well, it can’t be Ted, I think he’s at the West game.” So I just thought, well if he really wanted to see me he can find me. Turns out that at the end of the game as the players were gathering around on the field. I see this man with a blue jacket, hat, glasses, and binoculars. It was the one and only legendary Puck. I should have known it was him. He always wears the binoculars around his neck. Gotta love him!
  Rustin started out the second half like a team on a mission. They ran the ball right down the throats of Wood, and Rondell White capped off the drive with a 10-yard TD run. I think that woke up the Wood defense a bit because after that Rustin couldn’t move the ball at all. Cunningham would run for another touchdown bringing his total to four on the night. Oh, and if that wasn’t enough for you, he also hauled in a 18-yard reception for his fifth score of the game late in the fourth. In total Sean ran the ball 23 times on the night for 165 yards 4 rushing TD’s and 1 TD receiving. Absolutely unreal. He does it all! I thought this game was going to be a lot closer but I was dead wrong. The Vikings just dominated from start to finish. I think this was the one night that the Golden Knights lack of passing game got to them. They only attempted to throw the ball 4 times all night. Wood knew what was coming pretty much every play. Sometimes it worked, but most of the time it didn’t. Jerry “Whatever” Rahill (2 catches, 40 yards) stepped up his game as well. The defense played awesome again. Yes, White got his yards, but it was the two key stops on 4th down that really stood out. I got to give props to Rustin. This was only there third year of playing football. To make it this far is incredible. They have a young team, and know they will be back here next year.   The magical ride continues next week in the Eastern state final against the Selinsgrove Seals, who defeated Berwick 14-6. Think about this, Wood fans. We are one of four teams left still playing in Class AAA in the state. Just sit back and think about that. Wood, Selinsgrove, West York, and the defending Class 3A state champs, Thomas Jefferson. That’s all that that's left. Pretty darn impressive if you ask me. The fans were awesome tonight. I’m proud of the students, and Wood alumni who showed up tonight. Great work everyone!! I will see you all next week.
Crazy Karl Update!
  Not much to report. Karl was his usual self on the field. He didn’t say anything to me tonight. I think he’s upset with the previous posts. That’s OK, though, I hope Karl knows I’m just playing around. Crazy Kelly was also in attendance. I think she’s hissed off at me as well. It’s all right, though.

NOV. 22
WOOD-BAYARD RUSTIN PREVIEW
  I don’t think I’ve ever been so cold in my life while watching the PIAA District One Class AAA title game featuring the Bayard Rustin Golden Knights and the Upper Moreland Golden Bears. As you can probably guess, I was there to do a little scouting for myself, as Wood will play the winner of this game. I wanted Upper Moreland to win in worst way, because that would have been an awesome game to watch. But the UM coaching staff still has me scratching my head after they called a quick hit to fullback Christian Kehoe while they were on the 5 yard line, with two-tenths of a second to go. Hey, but at least Coach Beach took a shot. Anyway as for the Golden Knights, they a little similar to Dobbins with a much better defense. They're similar to the Mustangs in that they rarely throw the ball. They threw the ball once the whole game, for a mere –2 yards. They’re relentless with running. Their running back, Rondell White, is a very good runner. He has good size and a quick first step. He’s definitely going to give the Vikings a handful. As for their defense, they're very strong up front, plus quick and very mobile. They held UM star running back Chris Smallwood in check pretty much all game, until late in the second half. If Wood just pounds the ball nonstop, they will be able to find holes. Its going to be a war in the trenches, though. The one area where they looked a little suspect was in pass defense. UM connected on some pretty big plays down the middle of the field. That’s something to look out for in next week’s game. Overall, it’s going to be a great game. I just have that feeling. What’s at stake? A berth in the PIAA Class AAA Eastern Final, versus either Berwick (11-2) or Selinsgrove (12-1). Berwick knocked off previously undefeated 12-0 Wilson in the D2-11 AAA final, 13-6, on Friday night. Somewhat of a major upset. On a lighter side. I was sitting with the Wood coaching staff on Friday night along some of the players. Lo’ and behold, who is also there? The one and only legendary Puck. When I get there Puck is having this argument with the coaches about whether or not Bishop McDevitt ( Harrisburg) is in Class AAAA or AAA. Puck insists that they are in AAA. The coaches, myself, and Adam Citko were like "They're in AAAA." I still don’t think he believes us. Gotta love Puck!!!
  Due to an overwhelming popular demand from last week, I’ve decided to bring you another installment of the Chronicles of Crazy Karl. Now I think it was on Monday one day after school. I was walking past our brand spanking new fitness center, and I heard a grunting sound coming from the weight room. Now, I was saying to myself, “What could that possibly be?" I didn’t think much of it so I continued to walk by. But I heard it again, and it was even louder. Honestly, it sounded like a cow who was trapped in some barb wire, and couldn’t escape. How do I know that sound? That’s a story for a different day. Now, I knew that the football team was given a well deserved few days off from practice, basketball workouts had been cancelled, and Father Endres had retreated to the rectory. So I had no clue who was in there. Being the investigative journalist that I am, I decided to walk in and take a look. So as I walked into the weight room, my jaw just dropped. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. It was none other than Crazy Karl pumping some iron. I mean he had two 45’s on each side, rep after rep after rep, up down, up down. At least 325 pounds he was benching.  He was putting Narisi, Cunningham, and even weight junkie Bob DeLucas to shame. I’ve never seen anything like it. Hello world’s strongest man competition.  I know what you are all thinking at this moment. But, Tom, wait, didn’t you say that the football team had a couple of days off? Ahhh, yes I did. But why, then, is Crazy Karl in the weight room. Well, let’s find out, shall we?
HFV: Crazy Karl, I thought you guys had off today?
CK: Yeah, we did!
HFV: Well, why are you pumping iron?
CK: Ahh, come on Tom, you know, so I can improve my beach body for the ladies for senior week!
HFV: Karl, you're jacked enough. The ladies love you. You don’t need to improve your physique.
CK: Well, you know my pecks were looking a little small, so I figured I'd try to improve them!
HFV: Damn, they don’t call you Crazy Karl for nothing.
HFV: Take it easy Karl.
CK: You too Tom!
  Personally, I didn’t buy that answer one bit by Karl. There has to be more to this. So I’m walking out of the student center and I hear some Lil’ Wayne playing. I’m like where’s that coming from. Then I realized, crap, it’s my phone blowing up. So I look at my phone, and is says new text message. I opened up the phone, read the message, and I almost passed, because I couldn’t believe the news. Sources close to the High Flyin’ Viking, who upon request asked to remain anonymous, informed me that just moments before Crazy Karl entered the weight room, he was spotted talking to his dear Crazy Kelly. BINGO!!!!! That’s it. We’ve solved the problem!!! Karl wasn’t in the weight room getting his body ready for senior week, he was in there to improve his physique for Crazy Kelly. I’m telling you wherever she is, Karl does amazing. Whether, it’s on football field, weight room, or even in religion class, Karl performs like no other. Just when you thought Karl couldn’t get even crazier he did.
   The very next day, I had to stay after school for a meeting. Now, remember the football team had the day off. So I’m just walking through the T on the 3rd floor north side, and I peer out the window to the field and I notice something very peculiar off into the distance. I couldn’t really make out who or what it was, so I decided to take a closer look myself. So I step outside into the frigid temperature, and as I’m approaching the field, once again I couldn’t believe it. I thought my eyes were playing tricks on me, but I was dead wrong. Now, bear with me here, I’m about to steal a page out of the late great crocodile hunter Steve Irwin. Crokie!!!! Look what we got here!! A rare, rare breed of football player -- the Crazy Karl. Now, Karls are normally not found pushing around sleds, so this a awesome moment to witness. If you notice closely, the backwards number 7’s painted on his cheeks are distinctively indigenous to Crazy Karls only. Now, I've got to be careful here. Crazy Karls are known to have a short fuse, and lightning quick reflexes. So I've got to be cautious. Let’s get a closer look, and possibly a conversation with this beaut.
HFV: Karl, what In God’s name are doing out here?
CK: Preparing for the game!
HFV: Karl, you're crazy, the game is in two weeks
CK: I don’t care. Must prepare for the game.
HFV: Karl, there has to be some reason why you're out here?
CK: I told you, I’m out here for Crazy Kelly . . . oh, crap, I mean football, football. I’m out here for football.
HFV: Did you just say what I think you did?
CK: Huh???
HFV: You said you were out here for Crazy Kelly
CK: No I didn’t!
HFV: Karl, it’s okay to admit it. You didn’t do anything wrong.
CK: Shut up. I didn’t say it.
HFV: Jeezee, Karl, I don’t like the attitude
CK: I’m not giving you attitude
CK: You're giving me attitude
HFV: Me??
CK: Yeah, you!
HFV: Karl, I’m just trying to find out why you said Crazy Kelly
CK: Listen, I didn’t say it, I just want you to leave me alone.
HFV: Well, Karl, listen up. I’m not going to leave you alone. I’m going to get to the bottom of this.
HFV: I will tell Crazy Kelly not to come the games anymore.
CK: Fine, I don’t need her anyway.
  You heard it, everyone. Crazy Karl doesn’t need Crazy Kelly for success. Now, I don’t buy that one bit, but he said it himself. Still, it’s not going to change anything. We all know Crazy Kelly is Crazy Karl’s good luck charm, even if they both don’t believe it. It’s true. Just look at the facts!!! I just hope that Crazy Kelly is at the game next week. She needs to be there. Maybe we can start a petition to get Crazy Kelly to the game. Or maybe we can make T-shirts!! How about that, eh! I just hope that before the season is over that the crowd can erupt in a raucous chant of Crazy Karl. I can see it now. State championship game December 12th at Hershey. 5th OT Wood needs one more defensive stop to win the state title. Who does Coach Devlin call on to be the hero? You guessed it. Crazy Karl. Ball is snapped, inside handoff to the running back, or wait no it’s not play action over the middle to the tight end, caught. He’s going to score, Thomas Jefferson is going to repeat as Class AAA champs. BAMMM!!!! He got crushed, fumble, ball is on the ground, I can’t tell who picked it up. The Vikings are state champs!!! The crowd is chanting something. I can’t make out what it is! I think they're saying "Crazy Karl!! . . . Crazy Karl!!" Ahh, yes Karl was the mysterious one who recovered up the fumble. Now him and his Crazy Kelly can ride off into the sunset forever.

NOV. 15
CLASS AAA CITY TITLE (DISTRICT 12)
Wood 56, Murrell Dobbins 7
  Well for the first time in school history the Archbishop Wood Vikings are District 12 Class 3A champions. It’s a pretty awesome achievement if you ask me. West Catholic’s record for most points in a title game, lasted less than 24 hours. Dobbins won the toss, and on their first play of the game they fumbled the ball. The ball was recovered by Sean “Smack” McCartney (5-6, 139 yards, 1 TD) around the 20 yard line. After Wood was stopped for a 4 yard loss, Smack hit his tight end Anthony “Ying-Yang” Narisi for 24 yards and the touchdown. The touchdown was Narisi’s first of the playoffs. After James McFadden’s booming kickoff reached the end zone, Dobbins started their second drive with the ball at the 20 yard line. Needless to say that the Mustangs' second possession was a lot better then their first. Dobbins ran a few running plays, for very few yards. Then bam, Terrell “Mouse” Barringer is seen racing down the far sideline 76 yards for the touchdown. I’m telling you this kid was gone in the blink of an eye. We’re deadlocked at 7. Not the start the Vikings wanted to have. Nevertheless, that would be the last time the Mustangs sniffed the end zone.
  If you recall in last week’s PCL title game Nick Devine got all the accolades with three rushing touchdowns, and Sean Cunningham did the dirty work by blocking. Well, today they switched roles. Sean got all the praise, while Nick did his usual role by creating holes for Sean. Sean did one better then Nick by scoring four touchdowns. He impresses me every week I watch him. If there was an image of the perfect football player, Sean Cunningham would be that guy. He does it all. I haven’t seen a team stop him yet all season, besides West Catholic. Sean ran the ball 15 times for 109 yards, and 4 TDs.  He also broke a record a today. Coming into the game Sean needed only 28 yards to break Bryan McCartney’s school record for most rushing yards in one season. (1,417 set back 2003) Well, Sean broke that record with his first 4 runs of the game. Congrats, Sean, on the record. Wood quickly rebounded after Dobbins scored, with a Cunningham rushing touchdown of 6 yards. After a quick three-and-out by the Mustangs the quick strike offense of the Vikings was back to work. Mike Maxwell (2 catches, 56 yards) hauled in a 46 yard pass from Smack, down the far sideline. From the angle I was standing at it looked like a sure bet that Mike was in for the score, but the Dobbins defender came out of nowhere and brought Mike down at the 2. Mike said, “I eased up a bit, and I saw out the corner of my eye the defender.” If he doesn't ease up, he’s in for sure. No worries, though, as Cunningham punched it in from two yards out to make it 21-7 Wood. On the next drive for Wood, Vince “Five Dollar” Furlong  caught a 51-yard pass from Smack, ( I’ve never seen someone so wide open in my life) who was brought down at the Mustangs' 6 yard line. Few plays later, Cunningham punches it for his third score of the first quarter. Yes, everyone we're still in the first quarter. The score after one was 28-7 Wood.
  If you think the second was going to be any different from the first, you’re dead wrong. All Wood domination. Hey, we had our first punt block of the year today. Ryan Wanner, my boy, broke through the line, got his hand on the ball, recovered it and stretched the ball over the plane, but his he was ruled down at the one. I was happy for Ryan. That would set up Smack’s one-yard QB sneak for the touchdown. If 35-7 wasn’t that bad, Cunningham would add his fourth TD right before half to make it 42-7 Wood. Not much of a surprise here.
  At halftime I ended up waiting about 15 minutes in line for a pretzel, and bottled water. It was well worth it. I also spotted former legendary website writer Big Willie McGonigle, who was decked out in his Easternpafootball.com gear. I also chatted with my boy, baseball standout Jim Heilman. I noticed when I first arrived that CN8 was here. I’m thinking Oh, cool I might be on TV. Those dreams got dashed in an instant when I found out it was for tonight’s La Salle-Judge game. I’m pulling for Judge. I, like everyone else, has a hatred for La Salle.
  Second half begins, and honestly at this point I just wanted to leave. Thank goodness for the running clock, because without that we would still be there. Wood kept its starters in until Nick Devine made it 49-7 with his 21-yard TD run. If that wasn’t enough points for you, second string running back Sean Cain scored to make 56-7. He also kicked the extra point, on his own touchdown.  I give the Mustangs credit for making it this far. They had a awesome season and they stuck tough throughout the game. They were just manhandled today. I have to say Terrell “ Mouse” Barringer might be the funniest kid I’ve ever heard n the field. Man some of the stuff coming out of his mouth was hilarious. Apparently, he and Mike Maxwell were having conversations with each other on the field. One Dobbins player was talking to Adam Citko saying “ I want to know what you eat, I’m coming over your house for dinner, you are huge.” Pretty funny, eh!
  Now Ladies and Gentlemen I’m proud to bring you the story of the one and only Crazy Karl. Crazy Karl is a man of  few words, but boy does he pack a strong punch on special teams. He stands around 5’10, weighing in at around 200 pounds, and can bench press with the best of them. He’s a tenacious special teamer. I shudder at the thought of lining up opposite Crazy Karl. Opponents watch out, he will lay you out. Ahhh, but there is a secret to his success. It’s the presence of  his dear Crazy Kelly in the stands. Whenever Crazy Kelly is in the stands, Karl plays his heart out on the field. He’s a completely different animal. When she’s not there, he feels lonely and sad and doesn’t perform up to par. Crazy Kelly is Crazy Karl’s good luck charm. Ahh, but wait, there is even more to this madness. Crazy Kelly is not aware she’s a good luck charm. But how can this be!!!! This is blasphemy!!!! Doesn’t she realize that when she’s in the stands Karl goes crazy on the field. I mean Hell, no wonder why Karl has great grades in Ms. Blastic’s 7th period  religion class. He sits right next to her. This must change immediately. With the team advancing to the state playoffs Crazy Karl needs all the support in the world, and it starts with you Crazy Kelly. Get out there Crazy Kelly and support your man.
  Up next for Wood, is either Bayard Rustin or Upper Moreland. Personally, I’m pulling for Upper Moreland. There is already buzz between the two schools about a possible match up. How great would it be for the area? The two schools are only separated by a few miles down York Road. Well, we did our part by winning. Now, the Golden Bears have to do theirs.

NOV. 8
CL AAA FINAL
Wood 44, Conwell-Egan 14
  Since I’m handling the report for Ted tonight, I’m going to try to be as fair as possible. Coming into this game, I honestly thought it was going to be a cakewalk for the Vikings, and so did all of the experts. Even though it turned into one, the Vikings got a scare early. How about the opening kickoff of the game? Egan junior Kerry McAnany took the opening kickoff 82 yards to the house for a touchdown. Egan’s student section is going wild, the players are pumped up, and me personally I’m in a state of shock along with all the fans. Listen, people, coming into this game Wood hadn’t let up a point in 5 straight games. That’s pretty remarkable, and letting the opening kickoff get run back for a score should open your eyes up a little bit. Anyway, Wood methodically marched the ball down the field after the score to Egan’s 13 yard line. After three plays of gaining very few yards, they elected to go for it on 4th and 1. Now, 99.9% of the time they could convert this, but not tonight. The Eagles defense stopped Cunningham and handed the ball to the offense for the first time. On the second play on offense, the snap goes flying over Matt Della-Croce's head, rolls toward the end zone, gets kicked around, and somehow is recovered in the end zone by Mike Maxwell for a Vikings touchdown. What a wacky way to start the game, eh? The first quarter ended at a 7-7 draw. Now, I’m going to be straight-up honest with you. That first quarter performance was one of the worst I’ve seen out of this team in a while. I can’t recall the last time that they looked that out of sync. I just think everyone was so jacked up for the game, that they got a little relaxed. But no need to worry they eventually returned to that brand of football we like to call “Wood Football”. Pounding the rock all day.
  Wood scored its first offensive touchdown of the night on a 1-yard run by Sean Cunningham. The touchdown was set up by a nice 33-yard reception by Vince “Five Dollar” Furlong (3 catches, 57 yards) down the sideline. That touchdown pretty much opened the floodgates for Wood. Sean “Smack" McCartney was absolutely awesome tonight throwing the ball. I haven’t seen Sean have this good of the game through the air all season long. Every time he dropped back to pass he had all day to throw the ball. Sean went 8-9 for 129 yards. Not to mention he also ran the ball 11 times for 88 yards. Not a bad a night, if you ask me. Yes, both Seans, and the defense had good nights, but I think the story was the play of fullback Nick “AK” Devine. Nick tonight ran the ball 8 times for 72 yards and TD runs of 15, 10, and 7 respectively. Wow, that’s a handful. Actually, he probably should have had at least another two or so. Nick is such a hard worker. He doesn’t say much, but he’s such a tough kid and a team player. Heck without him, Sean Cunningham, who only put up 210 yards tonight, wouldn’t have half of his yards if it weren't for Nick creating holes up front. After Wood made it 27-7 on Devine’s 10-yard run, Wood attempted an onside kick right before half, and Scotty “Skeet on Em” Adkins recovered the ball with 12.7 seconds to go. After a quick 23-yard catch by Maxwell, Wood called a timeout, and onto the field came James McFadden attempting a field goal right before half. Penalty was called on the Vikings for a procedure violation, so now McFadden needed to nail a 37 yarder. In typical McFadden fashion he nailed it making it 30-7 Wood at half.
  Throughout most of second half Wood put the hammer on the Eagles. I just thought Wood’s DB’s played outstanding tonight. They limited Della-Croce to only I think six completions on the night, and they pretty much shut down Ryan Golin, until the end when he got a touchdown against the second team defense. Egan’s rushing game was pretty much non-existent. The only bright spot for them was on special teams. Every time they got the ball it felt like they might return it for a touchdown. Scotty Adkins, and Shane Miller both came up with interceptions, which was great. I just thought it was an overall good win. Devine and Cunningham would score the final two touchdowns of the game respectively. At times during the fourth quarter it seemed like the clock couldn’t go any slower, but when the clock hit zero pandemonium erupted. It was awesome. Coach Devlin got the Gatorade shower, fans and player stormed the field. Heck, even I did. It was absolute jubilation. I have to thank Chuck McIntyre for giving me the plaque to hold up in the sky. That was a pretty cool moment for myself. I thank you Chuck!! I kept hearing guys saying we ain’t done it. We got more business to take care of. They're so right. Up next for Wood is a meeting with the Public League Class AAA champs, Dobbins. This game serves has the District 12 Class AAA Championship game, and also as a revival of the old City Title game. I don’t know anything really about Dobbins. I imagine they are pretty good. Just got to take it one game a time. To any Egan players or fans who read this, be very proud of what your team accomplished this year. You guys had an awesome season. No one expected you guys to be as competitive as you were. Don’t put your heads down!

Wood 27, Lansdale Catholic 0
  What a beautiful day it was today!!! First off, my morning started bright and early. Got up ate breakfast and hopped on the 8:13 train at Fox Chase and arrived at Market East around 8:45. Marched my way straight to City Hall, and parked myself right in front of the barricade to watch the parade on Market Street. Front row seats, baby. Of course I skipped school. Heck, almost 700 kids from Wood did, because it’s not everyday that we see a championship parade in this town. Once in a lifetime event that I will never forget for the rest of my life. It was absolutely insane down there. Boy, we were packed in like sardines, but who cares. It was all worth it. Now, getting back home was interesting, but I’m not going to elaborate on that. Hey, I almost forgot it’s Halloween!! Let’s get onto the game.

  One more thing I still can’t believe that the Phillies are World Champions of baseball. I will never forget this day!!! Thanks, Mom, for letting me skip school!!!

OCT. 18
CATHOLIC AAA
Wood 31, Lansdale Catholic 0
  What a way to cap off homecoming weekend!!! A nice beatdown of a new neighborhood rival. Coming into this season all of the so called “experts” picked LC to win the Catholic AAA, and with one week to go in the season Wood along with North are in the driver’s seat to take the division. The first quarter consisted of nothing but just some good, old, solid smash-mouth football. Wood looked pretty good. They were running the ball effectively on the Crusaders defense. The only scoring of the quarter was James McFadden’s ( 4-4 PATs) 26-yard field goal. Second quarter was where the Vikings offense came to life. Sean “Smack’ McCartney (5-10, 115 yards, 1 TD) scampered from 1 yard out to make it 10-0 Wood. On, the previous play Sean Cunningham (25 attempts, 156 yards, 2 TDs) clearly crossed the plane but the referees rule him down at the 1.  I mean he was sitting in the end zone for crying out loud. Sean got robbed of a touchdown. I thought the offense played okay today. Nothing too special, but they did what the needed to do to win the game. The defense on the other hand played exceptionally well. LC had very little ground attack, and an almost non-existent passing attack. Every time either Alex Hetzel or John Howell dropped back, the was pressure right in their face. Anthony “Ying-Yang” Narisi, fresh off dancing the night away last night,  had a monster game on D. Anthony recorded 3 sacks, and even caught a 16-yard pass. Which looked like a touchdown, but he was ruled out at the 1. Nick “AK” Devine would haul in a 14-yard pass from Smack, right before half to make it 17-0.
  Halftime arrives, and it’s senior recognition day. It was a great time for the senior players, cheerleaders, band members, and their parents. They also recognized the homecoming court. Now, I had the honor to be crowned homecoming king last night. So I had to scramble to put on  my sash, cape, magic wand, and most important my crown. (Thank you ladies for dressing me) Yes, I had to wear the crown, but it was all worth it. It was a great time. Gerry Campi, Anthony Narisi, and Nick Devine were also named to the court as well. Plus, soccer standouts Mike DeLucia and Alyssa Verrillo. My queen was senior cheerleader Jackie Britton. It’s funny we sit at lunch together, and we were saying, "Wouldn’t it be funny if we both were king and queen?" Well, wouldn’t you know!!!! Anyway, I saw Ted snapping shots of me. I’m thinking, "Oh, they're going up on the website..hahaha.
  Let’s get back to the game. Third quarter begins and LC makes a change at QB. John Howell came in to replace Alex Hetzel. Howell, who is arguably the Crusaders' best player, came in a did really nice job. LC actually showed some life. They were able to complete passes over the middle. So it made the game a bit more intriguing, but as always Wood had an answer. Cunningham would make it 24-0 on 3 yard run, and would later add an 11-yard run late in the 4th to make it 31-0. Overall, this was a solid win for Wood. Hopefully this game will be a spark of a new rivalry for Wood. I mean these two schools are pretty close to each other, I know kids who go to LC, and a lot of kids who go to Wood live closer to LC than they do Wood. So we’ll just see what happens. I have to mention the play of two receivers today. Mike “Lich- King” Maxwell, and Vince “Five Dollar" Furlong. Mike, who only had 1 catch for 34 yards, played solid today as always on both sides of the ball. Vince once again stepped his game up coming up with two nice grabs for 50 yards. The Vikings forced 4 turnovers today. Shane Miller, Scotty “Skeet on em” Adkins, and Jerry “ Whatever” Rahill  each came up with a pick. Rahill also had a fumble recovery. This is the third straight week the defense hasn’t let up a point.  Scary moment for LC when Matt Pinzka had to be taken off on a stretcher. He flashed a thumbs up, so I hope everything is okay with him. And on a melancholy note, my thoughts and prayers are with the grandfather of Matt Kane, who passed away earlier this week. The Wackies were out in full force today. Great job everyone. The Blackout looked awesome. Jim Heilman, Steve Keller, filled in for Mike DeLucia, leading the Wackies. Up next for Wood is a showdown with those North Catholic Falcons. This game will decide who wins the Catholic AAA division title. This one should be a dandy. We need everyone to get out there and support the team.

OCT. 11
CATHOLIC AAA
Wood 41, Conwell-Egan 0
  I just had a great feeling coming into tonight’s game. The only thing I was hearing was how much of a surprise this Egan team has been this year, and how they could challenge with the big boys. Well, guess what, they can’t. I’m going to be honest with you: They got absolutely man handled by the boys from Warminster tonight. Wood won the opening toss and marched straight down the field at will to score the first TD. The drive was capped off by a 1-yard TD from Sean “Smack” McCartney. Smack had all around very solid game. He was 4-8 through the air with 97 yards. With his legs he ran the ball 8 times for 76 yards with three TD’s. Not to mention he had INT that he ran back 50 yards for an apparent touchdown, but the TD was called back because of an illegal block in the back. After the opening scoring drive, Wood recovered the onside kick at around Egan’s 35. Obviously,  Wood found a weakness in Egan’s special teams. Every time James McFadden kicked the ball off it was right at a defender, and every time they seemed to have a problem controlling the ball. Nick “AK” Devine (4 attempts, 30 yards) would score the Vikings second touchdown on 10 yard TD run. It was good to see Nick out there tonight coming back from his knee injury he sustained against West two weeks ago. Nick is a major weapon in this offense. He’s not the quickest guy in the world, but he’s tough and willing to win at all cost. Heck, he has to be doing something right given that he’s the lead blocker for arguably the best running back in the area, Sean Cunningham (11 rushes, 86 yards, 1 TD). The score after one was 14-0 Wood.

  McCartney would make the score 21-0 on a another 1 yard run. Now let’s shift gears a bit and talk a little defense. Tonight was the best defensive effort I have seen all year. The boys up front were just relentless all night long. Matt Della-Croce had no time at all to make his throws. Almost every time he dropped back, bam!, a Wood player was in his face. He spent a lot of time on the carpet. Forget about trying to run the ball on this defense. Egan couldn’t establish the run at all. The defense was just suffocating. The standout player on defense was Anthony “Ying-Yang” Narisi. He was just a monster. e sacked D-C two times tonight, and delivered a huge hit in the backfield. Quarterbacks watch out. When number 84 gets rolling he’s impossible to stop. He also had a nice catch for 34 yards down the sideline. I have to mention Wood did a nice job of shutting down Ryan Golin, holding him to 3 catches for 43 yards. The bulk of which coming on a 23 yard pass on the last play of first half. Ryan did get hurt on that play, and he wouldn’t return. But I saw him walking on his own after the game so that was good to see.  Shoutout to Vince “Five Dollar” Furlong, who had a pick tonight as well. McCartney would make it 28-0 on a 31 yard run TD run (sounds familiar), and for good measure Sean Cunningham added a 7 yard run to make it 35-0. That’s the way the two teams would go into half. James McFadden reached his 100 point of his career on the 5th PAT. Congrats James!! I promised another McFadden, Pat, to mention this in my article. Apparently,  Pat correctly predicted that the score at half would be 35-0 Wood. Pat this is for you!! I hope you read it. This will probably be the only time I mention you in my article. So treasure this special moment. Ha ha!!
  If you already don’t know I’m a huge Flyers fan. Yes, I cover football, and basketball, and I play baseball. But hockey will always be my first love. As you know tonight was the Flyers home opener against the hated NY Rangers. Now, I’m going to be honest with you I was really upset that I couldn’t watch it. So I have to thank my father for texting me updates about the game. Unfortunately, the updates weren’t good, but let's not talk about that. Grrr!! God, I hate the Rangers!!!! Let’s get back to football, shall we?!?!

OCT. 4
CATHOLIC AAA
Wood 45, Neumann-Goretti 0
  Tonight was the opening night of league play for Archbishop Wood, and they sure didn’t disappoint. Granted, they were playing a much inferior team, but nonetheless a win is a win. Tonight was also my first visit to the famous South Philly Supersite. My overall first impressions were I really liked it a lot. Thought it was a gorgeous stadium. However, I have a few gripes. First off, they should definitely have signs for visiting team parking. I parked in the “home” parking lot and had to walk around the block to get to the other side. Once I got there all the gates were locked. So I had to jump the fence, during which I made a fool of myself (Murt, I know you saw that --  ha ha). But, overall I like the stadium a lot. Let’s get on with the game. Right from the get-go this was all Wood. Sean “Smack” McCartney ( 9-12, 138 yards, 1 TD) completed his first five passes of the game. The opening drive culminated on a 17-yard TD pass from Smack to Jerry Rahill (2 catches, 28 yards). N-G went three and out on their first possession, and Wood responded with a 2-yard run from Sean Cunningham. Sean once again was a beast tonight. He ran the ball a total of 15 times for 138 yards and three TDs. James McFadden, who was a perfect 6-6 on PATs, added a 20-yard field goal at the end of the 1st to make it 17-0 Wood after 1 quarter of play.
  I’m going to be straight up honest with you, N-G didn’t have a prayer tonight. I give a lot of credit to their QB, Anthony Mastrando. The kid gutted it out all night. He was under pressure from the Wood defense. The Saints couldn’t get anything going. It seemed like every time they ran a play they were going backwards not forward. Just maybe, if Anthony had some help from his receivers, who had bricks for hands, the game would have been a little bit more respectable. Scotty “Skeet on em” Adkins (5 attempts, 22 yards, 1 TD, 2 INT’s) scored the 3rd TD for Wood on a 2-yard run. Scotty was also up to his old ways defensively, picking off two Mastrando balls, including a incredible acrobatic catch in the end zone that spoiled a N-G touchdown drive. Cunningham would make it 31-0 on a 2 yard run. So the score at half was 31-0 Wood.
  Tonight was N-G’s senior night so they honored their seniors and parents. It was nice ceremony. Of course if you know anything about me, it’s a ritual to check out the snack stand. So I picked myself up a hot dog and bottle of water. Made a phone call to find out the Phils score. ( Grrrrr), chatted with the famous Joe Sette, and eventually made my way back to the sidelines.
  Okay, after the extended halftime, which many of the guys couldn’t stand, Wood continued their dominance of the game. Cunningham added a three-yard TD run to make it 38-0, and then Coach Steve Devlin started to put the subs in. A great opportunity for the young kids to show what they can do. I thought Sophomore RB Sean Cain had a nice night. He rushed the ball 6 times for 22 yards and TD. N-G talked a lot of trash, even late into the fourth, but that’s expected when you're down by 45, right? I mean, come on, you've got no room to talk when the JV is driving down the field on you. Actually, it wasn’t their fault they were out there. I’ll explain in a bit. Overall Wood played a solid game. I mean I pretty much expected this was going to be the outcome of the game. However, there were a few disturbing things I noticed tonight about N-G. It’s late in the fourth quarter and the Saints still had their starters out there on defense and offense. Give me a break, man. These kids are beat, exhausted, and they're getting crushed to begin with. There is no need for them to be out there. What are they going to prove? Give a chance to other kids a see what they can do. I actually felt sorry for those kids out there.
   Anyway I have some shoutouts to give. Shout out to Ben Worthington, who claims he had a play tonight. Ben, I didn’t see it, but I’m giving you some love anyway. My boy Mike Maxwell ( 3 catches, 44 yards), way to battle out there man even with a banged up knee. Vince “ Five-Dollar” Furlong (2 catches, 35 yards) another solid performance . . . Pat “Lumberjack” Glemser (1 attempt, 15 yards). If you recall, Pat severely broke his leg last year against K-K. The kid did a nice job for filling in at FB for the bang up Nick Devine. How could I forget Shane Miller? Who picked off his first pass of the season tonight. Up next for Wood is a intriguing matchup with the surprising Eagles of Conwell-Egan. I’m really looking forward to this matchup. Egan has been the surprise team of the year in AAA. They knocked off a formidable Lansdale Catholic, and have a tremendous weapon in Ryan Golin. It will be interesting to see what happens.

SEPT. 26
NON-LEAGUE
West Catholic 28, Wood 17

SEPT. 20
NON-LEAGUE
Wood 20, Caravel Academy (DE) 7

  First off I have to say I’m surprised about the good time I made getting down to Delaware. I pulled out of the driveway at my house in Horsham around 5:05, and I was pulling into Caravel around 6:10. Not bad, eh! Anyway, the first thing I noticed when I got there was that Mike Maxwell was in street clothes. I was thinking, "Great, just what we need, another injury." It turns out Mike was a game-time decision and he was going to be held out of tonight’s game. So the Vikings would have to do the best with what they had. Wood won the coin toss and elected to receive the ball. Second play of the game Sean “Smack” McCartney’s (4-11, 86 yards, 2 INT’s) pass was pick off by Brandon Cheaton and returned 33 yards for TD. I was thinking to myself, this could be a long night. It turns out that would be the only sniff of the end zone the Buccaneers would get. I thought Wood seemed a little nervous in their first three possessions. They were facing a team who made it to the Delaware Division II state title game 4 years in a row. To the Vikings credit they didn’t back down. Caravel moved the ball between the 20s pretty effectively throughout the first half. They show a lot of looks on offense. They mainly run a lot draws, sweeps, counters, and reverses. At times they even employed a two-QB system. There is no doubt that they are talented team.
  The turning point of the game came with 4:23 to go in the 2nd quarter. Caravel runs a reverse to Brandon Cheaton. As Cheaton is running the ball I could hear him just scream, and drop the ball for a fumble, which was recovered by Anthony Narisi. It was such an odd play because he just dropped the ball without hesitation. It turns out that he had to be carted off the field with an apparent knee injury. Caravel was never the same after that play. So with arguably Caravel’s best player gone for the night, Wood needed to capitalize. After the fumble Wood had great field position, however they couldn’t really generate much on offense. They had to settle for a 18 yard field goal from James McFadden ( 2-2 PAT’S, 2-2 FG, 18, 15). The Bucs would go into half up 7-3.

  At halftime I decided to make my way over to get something to drink. Man, did they have everything you can choose from at the snack stand. You name it they had it. Anyway Caravel plays at very nice stadium named after its founder Bob Peoples. Apparently this guy owns everything in Bear, Delaware. Everywhere you look, Peoples Plaza, Peoples Homes, Peoples Stadium. However there were a few things I wasn’t impressed with. Okay, this an academy. So you would think that the locker rooms would be nice, but they weren’t. They were an absolute joke. The team had to dress and stand outside during half. I’m sorry that’s just inexcusable for a school like that. The other thing that ticked not only me off, but the Wood fans and players, was the PA announcer. I give the guy credit for being up there doing his job, but he was so annoying the whole night with his stupid funny sayings after every play. Here’s an example for you. “Cheaton was tackled by a conglomerate of Wood defenders.” Who uses the word conglomerate???

   Third quarter begins and Wood just takes over the game from here. The highlight of the quarter was Sean McCartney’s 38-yard pass to Anthony Narisi, who should have had touchdown on the play because the ball crossed the plane before his knee was down. I was standing two feet from the play. He was clearly in the end zone, but the official ruled him down at the 1. Please give me a break! Sean Cunningham ( 37 rushes, 171 yards, 2 TD’s) scored on the following play to put Wood in front 10-3. Going back to play on Narisi. The bad spots of the ball and missed calls were a common theme tonight from the officiated crew. At times this game was unbearable to watch. Every stinking play there was a penalty called and you could bet who it was on half the time as well. I would say there was some hometown bias going on. Caravel was offsides on every kickoff (not once was a flag thrown), but then they turn around and call Wood for cheap penalty. It was nonsense. UGHHHH!!!!!!  Sean Lindenmuth ( 2 catches, 22 yards), Vince Furlong ( 1 catch, 27 yards) and Anthony Narisi ( 1 catch, 38 yards) stepped up their game tonight with Maxwell not playing. That was a good sign to see. On the defensive side of the ball, I thought Wood played pretty good. Caravel did nothing on offense at all throughout the whole second half. The Vikings pretty much shutdown the Bucs' air and ground attack. McCartney led the way with 2 INT’s. James McFadden would add a 15 yard field goal at the end of the third to make it 13-7 Vikings.
   Fourth quarter arrives, and Caravel gets no momentum whatsoever. You know for a team that’s been a powerhouse in DE for the last 4 years, even winning a state title in ’05, I wasn’t that impressed at all. There were players dropping like flies tonight. I counted at least 5 times play was halted for injuries on the field, and unfortunately for Caravel it was all Bucs. That’s the one thing I hate to see is when players get carted off the field, but that’s what you get when you play football. For good measure Cunningham, who was an absolute monster tonight, scampered 39 yards to the house for a TD to make it 20-7 Wood. I heard him say, "I should have knelt the ball down at the 1, so we could have run the clock out.” That’s the type of kid he is. Always thinking about the team first. Overall what a great win for Wood. Next up for Wood is those hated Burrs of West Catholic. Boy, am I looking forward to this game. West is arguably a possible contender for the PIAA Class AA state title this year. That’s how good they are. I spotted Coach Fluck and his staff in the stands, scouting the game. This one has all the makings of being a classic.

SEPT. 13
NON-LEAGUE
Wood 45, Ryan 7

   A little bit of history was made tonight with Wood’s win over Ryan. This is the first time they have beaten the Raiders in three years. That’s a remarkable long time given the rich success of the Wood Football program. Let’s get to the game. I’m going to be honest with you, this game was dominated by the Vikings right from the get-go. Wood scored its first touchdown in the opening two minutes on a Sean “ Smack” McCartney 13-yard scramble. Sean had a pretty solid game through the air, and with his legs. Sean was 6-12 for 88 yards and threw for 1 TD. With his legs Sean ran the ball the 5 times for a total of 36 yards and 2 TD. Slowly but surely Sean looks like he's getting back to his old self. The theme of tonight’s game for the Vikings was just run baby. Let the boys up front do their thing, and just continue to wear down the Raiders' D-line. That’s exactly what they did. Led by Adam Citko the O-Line dominated the line of scrimmage. Protecting Sean as best they could, while providing holes for Sean Cunningham (10-46). After a Ryan punt Wood quickly responded with a 37-yard TD run from Nick Devine (4-55) to extend its lead to 14-0.
  I've got to give some props to Ryan QB Rus Slawter (9-17, 108 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT). Even though he was under pressure all night, he still managed to have a pretty good night. His main target was Matt "MasterCard" Vizza (8 catches, 56 yards, 1 TD). The two hooked up for a 14-yard TD score in the corner of the end zone to cut Wood’s lead to 14-7. Unfortunately, for Ryan that would be the last time the sniff the end zone.
  Early in the 2nd quarter with Ryan pinned deep in its own zone, they elected to quick-kick the ball on 3rd down in hopes that their defense could withstand the Wood attack. Well, that plan backfired. Wood’s drive culminated on a 1-yard TD run by McCartney, to push Wood’s lead to 21-7. Wood would tack on another score on Anthony Narisi’s (2 catches, 37 yards) 14-yard catch from McCartney. At this point of the game you could just see the frustration of the Ryan players. Committing stupid penalties, missing tackles, they just looked worn down. For good measure James McFadden (5-5 PATs, 1-1 FG) added a 25-yard field goal to put Wood ahead 31-7 at half.
  It’s September and it’s not supposed to be 85 degrees out and muggy, with no wind whatsoever. So at half I decide to get myself a bottle of water. Boy, did I need that. You can work up a sweat on the sidelines keeping track of all the plays.
  One of the reasons why Wood was able to win was the play of their defense. These boys came to play. Led by Sean Cunningham, who had 3 sacks, the defense just was relentless. Ryan really wasn’t able to establish a solid running game due in part to the play of the D-Line and the linebackers, especially Cunningham and Mike Maxwell. Not to mention, the secondary once again did a pretty good job in coverage. Scotty Adkins once again came up with a pick. That kid has a knack for being around the ball. Scotty also scored the Vikings 5th touchdown on a 12-yard run to make to score 38-7.

  Being that I cover the team, a lot of the players ask me to mention their name in my articles. I keep saying, "Guys, make a play out there and I’ll try to mention it." Well, there’s one kid in particular who has been asking me. His name is Ben Worthington. Ben, who sits behind me in homeroom, always asks me for some love in my reports. So I’m proud to say that Ben made a great play on special teams, catching the ball on a short kick and returning it a couple of yards. So, Ben, this one is for you, man!!! About midway through the 3rd quarter Coach Steve Devlin pulled his starters in favor of the second string. It was a good opportunity for some of the younger players to get experience in a varsity game, make a name for themselves, and show the coaches what they can do. One player in particular did that tonight: sophomore RB James Messina. James ran the ball 5 times for 25 yards, including the Vikings 6th TD. That was good to see. Overall it was a great win for the team and the school. Any time you can beat Ryan, it’s a good day. Next up for Wood is a little road trip south to Delaware to play powerhouse Caravel Academy. This should be a good test. Caravel averaged something like 40-plus points a game last year, so this could be a dandy. I’ll be making the trek down to cover this game.
  Last but not least I have to give a major shoutout to THE BEST STUDENT SECTION IN THE WORLD. You guys were awesome.  The energy in the stadium was just incredible. The famous W-O-O-D chant never sounded better. Shout out to Mike DeLucia and all the Wackies for a great night. That’s what we need every home game. I know it’s a stretch, but let’s get a good section of students down in Delaware. Think of it as a road trip. This has been another edition of the High Flyin’ Viking. See you next week from Delaware.

SEPT. 7
NON-LEAGUE
Wood 31, Chestnut Hill 7

AUG. 29
NON-LEAGUE
Pennridge 43, Wood 42 (3 OTs)

AUG. 26

ARCHBISHOP WOOD SEASON PREVIEW
(#- Indicates where the player ranks in Huck’s Top 100 CL returnees
*- Indicates player is in Huck’s Supreme 11 for AAA)
  The Vikings finished off last season with a heart breaking loss in the PCL Blue final against West Catholic. I can guarantee you that game sticks in the back of minds of the players. This year the Vikings are poised to contend in the PCL Class AAA division. The Vikings have a good blend of young and experienced players led by Senior quarterback Sean McCartney (#40)* Sean is what you may consider a seasoned vet. He has plenty of experience at the position. Heck, he holds the school record for most passing yards in a game with 285 set back in 2006, when he was only a sophomore. One question a lot of people have is who is going to replace Catholic League North MVP Bob DeLucas. Well, everyone, I introduce to you senior running back and middle linebacker Sean Cunningham (#30)*. This kid can do it all. He’s a tenacious defender, and a bruising runner. Not to mention he’s a physical specimen. I know Sean has some big shoes to fill, but he’s up to the challenge and he will surely be a force to be reckoned with. The offensive line is led by senior tackle Adam Citko (#11)*, a Temple commit. On the defensive side defensive end Anthony Narisi (#56) leads the charge. This kid has a non-stop motor. He’s quick, strong, and seems to have an awareness of where the ball is. I think he’s really going to make a name for himself this year. Can’t forget about senior defensive back Shane Miller (#79), who was second team All-Catholic last year, and senior WR/LB Mike Maxwell(#37). Senior fullback Nick Devine (#75) exploded onto the scene last year and much of the same is expected from him this year. Wood also has a lot of young players who have a ton of potential, including junior defensive back Scott Adkins, and junior defensive back/quarterback Jerry Rahill. If Wood is going to compete this year, it will need breakout years from these kids. I know these two kids will live up to expectation. I’ve seen both of these guys play on the basketball court and each one of them gives 110% every time he's out there. So I know they will bring that same intensity to the gridiron every Friday night. Another player to watch this year is senior offensive tackle/defensive tackle Matt O’Connell. Once again: another big, strong kid who can be downright dominating at times along the O-Line. Overall, I’m looking forward to covering the team this year. It should be a lot of fun. It’s going to be interesting to see how the Vikings adjust to being in the PIAA. Personally, I think they will be fine. The season begins this Friday night at Pennridge. To all you Warminster Wackies out there: Let’s show these kids from Pennridge how we do things. I know it’s a bit of a ride, but come out and show some school pride.
  Game to Watch- 9/26/08- Wood at West Catholic- Let’s face it people. These two teams hate each other with a passion. Wood is going to have revenge on its mind from last year's championship game, and West is going to show they are still top dog, even though the Burrs are in Class AA this year. Oh, baby, I can’t wait for this one!!