September Reports
October Reports

DEC. 16
CLASS AAA FINAL
Wood 52, Harrisburg Bishop McDevitt 0
(At HersheyPark Stadium)
  That's more like it . . . After experiencing late-season, state-playoff heartache in 2008, 2009 and 2010, Wood had noooooo trouble claiming the ultimate prize. This would take all kinds of research, of course, and who knows how much said info would even be available online, but how often do you think football teams across America have stormed to state championships while ringing up a 122-14 scoring advantage in the final two rounds? (Lest we forget, last week's score vs. Allentown Central Catholic was 70-14.) Simply amazing! Though HBM has produced Ricky Watters and Shady McCoy, it's uncertain either one of those guys, even both, would have enjoyed happy moments tonight. After all, successful running takes blocking and Wood's defense was its ever-dominant self. Knowing it would be fruitless, the Crusaders barely bothered running the ball. They did ring up a decent amount of passing yardage, but only the final completion netted more than 20 yards and jr. QB Alec Werner was picked off three times. Also, again and again he was absolutely hammered while, or just after, releasing the ball. The kid showed a lot of heart. HBM received the opening kickoff and managed one first down before the Vikings forced a punt. Just three plays were necessary for the first scoring drive. On first down, sr. RB Desmon Peoples was rocked for no gain and a gigantic roar went up from the HBM side. So much for that early feeling of hope. Desmon followed with a 17-point run, then first cousin Brandon Peoples, the sr. FB, went straight up the middle for a 30-yard score (while stepping out of an ankle tackle just inside the 25). The PAT by jr. K Nick Visco thumped high against the scoreboard. HBM then slapped together a nice drive and a defensive holding call placed the ball at the 23. A left-corner fade was attempted and we're guessing the intended receiver was NOT D. Peoples. He picked it off in the end zone (though he lost the handle on a rushing play six plays later). One three-and-out later, Desmon immediately scampered for a 54-yard score with help from a great block by Brandon. Desmon made another interception on the first play of the second quarter and a tacked-on personal foul placed the ball at HBM's 35. Perish the thought, but this scoring drive actually required seven plays before Desmon circled left end from the 1. The Vikings added two more scores before halftime on a 19-yard post from sr. QB Joey Monaghan to sr. WR Nate Smith and Visco's 41-yard field goal. With the score at 31-0, the Crusaders finally mounted a sustained drive thanks to some crisp passing. In the waning moments, an interference call moved the ball from the 22 to the 11 and it was hard not to think the hopes of posting a shutout would soon disappear. Werner threw over the middle to sr. WR Brian Lemelle and, pow!, there was a sound that was probably heard back in Harrisburg. Smith leveled Lemelle, who did hold on, and the ball was at the 4. HBM was out of timeouts, though, and a bad exchange from center prevented a spike at what would have been 0:02 or even 0:01. That ended the half. Second half? Wood actually experienced three-and-outs on its first two series and I had just had to quickly ask sr. P Kevin Sullivan, "How often has THAT happened this year, especially with the first team offense on the field?" His response: six times total, but just three times with the first-teamers, as best as he could remember. By the way, the punts covered 43 and 44 yards. Soon, jr. LB Andrew Guckin was picking off a pass and dashing for a 75-yard score and, a three-and-out later, Brandon was turning a simple dive into a 67-yard TD. As the fourth quarter began, Smith made a fair catch of a punt at HBM's 35 and Devlin opted for an offensive unit including a mixture of starters and subs. Though sr. backup Ryan McMullin got four carries and frosh Jake Cooper got one, it was Brandon who scored on a 6-yard run. Admittedly, it doesn't look good when a starter scores a TD that puts your squad over 50 points, but I sensed nothing sinister. Perhaps coach Steve Devlin was aware that Brandon entered the night with a chance to join Desmon in the 1,000-Yard Club. The 19 yards he bagged on those four, last-drive carries lifted his total to 1,013. That last TD came with 5:32 remaining and for the rest of the game, the starters happily interacted with each other as well as the fans. There were some great scenes and many were captured in the philly.com story, which hopefully will appear in Monday's paper, and/or with the somewhat trusty camera. With a sack among them, Guckin made seven tackles. Smith added four. Sr. DE Colin Thompson and sr. DL Brandon Arcidiacono recorded TFLs while B. Peoples and McMullin combined for a sack. As noted on the finalized version of the TEAM PAGE, Monaghan set a city record for highest completion percentage in one season (minimum 100 attempts), going 82-for-109 (75.2). The previous record was 63.1 by O'Hara's Colin Smith in 2001. Also, he finished his career 193-for-304 (63.5) for 3,393 yards and 42 TDs. D. Peoples (1 year at SJ Prep, 2 at Wood) rushed for 3,638 career yards and 55 TDs, and finished with 63 total TDs for 378 points (no conversions). Smith (3 years at Washington, 1 at Wood) made 73 career receptions for 1,486 yards and 24 TDs. Visco, though just a junior, broke city career records for PAT (192) and kicking points (237), and fell just short of the city season records for PAT (89) and kicking points (94), with 86 and 92. Sr. Kyle Adkins made 40 career catches for 772 yards and 11 TDs.  Wood's 699 points rank No. 2 in city history to West Catholic's 775 in 2008. Respective averages: 48.4 and 46.4. West played 16 games. The CL now owns state titles in all three of the classifications in which it competes, thanks also to La Salle's AAAA crown in '09 and West Catholic's AA success in '10. Because of this team's size, speed and depth, along with the presence of six D-I seniors and a couple more guys (Monaghan, Adkins) being eyed by I-AAs, it's impossible not to think it deserves a spot among the very best in city history. One problem: We can't even be sure it's the best among CL squads this season. La Salle was also very good, of course, even though it fell to North Penn in a AAAA state semi. Wood and La Salle had three common opponents -- West Catholic, Bonner and SJ Prep. Wood beat the Burrs, 28-0, and La Salle triumphed, 24-0. Wood played twice against Bonner, rolling by scores of 49-6 and 42-14. La Salle won, 41-22. Against the Prep, Wood cruised, 42-7, while La Salle carved out a 28-17 triumph. The comparative-score theory would indicate, what, a semi-comfortable win for Wood? But we just don't know and that's the problem. I still go back to Week Six, when Wood played Mastery Charter (a first-year program) and La Salle played Neumann-Goretti. It would have been SO easy to switch opponents, and then we would have KNOWN . . . Over time, this team's legacy will -- to some degree, just or unjust -- be shaped by how its top players fare in college ball. Finally, I had a great time covering this team and thanks to all for their time. Best of luck going forward!

DEC. 10
CLASS AAAA SEMIFINAL
North Penn 21, La Salle 14
(At Northeast)
  The third time was (again) the charm. The fourth time was not. That simple, folks. In the 2010 season, La Salle topped North Penn in the opener and then again at this very same stage. To start the 2011 campaign, the Explorers triumphed again, 44-27, but this time . . . no such good fortune. After a questionable interception (the ball might have short-hopped against the turf) terminated La Salle's last gasp with 40.7 seconds remaining, the emotions flowed big-time and, honestly, it was great to see how much these guys cared. Understandably, the seniors were the most crestfallen. Some were still teary-eyed a good 15 minutes after the game concluded, and were still exchanging heartfelt hugs with each other/family members/coaches, etc. It was quite a scene. It first appeared the Explorers were cooked with 2:17 when sr. TB Tim Wade -- though lined up at FB for this one -- was stopped for no gain on fourth-and-inches at La Salle's 49. But coach Drew Gordon had all three timeouts in the bank and coordinator John Steinmetz' defense did a great job. Timeouts were called at 2:13, 2:10 and 2:02 and that brought up fourth-and-a-short-two. A sweep right was tried and sr. DE Matt Maginnis made a TFL worth one yard, giving La Salle the ball at its own 42 at 1:58. Here's what happened thereafter (headed toward the east end zone) . . . Incompletion by sr. QB Matt Magarity (basically threw it away under intense pressure tight to the right sideline); three-yard completion to jr. WR Sean Coleman over the middle; 14-yard completion to jr. WR Casey Eidenshink at the right hash mark; 5-yard, right-side keeper by Magarity, placing the ball at NP's 36; spike to stop the clock at 46.4; and a diving interception at the right hash mark on a pass intended for sr. WR Colin Buckley. The kid's back was facing La Salle's sideline, so it was tough to be sure whether the pick was legit. On the opposite sideline, I could see newsmen checking their video cameras and shortly after the game's end, local reporter/DN statman Joe Turkos showed me a still shot that he felt proved a slight bounce before the pick. From the very beginning, things did not quite go La Salle's way. Gordon's hope was to have the Explorers kick off with the reasonably strong wind. But after the Explorers won the toss, one of the captains informed the ref that La Salle wanted the ball. NP, of course, chose to kick off with the wind. Though the first quarter finished 0-0, who knows what might have happened if the original plan had been followed? Maybe La Salle plays great defense right away, forces a wind-blown punt and storms to a quick lead. With that in mind, once they did have the wind behind their backs, the Explorers scored immediately. On the first play of the second quarter, sr. LB Mike Piscopo forced/recovered a fumble and La Salle had the ball on NP's 29. Bingo! Impressively stepping away to avoid an almost certain sack, Magarity immediately hit jr. FB Jared Herrmann for a 29-yard TD. Three more TDs were posted in the second quarter. Getting major help from two 15-yard penalties (roughing the passer, interference), the Knights moved 80 yards in nine plays. Shortly thereafter, Magarity lost the handle on a sack and the next NP drive covered 62 yards in seven plays. La Salle responded in kind to make it 14-14. Fifty-eight yards in 10 plays and the TD was likely the play of the game. From the 12, Magarity threw a left-corner fade to Buckley. Though a defender was draped all over him (interference was called) and even had his right arm locked down, Buckley used his left hand to reel in the ball. This score happened at 0:35 and La Salle had all three TOs remaining. Tackles by jr. DL Andrew Carlone, sr. LB Sean Burke (terrific all game) and Maginnis (also several big moments) forced a punt and La Salle regained possession at 6.7. A jump-ball pass was picked off near the goal line. La Salle went into the wind in the third quarter, but nevertheless slapped together a good drive thanks mostly to Wade's rushing. On one play, a 16-yarder, he trucked two different defenders and it was impossible not to think the drive was going to end in positive fashion. Didn't happen. Wade and Herrmann were held to two yards apiece on rushes, then a pair of incompletions followed. On second down, NP posted a 40-yard gain on a pass play and that momentum was tough to halt. Five plays and 43 yards later, the Knights scored what turned out to be the winning TD . . . Wade finished with 81 yards on 18 totes. Magarity passed 14-for-33 for 184 yards, primarily to Buckley (6-63) and Coleman (5-65, limping all day due to a foot injury suffered in last week's quarterfinal vs. Nazareth). Magarity's first completion, a 13-yarder to Eidenshink, raised his career total above 3,000 (to 3,010). Burke hustled for 15 tackles (eight solos) and forced a fumble (recovery to jr. DL David Losier) while jr. CB Chris Rocco (10, five) and sr. LB John Palermo (nine, four; one TFL) also had big outings. What a day. CL loyalists entered it thinking about a three-pack of finalists in Hershey next weekend. Now, Wood will be a solo act. In AA, West Catholic fell to Lancaster Catholic, 23-20, in heartbreaking fashion as the winning TD followed an errant snap on a punt. Like always, La Salle and West had some great young men this season and it was a pleasure to tell their stories. Best of luck going forward and thanks to everyone, players and coaches alike, for their time.

DEC. 9
CLASS AAA SEMIFINAL
Wood 70, Allentown CC 14
(At Northeast)
  These AAA semis certainly provide food for all-time thought. Which way would you go when answering the question, “Which development was more outrageous?” A year ago, as the Wood folks well remember (and never will forget), QB Brendan Nosovitch accounted for 602 yards of passing/rushing and was involved in all seven TDs as ACC prevailed, 49-27. I called that the best individual performance I’d seen in 40 years of covering high school sports. Now we have this: a team powering its way to 70 points! When I arrived home and told The Wife, “Wood won, SEVENTY to 14,” she responded, “Geez, why even play the game?” (Sports knowledge is not her strength – smile.) WE all know why they played the game and especially why it was so important to these Vikings. Even a one-point win would have been celebrated with unabashed joy, but to dominate by 56 points? Phew! Think about that. Wood won a state semifinal . . . by . . . 56 . . . points. Admittedly, ACC’s defense had been torched several times en route to a 9-5 record, so everyone suspected Wood would drop major numbers. But the fact that ACC mostly laid an egg, at least points-wise? Pretty amazing. Wood didn’t dilly-dally. It needed just four plays to hit the scoreboard on a 71-yard drive. Sr. FB Brandon Peoples (Temple) posted 16 yards on play No. 2, sr. TB Desmon Peoples (Rutgers), his first cousin), immediately dashed for 45 and Brandon spurted into the end zone from the 7. Wow, that was easy. You know how Wood has developed the habit of scoring on almost every possession? Next: another 7-yard TD for Brandon. Next: 2-yarder for Desmon. Next: 70-yarder for Brandon. Next: 1-yard sneak for sr. QB Joey Monaghan on the first play of the second quarter. The fifth of jr. Nick Visco’s kicks made it 35-0 and the thought began popping into everyone’s mind: We’re gonna see the mercy rule. The first half ended 41-14, so ACC momentarily avoided that fate. But as the third quarter opened, Wood’s defense slapped together a three-and-out and third down featured a batted-down pass by sr. DE Colin Thompson (Florida). Sr. Nate Smith (West Virginia) then fielded a punt on Wood’s 38 and uncorked a zig-zaggy, 62-yard TD return with the help of an ever-competent wall. The mercy rule was on the doorstep and coach Steve Devlin went for it. Monaghan hit a WIDE-open Thompson for the two-point conversion and that made it 49-14 just 1:06 into the session. Wood would add three more TDs on runs of 34 and 11 yards by sr. backup rusher Ryan McMullin (5-99) and an 81-yarder 2:14 before game’s end by soph Josh Messina. That play was nothing tricky. ACC merely failed to tackle him. Brandon and Desmon finished with three and two TDs, respectively, and each one had a very long journey – 70 for D; 77 for B. The latter also was the recipient of all three of Monaghan’s completions (for 71 yards) in seven attempts. Smith zoomed to 171 yards on four punt returns and had a scrimmage run of three yards, so he and the Peoples cousins combined for 560 all-purpose yards! Smith’s d-backs skills were also vital. He defended three passes, made five solo stops and forced a fumble. That recovery went to jr. DB Anthony Roakes, who was frisky throughout en route to eight solo stops. (Huck and Puck combined to handle the defensive numbers. Huck was at home, watching Comcast’s telecast. Puck was in the press box on the visiting side. Thanks, guys!) Sr. LB Kyle Adkins added seven tackles and had one of the best lines of the night. At one point the coaches wanted to give him a rest and he cracked, “I’m more tired from running on and off the field” (because of all the scores; as in playing itself was nooooo problem). Jr. Benji Abercrombie posted six pass defends and Wood had 16 total! Nosovitch (South Carolina) finished 23-for-52 for 253 yards and two TDs; one of his “completions” went slightly backward and was logged as a rushing play. The first half required 88 minutes and 87 plays were run. Even the mercy rule didn’t keep the game from ending until 9:45 (7:07 start). Wood finished with 837 all-purpose yards and ACC had 548. That computes to 1,385 total. Whoa! Wood’s offense benefited from the return of two OLs, sr. Frank Taylor (Boston College) and jr. Nick Arcidiacono. They’d missed the Pottsgrove quarterfinal with minor injuries. With next week’s state final vs. Harrisburg McDevitt in mind, the starters spent the fourth quarter having Hershey Kisses catches with spectators and each other, and with four minutes left a quartet of guys (Desmon, Brandon, Nick Arch and jr. OL Fran Walsh) ventured over to a spot in front of the student rooters and led them in  a singing of the na-na, hey-hey goodbye song. Meanwhile, the most athletic Viking proved to be assistant Tom White Jr. Despite his true big-‘un status, he pretty much completely avoided an ice cube dousing by ducking at exactly the right time. Outstanding! The philly.com story focused, in part, on the agony experienced last year by Desmon Peoples, who had to miss the ACC game due to a broken foot. You can find that here and we’ll post it in a few days.
WOOD'S ALL-PURPOSE NUMBERS . . .
  RUSHING -- Desmon Peoples 12-182 (2), Brandon Peoples 10-133 (3), Ryan McMullin 5-99 (2), Josh Messina 2-85 (1), Jake Cooper 4-55, Joe Dutkiewicz 2-4, Nate Smith 1-3, Joey Monaghan 2-1 (1). 
  PASSING -- Joey Monaghan 3-7-0 -- 71.
  RECEIVING -- Brandon Peoples 3-71.
  KICKOFF RETURNS -- Kevin Sullivan 2-18, Ryan McMullin 1-15.
  PUNT RETURNS -- Nate Smith 4-171 (1).
  OTHER RETURNS -- None.
  TOTALS -- Rushing 562, Passing 71, Returns 204, Total 837.
  OTHER POINTS -- Nick Visco 7 PAT, Steve Buonomo 1 PAT, Colin Thompson 2-point catch.
ACC'S ALL-PURPOSE NUMBERS . . .
  RUSHING -- Colin McDermott 25-108, G.B. Harkins 4-25.
  PASSING -- Brendan Nosovitch 23-52-0 -- 253 (2), Jalen Snyder-Scipio 0-1-0 -- 0.
  RECEIVING -- Kevin Gulyas 8-72 (1), Noah Robb 8-60, Jalen Snyder-Scipio 7-121 (1).
  KICKOFF RETURNS -- Kevin Gulyas 8-162.
  PUNT RETURNS -- None.
  OTHER RETURNS -- None.
  TOTALS -- Rushing 133, Passing 253, Returns 162, Total 548.
  OTHER POINTS -- Tim DiGiacomo 2 PAT.
TOTAL ALL-PURPOSE YARDS -- 1,385.  

By Ted Silary
          Imagine how often a teenager pops open his cell phone.
          Fifty times a day? Sometimes, even 50 times in one hour?
          Whatever the number, it's supposed to be a happy experience. The kid's going to have fun texting or chirping or texting some more.
          But there, for the better part of a year, was Desmon Peoples. Each time he visited Cell Phone Land, he had to relive agony.
          Wait, he didn't HAVE to. He chose to.
          The 5-8, 170-pound Peoples, who's bound for Rutgers, is a star tailback for Archbishop Wood High's football team. And the background pic on his phone was snapped at this juncture in 2010, right after what he said was "probably the worst feeling" he'd ever experienced.
          Due to a broken foot, Peoples was unable to play as Wood fell to Allentown Central Catholic, 49-27, in a PIAA Class AAA state semifinal. The photo showed Desmon on crutches, off to the side, with an extra-forlorn look on his face, as the teams traded post-game handshakes.
          "I kept telling Desmon it wasn't his fault, that getting hurt was not on him," said his first cousin, Temple-bound Brandon Peoples, the Vikings' other primary rusher out of the fullback position. "I told him that what happens AFTER the injury is really what counts.
          "He did such a great job with his rehab, he got his foot to even a better place. He cuts better off it now than he did before."
          Brandon and Desmon, their play having spoken volumes, did their talking last night on the field at Northeast High's Charlie Martin Memorial Stadium, shortly after Wood posted a monumental victory.
          In that 2010 affair, ACC quarterback Brendan Nosovitch, who was still around last night, exploded for 602 yards of rushing/passing and was part of all seven touchdowns. This game was another all-timer, though in a different vein.
          Think about it. How often is the margin of victory in a state semifinal 56 points?
          Wood 70, ACC 14. Gulp . . . Gulp again.
          "I gotta be honest," Brandon Peoples said. "I didn't see that comin' at ALL."
          Was Desmon similiarly surprised?
          "Yeah, I guess," he said, not exactly sounding like Mr. Convincing. He added, "We knew what we had to do. Come out here and give it our all. One-hundred percent every play. Bottom line, that's what we did."
          Pretty much from the start.
          On play No. 2, Brandon bolted for 15 yards. Desmon then dashed for 45 and Brandon followed with a 7-yard touchdown run. ACC managed two first downs on its first possession, but a pass breakup by cornerback Nate Smith (West Virginia) forced a punt and the local Vikings (that's also ACC's nickname) needed just six plays to again light up the scoreboard with another 7-yard run by Brandon.
          "On the first one," he said, "the whole line gave me great blocks. I just had to burst through a really big hole. The second one, I had to run over people to get in there. I like those kind better."
          Wood was barely scratching the surface, folks.
          It added two more scores in the first quarter and yet another on the very first play of the second, making it 35-0 thanks to Nick Visco's kicks, and 4:19 before halftime Desmon was making it 41-7 with a 77-yard scamper.
          By halftime, which ended 41-14, Wood owned the outrageous sum of 576 all-purpose yards.
          "This has been a long wait since last year," Desmon said. "Any time I needed motivation, I just had to check (his phone). I couldn't WAIT to play this game. I was so excited. I had to come out full throttle."
          Desmon finished with 11 carries for 179 yards and two TDs. Brandon managed 136 and three on the same number of rushes. Backup Ryan McMullin turned five carries into 99 yards and two scores and Josh Messina motored 81 yards for one last TD with 2:14 remaining.
          The mercy rule had been in effect since 10:54 was showing in the third quarter. That was when Smith returned a punt for a here-there-everywhere, 62-yard TD (en route to 171 yards on four returns) and tight end Colin Thompson (Florida) expanded the bulge to 49-14 on a conversion catch from Joey Monaghan.
          In part because the game was televised by The Comcast Network, but mostly because 87 scrimmage plays were run, the first half required 88 minutes. And even with the running clock, the end time was 9:45.
          Throughout the fourth quarter, Wood's starters mostly interacted with themselves and the fans.
          When they weren't lobbing/catching Hershey Kisses, symbolic of the fact that next Friday's state final, vs. Bishop McDevitt of Harrisburg, will take place in Chocolate Town, they were trying to dump ice cubes on coaches and even running over to the student section to lead a rendition of the na-na, hey-hey, goodbye song.
          For part of the time, Desmon Peoples wore a viking helmet -- yup, complete with those curly horns -- his father tossed down from the stands.
          In all, Wood amassed 633 yards on 45 plays (14.1 average!) while adding 204 on returns (837 total). Crucial to the offensive explosion was the presence of tackle Frank Taylor (Boston College) and guard Nick Arcidiacono; they'd missed the Pottsgrove quarterfinal due to injury.
          Nosovitch passed 23-for-52 for 253 yards and two TDs. The upstate Vikings finished with 548 all-purpose yards largely because Kevin Gulyas rang up 162 on eight returns of kickoffs.
          Wood's defense received strong outings from Smith (forced fumble, five solo tackles, three pass defends), Anthony Roakes (eight solos, fumble recovery), Kyle Adkins (seven tackles) and Benji Abercrombie (six pass defends).
          As Wood's players and coaches gathered for their post-game meeting, coach Steve Devlin mostly kept it brief.
          One of his better comments: "We got this one. Might as well win next week."
          The Peoples cousins smiled broadly. Cell phone background photo op.

DEC. 3
CLASS AAAA STATE QUARTERFINAL
La Salle 41, Nazareth 33
  Lunch AND dinner at the Roy Rogers in the Allentown Rest Stop along the Northeast Extension of the turnpike. In between, a stirring win by one of Our Teams. Does it get any better? (smile) Maybe it does because something happened today you would likely go decades without seeing. Ready? A standing ovation for referees! That occurred with 3:52 remaining in the third quarter when a penalty (procedure) was fiiiiiiinally called on Nazareth. Beforehand, eight infractions had been detected and La Salle had been the guilty party every . . . single . . . time. Five more penalties would be called and four would go against the Explorers. Is there a way to retract a standing ovation? Guess not. This game, played in great early-December weather in the same stadium (Frank Banko Field, adjacent to Bethlehem Liberty High) where La Salle made a memory for a lifetime in 2009 (beating Easton in the snow), was a dandy in its own right and some unlikely heroes stepped up. One was sr. RB Tim Wade. Say what? Isn't he almost always a hero? Yes, but his thing is rushing the ball. In this one, he did post 128 yards on 18 carries and run 56 yards for a gigantic TD with 4:27 remaining. Ah. but he also made five catches for 131 yards (after entering with four catches for four yards for the season) and twice hit payturf in that manner. His scores came on a 26-yarder off a right-side swing pass and a 47-yarder straight down the middle. He also had a 50-yarder, on which he absolutely big-rigged a defender (even better than mere "trucking), and two plays later we saw an appearance by another unlikely hero. From the 4, jr. FB Jared Herrmann momentarily had possession on a run up the middle. Very momentarily, even. When Herrmann lost the handle, the ball squirted into the end zone and sr. TE Chris Kane made the recovery to get credit for a TD. Right out of the game-opening chute, sr. handyman John Palermo had made an impact. On La Salle's third play, he caught an 11-yard pass from sr. QB Matt Magarity (focused all day while going an impressive 15-for-21 for 281) and added an 18-yard TD reception six plays later. On that one, sr. WR Colin Buckley threw a key block with his back! That's right. As Palmero angled toward the end zone, Buckley stood in front of a nearby defender and nudged him with his back, as if he were boxing out for a rebound. Legendary! In all, the Explorers rolled to 434 yards so of course the gruntsters are gonna get a shoutout -- sr. C Connor Kerrigan, jr. Gs Luke Persichetti and Pat Hoffman, and sr. Ts Dan Wasylenko and Matt Maginnis. It was his faith in the entire offensive unit that convinced coach Drew "Flash" Gordon -- I heard an old friend call him that long after the game; that was Drew's nickname during his days as a star QB for McDevitt -- to go for it on fourth-and-inches at La Salle's 44. Right beforehand, sr. TE Mike Piscopo had made a clutch catch for 16 yards. Wade was jostled maybe a yard or two beyond the line of scrimmage, but then broke free and zoomed to the end zone. On the PAT, jr. K Ryan Winslow wound up with a low snap and tried a run toward the left corner. He didn't make it and that left the spread at eight points, meaning the door to OT was open. The Eagles methodically rolled downfield behind sr. QB Dan Harding, advancing the ball to La Salle's 36. On the next play, Harding tried to hit star sr. WR Andrew Bridgeforth, who was double-covered. Time for another guy to claim a spot in the Unlikely Hero Category. The ball was picked off by frosh S Jimmy Herron! (Wait, maybe he wasn't such an unlikely hero. He'd also posted a crucial pick in the win over Roman that yielded the CL AAAA crown.) The drama wasn't over, folks. On third and none, Magarity kept to his left and -- oh, no! -- lost the pigskin. Buckley was Colin on the Spot. He flopped on the ball and was strong enough to stave off multiple attempts to wrest it away in the pile. The Explorers eased home from there. The result provided extra warm and fuzzies for coach Gordon and his staff because jr. stalwart Sean Coleman (WR-S-Ret.) had been lost quite early with a sprained foot. It made sense to assume Sean had been hurt on a great, full-out layout that produced a 31-yard catch late in the first quarter. Yet, when asked much later, he said he'd first suffered the injury on an 8-yard catch five plays into the game. That info makes his second catch even more impressive, considering he posted it on a bad wheel. Considering that Nazareth rolled to 396 yards total offense, and twice scored on trick plays (reverses to wideouts), it would be stretching the truth to say La Salle played big-time defense. That unit did have its moments, however. Sr. LB Sean Burke made a series of power-packed tackles while jr. LB Mike Eife added two sacks to a fumble recovery. Also, midway through the third quarter, three straight plays resulted in losses as Palmero and sr. DE Tyler Kern combined for a sack, then Maginnis stepped forward with a TFL and sack. La Salle will now have a rematch vs. North Penn, which it conquered, 44-27, in the season opener and also topped twice in 2010 (27-14 and 38-35) in the same two spots in the schedule. Details will be announced Sunday.

DEC. 2
CLASS AAA QUARTERFINAL
Wood 41, Pottsgrove 22
(At Northeast)
  Two plays, six points. And the frolicking was onnnnnnly beginning, folks. By this stage in statewide playoffs, the hope is that no game will be severely one-sided. But this one was, despite what the score line might indicate, and now we'll get to see, in all likelihood, an all-time classic with oodles and oodles of points -- Wood vs. Allentown Central Catholic in a rematch of last year's semifinal that was won by the latter, 49-27. That was the game in which ACC QB Brendan Nosovitch (South Carolina) accounted for 602 yards of passing (419) and rushing (183), and all seven TDs, in what I called the BEST performance I'd seen, in any sport, in 40 years of covering high school events. Well, while Wood was cruising in this one, ACC was smoking Shamokin and the two will meet again next weekend (details TBA). How cool is that? This one offered some strange goings-on. Early, Pottsgrove was intentionally using all the seconds on the play clock in an attempt to keep the ball out of Wood’s hands for as long as possible. How often do you ever see an offense stalling? (Except at the end of games when a team with the lead is performing kneel-downs.) And then, with 7:52 remaining in the fourth quarter, LONG after Wood coach Steve Devlin had removed his starters, the Falcons opted for an onside kick following a TD (recovery of a blocked punt) that cut the deficit to 19 points. Some coaches, I’m sure, would have ordered the first team back onto the field and followed immediately with a bomb to a wideout. Devlin chose the high road, and the second-teamers took turns executing vanilla running plays until time expired. Wood stormed to 296 yards in the first half while holding Pottsgrove to 37. That says it all, folks. Sr. RB Desmon Peoples (Rutgers) dashed 52 yards for a score on the game’s second play and finished with 106 yards and two more TDs on eight carries. The other two first-half TDs came on passes from sr. QB Joey Monaghan to sr. WR Nate Smith (West Virginia). Both were interesting. On the first one, a 30-yarder, Smith began on the left side and ran straight to the middle for a screen. After gathering in the ball, he sped straight toward the goalpost and did a mini-hurdle over a defender at about the 5. As Wood’s next series began, Monaghan threw incomplete long down the left sideline. Nearby, Devlin yelped, “Joey! Nate was 1-on-1!” As in, Smith was being covered man-to-man. I knew what that meant. We’d see a bomb to Smith at some point. Shortly into the second quarter, Smith went long down the middle against – you got it – single coverage and Monaghan pinpointed him perfectly for a caught-in-stride, 75-yard TD. The other score came on Wood’s first possession of the second half (after a three-and-out for Pottsgrove) and was mostly the Ryan McMullin Show. The 50-yard drive required just four plays and McMullin carried on three of them – for 10, 12 and 24 yards (TD). Sr. FB Brandon Peoples had carry No. 3, a 14-yarder. Have you noticed? The four plays totaled 60 yards, not 50. Reason: A 10-yard penalty occurred in the midst of Peoples’ run. Two of Wood’s o-line starters (sr. Frank Taylor, jr. Nick Arcidiacono) were missing due to injury, but nary a beat was skipped. The grunts were sr. C Brandon Arcidiacono (Rutgers), jr. Gs Chris O'Connor and Diego Racanco, and jr. Ts  Fran Walsh and George Griffin, the recipient of Philly.com cyber attention and normally a guard. Jim Algeo, who recently retired as Lansdale Catholic’s forever coach, was along Wood’s sideline as an analyst for a cable telecast and at one point I overheard him making a comment for the broadcast. I didn’t write it down, so don’t hold me to exactness, but he compared Wood to North Penn’s 2003 state champs. “You liked to think you could find ways to stop them, but then you realized . . . Pretty much impossible.” Wood also did very well on defense and Pottsgrove broke through only against second-teamers. According to The Puckster, who watched the game from upstairs on Pottsgrove’s side, sr. Kyle Adkins and frosh Jake Cooper made nine and seven tackles, respectively, while sr. Jon Vicari, B. Arcidiacono (six apiece) and jr. Andrew Guckin (five) were next in line. Vicari and Guckin were particularly active early as Wood established command. The night’s best hit was uncorked by Adkins. Best wishes go out to Joe Stanley, whose 19-year stint as the Pub’s football chairman has ended. Joe was on hand for this one because he was also a D-12 administrator. Joe will still make appearances on the trail because his son, Mike, is Roxborough’s head coach and another, Jody, is one of Mike’s assistants. Thanks for your help through the years, Joe.

NOV. 24
THANKSGIVING RIVALRY
Ryan 19, Washington 0
  The best thing an underdog can do is score the game’s first touchdown. The second best thing it can do is follow in something close to short order with another because that REALLY creates the impression that a very cool result could be in the offing. Though much better this season, Ryan nevertheless was winless in Catholic AAAA action. Washington, of course, won the Pub AAAA crown. But the first TD went to Ryan and so did the second and so did the third and there never was a fourth, so the Raiders not only won, but posted a shutout. Washington last had failed to score in the first game of the ’09 season, vs. Parkland, and hadn’t been blanked by a city-leagues squad since game No. 4 of ’07 (by Chestnut Hill). This was Ryan’s first blanking since the end of the ’09 campaign (Washington was canceled that year), when a 17-0 win over Central Bucks West ended a 20-game losing streak and gave first-year boss Frank McArdle his initial triumph. Anyway, Ryan played effective defense on the game’s first series (and got help from a holding call that wiped out a big gain) and soph OLB Connor Golden posted an interception on an all-advised floater lofted under pressure by jr. QB Alfonso Augustine. Golden managed a 7-yard return and a tacked-on penalty placed the ball at the 12. Three plays later, jr. RB Dylan Rowan swung out of the backfield and caught a 7-yard TD flip from sr. QB Mike Anusky. Not much happened either way into the second quarter and Washington had to punt from the Ryan 47. Jr. S Sam DuMond, sent up the middle by McArdle instead of the wing, smacked the ball and Golden dashed 40 yards for a score. In the second half, Ryan mostly played defense on offense. Huh? Here’s the explanation: With 3:30 left in the first, Anusky embarked on a left-side keeper and gained 16 yards. One problem: He tweaked his right knee and had to watch the rest of the game. His replacement was soph Mark Ostaszewski, who’d seen no QB action all season. (His dad, Mark, was a star RB during Ryan’s glory days.) Offensive coordinator Chris Rahill mostly kept the offense vanilla and that approach succeeded because Rowan (22-77) kept producing just enough yardage on heavy-traffic runs. Plus, Ostaszewski had one great play. In the fourth quarter, he rolled to his right, used the step-up-a-little method to avoid what had the look of a certain sack and delivered a perfect ball to sr. WR Nick Le Van, who was mostly alone at the 8, tight to Ryan’s sideline. Le Van put on a quick move and headed directly toward the goalpost. Touchdown! Ryan’s o-line included jr. C Ed Bier, sr. Gs Chris McMonagle and Alvin Allen, soph T Joe Hansbury, jr. T Ryan McGee and soph TE Sean Boylan. The defense limited Washington, which played without star sr. rusher Hakeem Sillman (long story; tough to be sure exactly what’s going on), to 118 yards. The Eagles had no gains over 15 yards and only four plays netted as many as 10. Pretty amazing. The defense included ends McMonagle and Boylan, tackles Hansbury and sr. Joe Sullivan, linebackers Golden, sr. Lamar Richardson and soph Jesse Wireman, sr. cornerback Mike Palmer, soph CB Bobby Romano, and safeties DuMond and sr. Kevin Newell. DuMond had an interception in the waning moments of the first half while McMonagle (fumble recovery; strip by Richardson) and Palmer (interception) saw to it that two of Washington's four second-half possessions ended in turnovers. The defense was put into some difficult spots, too, because Anusky’s injury also cost Ryan its punter. K Matt Martinez took over, but twice dropped snaps for a total loss of 32 yards. The first time was right before halftime and the ball wound up on Ryan’s 15. No problem. DuMond immediately picked off a slant from the other QB, jr. David Gavrilov. The other mishap occurred near midfield midway through the fourth quarter. Washington did move to Ryan’s 19, but three passes fell incomplete and then jr. RB Donald Smith fell . . . for a 4-yard loss after catching a swing pass. In the interviews, Golden, DuMond and McArdle made sure to thank the seniors for their perseverance through assorted tough times, and for the way they guided the underclassmen. This team is packed with promising youngsters, so the next couple seasons could be very enjoyable. Assuming there is another season. One of the MANY Archdiocese rumors making the rounds has St. Hubert closing and Ryan becoming an all-girls school, which would guide the boys toward Judge (though, of course, they’d be able to attend other schools). McArdle said he doubts that one has legs because Ryan has just been granted permission to start a wrestling program. The way he figures, why would the Archdiocese allow a school that soon would not have boys to start a new sports program FOR boys? Makes sense to me. Let’s hope he’s right. Thanks to everyone who helped to pull together our Thanksgiving package for the Daily News (and website). Stat-keepers included Amauro "Amar" Austin, Will Cambria, Mark "Frog" Carfagno, Jon "Duck" Gray, Keith Hines, Tom "Puck" McKenna, Andy Miller, Ed Morrone, Ed "Huck" Palmer, Paul Schneider, Joe Turkos and Bill Wettstein while Amar and Puck came into the office to answer the phones and take information. DN staffer Kerith Gabriel coordinated the scoreboard page effort, Drew McQuade planned the story pages, Deb Woodell and Jim DeStefano handled editing duties and pics were snapped by Sarah Glover, Dave Maialetti and Yong Kim. Thanks to those folks! And to assorted coaches, even players, we had to call in an attempt to solve issues resulting from incorrect rosters. This week's SportsWeek issue will include MANY pages of more Thanksgiving photos, by the way. Enjoy.      

NOV. 23
THANKSGIVING EVE RIVALRY
Furness 20, Prep Charter 14 (OT)
  Only fitting, right? Before his No. 1 jersey was retired in a nice post-game ceremony, held at the north end of the South Philly Super Site, all sr. RB-QB-S Sharif Smith did was score the TD (his third of the game) to start the extra session, then make the tackle (in concert with sr. CB Bor Bor Kessley) to clinch the victory. Like last night's Mastery North-Gratz game, we can't call this one "the first annual" because who knows if it will really take place next year? There's even a chance Furness may close. (Coach Anthony Pastore said discussions have already taken place at Palumbo, which supplies many of the players, about taking command of the program if Furness closes or perhaps is strong-armed into joining forces with Southern, as it will do this basketball season.) Smith has enjoyed a truly wonderful career in four years as a Furness mainstay and his first two TDs, of course, came in regulation, thanks to runs of one and nine yards. In OT, also held at the north end, he lined at QB and posted gains of five and four yards before following soph LT Eric Drains into the end zone for a 1-yard score. PC's possession last four downs. Jr. Jovan Matthews (5-6, 160), who did some great late-season work, picked up five yards, then one, before sr. RB Josephus Dennis settled for one more (tackle by sr. Tamarik Wilks). On fourth down, soph QB Dion Volo took the snap and headed to his right. No chance. Smith and Kessley dumped him for a significant loss along the visiting sideline and the Falcons exploded in joy, having won in OT on Thanksgiving Eve for the second consecutive year (Comm Tech in 2010). Smith finished with 28 carries for 169 yards and his career yardage total is finalized at 4,457, fifth best in city history. Roughly 15 of Sharif's earlier teammates, along with all of this year's players and coaches, watched the admiration as Furness AD Dave Connolly detailed Sharif's career then unveiled his white No. 1 jersey, framed in glass. Since Sharif attends Palumbo, I was curious. Will the jersey wind up at Palumbo or Furness? "Furness," Dave and Anthony assured me. For a long while, Furness mostly coasted. It held a 14-0 lead through three quarters (Wilks added the conversion run after the second TD), then PC woke up mostly due to Matthews (20-148). He zipped 18 yards for his first score (Wilks blocked the PAT) and, after a three-and-out, did most of the dirty work on a nine-play, 78-yard drive that tied the score with 4:07 left. The major play was a 61-yard dash to the 1 and he took it across one play later behind a block from LT Keith Jenkins. On the conversion, he went back to thr right side (where the 61-yarder had gone) behind jr. G Faheem Williams (some very good moments on the DL) and sr. T Jahbree Sullivan (6-5, 300). The other major development in regulation occurred much earlier (midway through second quarter) when Furness slapped together a great goal-line stand. The Falcons even persevered despite a penalty that moved the ball from the 8 to the 4. Dennis carried to the 1 (tackle by frosh DL Kahlil Lawrence), then Dolo was swarmed on a sneak. It was nice to see a pair of Brians at halftime. Brian Kelly, Edison's football coach last season, now works at FLC, which also partners with Furness for football. Brian Blasy, Furness' former hoops coach, is back in town after a few years down South. He's now trying to get back into the school scene at a charter. Like so often this season, it rained. Ugh! Never real hard, but enough to be a pain for stat-keeping and pic-taking purposes. The Frogster was also on hand. Early, at least. I guess he went up to the press box later? Happy Almost Thanksgiving, everyone!

NOV. 22
THANKSGIVING WEEK RIVALRY
Mastery North 15, Gratz 6
  Well, this one certainly offered some uncommon circumstances. Not only was it played on a Tuesday, it started at 5 o’clock. In pouring rain, to boot. One of my former bosses was always adamant about the fact that no event can be called “the first annual” because, as he put it, “It has to take place in that second year before you can call it ‘annual.’ “ Makes sense, right? Well, the plan is for these teams to meet on an annual basis and the upstart Pumas own the first victory. UPSTART fits because MN is not yet past of Pub football and this season was its first. After facing a mostly brutal schedule, with every game on the road, the Pumas entered this one 2-8. Gratz, meanwhile, finished second in Pub AAA and had a regular season win over the school, Dobbins, that wound up winning the playoff title. DN ink went to sr. G-NT Ezekiel Evans, who again could have played for Germantown this season, as did stars Myles Brooker and Aaron “Snook” Boyd, but instead opted to be part of MN’s maiden voyage. He was an interesting kid to interview and seems to deeply appreciate what the school, and now its coaches, have meant to his life. The Pumas’ first two points were freebies as Gratz sr. QB Davone Cornish bobbled the ball in the end zone and had to flop on it to prevent MN from getting a TD. They also netted a pair of very impressive TD runs, of 52 and 58 yards, from jr. RB Malcolm Coston (20-169). Coston was pretty much stopped dead on the first one at maybe Gratz’ 30, but broke free and bolted to the end zone. On the other, he scurried along the right sideline and could/should have been tackled/pushed out numerous times. Didn’t happen. After a penalty, jr. K Papa Bedell drilled a 26-yard PAT. Interceptions went to sr. LB Markus Moore (two) and jr. DB Jermaine Norris while jr. LB Christopher Batts racked up a pair of early TFLs and frosh LB Rondell Bazley made a fumble recovery to set up Coston’s 52-yarder. Gratz’ lone score came on a 78-yard interception return by the only Bulldog who truly had a successful evening, sr. DB Micah Eldemire. Early, Eldemire, out of a Wildbulldog alignment, ripped off gains of 30 and 37 yards and I felt, honestly, the Gratz folks should have kept going with that approach until MN proved it could stop it. The second of those bursts put Gratz at MN’s 5 and the score was still 2-0. However, a chop block proved to be a killer and jr. DB Jerome Woods broke up a fourth down pass to the right corner. Between the rain and wind, Cornish had a difficult outing. And near the end, his replacement, soph Tyssan Brown, threw a pair of picks. Eldemire did get more carries later and finished 11-98. MN, coached by former Washington assistant John Davidson, also draws players from the school’s other campuses (aside from Gratz) in South Philly (that’s Mastery South during basketball season), West Philly and Center City. It’ll be interesting to see if PIAA rules will allow all of those schools to form one squad next fall. Plus, there’s a cooperative sponsorship with another. I spent this one in the press box, where it was nice and dry. The lighting at Gratz’ stadium is pretty good, so the pics turned out OK. Happy Almost Thanksgiving to all (smile).

NOV. 19
CLASS AAAA CITY TITLE
La Salle 41, Washington 7
(At Northeast)
  Already down by 7-0, the last thing Washington needed was a bonehead play. But that was EXACTLY what happened after sr. RB Tim Wade raced 17 yards for a TD 4:46 into the first quarter. Jr. K-P Ryan Winslow lofted his kickoff about 35 yards downfield and the nearest Washington guy, stationed close to La Salle's sideline, never made an attempt catch it. He merely looked on -- like he truly did not know the rule -- as the ball bounced high and was recovered by jr. DB Dad Poquie. On play No. 5, Wade scored again from the 2 and, bingo, just that quickly the score was 14-0. Not saying La Salle would not have rolled anyway, but this sequence was an absolute killer. Washington then endured a three-and-out as La Salle's tackles went to sr. DL Dan Wasylenko, sr. LB Mike Piscopo and sr. DE Tyler Kern (serious pop!) and sr. Casey Eidenshink followed by making one of those ever-important fair catches on the punt. This drive covered 79 yards by Wade's 4-yard run. Washington ran 14 of the next 16 plays, helped by an interception from soph DB Sonovan Yin, but no true benefits were to be had. La Salle took over at its 8. Sr. QB Matt Magarity passed to jr. handyman Sean Coleman for 27 yards and then . . . oh, baby! The Guy With the Arm Has Feet! With some great blocks, even downfield, Magarity uncorked a 65-yard keeper and got to the end zone. Credit should probably go to his dad, Mike "Meek" Magarity, a former cross country star at La Salle (smile). Jr. LB Melvin Gonzalez had blocked Winslow's PAT after TD No. 3, but this one was good and La Salle owned a 27-0 lead. If you're a Pub fan, perhaps you're thinking, "How come Hakeem Sillman's name has not yet been mentioned in this report? Did he play?" Yes, he did, but he made no impact. Hard to believe, right? On his Facebook page Thursday, a bit of research reveals, Sillman mentioned he wasn't feeling too well. So maybe he deserves a bit of a pass. But there's no way Washington is going to hang with, let alone beat, a top-notch foe such as La Salle if "Hak" winds up posting just 18 yards on eight carries. Meanwhile, we likely saw the next Jamal Abdur-Rahman today. After Wade (12-79, three TDs) suffered a bit of a stinger, frosh Jordan Meachum saw extended duty and, man, does he have serious scatback potential. The 5-6, 150-pound Meachum sped for 101 yards and a 31-yard TD on 12 carries and he'll have all kinds of fun over the next three seasons. The Eagles avoided a shutout with 2:39 left in the third quarter on a 58-yard, left-sideline streak from sub jr. QB David Gavrilov to jr. handyman Donald Smith; that TD was accomplished against a defense that included nine subs and just two starters. Jr. DB Chris Rocco had an interception for La Salle while jr. DB Mike Eife notched a 12-yard sack. Like West Catholic in AA and Wood in AAA, La Salle now gets a mini-vacation as its next game won't be until the first weekend in December. Washington hosts Ryan on Thanksgiving.

NOV. 19
CLASS AAA CITY TITLE
Wood 49, Dobbins 0
(At Northeast)
  It might be time for some investigative journalism, folks. As in . . .did Wood coach Steve Devlin spend the week with Andy Reid? (smile). As mostly everyone knows by now, Wood's backfield includes two first cousins, Desmon (Rutgers) and Brandon Peoples (Temple), who are bound for Division I programs. Both were in the lineup today -- well, until they departed with the other first-string skill guys midway through the second quarter, with the score at 42-0 -- but you'll never guess how many combined carries they notched. Ready? ONE! Desmon had zero while Brandon managed 21 yards on his. The Peoples guys were mostly inactive because Devlin turned the game into 7-on-7. The Vikings' first eight plays were passes and sr. QB Joey Monaghan, a lefty, was his usually pinpointy self. Devlin said later he had Monaghan pass so much because he just wanted to work on the aerial attack and show possible future opponents that it can be pretty darn effective . . . to put it mildly. Admittedly against shaky coverage, Monaghan went 12-for-14 for 199 yards and four TDs. You could justifiably make the argument that Monaghan was really 14-for-14 as one incompletion came on a drop and another occurred on a catch that was ruled a shade over the visiting sideline. The TDs went to sr. WR Kyle Adkins (11 yards), Adkins again (seven), sr. WR Nate Smith (30) and sr. TE Colin Thompson (11). Those were scores Nos. 1, 2, 5 and 6 while No. 3 was a 62-yard punt return by Smith (perfect scheme with a right-side wall; not even touched) and No. 4 was a 7-yard run by sr. Ryan McMullin. Jr. Nick Visco followed that one with his fourth PAT and that raised his career total to 171, the No. 1 total in city history. Yes, you read that correctly. He's only a junior and already owns the mark! Thompson set the tone with a first-play catch-and-run that covered 46 yards. Wood had three possessions over the final 27 minutes and the offense was extra vanilla. Devlin called no more passes and the rushes were mostly inside jobs. The Vikes' only third quarter drive, following an interception by jr. DB Benji Abercrombie, covered 96 yards in 14 plays and soph Kendall Singleton capped it with a 3-yard TD run. In a development that surprised no one, the mighty Vikings were dominant on defense, also. Dobbins lost yardage on seven of its first 10 plays as the Florida-bound Thompson, at E, posted a 14-yard sack and 3-yard TFL. Sr. LB Jonathan Vicari added two TFLs in that span. Though Dobbins had to endure a humbling experience, it did have some bright moments. Right before halftime, Wood had first down at Dobbins' 11 after sr. RB-P Daquan "Day-Day" Brown picked up his own blocked punt (by Vicari) and was tackled rather quickly. On the series that followed, sr. DL Kyle Napper-Green and soph DB Delane Hart hustled for TFLs and jr. DL Kareem Jefferson recovered a fumble at the 1. In the fourth quarter, sr. WR Steven Bizzell was guilty of a hold that cost sr. RB Jameel Davis a sizable gain. (Dobbins sr. T Clarence Murphy drew laughter from Wood's guys when he turned toward the home stands and "announced" the penalty before the ref had a chance to do so). Brown then punted and a Dobbins player made a dive at the goal line to keep the ball from entering the end zone. Care to guess who it was? Bizzell. Great effort right after a down moment. Jr. DE Aaron James covered the ball at the 2. Wood now owns all four AAA City Titles and its scoring advantage is 191-20. Wood gets a week off before returning to action in a state quarterfinal while Dobbins will meet Franklin Thanksgiving morning.

NOV. 18
CLASS AA DISTRICT 1-12 SUBREGIONAL FINAL
West Catholic 28, Springfield Montco 7
  When a team scores 28 points in five minutes, 42 seconds, you figure it must have rolled to, what, 56 over the entire game? Nope, didn’t happen. But West wound up knocking off the 11-0 Spartans in rather easy fashion and an aggressive, opportunistic defense was much of the reason. West forced six turnovers and four of 'em led to scores. One even did so directly, as in soph Rae’Quan Williams picked up a fumble on a kickoff return (forced by sr. OLB Marquise Gordon) and raced 41 yards to paydirt. (And we do mean paydirt because Springfield’s stadium isn’t blessed with an artificial surface). Williams’ TD was No. 3 in the outburst and followed, by just 12 seconds, a 44-yard TD run by jr. RB David Williams (no relation). Let’s backtrack. On the very first play of the quarter, Gordon stripped a Spartan ballcarrier and sr. LB Tristin Freeman recovered on the 34. On the eighth play, after turning a screen left from sr. QB Jaleel Reed into a 9-yard pickup, D. Williams (36-179) scored on an 11-yard burst right up the middle. Sr. DB Kevin Malone claimed an interception four plays later and D. Williams set sail on a 44-yard romp to the end zone. Then came the combined heroics from Gordon/R. Williams and, hey, what do you know, two plays after that sr. DL Devante “Butterball” Ford executed another strip search (for a pigskin) and Malone handled pounce-upon-it duties at Springfield’s 48. On the sixth play, Reed flipped a little shovel pass to jr. handyman Shaquill James and, bingo, off to the end zone he went for a 30-yard score. In the third quarter, there was a very strange sight. Though down by 28-0, the Spartans ran the ball for eight consecutive plays before finally throwing a fourth down pass that was broken up by sr. DB Blaise Schieler. On the last play of that session, the Spartans finally got a highlight as jr. LB Billy Dahm picked off a pass and motored 32 yards for a score. A blocked punt soon followed, but the Spartans could not capitalize and James gathered in an interception right on the goal line. (Freeman added one more pick down the stretch to dispel any notions that he couldn’t catch a cold. He’s also West’s punter and played with bulky bandaging on his right thumb due to some ligament damage. The Burrs were hoping not to have to use him at all to punt, but with the ball on their 17 they had little choice. That was the one that was blocked, though Freeman handled the snap cleanly.) Gordon led West with six stops (four solos) while Ford and sr. LB T-J Waters halved 10 and four apiece went to sr. E Alex Murray and jr. DT Jaryd “Burger” Jones-Smith-Brown-Johnson-Williams. (Just kidding. His hyphenated surname stops after Jones-Smith, leaving the rest of the WAY common names for others.) Thanks to Huck for the tackle totals. Robert Coleman, the D-12 chairman, was on hand to present coach Brian Fluck a plaque and game ball. Hmmmm. Earlier this week, in response to our question about why this game was being held at Springfield, as opposed to a neutral site, D-1 chairman Rod Stone had said it wasn’t a title game, but merely a “mechanism” to get the winner to the next round. Ohhhhhh k. Surprisingly, West now gets to rest until the first weekend in December, which will bring a quarterfinal. This was West’s third playoff game, also counting those against McDevitt (CL final) and Bok (City Title and 1-12 semi), and only three more could possibly be played. Though the Burrs also participated in  six playoffs last year, in 2008 their total was eight, as in half of their 16 games. Crazy.     

NOV. 17
NON-LEAGUE
O’Hara 27, Haverford School 17
  Not too many Cath fans religiously follow the Pub, and vice versa. But I’d imagine at least some folks know that one of the Pub’s better players this season is Daquan “Day-Day” Brown of Dobbins. Day-Day is a senior, but that nickname is not about to vanish from the city leagues scene, folks. As I discovered today, mostly because his teammates almost never called him by his given name, O’Hara soph QB Dashawn Darden also goes by “Day-Day.” And what a day-day he had-had!! (smile) The 5-10, 165-pound Darden completed his first 10 passes and by the end of the tilt -- postponed way back because of O’Hara’s brief sports shutdown during the teachers’ strike -- he was sniffing the Lions’ school record for passing yards in one game (317 by Mike Bracken in 1969). He owned 292 after three quarters, but threw just one pass thereafter, resulting in a 6-yard pickup, as O’Hara went the conservative route to preserve its lead. Total numbers: 22-for-26 for 298, and that effort put him over 1,000 for the season. Who would have guessed? Darden’s top targets were soph WR Thaddius Smith (5-110, TD), Temple-bound sr. handyman Damiere Shaw (7-63) and sr. RB Jay Watkins (4-39, TD, in addition to 18 rushes for 82 yards and two more scores). Smith had the game’s best play, a 63-yard reception on which he broke free from two different groups of tacklers. Very impressive. Roughly, O’Hara started as many sophs as the total number of seniors on the roster (nine), so the future should be very bright. The grunts were soph C Kevin Campbell, sr. G Joe Kelley, jr. G Tyler Dinnella, jr. T Carmen Cervella (6-1, 305) and soph T J Kraiza. (I texted coach Danny Algeo early this evening. He assured me Kraiza’s first “name” is only an initial. Gotta love it!) The defense did not make many spectacular plays, but it certainly strung together some clutch ones when they were needed most. With 8:47 left, sr. QB James Chakey ran 3 yards on a keeper (second TD of game) to draw the Fords within 27-17. Then, No. 22 (not listed on roster, unless I got the number wrong?) recovered an onside kick by jr. Aron Morgan, who'd absolutely crushed a 44-yard field goal; No. 9 of the season) and it appeared a great stretch run could be in the offing. Soon thereafter, the Lions’ defense slapped together four consecutive nice plays to regain control. Soph LB Nolan Cummings made a TFL for one yard. Sr. DE Shane Johnson recorded a 10-yard sack. Kraiza held Chakey to just a 1-yad gain. Then sr. DE Steve Trainor and Kraiza combined for a 5-yard sack. The Fords did get one more possession in the final moments and sr. RB Zachary Rego, headed to Georgetown for lacrosse, ripped off a 44-yard gain. In a nice gesture, coach Michael Murphy then removed his first team offense so the senior members of it could depart on a good note, and do so en masse. A Thursday afternoon game is HIGHLY unusual (maybe unprecedented?) for Catholic/Inter-Ac teams, but since the Inter-Ac squads play a decent amount of Friday afternoon games, the thought was that HS would be better prepared emotionally. Plus, the Fords were coming off a win over arch-rival Episcopal while O’Hara had been waiting around for almost two weeks in the aftermath of a devastating playoff loss to its arch-rival, Bonner. But on the game’s very first play, the Fords were guilty of having 12 men on the field and then, on the next, they were flagged for procedure. In time, HS got rolling, but O’Hara boasted more pure zip overall. The Fords’ defensive leader was jr. LB Matt Galambos, who made three stops behind the line and delivered a handful of big pops. Sr. LB Chris DiBello also made notable contributions. The legendary Big Willie was in attendance and wound up working the down marker. This win enabled him to trounce Huck & Puck, 1-0, and, lookie here, a changing of the Pickin’ Parade guard might be taking place. Willie has won two consecutive weeks and three of the last five. Great job, BW! While interviewing Damiere, I asked how his brother, Dennis, was doing. “He’s right there,” Damiere shot back. Indeed, he'd been walking right nearby. In 2006, Dennis was the top rusher for Blue champ West Catholic and gained some acclaim because six of his upper teeth were covered with a gold grill! (He got it as a Christmas present.) I kiddingly asked Dennis about the gold today and Damiere piped up with a laugh, “He’s got a job now. He had to lose it.” Here's a pic of Dennis from '06. Figured we'd make him famous again (smile).

NOV. 12
PUBLIC AAAA FINAL
Washington 20, Frankford 13
  This game featured the all-time crazy development and, unfortunately for those involved on the wrong end, it decided the outcome. The winning TD, which broke a 13-13 tie and was scored with 8:37 left, capped a two-play, three-yard drive. Why did Washington need to cover just three yards? Was there a blocked punt? A fumble recovery? A interception with a nice return? No, no. no. On fourth and 10 from its three, Frankford tried a PASS off a fake punt. One problem: that play had not been called. Even after the game, coach Will Doggett said he still had no idea what had happened. A brief check with the ever-classy Aaron Allison, Frankford's senior class president, traced the mishap to miscommunication. Allison, a star sr. TE, was the middle protector (of three) for punter Eric Salguero. Somehow, the snap went to Allison and the lefty wound up whipping the ball toward the far sideline, where no one had a chance to catch it. Because no one was there. Because no one should have been there. Because a trick play had not been called. Sr. RB Hakeem Sillman was stopped for no gain on first down, then powered across the goal line and immediately stood up and pointed to a man in the stands who'd yelled at him a few plays before the fake-punt disaster, bellowing, "Yo, Hak, you tired? I know you are!" At that instant, Sillman, then playing defense (cornerback), looked up at the guy and shook his head back and forth to indicate no. To his everlasting credit, Allison made a strip of jr. QB Alfonso Augustine on a right-side keeper and a recovery gave Frankford life at its own 30 with 4:42 left. Jr. QB Tim DiGiorgio had some early fun in the drive, but his final four passes fell incomplete (can't imagine THAT happened too often this season, if at all? -- soph DL Zaire Hollerway batted one down and jr. DB Kendale Truitt broke up another) and Washington had the opportunity to milk the clock the rest of the way. That didn't completely happen, though, and Frankford regained possession with under a half-minute left. There'd be no late miracles. The punt play wasn't Frankford's only low-tide moment in the second half. With 3:33 left in the third quarter, sr. handyman Mike Brown fumbled within a whisker of the goal line and sr. DB Miguel "Mickey" Caban recovered a half-yard deep in the end zone. Oh, baby! Sillman churned/dashed/powered his way to 141 yards and two TDs on 24 carries. He enjoyed just two true bursts (gains of 43 and 38 yards) and his score was "only" a 7-yarder. The Eagles' second TD came 1:34 before halftime off a pass to jr. WR Rene Villafane, a brother of former star QB Chuck Hughes ('05). The play covered 30 yards. Though Villafane lost possession at the 1, he had the desire and presence of mind to make an end-zone recovery. Frankford's scores occurred with 3:53 left in the first quarter (7-yard run by gritty-as-all-get-out sr. RB Kelly Johnson; though listed at 5-5, 155, he's likely even smaller) and 10:12 left in the third (20-yard pass to Johnson, on a right-side screen). Jr. Melvin Gonzales blocked the PAT to keep the score at 13-13. When these teams met in the regular season, two of Washington's headlining DLs (jr. E Justin Moody and Hollerway) were unable to play because they'd been ejected from the previous game vs. Northeast. Taking full advantage, DiGiorgio merely passed 21-for-26 for 304 yards (11.7 per attempt) and two TDs in a 21-20 win. This time he went 13-for-28 for 182 yards (6.5) and was sacked four times, as well. Often, Washington showed a four-man defensive line, then added two more gap-fillers right before snaps in an attempt to confuse and/or rattle DiGiorgio. Fifty-one of Tim's yards came on the last series, during which some of Washington's prevent-defense, back-line guys were playing in Montgomery County. Very early in the game, Washington showed little hint it bothered to bring focus to Charlie Martin Memorial Stadium. It was guilty of procedure on THREE consecutive plays. Phew! The hit of the game was made by Frankford soph DL Kadar Jones, who's listed at 6-1, 301. He stormed into the backfield like tidal wave and buried soph RB Ken Everage for a 6-yard loss. Later, he had another impressive stop and sr. LB Geoffrey Phillippe, a power-packing whirlwind throughout, followed with a six-yard TFL vs. Sillman. This was Washington's fourth title in five years and raised the count to TWELVE for coach Ron Cohen. Congrats to all involved! Barring any late changes, the game vs. La Salle for the City Title will be Saturday at noon, also at Northeast.

NOV. 12
PUBLIC AAA FINAL
Dobbins 42, Boys' Latin Charter 12
(At Northeast)
  The only late-game drama centered on whether first-year coach John Sullivan would get showered with ice cubes and water. With as much as four minutes left, some Mustangs began trying to secure a bucket only to have an assistant empty one and playfully outfight some players to maintain control of another. Finally, the guy just sat on it and one player put ice cubes down his back. Later, the players did gain control of a bucket and hid it behind a nearby trash can. So, in the waning moments, Sullivan did get showered. Who would have thought? The Mustangs were basically cleaned out by graduation and it took a while for this group to find itself. Nothing like good timing, though, and the Mustangs are now at their peak. No use for play by play. Not when one team wins by 30 and is in command throughout. Dobbins scored twice in the first 7 1/2 minutes with a fumble recovery on the kickoff in between. BL received the kickoff and experienced a three-and-out as sr. DT Clarence Murphy (1 yard), jr. LB Antwain Kitt (no gain) and jr. DB Mike Jones (minus-1) made the primary hits. On the fourth play, sr. RB Jameel Davis, who has developed very nicely over the course of the season, dashed 42 yards to payturf. Sr. DB Steven Bizzell made the recovery on the fumbled kickoff return and the Mustangs had to cover just 30 yards. After Davis dashed 12 yards to the 1 on the fifth play, sr. RB Daquan "Day-Day" Brown took it home. Davis finished 16-200 and his best was a 90-yarder on which Kitt, the FB, and jr. G Kareem Jefferson made great blocks. Brown finished 15-110 and he posted an 86-yarder. Well, a 99-yarder, if you insist. The play was an option and soph QB Delane Hart got smothered as he sauntered to his left and when he pitched the ball, it wound up on the turf. Brown gained possession, went right back up the middle and made it all . . . the . . . way . . . to . . . the . . . end . . . zone! Amazing. Dobbins' line, aside from Murphy and Jefferson, included sr. C Kyle Napper-Green, jr. G Zahmir Mitchell and jr. T Gibreel Conteh. The TEs were jrs. Kevin Norris and Dishon Solomon. The final score came in the waning moments on a 47-yard dash by backup Trayvon Faison, a sr. He kept to his right and, hey, what's he supposed to do if no one bothers to tackle him? For BL, jr. QB Erik Lark completed just seven of 23 passes for 134 yards while classmate RB Ben Coulibaly ran 18-67. Lark hit jr. WR Tahir Perlote for a score, but was picked off by Faison, Napper-Green and sr. LB Rafiq Williams. N-G rumbled downfield for a 39-yard return to BL's 13. If he'd scored, he might have been given Monday off by school officials (smile). Murphy had a sack and two TFLs. Soph T Malik Spencer and sr. LB Sam Drummond were the best of BL's defenders. In next Saturday's City Title vs. mighty Archbishop Wood (4 o'clock at Northeast, barring any changes), Dobbins will be facing monumental odds. The Vikings have six D-1A commits and two more guys who could wind up at I-AA schools. Here's hoping (probably against hope, but that's why play 'em) the the game will at least be semi-competitive.

NOV. 11
CATHOLIC AAAA FINAL
La Salle 16, Roman 6
(At Northeast)
  Your running back averages just a hair over two yards per carry. Your quarterback completes just 21 percent of his passes. Your kicker misconnects on a pair of field goal attempts. Usually, that spells uh-oh. Ah, but your defense forces SIX turnovers and, well, that spells a-n-o-t-h-e-r t-i-t-l-e. In a game that was equal parts entertaining and sloppy, the Explorers captured their fourth consecutive AAAA championship and their fifth big-school crown (Red in ’06) in six seasons. Rather remarkable, wouldn’t you say? Interceptions were posted by jr. DB Chris Rocco and frosh Jimmy Herron. Fumble recoveries were made by jr. DL David Losier, jr. DB Dad Poquie, sr. LB Sean Burke and jr. DE Andrew Eidenshink. Notice something? Yes, five of those six guys are underclassmen. Forces were made by Herron, jr. DB Mike Eife and Burke and Eife is a junior. Moving on, the Explorers’ TDs were scored by yet another underclassman, jr. WR-DB-Ret Sean Coleman, and major contributions, via four punts that averaged 48 yards, were made – but of course – by another junior, Ryan Winslow. Looks as if 2012 could be bright, right? The DN story (for Internet only – ugh) focused primarily on Coleman, who’s an abundantly talented lacrosse star yet loves his connection to football and, even better, the fact that he’s allowed, even encouraged, to have one. His TDs, on passes from sr. Matt Magarity, covered 61 yards with 1:07 left in the first quarter (along the left sideline) and 27 with 8:12 left in the third (left side of the field’s middle portion). Before each of those possessions, Coleman scrambled forward to make fair catches. Don’t lose the importance of that supposedly small accomplishment in the shuffle. The catches saved the Explorers who knows how many yards and the fact that Roman did not make any FCs turned out to be gigantic. Winslow, whose dad, George (La Salle alum, NFL), knows a little somethin’ about punting, notched punts of 48, 49, 38 and 57 yards and, on that last one, the bounce/roll produced an extra 24 yards! Honestly, at times this game looked like a bad, late-August Pub scrimmage with all of the mistakes. There were four turnovers and three missed field goals in the first half alone. Winslow missed 32- and 21-yarders while Roman’s Boomer Steigelman could not connect from 29. Winslow flat-out missed his. Steigelman, a midseason addition to the squad, got at least a partial pass because the snap was slightly bobbled as he approached the block and he had to take a hiccup of a partial step. Even with that, he hit the ball true, but left it maybe a yard short of the crossbar. La Salle made it 13-0 on a three-play drive that covered 63 yards and followed another FC by Coleman. Sr. TB Tim Wade settled for one yard, then interference was called on a pass to Coleman. Next were a left-side option for Coleman, which netted 20 yards, and the TD toss. Sr. DL Tyrone Brown, at the line of scrimmage, jumped to swat the PAT. Finally, something went right for Roman. The Cahillites covered 72 yards in 12 plays thanks to jr. QB Chris Johnson-Cruz and sr. RB Marcus Kelly. The score came on a 9-yard, left-corner fade to jr. WR William Fuller, but the kick by soph Phillip Isaac was smothered by sr. LB John Palermo, who came right up the middle, basically. Winslow’s 57-yarder occurred with 7:11 to go and placed Roman at its 17. Early momentum surfaced on a 15-yard slant to Fuller and it was sustained as Johnson-Cruz (eight yards) and Kelly (three) combined to pick up another first down. The Cahillites went back to the air. Two incompletions were followed by a long pass down the middle that resulted in Herron’s pick. Even if there’d been a completion, it wouldn’t have counted. Roman had been guilty of holding. Herron uncorked a 47-yard return and a tacked-on penalty placed the ball at Roman’s 10. Wade ran for 3, 4 and 0 yards, then Winslow drilled a 25-yarder. Because 3:32 still remained, the game wasn’t over, but a decent amount of comfort was definitely being experienced. Winslow then buried his kickoff to the end zone and five plays later Burke forced a fumble on a completed pass and Eidenshink made his recovery. Just a short time later, McDevitt coach Pat Manzi, the CL’s football moderator, was approaching coach Drew Gordon on the sideline and handing him the title plaque and the Explorers were exploding in unabashed joy. As tabulated by Huck, Burke hustled for 11 tackles while Palermo and sr. LB Mike Piscopo (headed to Northeastern for baseball) added 10 and seven, respectively. For Roman, sr. LB Kenneth English had eight stops while Brown and sr. DB Taishan Tucker halved 10 and sr. CB Darryl Mintz (called by Coleman the best cover guy he has seen all season) had an interception. The night’s biggest surprise came during my quick, around-the-track, warm-up-a-little walk shortly before the game began. A guy wearing a hooded sweatshirt, heading toward Roman’s stands, offered a pleasant, “Hey, Ted.” I couldn’t tell who it was immediately and then, holy Christmas, it was Marvin Harrison! Yes, the future NFL Hall of Fame wideout and ’91 Roman grad. We had a nice, quick chat – great to see him! – and off he headed to the stands. Marvin was also a star basketball player and could have played D-1 in that sport, too. And while we’re at it, it must be noted that four Philly guys who’ve recently advanced to the NFL – Northeast’s Brent Grimes, Penn Charter's Matt Ryan, Washington’s Dominique Curry and O’Hara’s Anthony Walters – were also quality hoopsters. (Matt was also a baseball star.) There’s a message in there, guys. Don’t limit yourself! OK, off the podium I go. One last thing: It was very weird to write a story with the knowledge it would never see the light of Newspaperville. Our new SportsWeek product has VERY early deadlines and is not intended to cover live events anyway, so the story appeared only online. Oh, well. I just work here.

NOV. 10
NON-LEAGUE
Northeast 19, Lincoln 16 (OT)
  You’ll never hear me complaining about these slapped-together contests that keep teams busy until Thanksgiving. For whatever reason, the ones I cover are often entertaining and the tilts these last two weeks (Future-Edison, now this) have gone down to the final play. Gotta love that, right? Well, unless you’re on the wrong end of the score. We’ll start near the end, troops. Northeast had a chance to win on the original “final play,” as sr. Howard Lynn lined up for a 32-yard field goal. Using his right foot (he punts leftfooted; fascinates me no end – ha ha), Lynn powered a low line drive that was blocked at the line of scrimmage by sr. Rodney Hawkins. The OT session was played at the same end of Lincoln’s field (north) and the Railsplitters went first. On second down from the 10, sr. RB Joshua McClam (57-yard TD run on game’s first scrimmage play) took a pitchout from sr. QB Miguel Sanchez and, pow!, he was dropped for a 5-yard loss by the DN inkman, sr. LB (and FB) Michael Brown. Next, a pass to sr. WR Sincere Merced yielded just three yards (tackle by jr. CB Devon Dillard) and jr. Amir Albarouki, a left-instepper, nailed a 29-yard field goal. On Northeast's possession, on a right-side keeper, Brown helped to spring jr. Harold Alexander for an 8-yard gain. Sr. TB Daquan White gained a yard then nothing on left-side dives before Alexander, barely, burrowed into the end zone through the extra-scant hole between center and left guard. All he had to gain, really, was a foot because the ball was very close to the goal line. Brown finished with 11 stops and two apiece (for minus-21 yards) were in the sack/TFL categories. Through a disastrous season from the injury/discipline standpoint for NE, Brown has always made a positive impression and it felt good to give him some attention. He was quite uncomfortable, though. At least twice, maybe thrice, he had trouble coming up with answers to questions and said while laughing, “Sorry. I’m nervous. I’ve been interviewed before.” No sweat. You did fine, young man. Overall, Alexander had an excellent afternoon. He ran (20-100, two TDs) or passed (13-for-23, 216, TD to Dillard) on 43 of Northeast’s 58 plays, so let’s guess he’ll sleep well tonight. Dillard turned five catches into 68 yards and made a series of big plays over the last 13 minutes of regulation. First was the TD catch. Then, on the kickoff, he stole the ball from sr. KR Michael Johnson and followed five minutes hence with an interception. Dillard had some good battles with Lincoln’s own productive little guy, Merced (also a pick). Sanchez went 9-for-16 for 124 and his TD toss on a perfect fade went to Hawkins, an ink recipient earlier this season. Later, Hawkins made a sensational catch on which he turned his body almost completely around at the last second. Sr. RB Marquise “Marty” McFarland, who has enjoyed some big performances this season, was mostly quiet in this one. There were two strange sequences three minutes apart in the second quarter. With 5:05 left, Sanchez hit Hawkins for the fade TD and Merced, the holder, wound up completing a conversion toss to sr. WR James Baldere. Oops. Albarouki was called for a chop block. Yes, the kicker. The ball went back to the 27. Sanchez then passed and jr. DB Missiah Mason intercepted. Oops. Northeast was called for roughing  the passer. The ball loved up to the 13. Albarouki tried a 30-yard PAT. It sailed a shade to the right. At 2:09, Alexander kept and gained 12 yards before fumbling. Lincoln’s Michael Johnson picked up the ball and got a couple yards before . . . he fumbled! Teammate Isaiah Gonzalez, a sr. DB, picked up the ball and returned it 15 yards before being tackled. Jr. DL Bernard Houston had a couple of big stops for NE. Early in the fourth quarter, Lincoln sr. DL Cleo Kennedy made a clean strip and McFarland recovered. Later in that same session, Sanchez, back in punt formation, made a leaping, one-handed snag of a bad snap. Throughout the stretch, a lady with a very loud voice kept yelling from behind the fence that fronts the stands. “Nobody quit!” she said at one point. “C’mon, make some noise along that sideline! Support your teammates! I’m about to have a stroke here!”

NOV. 6
CATHOLIC AA FINAL
West Catholic 47, McDevitt 8
(At Northeast)
  For now, jr. RB Gerald Fuller, handling main-rusher duties due to the absence of franchise back Keith Young (injured), merely scored a very late, feel-good touchdown that helped coach Pat Manzi’s squad avoid a shutout. But down the road, he might become the answer to a trivia question because this might have been the Lancers’ LAST touchdown. Like as many as four-five others, including West, McDevitt is rumored to be on the Archdiocese’s chopping block and an announcement will come in January, so everyone’s saying. The last drive covered 51 yards and lasted 10 plays and McDevitt twice was helped by major flags. Roughing the passer erased an interception and interference placed the ball at the 4 one snap after jr. QB Christian Connor had been sacked for five yards by sr. DB Tyler Gallashaw and sr. DL Devante “Butterball” Ford. By this time, West coach Brian Fluck had reinserted all of his first team defenders (some had been out there anyway), hoping to preserve the shutout. From the 4, Fuller was limited to one yard and then summoned every last ounce of strength, as did his linemen, to traverse the final three with 6.2 seconds remaining. Right next to him on the ground in the end zone were grunts Steve DiCicco and Shane Killion. On the conversion, Connor ran to the left and was pretty much able to walk, untouched, into the end zone. Otherwise? Not a good day to be a Lancer. West was its usually powerful self and established command by scoring on its first three possessions. The very first play produced an interception for West sr. DB Kevin Malone, the DN inkster, who used for motivation the fact he made just second team All-Catholic. He returned the ball 40 yards to the 27 and sr. QB Jaleel Reed, a lefty, scored five plays later on a right-side keeper. Reed would add two more TDs and on a couple of his runs, most notably a flushout with SERIOUS Fred Astaireness, it was impossible not to think of Michael Vick and, indeed, on West’s sideline some of the backup Burrs could be heard yelling, “Yeah, Vick!” Reed also hit sr. WR Bruce Mapp for a 39-yard score on a nice right-corner fade and jr. RB David Williams claimed an 84-yard mad scamper among his two TDs. Malone had two picks while sr. DBs Blaise Schieler and Tyler Gallashaw added one apiece. The latter turned his into a couldn’t-be-easier, 14-yard TD. A note about Connor: He’d missed much of the season with an injury and the rust was plentiful. However, he GUNS the ball and has good footwork, so he could be a very interesting player in 2012. West’s grunts were sr. C Tim Burns, sr. Gs T-J “It’s All About the Hyphen” Waters and Mike “It’s All About the Videos” Makor, jr. T Jaryd “Burger” Jones-Smith (6-7, 285) and sr. T Eric Wyant. Very cool that West has a Butterball and a Burger. All caloric needs are being met.  Waters (six), Jones-Smith and Ford (five apiece) led in tackles. McDevitt's leaders were sr. LB Darren Wright (eight, seven solos; also blocked a PAT) and jr. DB Tymere Wilder (seven, all solos). Thanks for that, Huck. And for this: West has rung up 15 consecutive wins over McDevitt with a 585-138 scoring advantage. This was the Burrs’ sixth consecutive league title (two in Blue, four in AA) and they own 37 straight league wins, counting 10 in playoffs. The march toward another state title will resume Saturday, noon at the South Philly Super Site, against Bok Tech for the AA City Title. Just like the Wildcats’ previous coach, Tom DeFelice, new boss Frank “Roscoe” Natale is a former West player. Not surprisingly, Huck is a West grad, as are sidekick Matt “Cauls” McCauley (pic-taker and webmaster for www.burrsfootball.com) and long-time TS.com website stalwarts Amauro Austin (made an appearance today) and Mark “Frog” Carfagno. Yo, what’s in the water out there? (smile)

NOV. 5
PUBLIC AAAA SEMIFINAL
Washington 36, Germantown 20
(At Northeast)
  Remember how last Saturday gave us a WAY early look at snow? Well, tonight offered a WAY late look at a hurricane. As in Hurricane Hakeem. What's that? We've seen it pretty much every week this football season? So true. Sr. RB Hakeem Sillman was barely a tropical storm through the first half of this one and his team fell into a 20-6 hole. He did post a TD -- the first of the game, in fact -- but it covered just two yards and he embarked on none of his patented zoom-zoom bursts that are often so amazing to watch. Also, he experienced negativity on three straight touches. He dropped a pitchout for a 10-yard loss on one series, then was dropped for consecutive 2-yard setbacks on the next. (Those combo stops went to soph DE Jordan Alexander/sr. LB Aaron Boyd and sr. DE Devin Smith/sr. LB Anton Adams.) But as the first half ended, G-town suffered a setback when Alexander, the Bears' best defender to that point, suffered a knee injury while returning an interception. It appeared to be serious and you could see the concern on assorted Bears faces (though Alexander did make it back into action). To start the second half, Washington, going east to west, opted for an onside kick. Jr. Jake Wright did his job, sending the ball into an open area not far from the Eagles' sideline. Soph Ken Everage pounced on the pigskin at G-town's 40 and swoosh, here it came, Hurricane Hakeem. He carried on six consecutive plays, getting the ball to the 1, from where it was burrowed into the end zone by co-QB David Gavrilov, a jr. (Jr. Alonzo Augustine played the first half). The Bears incurred losses on their next three plays and the punt traveled only 11 yards to the 34. Ziiiiiiiip. This time, Sillman needed just one carry to get the ball to payturf. Next series: Another three and out. Washington followed with a four and in. Care to guess who scored the TD? Yes, Mr. Sillman. On a 35-yarder that featured multiple moves. Augustine, the holder, then hit sr. FB Blair Bryant with a two-point conversion in the right corner to make it 29-20. The final score was added deep into the fourth stanza as Everage, basically, stole Sillman's identity and looked just as lively. He uncorked a 47-yarder to the 1 (TD-saving tackle by sr. DB Myles Brooker), then managed to score three plays later to clinch Washington's 11th title game visit in the last 12 seasons (except for 2005). Sillman wound up with 22-161-3 arithmetic and for the season the totals are 184-1,554-25. In the second half, when he did his damage, the grunts were sr. C Kris Edwards (listed at 5-7, 330), sr. G Austin McGrath (6-3, 325), sr. G Melvin McLeod, and sr. Ts Tyrone Smith and Kevin White. The defensive line was perhaps even more impressive because the Bears did basically nothing until the final series. Those guys: White and sr. Dan Yost at the ends with srs. Hollerway and Larheim Brown at the tackles. Jr. stud Justin Moody had suffered a first half injury, probably on the play where he went out for a pass and was clock-cleaned by sr. DB Will Parks (Pitt commit), who also leveled someone else later on. In all, soph QB Cedric Wright was put down eight times and didn't get to complete his third pass (he finished 5-for-11 for 91 yards) until the final series. Jr. OLB DeAndre Dunkley made three sacks and was in on another TFL. Early, Bears backs Ackeno Robertson (16-110) and Boyd (11-97) enjoyed some Hurricane Hakeem-like moments, but Washington certainly benefited from whatever adjustments were made at halftime; the Bears also led at intermission in the teams' regular season meeting. Amauro and Terrance "T-Mac" McNeil (remember him?) were my sideline companions for this one. Always cool to hang out with Amauro -- usually we're at different games, of course -- and it was great see Terrance get back into the football flow. A Central grad, and former player there, he covered the Lancers' semi with Frankford. Amauro noted several times that Parks looks like ex-Roman all-timer (and NFL all-timer) Marvin Harrison. "He walks just like him," Amar said, noting he'd recently seen some back-in-the-day footage. Still lots of work to do this morning before heading out to West Catholic-McDevitt. Thank goodness for the time change. The extra hour is gonna help big-time!

NOV. 5
CATHOLIC AAAA SEMIFINAL
Roman 45, SJ Prep 17
(At William Tennent)
  This will likely sound idiotic, seeing as how the teams combined for 849 yards of offense, but we're going to contend THE most important play involved defense. Just after Roman, trailing by 17-7, failed to convert a first-and-goal-from-the-6 opportunity, and was stopped on fourth down at maybe the inch line 57.2 seconds before halftime, Prep made a curious decision by going for a deep handoff instead of a create-some-room sneak. Sr. DL Tyrone Brown stormed through the line and dumped jr. RB Joe Lavalle for an easy safety. Next came another curious decision: To semi-squib the free-kick. Frosh Dimetri Kelly made a fair catch of the high flyball and Roman would need to cover only 48 yards to reduce the deficit even more. Jr. QB Chris Johnson-Cruz (more on his incredible day later) kept for nine and two yards, then passed to sr. WR Taishan Tucker, who was guilty of an uncontested, flat-out drop. "Come right back to me," Tucker said toward the sideline, hoping of course that his coaches would listen. "Let me get it again." Johnson-Cruz then threw incomplete to Kelly on a right-corner fade. And picked up 13 yards on a scramble. Sixteen ticks remained. Johnson-Cruz dropped back and, guess what, he did go back to Tucker. And the result was a 24-yard, over-the-middle TD at 9.3. The conversion play was an all-timer. Sr. DL Pete DellaPorta grabbed Johnson-Cruz and was a split-second away from drawing the whistle. At this point, Johnson-Cruz had been spun around slightly and was facing the Hawks' sideline. What'd he do? Flipped the ball blindly over his shoulder toward Roman's sideline. Sr. RB Marcus Kelly made the catch maybe five-six yards away and had NO trouble scooting to the left corner to knot the digits at 17-17. So, in less than a minute, Roman had shaken off the disappointment of being stopped at the inch line to register 10 points and tie the score! As another glance at the score line will confirm, that momentum was certainly sustained. Well, eventually. Roman's first play of the third quarter resulted in a lost fumble (recovery by sr. LB Dan Mancini). Brown again was super clutch, preventing what might have become a 55-yard TD for Lavalle by tripping him 12 yards downfield. Moments later, sr. LB Kenneth English dumped sr. QB Skyler Mornhinweg for a 10-yard loss and the Hawks were forced to punt. Roman's next four series? TD . . . TD . . . TD . . . TD. And the 6-foot, 180-pound Johnson-Cruz, who did not know for sure he'd be starting until shortly before gametime, was part of every one. The usual starter, jr. Michael Keir, was unavailable for QB duties (he did punt) because of an injury that caused some nerve damage along his right arm and down into his hand, making it impossible to securely grip the ball. Coach Joe McCourt said Johnson-Cruz did work all week with the first unit, but I can't imagine such a performance was expected, even remotely. Admittedly, Johnson-Cruz did experience some problems with bobbles and fumbles. But overall? Oh, my goodness! He finished 8-for-14 for 230 yards and FIVE scores, three to Tucker (4-116) and two to jr. WR William Fuller (3-69), and he posted six points on a 62-yard run. He made some perfect tosses on fade patterns and his scoring run was a pip. Just seven yards downfield, he appeared to be stopped. But he spun out of someone's arms and continued all the way to the end zone. Johnson-Cruz finished 12-104 rushing so his outing produced 334 yards. Marcus Kelly added 135 on 26 carries and the Cahillites stormed to 485 overall. The grunts were soph C Michael "Ree" Joyce, jr. G Collin Shields, sr. G Roberto Harris-Barron, and sr. Ts Brown and Steven Noel. Honestly, that group underperformed through the first 24 minutes as the Prep's small, but quick d-linemen enjoyed some special moments. But once the Roman guys got going, they really did some pounding and Prep's fellas just were flat-out dominated. The size-weight differential no doubt played a role. Mornhinweg finished 14-for-33 for 258 yards and one TD to sr. handyman Eric Medes (3-111). Sr. WR Jim Hurley also collected impressive numbers (8-115) while Lavalle carried 15 times for 56 yards and a score. Jr. DL Paul Johnson made the fumble recovery (Fuller dropped a handoff on a speed sweep) that immediately preceded a 43-yard scoring pass to Medes. Meanwhile, you'll swear I'm making this up, but you have to believe it: There were SIX fair catches of KICKOFFS in this game. Not of punts. Of KICKOFFS. In every situation, the kick was a medium-distance popup and I guess the guys were under orders not to return them for fear of crushing, fumble-causing hits against their upright, vulnerable bodies. Here's a list of the guys who made them, in order: Prep jr. John Antiskay (opening kickoff), Antiskay again, Dimetri Kelly, Dimetri Kelly again (on the free-kick kickoff), Medes (after the TD right before halftime) and Medes again (after Johnson-Cruz' 62-yard run). Incredible. Tell me that's not a city (even world) record. There were also two FCs on punts. My best guesstimate is that roughly 650 people were in attendance. From Roman and Prep, Tennent seems like an overnight trip and there's no quick way to get there. (The Puckster was in attendance and kept defensive stats. But when I spoke with him a shade after midnight, he said, "Oh, I dint do 'em yet. You gone pose defense stat fwom a game wit dat many yawd?" Ugh! Maybe we'll get them Sunday or Monday. Busy weekend, folks. Thanks for trying to understand.) Unless a change takes place, the Roman-La Salle final will be Friday, 7 o'clock, at Northeast.

NOV. 4
INTER-AC LEAGUE
Springside Chestnut Hill 28, Penn Charter 14
  In its first year of a full-fledged union with sister school Springside, Chestnut Hill held a Sweet 16 party. Say what? OK, that’s a stretch (I’m in a goofy mood) but this is a fact: Not only did sr. RB Cedric Madden own 24 of SCH’s 26 TDs this season as this game, played at PC, headed into the fourth quarter. He’d scored 16 of his team’s TDs in a row! Has to be a city record, right? And I can’t believe that’s happened too often (if ever?) anywhere in this great country of ours, at any level of gridness. Here’s the breakdown: One to wrap up Game 5, a win over Conwell-Egan. All five vs. Hill School. One apiece against Haverford School and Episcopal Academy. Five more vs. Germantown Academy and the first three today. Simply amazing! Madden did not score first, however. That honor went to PC jr. RB Eric Neefe on a 17-yard run 7:59 prior to halftime. A fumble recovery by sr. DB John “No More Casts” Moderski set that one up and Moderski had altered the field-position landscape four minutes earlier with a strip that became a recovery for soph DB Corey Kelley. The TDs for Madden, in order, were a 6-yard run, an 84-yard kickoff return to open the third quarter and 2-yard run with 5:49 showing in the quarter. That one almost didn’t happen, folks. Not for Ceddy, anyway. A pass from jr. Michael Hayes to classmate/TE Bobby Keyes carried all the way to the 1. Madden then lost a yard (tackle by jr. DB Daryl Worley) and Madden bounced back to score from the 2 behind sr. RT Tyler Hightower. At 21-7, things looked cozy. Nope. Just three plays later, jr. FB Eric Berger turned a bruiser up the middle into a 57-yard score. Hmmm. Would we have a classic stretch run? Nope again. Trickery was part of the reason. On fourth and four at PC’s 36, jr. Forrest Rall was in punt formation and then . . . he was in galloping mode! For 14 yards and a first down. PC rushed no one on that play and the first down, really, was candy-from-baby material. Soon, with the ball at the 15, jr. DT Mike “Manchild” McGlinchey sacked Hayes for seven yards. One problem: He also grabbed the facemask and the ball was marched to the 11. On third down, Rall, the right-side WR, received a handoff from Madden and scored on a 5-yard reverse with lots of help from sr. T Terence Jones. Rall, who later recovered a fumble, wound up as the DN inkman. Due to hamstring/blood pressure issues, he missed the first half of the season, so being able to make such important contributions to this win no doubt made him feel wonderful. SCH’s grunts (all seniors) C Chris Howard, Gs Max Keyser and Desmond Johnson, and Ts Hightower and Jones. Keyes made a lot of plays on defense and sr. LB Lewis Lake made a TD-saving tackle (as did Moderski). McGlinchey finished with one sack and four TFLs. One of PC’s ballboys was injured jr. QB Alexander Chovanes. Not too long into the game, with the ball on SCH’s 23, I said to him, “Quick. What play would you run here?” He thought for moment or three, then said, “Sprint draw.” Guess what? THAT was the play (though Neefe was held to no gain). Way before gametime, the Blue Devils were doing their warmups and I could have sworn I heard someone say “pilates.” Pilates? For pregame wrmups? Ha, ha, ha. I asked assistant Ed Aversa about it and he said, “Nah, those are  Malonnies.” (Not sure on the spelling.) He said ex-stars Mike Mattei and Mike Lonergan (class of 2008) had learned some special stretching exercises at a combo somewhere and had passed them on to the team. So, “Ma” is for Mattei and “Lonnies” is for Lonergan’s nickname. Aren’t you glad you read these website reports for ever-intriguing Tedbits? (smile)

NOV. 3
NON-LEAGUE
Future 14, Edison 12
  On Facebook the other day, I expressed the hope that people would spend more time breaking down this matchup and stop paying so much attention to Eagles-Cowboys (smile). That one turned out to be a yawner. This one came down to the final moments. OK, so there were way too many lack-of-focus penalties, but these squads entered with just one win apiece and they went at each other with gumption and, at times, even ferocity. (A brief timeout: My new favorite ref is Frank "Brown Belt" McAnulty. Edison’s scoreboard doesn’t work, so he kept the time on the field and gave this game an honest shot. No rushing through to get the heck out. As the first half wound down, he even said there were three seconds left on a change of possession when it would have been eeeeeeasy to twirl the index finger. Well done, sir. Even though your refmates were busting your chops -- ha ha.) DN ink went to sr. T-DT Jahreeson Caines (6-3, 250), who blocked well and made 11 tackles, plus the one that preserved a two-point lead with 4:26 left and told an emotional story of what happened last week a half-hour before the Firebirds boarded their bus to go to play King. He received word that his aunt, Sabrina Walton, had passed, but decided to play because he’d promised never to let down his teammates. Jahreeson is a member of the National Honor Society and is drawing interest from Delaware State. Though of course he’s big, he’s not fat and at least twice he made stops toward the sideline, so the possibilities are there. Let’s hope it works out for him. Because of grades, behavior and loss of spirit, Future’s numbers have dwindled from high 30s to low 20s and the team’s main threat was lost to a suspension. Sr. Shahiyd Wilson, who’d barely touched the ball all year, was assigned main-RB duties and responded with 130 yards on 15 carries. Sixty-two came earlier in the second quarter, right after an Edison interception was nullified by a roughing-the-passer call. The gallop took the ball to the 18 and frosh QB Ronald Wade immediately hit sr. WR Donique Moore for a score on a left-corner fade. Edison got a first down to start its next series, but the following four downs yielded losses on three of the plays. Sr. DL Marquell “I’m Gonna Ring Your” Bell and soph LB David Smiley combined for the first one. And then the second, too. Jr. George Sephes, a little guy who was tough all afternoon, posted the third loss. Future took over at Edison’s 48 and slapped together a nice drive, ending with Wade’s 11-yard scoring pass to Smiley; Wilson provided major help with runs of 17 and 12 yards. Down by 14-0, Edison came out for the second half with MUCH more passion. On the third play, frosh LB Qahir Moore, one of 10 Bracetti additions, sacked Wade for 18 yards, back to the 5, then stormed through and blocked the subsequent punt. Sr. DE Daquan Ashton made the end-zone recovery for a TD. The momentum continued as frosh DB Xavier Cornish (Bracetti) uncorked maybe the best hit I’ve seen all season! Oh, my goodness, did he ever CRUSH a Future receiver. Back judge Ernie Gallagher quipped something along the lines of, “If this was the NFL, you’d be getting fined right about now.” The hit was helmet to helmet, but somehow that’s not illegal in high school ball. Anyhow, the Owls remained juiced the rest of the way. The get-close covered 47 yards and the big play was a 28-yard pickup by jr. FB David Bennett, placing the ball at the 10. Bennett then added three more yards and jr. QB Marcos Mercado followed with a 7-yard scoring toss, on a left-to-middle slant, to sr. WR Wilfredo Santiago. The conversion attempt wound up being a sneak. VERY strange, especially since Edison had gained nothing up the middle throughout. Mercado gained a half-yard at most as Caines led the gang-tacklers. An end-zone pick by jr. DB Jorge Quinones, yet another Bracetti guy, provided one last chance with 1:51 left. Sephes and soph Dovon Smith sacked Mercado for 15 yards, then Caines-Bell got him for three. The Owls had no timeouts and a screen left to Bennett picked up 12. Next, Mercado fired long to sr. WR Daviel Otero and the play carried all the way to Future’s 35 with 0:10 left. Alas, the Owls had lined up incorrectly with only three guys in the backfield. I saw it as the play began and wondered, “Will Frank notice this, too?” He did. Out came the flag. The last play again produced a gain as sr. Karriem Henderson, in a serious jump ball, came down with the rock. Only at Edison’s 32, however. Not anywhere close to Future’s end zone. A game-long undercurrent involved a statement allegedly made – not sure where – by Edison assistant Don Stockton, Future’s former head coach. All the players insisted he’d called them “bums” and some made sure to hang around and playfully bust his chops as they finished their journey through the handshake line. He stood there smiling the whole time and took it like a man. This was a fun game to watch, photograph and write about, and congrats to all participants for their resolve. It’s never easy being part of a lower-level football squad, especially when league play is over and the games don’t “mean” anything. But now, the Firebirds can say they’ve doubled their win total.