SEPT. 21
TEDBIT
  One football family has certainly been kind to Catholic schools in the western suburbs. This morning I posted a list that includes individual scoring for Inter-Ac League champions over the last 31 seasons. The No. 3 scorer for a title team is Malvern's Troy Gallen, who racked up 144 points in 2013. His dad, Mike, can be found on the Catholic League list that was posted earlier this season. He was a star handyman and scored 84 points (No. 2 behind Marty Cull's 102) for O'Hara's 1980 CL kingpins. Let's go back one more generation. The dad/grandpop is Russ Hendricks. As a junior he starred at RB for Bonner's 1959 CL and City champs, scoring a second-best 59 points behind Tony Dolceamore (68). Russ scored the lone TD on an 80-yard dash as the Friars edged La Salle, 6-0, in the CL final. He followed up that performance with 22 carries for 143 yards and one score as Bonner dismantled Central, 54-0, for the City Title. I wonder how many families have produced major point scorers for championship football teams over three generations? In that 2013 season, Troy scampered his way to 1,990 yards of rushing/receiving (1,536/454) and earned a scholarship to Delaware. Unfortunately, his career has been derailed by injuries. Troy's brother, Tyler, was O'Hara's top receiver in the 2009 season (26-470-4). He wound up competing in track at Saint Joseph's as a long sprinter and enjoyed many special moments.

SEPT. 20
TEDBIT
  For the moment, Ben Murphy's claim to fame as a varsity football player for Haverford School is that he has not caught a pass but does own receiving points. Huh? Here's the deal: Conversion plays do not count for statistics, but Murphy caught a two-point pass Saturday in the Fords' 44-21 loss to Blair Academy (NJ). Murphy, a sophomore listed on the roster as a fullback-linebacker, is the son of coach Michael Murphy and here's hoping he winds up making his way onto the list below. It includes sons who earned first team All-Inter-Ac honors at the school where dad was the coach. Not in every case, however, did sons play for dad. The time frame goes back to the early 1970s and the Mayock family leads the way with four honorees. Mike the son is THAT Mike Mayock, the NFL draft expert. The Turner family leads the way with a pair of three-time first-teamers, thanks to Jim and Michael (commonly known as "Pup"). . . . I am still cross-checking this info. Please speak up, if necessary. Thanks. 

SEPT. 19
TEDBIT
  The Dooley Brothers are now in the Five Grand Club. This past weekend, Shane Dooley, a junior at Judge, passed 15-for-25 for 211 yards and two touchdowns in a loss to Ryan. And Paul Dooley, a redshirt soph at West Chester University, passed 12-for-19 for 164 yards and three TDs in a 62-28 frolic past Edinboro. Their yardage total, counting high school and college tilts, now stands at 5,322 and Paul is the far-and-away leader with 4,611. Entirely understandable, since he's older. We can only imagine how high the combo total will go . . .

SEPT. 18
TEDBIT
  This is Bishop McDevitt's 55th season as a Catholic League member and, for the eighth time, the Lancers have marched to a 4-0 start. Notice we didn't use roared or stormed for the verb. That's because the We-They totals are 123-66 and only one of the four wins (56-14) was collected in blowout fashion. But, hey, that's one way a good team can prove its worth -- by winning the close ones. With each year below, aside from results, you can find the leading scorer through the first four games. This year's main point-getter through four games for coach Mike Watkins' squad is running back Jon-Luke Peaker, a freshman. One note: The '86 team was later forced to forfeit those first three wins due to the use of an ineligible player. If not for those setbacks, the Lancers would have gone 23-0 while seizing the '86 and '87 Catholic League championships.    

SEPT. 17
TEDBIT
  After noticing that La Salle has scored at least 40 points in three of its first four games, the curiosity kicked in. You gotta figure the Explorers will hit at least 40 once more this season (if not multiple times), so . . . How often has a four-pack of 40s happened over the last whatever number of years? In six seasons since 1991 is the answer. With highs of five times in 1996 and 2011. Now for the BIG shocker. That 41-point effort against then-Bishop Egan occurred on Oct. 19, 1991. All six TDs came on rushes and starters Max Guevara and Bill Tatar scored only the first two. Sean McDermott, now in his first season as the Buffalo Bills' head coach, led the defense with an interception and fumble recovery. That was game No. 7 of the season . . . and La Salle had not reached 40 points in the previous 223 games. Repeat: 223 games. Assuming there were no typos in season-by-season results. (As old heads and medium heads know, La Salle's focus was on defense first, second and third back in the day.) On Nov. 5, 1967, the Explorers dumped Wood, 40-0, as Joe Kohler (three) and Jim Koller (two) combined for five TDs. Then the lonnnnng wait until 1991 began. In that season, after the Egan game, they closed out the season with 10 against McDevitt, 40 against Dougherty, 45 against North Catholic, 7 against Judge in a playoff and 42 against St. Joseph's Prep on Thanksgiving. That Prep game was played at La Salle University's McCarthy Stadium. On the list below, the school record outbursts vs. Kennedy-Kenrick (59) and Dougherty (61) occurred in back-to-back games in '97 as Brett Gordon, now the offensive coordinator, threw for three and five TDs, respectively. That mark was snapped in 2010 with 63 points vs. Neumann-Goretti. Matt Magarity passed for three TDs while Jamal Abdur-Rahman and subs John Palermo and Colin O'Hara scored three apiece.

SEPT. 15
TEDBIT
  In what has truly been a golden era, Wood owns a 160-31 record over the past 15 seasons (2003-17). Last night the Vikings fell to St. Joseph's Prep, a school with a higher enrollment, by 27-7 and that 20-point loss owns a spot on the list below . . . Largest Losses During the Last 15 Seasons. Wood fell to the Hawks by 19 points last year. That 2010 game vs. Allentown Central Catholic featured an outrageous performance by ACC's quarterback, jr. Brendan Nosovitch. All he did was account for 602 yards of offense and all seven scores while running or passing on 49 of ACC’s 52 plays. He passed 17-for-28 for 419 yards and five scores and ran 21 times for 183 and two more tallies. ACC’s other three plays were runs for zero and minus-3 and an incomplete pass off a trick play. So, this kid outgained his team, 602-599!    

SEPT. 15
TEDBIT
  Here's hoping Wood's 2017 season turns out to be extra special for the family of Wood's Nasir Peoples. The crew needs 807 rushing yards to hit 12,000. Brothers Charlie ('89 grad) and Darrien ('93) starred at Abraham Lincoln. Darrien's son, Desmon, did likewise at Prep for one year, then for two more at Wood ('12). Desmon and Brandon ('12), Charlie's son, were highly productive backfield mates in the '10 and '11 seasons. Now there's Nasir, Brandon's brother and a senior bound for Virginia Tech. Through his junior season, Nasir was almost exclusively known for his skills as a cornerback/safety. But this year he's also being used as a primary RB, and so far he has produced 294 yards and two TDs. Charlie and Darrien made college football waves at Indiana (PA) and Kutztown, respectively. Desmon played at Rutgers. Brandon did so at Wagner. Charlie is an assistant to Wood coach Steve Devlin. Wood's offensive linemen this season are sr. C Tom Walsh, jr. G Brett Gross, sr. G Albert Glasgow, jr. Ts Connor Bishop and Luke Stengel and sr. TE Kyle Pitts. Sr. Bill Shaeffer is used as a second TE. For the moment, the Peoples' Top 10 one-game rushing performances all belong to Desmon, Brandon and Charlie. We'll see where this goes . . .    

SEPT. 14
TEDBIT
  Philadelphia is one of the most provincial places, ever/anywhere. So, as this century began, did you ever think Philadelphia schools would wind up playing MANY games against opponents from outside the area (meaning the five counties in Pa., plus South Jersey)? Beyond that, could you have possibly imagined that ONE school would play 32 games against outsiders over 15 seasons? Not counting state playoffs, that is. St. Joseph's Prep has done that. Former coach Gil Brooks got the streak started in 2003 with games against Bethlehem Catholic (PA) and Brooklyn Poly Prep (NY). Gabe Infante, the coach since 2010, has maintained/expanded the tradition. The Hawks' record in these games is 21-12. Biggest win: 54 points. Biggest loss: 42 points. The Prep has played teams from 12 states -- California, Florida, Illinois, Louisiana, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas, Virginia and West Virginia -- and the District of Columbia. Oh, and one team from Canada.
  UPDATE: Thanks to '75 grad Mike Robinson for a heads-up on another game from 2003. In late October, the Hawks played Gilman (MD). So the record is 21-12.

SEPT. 13
TEDBIT
  This is O'Hara's 53rd season as a Catholic League member. In 15 of 'em, the Lions have slapped together at least a 3-0 overall start. This is year No. 2 in a row under coach B.J. "Butch" Hogan and the sixth in 10 seasons. The 2017 point total, 111, ranks fourth on the list below and we'll see what number eventually gets entered into the column on the right. That represents the length of the season-opening winning streak. Interestingly, the only team to finish with a perfect record, coach Chappy Moore's 12-0 1973 Catholic and City champs, scored the lowest number of points in the first three games (59). Taseer Jones leads this crew with 24 points while Kevin Calamita (21, the kicker) and Justin Santilla/Chris Kirby (18) are close behind. As provided by Hogan, the names of the grunts are Tom Wertz, Kenny Borrelli, Ewan Hagan, John Sheffer and Lou Perri. B.J. was a star d-back (first team All-City) for O'Hara's 2000 Catholic Red champs. That squad roared to 122 points, the No. 1 total on the list, in its first three games.        

SEPT. 12
TEDBIT
  Did you notice? In consecutive weeks, Carroll played games that required two overtimes AND were decided by one point. The Patriots won the first one, 39-38, over Conwell-Egan and lost the second one, 28-27, to Bensalem. The regulation scores were 24-24 and 13-13, respectively. This is the fifth time (see update below) a Catholic or Inter-Ac team has played back-to-back OT games and . . . Carroll was involved the first time! In 1995, the first season in which OT games were permitted in the regular season, the Patriots lost to O'Hara, 14-7, and then to Kennedy-Kenrick, 19-13. Those tilts required just one extra session. The first two-OT game involving a CL team occurred on Thanksgiving in '95 as Dougherty beat Olney, 19-12. It was also the city's first OT holiday game. Austin "Sonny" Nagle scored all three Dougherty TDs while rushing 20 times for 111 yards. Regulation ended 6-6. The CL's first regular season double-OT game took place on Oct. 20, 1996, as Judge beat Ryan, 32-29. Regulation ended 20-20. From there: Ed Guzak, Judge, run; Bob Lynch, Ryan, pass from Joe Corsanico (both teams missed PAT); Ryan Todt, Ryan, FG; Joe Tyer, Judge, run on a keeper. . . The CL's first OT game of any kind occurred in a 1981 quarterfinal playoff involving O'Hara and Roman. The game was played at Roxborough. The former won, 9-6, after regulation ended 3-3. Back then the OT possessions began at the 15. Roman opened with Martin Shields' 27-yard field goal. O'Hara answered with an 8-yard pass from Dan Murray to Steve Gentile. Wonder who got to keep the game ball? Might be valuable now (smile).
  UPDATE: When I posted this earlier today, I did so without having been able to find one of the research sheets. Ugh. Bingo, now it has popped up. Wood owns the record for most consecutive OT games, with three. In 2000, the Vikings beat K-K, 24-21, then lost to McDevitt, 16-13, and Dougherty, 26-23. Also, in 2004 Roman captured OT wins in Week Two (13-10 over Germantown Academy) and Three (13-7 over Valley Forge MA). And in 2006 La Salle lost to Roman, 27-21, in OT, in the final game of the Catholic Red regular season and then beat O'Hara, 39-38, in a first round playoff.   

SEPT. 11
TEDBIT
  Danny Solecki will never forget his first start as La Salle High's quarterback. How could he? Heading into Week Two, he was the backup to fellow sr. Isaiah Jones. But Jones suffered a knee injury in the game against McDonogh (MD) and Solecki was called upon to fill the void. He finished 11-for-21 for 150 yards and one touchdown in a 21-9 loss. This past Saturday night, the Explorers played Malvern and Isaiah was still sidelined. So, Danny made his first varsity start vs. Malvern and all he did was post La Salle's 10th passing yardage total of at least 300 yards. As the Explorers triumphed, 45-21, he went 24-for-33 for 327 yards and four scores. Six La Salle QBs have combined for the 10 outbursts. Solecki is the first to reach 300 in his initial start. Below is the breakdown. His receivers were Troy Holland (7-126, two TDs), Brett Mallee (4-49), Marvin Harrison (4-28), Octavious Carter (3-68), Liam Trainer (3-37, one), Joey Burnham (2-20, one) and Manny Quiles (1/-1). And here are the names of the grunts, left to right across the line as provided by coach John Steinmetz: T Chris Maloney, G Garrett Zobel, C Brendan O'Brien, G Craig Krug and T Colin Hirschmann. Brett Gordon, the first of La Salle's 300-yard guys, is the long-time offensive coordinator and his dad, Drew, guided the offense before becoming the head coach. Brett posted his 300-yarders late in his senior season. He came close in start No. 32 with 292 vs. McDevitt. . . Meanwhile, click here for Bill "The Wyzard of Wyndmoor" Wasylenko's report on the Malvern game, which starts with a very cool nugget about the Solecki family.
 

SEPT. 10
TEDBIT
  Well, that didn't take long. After having to cut short its 2016 season because of low numbers, and being unable to meet Frankford last weekend in Wildwood, NJ, due to weather/field conditions, Neumann-Goretti is back to playing football and this 2017 squad has already created waves. Last night in South Philly, while rocking Interboro, 54-25, this new squad, stocked with numerous quality transfers and coached by former Imhotep boss Albie Crosby, became the eighth in school history to score at least 50 points. And it did so in quite unusual fashion. After falling into a 25-6 hole, N-G roared to 26 points in 1 minute, 49 seconds, according to the Delco Times' Matt De George, and continued the momentum to score 42 in 13:50. This is the 83rd season as a Catholic League member for Southeast Catholic/Bishop Neumann/St. John Neumann/Ss. Neumann-Goretti and the nickname was Pirates before the merger with girls-only Goretti. The Pirates scored 50 points in a 1949 game vs. long-gone St. John's, of Manayunk, and did not attain that number again until a 50-20 pasting of West Catholic in '82. On the list below, you'll see that the scoring leaders in two of the games, Anthony Sheridan and Billy Canady, exploded for 38 points apiece. In that 1949 game, Tony Latronica scored two TDs and six other guys had two apiece. Meanwhile, check this out: Southeast Catholic played 51 overall games, going 9-34-8, in its first six seasons as a CL member. It failed to reach even double figures 46 times.

SEPT. 9
TEDBIT
  How long does it take a team to win 10 games by at least 36 points? That question was bouncing around in my ever-curious mind after Penn Charter last night beat Bonner-Prendie and the answer for THIS school is . . . 24 seasons. The breakdown is below. Three of the leading scorers were quarterbacks: John Ryan, Chris Rahill and Brendan Moore. John is Matt Ryan's brother. Chris is now PC's offensive coordinator. Eric Muller was a kicker.

SEPT. 8
NON-LEAGUE
Penn Charter 42, Bonner-Prendie 6
  Let's start with the quite unusual. In the first half, B-P ran twice as many plays on one series (20) as PC did throughout those 24 minutes (10). Also, on those 10 plays, the Quakers racked up 272 yards and star jr. RB Edward Saydee posted 187 on his first five touches. I'll wait as you pick up your jaw off the floor (smile). Thanks to those weird happenings, I'm thinking there must have been a full moon tonight. Or a sliver shy of one. The Friars are short on players (just 31 dressed) and size (doubtful more than a handful weighed more than 200 pounds) and the confidence level could not have been very high since the first two games had produced a combined score of 79-0 in the wrong direction. PC frolicked early as Saydee converted a left-side sweep into a 46-yard touchdown and followed shortly thereafter with an 82-yard gain on a flip from jr. QB Will Samuel. On this play, Saydee lined up in the slot and found himself uncovered as he broke off the line. He made a great early move to break free and only serious hustle way downfield by sr. DB Kyrin Jackson prevented a 91-yard score. Jr. scatback Jalon Jones did score two plays later on a mostly free-and-easy run up the middle. TD No. 3 was racked up on the first play of the second quarter and, damn, it was perfect. Samuel hit Saydee with a left-side screen and he motored untouched 56 yards to the end zone. Soph T Dean Crocetto and eighth-grade G Elijah "EJ" Statham formed the effective envoy. Next possession? Again one play for a score. This time jr. RB Gavin Tygh turned a tight sweep, let's call it, into a 57-yard scamper to payturf. The scores by Saydee and Tygh were PC's ONLY plays of the quarter. The aforementioned 20-play drive by B-P ended the half, basically. Jr. RB Ty Gundy had some respectable runs and, eventually, the Friars were facing third-and-10 at the 11. The QB was jr. backup Michael Standen, a lefty. It was obvious what was coming: a fade to the left corner. Standen perfectly placed the ball and Jackson exhibited great concentration to pull it in. This was game No. 3 for B-P and it must have felt so good to finally dent the scoreboard. PC's second half scores went to Jones on a 1-yard run and Samuel on a 38-yard keeper. That play, likewise, was a gem. "Sammy" faked a handoff to Saydee and everybody bit. Will dashed to the end zone untouched. The last play of the night was actually B-P's best . . . until the ball was dropped in the end zone. It began on PC's 16 with almost no time remaining. It was a classic throwback as jr. QB Shon Nelson ran hard to his right, stopped and launched a perfect strike not far from the near left corner. Alas, the open received could not reel the ball in. PC's defense was largely outstanding. They caused 14 B-P plays to lose yardage while adding two interceptions -- one apiece by sr. DB John Washington and frosh DB Matthew Marshall. Statham had one sack and 2.5 TFLs . . . and even rumbled three yards forward with a loose ball on offense. Jr. LB Terence Thompson mixed a sack with 1.5 TFLs while Tygh, a DE, had a sack and 2.5 TFLs (in addition to 117 yards on six totes). This game was played on B-P's campus and the atmosphere was nice despite a nothing-special attendance. All the Friar folks watch from on or atop the hill in front of the ol' Prendergast building. There's one low wall that people can sit on. Because there's no fence to make the collection of ticket money easy, B-P instead charges cars that enter the property $10. It was good to see officials Chris Reynolds (head ref) and Bob Zanneo (head linesman) along with B-P coach Jack Muldoon and his helpers, Steve Clements and the Wagner brothers, John and Steve. Jack is hopeful B-P will get things rolling again soon, especially since the freshman team has 37 players. Also enjoyed listening to, as always, PA announcer Chris Doran. One of his quips: "That pass was incomplete . . . into the cheerleaders." Also, with the score at 42-6, he deadpanned that 4:50 remained "in regulation." In the third quarter, Tygh broke through and made a very quick tackle on a jet sweep. PC equipment guru Gerry Sasse cracked, "He should have just taken the handoff."
 

SEPT. 8
TEDBIT
-
Temple 82
Bucknell 28
--- Honest!
-
  That was the one-column headline on the front page of the Inquirer's sports section on Oct. 9, 1966. Before 7,000 at the long-gone Temple Stadium, which was located a short distance from what's now the Northwest Supersite in Mt. Airy, the Owls really did rack up 82 points. And two "Our Guys" were heavily involved. Temple's quarterback starter was junior Tom DeFelice, who in '62 had steered West Catholic to the Catholic League championship. The primary receiver that day was junior Jim Callahan, a second-string product of Cardinal Dougherty; that school closed in 2010. Throughout that season, coach George Makris used two QBs -- Tommy D as the starter and soph John Waller (Ridley) as the sub. In the game against Bucknell, DeFelice, still a college basketball ref and the head football coach at also-closed Bok Tech for 18 seasons through 2010, passed 18-for-24 for 210 yards and two TDs while adding two more scores and 53 yards on four carries. Waller passed 10-for-21 for 269 yards and six TDs. As for Callahan, he made five snags for 158 yards and all five went for TDs! The distances were 86, 20, 29, 22 and 1 yards. Get this: Those TDs all were notched when Temple was very comfortably ahead. In fact, the 1-yarder made the score 82-14 before Bucknell managed to post two late TDs. Imagine if such a scenario happened today. Passing TD after passing TD to completely embarrass an opponent. Social media would go absolutely berserk. When asked about his offensive decisions right after the game, Makris said, "We have a pro offense and we had to follow the game plan and throw the ball. Everyone played near-perfect football. There was nothing I could do. I can't tell my players not to play so well." He added, 'Hell, I used the second, third and fourth teams for the majority of the game." But there was more. Bucknell had dumped the Owls 12 straight times. In '65, the score was 40-14 and Bucknell threw again and again to Tom Mitchell (Oakland Raiders) in the fourth quarter. Several reporters tried to get comments from Bucknell boss Carroll Huntress after the 82-28 game. As the guys entered the locker room, Huntress bellowed, "Out! Get out!" Meanwhile, these five TDs were part of an amazing stretch for Callahan. On Oct. 22, in the first half of a game vs. Connecticut, he caught TD passes of 35 and 42 yards from Waller. Those were his ninth and tenth TDs of the season. On his ninth and tenth catches. That's right. Ten snags, 10 scores. That streak was broken in the second half when a 19-yarder did not produce a TD.

SEPT. 7
TEDBIT
  In the hallways and lunchrooms this week at La Salle and Wood, here's hoping no doom and gloom football discussions are taking place. Yes, both schools last weekend suffered somewhat disheartening defeats in games against strong teams from outside this area -- La Salle to McDonogh (MD), 21-9, and Wood to Paramus Catholic (NJ), 34-14. But a check of decently sized recent history shows us bouncebacks are definitely possible. The list below reveals records in the first two games of the season for the Catholic League's overall champs from 1987 through '98 and large-enrollment champs from '99 through 2016. Exactly half of the 30 champs lost at least one of their first two games and four dropped two. La Salle, especially, has been able to rebound. The Explorers won 11 titles during the span. They were dealt early setbacks in six of those seasons. 

SEPT. 6
TEDBIT
  In today's world of instant info, I understand that some (many?) people don't care about things that happened four days ago let alone four-plus decades. But while doing some research on individual scoring for Catholic League champions in what I call the Non-Enrollment Era (through the '98 season), I came across two nuggets that I thought were pretty darn cool. So here they are: In the 1971 season, Carroll, the eventual champ, rang up 35 points in a regular season win over West Catholic and ALL 35 were scored by the identical Adelizzi twins, Steve and Mike. According to the boxscore in newspapers, Steve caught TD passes of 28, 34 and 16 yards (Nos. 1, 3 and 5) while Mike snagged passes of 9 and 18 (Nos. 2 and 4). Mike was also the Patriots' kicker and went 5-for-5 on PAT. Carroll's QB that season was Bill Zwaan. He went 13-for-24 for 190 yards in that game and is now in his 15th season as the coach at West Chester University . . . One season beforehand, in 1970, Bishop Egan won the CL championship and, assuming the info in all boxscores was reported correctly, not once did any Eagle score more than one touchdown. That's nuts, right? Talk about balance. Egan scored 227 points that season and racked up at least 12 points in 10 of its 13 games. Only a guy named Tim Koch posted more than six points in a game. He had 12 vs. La Salle (a TD and six kicks) and eight vs. Woodrow Wilson (a TD and two kicks).

SEPT. 4
TEDBIT
  So far this season, have you not recognized many of the starting quarterbacks' names for Catholic and Inter-Ac teams? There's a good reason. Only five of the 19 schools have veterans in that leadership spot (Neumann-Goretti has yet to play, and still has not provided a roster) and one of the guys below might need an asterisk. That's Ryan's Chris Reed, who was roughly a half-season starter due to an injury to then-senior Matt Romano. The list includes 2016 and so-far-in-2017 stats.
  UPDATE: Sorry for jumbled stats earlier today for two guys and for an incorrect first name. Thanks to Huck and Drew Maginnis for speaking up!

SEPT. 3
TEDBIT
  Since I began compiling full city football stats in the 1982 season, with major help from many great people, 11 Catholic/Inter-Ac players have posted four receiving touchdowns in one game. The newest member of the club is Carroll senior Dahmir Ruffin, who notched his four scores Friday in Wildwood, NJ, on passes from Kamal Gray while fueling the Patriots' 39-38, two-overtime win over Conwell-Egan. In all, Ruffin made eight snags for 99 yards. He also rushed 15 times for 81 yards and one of those carries produced his team's first TD. His second receiving TD came with 20 seconds left in regulation to make it 24-24. He then racked up one apiece in the OT sessions and his second was followed by Carlon Brown's decisive conversion run. Along the way Jules Mastrocola hit a field goal and four PAT. On the list below, Ruffin is one of three guys to score 30 total points in his outrageously special performance. Those TDs were also scored via rushes. Two other CL players enjoyed four-TD receiving outings prior to 1982 -- North Catholic's Mike Casey in 1966 and Neumann's Bob Smith in 1970. The opponents were Neumann and Southern, respectively.

SEPT. 2
NON-LEAGUE
Penn Charter 20, Lansdale Catholic 6
(At Ocean City HS)
  Mud on the field and '57 Chevys in the parking lot. Add those two nuggets and this game would have been a 100-percent throwback to a simpler time instead of an 80 to 85-percenter. When was the last time you saw a game with 16 passing yards, combined? Unless you saw this one or are old enough to be currently receiving a pension, you probably can't raise your hand (smile). This tilt was played on the turf field behind Ocean City High. not far from the boardwalk, and the rain ranged from drizzle to persistent to holy crap! Plus, the wind was blowing straight in off the ocean and at some points the angle was 30 degrees, maybe as high as 45. Plus, for whatever reason (and mud can't be blamed, since there was none), the balls proved to very slippery and bobbled/dropped snaps sucked the life out of plays that likely would have produced passes. Anyway . . . PC's far-and-away hero was jr. RB Edward Saydee. He displayed an admirable mix of speed and strength and more than a few times helped his cause with crafty straight-arms. He never zipped past everyone, but did slap together eight gains of more than 10 yards while garnering 194 yards and two touchdowns on 24 carries. The scores, in the first and second quarter, respectively, covered seven yards to the right and 12 yards to the right again. Soph Ryan Bradby added the extra points. Jrs. Gavin Tygh (10-69) and Jalon Jones (6-44) also enjoyed productive outings and the former scored the Quakers' other TD on a 24-yard, third-quarter run. Alas, Bradby was unable to hit the PAT, thus ending PC's streak of 39 in a row. In these teams' meeting to start the 2016 season, Adam Kuper's first PAT was blocked. He hit his final 36 and Bradby mixed in a 1-for-1 performance, along with the aforementioned first two today. Jr. Jordan Wilson got the start at quarterback while sr. Will Samuel and soph Kyle Jones also took snaps. They went a combined 0-for-1 and that's the first time in PC's 130-year grid history that no passing yards were gained! (I'm kidding . . . I think. No way it has happened very often.) The names of the offensive linemen are listed below this report and here's hoping the guys are happy with the job they did. They're young and inexperienced (no returning starters), so this was a good start. The defense got a big early play from jr. DB Muhammad "Moe" Harris, who receovered a dropped snap on LC's 17. Saydee scored three plays later. The Crusaders responded on the ensuing possession and sr. RB Matt Casee (15-100) capped it with a run from the 1. The drive covered 71 yards in 10 plays. The Quakers notched TD No. 2 with 1:42 showing until halftime and a 19-yard, drag-many run by Saydee caused someone in the press box to exclaim, "He's a moose!" PC asserted itself right away in the third quarter, driving 65 yards in 10 plays for Tygh's 24-yard TD. J. Jones got it started with a 20-yard jaunt. There was a VERY weird play shortly thereafter. Samuel dropped the ball and backward and more backward it went. Finally, on the 5, LC sr. LB Alex Arnow picked it up and appeared headed for an easy six points. Alas, he fumbled just before reaching the end zone. The ball squirted into and out of the end zone, bouncing over the left sideline. That's a touchback. PC was given possession on its 20. Though the Quakers did not convert the good deed into a TD, jr. LB Terence Thompson blocked a punt (and made several hard pops). He and Saydee, along with sr. DB John "Wash" Washington, are PC's tri-captains. I'm wondering if THAT'S a first: More non-senior captains than seniors. Especially considering the crappy weather, LC had a great turnout of students and adults. Um, PC did not. It was nice to see LC coach Tom Kirk, former Wood star, and ex-Wood assistants Tom White Sr. and Jr., who now work with Tom. Three LC gals did great jobs singing "God Bless America" (solo act) and the "National Anthem" (sister act). I apologize for not getting their names. If someone wants to send them, I'll add them.

SEPT. 2
TEDBIT
  Carroll not only earned an exiting win yesterday in Wildwood, NJ. The Patriots also claimed a lofty spot on this list: One-Point OT Games in This Century, Involving Catholic League Teams, With the Highest Point Totals. The Carroll/Conwell-Egan score was 24-24 at the end of regulation. The teams scored points apiece in the first extra session, then Carroll captured the second OT, 8-7. Some of the games on the list below were playoffs. Wilmington-West Catholic was even a state final (2A).

SEPT. 1
TEDBIT
  My strong guess is that most coaches decide to follow the X's-and-O's path only if they had terrific experiences while playing high school and/or college ball. While researching the list that was posted yesterday -- West Catholic's individual scoring going back to 1940 -- in newspapers/yearbooks, I came across the names of many former Burrs who wound up becoming coaches. Many played for brothers Vince and/or John McAneney from the mid-1950s through mid-'70s and it was easy to notice that those guys, during their coaching careers, displayed many of the Mac Brothers' wonderful traits, especially determination and outgoing personalities. Below are the names of 20 ex-Burrs who've been Catholic/Public head coaches from the mid-'70s to now. Hopefully, no guys were missed, but if so, please reach out. tedtee307@yahoo.com. Those with asterisks were first team honorees on the coaches' All-Catholic list. Quarterback Tom DeFelice was a first-teamer in '62 and '63 and steered the '62 squad to the Catholic League championship.    
 

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AUG. 30 TEDBIT   While plowing through some old clippings earlier this week, I found the one on the left. The year was 1977 and I was in my second and final football season of covering high school sports for the long-gone Philadelphia Bulletin before switching to the Daily News in mid-December. Tom Kirk, the guy who ran for that 99-yard, kickoff-return touchdown, is now the coach at Lansdale Catholic and I took a cell-phone pic of the clipping and sent it his way, figuring he'd get a kick out of it. He said it made him smile. As part of his return text, Tom also noted that the game was played in "pouring rain at George Washington HS. It took me about a minute from start to finish running in slop." In those days, Wood ran the wishbone offense under coach John "Skip" Duffy and Tom was a first team coaches' All-Catholic honoree. He and his teammates were also part of perhaps the strangest playoff sequence in Catholic League history. At Veterans Stadium, Wood met Cardinal Dougherty in the Northern Division final. In that era, overtime sessions were not part of the process and playoff ties were decided by total yardage. Dougherty had a BIG advantage in that category as the game wound down, so Duffy had no choice but to go for a first down even though the ball was on Wood's 15 with the score tied at 15-15. After the play did not succeed, Duffy had no choice but to tell his defense, "Let them score." His hope was that his team could stop the conversion and roar downfield for a touchdown AND a conversion. The Vikings did prevent the conversion, but Dougherty triumphed, 21-15, as Wood's final possession resulted in a turnover. Meanwhile, Wood's highlight in that game was a 96-yard TD on Kurt Schneider's quarterback keeper. I can't imagine too many teams have posted two TDs covering 195 yards in the same season.

AUG. 29
TEDBIT
  Think about how many father-son combos have been stars in city football history. I can't imagine too many have matched the feat of the Marvin Harrisons. Marvin Sr., who played at Roman and last year was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, scored three touchdowns in his first varsity game. Marvin Jr., formerly of Penn Charter, made his varsity debut for La Salle last Friday night against North Penn and turned one reception into a 27-yard TD. Now for the extra nugget: Sr. was a sophomore; Jr. is a freshman. In the 1987 season, Sr. played exclusively for Roman's freshman team. On Sept. 9, 1988, the Cahillites dragged a 22-game winless streak into their varsity opener with Wissahickon. Sr. notched his first TD on an 81-yard kickoff return (after Wissy had scored) and added two more on receptions. In all, he made six catches for 131 yards on passes from Jim McGeehan and a 57-yarder with 44 seconds left provided a 32-26 win . . . So, there you have it. In their varsity debuts The Marvins combined for four TDs and were also quite young -- soph and frosh, respectively. Sr. finished his Roman career with 36 TDs counting rushes (18), receptions (13) and returns (5). By his senior year, he was more of a rusher than a receiver. We'll see what happens with Jr.

AUG. 28
TEDBIT
  Teams with plenty of young'uns aren't able to experience much football fun, rumor has it. But on Friday, in what was the season's first game due to the 10 a.m. starting time, youthful Bishop McDevitt carved out a 43-32 win at Abraham Lincoln. Six guys touched the ball on offense and only one was a senior. Plus, the leading ground-gainer for coach Mike Watkins was a freshman, Jon-Luke Peaker. All he did was turn 13 carries into 206 yards and two TDs. Lonnie Rice, the sophomore quarterback, added 68 yards and three scores on 17 carries. His passing stats? He went 0-for-3. But since the ground game produced a whopping 495 yards on 48 rushes, no one came close to minding. Of the grunts, three were seniors. But the tight end was not, so half ot the primary blockers were also "youngsters." Congrats to the Lancers on an impressive start and check below for the names/stats.
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AUG. 27
TEDBIT
  Not often does the most significant number of a football weekend turn out to be 0. But in its opener last night vs. Pottsgrove, West Catholic failed to venture into the end zone and that hadn't happened in quite a while. The Burrs had scored in 58 consecutive games while racking up 2,135 points for a 36.8 average. That's not the school record, however. After falling to Wood, 29-0, in the 2004 Catholic Blue final, West scored in 85 consecutive games before being blanked in Weels Two and Three of the 2011 season by Wood and La Salle. Right after that, the 58-gamer began. Somehow, West suffered three straight shutouts -- 26-0 (regular season) and 35-0 (playoff) to McDevitt, 47-0 to Penn Wood on Thanksgiving -- to conclude the 2002 season. So, ever since, the got-blanked total is only four. Below are the most impressive school-record, avoid-shutout streaks among Catholic/Inter-Ac teams.

AUG. 26
TEDBIT
  La Salle and North Penn are high-enrollment football powers stationed about 13 miles apart in Montgomery County, so the annual let's-see-where-things-stand opener makes all kinds of sense. The series began in 2010. When it did, I doubt anyone would have predicted that La Salle would win eight of the first 10 meetings, counting two playoffs, and outscore the Knights by almost 100 points (251-156). The score last night was 41-28 and, like pretty much always, La Salle's quarterback was a headliner. Senior Isaiah Jones, who missed all of last season due to a training camp knee injury, passed for 137 yards and two touchdowns and ran for 105 yards and one score. Almost exclusively for a long time, La Salle's QBs have been pass-only guys. But Jones is a classic dual-threater. His first high school was Germantown Academy and his first position was running back. As a freshman in 2014, he carried 169 times for 1,010 yards and nine TDs. He did make one QB start in that season and passed 5-for-9 for 121 yards and a score in a 35-34 loss to SCH Academy. . . Anyway, La Salle's QBs have averaged 202.7 passing yards in the 10 games with North Penn. Kyle Shurmur is the kingpin, thanks to a 345-yard, four-TD outburst in 2014. In 2010, as Matt Magarity nursed an injury, star receiver Kevin Forster played QB in a game vs. Judge and rushed for 103 yards. The last time a "regular" La Salle QB rushed for as many as 100 yards was 2004, when Mike Lynch racked up 143 vs. Judge. Seventy-four of those yards were gained on one play, a keeper around the end.
 

AUG. 14
TEDBIT
  Neumann-Goretti certainly knows how to provide football entertainment. Last season the Saints had to shut down their season quite early because of low numbers. Now N-G is going to own the Catholic League record for most consecutive years with different coaches -- five. The new boss is West Catholic grad Albie Crosby, the former head man at Imhotep Charter, of the Public League. He follows C.J. Szydlik, Chalie Szydlik (son and father, respectively), Dan Concannon and Lincoln Townsend Jr. The former mark (four) belonged to Roman Catholic and St. Thomas More (located at 47th & Wyalusing, it closed in 1975) in the early 1940s.