OCT. 28
CATHOLIC BLUE
West Catholic 21, Dougherty 6
   I picked this game because I thought it had a chance to be a shootout -- the running of West jr. RB Curtis Brinkley vs. the passing of Dougherty sr. QB Sean McGovern. Obviously, all kinds of points weren't posted, but the game was still entertaining. The 5-8, 168-pound Brinkley, durable as ever, ran 32 times for 234 yards and an 86-yard TD. The score came midway through the fourth quarter, lifting West's lead to 14-0. Brinkley had to juke and spin and maintain his balance early in the run, but then he broke free and hightailed it all the way to the end zone. As we began heading to the other end to watch the conversion, colleague Ed "Huck" Palmer said, "This is the best walk in football 'cause you know you just accumulated good stats!" West's line included sr. C James Burke, jr. G Will Grant, freshman G Frank Pirotta, sr. T Rupert Sylvester (6-8, 360), soph G Fran Enright and soph TE David Fitzgerald. Also, sr. Ameel Johnson and jr. Robert Ramsey (late 43-yard TD run) blocked well at FB. Johnson began the game wearing No. 35, then later switched to No. 72 when the coaches wanted him to briefly help out at guard. He then lined up again at FB wearing No. 72. West's defense received strong efforts from a jr. DT Steve Williams, sr. DE Greg Scannapieco (fumble recovery), Fitzgerald (two blocked punts) and the hard-hitting Ramsey at DB. Also, Brinkley had a late interception and a 41-yard return. He also had a 16-yard punt return so he did 291 yards of all-purpose running. That, of course, is three FB fields worth of running. No wonder he was slightly tired at the end. On West's scoring drive, Brinkley carried seven consecutive times to get the ball to the 8. But after Brinkley was dropped by sr. DB Matt Miller for a 6-yard loss, West coach Brian Fluck decided to try something different and it worked like a charm. Sr. WR Jonathan Jackson took the ball on a flanker sweep, I guess you would call it, and sprinted 14 yards to the end zone. Jackson used a nice burst of speed to turn the corner at about the 10 and tightroped the sideline the rest of the way. Good run! As I mentioned in earlier reports, Dougherty has had deep problems on defense. But in this one, the Redbirds delivered some good licks. Miller, sr. LB Albert Davis, jr. DT Jimmy John McElvaney and jr. DB Dominic Jefferson registered good ones on the Pop-o-Meter. Sr. DB Eliezer Garcia twice recovered fumbles and pounced on a squib kick as well. Garcia added four catches for 52 yards, three runs for 20 and three kick/punt returns for 39. McGovern finished 17-for-30 for 191 yards and a late TD to Miller (7-66). Mostly, his receivers held onto the passes in this one. McGovern made his best play late in the third quarter. He was chased and flushed, but he avoided everyone, returned to the front portion of the pocket, made sure he was still behind the line of scrimmage and fired a pass of 50-plus yards into the end zone. Garcia was there for a TD, but couldn't make the catch. There was a touching moment before the game. One of West's players had no parent present to walk with him onto the field. As the kid's name was announced, the PA announcer added, "Accompanied by the West Catholic football team!" Then, everyone trotted over to greet him. The kid burst into tears. The other referees wanted it known by that linesman Mike Hoban was wearing Scoobie Doo underwear, which was visible under his white pants. I cannot confirm that because I spent the whole game on West's side and Mike was on Dougherty's side. Plus, I'm not sure I wanted to confirm it. "That's Mike," one ref said, laughing. "Always trying to find a way to get mentioned in your tidbits. But, c'mon, Scoobie Doo underwear?"

OCT. 27
CATHOLIC BLUE
Carroll 28, McDevitt 6
   Big Red rules Blue. Once again, Carroll is the first-place finisher in the Blue Division, and the title came in reasonably easy fashion. In time, the Patriots were dominant along the line of scrimmage and early they received more heroics from sr. WR/DB/return man Maurice Stovall, who posted an 80-yard score on a punt return. Stovall was jostled early after catching the punt, but then he broke to the left side and frolicked from there. McDevitt drew within 7-6 when sr. QB Bill Holden rolled right and made a nice cut-it-up move to get through traffic for an 8-yard TD; it was the only play of the "drive" after a shanked, 3-yard punt. In all, Carroll accumulated 299 yards total offense behind sr. C Dom D'Alicandro, sr. Gs John Vanak and Matt Kelly, sr. Ts Joe Cocco and Zach Torres and sr. TE Evan Dittler. Jr. FB James Roderick (16-79) and sr. RB Mike Malandra (7-59) led the rushing attack while sr. QB Pat Brochet passed 9-for-25 for 126 and a TD on a 4-yard, loft-it-up-he'll-catch-it flip to Stovall. Jr. RB Chaz Scott made five catches for 84 yards. Stovall generated 149 yards on four returns (two kickoffs, two punts). McDevitt was held to 80 yards and three first downs. The Lancers ran up the white flag, in effect, when they opted to punt, down by 28-6, late in the third quarter on fourth-and-6 from Carroll's 44. The Patriots' four-man defensive line included sr. Es Vince Lynam and Vanak, sr. T Pat Kelly (Matt's twin; must be fraternal because they don't look too much alike) and Broderick. Vanak had a solo sack. He and Lynam combined on another. Before the game, Kevin "Sparky" Cooney was chased off Carroll's sideline at the order of Carroll assistant Fran Murphy, also the school's athletic director. On this site, Sparky recently took the Patriots to task for, in his opinion, running up scores. Doing the honors was Bruce Martin, who works security at Carroll games and is a prominent local umpire. Bruce has even worked major league games during umpires' strikes/lockouts, so he's accustomed to making ejections. Martin told Sparky he had to leave because he would have been a distraction to Carroll's players. Sparky wasn't going to stay on Carroll's side anyway. He was at the game to cover McDevitt for The Record. I'd told him to spend some time on Carroll's side in case there was anyone who wanted to take issue with him. That's an old staple in journalism. If you rip somebody, or know you've made somebody mad, make yourself visible as soon as possible thereafter in case something needs to be discussed. Sparky and Murphy did talk after the game. What was said will remain between them, unless Sparky wants to tell us in Sparky's Corner.

OCT. 27
CATHOLIC RED
Bonner 38, Judge 14
   One thing a team must be able to do is make adjustments, right? Bonner did so in this one, in spades. The Friars' first play produced a 58-yard TD pass from sr. QB Mike Stauffer to sr. WR Kevin LeSage. But on their other last 18 plays of the half, they netted just 20 yards in part because Stauffer threw nine incompletions and an interception. "We came out wanting to pass, but that's kind of hard when your QB is having trouble delivering the ball," coach Stump Coyne said. In the second half, voila!, Bonner stuck to the ground and coasted. Sr. FB Jason Smith, a/k/a "The Fastest Catcher in America," dashed 60 yards on the first play to Judge's 10. He went in from the 5 two plays later. Smith (12-114) and sr. RB Paul Kollhoff (13-123) both wound up rushing for two TDs. Bonner's line featured C Mike Whalen, Gs Mike Kozak and Matt Blong, Ts Dan Mulgrew and James Manley and Es Nick Celenza, Chris Love and Paul McNichol. LeSage had two interceptions in addition to his TD catch and late in the game, Coyne came over and said to me excitedly, "He may not be the best player in Bonner history, but you don't have to call the roll too long to get to his name!" LeSage's pick returns went for 69 total yards; he also had decent gains on a punt return (37 yards) and a kickoff return (27). Judge moved the ball a little on offense, but lacked zip without its starting QB, sr. Greg Hennigar (shoulder injury). Jr. Mike Eaton finished 13-for-29 for 105 yards. He also threw three interceptions (sr. Dave Pasciolla had the other). Sr. Justin O'Brien, like almost always, scored all Judge points. He rushed 21 times for 122 yards and two TDs, kicked two PAT and made five catches for 33 yards. Sr. LB Tom Lynch had an interception. At one point when Eaton looked to the sideline for a play, assistant Richard "Birch" Maley told him, "No. 2 on your thing!" Some of the plays were on a sheet of cardboard encased in plastic on Eaton's wrist. Late in the first half, sr. WR Mike Haigh began trotting to the sideline after Judge called time. Ref Tom McClain was making the timeout signal with his hands and his right wrist smacked hard against Haigh's helmet. Sr. T Ryan "Goose" Nase kiddingly told Haigh, "Way to go, Haigh. Now we won't get another call the rest of the game." Very late in the third quarter, Bonner jr. LB Matt Asciutto failed to make a play on a sweep. When an assistant asked what the heck was going on, Asciutto said, "I'm gettin' killed out here, all right!?!" At least he was honest.

OCT. 26
PUBLIC LEAGUE
Mastbaum 25, King 12
   D! C! C! . . . D! C! C! The Mastbaum kids kept chanting those letters. Derrick Coleman's Coming? No! Division C Champs! The title was won in this one as sr. RB/LB Chris DeShields led the way on both sides of the ball. No doubt impressing an assistant coach from James Madison Univ., DeShields ran extra hard for 157 yards and two TDs on 25 carries and sprinted to the ball again and again from his OLB spot, making 13 tackles. This game appeared to have all-time, wild-one potential in the first quarter after three TDs were posted in 36 seconds -- DeShields ran 36 yards from scrimmage, then King AP sr. Michael Leslie (86 yards) and Mastbaum WR/WB Tony Dyches (73 yards) traded kickoff return scores. Thereafter, the game was largely sloppy. There was one stretch where four consecutive plays were marred by penalties. There was also a three-play stretch of flag heaven. Sr. DTs Russell Kubach and Sean Straub anchored the middle of Mastbaum's d-line. Sr. DE Quan Berry recovered a fumble early in the third quarter at King's 15 and DeShields needed just two carries, 9 and 6 yards, to get the ball into the end zone. My DN story focused on sr. OLB Anthony Winder, who came close to matching DeShields' intensity. He lives near King and had to fend off trash-talkers all week at his front door. King sr. RB Donald Jefferson ran 18 times for 63 yards. Only once he did gain more than 10. Leslie ran six times for 74 yards. King's coach, Damond "Smash" Warren, showed tremendous game-long energy, but a few times I thought he was SO excited, his players found it tough to focus on what he wanted done. Admittedly, this could have proven tough against Mastbaum's four-LB defense, but I thought jr. QB Dion Whittington, an excellent, reckless-abandon runner, should have done some early taking off, just to set a tone. Sr. DT Gary Dunlap was a monster for King. He had nine tackles. He also blocked a punt and recovered the ball. King's players warmed up to the sounds of Jock Jams, booming from a box along the sideline.

OCT. 25
PUBLIC LEAGUE
Central 28, Overbrook 12
   This was my first visit to Roxborough's refurbished field. Very nice! Like almost every city field, this one is a shade burned out, but the facility itself is first class. It looks funny, though, to not see stands on the visiting side. This game was basically even. Overbrook killed itself with special teams woes. Two of Central's scoring "drives" had to cover just 10 and 21 yards after sr. TE-DE-K-P James Clark had to flop on horrible snaps in punting position. Sr. QB Kaloma Cardwell had a 56-yard TD pass to jr. RB Chris Williams. He also ram 20 yards for a score to clinch the win with 3:53 left. Jr. DB Joshua Keller had Cardwell stopped for an 8-yard loss. But the referees were a shade slow to blow their whistles and Cardwell kept squiggling and Keller neglected to wrap and, zip, there was Cardwell, steaming into the end zone. Sr. RB Munir Nuriddin added 62 yards and two TDs on eight carries. Central's defensive leader, like always lately, was soph LB Quindel Ladson. This kid's hits have a sound all their own. He's listed at 5-10, 190, but packs the wallop of a 250-pounder. I had him for 13 tackles, with two for losses. My DN story focused on sr. C-DT Slaven Simunovic, who came here from Bosnia in '92 knowing NO English and is now being courted by Ivy League schools. For 'Brook, sr. QB Omar Sanders looked terrific. He's not big (5-9, 170), but he has great instincts and cubes. He threw well, even downfield, and showed bursts of speed to get away from pursuit. He accounted for 139 yards of rushing and passing. Put this kid on a good team and he's making a bid for first team All-Public. Only once did he let his teammates' failings get to him. After a dropped pass, he shook his head and muttered, "Don't nobody wanna play today." Sr. FB Jamal Ragin, a thick kid, had 67 yards on nine carries. Sr. RB Ahmed Powell reinjured his ankle and was not a factor. Sr. DL Christian Thomas had some good moments, especially early. Also, jr. DT Joshua Kinnard forced and recovered a fumble. At one point, jr. sub DB Thayer Outlaw said to me with a smile, "You need a comment from me?" I told him, "Let's hear it." He said, "See me after the game." Hey, it doesn't work that way. You have to dazzle on the fly! Lou D'Alonzo, formerly Southern's coach, is handling the defense for Ken Sturm. When possible, he did a nice job of actually teaching the Panthers. Before the game, I took a photo of Overbrook's senior leaders. One of them said afterward, "What's your website again? TedO'Leary.com?" Yeah, something like that. 'Brook sr. DL Braheem Alston has this written on the back of his helmet: "I'm the last thing you see. Don't look back."

OCT. 21
CATHOLIC RED
Judge 7, La Salle 6
   Until the interesting finish, this one was mostly drab. Stir-the-juices plays were not exactly plentiful and the stadium was strangely quiet except when La Salle's band was playing. In the entire game, La Salle's offense had just two plays that went for more than 8 yards and, believe it or not, they came in succession and wound up being the team's last two. Soph RB Mike Ciaverelli made a 9-yard reception from jr. QB Brian Donohoe and then took a draw play straight up the middle for a barely touched 20-yard TD run with 1:30 left, drawing the Explorers within 7-6. Sr. Jason Breznicky missed the PAT, but was roughed, and then coach Joe Colistra had a decision to make -- play it safe or show cubes. He showed cubes. Knowing he had the inferior offensive team, and perhaps worried because his kicker had just missed, Colistra figured he'd better go for the win. I agreed (as did everyone standing around me), but it didn't work out. On a keeper to his right, Donohoe was tackled inches short of the goal line and Judge ran out the clock after sr. WR Mike Haigh recovered the onside kick. The game could prove costly for Judge as sr. QB Greg Hennigar hurt his throwing shoulder and/or collarbone area early in the fourth quarter and sr. T Ryan "Goose" Nase (6-3, 300), driving force behind Judge's "Abyss" during basketball season, hurt his left knee a short time later. After getting crunched by sr. DE Chris Galbally and sr. DT Drew Babin on a keeper, Hennigar departed with the ball at La Salle's 9. Jr. Mike Eaton replaced him and handed twice to sr. RB Justin O'Brien (26-90), who went 7 and 2 yards for the score and then kicked the PAT. Sr. C Steve Ricci and soph G Jim Alberts, respectively, made good blocks on the plays. Galbally had a good day. He tackled O'Brien for losses of 5, 4 and 3 yards (help from sr. LB Ed Sabia on the last one). But perhaps the Explorers' most impressive play was made by the other DE, sr. Mike Graham (6-3, 200), who ate up ground big-time (colleague "Sparky" Cooney, a Judge grad, had just babbled excitedly, "See ya!) and caught O'Brien, keeping what could have been an 88-yard TD run to a 39-yard gain. For Judge, sr. DL Ryan Loftus (11) and sr. DB Paul Roken and sr. LB Tom Lynch (nine each) led in tackles. Donohoe punted nine times for 373 yards (41.4 average) and Judge soph John Shattuck had a 63-yarder to greatly swing the field position battle late in the third quarter. Jr. DB Matt McGurkin had an interception for La Salle. The legendary Tom "Hockey Puck" McKenna went over during a crucial part of the game -- he was keeping defensive stats -- to talk through a fence with some of the Conlins (Kevin, who played at La Salle and Penn State, owns a house that borders the field.) Puck said, "They offer me a beer, but I told them I had to go do the Wood-West game. Could you see my stats if I had a beer? Ha, ha, ha. You couldn't even read 'em." I had an interesting halftime chat with Judge frosh player Chris Banks, who wants to write for the site. Coach Tommy Coyle said the two will discuss it. 

OCT. 20
CATHOLIC RED
SJ Prep 42, Bonner 21
   Monstrous crowd. Great atmosphere. Only a partially competitive game. As several members of Bonner's coaching staff acknowledged, Prep kicked tail in this one. I darn near needed an adding machine to tabulate the Hawklets' total offense number. Ch-ch-ch-ching -- 478 yards. Sr. RB Kyle Ambrogi, using his incredible leg strength to carry some tacklers and bounce back others, rushed 27 times for 182 yards and two scores. He also caught two passes from sr. QB Vince Gallagher and those plays also went for TDs (of 4 and 20 yards). On the 20-yarder, Ambrogi caught a swing pass close to Bonner's sideline, used a stutter-step to get around a defender and then put the moves on another before scoring in the middle of the field. On a 30-yard scoring run in the second quarter, he straight-armed a would-be tackler to the ground as though the kid was a weak fifth-grader. Gallagher, shaky earlier this season, was mostly composed. He went 9-for-13 for 187 yards and four TDs -- the two to Ambrogi and one apiece to sr. WRs Jim Lachman and Pete Chromiak (75-yard bomb; caught in stride). Gallagher did throw two interceptions (in a strange twist, he got two, too, at safety) and one was inexcusable, which I'm sure he knows. (On third-and-goal from the 2, he kept going to his right and finally whipped the ball, apparently to no one, as he almost reached the sideline. Jr. DB Chris Eccles intercepted in the end zone.) Prep's line featured sr. C John Minetti, sr. Gs John Connors and Joe Troiano, sr. T Steve Mair and jr. T John Quinn, and assorted TEs. As good as Ambrogi was for Prep, Bonner's Kevin LeSage was probably better. Put it this way: He was more spectacular. LeSage (6-foot, 170) made 11 catches for 223 yards and two TDs, helping sr. QB Mike Stauffer go 15-for-29 for 252 yards and three scores. LeSage showed everything -- crisp pattern-running, perfect concentration, fearlessness and an ability to adjust in the air (even after being hit). It got to a point where each new catch was more impressive than the last. On defense, I had Eccles (listed at 5-9, 157 pounds; probably no more than 145) with 16 tackles and he probably had a couple more. He also had an interception. Both schools had enthusiastic student rooting sections. I had to hit the bathroom before the game and three Bonner kids were in there painting themselves green. Prep's kids were singing the "Hey, Hey, Goodbye Song" midway through the second quarter, when the score was 14-0. Some Bonner fans, meanwhile, began chanting this when the score hit 35-7: "Let's get drunk now!. . . Let's get drunk now!" Hopefully, they were kidding. Why don't I think some of them weren't? Prep lost three important players to ankle injuries: Connors, sr. LB Adam Hepp and soph LB Brian Tracz. None appeared to be serious.

OCT. 20
CATHOLIC BLUE
Neumann 47, Dougherty 0
   This one started in wacky fashion. Neumann sr. DB Ed Lego (also a QB) was waved off the field because he supposedly vomited. When Lego came to the sideline, he told coach Ed "Bubby" DiCamillo he'd only spit, so DiCamillo yelled at back judge Jim Reif, "Are you a doctor? The kid said he spit!" Reif pointed to a spot on the field and said, "Wanna come look at it?" DiCamillo declined. Lego watched a play, then returned to action. Neumann did as it pleased on offense. Sr. RBs Randy Bell (14-100) and Chris Scott-Peters (14-59) ran for one score apiece and jr. TE Al Meacham used his big, but soft mitts to suck in a pair of scoring passes -- one from Lego (4-for-6, 70) and one from sr. Pat McLaughlin (1-for-1, 16). He made the 16-yarder while on his back after the ball was tipped. Lego and backup FB Matt Cella turned one carry into apiece into scores. The defense provided the final score as sr. DB Bryan Navin, who consistently dishes out the hardest hits in the city, intercepted a pass on Neumann's 5 and went all . . . the . . . way for a 95-yard TD! Neumann's line has two very large jr. Ts -- Ed McDuffie (6-5, 305) and Tom McCarron (6-6, 290). Meacham (6-4, 230) is also a jr. Seeing some time at DT was freshman Marques Slocum (6-4, 300). The kid can run, too! Dougherty struggled big-time. Sr. QB Sean McGovern, like the last time I saw him, was victimized by drops while going 6-for-25 for 66 yards. He rarely had a comfortable moment in the pocket, such as it wasn't. The team's best hustle was shown by jr. Dominic Jefferson. First he pursued and pursued to keep sr. WB/Rec. Mike Moody from running for a 70-yard TD (the gain was 52 yards). Later, he kept chasing Navin on the interception and finally made the tackle -- as both fell over the goal line. When that play happened, I was thinking No. 33 was James Jefferson, the CL champ in the 100 and 200. I even told some of Neumann's people. Sorry 'bout that. James wears No. 34 (unless there was a change I didn't catch).

OCT. 19
PUBLIC LEAGUE
Germantown 21, Central 18
   Good game! Great finish! And almost everyone who was there was on the sidelines, or so it seemed. Germantown has more coaches than the Eagles, plus all the ex-players come back to hang out. I love the loyalty because it's not seen too often at Pub schools, but man, does it make for a crowded sideline. Anyway, G-town won it by putting together a goal-line stand in the last minute. An interference call gave the Lancers first-and-goal at the 6. Sr. FB Corey Oliver, on his first appearance of the game (he has been hurt), gained 3 yards, a procedure penalty placed the ball at the 8, sr. RB Munir Nuriddin gained 4 yards on an inside reverse, sr. DB Jeffrey "J.T." King defended a pass intended for sr. WR Marcus Whitehead and sr. DB Aaron "Cheez" Calhoun defended a pass intended for Nuriddin. (My DN story focused on King, who had an interception along with 18 carries for 134 yards.) Jr. QB Raymond Massey wound up winning the game by completing a 25-yard scoring pass to jr. WR Akil Stokes with 3:44 left, but he had some rough moments. He was intercepted twice, was almost picked two more times and did not react quickly a few times when defenders were in his face. Yes, Central jammed the box, but I still thought G-town should have run more often behind the likes of sr. T Mahdi Bey (5-9, 290), jr. T Dorian Brewer (6-4, 370) and jr. G Paul "P.J." Johnson (5-10, 280). Central's electric QB, sr. Kaloma Cardwell, ran 11 times for 68 yards and a TD and passed for a 6-yard score to soph WR Jordan Anderson. It's a shame Cardwell is not just a little more accurate with his passes because he creates so much danger overall. Soph LB Quindel Ladson made 12 tackles; he flashed well to the ball and rarely got moved backward. Sr. T Tariq Sanders (6-5, 280, NOT FAT), who is receiving steady D-I interest, made an appearance at DT in the fourth quarter. He made four tackles. From what I'm told, he's only 16. He should have a tremendous upside. Central's third TD was scored by sr. DT Slaven Simunovic (6-2, 225). He caught a mid-air fumble (hit by Anderson) and rumbled 79 yards for a TD. He wasn't exactly showing sprinter's speed and I was kind of surprised no one caught him. But I give him credit: He never once indicated he just wanted to slow down and submit to a tackle. After King ran for a 23-yard gain in the third quarter, a fan yelled, "They can't touch you, boy! You got wings on your feet." I looked. No wings. Before the game, Kyle Waters, a backup QB for G-Town's 1999 title squad, threw the ball 79 yards in the air with only a slight wind at his back. He was standing on the 30. The ball landed nine yards deep in the end zone. I always told Kyle he should have become a pitcher. His hands are as big as snowshoes.

OCT. 18
PUBLIC LEAGUE
Bartram 14, West Phila. 10
   It was a few minutes before gametime. Bartram's players, having finished their drills, were standing on the sideline. Maybe 10-15 feet away were West's, still doing their drills. There was some harmless staring and then one of West's players said to Bartram's Ian Greaves, "Your favorite color still pink?" Greaves responded, "Maroon!" Hmm, I thought. This game could get very interesting. It did. Unlike in most Pub games, two TDs came on long passes as sr. QB Phil Evans hit sr. WR Romar Drake for perfectly thrown strikes of 85 and 47 yards. But his best play came when he rolled and rolled to his right under pressure and kept biding his time and then, just before going out of bounds, threw across his body for a 23-yard gain to Drake, who made a fingertip catch while prone. This one should have been on SportsCenter, baby! The Maroon Wave had little success on the ground. Sr. Henry Lundy (15-24) was the only guy to get a carry as long as 10 yards, and did so just once. West's defensive leader was sr. DE DeShone Cotton (6-2, 205). Cotton is extra frisky. He had a few man-against-boys plays, where he ran in and just destroyed a blocker and runner. He also scored a TD on a 13-yard interception return of a screen pass (he did a great job reading the play and then made a one-handed catch) and twice raced downfield to down punts close to the goal line (at the 3 and 1). Sr. LBs Terrell Roper and Brian Greene also played well for the Speedboys. With 6:30 left in the fourth, Evans hurt his ankle on an unsuccessful fourth down play and West took over, down by 14-8. Running by sr. Jerome Johnson and three completions from sr. QB Elijah Cosby-Jones to Roper helped to give the Speedboys first-and-10 at the 13 with 2:12 left. The sequence: incomplete pass, coverage by sr. DB Randal Eggleton; Cosby-Jones for no gain, tackle by sr. DE Joseph "Formally" Smith; Johnson for gain of 4 yards, tackle by Greaves and jr. DT Rich Mink (6-5, 265); sack for 14-yards, tackle by Smith and Greaves. Bartram's possession then went nowhere and Greaves ran back 18 yards for an intentional safety at 0:21. West's last three plays were uneventful. Bartram jr. RB Chironn "Goober" Davis (back problems) was in attendance and could be back in action as early as next week. He was not thrilled about his inactivity.  

OCT. 14
CATHOLIC RED
O'Hara 20, La Salle 6
   In my next life, I plan on being a stud tailback and Pat Gallagher is going to be my lead blocker. Gallagher, a 6-2, 210-pound sr., packs a wallop play after play and I can't imagine anyone working harder at one of life's more thankless jobs. Out of the "I" formation, Gallagher led the way all day, drawing constant praise from teammates and coaches, as sophomore TB Anthony Heygood rushed 31 times for 209 yards and two TDs. Later today, when I'm in the office, I'll try to look up how many times -- in recent years, anyway -- La Salle has given up 200 yards to a RB. It cannot have happened very often. O'Hara's offensive line featured jr. C Rick Finnegan, sr. Gs Pat Sweeney and Gene Giallombardo, sr. Ts Mike "Tuna" Bucella and Corey Watkins and sr. TE Joe Keenan. The other offensive headliner was sr. WR Harry "Mr. Excitement" Dougherty. Doc made six catches for 90 yards and a 21-yard TD from sr. QB Colin Smith. His best snag was an 18-yarder -- inches off the ground while stretching -- that set up a Heygood TD. Sr. LB Andrew Wood and jr. LB Corey Cannon had the best days on defense, mostly because the linemen did a good job of occupying blockers. Cannon dropped a RB for a 3-yard loss on the game's third play. On its last series, La Salle had first-and-goal at the 5 when Wood burst through and combined with sr. NG John Novelli to drop jr. QB Bill Donohoe for an 11-yard loss. Sr. DB Joe O'Donnell then held soph RB Mike Ciaverelli to a 1-yard gain, a holding penalty pushed the Explorers back some more, Wood stopped soph RB Max Mullineaux (15-60) for no gain and jr. DB Craig Haywood broke up a pass in the end zone. La Salle had just two possessions in the second half, but actually got things rolling in sustained fashion. Mullineaux and Ciaverelli, said to be a cousin of Penn Charter freshman Zack Zeglinski, showed some life and sr. handyman Sean Miller made three receptions on the drives. Defensively, jr. DB Matt McGurkin had an interception and sr. DB Chris Ladley was in on 11 tackles. Jr. Sean Agnew showed brass and good movements on assorted punt and kickoff returns; I wonder why he isn't used at RB?? Overheard on O'Hara's sideline: One of the players actually said this to some teammates, "I thought I lost my helmet. It was on my head the whole time." Before the game, I was talking with Roman coaches Jim Murphy and Danny Algeo and they were not looking forward to sitting in the stands on a two-band day. Murphy saw La Salle's band setting up and kiddingly noted, "What do you want to bet that 'Jeremiah Was a Bullfrog' will be one of their first two songs?" We continued chatting and, sure enough . . . "There it is," Murphy said. "What did I tell you!" 

OCT. 13
CATHOLIC BLUE
McDevitt 27, Neumann 7
    It's a good thing John and Ed "Bubby" DiCamillo are not related. Right about now, Bubby would be making inquiries on how to toss John from the family. Bubby is Neumann's coach. John, a sr., plays DE for McDevitt at 5-10, 185 pounds (he's probably shorter) and in this one he made things miserable for Bubby's squad. Let's see, how many great things did John DiCamillo do . . . He made two sacks worth 11 yards and three other tackles worth six yards in losses. He also blocked a punt and jr. DT Michael Johnson (5-10, 250 -- give or take 30 pounds -- smile) was able to pick up the ball and rumble for a TD. Also, when McDevitt still was pitching a shutout, DiCamillo raced across the line and knocked the ball free before sr. QB Pat McLaughlin had a chance to hand it to sr. FB Chris Scott-Peters. Sr. DL James Griffin recovered on the McDevitt 3. Jr. OLB Brandon Edwards also had a good game for the Lancers. He flew to the ball again and again. Sr. DL Dustin Lahiff had a fumble recovery and a good line. Talking about Johnson's TD, he said with a smile, "He only went 10 yards, but almost had a heart attack." Honestly, McDevitt was not extra impressive on offense. The Lancers had TWO plays that went for more than 10 yards -- a 13-yard run by freshman RB Lamar McPherson and a 75-yard TD pass from sr. QB Bill Holden to jr. WB Robert Henderson. One drive had to cover only 10 yards after Lahiff's fumble recovery. Another had to cover only two yards after sr. DB P.J. Chipman recovered an errant snap on a punt. Neumann never got much going. Several linemen went in and out with injuries and the rotating QBs, McLaughlin and sr. Ed Lego, had trouble finding a rhythm. Scott-Peters rushed 17 times for 94 yards (41 came on one carry) and delivered a few big hits at DE. The Buccos got on the board with 10.6 seconds left when Lego fired a 22-yard scoring pass to jr. WR Josh Quinlan. Quinlan had three late catches for 40 yards. He did a nice job on the score, fending off Chipman with his right hand just enough to not get an offensive interference penalty and hauling in the pass mostly with his left. Sr. MLB Mark Meighan was Neumann's most motivated defender in this one. Lego and McLaughlin go in and out in revolving door fashion and after the TD, I was 99 percent sure Lego threw the ball. I wrote down his number, 11, but said I would make sure to cross-check it afterward. Coach DiCamillo wasn't sure. A few other folks gave mixed responses. The Buccos were huddled in the end zone and someone yelled toward the group. Lego raised his hand and said, "I threw it!"

OCT. 13
INTER-AC LEAGUE
Malvern 24, Penn Charter 0
   The opener was the closer. PC, as it turned out, was unable to offer strong resistance and I can't imagine that the league's other three schools will be able to do so, so you might as well give Malvern the crown. Even without sr. QB Matt Skellan (he needs shoulder surgery), the Friars rolled to 298 yards total offense. Skellan's replacement, jr. David Moore, passed 10-for-13 for 114 yards as sr. WRs D.J. Driscoll (4-45) and Kevin Barr (3-42) made a series of good-concentration receptions. Sr. RB Michael Treston rushed 15 times for 119 yards. Jr. FB T.J. Cascio, who also had a strong game at DE, rumbled for 52 yards and two TDs on 13 rushes. Malvern's line included sr. C Jeff Carroll, sr. Gs Bill Hobson and Shawn Quinn, sr. T Steve Fischer and jr. T Stefan Niemczyk and sr. TE Chris Emper. I love the way Driscoll plays. He has a lively body and no fear, and he also has special instincts. He scored, in darn near effortless fashion, on a 65-yard punt return. Driscoll and jr. DB Rob McGarrigle had interceptions. Quinn and jr. Michael Meehan were highly active on the DL. Sr. K-P Brendan Carney slipped while missing an early 21-yard field goal attempt. He later hit from 27 yards and sent three of his four kickoffs deep into the end zone. He has been offered by Syracuse. Overall, PC wasn't bad, but it was killed by snapping problems on shotguns and a punt. In all, three misfires cost the Quakers 38 yards. Ouch. Jr. QB Matt Ryan went 10-for-21 for 98 yards as freshman Zack Zeglinski had six catches for 53 yards. The leading rusher, jr. RB Tony McDevitt, had just 25 yards on five carries. Sr. DB Mike McGarvey made hard tackles on Malvern's first two plays and finished with nine. In the second quarter, three consecutive Malvern possessions resulted in lost fumbles as sr. LB Rob Smyth, McDevitt and freshman LB Van Cole made the recoveries. When Cascio was down on the ground injured (it was obviously not serious), sidelined sr. DB Tim Murray said with a smile to a teammate, "What if it's his head? . . . Well, it's not like he uses it." You know you're at an Inter-Ac game when: After Ryan was bounced around like a pinball before finally going down, the PA announcer said, "Ryan was hit by a plethora of Friars." Later, the PA guy three times, at least, asked the 50-50 collectors to deliver the money because the person with the winning ticket was waiting for his/her windfall. I never did find out what happened. Right in the middle of Malvern's field, covering a space of 20 yards (from 40 to 40) by 10 yards, I'd guess, is a painted American flag. It looks wonderful. Malvern's field guy, supposedly, is Dennis Galvin. I hope I was given the right name because this guy definitely deserves credit.

OCT. 12.
PUBLIC LEAGUE
Northeast 42, Lincoln 6
    I like to think my hunches on which games will be good are usually decent. Not this time, sports fans. Northeast had nothing close to a letdown after beating Frankford a week ago and Lincoln was flat-out dreadful. The first-team offense only played a half. Sr. RBs Chris Poindexter (13-113, three TDs) and Darien “Party” Hardy (7-76, two) ran with authority. The defense was quick and aggressive and showed nary a weak link. Sr. DE David Montgomery had a full-speed, blind-side hit on James Ryan, Lincoln’s soph QB, and jr. DE Joe Tizol recovered the fumble. Jr. CB Eric Clark also delivered an unconscious hit on Ryan. Sr. G-LB Harry Max was the only Viking to play both ways as coach Harvey “Brew” Schumer showed his team’s depth. Lincoln had a nice play to start things off as sr. RB Shahfin Timmons, despite double coverage, jumped and made a full-concentration 35-yard reception. He also had a 16-yard scoring catch late in the third quarter (against second-teamers). Lincoln’s woes intensified as the third quarter started. A return man bobbled the kickoff. A teammate picked up the ball and fumbled. Sr. Brad Alexander recovered on the 7 for Northeast. On the first play, he planted an unmotivated defender and strolled into the end zone. The late highlight was getting to see NE soph RB Benjamin Franklin, who wears No. 20, also goes by “Slim Herc” and has created a stir on the site. By the way, Ben is the nephew of sr. QB James Franklin. Ben carried three times for 17 yards and was praised by the coaches for delivering a good lead block. Unfortunately, he hurt his knee on what became the final play of the game. I hope he’s OK! He seems to be a popular kid. I was telling the NE guys I was going to create The Ben Franklin Page. They got a kick out of that. In the late portion of the game, Max was keeping offensive stats for NE. Two teammates busted his chops but good when he credited someone with a gain of "negative zero yards." Alexander also had a oops! moment when he caught a kickoff by teammate Steve Sandberg in the air. Lincoln's sr. RB, Ty Brannock, went out early with an ankle injury.

OCT. 7
CATHOLIC RED
O'Hara 38, Ryan 7
    From what dot.com colleague "Sparky" told me, Ryan coach Glen Galeone was quite upset with his squad afterward. No wonder. The Raiders didn't offer much opposition. O'Hara has its way on both sides of the ball. Soph RB Anthony Heygood rushed 25 times for 146 yards and two TDs. Sr. QB Colin Smith continued his high-percentage passing, going 6-for-10 for 51 yards and a TD to sr. FB Pat "Beethoven" Gallagher. On a sideline catch, sr. WR Harry Dougherty made a nifty move to get around sr. DB Chris Kozole. Both are feisty guards during basketball season. Doc got tackled on the 6 and when he came to the bench area, he muttered, "Why couldn't I take it to The House?" Ryan followed with a great goal line stand. On third-and-goal from the 1, sr. LB Rich Ott stoned Heygood for no gain. On fourth down, Heygood went into the pile and was pulled away from the goal line by Kozole. In the third quarter, Heygood dropped a pitchout on a play that began at Ryan's 4. Sr. LB Greg Silenok recovered the fumble. Three plays later, though, Ryan jr. QB Joe DeLeo lost the handle and sr. MG John Novelli recovered in the end zone for a TD. Ryan DL Dave Quaintance, who's bound for Maryland, forced a fumble on a sack. For O'Hara, sr. T Mike "Tuna" Bucella was in the Homecoming court. He didn't win, but he did look great walking along the track with a flower (carnation, maybe?) pinned to the front of his jersey. As he walked, Tuna held out his hands and gave it one of those shrugs/smiles that seemed to say, "I know this is goofy, but I gotta do it." My DN story focused on sr. LB Andrew Wood, whose 52-yard interception return did NOT go for a TD. He did some decent rumbling, though. Ryan sr. RB P.J. Varanavage is out with a broken ankle (suffered vs. Judge). DeLeo took a serious beating. O'Hara teed off early and often. There was an overflow crowd on O'Hara's side. Fr. RB Chris Smith (15 carries, 40 yards) ran 4 yards for a TD with 0:35 left. (Sorry if this report is a shade disjointed. It's 1:45 a.m.)

OCT. 6
CATHOLIC BLUE
McDevitt 35, Conwell-Egan 13
    This one ended an hour ago, but I can STILL hear thunder. There was some big-time pad popping and it continued throughout, even after it became obvious that C-E had no chance to win. The best hit was made by McDevitt sr. John DiCamillo. On a third quarter kickoff return, jr. Dan Quinn was absolutely clocked by DiCamillo. It was one of those run-through-him, full-body shots delivered at full speed and quite a sight (and sound) to behold. Quinn got right up, though. Other serious hits were delivered by C-E sr. DE Vince Salvatore, C-E sr. LB Joe Lamina, McDevitt jr. LB Andrew Kovach and ... well, believe us, there were others. Meanwhile, there was one amazing play, too. In the second quarter, McDevitt sr. QB Bill Holden kept running and running to his left, but couldn't find a receiver. Heavily pressured by Lamina, Holden decided to fire the ball out of bounds. Instead, Lamina batted the ball, somehow gathered it in and took off down the sideline. To his credit, Holden stayed with the play, took off after Lamina and finally caught him at the 3. Lamina couldn't get into the end zone on two carries, then jr. Derrick Savage burrowed in from the 1. McDevitt played without its rushing leader, jr. Demetrius Oliver (ankle injury), but hardly missed him. Jr. Brandon Edwards ran 18 times for 96 yards and three TDs. Freshman Lamar McPherson (5-9, 170) added 70 yards on 11 totes and ran quite hard. He even delivered a good shot to a defender along the sideline. Kovach (5-64) also did some hard running. In all, McDevitt generated 303 yards total offense. Edwards provided an early spark when he blocked a punt and DiCamillo recovered at the 15. Edwards ran for gains of 14 yards and 1 yard and McDevitt had the lead just 3:08 into the game. C-E had 101 yards on 33 plays, and 80 came on two plays. Frosh Steve Slaton, who burned Dougherty last week for 290 yards, was held to 49 yards on nine carries. I was curious to see how he'd react to getting banged around. He did fine. He didn't shy away even when defenders were often in his face as he accepted handoffs. On a 45-yard run, which could have been a 78-yard TD, he was caught by sr. DB Tariq "TBCB" Boston. (Boston also had an interception.) Slaton fumbled on the next play. The ball popped high into the air, was touched by several players and finally was recovered close to the sideline by sr. DB P.J. Chipman. Lamina scored C-E's other TD, dashing 35 yards on fourth-and-inches. The game was C-E's Homecoming. The home stands were about two-thirds filled. C-E legend Mike Tos, who worked the ticket booth, said more than 1,000 student tickets were sold.

OCT. 6
CATHOLIC BLUE
Neumann 35, West Catholic 17
   Huck will do a full report on this one. The highlight was the rushing of Neumann sr. FB Chris Scott-Peters, who carried 31 times for 215 yards and all five TDs. His scores covered 13, 2, 1, 5 and 55 yards. He also played outside linebacker. Nice gesture: The game ball was given to offensive line coach Steve Smith, who has been forced to relinquish his duties because his full-time job has changed. Steve is still helping out on game days. His replacement is ex-Neumann and Temple star Scott Oster.

OCT. 6
PUBLIC LEAGUE
Northeast 3, Frankford 0
   What a difference from the beginning of the game to the end. It was rainy and gray early, sunny and blustery late. The Vikings had a classic drive to win it, starting on their 36 with 7:10 left and using 12 plays to get to the 18. Then, jr. K-P Steve Sandberg, out of the hold of sr. RB-LB Darien "Party" Hardy, hammered a 37-yard field goal at 0:26 to win it. The ball barely cleared the crossbar, but had plenty of power. Hardy (18 carries, 65 yards) and Chris Poindexter (17-82) combined to run on the first 11 plays, then sr. QB James Franklin was dropped by sr. MG Joselito Cruz on third-and-3. Hardy provided early momentum on the drive by gaining 6 yards on fourth-and-inches from the Northeast 45. I loved the way Hardy ran. He was enthusiastic and aggressive on every carry. A rare quality. Defensively, sr. MG Londale Walden set an early tone by making tackles on four of Frankford's first seven plays. This kid had a special game last year vs. Washington and he again showed incredible quickness. He even made a tackle at the sideline. How many MGs can do that? How many would even have the work ethic to try? Sr. LB Harry Max was also a bulwark. Other than Walden, NE's d-line included sr. Ts Adam Bostick and Harold Dawling, sr. E David Montgomery and jr. E Joe Tizol.   Frankford had some flashes, but overall was not the better team and deserved its fate. I know the footing wasn't the greatest, especially early, but NE often had all 11 defenders within 5 yards of the line of scrimmage and the tactic screamed for more passing. Jr. QB Darrell Turner threw eight passes -- just five before the it's-desperation-time last possession. Only once was a pass thrown on first or second down. Sr. DT Tracy Williams (6-5, 350) and jr. DE Michael Humbert (6-5, 250) had strong performances. Jr. RB Mikal Jones (8-51) had as many yards as sr. RB Marcus Waddy (7-21) and jr. RB Adam Hartman (7-30) combined. an Frankford's band, with just seven members (plus director Robert Parisi on trumpet), did a nice rendition of the Star-Spangled Banner. It sounded much better than some bands I've heard with 50 members.

SEPT. 29
CATHOLIC BLUE
Conwell-Egan 46, Dougherty 27
   One of the best aspects of this job is never knowing when something extraordinary will occur. Every time you walk into a stadium, gym, etc., you could see something that will have you recalling it for weeks, months, even years. Meet Steve Slaton. He's a 5-10, 170-pound freshman and after just two varsity appearances, he ALREADY he owns C-E's school record for single-game rushing yardage. He ran 22 times for 290 yards (Ed McDowell had 209 in '69) and four TDs and scored a fifth time on a 5-yard pass from jr. QB Derrick Savage. Slaton showed all the tools: a willingness to bang into the line; speed both ahead and sideways on sweeps; good downfield vision and cutting ability; balance and heart. His scoring runs covered 45, 18, 20 and 41 yards. On the 45-yarder, he shook off a tackler who had a great sideline angle and should have been able to push him out. On the 18-yarder, he trucked a defender at the 1. On the 41-yarder, he maintained his balance right against the sideline for about the last 15 yards. True, Dougherty is severely deficient when it comes to tackling, but this was still one helluva show. C-E's line of jr. C Bill Jacobs, sr. Gs Matt Pape and Tim Cleary, jr. Ts Matt Brazil and Rich Casmirri and sr. TE Vince Salvatore did a great job of providing Slaton early daylight. And on some of the sweeps, Slaton had three guys leading the way. Chuck Knowles, C-E's AD and former coach, said before the game, "This kid's going to be our best running back in 20 years." Maybe Chuck knows more than Miss Cleo. In all, C-E had a whopping 447 yards total offense while posting its highest point total since a 49-6 win over the old Bishop Kenrick in 1981. Jr. RB Mike "JV" Smith (Coach Mike Tos told me to use that nickname; blame him) added 82 yards and two TDs on 15 carries. Sr. RB Joe Lamina had nine carries for 51 yards. Jr. KR Dan Acevedo set a great early tone by returning the opening kickoff 70 yards to the Dougherty 20. Defensively, C-E received strong performances from the ends, Salvatore and Brazil, along with Lamina at LB. Soph LB Anthony Caranci also crunched people on several occasions. As for Dougherty, man, this was a stinker. Sr. QB Sean McGovern went 8-for-29 for 107 yards and a 30-yard TD with 0:17 left. He was a shade off early and was victimized in the second half by untold numbers of drops. Uncontested drops, in many cases. The guiltiest party was sr. WR Matt Miller, who was spectacular, from what I was told, the week before vs. McDevitt. McGovern either ran or threw the ball on Dougherty’s final 22 plays. The Cards’ highlight was a 92-yard kickoff return TD by James Jefferson, the CL’s 100 and 200-meter champion.

SEPT. 29
CATHOLIC RED
Bonner 35, North Catholic 14
    I saw only the first half of this one before heading to the C-E/Dougherty game. The big news for Bonner was the return of sr. QB Mike Stauffer (6-4, 205), who’d been out with health problems. He’s big and strong and has the look of a player. His first play was a 35-yard completion to sr. WR Kevin LeSage. Stauffer scored from the 2 four plays later. Later, sr. RB Paul Kollhoff had an 86-yard TD run wiped out by a holding call. Charlie Evans, North’s soph QB, looked impressive. He showed top-shelf ballhandling that froze Bonner defenders and enabled him to buy time. He looked confident. (Again, I don’t know what happened after I left.) On the first play of the second quarter, the Falcons ran a flea-flicker and Evans delivered a 49-yard gain to sr. WR Brian Hannan. He was stopped on maybe the 6-inch line and RB Anthony Russo went in for the score.

SEPT. 22
CATHOLIC RED
Bonner 28, Roman 8
    It wasn't his brother. It was Jason Smith!! The sr. FB, made famous on this website when he made some wacky preseason comments (he even penned a poem!), then blamed it on his brother, then finally came clean, was Bonner's headliner. He rushed 16 times for 149 yards and TDs of 32 and 36 yards, and got almost all of the yardage on runs straight up the middle. On his 32-yarder, he absorbed a big thumpin' just a few yards downfield, but regrouped and scored. He was barely touched on his 36-yarder. I told Jason, "If you're nice to me, I'll come to every Bonner game." The most impressive play was a perfect throw-and-catch 78-yard bomb from jr. QB Frank Nunan to jr. WR Paul McNichol, who showed very nice speed. Jr. P-K Chris Schrader went 4-for-4 on PAT and averaged 42 yards on four punts. When he hits the ball, it makes The Sound. (Kicking coaches know what I mean). Defensively, Bonner received strong performances from its Friar Front Four of jr. E Casey Ross, sr. E Tim D'Orazio, sr. T Mike "Beefy Bonner Loyalist" Kozak and sr. DT J.D. Johanson. These guys kicked tail. Roman did not collect a first down until 3:57 remained in the first half. Knowing his team couldn't run, offensive coordinator Danny Algeo went mostly with passing in the second half. Results were mixed. Soph QB Andre Sloan-El finished 10-for-31 for 167 yards. He threw interceptions to jr. DB Neil Fisher and sr. DB Joe Boland (tipped by sr. LB Dom Armideo). His one TD, a 45-yarder, went to soph WR Charron Fisher with 1:29 left. The conversion provided a strange play. Sloan-El's pass was batted into the air and caught in the end zone by jr. lineman Chris Guinter. Another strange occurrence: In the third quarter, Roman sr. RT Ed Smith and D'Orazio, Bonner's left DE, both ran off the field helmetless. Their helmets had become attached in the face mask area. The stuck-together helmets were tossed to John Mooney, Bonner's athletic director, and he worked to pry them apart. Bonner's Kevin LeSage is the epitome of brass. Aside from being a star WR-DB, the sr. is a fearless punt returner. He had five punt returns for 75 yards. Other guys likely would have made fair catches on three of them, at least. His Roman counterpart is sr. WR/DB Kevin Dolan. After seeing a particularly violent collision all the way across the field, Roman AD Dave Falcione exclaimed, "Good stick! That's gotta be Dolan!" It was.

SEPT. 20
NON-LEAGUE
Bok 28, Olney 2
    Man, what monsoon dumped major water on the good, ol' Southern-Bok complex in the second half? I came home and wrote my story instead of sitting soaking wet in the office all night. When the rain was only a drizzle, Bok sr. QB Kareem Jeffreys passed 4-for-4 for 104 yards and a TD to Marcelluas Barnes. Jeffreys hit four different receivers and, in all honesty, Olney didn't offer much of a defensive challenge. The 6-3, 190-pound Jeffreys is in his third year as a starter (minus time off for blood pressure problems; my Daily News story focused on his battles) and could play QB at the D-II level. He's talented and focused and shows good leadership skills. The day's best running was done by sr. RB Kevin Cheely (10-60, TD). On a 6-yard scoring run, he dragged one would-be tackler from the 5 to the 3 and another from the 2 into the end zone. Tough! The best of RB Will McCall's two TD runs was an 11-yard counter right up the middle on fourth-and-goal. Jeffreys delivered some licks from a CB spot and underheighted Vince Pisano (maybe 5-7? -- Bok's complete roster isn't available yet; this one had last names and numbers only) was a roughneck at DE. Maurice Hunter and Simmons recovered fumbles. Olney lost a lot from last season and will undoubtedly have a rough go of it in Division A. The Trojans are still using that double-tight, two-wingback offense where everybody is bunched in about a 10-by-4-yard area. Strange. Almost every run is a counter by a wingback. The most successful runner was tiny jr. Andrew Jerry (5-6, 140), who had gains of 17, 16 and 14 yards en route to a 7-55 showing. The best play, though, was made by jr. RB Larry Turner, who made a 25-yard catch while flat on his back. Bok's Cook had tipped the ball. Olney scored with 1:11 left when Bok punter Shawn Jeter dropped a snap in the end zone and fell on the ball for a safety. The game started about 20 minutes late. Olney assistant Paul Cammarota said there was a mixup involving the scheduling of school district buses. Kudos to Paul, by the way. He stayed up late Wednesday night preparing Olney's roster. Head coach Hugh MacDonough has been famous through the years for not exactly being Mr. Roster.

SEPT. 15
NON-LEAGUE
Holy Cross (N.J.) 36, SJ Prep 34
    Let's start with the important stuff. The Prep's student rooters hold me in high esteem! They professed their affection by chanting my name and one kid (Kevin Finnegan, from what I've been told) bellowed through a bullhorn, "We love you, Ted!" He then added, at much lower volume, "Even though you made that comment last week." (About how the group had been outdone by its Malvern peers.) OK, enough of the goofiness. In the truly important stuff, Prep had a strong performance despite dropping to 0-3. Sr. RB Kyle Ambrogi, used sparingly on offense the first two weeks because he now starts at DB as well, was his old tackler-draggin' self. He ran 34 times for 200 yards and received two kinds of help from new FB Brian Tracz, a soph. Tracz, already a blossoming stud at LB, had 28 yards and three short TDs on nine carries. But more important, he clocked assorted defenders while lead-blocking. Sr. QB Vince Gallagher appeared more comfortable, but still held onto the ball a shade too long on occasion. He contributed 100 yards total -- 52 on 11 rushes and 48 on 3-for-7 passing. The best defensive play was made by sr. DT Mike Mailey, who smelled out a middle screen to a wide receiver, stepped in front, intercepted the ball and returned it 16 yards to the 2. It was a highly athletic/savvy play and Tracz went in two plays later. Prep's sophomore DBs, Danny Jones and Solomon Patterson, were tested early and often by HC's various burners. HC opted for bombs again and again and the youngsters got a workout. Yes, they were burned a few times, but they also had some we-can-build-on-this moments. Gallagher scored on a 1-yard sneak with 10.1 seconds left to draw within 36-34, but HC recovered the onsides kick. The game featured 1,014 yards. Prep had 329 total offense and 154 on returns. HC had 408 and 123 for 531. After Prep coach Gil Brooks had a vintage snapout on the refs (Mailey got tackled while pass-rushing; there was no call; a TD resulted), I kiddingly asked his 9-year-old son, Greg, "Does he yell like that at home?" Greg, one of Prep's many ballboys, thought for a moment, smiled, and while wiggling his hand in maybe/maybe not fashion, said, "Sometimes." After the game, I posed the question to Gil's daughter, Meg, who turned 13 today (Sunday). She said sweetly, "No. My daddy's wonderful . . . Well, only when he's breaking down film." Gil cracked up at that one.

SEPT. 15
NON-LEAGUE
Judge 34, West Catholic 10
    Amauro will file a report on this one. I will mention this, though. There were three TDs totaling 196 yards in the first 2 minutes, 13 seconds. Judge soph KR Tim Wacker raced 94 yards with the opening kickoff, West sr. QB Matt Rodia passed immediately to jr. RB Robert Ramsey for a 62-yard score and three plays later, Judge sr. QB Greg Hennigar hit sr. RB Jim McAteer for a 50-yard TD.

SEPT. 15
NON-LEAGUE
Wood 21, Episcopal 7
   Rant and ye shall reap the benefits. Sort of. A week ago I chopped Wood for not having rosters on hand. This time, there was a sheet of paper with names and numbers, but no heights, weights or classes. We’re getting closer (smile). The Vikings kicked tail at the line of scrimmage and experienced success while mostly using a wishbone attack. Sr. QB John Spinosa carried 15 times for 115 yards and two TDs while the other main backs, sr. Bill Hartley (16-59) and sr. Antonio Troisi (11-63) also had some moments. In the fourth quarter, Spinosa threw one of the shorter TD passes in history. From the 4-inch line, maybe, he lofted one to the right corner where sr. WR Dave Lorditch made an uncontested catch. Of course, it goes into the books as a 1-yard play. On one rush to his left, Spinosa had the ball knocked out of his hands by an Episcopal defender. Somehow the ball went right to the trailing back, sr. Bob Prieto, without hitting the ground first, and he continued downfield for 14 more yards. Sr. DT Keary Packer (6-2, 270; that’s my guess) ate up any and all foes to lead Wood’s defense. A fumble recovery by sr. John Dobbins set up Episcopal’s lone score, a 5-yard run with 0:54 left by RB Christian Auch, nephew of former coach Jim Auch. Sr. QB John Tsafos completed a pair of 11-yard passes to jr. WR Garrett Wilson during the drive. Jr. K-P Francisco Uribe added the PAT, but the seven points didn’t go up on the board even though Episcopal was the home team. After maybe a minute, assistant Tom Kossuth said, "I guess we didn’t score. Hey, at least give us the seven!" Matt Perry, a 5-7, 155-pound soph, had some late-game success at DT, purely because he showed brass. After Perry made a tackle, coach Rick Knox yelled out to him, "Matt Perry. Keep it up. You’re about to win yourself a job."

SEPT. 14
NON-LEAGUE
Neumann 27, Roman 26
    Now THIS was a goodie. It should stand up as one of the Top Five games of the season. Neumann’s biggest hero was little guy Billy Canady, a 5-7 soph who played DB and WB. On defense, he raced from the other side of the field to make a tackle at the 3 and prevent Roman sr. RB Tom Maisch (21-122) from scoring what would have been a clinching 57-yard TD with 3:30 left and Roman up, 26-21. With sr. DE Chris Scott-Peters making two huge plays, Neumann held and then sr. QB Pat McLaughlin hooked up with Canady for a 94-yard scoring strike. Roman came back downfield and soph QB Andre Sloan-El (6-for-17, 136), a lefty, did not miss by much on several late throws that could have provided a win. Sr. DB Ed Lego, who also continued to split time at QB with McLaughlin, had the final deflection, in the end zone, to end the game. The extra tough Scott-Peters is now being utilized at FB, too. He had 62 yards on seven carries. Sr. RB Randy Bell rushed 15 times for 127 yards and had a 63-yard gain (great hustle by sr. DB Kevin Dolan prevented a TD). Jr. TE Al Meacham twice sucked in over-the-middle for nice gains. Sr. DB Bryan Navin blocked a punt and continued to dish out teeth-rattling hits. In the second quarter, Roman scored two TDs 20 seconds apart. First, soph RB Charles Squitiere (I’d like to see more of this kid) absorbed decent contact at two locales while managing to take a pass from Sloan-El for a 21-yard score. On Neumann’s next scrimmage play, sr. DB P.J. Bradley stood up the ballcarrier and that enabled jr. DB Johnny Ortiz to swoop in, steal the ball and race 28 yards to paydirt.

SEPT. 14
NON-LEAGUE
Bartram 24, King 18 (two overtimes)
    It was a shame only 60 spectators – up from 18 at game’s beginning – were in attendance because this one was also entertaining. Before the game, both teams, with helmets off, lined up on the respective 45 yard lines and listened to mini-speeches by the coaches, Bartram’s Frank "Roscoe" Natale and King’s Damond "Smash" Warren. Warren, a Bartram grad and former assistant there, in trying to impress upon the kids that it was important for them to return to normal activities, said the best times in his life had been spent on that very field. The Maroon Wave’s headliner was jr. RB Chironn "Goober" Davis, who rushed 14 times for 94 yards and the game-winning TD, a 1-yarder, and caught a 5-yard scoring pass from sr. QB Phil Evans. In OT, King went first and got a 3-yard TD run, his third of the game, by jr. QB Dion Whittington. The lanky lefty showed an ability to run tough on keepers, turning upfield and lowering his shoulder at all the right moments. Bartram responded immediately with Evans’ 10-yard pass to sr. WR Romar Drake, a spectacular student who’s drawing attention. On third-and-goal from the 1, Whittington was stopped for no gain by sr. LBs Hakim Groomes and Joe Smith and in the heat of the moment, Whittington and his teammates got involved in some minor chirping with the Bartram players. As he called time, Warren called over his offense and bellowed, "Gimme 10!!! We don’t do that!!!" All 11 players immediately dropped and started doing 10 pushups. Warren then turned to the subs and told them, "You guys, too!!!" They also did pushups. As play resumed, Whittington was still a little too excited and he bobbled the snap to end the possession. Davis caught a pass for an 8-yard gain, then added a pair of 1-yard runs to end it. I was very impressed with King sr. RB Donald Jefferson (17-135). He had quick (but sensible) feet and excellent vision downfield. Also, two-way lineman Gary Dunlap worked like a madman on every single play. One of King’s starting DBs, William Best, is listed at 5-1, 130 pounds (though he claims to be 5-3). He made a hard hit on a sweep, but did so with his head down. I cringed big-time, but he came up smiling. Later, Best was checking out my clipboard as I wrote down the specifics of a play. I asked him, "You want to be a sports writer?" His response was, "No, on SportsCenter." Can’t blame him. The money’s better.

SEPT. 1
NON-LEAGUE
Neumann 15, North Catholic 0
    The best hits in this tilt were made by the gnats or chiggers or mosquitoes or whatever the heck they were. I was still scratching my arms and legs halfway up the Atlantic City Expressway. The game? No one went home raving, but there were some OK moments. Neumann sr. DB Brian Navin absolutely clocked RB Jamar Little on a third quarter play that was nullified by a holding call. Make that CLOCKED with capital letters. Sr. DE Chris Scott-Peters also had some pad-popping moments and showed nice agility scraping down the line of scrimmage. Coach Ed "Bubby" DiCamillo used two QBs, seniors Pat McLaughlin and Ed Lego. McLaughlin threw for two TDs to energetic sr. WR Mike "They Can't Stick Me" Moody" (59 and 33 yards). Moody was extra impressive on his second score, making the catch at about the 7 and the wriggling away from a defender. Lego doubled on defense; he flashed well to the ball from a DB spot and had an interception. Chunky sr. FB Matt Cella (5-8, 220) punished a few tacklers. North was not exactly Firepower Inc. The Falcons played hard, as always, but showed pronounced deficiencies in the team speed/quickness department. They moved the ball only when QB Brian Mitchell was able to find WR Steve Cross (4-46). The Falcons' best defender was hard-guy LB Mike Piotrowicz. Basketball fans will remember "Pio" from our Fan Tourney last spring; he was a member of the title-winning North team. DE John Popplewell made a few tackles. On one play, the ballcarrier in effect "tackled" him, running right into Popplewell's body. I'm not sure John even knew the runner was there, but it gave the appearance of being a great play. Kevin Laukaitis had an interception. North's roster did not list classes or positions and the players were in alphabetical order rather than numerical. Otherwise it was perfect. Anybody have some Skin So Soft?

SEPT. 1
NON-LEAGUE
Roman 28, West Catholic 6
    At least I think that was the final score. I left with 2 minutes left to assure getting to the North-Neumann game on time. "Huck" will handle the write-up in his Corner. Hopefully, he'll devote some of his words to the wonderful performance turned in by Roman's Kevin Dolan, a sr. WR-DB.
   Meanwhile . . . Referee Nick Raimo, one of the all-time good guys, was ready to start the game when he realized, oops, he'd neglected to bring a whistle. Umpire Dan Hoban gave his up for the good of the game. Dan, a West grad, worked the game with his brother, Mike, also a West grad and a star player. Before the game, Dan got to meet the "other" Dan Hoban, the PA announcer for Roman's home games. West Dan said to Roman Dan while reaching out for a handshake, "Dan Hoban? Dan Hoban!"  

AUG. 31
NON-LEAGUE
Central Bucks West 21, SJ Prep 17
    Every season should get off to this kind of start. And remain this way to December. The powers banged heads throughout and entertained everyone. Any look at Prep this season has to begin with sr. RB-DB Kyle Ambrogi. Yes, he's now a two-way player. Ambrogi last year rushed for 2,000-plus yards and will likely go nuts again. But in this one, he was limited to 43 yards on 12 carries. But in true Ambrogi fashion, his best runs were his final two -- gains of 4 and 6 yards that produced a third quarter TD. That was so because he bulled some guys and dragged others, showing his much heralded leg strength. On defense, he had an interception, made a few rock-'em, sock-'em hits and, unfortunately for Prep, was called for interference (it was debatable) on what turned out to be CBW's game-winning drive. Sr. QB Vince Gallagher looked very nervous early and failed to complete some very "complete-able" passes; success could have given the game a totally different tone. To his credit, he did settle down and he got help from sr. WRs Jim Lachman and Pete Chromiak. Jr. RB-K Pat Kaiser ripped off Prep's best run of the game, a 21-yarder, and sent one of his kickoffs seven yards deep into the end zone. Name to write down: Brian Tracz. He's a soph ILB and CAN PLAY!! Sr. OLB Adam Hepp had to be his team's defensive star, though. He used his quickness to evade blockers and arrived at the ball in ill humor. Good performance. Oops, almost forgot. What's CB West's problem? Before the game, the ENTIRE team came to Prep's side of the field and ran along the sideline, right through the team box, en route to the locker room for last-minute preparations. Was that supposed to be intimidating? The Prep's student fans were loud all night (the adults did a nice job, too.) but what was with the foaming at the mouth for Vai Sikahema? Does he say nice things about you on Vai.com? Oh, there isn't a Vai.com? Didn't think so. Remember where your bread gets buttered! (Just kidding.) The last 1:50 was delayed a half-hour after a wicked lightning flash. Maybe 600 of the original 6,000 fans hung around.