Huck's
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Ed "Huck" Palmer is one of our trusty statisticians/observers. He is not to be confused with Tom "Puck" McKenna. (Huck is normal. Puck is not even close). He will make occasional reports on games he sees. You may contact him at TEDDYCAT10@aol.com.
NOV. 16
CL BLUE SEMIFINAL
Carroll 34 Neumann 13
Carroll broke open a close game with three straight
scores in a 4:49 span at the end of the third quarter and into the opening moments of the
fourth. CL Blue MVP, sr. WR/DB/KR Maurice Stovall provided the backbreaking score.
Stovall intercepted a deflected pass and raced 52 yards giving his team a comfortable 21-7
lead. Stovall's score was sandwiched around a jr. WR Chaz Scott 25-yard TD
reception and a jr. RB James Roderick 32-yard TD rumble. Stovall, the highly
recruited burner, accumulated 207 yards on the night. He made three grabs for 80 yards,
and had 127 yards on four returns, two punts, a kickoff, and the INT. One thing that he
gets away with now that will have to change when he gets to the next level is the way he
carries the ball. Too many times I noticed him carrying the ball with one hand, and away
from his body. He did fumble on a punt return, and the ball was scooped up and returned
for a touchdown. Roderick (6-1, 260 lb!) turned in a Jerome Bettis type of
performance. The bruising back ran for 133 yards on 15 carries, the yardage being a season
high. I tried to imagine what some of the Pirates smaller DB's might have been feeling
when they saw him barreling down on them, and it couldn't have been pretty. I am extremely
impressed with Scott, and think he is a stud in waiting. Playing in the shadow of Stovall,
the fleet-footed multipurpose player has quietly amassed nearly 1,000 yards running and
receiving combined. I expect him to be one of the more explosive players in the city next
year. Sr. QB Pat Brochet (6-for-15, 115 yards) tossed two scores. Sr. DB/RB Mike
Malandra added an interception that led to his teams' second TD, and then capped the
scoring on a 10-yard run. Sr.'s DL John Vanak (4 tackles, 3 TFL), Pat
Kelly (6 tackles, 2 TFL), and Vince Lynam dominated the second half and pretty
much negated anything the Pirates wanted to try. Jr. MLB Paul Rambo was steady in
the middle, and showed he can a pack a wallop. Sr. P Chris Keogh punted twice for a
48 yard average, but also pinned Neumann inside the five on both punts. SR. TE Evan
Dittler caught a 6-yard TD to open the scoring. He later added a two-point conversion
on a pass, but had it called back on a pentaly. On the subsequent retry, Malandra was
stuck at the two and fumbled, only to see Dittler gathered the ball in and take it in for
the conversion. There will be no denying him!!! The Pirates were feisty throughout, and
even grabbed the momentum after a 13-play, 96-yard game-tying drive in the second quarter.
Score stayed tied 7-7 at the intermission. Sr. QB Ed Lego showed the heart of a
lion, and was brassy all evening long. Already playing with a bum shoulder, he accepted
hit after hit to attempt to make a play. He finished 7-for-14, for 60 yards, and also
scored on a 6-yard run. The touchdown was setup by soph. RB/DB Billy Canady's (5-58)
46-yard sprint. Punishing back sr. Chris Scott-Peters (6-0, 220 lb) was held in
check throughout, as he could only muster 23 yards on 13 carries. Once again the Neumann
defense was lead by sr. LB Mark Meighan who registered 13 tackles on the night.
Meighan also scooped up a fumble, and then somehow found his way into the end zone on a
63-yard return. There is no quit in this kid, after Carroll's final score and the outcome
already decided, Meighan swooped around the corner diving to get a hand on the
extra-point. You gotta love that!!! Sr. DB Les Durkee was active as well on
defense, totaling 9 tackles. Frosh. DT Marques Slocumb (6-4, 303 lb) did have 5
tackles, but the effort he showed on a play in the second quarter really grabbed my
attention. Carroll's Roderick took a dive and went right up the gut for a 31-yard gain,
but was caught from behind by the lumbering Slocumb. He just may be terrorizing teams by
his senior year. Once the game got out of hand I had to turn my attention elsewhere. Where
you may ask? To the deck, that sits atop the PW press box. That is where colleague Tom
"Puck" McKenna was located. I kept wondering how long it was going to take
for him to drop his binoculars on some innocent 9-year old's head. Shouldn't men such as
Puck have some kind of restrictions on how high they are allowed to be? Oh yeah, I
weaseled my way onto the Carroll sideline for the second half. Luckily, I did not meet the
same wrath that Kevin "Sparky" Cooney met during a recent Carroll game. I
guess I'll attribute that to having something in common with the Carroll people. After
all, I too received a Christian Brother education while at West Catholic. Well, maybe that
was it or maybe I just did a good job of being undercover. Besides, Sparky does draw more
attention -- he is widely considered to be the Howard Eskin of the tedsilary.com
team by most of the Carroll people.
NOV. 9
CATHOLIC BLUE QUARTERFINAL
McDevitt 35, West Catholic 0
The Burrs won the coin toss, but decided to kick off and
defer to the second half. They should have received!!! Sr. KR/DB Tariq "TBCB"
Boston took the kick and went right up the middle to give his team the early lead.
This took the wind out of the young Burrs' sails. Halfway through the first quarter sr. LB
P.J. Chipman stepped in nicely and intercepted West sr. QB Matt Rodia's
pass. Chipman scampered 28 yards for another Lancer score. With just under a minute to
play in the opening quarter, freshman RB Lamar McPherson went 35 yards for
another score, giving his team a comfortable 21-0 lead. For all intents and purposes the
game was over. For good measure, jr. RB Demetrius Oliver (16-66) scored on runs of
9 and 3 on his teams' first two possessions of the second half. The McDevitt defense was
stingy throughout. Aside from Chipman's INT return, they forced four additional Burr
turnovers. Sr. DB Mark Finley also had a pick, while sr. DL Dustin Lahff,
sr. LB Eric Fries, and jr. LB Andrew Kovach all made fumble recoveries. The
Lancers have a fistful of quality jr. LBs in Kovach (4 tackles), Mike Haggerty, John
McKeever (6 tackles, 3 TFL's for 13 yards), Brandon Edwards (6 tackles), and John
Maha (4 tackles). This group will undoubtedly spearhead another strong defensive unit
for the Lancers next season. McDevitt did most of their defensive dirty work without star
two-way lineman Brian O'Meara (6-2, 255 lb). O'Meara got nicked-up late in the
first quarter, and spent much of the game on the sidelines. I did notice O'Meara standing
on the sidelines, in full uniform late in the game, so he should be able to give it a go
against rival Wood next weekend. Head Coach Pat Manzi and his staff gave his
linebackers free reign to run-blitz throughout. The Lancers for good part of the contest
packed 10 men in the box. This essentially neutralized the speed of the Burrs. Sr. K/P Robert
McHugh does all the punting and kickoffs for his team, and he did it quite nicely.
McHugh garnered All-Catholic for both positions. What is ironic, is that sr. Brian Dwyer
handles all the point-after and field goal attempts. Dwyer successfully nailed five
extra-points. For West, star RB Curtis Brinkley was bottled up much of the night.
Brinkley finished with 42 yards on 14 carries. Included in that was a 31-yarder early in
the fourth quarter, that came with a good portion of the McDevitt first unit out of the
game. Jr. RB Robert Ramsey (13-37) ran hard, but he too found things difficult for
much of the night. The Burrs must have known that it was going to be a long night when
their first two plays of ten or more yards were called back because of holding pentalies.
The first, came after a heave by Brinkley on a halfback pass. Brinkley found jr. WR Jonathan
Jackson, who made a beautiful one-handed grab, while falling back against two
defenders. Due to the holding pentaly a 40-to-50 yard play was negated. Sr. LB Ronald
Miller led the Burr defense with 8 tackles. I was also impressed with jr. OL/DL Will
Grant (6-1, 295 lb). Grant finished with 4 tackles (2 TFL). He is impressively strong,
and could develop into a major force for the Burrs next season.
NOV. 3
CATHOLIC BLUE
Conwell-Egan 17, Neumann 0
The Eagles behind an inspired defense suffocated the
Pirates on Senior Day down in South Philadelphia. CE held Neumann to 45 total yards in the
second half, and to just 114 total yards for the game. The win, coupled with a loss by
West Catholic has landed the ever-improving Eagles the fourth seed in this year's
playoffs. Ironically, the Eagles will face the Pirates in the first round. Led by the
senior leadership of LB's Joe Lamina (2 INT, 7 tackles) and Vince Salvatore (6
tackles), the Eagle defense stymied the Pirates throughout. The Eagles got all the scoring
they would need late in the first quarter when soph K/P Matt Fischer nailed a
27-yard FG. Fischer also punted nicely, as he booted six kicks at an average of 32.3
yards. The field goal was set up by a 17-yard completion from jr. QB Derrick Savage
to TE Salavtore. CE expanded their lead to 10-0, when Salvatore split two defenders and
snared a beautifully thrown ball from Savage for a 41-yard TD reception. Savage did an
excellent job of freezing the defense on a pretty play-action. This score was setup by a
brilliant 30-yard reception by jr. WR Dan Quinn. What was so amazing about this
sequence was that entering the game, CE had only accumulated 128 yards through the air in
six league games. Here they racked up 71 yards on two passes that were only separated by a
couple of runs. Quinn, also returned 4 punts for 58 yards. CE final score came on a Lamina
(9-45) 17-yard rumble on the first play after a 28-yard INT return by jr. Dan Acevedo
with just over three minutes remaining in the contest. Acevedo actually returned an INT,
kick, and punt for 76 total yards. I was impressed by soph LB Brian Hrynczyszyn who
was in on 9 tackles, and was a major force on why the Pirates never got anything going on
offense. Freshman sensation Steve Slaton (19-59) never really got going, but
did have a couple of almost-type runs. I do think that Neumann paid special attention to
him, and that may have been the reason why they had the success through the air that they
did. Neumann was lifeless throughout. Sr. RB Chris Scott-Peters(15-83) had some
early success, but could not do much in the second half. No other Pirate did much of
anything offensively. In fact, Neumann played without sr. QB Ed Lego who sat with a
bum shoulder. His status for next week is uncertain, but he told me that he may give it a
go. His team could certainly use that added dimension that he brings, which is toughness
and willingness to make plays out of broken plays. Sr. QB Pat McLaughlin struggled
mightily going only 4-for-18, for 25 yds, while being intercepted three times in the
fourth quarter. All year Neumann has rotated their two quarterbacks throughout games. As a
team they looked a little unsure of themselves offensively. Except for a few plays they
got another strong defensive effort. They were led by sr. DB Brian Navin (FF, 11
tackles) and sr. LB Mark Meighan (12 tackles). Sr. P Matt Cella punted 7
times for a 31.9 average. He showed great hang time on many of his kicks. Frosh. DT Marques
Slocum (6-4, 302 lbs.) is going to be a player. He did a nice job of clogging up the
middle and was in on 4 tackles. If he dedicates himself to the sport, there is no reason
why he can't have high D-1 potential by his senior year.
OCT. 26
CATHOLIC RED
SJ Prep 35, O'Hara 14
One indication of measuring how good of a football team you might
have is
seeing how your team responds after being scored on. If this is true for the
St. Joe's Prep football program, then coach Gil Brooks and his staff are
quite pleased at the moment. The Hawklets twice followed Lion scores with
17-play scoring drives, one consuming 8:11, and the other eating up 9:29.
Remarkably, every play was a run. In fact, the Prep only put the ball in the
air once all evening. The Prep did all of this without star sr. lineman John
Connors (6-3, 276 lb.). In my opinion, sr. QB Vince Gallagher
was the star of
the game. Yes, he was the star even though he only attempted one pass.
Gallagher rushed 18 times, for 116 yards, and two scores. Numerous times he
converted on third and fourth down plays giving his team first downs. He made
good, quick decisions in picking his hole, and ran tough all night. Not to go
unnoticed was the play of sr. RB/DB Kyle Ambrogi (29-197, 2 TD's) who in
my
opinion is the league's MVP. Ambrogi got things rollin' on Prep's second play
from scrimmage when he scampered around the right end and went the distance
from 80 yards out. He showed his deceptive speed on the play by out running
O'Hara jr. DB Craig Haywood, who seemingly for a moment had the angle.
The
Prep won rather easily, though they were without Connors, and soph. LB Brian
Tracz and sr. LB Adam Hepp played sparingly because of
tender ankle injuries.
Soph. DB Solomon Patterson made a pretty interception on O'Hara's first
drive
to thwart a scoring opportunity. Ambrogi and sr. DE Brian Tucci each made
7
tackles. Don't let Prep's, sr. OL Joe Troiano (5-9, 285 lb) size fool
you,
late in the game after his team probably already ran forty some odd plays, he
was asked to pull and quickly got down field and made a nice block
contributing to a Gallagher 11-yard run. When I saw Prep against Roman a few
weeks ago, I commented that soph. DB Danny Jones had halfback potential
in
his future. Three separate time Jones received handoffs while in motion
collecting 51 yards in total. One went for a 30-yard TD, where Jones
tightroped the sideline, and ducked under not one, but two would-be tacklers.
I like this kid a lot!!! Except for one time when sr. QB Colin Smith was
sacked, the Lions ran the ball with soph sensation RB Anthony Heygood
(6-1,
190 lb) on every running play. Heygood finished with highly respectable 125
yards on 27 carries. Prep came into the game having only given up 186 yards
on the ground in five games. This was my first look at Heygood, who is built
very similar to former O'Hara star Kevin Jones. Heygood runs hard between
the
tackles, and carries tacklers. However, he is not the sprinter that Jones
was, so I am not ready to anoint him as the second coming. He will be a force
for the next two years, and has relatively high D-1 potential. Jr. WR/KR Bob
McAndrews hauled in a 19-yard TD pass from Smith, and returned five
kickoffs
for 100 yards. Sr. LB Andrew Wood made 11 tackles and is a nice player. I
envision him having a nice career at one of the state schools. Jr. LB Corey
Cannon, also 11 tackles is a Wood clone, and played tough throughout.
Tough
break for O'Hara, sr. LB Matt Mascio who missed time earlier in the
season
with an injury, left late in the first quarter with an apparent leg injury,
and did not return. The Prep scored TD's on every possession, except their
last, in which they ran out the clock to end the game. They also racked up 19
first downs, and did not punt in the game. The one time O'Hara did stop the
Hawklets, they were called for two many men on the field while the Prep was
lining up to punt, subsequently giving the Prep a first down. Also, The Prep
converted 9-of-12 third down conversions, the penalty on the punt gave them a
first down after one non-conversion, and twice they went for it and got it on
fourth downs. The Hawklets will look to continue to let be known who is the
team to beat, when they travel to Father Judge in yet another CL Red dandy
next weekend.
OCT. 13
CATHOLIC BLUE
West Catholic 33, Conwell-Egan 14
When I looked at these two teams I noticed quite a few
similarities. In
overall numbers they had roughly the same amount of players. The size and
skill levels of the two teams were pretty much even. However, one advantage
the Burrs had over the Eagles was in the team speed category. This is where
West won the game, it wasn't just an advantage, but a HUGE advantage. The
Burrs were led by soph. RB Curtis Brinkley, who tormented the Eagles
defense
for 215 yards on 18 carries, including TD runs of 62 and 33 yards. Rarely
does Brinkley go down after the first hit, and when he got into the open
field it was all over. Late in the third quarter, Brinkley fielded a punt at
the C-E 47 yard line. He started right and when seemingly stopped, reversed
his field and took off up the left sideline. He left a minimum of three
would-be tacklers in his dust for an exhilarating touchdown return, only to
have it nullified by a flag. Jr. RB/DB Robert Ramsey had 134 yard of
all-purpose
running on the day, including a 47-yard kickoff return to end the game. He
made a beautiful one-handed interception in the back of the end zone to thwart
an Eagle drive. Jr. WR Jonathon Jackson took the ball while in motion and
scampered around the corner for a 26-yard touchdown. Jr. QB Matt Rodia
look much more confident at the helm. He finished with 68 yards, but had a
couple of balls dropped that would have been significant gains. Jr. LB Steven
Williams had 2 sacks, and a total of 4 TFL's amassing 21 yards. Sr. LB Ronald
Miller led the defense with 7 tackles. This was my first look at C-E
frosh.
RB Steve Slaton. For the most part, the Burrs bottled him up, but he was
able
to break a couple of runs, 33 and 54 yards. He ended the game with 114 yards
on 18 carries. He showed good speed, and should only improve with every game.
Jr. DE Matt Brazil had 7 tackles and forced a fumble; at 6-4 he'll have a
chance to add weight and become an even better player. Sr. RB/LB Joe Lamina
contributed an INT and fumble rec. for the defense. Jr. DB Dan Quinn also
had
a pick for the Eagle defense. On fourth down, jr. QB Derrick Savage hit
sr.
TE Vince Salvatore for a 9-yard TD with just :02 seconds remaining in the
contest. The Eagles tried an onside kick following the score. An alert Ramsey
stepped forward, caught the bouncing ball and ran it untouched into the
end zone, ending the game.
OCT. 12
CATHOLIC RED
SJ Prep 41, Roman 6
The Hawklets made quick work of the young Cahillites. Prep
scored the
first five times they had the ball and spurted to a 34-0 halftime lead. After
starting the season with three tough losses to quality opponents, the
Hawklets have seemed to regain their balance as of late. However, the next
three weeks are the meat and potatoes of their schedule, with games against
Bonner, O'Hara, and Judge. Sr. RB Kyle Ambrogi gobbled up 157 yards on
just 13
carries, and scored three times. Ambrogi did all his damage in just a quarter
and a half. His replacement, jr. RB Pat Kaiser (12-111, TD) picked up
where
he left off. Kaiser showed a nice burst, and is a quality back. Fullbacks
sr. Billy Addis and soph. Brian Tracz each added 5-yard
scoring runs. Sr. QB
Vince Gallagher was only asked to drop back and pass three times, but
completed all of them for 68 yards. The Hawklets have a couple of potential
stars in their secondary. Soph. DB Solomon Patterson had a nice
interception,
and soph. DB Danny Jones showed excellent cover skills. Both are
extremely
quick, and have natural ballhawking instincts. Jones doubled as a punt
returner, and accumulated 70 yards on three returns. He has definite halfback
potential in his future. I was impressed with the play of two-way line man,
jr. John Quinn (6-4, 236lb.). He showed nice agility and strength on both
sides of the ball. The Prep offensive line paved the way to the tone of 366
yards on 48 carries. Roman was led by sr. RB/WR/DB Kevin Dolan, who once
again showed the heart of lion. This kid goes after it on every play, and
well-deservingly scored his team's lone touchdown. It seemed like every time I
looked he was making a touchdown-saving tackle. He finished with 8 tackles,
returned four kickoffs for 87 yards, and punted six times with a 30-yard
average. Soph. QB Andre Sloan-El showed some promising skills, but really
never got on track. He finished 5-for-17, for 44 yards. However, he did fall
victim to some costly drops. He did have a nice 33-yard run after being
flushed out of the pocket. Sr. LB Anthony Alosi and sr. DB Ryan
Dopkin had
seven and eight tackles respectively. There was a nice crowd on hand for this
contest. I would estimate somewhere around 1,500 people, with roughly 400 to
500 of them being kids who organized their own football games around the
perimeter of the field. At times, the action here surpassed that of what took
place on the field. These games were filled with nice one-handed grabs and
good clean hitting. I wondered, how many future CL stars were participating
in these games. Also, nice gesture by Prep head coach Gil Brooks and his
staff. With his team already leading 34-0, they elected not to run a play
from the Roman 5-yard line; instead they let the clock expire ending the
first half.
OCT. 6
CATHOLIC BLUE
Neumann 35, W. Catholic 17
The Buccos broke open a close contest with two-fourth
quarter
touchdowns. Sr. FB Chris Scott-Peters (6-2,
215lb) was a man possessed. The
bruising fullback torched the Burrs' defense to the tune of 215
yards, on 31
carries, with 5 touchdowns. On his last score, he took
advantage of the West
defenders' attempts to rip the ball out of his grasp. What
should have been a
gain of a few, turned into a 55-yard rumble to the house. The
Pirates' defense
intercepted four passes on the afternoon. Sr. DB Bryan
Navin had two of the
picks; his second was a magnificent over the shoulder catch
about 25-yards
down field. Navin also deflected a punt to setup his team's
first score. Les
Durkee and Dan Concannon had
the other two picks for the Buccos. Sr. LB Mark Meigher
led the tackle charge for Neumann with nine. Jr. two-way
lineman Ed McDuffie
(6-4, 270) moves well, and could be a impact player someday. Once
again the
Burrs were led by soph. RB Curtis Brinkley
(18-148). On the second play from
scrimmage, Brinkley showed his elusiveness, as he tightroped
the sideline
before cutting back and darting in from 69 yards. He showed
another aspect of
his game on his second TD, a 53-yard run. Seemingly stopped for
a loss in his
own backfield, he bounced off multiple would-be tacklers and
then spurted up
the middle for the score. As the first quarter ended, Brinkley
already had
amassed 134 yards on just 6 carries. To Neumann's credit, they
bottled up
West's franchise back, who had just 14 yards on 12 carries for
the remainder of
the contest. Jr. DB Robert Ramsey had 9
tackles, 3 TFL's. Though he is
usually one of the smaller players on the field, there is no
lack of
toughness in this kid. He also accumulated 72 yards on three
kickoff returns.
Jr. WR/DB Jonathan Jackson finished with 11
tackles, and caught three passes
for 42 yards. Jr. K Jay McCarrie nailed a
35-yard field goal to pull the
Burrs' to within four at 21-17 just before halftime. Neumann
assistant coach
Brian "BA" Adair who is a West grad,
class of '90, is quite animated on the
sideline. I often spotted Brian vigorously pacing up and down
the sideline,
occasionally slamming his hat to the ground when disagreeing on
a call. Also,
you may want to keep somewhat of a good distance from him. If
not, there is a
reasonable chance that you may be sprayed with part of the
loads of tobacco
chew he has running out of his mouth. Not a pretty sight!!!
SEPT. 29
CATHOLIC BLUE
West Catholic 26, Kennedy-Kenrick 7
West soph. RB Curtis Brinkley (18-168) scored
three touchdown to give
the Burrs their first win of the season. The second of his three scores was a
thing of beauty, as he scampered down the sideline, and then cut back around
the 10, eluding two would-be defenders. Jr. RB/DB Robert Ramsey
(9-72) had two long runs of 33 and 37 yards. Ramsey also gave the Burrs the
lead for good on a 14-yard TD reception from jr. QB Matt Rodia (5-10, 92
yds).
Jr. WR/DB Jonathan Jackson (3-71) hauled in a beautiful 53-yard reception
to
set up the Burrs' final score. Jackson (7 tackles) later intercepted a pass
and returned it for a 74-yard TD, only to have the return nullified by an
illegal block. Rodia had his best outing of the season; he lost a TD toss
when a ball was dropped in the end zone. Sr. DE Greg Scannapieco made the
defensive play of the day for the Burrs. Late in the first half he sacked and
recovered a fumble to prevent a possible Wolverine score, keeping the game
knotted going into the half. Frosh. OL/LB Frank Pirotta was in on 8
tackles.
The Wolverines did a good job early keeping West off the field by controlling
the ball. Soph RB Daniel Connor (12-63) and sr. FB Rocco Fusco
(13-52) each
had nice moments. KK soph. QB Ricky McMinn (6-4, 215 lb) has good size.
He
finished 7-for-12, for 77 yards on the day. On defense, soph LB Eric Ondik (9
tackles) was the Wolverine leader. In fact he started the game off with three
successive tackles. Jr. DE Dan Molyneaux contributed 8 tackles and a
sack.
Jr. OL/DT A. J. Kielinski (6-6, 280 lb) with some work could make himself
into a player. He has great size, and moved well at times. To start the
second half the PA announcer said, "The Burrs go back to receive the second
half punt."
SEPT. 28
CATHOLIC RED
St. Joe's Prep 21 LaSalle 0
These bitter rivals played to a draw in the game's first half,
but the
Hawklets seized control early in the second half and never look back. The
Prep won this game in the trenches, as it controlled the line of scrimmage
on both sides of the ball. The Prep rushed for 253 yards on the night, and
held the Explorers to a mere 20 yards on 25 carries. OUCH!!! Sr. RB Kyle
Ambrogi was his typical workhorse self, as he pounded out 205 yards on 30
carries. Ambrogi, who was used less than usual in his team's first few games,
found himself in the thick of things throughout. It was he who broke the
scoreless game with a 51-yard jaunt, as he went up the middle virtually
untouched early in the third quarter. The increased number of carries could
be a direct result from that he saw no time on defense in this one. The Prep
scored three of the first four times they had the ball in the second half.
Sr. QB Vince Gallagher found sr. WR Jim Lachman on a
9-yard scoring strike.
Later, jr. RB/K Pat Kaiser took a counter around the right side for
another
9-yard touchdown. Much of the Prep's credit should go to the horses up front,
D-1 prospect sr. G John Connors (6-3, 276 lb), sr. T Steve Mair,
sr. G Joe
Troiano (5-9, 285 lb), sr. C Mike Minetti, and jr. T John
Quinn all played a
part in paving the way. The TE rotation of sr. Mike Mailey (6-3, 243),
soph.
Matt Parkhurst, and sr. Brian Tucci (6-4, 217) all
chipped in with quality
blocking. On the defensive side of the ball, the Hawklets were led by sr. LB
Adam Hepp who recorded 6 tackles, 4 for losses. Mailey chipped in with 6
tackles and a sack. Sr. DB Sean O'Beirne (8 tackles) and sr. NT Tim
Giangiulio (10 tackles) also starred. Soph MLB Brian Tracz
(6-1, 220 lb) is a
keeper. He finished with nine tackles, and even though he is only a sophomore
he is already calling the defensive signals. I left extremely impressed with
him. The Explorers gave it their best shot in the first half. As twice they
drove deep into Prep territory, only to stall and then have to settle for
field goal attempts. Both (40, 25) were missed. Jr. QB Brian Donohoe, who
has
been splitting time with sr. QB/RB Sean Miller, got the majority of the
snaps.
Overall, he had modest success, completing 10-for-19, for 150 yards. Much of
his success came on throws off bootlegs. Jr. FB John Barrett made two
nice
catches out of the backfield for 50 yards. Miller plays with brass, but could
not get it going on this night. The Explorers had more than enough players
step up on the defensive side of the ball. Sr. LB Ed Sabia (6-2, 225 lb)
was
as advertised. Collecting 11 tackles on the night, to go along with an
interception. He has a nose for the ball, and could end up earning a D-1
scholarship. Sr. DT Mike Kelley (11 tackles) plays bigger than he's
listed.
Jr. LB Dan Waters (13 tackles) is a Sabia clone, and was all over the
field.
Hit of the night belonged to LaSalle's sr. WR Dan Ritter. Ritter came out
of
nowhere to BLAST Prep DB Matt Stefanski downfield during an Explorer
27-yard
completion. A strong crowd was in attendance, and as usual the Prep student
section was in full affect. Constantly spitting out chants. I didn't realize
how many people were actually there, until I left, it felt like I was leaving
an Eagles playoff game waiting in traffic.
SEPT. 21
NON-LEAGUE
Washington 28, Bartram 20
The defending Public League
champs had all they could handle on this
afternoon. The Maroon Wave came out determined, and played a
spirited game.
The Eagles overcame a sluggish first half, but managed to take
control with
two-third quarter touchdowns. Bartram used a 44-yard fumble
return by jr. LB
Julius Caple and a nifty 93-yard kickoff
return by jr. WR/DB Alvin Tate to
take a 12-7 lead into the intermission. Behind tough running
from sr. RB/LB
Ryan Gore (5-11, 205 lb), Washington dominated
the third stanza. Gore finished
with 98 yards on just 11 carries, converting two of those
carries into
touchdowns. Gore is very strong, and has deceiving speed to go
along with it.
Personally, I would like to see him get a few more touches. If
this were to
happen, I believe his overall numbers could skyrocket. Jr. QB Marcus
Kennedy
started slowly, but finished with a flurry. He threw for 113
yards on 7
completions, including two, second-half scoring strikes. Star
Eagle players
sr. WR/DB Kyle Bell and sr. FB/LB Maurice
Bennett were held in check
throughout. However, their physical skills were very evident.
Bell did
intercept a desperation heave inside the 5-yard line to end the
game. Sr.
TE Michael Van Allen (6-4,175) caught a TD,
and had a beautiful 52-yard catch
and run to setup GW's final score. Sr. RB Bobby Young
(5-48) also ran hard.
The Maroon Wave was led by versatile sr. QB Phil Evans.
Evans finished
9-for-21 for 103 yards. He has a tremendous ability to roll out
and throw on
the run. I liked what I saw of him. State schools shouldn't
hesitate to give
him a look-see. Evans' most impressive throw probably came on a
conversion,
where he found sr. WR/DB Romar Drake on a
perfectly thrown fade in the corner
of the endzone. Truly a thing of beauty. On defense Drake led
the Maroon Wave
with 6 tackles. He also made the hit of the game, when he
LEVELED GW's Bell
after a 9-yard completion across the middle. As he came off the
field, I
overheard him saying, "Who's Kyle Bell? Who's Kyle Bell? I
don't know no
Bell. I do know that he's hearing bells." Many of
Bartram's players took
exception to the prediction I made earlier in the week. Sr. TE/LB Joseph Smith
made sure too let me know he disagreed with it prior to
the game, in an
amusing manner of course. I really enjoy covering Public League
football
games. However, one of the few things that bothers me is that,
many of the
fields don't have a visible working clock. Why does this bother
me? Well,
it's been a practice of mine to make note of the game time
after scores.
After GW's first score I had problems getting the time from the
official. So
the linesman said he would get me the time right after the
kickoff.
Coincidentally, Bartram ran back the kickoff, so now I needed
two times. The
official yelled over, 6:06 left. I said, what? He replied, I
mean 7:56. You
might be asking yourself where am I going with this? The
problem is that, GW
started the quarter off and ran exactly two plays, scoring on
the second of
those plays. Then we had the kickoff return for a touchdown.
That is THREE
PLAYS TOTAL, it is virtually impossible to have over 4-minutes
run off the
clock on just three plays. It just makes me wonder, how many
times during the
course of the season does something like this happens, because
when it does
it's the kids who are being cheated.
SEPT. 8
NON-LEAGUE
North Catholic 19, West Catholic 18
The Falcons rallied from an early
deficit to capture the win. Led by sr.
RB Jamar Little on offense and sr. LB Mike Piotrowicz on
defense, North took
care of the ball and made the plays when needed to hang on. Little, who goes
only 5-5, 145 lbs., was a force throughout. He rushed for 104 yards on 25
tough carries, and returned a kickoff 88 yards for another score. Little ran
hard, and low to the ground, while showing good speed in the open field. On
the other side of the ball Piotrowicz equally shined. He was involved in 11
tackles, and forced and recovered a fumble on the day. He was easily the
toughest kid on the field. Piotrowicz also handled the kicking/punting duties
for the Falcons. His extra point after the third North score proved to be the
difference. Soph QB Charles Evans showed some nice poise, and had some
early
success, completing four passes for 70 yards in the first half. Though he
didn't do much in numbers in the second half, he played smart and gave in
team a chance to win by taking care of the ball. WR Steve Cross
made three
receptions for 38 yards. Others who played well on defense for the Falcons
were, sr. DB Brian Hannan (7 tackles, INT), John Popplewell
(7 tackles, sack),
and DB John Lavelle. Lavelle, with his team already trailing 12-0, made a
key
interception in the end zone to prevent another Burr score. He stepped in
nicely as the Burrs attempted an out-pattern from the three on third down,
returning the ball 51 yards and that led to the first Falcon score. A score
there, and this game could have gotten seriously out of control for North.
The Burrs must have thought they were in a cakewalk early on. Scoring early
twice and threatening a third time before that costly interception.
Eventually fatigue and turnovers would be the demise of the young Burrs. West
turned the ball over five times, including one inside its own 10; it
led to a score. As well as three inside North's five-yard line that
prevented scores. Soph RB-DB Curtis Brinkley was brilliant, gathering 230
yards on 27 carries, while scoring twice (52 & 51 yds). The more I watch this
kid, more I realize that he has SERIOUS talent. I believe he is already one
of the top five backs in the city. On his first score, he cut back beautifully,
storming past a Falcon defense that seemed to be standing still. Jr. QB Matt
Rodia (4-14-53 yards, 2 INT) improved from the previous week, but is
still
trying to get a grasp on the offense. However, he was victimized by some
drops and had a 40-yard gain called back by a pentaly. IF Jr. WR Jonathon
Jackson (3-43) can become a bit more consistent, he has star potential.
Lack
of concentration led to some drops, but he does possess speed after the
catch. Jr. RB/DB Robert Ramsey played a strong game defensively with
50-yard
INT return to setup a score, while being in on 9 tackles. Jr. OL/DL Mike
Cannon (6-5, 275lb) had 6 tackles, and did some nice blocking on offense.
He
has nice size, and with some work could turn into a pretty decent player. Jr.
LB Steven Williams (9 tackles) filled holes nicely from his linebacker
position. Frosh OL/LB Frank Pirotta (6-0, 210 lb) is starting and playing
both
ways for the Burrs. Considering he is only a freshman he his playing well,
and could turn out to be a good one. With just under a minute remaining, West
had a first down and the ball on the Falcon 40. However, DL Matt Padilla
sacked Rodia, forcing a fumble that was recovered by North DL Alvin Percival
to seal the Falcon victory.
SEPT. 1
NON-LEAGUE
Roman 28 West 6
This was inaugural game for these teams in the Cape May
Classic. For the
first 20 minutes or so, the game was a virtual draw. However, the Cahillites
took advantage of some costly Burr mistakes and produced two scores in the
last 3:07 of the half. For Roman, sr. RB Tom Maisch (19-102) ran hard all
afternoon. He constantly picked up chunks of yardage to keep Roman drives
alive. Soph QB Andre Sloan-El struggled early, but picked it up in the
second
half, tossing for two scores. I expect him to get better with each game. The
athleticism is definitely there. Soph WR/LB Charron Fisher (6-3, 212) is
a
serious talent. Already, a high prospect on the basketball court, the
imposing Fisher showed why football may also be in his future. Right now they
have him lined up at WR, but TE could also be a possibility. When lined up
outside against diminutive defensive backs, he reminds me of former Bok
standout Ramon Mills. Fisher also supplied the hit of the game, as he
leveled
Burr jr. RB Robert Ramsey on a catch out of the backfield. The sky is the
limit for this kid. On defense, Roman was led by the trio of sr. LB Eric
Strauss (10 tackles), sr. LB Anthony Alosi (8 tackles,
fumble rec., recovery
of blocked punt), and sr. DB Kevin Dolan (5 tackles, INT). Dolan's INT
was a
thing of beauty, as he leaped and snared a pass about 30 yards downfield to
end the first half. Dolan also hauled in a pretty over-the-shoulder, 61-yard
TD pass. Jr. DL Kevin Cahill contributed a blocked punt and a sack. The
Cahillites have a nice mix of solid senior leadership and young talented
players. I expect them to get better from week-to-week. Right now they are
not a top three CL Red team, but should be a playoff team. The young Burrs
had some nice moments; take away some mistakes and special team blunders and
the game probably would have been much closer. Soph RB/DB Curtis Brinkley ran
well and produced 119 yards on 22 carries. Brinkley, a transfer from
Roxborough, has a chance to be VERY special. Right now he listed as a
sophomore, with junior eligibility. A hearing on this matter will more than
likely be held later in the season. Right now he reminds me of Abdul Sesay,
the Burr back who erupted for 1,900+ yards last season. Brinkley may not be a
fast as Sesay, but is probably a little more elusive in the open field.
Ramsey also ran hard, and showed he too may be a productive player. This
tandem should have some success this year, and post some nice yardage
numbers. Jr. WR/DB Jonathon Jackson is a deep threat in the Burr offense.
He
also played well on D, providing 6 tackles and sharing a sack. Sr. LB Ameel
Johnson led the Burrs with 9 tackles. Jr. DE Russell Seawright
had 4 tackles,
all for losses. Jr. QB Matt Rodia was erratic much of the day, but should
have better success in the future. The Burrs possess one of the bigger
players in the city. Sr. OL/DL Rupert Sylvester is listed at 6-8, 360
lbs.
and looks every bit of it. He is a bit raw, but with some work could turn
into a prospect. If the Burrs can withstand injury, and other assorted
circumstances they should be a playoff team in the CL Blue. They have a few
gamebreakers on their team, and defensively fly to the ball. Probably a year
away from making a serious impact though. Strange sequence #1: West was
called for a clip during a sparkling 25-yard run by Brinkley. During the run
Brinkley was jarred by Fisher, but somehow maintained his balance and
reversed his field before being pushed out inside the Roman 5. On the next
play they were once again called for a pentaly. The Burrs went from
first-and-goal inside the five, to 3rd-and-41 at their own 38. Strange
sequence #2: Later in the game, Roman's Maisch was pushed out at the 1
after a 28-yard gain. However, on the play they were called for a clip and
the ball was placed back at the 30. After two more pentalies on successive
plays the Cahillites were faced with a 3rd-and-38 from their own 39.
Miraculously, Sloan-El found a streaking Dolan for an incredible 61-yard
touchdown.
AUG. 31
NON-LEAGUE
Bonner 34, Upper Darby 6
The Friars, who have high
aspirations this season, wasted no time in
dismantling their neighborhood rivals. In a 3:07 span of the
first quarter,
Bonner scored three TDs and never looked back. Sr. QB Mike
Stauffer
(6-4, 205) showed a nice touch on some early completions.
Unfortunately,
Stauffer was injured midway through the second quarter. He was
taken to
nearby Delaware County Hospital for x-rays. After returning, he
was diagnosed
with a fractured wrist, that will sideline him at least three
weeks. Juniors
Drew Zagursky and Frank Nunan
shared quarterbacking duties for the remainder
of the contest. Zagursky looks to be more the thrower, but
Nunan gives the
Friars another option with his athleticism. The backfield
combination of sr. FB
Jason Smith and sr. TB Paul Kollhoff
give Bonner a nice one-two combination.
Smith likes to burrow his way up the middle, and will carry
would-be
tacklers. Kollhoff, the quicker of the two, likes to get
outside. Sr.
TE Joseph Boland (6-2, 212) made three grabs;
two were sensational. He also
caught a fourth pass, of the "INT" variety. Sr. WR-DB
Kevin LeSage, a returning
First Team CL Red performer, was everywhere. First, he scooped
up a fumble and
retuned it 45 yards for a score. Later, he turned his only
reception into a
3-yard TD grab over two defenders. This kid has a terrific feel
for the game.
He is always around the ball, and is the epitome of a
playmaker. Sr. LB Dom
Armideo (11 tackles) was another focal point
of the Friars defense,
constantly getting in the way of the Upper Darby attack. Jr. DB
Chris Eccles
showed good closing speed on pass plays. He finished with
two-INTs, and was
involved on 7 tackles. As a team the Friars forced six Royal
turnovers. I
was extremely impressed with jr. K/P Chris Schrader.
He boomed two
FGs (32,26), and was a perfect 4-for-4 with PAT. Also, he had
great
distance and height on his punts and kickoffs. Undoubtedly, he
could be a
weapon for the Friars this season. Overall, I was impressed
with the
performance the Friars showed. There is no reason why they
shouldn't be near
the top of the ever-tough CL Red division. What they lack in
size and speed,
they make up for in grit and toughness. A sidenote to this
game: Bonner Head
Coach Mike "Stump" Coyne has more
assistant coaches than some Public League
coaches have players. I counted sixteen assistant coaches in
the program.