OCT. 28
INTER-AC LEAGUE
Penn Charter 28, SCH Academy 7
  PC sr. T Luke Mattice is a big, friendly kid and the last thing anyone would call him would be conceited. It appears he has some dry humor talents, however, because he said this with a smile to some teammates just before the second half started. "I show up. Two touchdowns." Here's the back story: Luke was not on hand for the first 11 minutes because he'd been taking the ACT at Abington High. And when he appeared on PC's sideline to do some quick running to prepare himself for action, the Quakers and visiting SCH were locked in a scoreless tie. Plus, four plays had lost yardage and star jr. RB Edward Saydee had not made even a hint of an impact. Then came PC's first two possessions of the second quarter. As did the aforementioned TDs. Luke Mattice = good luck charm (smile). The first one was set up when frosh CB Matthew Marshall forced and recovered a fumble off a short swing pass. The drive needed to cover just 42 yards. Truthfully, there were no legendary plays -- well, sr. QB Will Samuel did show good ballhandling skills on a keeper that earned him nine yards -- and Saydee bulled for a 6-yard TD on play No. 9. SCH responded with a 22-yard pass play from jr. QB Aaron Angelos to sr. WR Myles Hugee, but a delay then was called and the next snap did not go well. PC sr. LB Trajan Womack made a leaping pick along SCH's sideline. Soon, brass made an appearance. On fourth down from the Blue Devils' 47, offensive coordinator Chris Rahill (maybe in a group decision with others?) decided to go with a fake punt. Up man Kyle Jones, a soph, raced downfield for a 24-yard gain and Samuel followed immediately with a scoring pass to Saydee. Oops. Holding wiped out the play, moving the ball back to the 33. No sweat. Samuel lofted a perfect, right-corner fade to wide open sr. WR John "Johnny Wash" Washington and the kick by soph Ryan Bradby made it 14-0. Wash struck again just three minutes into the third quarter. The play began at PC's 40. After snagging a left-to-right slant at almost exactly the middle of the field, Wash made a mad dash to the left corner to make the scoring play a 60-yarder. Late in the quarter, the BDs received an interception and 27-yard return by Hugee to place the ball at PC's 5. On fourth and goal from the 3, Angelos rolled right and tried to hit Hugee close to the back line. The throw was a shade too high, however. There were two scores in the fourth quarter -- a 63-yard run by SCH soph RB Andrew Gwynn and a 70-yarder by Saydee. Edward burst through the line on the right side and one of his blockers on that side was . . . you got it, The Lukester. PA announcer John Burkhart had a strong nugget after Saydee scored his first TD. "Saydeeeee . . . . TDeeeee . . . for PCeeeeee." The Quakers are 7-1 with two games remaining. They last notched eight wins in 2006. They haven't claimed nine since 1905. Yes, 1905. That's not a typo. Good guy Frank McAnulty, who usually works the sidelines, served as the head ref. SCH has been hit with some key injuries. One result: Soph Nick Shragher, wearing No. 52, was the fullback. He gained six yards on three carries. Hugee turned three snags into 72 yards. Angelos passed 12-for-26 for 136. Coach Rick Knox has some thick, sturdy kids. Among them: 6-4, 310-pound sr. L Anthony Marrone. For PC's defense, jr. DE Ryan Maloney notched two sacks and one TFL. Jr. LB Terence Thompson had two TFL. Marshall and Jones were members of the force/recover fumble club. PC's student rooters showed lots of enthusiasm during a Pink Out. Eighth grader Elijah "EJ" Statham, already a force on both lines, has been sidelined by an injury. Hang tough, EJ. Once again, the weather was amazingly nice, especially for this late in October.

OCT. 27
TEDBIT
  Somewhere, Zac Fernandez is not a happy camper. This kid was so competitive (and productive, and fun to watch) during his multi-sport career at Malvern, no doubt he'll be upset that he missed claiming a spot on the rushing portion of the list below by one measly yard. Last year, he ran for 121 yards as the Friars bested Haverford School, 24-21, and Keith Maguire, who's still around, scored two TDs in that game. The teams will meet again tonight at Malvern and HS owns six wins in the last eight meetings. Overall? Malvern has been dominant at 44-25. From 1972 through 2008, Malvern suffered just three losses vs. HS, won the final 17 in a row and posted eight shutouts in those last 12 games. In 2015, the Fords won by the reasonably comfortable score of 31-14. That was at least semi-surprising because the Fords' top rusher, Malik Twyman (then a junior, was unavailable due to injury. In that game, classmate Tommy Toal stormed his way to 317 passing yards, more than 100 better than the previous best from 1986 forward. The top two receiving outings were also posted -- 157 by Dox Aitken and 139 by Keyveat Postell. Malvern played its first Inter-Ac season in 1950 and teams split the two meetings that took place beforehand -- 20-0 for HS in '42; 6-0 for MP in '49.
  SFBN will broadcast the game here)  

OCT. 14
INTER-AC LEAGUE
Malvern 23, Penn Charter 9
  Somebody's streak had to go . . . and it would not be Malvern's. The Friars now own 11 consecutive wins over PC and the Quakers have not gotten off to a 6-0 start. Though the argument is often made that football is the ultimate team sport, you could make the case that this game was truly decided by one guy -- jr. WR-LB Keith Maguire. Somehow, the first 18 minutes and 8 seconds were scoreless, then Maguire made a terrific leaping catch on a right-corner fade from classmate Drew Gunther to notch a 7-yard TD. (On the preceding play, sr. WR Quinn McCahon also made a nifty snag on a low pass close to the left sideline. That play netted 21 yards). After sr. Garrett Reilly nailed the PAT, PC sr. QB Will Samuel dropped back and fired a pass over the middle. Maguire was exactly where he needed to be and made the interception. Plus, he raced 27 yards to the 7, though a holding flag limited his actual yardage production and placed the ball at the 25. No matter. The Friars of first-year coach Dave Gueriera followed with a drips-and-drabs, six-play drive and sr. RB O'Shaan Allison scored from the 3. A jarring sequence, to say the least. Eighteen-plus minutes of scoreless ball, then 14-0 just like that. PC's rough stretch wasn't over. Malvern jr. K Sebastian Constantini, with no help from any hint of wind, absolutely blasted the kickoff to, in effect, the minus-9 yard line. On first down, there was a way-errant snap and star jr. RB Edward Saydee was tackled in the end zone for a safety after he scrambled back there, recovered the ball and did his best to try to salvage the play. Malvern scored another TD on the fourth play after receiving the free-kick by jr. Terence Thompson. (Soph Ryan Bradby was playing soccer on the adjacent field.) The score was registered by Allison (32 carries, 171 yards) on a 35-yard run that mixed power and moves. Twenty-three points in 3:32. Opting not to go the shrinking-violet route, PC made its way onto the scoreboard with a three-play, 66-yard drive that produced the TD on a 39-yard, catch-and-run effort by sr. WR John Washington. "Wash" showed maximum effort while making sure plenty of guys with decent chances didn't bring him down. That score made the combined output 29 points in 4 minutes, 12 seconds. Phew! By comparison, not much happened in the third quarter. In the late going, Saydee's 6-yard run placed the rock at the 1. PC opted for a pitchout instead of a sneak/power run and, oops, Edward was dropped for a 5-yard loss by sr. LB Cole McCabe. Thompson guided a 24-yard field goal through the uprights two plays later. Remember that Keith Maguire guy? He again imposed his will with 4:08 remaining. PC had the ball at Malvern's 29 after sr. DT Ryan Betz, a force all day, broke through and recorded a 16-yard sack. Again, Samuel looked downfield over the middle and, again, Maguire acted as if he'd been tabbed as the intended receiver. Up into the air he went, and down with the ball he came. Had the Quakers converted that drive (and/or the one just beforehand that reached MP's 15 before jr. LB Quincy Watson and soph LB Chris Bockrath combined to stop Samuel on a fourth-down, left-side flushout), the stretch run could have been VERY interesting. Instead, it wasn't. . . Saydee finished with 37 yards on 13 carries, but PC got him enough room to turn five catches into 108 yards. Samuel passed 18-for-36 for 264 yards and the other productive receivers aside from Saydee were sr. handyman Trajan Womack (4-44), Thompson (3-49) and Washington (2-41). Some of the catches were made in traffic and involved major hits, so kudos to the guys for hanging on. On defense, Thompson made two TFLs, soph LB Kyle Jones posted one TFL and two half-TFLs, and jr. DE Ryan Maloney/jr. DB Gavin Tygh had sacks. . . . This game was Malvern's Homecoming. The crowd was impressive and the campus was all dressed up with Halloween/fall displays. Among MP's Hall of Fame inductees were three guys who played one or more major sports: Luke Leslie, Derrick Downs and Ryan Edginton. Congrats, guys! When Thompson took a hard hit that caused a momentary delay, a PC fan yelled, "Stay there! . . . Take a nap! . . . Get some rest!" TT definitely deserved a hint of down time. PC grad Aaron "Ace" Carter, of budding video fame (aside from writing -- smile), was on hand to cover the game for the Inky. Stay strong through all these changes in our beloved industry, Ace. OK, now sit tight. I'm going to try not to miss anybody. It was great to see these people, of assorted fame: Mike McGlinchey, John Loughery Sr., Mike Ryan Sr., Mike Ryan Jr., Joe "Pulse" DiTullio, Joe Redican, Joe Sells, Chuck Chinici, Tony Nabb, Jim Panetta, Kurt Ruch, Jim Tucker, Mike "Neeko" Hnatkowsky, John Grace, Billy Costello . . .

OCT. 14
TEDBIT
  Once again, West Catholic has racked up at least 50 points vs. a fellow Catholic League member. Last night at Widener University, the Burrs rolled past Bonner-Prendergast, 50-0, and eight guys scored points. Sr. QB Da'Vion Kidd-Jackson led the way with 14. This was the Burrs' 19th 50-pointer in this century vs. CLers. How many occurred beforehand? Just one. In 1943, West powered to 59 points against St. John's, of Manayunk, a small school that was in the CL for just 15 seasons (1935-49) and often absorbed major lumps. Its league record during that stretch was 17-84-13. West's leading scorer in that 1943 game was John Tulskie, who notched four touchdowns.

OCT. 13
TEDBIT
  Inter-Ac League play starts tomorrow and Penn Charter will visit Malvern for a 2 o'clock game. Will it again resemble the 4rh of July? As in, will we again see serious offensive fireworks? Can't imagine to THAT degree, but who knows. In last year's tilt, won by Malvern, 35-28, the former's Zac Fernandez rushed for 326 yards and four TDs on 36 carries and the latter's Mike "Neeko" Hnatkowsky passed for 316 yards and two TDs while going 25-for-42. That's 78 plays involving just two guys, not to mention the 642 yards. PC's Chris Tucker made 10 catches for 153 yards and two TDs. There were 130 total plays (65 apiece) and Malvern won the yardage battle, 447-445. The game took 6 hours, 22 minutes (slight exaggeration -- smile). Anyway . . .   As noted in previous postings on this matter, the MP-PC series began in 1949, when the former won a non-league affair, 7-0. Malvern, which owns a 43-24-1 advantage, joined the Inter-Ac for the '50 season. Streaks: PC, eight wins in a row from 1952-59; PC, six from 1963-68; Malvern, 13 from 1969-81; Malvern, 10 from 2007 to now. On the list below, Chris and Derrick Downs are brothers. John Loughery, Pat McCain and Mike McGlinchey are cousins. Atlanta Falcons QB Matt Ryan, another cousin, was on this list in 2014, but his 173 no longer qualifies. Alex Hornibrook, now starting for Wisconsin, is the nephew of former MLB catcher Ben Davis, who's also a Malvern product. John Loughery's dad, John, was a star QB for PC in the late '70s. The other three guys are his sisters' kids. PC's Pat Delaney is the brother of actress Kim Delaney, who starred in "All My Children" and "NYPD Blue", among other endeavors. PC receiver Daryl Worley is in his second year as a starting cornerback for the Carolina Panthers.

OCT. 12
TEDBIT
  Bonner-Prendergast, O'Hara and Carroll can be found in Delaware County . . . and often at each other's throats. B-P and O'Hara are white-hot rivals and Carroll is 1A for both. This is season No. 49 for all three together as Catholic League members and through seven weeks they have combined for eight wins. The trio's record for wins is 30 and it was set in 2001. The low-water mark is seven in 2006. Here are the Top 10 and Bottom 10 win totals along with W-L-T breakdowns. In '94, Bonner beat Carroll in the CL championship game, 21-0. Last year, O'Hara beat B-P, 22-12, for the CL AAAA title.

OCT. 11
TEDBIT
  What a difference a year makes . . . In the first five games of St. Joseph's Prep's 2016 season, then-junior Marquez McCray passed 61-for-105 for 896 yards and nine touchdowns. Through five games this year, his numbers are 37-for-68 for 417 yards and four TDs. What's going on? A MAJOR change in personnel, for one thing. In 2016, the Hawks' six most productive receivers were seniors. Over that whole season they combined for 2,079 yards and 20 TDs on 133 catches. Seven guys have caught passes in both seasons. This year's leaders are Brandon Sanders and Johnny Freeman, who last year made just two receptions apiece. If these assorted circumstances had occurred at some schools, the Year Two losses would outnumber the wins and spirits would be down. Not at the Prep. The Hawks have rolled to a 5-0 start while racking up 32.8/8.2 scoring advantage.

OCT. 10
TEDBIT
  Their graduations from Roman Catholic took place 22 years apart and their football journeys led to the same place, the NFL. As we all know, Marvin Harrison forged ahead into the NFL Hall of Fame. Will Fuller is only two years into his career with the Houston Texans and who knows how great his career will go? In one category, he's outdone Marvin. Not until his fourth season, in 1999, did Marvin post two consecutive games with at least two TD catches. Will has already accomplished the feat, and he did so coming off an injury. The breakdown for both guys is below. Pretty amazing: In Will's two games, two-thirds of his six snags went for TDs. Counting Roman, Notre Dame and Houston, Will owns 332 catches for 5,619 yards (16.9 average) and 63 TDs. Marvin's totals for 20 seasons at Roman, Syracuse and Indianapolis: 1,388 catches, 19,645 yards (14.2 average) and 163 TDs.
  UPDATE: It's likely Marvin and Will are the only "Our Guys" who've accomplished this feat. Via www.pro-football-reference.com, I checked game-by-game breakdowns for the following players -- some were primarily RBs -- and none posted back-to-back games with at least two receiving TDs . . . Anthony Becht, Curtis "Boonah" Brinkley, Corey Brown, John Cappelletti, Dick Christy, Don Clune, Angelo Coia, Kevin Jones, Leroy Kelly, Larry Marshall, Mike McCloskey, Andy Nacrelli, Bob Oristaglio, Johnny Papit, Bo Roberson, Steve Slaton, Maurice Stovall, Jaelen Strong, Wendell Tucker, Charles Way, Frank Wycheck. If you can think of someone else, please speak up. Thanks.

OCT. 9, EVENING
TEDBIT
  Click here for a highlight video of this game from Hudl. One TD, especially, is beyond incredible.
  Sam Karr wasn't the only guy working like crazy last Friday afternoon as visiting Abraham Lincoln pasted George Washington, 48-22, in a Public League game. So was Joe DiGrazio. Joe, formerly a star linebacker for the Railsplitters ('05 grad), is an assistant coach under head man Ed McGettigan and also serves as the statistician. His figures showed Karr, a 5-10, 177-pound senior, rushed 21 times for 416 yards and seven TDs. Because the total was so impressive, and everybody involved wanted to make sure it was correct, Joe agreed that our own beyond-supreme stat man, Ed "Huck" Palmer, should watch the game tape via Hudl and cross-check the numbers. Guess what? Karr now has two more yards! Huck's play-by-play scrutiny came out to 21 carries for 418 yards. The breakdown: 15 for 158 in the first half -- with TDs of 1, 10 and 33 yards -- and 6 for 260 in the second -- with TDs of 15, 80, 55 and 50. The other carries in the second half went for 65 yards, right before the 15-yard TD, and for minus-5, right before the 55-yard TD. Sam also rushed for two conversions, so his point total is 46. This 418-yard outburst is No. 1 in Public League history, topping 337 by Bartram's Paul Northern in 1995. The city record is 453 by Germantown Academy's Reed Marko in 2007; Karr's number ranks second. The city record for points in one game is 48 by Bartram's Hector Scott in 1982 (on eight rushing TDs). Thanks to Joe and Huck for their help and click here for a story by Joe Mason of the Northeast Times (written when the number was 416). . . Also, here's a comment from Joe about Sam: "He's a great kid, too. One of the most humble kids I've ever met."

OCT. 9
TEDBIT
  O'Hara has posted at least four shutouts in four of this century's 18 seasons and B.J. "Butch" Hogan has been prominent in three of them. This is his second year as the head coach and in 2000 he was a first team All-City defensive back. This year's defense, as coordinated by Jim Connor in tandem with Mike Connor, has yet to allow a touchdown. Chester scored on a fumble return and McDevitt posted a pick-six (along with a field goal). O'Hara is the fourth school to post at least four blankings in consecutive seasons, joining Carroll in 2000-01, SJ Prep in 2005-06 and Wood in 2007-08. That 2000 Carroll powerhouse racked up eight shutouts and Episcopal claims Inter-Ac honors with six in 2012.