La Salle College High School Football: Chronicle Game 1, September 3, 2011: La Salle 44 North Penn 27

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1 Game 1, September 3, 2011: La Salle 44 North Penn 27 by Kev Hunter, The Reporter North Penn stumbles in loss to La Salle North Penn had two double-digit leads Saturday night against La Salle College High School, but the Knights could not hold on, falling at Plymouth-Whitemarsh. The Knights had a lead at halftime and a lead in the third quarter, but La Salle dominated the fourth. Wide receiver Colin Buckley caught four touchdown passes from Matt Magarity, all in the second half, to make the difference for La Salle in this rematch of last year s Eastern Final. La Salle has now defeated North Penn three times in the past two seasons. Kyle Mayfield had a 71-yard touchdown run for the Knights and also a 75-yard run to set up another score, but the North Penn secondary could not cover Buckley. His 1-yard touchdown reception put La Salle ahead for good in the fourth, and his nine-yarder extended the margin to Four fumbles proved costly for the Knights, including the last one, which set up Tim Wade s clinching five-yard touchdown run for La Salle. North Penn also lost to La Salle to end last season in the state semifinals by a score of The Knights were ranked second in the state entering the contest by The Harrisburg Patriot-News but figure to take a tumble this week. by Dennis C. Way, Times Herald Matt Magarity rallies La Salle past North Penn From the moment he was benched in the second quarter of Saturday night s season opener against North Penn, all La Salle senior quarterback Matt Magarity wanted was a second chance. And when he got one, it was the Knights who didn t have a chance. Magarity bounced off the bench to rally the Explorers from an 11-point halftime deficit, throwing for 174 second-half yards and four touchdowns all to Colin Buckley as La Salle defeated North Penn, 44-27, in a scholastic classic at Plymouth-Whitemarsh High School. North Penn appeared in command while leading, 21-10, at the half and midway through the third quarter. But Magarity and Buckley put on a show to remember, connecting for scores of 9, 64, 1 and 9 yards in the second half to propel the Explorers to the comeback win. I definitely made some bad calls in the first half, said Magarity, who was intercepted twice before giving way to teammate Chris Kane. I take full responsibility and it was just stupid. I guess I got caught up in the game a little bit. But even after that, I knew we could come back. I have complete confidence in myself and my teammates. I was happy (coach Drew Gordon) let me back in the game. Gordon said it was a gut feeling to put Magarity back in. But after he did, the Explorers took off. First came a Magarity fade pattern to Buckley in the third period to close the La Salle deficit to North Penn answered with a 5-yard TD run by James Fielder on the heels of a 75-yard run by Kyle Mayfield. But La Salle did the rest of the game s scoring, with Magarity finding Buckley on a slant for 64 yards and a touchdown with 5:44 left in the third quarter. 1

2 Then after being set up at the North Penn 10-yard line by a 34-yard punt return by Casey Eidenshink, Magarity found Buckley in the end zone on third down from a yard away to give the home team a lead it would not lose. A pair of North Penn fumbles led to a pair of late scores that salted the game away. That was great, a great thing for the kids, Gordon said. When we got down they didn t get upset, they didn t fold. And they came back. And Gordon agreed the key was the combination of Magarity and Buckley that keyed the comeback. I wasn t mad at Matt, I was just disappointed, the coach said, and I just did what I thought was right when I put him back in the game. North Penn double covered Sean (Coleman), who hurt them the last two times we played them (both La Salle wins). When we were talking about this season, we felt Colin could be one of our hidden secrets. He s a player. North Penn built its lead with 21 second-half points, scoring following Danny Wynne s one-handed interception of a deflected Magarity pass late in the first quarter, and then on Mayfield s 71-yard touchdown run on the Knights next possession. A 16-yard pass from quarterback Corey Ernst to Dan Gevirtz with 12 seconds left in the half pushed North Penn in front by double digits. But La Salle along with its senior quarterback came back off the canvas. We ran out of gas, said North Penn coach Dick Beck, and I don t understand why. We don t have that many guys going both ways. I really don t understand why. by Matt Breen, Inquirer La Salle triumphs with 28-point surge The sun had already set far in the distance beyond the north end zone and the stadium lights were bright as Matt Magarity emerged from the shadows and returned to the position from which he was so unceremoniously yanked just one quarter before. The quarterback threw for four touchdowns and 223 yards to complete a wild comeback and lead La Salle to a victory over North Penn in a nonleague football game Saturday night at Plymouth Whitemarsh. Explorers coach Drew Gordon pulled Magarity in the second quarter after the senior completed just four passes and threw two interceptions. At that point, Magarity said, he wasn't sure if he'd be called back into action, as Gordon simply said, "Get on the bench." Upon his return, Magarity couldn't miss his targets as the Explorers scored the game's final 28 points. A deep fade to the right sideline. Caught. Another to the corner of the end zone. Caught. Magarity said his performance after being reinserted in the game surprised even himself. "Yeah. I didn't even expect that," Magarity said. "Just try to take it one play at a time and focus on my fundamentals. I feel like I got away from that in the first half." His favorite target? Bespectacled wide receiver Colin Buckley. The two have played together since seventh grade and said they know exactly where each other is on the field. "We can go a year without throwing and then we come back and it's right there," Magarity said. Magarity found Buckley for three straight scores in the second half. With more than eight minutes left in the fourth quarter, Magarity and Buckley hooked up to give the Explorers their first lead, On a 2

3 third-and-goal, Magarity found Buckley to the right of the end zone. Senior Casey Eidenshink had set up the short drive with a fantastic, 40-yard punt return to inside the 10-yard line. A 6-foot-3, 190-pound senior, Buckley hauled in nine passes for 171 yards and three touchdowns. He wears prescription lenses under his helmet to help with his vision. Magarity said the Explorers had no concerns when trailing by 11 points at halftime. "Everyone got the first half over, and we were ready to play the second half," Buckley said. North Penn seemed to have a stranglehold on the game in the first half, as the Knights went into halftime with a lead. Do-everything senior Ralph Reeves went into the break with a half-dozen tackles and a rushing touchdown in his first game at fullback. As soon as the grip was loosened in the second half, Reeves placed it back on just as tight with a crucial interception to stymie a La Salle scoring chance. The 6-0, 230-pound Reeves dropped back into coverage and perfectly read the Magarity pass, the lineman leaping up to haul in the pass while falling backward. Magarity threw three interceptions, but that was his lone one of the second half. Junior tailback Kyle Mayfield ripped off a few big runs for North Penn en route to rushing for more than 200 yards. In the second half, the Explorers defense contained him. by Kevin Cooney, Intelligencer Deja vu defeat When it was all said and done and his team hobbled away to the waiting buses, Dick Beck was still a coach searching for answers. "We ran out of gas," the North Penn coach said in a moment of remarkable frankness. "Guys stopped playing. The bottom line is that guys stopped playing. "I don't know what's going on, but guys stopped playing. We barely had anybody going both ways, so that can't be the excuse. I wish I knew and I wish I had the answer." Right now, North Penn seemingly has no answers on how to close the deal out against La Salle. For the third time in 366 calendar days, the Knights saw a second-half lead melt under the heat of the Explorers' passing attack, surrendering 28 unanswered points in the second half to fall, 44-27, Saturday night in an opening-weekend marquee matchup of potential PIAA title contenders at Plymouth- Whitemarsh. "It is frustrating because we lost tonight's game," Beck said. "It's not about losing three straight games to them. It's about being frustrated that we had a shot to win tonight's game and we can't get guys back on the field. Guys won't go back on the field." All three games have followed a similar pattern. North Penn held the lead at intermission, but couldn't seem to shut down the Explorers' passing attack in the second half. What Beck seemed to be upset about was a heavy dose of cramping issues that appeared to crop up during the second half of Saturday night's game, which was played on a warm, but not overly muggy, night on PW's turf field. At least two North Penn players seemed to suffer severe leg cramps during the game, with one of them not returning at all in the final 22 minutes of action. Others seemed to be hobbling in and out of the lineup consistently with other leg ailments. "I don't know what the problem was," Beck said. "We didn't have guys going both ways. Someone tell me; I'd want to know." 3

4 One other sign of fatigue was turnovers. After going mistake-free in the first half, the Knights fumbled the ball four times in the second half, eventually turning the tide in the game. "Guys just got tired and started hanging their heads," said North Penn senior defensive back/wide receiver Dan Gevirtz, who scored a touchdown and had an interception. "We were not focusing and concentrating on what we had to do. "There's no excuse for that. We just didn't finish the game out." North Penn appeared to be in control of the game, taking a lead late in the third quarter on James Fielder's 5-yard run. (That touchdown run was set up by a 75-yard sprint by running back Kyle Mayfield, who had 203 yards and a touchdown on 20 carries Saturday night.) But La Salle started to pick away at the Knights' defense with 6-foot-3 senior Colin Buckley. Buckley caught nine passes for 164 yards, including touchdown tosses of 64, 1 and 9 yards from Explorers quarterback Matt Magarity that springboarded La Salle into the lead. (The final touchdown came on a 5- yard run by Tim Wade.) "Colin just had an awesome night for us," Magarity said. "I mean, he made a lot of big plays in key spots." by Scott Huff, Suburban One Sports Second Half 'Knightmare' Dooms NP North Penn appeared to have a victory against La Salle in its hip pocket at halftime as the Knights led the defending Quad-A PIAA Eastern Champion However, the Explorers not only snatched the season-opening win back, but also bludgeoned the Knights in the second half by a 34-6 margin to overwhelm North Penn It was the third time in the last two seasons that La Salle had beaten the Knights. The Explorers advanced to the Quad-A state final with a thrilling win, and La Salle had opened the 2010 season with a win over North Penn. I am not frustrated with the losses last year, but I am frustrated with the way that we lost the game tonight, said North Penn head coach Dick Beck. I wish I had answers with the way that we played in the second half. We just stopped playing we ran out of gas. Give La Salle credit they played hard the entire game, added Beck. We played hard for a half and then we just couldn t get players back on the field. We had too many things (cramps, etc) that kept the players from playing the game. We have to be able to get players back on the field. There were two North Penn players that played awesome games despite the loss one on each side of the football. Knight running back Kyle Mayfield ran to daylight for 204 yards on 20 carries. The flashy junior scored on a 71-yard touchdown burst in the first half and set up the lone score for North Penn in the second half with a 75-yard romp. Mayfield is a tough kid I would go into a dark corner anywhere with him, said Beck. There wasn t a play that he took off. He played hard the entire game. Knight linebacker Ralph Reeves was a force in the middle with punishing tackles that jammed up the La Salle running game. Reeves also stepped back into the passing lane at the goal line and intercepted a pass to short circuit an Explorer drive. Ralph was a real monster tonight, said Beck. But he always plays that way. North Penn played its best football in the first half with a three-touchdown outburst in the second period. 4

5 The Knights scored on a short 35-yard drive that was set up by a brilliant one-handed interception by senior Dan Wynne. Reeves capped the initial scoring drive of the game with a two-yard TD bolt and with a Brandon Mandes placement North Penn led 7-0. La Salle knotted the score moments later when Tim Wade dashed through the Knight defense for an 18- yard scoring run. Ryan Winslow booted the extra point to create a 7-7 deadlock with 10:16 left in the half. North Penn regained the lead on Mayfield s spectacular 71-yard scoring scamper. Mayfield showed tremendous speed going down the North Penn sideline for the score. La Salle countered with a scoring drive that culminated with a 20-yard field goal by Winslow. The Explorers had a first-and-goal at the one-yard line, but Reeves made two terrific hits in the series to force La Salle to settle for the field goal. North Penn stretched the lead to on the talents of senior Dan Gevirtz. Gevirtz returned a punt 32 yards and followed five plays later with a 16-yard TD reception from senior quarterback Corey Ernst. A Mandes extra point would push the lead to The Knights would remain competitive on the scoreboard in the third period. La Salle scored first in the second half as senior quarterback Matt Magarity fired a 9-yard scoring strike to senior wide out Colin Buckley and after the extra point was blocked NP led It was the beginning of a lethal combination for the Explorers, as the Magarity-to-Buckley combo would prove to be the deciding factor in this football game. North Penn would score its final touchdown of the period the half and the game on its next possession. Mayfield broke loose on a nifty 75-yard sprint, and senior James Fielder bulled in from the five-yard line to stretch the Knight lead to The rest of the game was a Knightmare for North Penn as the Big Blue became the Big Black and Blue. The Explorers punished the Knights 28-0 over the final 14 minutes and 19 seconds of the game. Magarity fired a 64-yard touchdown pass to Buckley; Magarity tossed a 6-yard TD strike to Buckley; Magarity floated a 1-yard TD aerial to Buckley; and Wade crashed in for a score in the final 1:29 on a five-yard touchdown burst. Magarity completed nine passes in all to the 6-foot, 3-inch Buckley for 168 yards and four touchdowns. We have so much respect for the North Penn football program, said Buckley. We really get excited when we play them, and we know that we are going to have to be ready if we want to come away with a W. I really didn t expect a game like this. We have to use this loss as momentum for the rest of the season, said North Penn senior quarterback Corey Ernst. We saw tonight that we have a lot to fix, and we have to come out in the next game and play a lot tougher. Random Facts North Penn turned the ball over four times on fumbles the Knights committed eight penalties for 80 yards not a winning combination NP intercepted three Magarity passes one each for Wynne, Reeves, and Gevirtz Magarity was actually benched in this game for over a quarter, but played the entire second half. by Mike Cabrey, The Reporter North Penn ran out of gas in fourth quarter Dick Beck knew the reason the North Penn football team opened the season with a loss to La Salle Saturday night. It s just that the Knights coach doesn t know why it happened. 5

6 We ran out of gas, guys stopped playing. The bottom line is guys stopped playing, North Penn coach Dick Beck said. I don t know what s going on, but guys stopped playing. We had barely anybody going both ways, that can t be the excuse. I don t know, I wish I knew, I wish I had the answer. Three times in the last two seasons, North Penn and the Explorers have met in Week One this and last year and in last season s PIAA Class AAAA state semifinal. In all three of those games, the Knights went into halftime with the lead. And all three times, La Salle found a way to come back in the final two quarters and earn the victory. No, it s frustrating that we lost tonight s game. I don t care about the three losses, Beck said. It s frustrating that we lost tonight s game because I thought we were in great position to win the game and we can t get guys on the field. Guys won t go back on the field. La Salle is the only team to win three straight games over North Penn and the fourth to score at least 40 points the first since Central Bucks South topped NP in Week 10 of the 2007 regular season since Beck s first year as coach in The 17-point defeat was the largest since North Penn fell to Neshaminy 35-0 in the 07 District One Class AAAA quarterfinals. They scored more points than us. Those guys were tougher, said Beck of the Explorers. They wouldn t come off the field, our guys wouldn t go on the field. A Dan Gevirtz 16-yard touchdown reception from quarterback Corey Ernst in the final seconds of the first half gave the Knights a advantage at intermission. But from there, turnovers and penalties sidetracked the NP offense and the Explorers found their groove, outscoring the North Penn 34-6 in the second half. We had them figured out, we were winning at halftime, Gevirtz said. We re not playing the full game. That s what we re not doing. After trading touchdowns the Knights blocking La Salle s extra point, North Penn missing theirs to put the margin at 11 the Explorers crept within when Colin Buckley hauled in a 64-yard TD reception from quarterback Mike Magarity. And while linebacker Ralph Reeves interception of Magarity at the goal line prevented La Salle from going ahead in the third, North Penn couldn t keep avoid letting the lead slip away in the fourth. A Buckley one-yard touchdown catch gave the Explorers their first lead at with 8:57. The junior s nine-yard reception in the end zone at 4:06 made it a 10-point cushion. Tim Wade s five-yard rushing touchdown after North Penn fumbled the ensuing kickoff effectively put the game away. We came out, guys were getting tired. Guys were hanging their heads, Gevirtz said. We weren t doing our jobs. The Knights took the loss in a meeting between two state-ranked teams. Now, begins the work to get things righted before North Penn get back on the field for its contest with Lansdale Catholic Friday. I mean we just got to do everything better, Gevirtz said. We got to go into practice and start doing our thing. What we re supposed to do. by Ted Silary Time to coin a new catch phrase, folks... "Only in the Pub/Cath Combo." So, why's it necessary? The trail offered a doubleheader today with Frankford/Hatboro-Horsham at 11 and this one at 6. At Frankford, as halftime arrived, Pioneer sr. WR Savoy Martin owned three TD catches and seemed to be a sure bet to not only tie the city record of four, but perhaps even smithereen it. Didn't happen. Frankford's point 6

7 total stayed at 26 and H-H roared back with 27 to win. Tonight, before a HUGE, overflow crowd at Plymouth-Whitemarsh, Explorer sr. WR Colin Buckley (6-3, 190) headed into intermission with no scores and just one catch for eight yards. Yup, you know what's coming. HE tied the city record! Working in what was pretty much perfect harmony with sr. QB Matt Magarity, who'd been yanked in the second quarter for ignoring a directive, Buckley turned eight more snags into four scores and 160 yards (making his total 9-168). The TDs came on identical fades for nine yards, a slant for one and a streak for 64. (The order was nine, 64, one and nine.) And get this: Buckley eeeeaaaasily could have posted six TD catches. Late in the third quarter, he made a leaping snag at the back right corner of the end zone on an 11- yarder, but the refs ruled that his foot landed out of bounds. Magarity threw a pick two plays later. Then, as the game wound down, La Salle had the ball at NP's 5. The call went to sr. RB Tim Wade, who powered into the end zone. (Quick aside: Joe Wade, Tim's uncle, is La Salle's new offensive coordinator. He succeeds Brett Gordon, son of coach Drew Gordon and former QB all-timer at La Salle and Villanova. When the play was called for what turned out to be Buckley's 1-yarder, I wonder if Tim thought to himself, "Yo, the ball's on the 1 and my uncle won't give me the rock?" Smile.) What a night for the Explorers, who now own three wins over NP in one calendar year plus one day. Early, due to Magarity's struggles and some shoddy tackling (NP's guys seemed to be always breaking free from first hits), La Salle had the look of a team that would not only lose, but even get waxed. But over the last 19 minutes, it roared to a 34-6 edge and the final 28 points came in succession. The defense regrouped big time. The surge began when sr. LB John Palermo caused a fumble and sr. SS Mike Piscopo recovered at NP's 22. Magarity, reinserted at that juncture, rolled right and hit Buckley for 16 yards. After a misconnection on the snap caused a loss of three yards, Magarity hit Buckley in the right corner for the pair's first TD. Though the Knights answered immediately (uh, oh), so did La Salle on the second-play 64-yarder. Jr. SS Mike Eife made two big plays on NP's next series and jr. DL Andrew Carlone did likewise to assure NP's followup bid to regroup would be unproductive. Sr. PR Casey Eidenshink steamed 36 yards with the punt return, down to NP's 10, and again the Explorers hit payturf (the 1-yarder to Buckley). There'd be two more fumble recoveries: by jr. DL Tom Spiteri at NP's 30 and by jr. DB Dad Poquie at the 18 (on a kickoff return). Those led to the final two scores on the second 9-yarder to Buckley and Wade's 5-yard run. Though it didn't wind up producing points, La Salle also forced a turnover right before the outburst as Piscopo made the hit and jr. DL Andrew Eidenshink performed recovery duties. Later, Andrew noted along the sideline, "I should have scooped and scored." Magarity finished 13-for-21 for 225 yards and the four TDs. In his absence, jr. FB Chris Kane moved under center and went 1-for-5 for 12. Jr. K-P Ryan Winslow contributed eight points with five PAT and a field goal. One of his EPs landed on the cherrypicker camera deck high above the north end zone. This game was shown on Comcast and must have made for great viewing. Meanwhile, I can't imagine North Penn has dropped three consecutive outings to the same opponent too often in modern school history. Anyone know? UNOFFICIAL STATISTICS North Penn Knights La Salle Explorers Scoring: NP: Ralph Reeves 2 run (Brandon Mandes kick) LS: Tim Wade 18 run (Ryan Winslow kick) NP: Kyle Mayfield 71 run (Mandes kick) LS: Winslow 20 FG 7

8 NP: Dan Gevirtz 16 pass from Corey Ernst (Mandes kick) LS: Colin Buckley 9 pass from Matt Magarity (kick blocked) NP: James Fielder 5 run (kick failed) LS: Buckley 64 pass from Magarity (Winslow kick) LS: Buckley 1 pass from Magarity (Winslow kick) LS: Buckley 9 pass from Magarity (Winslow kick) LS: Wade 5 run (Winslow kick) North Penn Knights La Salle Explorers 13 First Downs Rushing Yards Passing Yards Total Offense Punts/Avg Pen./Yards 4-35 North Penn: Rushing Kyle Mayfield TD; James Fielder TD; Corey Ernst 7-3; Danny Wynne 1-3; Ralph Reeves TD. Totals TD. Passing Ernst : 126 yards and 1 TD. Receiving Eddie Posavec 2-44; Fielder 2-19; Dominique Kanada 2-16; Dan Gevirtz 1-16 & TD; Ryan Moran Total & 1 TD. Interceptions Reeves, Gevirtz, and Wynne. La Salle: Rushing Tim Wade & 2 TD; Chris Kane 7-24; Matt Magarity 6-12; Sean Coleman Totals TD. Passing Magarity ; 221 yards and 4 TD; Kane 1-5-0; 14 yards. Total TD. Receiving Colin Buckley TD; Sean Coleman 3-55; Kane 2-3. Totals TD. Game 2, September 10, 2011: Bergen Catholic 41 La Salle 17 by Tom Kerrane, Journal Register Bergen Catholic speeds past La Salle La Salle College High came out of last week s comeback victory over North Penn feeling pretty good about its prospects for the season. The Explorers matched strengths against a powerful Knights team and found a way to respond each time. Against a smaller but much faster Bergen Catholic team on Saturday afternoon, however, La Salle was unable to respond quite as successfully. The Crusaders had a quick three-touchdown lead on the Explorers by the first minute of the second quarter, then found a way to go 80 yards in 52 seconds late in the half to help maintain a comfortable cushion. 8

9 La Salle was unable to mount a comeback this week on the turf at Plymouth-Whitemarsh High and fell to Bergen, The Explorers are now 1-1 while the Crusaders were playing their first game of the season. They were a good team and, truthfully, I don t know if we read our headlines or thought we were better than we were, La Salle coach Drew Gordon said. That can happen with young players. We had a nice comeback last week. This week s attempt was not nearly as fruitful. We never like to start off slow, said Explorers quarterback Matt Magarity, who was 11-for-19 through the air for 81 yards, with one interception. It happened last week, too, and we were able to come back last week. We just weren t this week. You are not going to get those comebacks every week. We can t keep getting behind and expect to win consistently. Down 20-0 early in the second quarter, La Salle tried to alter the game s momentum in its favor. A 10- play drive culminated in a Tim Wade 3-yard dive for a score. After forcing BC to punt, Sean Coleman returned the ball to just inside Crusaders territory. On fourthand-goal from the nine, Magarity hit Coleman for an apparent touchdown, but the play was brought back on an illegal motion penalty. La Salle kicked a 31-yard field goal instead to make it 20-9 with 1:46 left before halftime. BC quarterback Jonathan Germano then engineered a five-play, 80-yard drive in just 52 seconds, sending La Salle into halftime now trailing by Germano, one of four quarterbacks used by Bergen on the afternoon, finished his day going 15-for-19 for 315 yards and four touchdown passes. He also ran in another TD and completed 12 passes in a row at one point in the game. In the second half, La Salle was unable to earn a first down on its first four possessions, going three-andout each time in falling down 41-9 before a late score from Jared Herrmann. It s hard to take it in, Wade said of the loss. We feel like we got beat up. It s not that we lost, we were not physical at all and they beat us up. We have to get better. La Salle had trailed North Penn by 11 points at halftime in Week One and found a way to complete the comeback in a win over the Knights. This week, however, the Explorers did not have the same answers for Bergen. We knew they were good, Gordon said. We could not duplicate their speed in practice, and that was evident in the first half. Still, there s no panic. For the younger guys, hopefully it was a lesson that we have a long way to go. We re not that good. We can be, but we have a long way to go. La Salle opened up its 2010 campaign in similar fashion, defeating North Penn before falling to the Crusaders in the second week. It was the Explorers only loss during the regular season. So, all is not lost. We still have faith in our team, Magarity said. We re not giving up at all. What we realize is we have to come out on Monday and go a lot harder than we ve been going. A week ago, La Salle left Colonial Field feeling pretty good about its prospects. Saturday, the Explorers left knowing there was still much more to be done. Bergen Catholic La Salle

10 BC Germano 2 run (kick failed) Continued... BC Kulcsar 87 pass from Germano (Devine kick) BC Wingate 15 pass from Germano (Devine kick) LS Wade 3 run (kick blocked) LS Winslow 31 field goal BC Tsimis 4 pass from Germano (Devine kick) BC Dawson 2 run (Devine kick) BC Tsimis 15 pass from Germano (Devine kick) LS Herrmann 1 run (Herrmann pass from C. Eidenshink) TEAM STATISTICS BC L First Downs Rushing Yards Passing Yards Totals Yards Passing Fumbles lost Penalties-Yards Punts-Avg INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS RUSHING Bergen Catholic: Dawson 6-22, 1 TD; Germano 12-16, 1 TD; Feaster 3-8; Lovecchio 1-5; Gallagher 1-4; Gerst 5-0; Sebastian 1-(-2). La Salle: tbd PASSING Bergen Catholic: Germano , 315 yds., 4 TDs; Lovecchio 4-7-0, 19 yds.; Gallagher 0-0-0, 0 yds.; Sebastian 0-0-0, 0 yds. La Salle: Magarity , 81 yds.; Kane 4-4-0, 57 yds. RECEIVING Bergen Catholic: Tsimis 7-112, 2 TDs; Kulcsar 2-98, 1 TD; Gerst 2-49; Dickerson 2-28; Finkel 2-25; Wingate 2-22, 1 TD; Dawson 2-0. La Salle: Coleman 5-41; Buckley 3-46; Winslow 3-15; O Hara 1-13; Merritt 1-10; Wade 1-8; Piscopo 1-5. INTERCEPTIONS Bergen Catholic: Wingate. La Salle: None. SACKS Bergen Catholic: Charles 1.5; Citro 1.5; Tobia 1. La Salle: A. Eidenshink 2; Palermo 1. by Joshua Funk, pennlive.com Bergen Catholic thrashes La Salle with speed, no-huddle spread offense Behind the area on the sidelines where the La Salle College High School football team stood, a weathered penny lie buried into the artificial surface, with the heads side facing upward. Supposedly, pennies facing heads side up bring good luck. But fate was not ready to yield the Explorers a lucky day. Bergen Catholic (1-0) got a 306-yard passing effort from field general John Germano and two-time PIAA AAAA state finalist La Salle (1-1) had trouble keeping up with the Crusaders' speed and spread offensive attack in a humbling loss Saturday afternoon at Plymouth-Whitemarsh High School. BC, a 16-time New Jersey football state champion, wasted little time in flashing and dashing its way over, around, and through the La Salle defense en route to 396 yards of offense - mostly through the air - using an up-tempo offense. 10

11 "We really always want to play with that type of pace," said BC head coach Nunzio Campanile. "We're always trying to keep the opponent on its toes. We want to be certain the other team is as uncomfortable as possible at all times." La Salle barely had time to settle in before Bergen began its offensive assault. In just four plays after picking off La Salle's Matt Magarity, Bergen had a 6-0 lead thanks to a Germano four-yard touchdown run. But the Crusaders were just getting warmed up. After La Salle went three-and-out, it took three plays for Bergen to find paydirt again. Germano hit J.J. Rulsar for an 87-yard touchdown pass to push the lead to 13-0 and then recovered the ensuing onsides kick. Six plays later, Bergen was in the end zone again on a 15-yard connection from Germano to Charles Wingate. "They have great speed and quickness," said La Salle head coach Drew Gordon. "It's hard to replicate their speed in practice." The Explorers seemed to quell the bleeding a little bit with a small rally, slicing the BC lead from 20-0 to 20-9 on a Tim Wade three-yard run and a Ryan Winslow 32-yard field goal. Wade's touchdown run was one of the few scant highlights on the day. Yards were hard to come by for #33 - in three and a half quarters, he ran for 35 yards on 19 carries. But any momentum La Salle had built up deflated quicker than a balloon with a hole in it. Winslow's field goal came with 1:46 left in the half, but that was more than enough time for the Crusaders to break the Explorers' backs. Beginning at its own 20, the red and gold marched 65 yards in just three plays - all Germano passes - to the La Salle 15. Two plays after an Explorer timeout to stop the bleeding, Bergen lodged the proverbial dagger in the blue and gold's heart as Germano found John Tsimis from four yards out and a 27-9 lead. Five plays. Eighty yards. All in a mere 51.8 seconds. Who needs those two-minute drills, anyway? "Bergen Catholic will test you every play," Gordon said. The Crusaders tacked on two more touchdowns in the second half - a James Dawson two-yard run and a 15-yard pass from Germano to Tsimis - to push the advantage to Using its reserves, La Salle capped the game scoring with a one-yard touchdown run by Jared Herrmann with 2:00 left in the contest. Herrmann's run capped a 12-play, 80-yard, 4:17 march which saw five total first downs and back-up field general Chris Kane connect on all four of his pass attempts. All told, La Salle finished with 211 yards of offense and 11 first downs. Magarity connected on 11-of-19 passes for 79 yards with the one interception. Wade paced the Explorer ground attack, which finished with 65 yards on 34 carries. Herrmann added 23 yards on seven carries and Kane threw for 57 yards. Sean Coleman caught five passes for 39 yards and Colin Buckley snagged three passes for 44 yards. Germano's banner day also saw him add 16 yards on 12 carries. Dawson ran for 22 yards on six carries and Michael Gerst added 27 yards on six totes. Tsimis caught seven passes for 111 yards and two touchdowns and Kulsar added two receptions for 98 yards. Bergen was flagged eight times for 45 yards - about the only negative from the Crusaders' season opener. by Greg Mattura, The Record (northjersey.com) Jonathan Germano leads Bergen Catholic What Bergen Catholic lacks in star power it just might overcome with a deeper, more talented cast of soldiers. 11

12 "I don t know if we have great players, but we have the makings of a great team," coach Nunzio Campanile said after Bergen Catholic dominated Pennsylvania powerhouse La Salle, 41-17, on Saturday afternoon. The Crusaders led 20-0 in the second quarter and 41-9 in the fourth, one year after they needed a defensive stand in the final minutes to hold off these Explorers, 22-21, in Campanile s debut. He s not a star, but Jonathan Germano played like one in his debut at quarterback. Germano, a converted defensive back who split time with fellow junior Anthony LoVecchio, threw four touchdown passes and ran for a score, all without a turnover. Germano threw a first-quarter screen to junior Justin Kulcsar that became an 87-yard score for a 13-0 lead. He threw a 15-yard TD over the middle to senior Charles Wingate. He threw two perfect fades to junior receiver John Tsimis for TDs of 4 and 15 yards. "He s already a great player, and he s going to be a great quarterback," Campanile said. "He s a winner. He s the kind of guy who is going to find a way to get the job done, and I thought he played absolutely tremendous." "I just did my job," said Germano, who was 15-for-19 for 310 yards. "I did my job, and everybody else did their job, and that s how we got the win." Except for a so-so running game, Bergen Catholic did the job in all phases: The defense, under new coordinator Ed Stinson, applied plenty of pressure and neutralized La Salle. The Explorers longest gain was a 34-yard completion, and that came in the fourth, long after the game was decided. Wingate set up the first score with an interception. "The scheme may be similar, but [Stinson] has some great blitz packages," Campanile said. "The guy s a true professional and he really knows how to attack what they re doing." "I definitely think in this game we came out a lot stronger in the first half and really played hard," said defensive lineman Hunter Kiselick. "And everyone really did their job a lot better this game right away." The special teams also dominated. The Crusaders love the onside kick and Tsimis recovered the first attempt, and five plays later he caught his first TD pass. There also was a blocked extra point. "We re really happy with where we are and we ve come a long way," Campanile said. "Our kids have a much better understanding of what we re looking for, and we ve made some great strides. And I m really happy with where we are for the first game of the year." by Dan Long, BergenCatholicFootball.com Crusaders Pound La Salle in opener The statement was certainly made loud enough for all those back in the Garden State to hear it loud and clear. Bergen Catholic is not in a rebuilding year. The Crusaders started off their daunting 2011 national schedule with a dominant victory over Pennsylvania state power LaSalle College High School on a sun-drenched Saturday afternoon. The game started off well for the Explorers as they converted on their first two third down opportunities and moved the ball into BC territory to the delight of their boisterous fans. Thanks in part to a swarming pass rush that didn't allow the quarterback any time to read the coverage, a floated pass ended up as easy pickings for Chucky Wingate, who then returned the interception into LaSalle's side of the field. This brought the offense onto the field for the first time on the afternoon, and everyone assembled were in for an offensive show. Junior Jon Germano was making his varsity quarterbacking debut, and his performance would be one for the ages when he was done. 12

13 On the first drive of the game, Germano connected on a 26 yard screen pass to James Dawson, and eventually capped off the impressive drive with a 3 yard run to the right side of his line and into the end zone. The extra point was fumbled away, so the Crusaders had to settle for a 6-0 lead to begin the game. After a quick 3 and out was forced by the Red & Gold defense, Germano again stepped back onto the field with the rest of the offense, ready to inflict more damage on the La Salle defense. Deep in his own end and facing a 3rd and long, Germano set up a wide receiver screen pass to Justin Kulcsar, who proceeded to catch the ball towards the middle of the field, broke two tackles, and then sprinted untouched for a 87 yard touchdown pass. In the blink of an eye BC had taken a 13-0 lead, and the score would stay the same after the first quarter. The lead would expand to 20 points after Germano threw a bullet pass on a slant pattern to a wide open Chucky Wingate from 15 yards out into the end zone, and with over 11 minutes left in the 1st half, you could hear a pin drop in the stadium. La Salle is an elite program for a reason, and the Explorers were not going to roll over this early in the contest despite being behind by three scores. To combat BC's suffocating pass rush, quarterback Matt Magarity went to only three step drops and completed quick out patterns and bubble screens. This allowed La Salle to finally move the ball down the field and led to a 3 yard touchdown run by running back Tim Wade. The extra point was blocked by BC's Kyle Queiro, and the scoreboard read 20-6 BC. After BC's offense quickly stalled out on the ensuing drive, a 25 yard punt return from Sean Coleman set up the Explorers at the BC 25 yard line for their next drive. Credit the BC defense for bending, but not breaking, as they prevented La Salle form getting any closer than the 10 yard line and forced Ryan Winslow to kick a 32 yard field to make it 20-9 less than two minutes until halftime. This would be the closest that La Salle got to BC for the rest of the game. With the precision of a surgeon, and the guts of a burglar, Jon Germano methodically moved his team 80 yards down the field in less than 40 seconds and without having to use a single time out. Germano capped off the drive with a fade pattern touchdown pass to the back pylon and into the sure hands of John Tsimis for a back breaking score. The Crusaders trotted into the locker room leading 27-9, and had recaptured all the momentum in the game with their late and long scoring drive. Both Bergen Catholic and La Salle traded three and outs on offense to open up the third quarter of play, before the dangerous Crusader offense returned to the field, and found their way into the endzone yet again thanks to a 1 yard plunge by running back James Dawson. The lead had ballooned to 34-9 in favor of the visitors from New Jersey, but the damage was not done for a tired and frustrated LaSalle squad. As the BC defense repeatedly stymied the Explorer offense, even adjusting their own pass defense to counteract the quick drop passes, the offense would be given another chance to put the nail in the coffin of the Explorers, and the person who finished La Salle off is the player known as The Silent Assassin by several of his coaches. John Tsimis continued his jaw dropping plays at receiver by making a diving catch in the endzone while falling to his back, and hauled in his second touchdown catch of the afternoon to make the score an amazing 41-9 in favor of the Red & Gold. La Salle's reserves would push past the final score of the game on a late rushing touchdown despite a fine goal line stand by BC's defensive reserves. The final score was 41-17, but it did not even seem that close during the game because of the way BC had dominated both sides of the ball. The offensive line of Mike Radespiel, Chris McBride, Carmine Goldsack, Ryan Rebasch, and James Horan had kept their quarterback clean for a majority of the game and allowed the team to pass for over 300 yards on the day. You could not ask for a better varsity debut than the one that Jon Germano experienced on Saturday afternoon, throwing for over 300 yards, connecting on 4 touchdown passes, and chipping in one rushing score as well. Germano's performance was emblematic of the entire team's high level of play in their 13

14 season opener, as the entire unit played with a chip on their shoulders, and went on to the field not only to win, but to make a statement in the process. That statement was loud and clear: BC is reloaded, BC is deep, and BC is for real in by Danny Spinelli 14, Ted Silary s website In the 2nd year of what appears to be a burgeoning annual rivalry game between the Bergen Catholic (NJ) Crusaders and the La Salle Explorers, BC again handed the Explorers an early-season loss, this time in a more obliterating fashion: La Salle never had an edge and truly was beaten by the Crusaders in all facets of the game. While a demoralizing loss for the legion of La Salle faithful that attended yesterday s unusually hot game at Plymouth-Whitemarsh Stadium, this loss will just have to be a motivating factor heading into Homecoming next weekend, and league play soon thereafter. The defining play for the Crusaders in the first-half occurred with 1:05 remaining in the first quarter. Bergen held a 13-0 lead over the Explorers and was kicking off. BC caught La Salle (and their fans for that matter) way off guard and perfectly executed an onside kick. Their ensuing possession went into the second quarter and resulted in a 20-0 lead for Bergen on a 13 yd TD pass from junior QB Jon Germano to senior WR/DB Charles Wingate. Wingate had already intercepted a pass from La Salle senior QB Matt Magarity to lead into BC s first touchdown. At this point La Salle s possessions went INT, punt, punt. The Explorers finally turned the tide on a god possession taking up close to half of the 2Q. From their own 41yd line, the offense completed a string of successful plays, including a brilliant 8-yd dump by Magarity to senior RB Tim Wade on a 2nd and 10 in the red zone. The drive ended with a 3yd plunge by Wade for an Explorer TD with the resulting PAT clocked by BC junior DB Kyle Quiero, the score went to While Bergen is obviously full of talent and athleticism (their running game is second to none), some blame for La Salle s loss has to go to missed opportunities. After Wade s TD, the La Salle defense recorded a terrific stand; senior LB John Palermo and junior DL Andrew Eidenshink both notched sacks on the drive, and a nice 25-yd punt return by Kevin Forster s protégé, junior Sean Coleman, put the Explorers in good shape to make a comeback. Here we encounter the missed opportunity: From inside the Bergen 10, La Salle was shut down four times. They had to settle for a 32-yd. FG by junior K/WR Ryan Winslow. The score was now 20-9 Bergen with 1:46 remaining in the half; La Salle had squandered one scoring chance, but still had a hold on the Crusaders. Well, then Bergen simply sealed the game and put all La Salle supporters into a 2nd-half depression. Thanks to a no-huddle offense and three outstanding pass completions from Germano to junior WR/DB John Tsimis (one a 4yd TD), BC put seven more points on the board in 52 seconds. La Salle punted 4 times on 5 possessions in the 2nd-half, only recording 8 more points from a 1yd TD run by junior RB Jared Herrmann, along with a 2pt conversion pass from junior QB Chris Kane to Herrmann. BC meanwhile reached the end zone two more times. The Bergen machine was made up of the superb QB tandem (though they were not the only two players who took snaps for BC during the game) of juniors Jon Germano and Anthony LoVecchio. Germano played a nice passing game for the Crusaders while LoVecchio made more keepers and runs from the pocket. Truly, it seemed that the Crusaders tossed the ball to anyone with arms, catches being recorded by Tsimis (2 TDs), Wingate (1 TD and INT), junior Justin Kulcsar (87yd TD catch), junior RB James Dawson (TD run), sophomore TE Garrett Dickerson, senior WR Ryan Finkel, and senior RB/DB Mike Gerst. Dawson and Gerst contributed to a powerful BC running game that was complemented by keepers from LoVecchio and occasionally Germano. 14

15 La Salle s offense had a rough game. Magarity did his best in the pocket, recovering from an early INT and making nice plays like the dump pass I recorded earlier (important because Magarity had plenty of Crusaders rushing his blind side, noticed them, and was able to deliver the ball to Wade for a good gain), but sometimes did force bad throws. The O-line had a tough time containing the Bergen rush, and the La Salle passing game suffered as a result. Senior WR Colin Buckley had a few nice catches as the game wound down, but was unable to be a main force early in the game. Coleman also made some nifty grabs, including a spectacular play where he snatched the ball, narrowly avoiding a Bergen defender, and proceeded for a first-down, but also saw his production limited. The offense had to settle for runs from Wade, who grinded and battled in the trenches, being an enormous help in the drive leading to the Explorers first TD, ultimately scoring it himself. Wade also appeared frustrated though with a lot of broken runs at the line of scrimmage. Bergen Catholic s defense, as noted throughout the game, played tremendously against La Salle. Standouts were senior OL/DL Anthony Davanza (notable for sealing BC s win over La Salle last year with his end-of-the-game fumble recovery), and the LBs: juniors Dan Grasso and Parker Tobia, as well as senior Scott Santiago. The Crusaders D-line never allowed Magarity a rest, providing constant pressure. Senior DL Ty Charles, along with Santiago, both hassled Magarity in the 1Q, with both Crusaders recording sacks as well as being a constant presence in the backfield. The linebacking corps was crucial on tackles, as noted above, while the secondary also deserves props for their coverage of Buckley, Coleman, and senior wideout Mike Piscopo. It is hard to compliment a defense that provided endless angst for us La Salle faithful, but these guys deserve it. La Salle s defense, while struggling immensely in the 1st-half, did step up their game in the 2nd-half. I noted stops throughout the game from Andrew Eidenshink (three sacks wow), Palermo (one sack), junior OL/DL Andrew Carlone (one sack), senior LB Sean Burke (fumble recovery), senior OL/DL Connor Kerrigan, junior DL Jon Naji, as well as special-teams maestro, junior Dad Poquie. NOTES La Salle brought a nice student section to the game, proving that us Explorer faithful do not just come to just the North Penn/Prep games. Apparently there were some technical malfunctions that prevented La Salle junior Griffin Ripley from singing the National Anthem. Kudos to Ripley for being a trooper even in the immense heat while wearing a suit and tie. I do not particularly like to dwell on a tragedy, but all condolences and prayers go out to anyone affected by the 9/11 attacks that occurred 10 years ago. We still have not forgotten and I doubt we ever will. Game 3, September 16, 2011: La Salle 24 West Catholic 0 by Ted Silary, Daily News It's a family feeling for Wade, La Salle IT'S ALWAYS NICE to know guys in high places. But don't expect Tim Wade to take advantage. Yes, his uncle, Joe Wade, is the new offensive coordinator for La Salle High's football team. And Tim, a 5-9, 185-pound senior tailback, is the primary rusher. But the offensive play-calling is never going to sound like this broken record: Run for Wade... run for Wade... run for Wade... You get the idea. (Unless you're too young to even know what a record is). 15

16 "All I want to do is help the team," Tim Wade said. "We have a great quarterback and linemen and receivers and passing is always a big part of what we do. When I do get runs, I just want to make the best of them." In a non-league game last night at Springfield Montco that seemed to take forever, in part due to 22 penalties (for 210 yards), Wade turned 24 carries into 130 yards and a 13-yard touchdown as the Explorers bested West Catholic, Joe Wade, a veteran assistant, became the offensive coordinator when Brett Gordon, son of coach Drew Gordon, stepped away from X-and-O duties. "Brett Gordon did a phenomenal job," Tim said. "My uncle had a great role to fill and I'm proud of the job he's doing. He has really stepped up." In earlier years, Joe, who lives in Perkasie, often drove home Tim (Doylestown) from practice. But Tim, formerly the fullback and a 3-year starter, now has his license. When Tim was asked whether he enjoyed those ol' journeys, he laughed and shot back, "Kinda... Yes and no... Hard to tell." He added, "There was a lot of football talk. Whatever he said - and he could be tough - I knew it was only because he wanted the best for me." Speaking of tough... La Salle, last week, fell to Bergen Catholic, of North Jersey, "This week, we had our hardest practices of the year," Tim said. "We were all very disappointed with how we played. It's one thing to lose. We really thought we got beat up. We weren't physical enough. Weren't intense enough. We worked as hard as we could all week because we never want to have that feeling again." Matt Magarity passed 11-for-22 for 160 yards and one score apiece to Colin Buckley and Sean Coleman (5-92), and Ryan Winslow hit a 22-yard field goal. The grunts were center Connor Kerrigan, guards Pat Hoffman and Tom Spiteri, and tackles Dan Wasylenko and Matt Maginnis. Mike Piscopo lined up at tight end and made two catches for 51 yards. Ryan Otis had an interception, and West managed just 134 yards. So far, Tim Wade has received interest - , at that - only from Division III schools. "I'm not paying much attention to that stuff right now," he said. "I'm just doing my best and we'll see what happens. If something comes up, it comes up. "My parents [Michele, Tim] want me to get the most out of senior year. They're saying I should wrestle - I did that when I was younger - and play lacrosse. I don't know about wrestling. I might at least try lacrosse." by Huck Palmer, Ted Silary website I ve been following the news lately, so I m well aware that the Catholic school teachers have been on strike, but did I miss that the West Catholic offense is also on strike? Phew! Last week, the Burrs were whitewashed by Wood, 28-0; It was the first time since the last game of the 2004 season that West had been shut out. Now, the Explorers lay a goose egg on them, and for the first time since 2001, they have been blanked in back-to-back games. Actually, that year they ended the season with three straight donuts. Ok, I know the Burr faithful is probably somewhat spoiled, myself included. They have had some extremely gifted offensive teams over the last half-a-decade, but things are a BIG-TIME struggle right now. Granted, the competition has been very good, maybe elite, so we ll have to see what transpires from this point on. In many ways this contest mirrored last week s game with Wood. The Burrs had an 16

17 early double-digit play drive that reached the opponent s side of the field, but like last week, the drive stalled. Also, the game moved into the second quarter scoreless, as did last week s tilt. And like last week, La Salle would find the end zone twice in the second quarter to build a 14-0 halftime lead. Following an interception by sr. DB Ryan Otis on the first play of the second quarter, the Explorers found themselves deep in their own territory at the seven. However, soon after, sr. QB Matt Magarity connected with jr. WR/DB Sean Coleman for 31 yards and some much needed breathing room. Three plays later, Magarity once again dialed-up a 31-yard gain, this time to sr. TE/LB Mike Piscopo that placed the ball at the West 23-yard line on a 3rd-and-7 chance. By this time, a theme was developing in the game and that was La Salle s ability to convert third downs. After Piscopo s play, sr. RB Tim Wade converted another third down with a 5-yard run. Then, with the ball at the ten-yard line, Magarity launched a beautifully thrown fade to the right-side of the end zone to sr. WR Colin Buckley, converting yet another, for the game s first score. The scoring drive covered 93 yards on 11 plays. West s next series ended quickly with a three-and-out and soon enough the Explorers were at it again. Piscopo would convert a third-and- 9 with a 20-yard pass from Magarity, then on the next play, Magarity nicely hit Coleman on a right-to-left slant for a 24-yard touchdown. Just 2:01 remained in the half. To start the second half the Burrs produced one of their better drives, as they advanced the ball from their twenty, down to the La Salle 24- yard line. However, LaSalle s sr. LB Sean Burke made back-to-back tackles on West s sr. QB Jaleel Reed to stall the drive. The Explorers piggybacked on the momentum the defense provided by holding the ball for 13 plays while going 74 yards for a nail-in-the-coffin score. Wade did the honors with a tough 13-yard run. West actually stopped the drive right before this, but were whistled for a roughing-thepasser call after a fourth down pass was batted down to the ground. Jr. K/P/WR Ryan Winslow capped the scoring with a 22-yard chip shot field goal midway through the fourth quarter. Wade was a workhorse throughout. What he might lack in size and top-level speed, he more than makes up for with toughness and grit. He carried 24 times for 130 yards. Magarity shook off a slow start to produce solid numbers, throwing 11-for-22, for 160 yards. Coleman was his featured target with 92 yards on 5 receptions. Sr. FB John Palermo added 39 yards on 5 carries. The offensive line did a great job helping La Salle total 356 yards of offense. Included here; sr. C Connor Kerrigan (6 4, 260 lbs), G s jr s Patrick Hoffman (6 4, 265 lbs) and jr. Tom Spiteri (6 2, 250 lbs), T s sr s Matt Maginnis and Dan Wasylenko (6 2, 245 lbs). This group was a prominent reason on why La Salle converted 10 of 14 3rd-down conversions, including eight in a row at one point. Defensively, the Explorers held West to just 134 yards of offense. Headliners here were: jr. DL Andrew Carlone (sack, 5 tackles), Piscopo (5 tackles, 2 TFL s), DL Spiteri (5 stops), Burke (four), and jr. DL Andrew Eidenshink with a fumble recovery. For West, nothing really to talk about offensively. Star jr. RB Dave Williams was held in check with just 38 yards on 13 carries. Reed completed his first pass for 4 yards to sr. Bruce Mapp, but misfired on his next seven attempts. Finally, on the game s last play, the Burrs experienced some joy through the air when freshman QB Antwain McCollum completed a pass for 25 yards to soph. WR William Mahoney. Defensively, sr. LB s Avery Davis (8 tackles; 6 solos) and T-J Waters (six solo tackles; fumble recovery) held their own throughout. Sr. LB Marquise Gordon notched a sack. Sr. LB Tristin Freeman made six tackles, as did sr. DB Blaise Schieler. Not the cleanest of games played, as the teams combined for 22 total penalties worth 210 combined yards. During one sequence in the first quarter, where only one play from scrimmage was run, the teams combined for five penalties worth 61 yards. by Tom Kerrane, Times Herald La Salle aces the test in win over West Catholic 17

18 There were several tests which the La Salle College High football team needed to take Friday night. Coming off a tough loss last week, the Explorers had to find out if they could put together a more balanced offensive attack? Could more receivers be worked into the passing attack? Could the offense block enough to get running back Tim Wade going? And, could La Salle bounce back after the disappointing loss against Bergen Catholic last Saturday? Well, the Explorers struggled in the very early portion of the test, but aced the multiple-choice sections, passing with flying colors in defeating West Catholic, 24-0, Friday night at Springfield High. The offense compiled 359 total yards on the night, with 199 on the ground and 160 through the air. Quarterback Matt Magarity went 11-for-23 for the 160 passing yards and two touchdowns, connecting with five different targets during the game. Tim Wade put together his strongest effort of the season in rushing for 128 yards and a touchdown. Last week, we don t want to think about it too much, Wade said of the loss to Bergen. It was a hard one. But we took that kind of personal. We lost the game. This whole week, we worked real hard. We never want to feel like that again. After a slow first quarter Friday, one which seemingly had more penalties yards and those gained from scrimmage, La Salle (2-1) turned things around in a hurry versus West. The Burrs were moving the ball early in the second quarter when Ryan Otis came up with a huge interception for La Salle. The Explorers went right to work on offense, going 92 yards in 11 plays, the final 10 on a pass from Magarity to Colin Buckley to open the scoring. After the Explorer defense held West again, a seven-play drive culminated with a 24-yard TD reception by Sean Coleman (five catches, 92 yards) and a 14-0 lead. In each of the scoring drives, Wade was chewing up yardage on the ground as Magarity, who got nicked up in the fourth quarter, was connecting with four different receivers. The challenge this week was to get more consistency, head coach Drew Gordon said. It was the consistency we were looking for (Friday). Can we run the ball when we want to? Between Sean (Coleman) and Buckley and (Mike) Piscopo, I was glad to (pass) it to them. Wade would find the end zone on a 13-yard scamper to end a 13-play scoring drive in the third quarter before Ryan Winslow kicked a 21-yard field goal in the middle of the fourth to complete the scoring. Wade s rushing counterpart from West, explosive junior Dave Williams, was held in check by the Explorer defense, gaining just 35 yards on the ground. Our defense, we took over the game, then our offense came through big, said linebacker Sean Burke, who was a thorn in Williams side all night. Our team really came together. This was the most intense week of practice I ve ever had here. After a rough week last week, La Salle needed to prove some things to itself. Friday night, the Explorers passed a big test. Game 4, September 24, 2011: La Salle 41 Monsignor Bonner 22 Journal Register News Service Bonner loses game on ground Jim Haley passed for two touchdowns and rushed for another, but Monsignor Bonner was outmatched by La Salle Saturday in a Catholic League loss at Plymouth-Whitemarsh High School. The Explorers outgained the Friars (2-2), , including a 279-yard turnout on the ground. 18

19 Bonner trailed, 21-0, after the first quarter thanks to two rushing touchdowns by the Explorers Tim Wade. Haley got the Friars back into the game with a one-yard lunge to cut the deficit to 21-7 at halftime. In the third, Haley was back at it, tossing a 27-yard touchdown strike to Jaward Abraham to make it a game. But La Salle, led by its pungent rushing attack, countered with two scores to close out the third quarter and Bonner s hopes of making a comeback. Wade rushed for one of the touchdowns, while Colin Buckley got the other. Haley finished 9-for-23 with 176 yards and three interceptions. Bonner s leading gainer on the ground was Abraham, who accounted for 65 yards on 16 carries. Haley s brother, Joe, was the Friars top receiver, hauling in four passes for 76 yards and a touchdown. Game 5, October 1, 2011: La Salle 23 Roman Catholic 21 9/29/11 by Rick O Brien, Inquirer A Closer Look: Roman Catholic vs. La Salle Roman Catholic enters Saturday night's Catholic League Class AAAA opener against La Salle with payback in mind. The Cahillites bowed twice to the Explorers last season. La Salle won by in the regular season and by in the league final six weeks later. It should be noted that the Cahillites were without quarterback Mike Keir for most of the first meeting. He injured his left knee on the game's first play and did not return. Here is a closer look at Saturday's matchup, set for 7 p.m. at Northeast High's Charlie Martin Memorial Stadium: Rankings: La Salle is ranked No. 2 in Southeastern Pennsylvania by The Inquirer. Roman is No. 10. Coaches: Drew Gordon is in six seasons at La Salle. For Roman, Joe McCourt, a former star rusher for the Cahillites, is in four years. Quick fact I: Jim Murphy, who compiled a record at Roman and guided the Cahillites to a Catholic League Red Division title in 2007, is back as an assistant to McCourt. He works with the offensive line and defense. Quick fact II: Roman's last win over La Salle came in October Quality slasher: In Roman's romp over Cardinal O'Hara last Saturday, senior tailback Marcus Kelly carried 29 times for 324 yards and three touchdowns. For the season, he has netted 555 yards and six scores. Go-to guy: Tim Wade, moving over from fullback, has replaced Jamal Abdur-Rahman, now at Villanova, as La Salle's top ballcarrier. The senior has rushed for 130-plus yards in each of the last two games. Quotable: McCourt on Wade: "He's almost tougher to prepare for than Abdur-Rahman because he runs so hard." Signal-callers: La Salle's Matt Magarity has passed for 570 yards and seven TDs. Keir has thrown for 751 yards and five TDs. Injury update: For Roman, outside linebacker Chris Cruz (concussion) and two-way back Dimetri Kelly (ankle) are expected back. The Cahillites' Jim Logan, a 6-4, 305-pound tackle, will be out at least another week with a foot injury. Pick: La Salle,

20 by Mike Prince, Montgomery News La Salle College High School Football: Chronicle 2011 La Salle edges Roman Catholic A team like La Salle really doesn t need too much added confidence from what it already has, considering the amount of talent on both sides of the ball. But it still can t hurt to add a little here and there during the season. The Explorers got a huge confidence booster on Saturday night, defeating host Roman Catholic at Northeast High School in the Class AAAA Philadelphia Catholic League opener in a game which La Salle knew would be tough going into it. This win was huge, said La Salle running back Tim Wade, who rushed for a game-high 149 yards and one touchdown on 26 carries. We knew Roman was a great team and it was a close game, but we came out with it and it s just a huge confidence booster. We ll probably see this team again in the playoffs. La Salle (4-1, 1-0) has beaten the Cahillites in the regular season in each of the past six seasons, with the last three wins finishing with scores of 43-17, 45-7 and But Saturday s game was much closer, much more difficult and came down to the final play, one which saw the defense step up one last time, as La Salle defensive back Dad Poquie intercepted a Mike Keir pass to give the Explorers the ball back in the final seconds of regulation. We put our defense in a bad position there at the end, but they did their job, La Salle coach Drew Gordon said. We have Tim Wade, who is a great player. He s just such a great player and our money guy. In hindsight, we should ve given him the ball on fourth down, but our defense was there and always is. In fact, the Explorers defense intercepted three Roman Catholic (3-2, 0-1) passes, while also sacking Keir three times. They allowed the Cahillites to go up 7-0 midway through the first quarter, but didn t allow another point until the final two minutes of the third quarter, while the La Salle offense ripped off 17 consecutive points. This is a big win, Gordon said. First, it s our first league game for our level and second, we beat a good team. We knew they were good and everything we thought about their running game was true. They threw the ball more than we knew they could, but I think we figured them out with the running game. They ran in the first two touchdowns, but we figured it out. You re not going to stop them totally, but our ability to stop them on third down with half a yard to go is ridiculous. Roman Catholic s star running back, Marcus Kelly, ran 12 times for 89 yards in the first half, but was held to only 23 yards in the final two quarters. And on the other side of the ball, the Cahillites just couldn t stop Wade. At the 10:13 mark of the second quarter, Wade ran in a score from four yards out to tie the game at 7-7 for La Salle. Just one play prior to the touchdown, the senior running back broke off a 40-yard run to set his team up for the core. La Salle kicker Ryan Winslow hit a 26-yard field goal with only 19 seconds to play in the first half and later on, with just over four minutes remaining in the third quarter, the Explorers scored again, as quarterback Matt Magarity found Colin Buckley (five catches, 66 yards) for a one-yard score another drive which was set up by the excellent running of Wade. The game was a little too close, but I don t think there was ever any doubt, Wade said. I think we have to get better for the playoffs, but we have tons of confidence in our defense and we really don t try to think about anything but the game at hand. We go one week at a time and we just try to prove ourselves each week and this is how we play. We just have to go out and get ready one more time each week. 20

21 Wade also proved to be useful on special teams, recovering a Roman Catholic onside kick attempt with one minute, 54 seconds to play in regulation. It s a play which we practice every day in practice, Wade said. I just jumped and covered it up and we got the win. La Salle hosts Neumann-Goretti next Friday night in its next game. UNOFFICIAL STATISTICS La Salle Explorers Roman Catholic Cahillites Scoring: RC: Fuller 11 pass from Keir (Isaac kick) LS: Wade 4 run (Winslow kick) LS: Winslow 26 FG LS: Buckley 1 pass from Magarity (Winslow kick) RC: Keir 16 run (Isaac kick) LS: Piscopo 10 pass from Magarity (kick missed) RC: Kelly 2 run (Isaac kick) Roman Catholic Cahillites La Salle Explorers 20 First Downs Rushing Yards Passing Yards Total Offense Punts/Avg Pen./Yards Fumbles-lost 2-0 Roman Catholic: Rushing Kelly , TD; Keir 11-57, TD. Passing Keir , 204, TD. Receiving Howell 6-96; Fuller 3-14, TD; Tucker 5-71; Kelly 1-14; Illingworth 1-3; Mintz 1-5. Interceptions Mintz. Sacks Brown 1. La Salle: Rushing Wade , TD; Magarity 7-13; Coleman 1-(-3); Kane 2-8; Team 1-(-1). Passing Magarity , 129, 2 TD. Receiving Buckley 5-66, TD; Coleman 2-14; Piscopo 1-10, TD; Kane Interceptions Poquie, Coleman, Eife. Sacks - Spiteri 1, Carlone 1, Palermo 0.5, Maginnis

22 Game 6, October 7, 2011: La Salle 39 Neumann-Goretti 7 by Dennis Way, Journal Register Sean Coleman sparks La Salle past Neumann-Goretti Perhaps there were some things Sean Coleman didn t do Friday night in La Salle High s 39-7 win over Neumann-Goretti. For certain, he didn t sell tickets to the game and it s believed he didn t sit in with the Explorers pep band. Beyond that, though, the La Salle junior did more than his part. Among other things, Coleman snared a pair of touchdown passes, had a key interception, delivered the key block on a touchdown run by teammate Tim Wade and broke up a certain touchdown pass in the end zone as the Explorers built a 27-0 lead by halftime, then turned the game over to their backups in the second half. Versatility? Coleman wouldn t have it any other way. I just want to do whatever I can do to help the team, he said. The things I do aren t that special, it s just the result of everyone else doing their job. Explorers coach Drew Gordon, however, understands how special Coleman is to his team. The only thing he can t do is throw, Gordon said, and I know that because we tried to get him to play quarterback in the wildcat. He s just a terrific young man. Last year, in the opening game against North Penn, he had two or three touchdowns, and then he disappeared from the offense. It wasn t by design, it just worked out that way. Some kids would have sulked. It didn t bother him. He just said, That s OK, my time will come. Coleman and the Explorers got going right away Friday, with Coleman beating a defender and taking a throw from quarterback Matt Magarity in stride for a 43-yard touchdown on La Salle s first possession. La Salle slowed down after the initial salvo, but guess who got them going again? On the second play of the second quarter, Coleman intercepted Saints quarterback Shane Thomas, and even though his return for a touchdown was called back by penalty, it gave La Salle possession at the Saints 46. Five plays later, Coleman, using some moves not seen this side of Dancing with the Stars, grabbed a 27-yard score from Magarity. La Salle was on its way, but Coleman was just getting started. On the Explorers next possession, guess who delivered the key block down field to spring Wade for a 29-yard TD jaunt? He s the best perimeter blocker we have, Gordon said. Keyed by a 60-yard pass play from Thomas to Jamal Custis, the Saints moved right down the field on their ensuing drive. But on fourth down from the Explorers 23, a potential Thomas TD toss to Sharif Custis was broken up when Coleman jarred the ball away from the receiver in the end zone. Anything the team wants me to be I m happy to do, Coleman said. I enjoy it. I love it. I m just glad I m able to play both ways. Continued... Everyone else is working their butts off, I might was well do the same. By the break, Coleman and the rest of the La Salle starters saw their night s work draw to a close. But the young man who can do it all had one more task to perform. 22

23 He was on his way to his car to drive to the University of Notre Dame Friday night for a (lacrosse) recruiting visit. And he was doing so happily. NOTES: Gordon had no desire to rush to 35 points to begin the mercy clock. He said he was hoping to build a 21- or 28-point lead by halftime, then get some playing time for his backups. And that s what he did, using two completely different offensive units for the first and second drives of the second half. The best thing about tonight was that the kids were focused, Gordon said. There were no turnovers and no stupid penalties, and that would have been easy to do. by Danny Spinelli 14, Ted Silary website My grade school football coach used to always say, Guys, each day you get better or worse as a team, but you never stay the same. For the La Salle Explorers, games like last night s against Neumann- Goretti and last week s against Roman Catholic give rise to the question: have the Explorers been improving this season? A down-to-the-wire contest against Roman Catholic last week shed light on the Explorers late-game heroics, as well as their ability to close out a win but can a good La Salle team escape Roman again in the playoffs? Against Neumann-Goretti, a team that the Explorers beat 63-0 last year, La Salle utterly dominated winning this year s contest 39-7, but does a victory over a shaky squad really matter? While two wins equal two wins, the expectation that La Salle improved and will be ready for postseason play is on everyone s minds, coaches included. Have the Explorers really improved this season? I believe so. When I walked into Plymouth-Whitemarsh last night, the score was 6-0 Explorers with a little over two minutes remaining in the first quarter. To be honest I was surprised. This is Neumann-Goretti, why are we not destroying? To place an expectation like this on La Salle is quite unfair, but subconsciously that was what my mind was screaming. Ultimately, sr. WR Colin Buckley s 1Q touchdown pass was cushioned by 2 TD runs by sr. RB Tim Wade, a 27yd. TD catch by jr. WR/DB Sean Coleman in the second quarter, as well as a 43yd. run by fr. QB Jimmy Herron with a couple minutes left in the game. The La Salle defense only coughed up a TD on N-G sr. RB Antwoine Powers 1yd. plunge, leaving the final The first way to judge the improvement of the La Salle football squad is through the performance of its players. Wade s rushing totals in the Explorers last three games were 130, 160, and 150 yards with 5 TDs in those games. Against N-G, Wade scored two more TDs of 29 and 1 yds. Finally in the starting role, Wade is definitely having a breakout season and his numbers stay high every week. In addition, against Neumann, fr. RB Jordan Meachum again saw time for the Explorers. Meachum previously had 3 carries against Monsignor Bonner. As a freshman, this kid looks very stellar and I would expect to hear his name a lot in his sophomore season. Meachum s freshman teammate Jimmy Herron is also receiving good varsity time with the Explorers and has been producing. Herron can run with the ball as well as play QB. In his previous appearances it seemed that the Explorers were using him more at the QB position, but he did run with the ball last night, as evidenced by his 43 yd. scramble on a broken play. With due respect, the Explorers passing game has dipped a bit in recent weeks. From a three week span out to the West game, sr. QB Matt Magarity s passing yards have dipped from 160 to 116, back up to 128 against Roman. Last night Magarity did not throw as much, usually relying on Wade s running, but did complete two beautiful TDs to Buckley and Coleman. Coleman is an athletic player, but in a surprising fact he only has 2 TDs on the season. To his credit, he is a trustworthy source on thirddowns and a go-to player for Magarity. My worry for the Explorers lies in their ability to balance Wade s 23

24 already-proven running ability with an effective passing game. Colin Buckley has shown reliable production each week, catching one TD a game since his North Penn explosion (excluding the Bergen Catholic loss). Against further challenging opponents, the spotlight will consistently fall on Buckley and Coleman to shine. In whatever medium I can do so, I will promote the cause of jr. K/P Ryan Winslow. Winslow can kick that ball! First, his 26yd. FG last week provided the difference in a nail-biting win over Roman. I think last Sunday against the 49ers, the Eagles might have preferred Ryan s leg to the shakiness of Alex Henery. Throughout this season Winslow has been a stable force for the Explorers, almost always good on PATs and even reliable on FGs, as we have seen. Ted Silary posted an old article this week about Ryan s dad George, who punted for La Salle and later played in the NFL. Ryan Winslow has had to live in the shadow of his dad and that of Mike Bennett, the former star kicker for La Salle. In my mind at least, he is forming his own role. Kudos to Winslow! This year the influence of La Salle s defense is at an all-time high. The way La Salle defends themselves against the big play is ever-more important, but it seems that the Explorers have become increasingly susceptible to it. Especially against Neumann, the Explorers found themselves in a hole when the Saints would complete big plays deep into La Salle territory. The unit, to their credit, each time (excepting the lone TD by Powers) was able to cause a couple turnover-on-downs by N-G. The conundrum on the defensive side is the secondary, which seems to be making a major difference in games, while at the same time falling victim to the big play. Allow me to explain: La Salle is last in the Catholic League in Passing Yards Allowed, giving up yds. a game as of yet. While this statistic might seem a bit troubling, the secondary has actually been playing very well recently, recording three INTs in the Bonner game as well as three in the Roman game, including jr. Dad Poquie s game-saving one at the end. Against N-G, Coleman intercepted Saints sr. QB Shane Thomas early in the 2Q, leading eventually to his TD in the game. The only conclusion is that the Explorers, playing with a ton of heart and grit (evidenced by their large rate of interceptions), still fall victim to the big play which is the cause of their huge amount of passing yards allowed. As explained before, the Explorers are able to fix the problem by holding teams in the red zone, which is beneficial to a victory. The La Salle Explorers are by no means a perfect team. I have highlighted some flawed parts of their game, but I have done so in an attempt to shed light on their advantages. The Explorers defense, while susceptible to the big play, still leaves everything they can on the field. The passing game, almost seeming to dip in production, still provides those magical moments like when Magarity found Sean Coleman for a 27 yd score in the early minutes of the 2Q against Neumann. The running game, still in mourning over the departed Jamal Abdur-Rahman, has found a new beneficiary in the able Tim Wade. Head coach Drew Gordon s squad has plenty of a season to go, and I hope my analysis from the early part of this season has dispelled rumors that La Salle cannot fight for a championship. I guess I can say that the Explorers have improved, albeit in a sometimes-strange way. Each game they give everything they can and it shows. The Roman game was tough to the very end, but a W was recorded. The tenacity of these players will continue to give all of us fans a wild ride to the end. It is my belief that this team will fight to be there no matter what. Game 7, October 14, 2011: La Salle 33 Father Judge 14 by Armand Vanore, EasternPAfootball.com La Salle Upends Judge 24

25 The La Salle Explorers offensive line put on the snow tires and Tim Wade ran 29 times for 230 yards and three touchdowns as the Explorers defeated Father Judge in a PCL AAAA conference game at Plymouth-Whitemarsh high school. The defending Pa Eastern champs got on the board first when Wade scored from 22 yards out after a nine play drive just prior to the end of the first quarter. Quarterback Matt Magarity got into the mix on their next drive hitting Colin Buckley for a four yard touchdown (Buckley s 8th TD). Explorer star Sean Coleman then did his part with a 42 yard touchdown on a reverse and with only two minutes left in the half and the Explorer lead was at 20. However Judge came right back and scored on their next two possessions (the second to open up the second half) with a 4 yard run and 29 screen pass reception by Matt Smalley and suddenly Judge was back in it behind by with almost ten minutes left in the third quarter. It looked like there was going to be a serious momentum shift in this game but the mystique of the La Salle second half dominance once again took precedence. On their next offensive series, they went on a nine-minute, 18-play drive with six first downs and with only a minute left in the third quarter, Wade bulled in from the one giving the Explorers their two-score lead back. The La Salle line of Pat Hoffman, Dan Wasylenko, Connor Kerrigan, Matt Maginnis and Pat Flynn (editor s note: should be Tom Spiteri) moved the Judge line back during the series and Wade toted the rock 11 times and put the Crusader defense on its heels. Wade s 49 yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter sealed the victory. The Explorers improved to 6-1 (2-0 conference) while Judge fell to 4-3 (1-2 conference). UNOFFICIAL STATISTICS Father Judge Crusaders La Salle Explorers Scoring: LS: Wade 22 run (Winslow kick) LS: Buckley 4 pass from Magarity (Winslow kick) LS: Coleman 42 run (kick missed) FJ: Smalley 29 pass from Daniels (Foley kick) FJ: Smalley 4 run (Foley kick) LS: Wade 1 run (run failed) LS: Wade 49 run (Winslow kick) La Salle: Rushing Wade , 3 TD; Magarity 9-41; Coleman 1-42, TD; Kane 1-6; Herrmann 8-41; O Hara 3-31; Meachum 1-5. Passing Magarity 9-15 for 76, 1 TD. Receiving Buckley 4-26, TD; Kane 2-24; Piscopo 1-13, C. Eidenshink 1-10, Givens 1-3. Interceptions Coleman. by Mike Lawler, Times Herald La Salle clinches playoff spot 25

26 Facing the chance to clinch a PCL playoff spot, the La Salle College High Explorers came into Friday s fracas with Father Judge ready to run. And run they did. Especially Tim Wade. The senior running back ran half of La Salle s 50 rushing plays, gaining 227 yards and three touchdowns, as the Explorers defeated Father Judge High, 33-14, at Plymouth-Whitemarsh High. Wade led a charge that accumulated 392 yards on the ground. The offensive line blew open plenty of holes, also allowing quarterback Matt Magarity to complete nine passes for an additional 76 yards and a touchdown. The offensive line was tremendous, said La Salle Coach Drew Gordon. I don t think we even put the ball on the ground. That one pass that was almost intercepted was our only mistake. Wade concurred about the offensive line. I never saw holes that big before, he said. I was pretty much able to do anything. They were great tonight. Wade got the night s scoring going on La Salle s second possession. With 1:16 left in the first quarter, he broke through the line for a 22-yard touchdown. On the next series, his 36-yard run put the ball on the Judge eight yard line. Three plays later, Magarity lobbed a pass to Colin Buckley for a 14-0 lead less than a minute into the second. Meanwhile, the Explorer defense was shutting down the Crusaders, with Sean Coleman picking off a Rob Daniels pass, then forcing punts on their next two possessions. After a 38-yard punt, the Explorers began on their own two. Magarity picked up 13 yards on a keeper, hit Chris Kane for 19 more, then tossed the ball to Sean Coleman on a reverse that he took for 42 yards and a 20-0 lead with 2:06 left before the half. A 15-yard La Salle personal foul penalty helped Judge on its final drive of the half. It got the ball into Explorer territory and Daniels connected on a screen pass to Matt Smalley, who ran it in for a 29-yard touchdown with 14 seconds remaining. That late score psyched up the Crusaders coming into the second half. On first down Daniels hooked up with Tim Mills for 35 yards. Three plays later he teamed up with Conor Donohoe for 26 more yards, moving the ball to the La Salle eight. Two four-yard rushes by Smalley gave Judges its second TD, just 2:08 into the third period. Down, 20-14, Judge had all the momentum going. That is, until the Explorers took possession after the kickoff. They proceeded to run an 18-play, 74-yard drive that took 8:33 off the clock. The drive ended with Wade going over right tackle for a one-yard TD run and a lead. Good-bye momentum. That s just great football, Gordon said. To be able to control the line and run six, seven, eight minutes off the clock is a critical part of running the ball. When we gave up two scores, we knew we had to score, Wade said. Everyone had to do their jobs for us to score and that s what we did. We just did whatever was working. From the 1:19 mark of the third quarter, the game was all but over. The La Salle defense allowed no first downs on Judge s next two series. And the offense continued to roll. The Explorers ran off another five minute on a 10-play series. Wade closed the door by running through a big hole, breaking a few tackles and running for 49 yards to bring the lead to Ryan Winslow was good on three of four PATs, the lone miss hitting the left upright. Magarity couldn t make it into the end zone on another attempt. La Salle next plays Archbishop Ryan, looking to continue their way to the league and District playoffs and another shot at the state title. I told them today, who do you want to be when it matters in October and November, Gordon said. Are you going to be better or just playing. Last night, at least, his team certainly answered that question. 26

27 from pennlive.com La Salle College High School Football: Chronicle 2011 Career highs in one game La Salle College High School senior running back Tim Wade established new career highs for single game carries and rushing totals Friday, posting 31 carries for 235 yards as the Explorers downed Father Judge, Prior to Friday, Wade's career high for carries in a game was 29, setback in the Explorers' PIAA championship season of 2009 against St. Joseph's Prep, and his career high in rushing yards for a game was 160 against Monsignor Bonner just a few weeks ago. Before becoming the feature back in La Salle's offensive arsenal, Wade served as the second back for the Explorers behind career-3,900-yard rusher Jamal Abdur-Rahman in 2009 and 2010, running for a combined 1,150 yards and 10 touchdowns on 237 carries in that span. Wade has already run for 884 yards and 13 touchdowns this year on 149 carries (on top of playing linebacker on defense), and La Salle is currently 6-1 and sitting atop the Philadelphia Catholic League AAAA division. Game 8, October 21, 2011: La Salle 41 Archbishop Ryan 7 by Mike Lawler, Montgomery Media La Salle takes care of business against Archbishop Ryan It was not exactly a warm-up for its class with rival St. Joseph s Prep next week, but La Salle tuned up visiting Archbishop Ryan, 41-7 Friday night at Plymouth-Whitemarsh. The Explorers played well on both sides of the line, dominating on offense from the opening kickoff and shutting out the Red Raiders until the fourth quarter, when the bench guys got a chance to play. "We took care of business," La Salle coach Drew Gordon told his team afterwards. And how. La Salle took the kickoff and ran off a 10-play drive on its first series. Five plays in, on his second carry, top back Tim Wade twisted an ankle on a sweep and left the game. The Explorers didn t skip a beat. Backup Jared Herrmann and quarterback Matt Magarity combined to cover the final 32 yards and Magarity ran for a nine-yard touchdown and 7-0 lead less than four minutes into the contest. Wade sat out the remainder of the game because he wasn t needed. Herrmann ran for 109 yards and Magarity threw for three first-half touchdowns, so there was no need to risk using Wade. La Salle led by 27-0 at the half, 34-0 after three quarters, and Gordon was able to go to his backups for the fourth quarter. The La Salle offensive line gets a lot credit for this one. Gordon said everything got started with the line and Herrmann agreed. "All the credit goes to the line blocking," Herrmann said. "You can t ask for more holes (than they made). We knew we could definitely run on them with our offensive line. We re just getting better and better every week." Herrmann got 92 of his yards in the first half. Though he did not score, his 15 rushes helped set up Magarity for his scoring passes. On La Salle s second series, Magarity threw a rollout pass to Sean Coleman for 18 yards. Then Herrmann ran for another 23. From the Raiders 15-yard line, Magarity found Chris Kane along the sideline and the junior turned the catch into six points and a 14-0 lead 13 seconds into the second quarter. 27

28 After forcing a punt, the Explorers used 11 plays to up their lead to This time Magarity hit Colin Buckley with a nine-yard fade pass. When the defense again shut down the Raiders, the Explorers took over on their own 40. After a six-yard Herrmann run Magarity took to the air. Four passes got the ball to the Ryan 12 and Herrmann ran it to the seven. On second down, tight end Mike Piscopo broke away from the line and wandered wide open in to the end zone for an easy TD pass and a 27-point lead with 35 seconds left before halftime. Ryan s only threat in the first half came in the first quarter where the Raiders, behind quarterback Mike Anusky, got to the La Salle 32 before turning the ball over on downs. The Raiders threatened again to begin the third period as a couple of 10-yard Anusky passes and a La Salle pass interference penalty moved the ball to the Explorers 27 before the defense shut down Ryan for no yardage on four downs. Gordon s subs increased the lead to 34-0 when John Palermo scored on a five-yard run half a minute into the fourth. That s when Ryan was finally able to complete a drive and reach the end zone. Behind running back Dylan Rowan, who gained 48 of his 61 yards after halftime, the Raiders covered 80 years in 14 plays, with Anusky throwing a TD pass to Mike Palmer. La Salle answered that less than a minute later when Colin O Hara raced 58 yards virtually untouched right up the middle of the field for the Explorers last touchdown. Kicker Ryan Winslow added his fifth PAT to put the final point on the board. "We started blitzing a little bit and that slowed them down," Gordon said, which shut down Anusky s early passing success. "Any time you give up just seven points and that s late in the fourth quarter, that s pretty good defense." The game against St. Joe s next Saturday won t be so easy, but the Explorers are ready for it. "The Prep is our rival," Herrmann said. "We re going to be ready for them." UNOFFICIAL STATISTICS Archbishop Ryan Raiders La Salle Explorers Scoring: LS-Magarity 9 run (Winslow kick) LS-Kane 15 pass from Magarity (Winslow kick) LS-Buckley 9 pass from Magarity (Winslow kick) LS-Piscopo 7 pass from Magarity (kick failed) LS-Palermo 5 run (Winslow kick) AR-Palmer 12 pass from Anusky (Ruskowski kick) LS-O Hara 58 run (Winslow kick) TEAM STATISTICS Archbishop Ryan Raiders La Salle Explorers 14 First Downs Rushing Yards Passing Yards Total Offense Punts/Avg

29 2-20 Pen./Yards Fumbles-lost 2-0 INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS Archbishop Ryan: Rushing Rowan 10-61; Anusky 6-45; Newell 13-37; Richardson 3-4; Lapergola 1-0. Passing Anusky , 66 yds, 1 TD Receiving LeVan 3-25; Palmer 2-22, 1 TD; Boylan 1-10; Rowan 1-9; Newell 1-0. Interceptions None Sacks None. La Salle: Rushing Herrmann ; Magarity 7-51, 1 TD; Palermo 3-18, 1 TD; Meachum 2-17; O Hara 3-16, 1 TD; Kane 4-15; Wade 2-10; Calhoun 1-(-2); Herron 2-(-2). Passing Magarity , 84 yards, 3 TD; Kane Receiving Coleman 6-36; Buckley 2-26, 1 TD; Kane 1-15, 1 TD; Piscopo 1-7, 1 TD. Interceptions None Sacks - None by Danny Spinelli 14, Ted Silary site Well, 6ABC didn t think Friday s contest between La Salle and Archbishop Ryan would be much of a game, and they were right. The news station is currently running the Prep-La Salle rivalry game next Friday as their Game of the Week. News cameras were at schools on Thursday to film a short spirit video; voting for which video is better will take place throughout the week. Even with the La Salle and SJP both having games this week, 6ABC still promoted their annual matchup a week early. I guess Jim Gardner is psychic and could foresee a La Salle 41-7 pounding against the Raiders of Archbishop Ryan. Curious note about Ryan s location: apparently my dad s grandfather had a farm at the present location of Archbishop Ryan, back in the early 1900s well enough of my rambling on to the game! While the QB is always front and center, senior Matt Magarity really stood out for me as a playmaker in Friday s game. Not only did he throw three TD passes, Magarity also ran for a boatload of rushing yards. He constantly took advantage of holes in the Ryan defense to save a broken play. At one instance in the 2nd quarter on a 3rd and 8, Magarity sprinted for a nice 1st down. His drive-saving play produced a 9yrd. TD catch by senior Colin Buckley at the end of the drive. On 1-on-1 coverage, Buckley caught a beautiful fade pass from Magarity to score for the Explorers. C-Buck was able to get away from the defender, find room, and catch Magarity s ball. After a Ryan punt, Magarity produced the magic again, this time with fellow senior Mike Piscopo. Piscopo didn t even have to do any work (smile) as his route left him all alone in the left corner of the end zone, almost exactly where Buckley caught his ball, as Piscopo reeled one in from 7 yds out. The Ryan offense could not get anything going offensively until a garbage-time TD in the fourth quarter. Meanwhile, junior QB Chris Kane took over for La Salle in the second-half Kane played well throughout, even catching a TD pass from Magarity early in the 2nd-quarter. La Salle received late TD runs of 5 and 58!! yards by seniors John Palermo and Colin O Hara respectively. Kudos goes out to junior Jared Herrmann who rushed for 102 yds in the game. Herrmann stepped up well but left the 29

30 question in the air: where was Tim Wade? I do not know if Wade was injured or had something else that limited his playing. I arrived a little late in the first-quarter (blame the mother I am throwing her under the bus), but Herrmann was the Explorers primary rusher, besides Magarity s aforementioned sprints. Prep Week is here.. nuff said. Mr. Bill Wasylenko, La Salle football s resident historian (and biggest fan), once shared with me a story about a particular teacher at La Salle, beloved by his students, who later taught at the Prep, and was beloved there. When Mr. Wasylenko attended the funeral of a notable Prepper, the teacher was there. I guess it is funny how two rival schools could both be so touched by the same person. But for next week at least, St. Joe s Prep is Enemy #1. Sorry, Jim Engler (Jim by the way, the best episode of Curb this season was The Social Assassin ). Peace La Salle, I cannot wait for next week. Game 9, October 28, 2011: La Salle 28 St. Joseph s Prep 17 by Huck Palmer, Ted Silary site There were still nearly fifteen minutes left on the pre-game clock and this one started with a -- BANG! How so? Well, a fairly sizable Hawks student section had already formed on the visitor s side of the field at Plymouth-Whitemarsh H.S. And when a local TV camera headed their way, the Prep rowdies naturally entered Berserk-ville. But it didn t last for long, as the railing gave way and rows upon rows of students fell on top of each other. Fortunately, no one was seriously injured. Quite the site, folks, as I caught it all from the opposite sidelines. Moving onto the game itself, but man, was this a goody! In front of a huge, overflow crowd. I d venture to say 6,000+, the Explorers scored 28 unanswered points to overcome a 17-0 Hawks lead. Thus, allowing them to secure the top seed in the PCL 4A playoffs that will begin next week. Early on, the Hawks really had La Salle on their heels, and for a while it didn t seem like the Explorers would ever get comfortable. On the game s first play, sr. QB Matt Magarity, who played a strong game, fumbled on a 12-yard run, but jr. two-way lineman Tom Spiteri secured the loose rock and advanced it another nine yards. However, La Salle wouldn t be as fortunate on their next play. After connecting with sr. WR Colin Buckley (5-73) on a quick, short slant, the ball was jarred loose by Hawks franchise sr. QB/DB Skyler Mornhinweg. Jr. Pat McCabe recovered at the 49-yard line. On second down. Mornhinweg found a WIDE open sr. WR Jim Hurley for 40 yards to the four. From here, jr. RB Joe Lavalle (16-63) stormed in for the touchdown just 1:24 into the game. The Hawks momentum continued as we entered the second quarter when they capped a 9-play, 61-yard drive with a nice 34-yard hook-up between Mornhinweg and soph. WR Jawan McAllister (4-48). With 11:06 left in the second quarter the Hawks had built a 14-0 lead. Interestingly, La Salle was hit with not one, but two 15-yard penalties during this sequence. First, there was pass interference on the touchdown play, so the Hawks opted to enforce this on the kickoff. Then, on the extra-point the Explorers roughed the kicker. Afterwards, the Hawks were kicking off from the La Salle 30-yard line. So, naturally, they tried an onside kick and a recovery was made by soph. RB/DB Vince Moffett at La Salle s 21-yard line. Ohh baby!! From here, the Hawks would tack on a field goal on jr. K Kyle Battin s 27-yarder. A promising La Salle drive took place next, as they held the ball for 11 plays, but it ended with an interception by sr. FB/LB Eric Medes about a halfyard into the end zone. Not really knowing where he was he started a return, but was brought down at the two. Three plays later, the Explorers regain some life when jr. WR/DB Sean Coleman intercepted a Mornhinweg pass over the middle and returned it 10 yards to the Hawks 36-yard line. Two plays following this, Magarity nicely found Coleman streaking down the right sidelines for a 34-yard touchdown. A bobbled snap led to sr. TE/LB Mike Piscopo somehow finding jr. FB Chris Kane for a two-point 30

31 conversion. Just 2:14 remained on the first half clock and the score would remain, 17-8, as the teams entered the locker rooms. To start the second half the teams traded punts. Then, the turning point hit us. Moffett, on his only carry, raced 35 yards to the La Salle 36-yard line. On the very next play, Hurley brilliantly went over a La Salle defender to pull down a pass from Mornhinweg for a touchdown. But wait! We had laundry along the Hawks sidelines, as they were called for an illegal formation penalty. I was standing right there, but I can t comment if it was a deserving flag or not. It was one of those defenderslined-up-over-the tight-end jobs. For what it s worth, I didn t hear too much bickering from the Hawks staff. Anyhow, the drive continued and the Hawks even advanced far enough to attempt a 33-yard field goal, but Battin pulled his kick slightly to the left. One has to wonder how the game would have transpired if that TD had counted, or even if the FG had been good. Oh well, door left open, Explorers looking to do what they do best - Get it done! It only took La Salle two plays to cover 80 yards and make it a game. Magarity started the drive with a 50-yard QB-keeper on an option to the left that saw him cut it back to the right and head down his team s sidelines. This was followed by a 30-yard scoring run by sr. RB Tim Wade (11-45), who first took advantage of a gaping hole on the left side of the line and then a good downfield block by Coleman. The Hawks next possession ended with a sack by jr. DL David Losier on Mornhinweg. This would spearhead La Salle s go-ahead series. Three plays into the fourth quarter, the Explorers were faced with a fourth-and-9 from the Hawks 32-yard line. With a blitz coming, Magarity held onto the ball, slightly advanced up in the pocket, and flicked an on-the-money pass to sr. WR Casey Eidenshink on a deep right-to-left slant pass for the touchdown. Clutch! This was only Eidenshink s second catch of the season. Always great to see a kid who might not play as much make such a huge contribution in a meaningful game. He ll have this story to tell for decades to come. The Hawks would have two more possessions with the score, 21-17, but failed to muster any kind of threat, as twice they went three-and-out and settled for punts. La Salle would put one of the final nails in the coffin with a 6-play, 42-yard drive, that was capped by a Wade 3-yard scoring run with 1:40 left. Big play on the series was a 22-yard pass play on a fade from Magarity to Buckley to the SJP s three. The Hawk s final threat ended with 40.7 seconds left on an interception by sr. DB Ryan Otis. For my money, Magarity was the star for the Explorers in this one. And he needed to be with Wade still nursing a tender ankle. Magarity collected 274 yards of offense in the game. He ran for 86 yards on 11 lugs, and passed 12-for- 23, and 188 yards. All total, the Explorers managed 380 yards of offense. The O-line got better as the game wore on and included; sr. C Connor Kerrigan (6 4, 260), G s jr. Patrick Hoffman (6 4, 265) and Spiteri (6 2, 250), and T s sr. Matt Maginnis and sr. Dan Wasylenko. Coleman managed 126 all-purpose yards. Also, jr. RB Jared Herrmann (7-33) did some effective and needed rushing late in the game. Defensively, sr. LB John Palermo was everywhere, as witnessed by his game-high 13 tackles (9 solos). Other solid contributors in the tackling area were; Piscopo (six), jr. DB Dad Poquie (six), and jr. DB Chris Rocco (five). Sr. DL Tyler Kern notched a sack. For the Hawks, Mornhinweg accumulated 234 yards of passing/rushing. He passed 16-for-29, for 155 yards, while carrying the ball 17 times for 79 yards. To be honest with you, but I would have let him carry it 30 times tonight. On designed QB running plays he really never got stopped, and always seemed to get at least 4, 5, 6 or more yards. His main target was Medes (6-49). Defensively, I left impressed with jr. DE Todd Jones for the second straight week. He finished with 9 total stops, including four for losses (.5 sack). Sr. DB Dan Sherry and sr. LB Dan Mancini evenly split twelve stops. Sr. DL Pete DellaPorta notched a half-of-sack. The Hawks finished with 327 yards of offense. Next week s PCL 4A semifinal will feature #1 La Salle vs. #4 Father Judge and #2 SJ Prep vs. #3 Roman. No reason why we shouldn t have a couple of terrific weeks of action settling this division. 31

32 UNOFFICIAL STATISTICS La Salle College High School Football: Chronicle 2011 St. Josephs Prep Hawks La Salle Explorers Scoring: SJP: Lavalle 4 run (Battin kick) SJP: McAllister 39 pass from Mornhinweg (Battin kick) SJP: FG Battin 27 LS: Coleman 34 pass from Magarity (Kane pass from Piscopo) LS: Wade 30 run (Winslow kick) LS: C. Eidenshink 32 pass from Magarity (pass failed) LS: Wade 3 run (Winslow kick) INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS La Salle: Rushing Wade 11-45, 2 TD; Magarity 11-86; Kane 1-6; Coleman 1-13; Herrmann 7-33; Spiteri (0)-9. Passing Magarity , 188 yards, 2 TD. Receiving Coleman 3-72, 1 TD; Buckley 5-73; Piscopo 1-4; Wade 2-7; C. Eidenshink 1-32, 1 TD. Interceptions Coleman, Otis Sacks 2 (Kern, Losier/Wasylenko) by Rick O Brien, Inquirer La Salle surges past the Prep Sean Coleman's future is in lacrosse. The La Salle High junior, ranked as one of the top midfielders in the country, will play that sport at Harvard beginning in He also can make a big impact on the gridiron, as he showed Friday night in a Catholic League Class AAAA regular-season finale vs. archrival St. Joseph's Prep. Coleman, following up his second-quarter interception with a 34-yard touchdown catch, helped the Explorers rally from a 17-point deficit to beat the stunned Hawks, 28-17, before an overflow crowd at Plymouth-Whitemarsh. "It's a whole different thing when you go out and play the Prep," the 5-foot-9, 160-pound wideout and safety said. "There's a different feeling about the game. The intensity is higher for a game like this." With the win, La Salle, ranked No. 2 in Southeastern Pennsylvania by The Inquirer, improved to 8-1 overall and, with a 4-0 mark, clinched the regular-season division title. Drew Gordon's squad will open the playoffs against fourth-place Father Judge, a winner Friday over Archbishop Ryan. As the second-place finisher, the Prep (6-3, 2-2) will play third-place Roman Catholic (5-3, 2-2) in the other semifinal. The Hawks jumped on the Explorers early and took a 17-0 advantage on Kyle Battin's 27-yard field goal with 8 minutes, 49 seconds remaining in the second quarter. The Prep had turned a first-minute fumble recovery into a 4-yard TD run by Joe Lavalle and made it 14-0 on Skyler Mornhinweg's 39-yard pass to wideout Jawan McAllister early in the second quarter. 32

33 "They came out and punched us right in the mouth," La Salle quarterback Matt Magarity said. "Maybe we got caught up in the excitement of the game. We lost our heads. We got away from the fundamentals." It was Coleman's interception, with 2:52 left before intermission that turned the tide. With the ball at the Prep 7-yard line, he picked off an overthrown Mornhinweg pass across the middle and returned it 10 yards to the Prep 36. Two plays later, Magarity (12-for-23 passing, 170 yards) found Coleman sprinting across the middle. A two-point conversion pass from Mike Piscopo to Chris Kane made it "The kid doesn't do anything wrong," Gordon said of Coleman. "He says the right things, does all the right things. And he's a humble kid." Midway through the third quarter, after a penalty wiped out a 36-yard TD pass from Mornhinweg to Jim Hurley, Magarity's 50-yard jaunt set up Tim Wade's 30-yard, left-side burst for a TD. Late in the third quarter, the Explorers went in front, 21-17, on a nine-play, 61-yard drive capped by Magarity's 32-yard TD pass over the middle to Casey Eidenshink. La Salle sealed the come-from-behind victory with 1:40 left on Wade's 3-yard dart. by Colin Buckley's 22- yard grab near the sideline set up the score. Mornhinweg converted 16 of 29 passes for 155 yards. The Penn State recruit ran 17 times for 74 yards. Rick O Brien, Inquirer Prep-La Salle. Quarterback Matt Magarity completed 12 of 23 throws for 190 yards and two touchdowns in La Salle's 28-17, come-from-behind triumph Friday over St. Joseph's Prep. He ran 12 times for 91 yards, including a 50-yarder in the third quarter that set up Tim Wade's 30-yard, go-ahead score. Magarity spread the ball among five receivers: Colin Buckley (five catches for 73 yards), Sean Coleman (three for 74), Wade (two for 7), Casey Eidenshink (one for 32), and Mike Piscopo (one for 4).... Hawks QB Skyler Mornhinweg converted 16 of 29 passes for 155 yards. He rushed 17 times for 74 yards.... On Mornhinweg's 39-yard, second-quarter TD pass to Jawan McAllister, La Salle was flagged for pass interference. The Explorers were hit for another 15 yards for roughing Kyle Battin on the ensuing extrapoint boot. With the 30 yards in penalties, Battin kicked off from the La Salle 30. The Hawks then recovered an onside kick.... The Prep's Joe Lavalle, a junior tailback, carried 16 times for 65 yards and a score.... La Salle outside linebacker John Palermo posted a team-high 13 tackles... The Explorers finished with 378 yards of offense (188 rushing). The Hawks netted 327 yards (172 rushing).... The game was played before an estimated crowd of 8,000. by Tom Kerrane, Times Herald Explorers rally to down the Prep For most of the first half Friday night, La Salle College High was playing as if this was only a huge rivalry game against St. Joseph s Prep. For the Explorers, it appeared as if the meeting was more about that longstanding battle for bragging rights than about needing to win the game. The Prep had built a 17-point lead early in the second quarter before La Salle found its rhythm. After that point, though, the Explorers caught fire on offense and clamped down defensively. La Salle scored 28 unanswered points in defeating the Prep, 28-17, Friday night at Plymouth- Whitemarsh High, both teams heading to the Philadelphia Catholic League playoffs starting next weekend. 33

34 They just came out and they punched us in the mouth, absolutely punched us in the mouth, said Explorers quarterback Matt Magarity, who threw for 192 yards and two touchdowns. We weren t ready to play. We were too busy thinking about the Prep/La Salle rivalry, getting too caught up in that. We finally got the nerves out and went back to the basics. Down 17-0, La Salle (8-1 overall, 4-0 PCL) got on the board with 2:14 left before halftime, when Magarity connected with Sean Coleman on a 34-yard strike. A two-point conversion had the Explorers down 17-8 at the break. A lot of the problem was the intensity, Explorers head coach Drew Gordon said. I think we were thinking about the wrong things. I said to them at halftime something I never thought I d say to them, but that the other team wants it more. They took that to heart. In the middle of the third quarter, Magarity would scramble for a 50-yard run, then hand it to Tim Wade on the next play, who went the final 30 in a two-play, 80-yard drive to pull La Salle to within After forcing the Prep (6-3, 3-1 league) to punt, Magarity went right back to work. On fourth-and-nine from the 32-yard-line, the quarterback hit Casey Eidenshink down the middle for the score and an Explorer lead. Wade would complete the scoring for the night with a three-yard run with 1:40 to play. It s a great rivalry, we love playing against these guys, but we have to get it done, too, said Colin Buckley, who was Magarity s favorite target Friday, catching six passes for 74 yards. The rivalry, it gave us the jitters, but we settled down and played an awesome game in the second half. We looked at each other in the locker room at halftime and we all knew we had these guys. After Prep s Pat McCabe recovered a fumble on the third play of the game from scrimmage, SJP needed just three plays for Joe Lavalle to go the final four yards to give the team the early lead. Quarterback Skyler Mornhinweg found Jawan McAllister on a 39-yard strike in the first minute of the second quarter for a 14-0 lead, the Hawks Vince Moffet then recovering an onside kick after successive penalties allowed the Prep to be kicking off from the Explorer 30. The La Salle defense held, but Kyle Battin would add a 27-yard field for At this point, the Explorers were still getting over the whole rivalry thing. For the rest of the night, though, it was about the game, and the win. Game 10, November 4, 2011: La Salle 26 Father Judge 16 (PCL Semifinal) by Dennis Way, Times Herald Wade saves his best for the Crusaders Is there something Tim Wade doesn t like about Father Judge? Maybe the uniform? How about the nickname? Maybe some Crusaders player was chatting up Wade s girlfriend. Whatever the reason, the La Salle senior running back seems to save his best for Judge. And Friday night at Northeast High School, the Crusaders got some more of Wade s best. The senior rushed for a school-record 290 yards as La Salle bested Judge, 26-16, to open the Philadelphia Catholic League playoffs with a win. No, it s nothing against (Judge), it was our offensive and the blocking of our backs, said Wade who ran for 235 yards in a win over Judge earlier this season. We were trying to run, to see what we could do. And if we couldn t, we would have gone to our receivers. 34

35 Plan B wouldn t be necessary. From the outset, the Explorers and Wade sped up and down the turfed field like a Hoover vacuum run amok. The way we were running the ball, there was no need to do much else, said La Salle head coach Drew Gordon. Judge hit the Explorers square in the solar plexus on the game s second play from scrimmage when Raul Quinones ran off left tackle and didn t come to a stop until he d covered 72 yards and put the Crusaders on top, 6-0. But La Salle came right back, traveling 59 yards to halve the lead. Wade got it started with a 39-yard run. Ryan Winslow finished it with a 22-yard field goal at the 9:03 mark. Father Judge tried to respond. But after reaching Explorers territory, Judge quarterback Rob Daniels was intercepted by Sean Coleman, who returned the ball to the Crusaders 37. It took La Salle six plays to find the end zone, and Wade carried on five of them, including the final three yards for the touchdown. With the lead, the Explorers offense took over the game, running 23 plays and racking up 12 first downs in the second quarter alone. However, La Salle was only able to put seven points on the scoreboard, that coming on Magarity s 19- yard strike to Colin Buckley on a fade pattern that gave the Explorers a 17-6 lead with 1:41 remaining before halftime. But Judge took advantage of a short kickoff and 35 yards on nine plays, with the final one a 20-yard field goal from the foot of Connor Foley to close the Judge deficit to 17-9 at the break. By the break, Wade had already run for 155 yards. The second half brought more of the same. La Salle scored on its first possession, going 88 yards on five running plays, the final one a 35-yard pinball special by John Palermo, who bounced off about tacklers before finding paydirt. La Salle s defense came up with a pair of three-and-outs in the third quarter. Winslow extended the La Salle lead to 26-9, with a 27-yard field goal with 10:35 left in the game. Judge made it interesting with a touchdown with 7:35 left in the fourth. But La Salle literally ran out the clock, taking a knee inside the Crusaders 10 in the dying seconds. Father Judge is a great team. Wade said. We just took it to them tonight. by Rick O Brien, Inquirer Wade, La Salle run all over Judge, 26-16; the Explorers' senior tailback set a school record of 300 yards rushing in the win. Tim Wade's record-setting effort for La Salle in a Catholic League Class AAAA football semifinal Friday night vs. Father Judge might have been aided by a slight chip on center Connor Kerrigan's shoulder. Possibly looking to show he was a first-team all-catholic League offensive lineman instead of a secondteamer, as he was selected by league coaches, Kerrigan helped Wade rush for a single-game school record of 300 yards in a triumph at Northeast High. Overall, the Explorers, in advancing to the league final for the fourth consecutive time, netted 468 rushing yards on 59 attempts. "Up front, we're really starting to come together," the 6-foot-3, 260-pound Kerrigan said. "We're gaining confidence with each week." On 39 carries, Wade, a senior tailback, broke the single-game mark of 243 yards set last year by Jamal Abdur-Rahman, now at Villanova. 35

36 "I don't think we were planning to run the ball that much," Kerrigan said. "But when Timmy gets going, it's hard to turn away from him and throw the ball." Next weekend at Northeast, on a day and time to be determined, La Salle will play the winner of Saturday afternoon's semifinal between Roman Catholic and St. Joseph's Prep. The Explorers line also included tackles Dan Wasylenko and Matt Maginnis, guards Patrick Hoffman and Tom Spiteri, and tight ends Mike Piscopo and Chris Kane. Luke Persichetti filled in at guard after Spiteri was injured in the second quarter. Kerrigan, who competes in the shot put in track and field, is considering playing football at Lycoming, Susquehanna, or Lafayette. He was a part-time contributor in last year's drive to the PIAA state final. The Crusaders were without standout two-way lineman Eric Condron, a 6-1, 240-pound senior captain who injured his right knee in last week's regular-season finale against Archbishop Ryan. Just two plays in, Judge grabbed a 6-0 lead on a 72-yard touchdown jaunt by Raul Quinones. La Salle answered with a 22-yard field goal from Ryan Winslow and a pair of TDs: a 2-yard dive by Wade and a 19-yard connection between Matt Magarity and Colin Buckley on a right-side fade late in the second quarter. Wade, who rushed 18 times for 145 yards in the first half, received extra work after Jared Herrmann was lost to an apparent right-ankle injury in the early going. John Palermo, whose 35-yard TD burst in the third quarter made it 23-9, and Colin O'Hara helped fill the void. by Armand Vanore, Eastern PA Football News Wade, Wade and More Wade Propels La Salle over Judge Tim Wade had a night he won t soon forget as the La Salle Explorers took the first step in defense of their PCL title with a first round playoff win over Father Judge at Northeast High s Charles Martin stadium. Judge was without their all everything offensive/defensive lineman, Eric Condron, who suffered a sprained MCL in the victory last week against Archbishop Ryan. The Explorers wore down the Crusader defensive line a few weeks back in their victory and not having Condron for this one would be a tougher one for Coach Tom Coyle to endure. Judge employs a sturdy two back system with Matt Smalley and Raul Quinones and it was apparent from the outset that their game plan was to use their speed to counter some of the great athletes La Salle has on the defensive side. Quinones ran for a 72 yard touchdown on the game s second play and it looked as though this was going to be a high scoring affair. La Salle came right back and began a steady diet of ball control as they did in their previous meeting. They scored on three of their next four possessions with two touchdowns (a Wade three yard run, a Matt Magarity 19 yard pass to Colin Buckley and a Ryan Winslow field goal). The effectiveness of the Explorer offense kept the Judge offense off the field for much of the first half. With a 17-9 cushion at halftime, the Explorers began the second half with a quick six play drive that resulted in John Palermo s 35 yard touchdown run set up by runs of 10 and 38 yards by Wade. The Crusaders did go on a ten play drive (capped by Rob Daniels seven yard toss to Albi Arapaj), but La Salle finished the game with a 13 play drive that virtually eliminated any chance of a Judge comeback. Wade finished unofficially with 322 yards on 42 carries and a touchdown. The combination of his running with the sensational play of the offensive line gave this team a shot to go far in the state playoffs. 36

37 With the win, La Salle advances to the AAA, PCL championship versus the Roman Catholic/St. Joe s Prep winner. Judge finishes with a 6-4 record. All their losses (Roman Catholic, Council Rock South and two to La Salle) were against some of the best teams in the state. They have a Thanksgiving date left against Lincoln High. by Danny Spinelli 14, Ted Silary site It was one of those games where you knew history was being made. The only other time that I had this gut feeling in my stomach (Man, there s something special happening right now) was on February 12th, 2005 the 76ers played a home game against the Orlando Magic where Allen Iverson scored 60 points. I remember almost everything about that game I had strawberry ice cream during halftime and as Iverson scored point after point, I just knew that history was happening. Sometime during the 4th quarter last night, I turned to a member of the La Salle pep band and said, Dude, I think Tim Wade has like 250 rushing yards right now! I could not believe my eyes as Wade s numbers just went up and up. The official stats vary but the effect still remains: on 39 carries, La Salle sr. RB Tim Wade ran for 298 or 300 yards. Wade crushed the La Salle single-game record set by Jamal Abdur-Rahman last year (243). With the added yardage of srs. QB Matt Magarity (9-59), RB/LB John Palermo (5-53), and RB Colin O Hara (5-35), and others the La Salle rushing total for the night was about 470 yards. Wade s breakout moment was looming as he has consistently produced all season; he has run for over 100 yards in 6 games this year, as well as breaking the 200 mark in one game and the 300 (possibly?!) mark last night. After being named 1st-Team All-Catholic, Wade only added icing to the cake with his performance. Now, let s travel back to the game a rather cold one shall I say over at Northeast High. With some reports, I prefer a generic overlook of the game who did well, who didn t, big moments For playoff games (and especially this one), I like to go almost play-by-play in my recap. I hope to keep it exciting and pertinent. A game that will be ultimately defined by rushing yardage began with a pretty scary running play. On 2nd and 3 from Judge s own 28 yard line, Crusader sr. RB/DB Raul Quinones scampered 72 yards for a TD. Thus with only 51 seconds having elapsed in the first quarter, the Explorers were already down 6-0 (PAT failed). Here s where football games get interesting La Salle sets up their offense from their own 36 on the first play from scrimmage, Wade runs 39 yards. At this point, the Judge and La Salle fans both agreed on one thing: this is going to be a game. La Salle s drive only produced a 22 yard FG though from jr. Ryan Winslow and La Salle still trailed 6-3 with 9:03 remaining in the quarter. The Explorers took the game over the rest of the way on Judge s next possession, sr. QB Rob Daniels set up shop at the Judge 40 on a long 3rd and 20. La Salle jr. WR/DB/maestro Sean Coleman intercepted Daniels at the La Salle 35, bringing the ball 28 yards to the Judge 37. After a five-play drive that consisted of Wade run, Wade run first down, Palermo run, Wade run first down, the Explorers commenced with a Wade 2 yard plunge for a score. The first quarter ended 10-6 in favor of the Blue and Gold. At this point, I had Wade s numbers at 8 rushes for 78 yards. Judge punted at the end of the first-quarter to give the Explorers 1st and 10 at the La Salle 4. This drive ate up most of the second quarter and sadly resulted in a turnover-on-downs at the Judge 24 yard-line. While this elongated La Salle possession might seem inconsequential in the eyes of a random fan, it contributed greatly to La Salle s rushing total. On 13 plays, La Salle ran 9 times shifting between Wade, Magarity, and Palermo. Apparently, jr. RB Jared Herrmann was out-of-action for most of the game with an injury, further increasing the production of Wade/Magarity/Palermo. Magarity especially deserves kudos here for channeling his inner Kevin Forster and transitioning into a running-qb. The pocket passer 37

38 of last year is no more and Matt Magarity has opened up a second-dimension to his game. During the year, I love to say this will be important when it comes playoff time well it has great job Matt. La Salle s next drive began at their own 2 yard line (Judge s sr. P Dave Faraldo stuck La Salle at their own 4, and 2 on consecutive punts). A 43 yard catch by Palermo to begin the drive culminated with a 22 yard TD pass to sr. TE Colin Buckley. With 1:41 left in the first-half, La Salle was up This drive made up some of the only passing gains of the La Salle offense. Magarity threw for 73 yards, one of his lowest outputs of the year (second only to the Bergen Catholic game). What La Salle lacked in the passing game, they made up for by running like track stars as highlighted above. Judge soph. K Connor Foley booted a 20 yard FG before the half to give an intermission score of 17-9 La Salle. Wade had now rushed 10 more times in the first-half, giving him a total of so far. La Salle lit up the field to begin the second half. On 2nd down from La Salle s 28, Wade rushed 41 yards to the Judge 31. On the ensuing 1st down, Palermo ran 31 yards for a TD. Winslow s kick was blocked, but La Salle still held a demanding 23-9 lead with 10 minutes remaining in the 3rd quarter. To their credit, the Judge defense did prevent what appeared to be another La Salle scoring drive by recovering a Palermo fumble deep in their own territory. The Crusaders O could not capitalize though, and Judge punted. La Salle put together another time-consuming drive, resulting in a Winslow FG leaving us now at 26-9 Explorers. Daniels 7 yard TD pass to jr. TE Albi Arapaj gave the final score: On the defensive side, La Salle struggled with many missed-tackles but came up big when they were needed most. The holding of Judge to a 3-and-out after Palermo s fumble was crucial to stopping momentum, as was Coleman s interception earlier in the game. The leaders of the defense in stops were Palermo, sr. OL/DL Matt Maginnis, and jr. OL/DL Tom Spiteri. Sr. OL/DL Connor Kerrigan, in complement to his already important role as the center on the O-line, also helped with a few stops on D. The Judge defense was led by sr. DB Connor Donohoe, sr. LB Matt Myers, and sr. LB Chalie Stone. NOTES Prayers go out to La Salle jr. DL Andrew Carlone, whose father passed away this week. The Coaches All Catholics for La Salle are as follows: 1st Team Offense: OL sr. Dan Wasylenko TE sr. Colin Buckley WR jr. Sean Coleman RB sr. Tim Wade 2nd Team Offense: C sr. Connor Kerrigan OL sr. Matt Maginnis OL jr. Tom Spiteri K jr. Ryan Winslow 1st Team Defense: DL sr. Tyler Kern LB sr. Sean Burke DB jr. Dad Poquie 2nd Team Defense: DL jr. Tom Spiteri LB sr. Mike Piscopo UNOFFICIAL STATISTICS Father Judge Crusaders La Salle Explorers

39 Scoring: FJ: Quinones 72 run (kick failed) LS: FG Winslow 22 LS: Wade 2 run (Winslow kick) LS: Buckley 19 pass from Magarity (Winslow kick) FJ: FG Foley 20 LS: Palermo 35 run (kick blocked) LS: FG Winslow 27 FJ: Arapaj 7 pass from Daniels (Foley kick) INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS La Salle: Rushing Wade , 1 TD; Magarity 9-59; Palermo 5-53, 1 TD; O Hara 3-35; Herrmann 1-7 Passing Magarity , 73 yards, 1 TD. Receiving Coleman 2-19; Buckley 2-29, 1 TD; Palermo Interceptions Coleman Game 11, November 11, 2011: La Salle 16 Roman Catholic 6 (PCL Champ) by Tom Kerrane, Times Herald It might not have been the prettiest game La Salle College High played this season, but it certainly had the sweetest result. The Explorers struggled to get the offense going all night Friday, but connected on just enough plays to get the job done, La Salle defeating Roman Catholic, 16-6, to win the Philadelphia Catholic League Class AAAA championship in a game played at Northeast High. La Salle, now 10-1, moves on to next week s District 12 Class AAAA championship game against the winner of Saturday s Public League Class AAAA title game between George Washington and Frankford. The Explorers, winners of a fourth straight PCL championship, forced six Roman turnovers Friday, but turned that half-dozen into just three points. On two of the first five plays the Cahillites ran Friday, they fumbled the ball over to La Salle, yet were never made to pay. La Salle took the lead when quarterback Matt Magarity hit Colin Buckley (editor s note: actually Sean Coleman) for a 61-yard touchdown reception with 1:07 to play in the first quarter. The lead increased to 13-0 in the third quarter when Magarity and Sean Coleman hooked up on a 27-yard TD strike. We know we can be confident with our offense, Magarity said. We saw the mistakes we were making that stopped us from getting any points. If we could just correct them, then we d be fine. After Roman (7-4) added a touchdown late in the third quarter, Explorers kicker Ryan Winslow found the uprights with a 25-yard field goal after freshman Jimmy Herron pulled in an interception, the fifth turnover of the night caused by the La Salle defense and the only one to result in any Explorer points. The defense was big, said Herron, who would force a Roman fumble a few minutes later to get the turnover tally up to six. To score, you need to get the offense the ball, so we just kept trying to get them the ball as much as we could. Coleman was pretty influential in producing La Salle s second touchdown, during the third quarter. On a second-and-eight play from the Explorer 38, he drew a pass interference call against Roman to move the 39

40 ball into Cahillite territory. On the next play, Magarity optioned left and pitched the ball to Coleman, who ran for 20 yards to set up a first down at the Roman 27. From there, Magarity hit him down the left side in the end zone for Both teams, it was hard to move the ball, Coleman said. Any break you can get, it can change the whole game. This game was crazy. We didn t move the ball much, but we had the two big plays. They moved the ball, but they made the turnovers. And those turnovers were key. La Salle defeated Roman, 23-21, last month during the regular-season meeting, and also won last year s PCL crown with a win, so the Explorers knew the Cahillites would be coming at them. In the first half, the Explorers defense forced Roman to fumble the ball away three times in the Cahillites zone, all for naught. Fumble recoveries on the 30, the 17 and the 16 accounted for no points as La Salle missed two field goals and gave the ball back on an interception. The Explorers held Roman to 71 total yards in the first half, but the La Salle offense managed just three first downs for the half. Buckley s 61-yard scoring reception came on the first play of La Salle s fourth possession of the game, Buckley pulling in the pass on the Roman 35 and speeding down the La Salle sideline for the score. by Rick O Brien, Inquirer La Salle captures Catholic title La Salle's Sean Coleman neatly summed up Friday night's Catholic League Class AAAA championship game vs. Roman Catholic. "It was a game of mistakes," the speedy junior receiver and safety said. "They made more than we did. That was the difference." Though its offense sputtered mightily, the Explorers, aided by six turnovers, scratched out a 16-6 victory at Northeast High and earned their fourth consecutive league title. "Defense wins championships," La Salle coach Drew Gordon matter-of-factly said afterward. The Cahillites, looking to avenge a defeat in the regular season, lost four of their six fumbles. They were also hurt by two second-half interceptions. The Explorers became the fourth Catholic League school to claim at least four consecutive titles, joining West Catholic ( , ), Archbishop Ryan ( ), and North Catholic ( ). "It's great," Gordon said. "If someone had told me we were going to win four in a row when I got here, I would have said they were crazy. You don't believe it's something that can happen." Next weekend, at a site and time to be determined, La Salle (10-1) will vie for top District 12 honors against the winner of Saturday's Public League final between George Washington (7-2) and Frankford (7-2). With Roman shutting down tailback Tim Wade, who was coming off a 300-yard rushing effort against Father Judge, La Salle went to the air for both of its touchdowns. Late in the first quarter, Coleman gained several steps on a defender and hauled in a 61-yard scoring pass from Matt Magarity. Outside of that play, the Explorers managed only 20 yards rushing and 8 passing in the first half. "We didn't get it done up front tonight," Gordon said. "We weren't able to sustain anything on offense or control the clock." Thanks again to Coleman's quick feet, La Salle went ahead, 13-0, early in the third quarter. This time, again leaving a defender in his dust, the lacrosse standout scored on a 27-yard reception. 40

41 "The player covering me was jumping the out route, so I knew I could beat him inside," Coleman said. The Cahillites (7-4) responded to Coleman's second score with a 12-play, 72-yard drive. William Fuller's 9-yard TD catch, on a left-side fade toss from Chris Cruz, made it Cruz, filling in again for injured starter Mike Keir (nerve issues in throwing arm), hit on 11 of 24 throws for 109 yards. Marcus Kelly rushed 20 times for 82 yards. After freshman Jimmy Herron picked off Cruz and returned the ball 48 yards to the Roman 20, Ryan Winslow's 25-yard field goal clinched it with 3 minutes, 32 seconds to play. He had missed first-half tries of 32 and 21 yards. Magarity connected on only 3 of 12 passes for 96 yards. Wade was held to 44 yards on 20 rushes. Roman Catholic La Salle LS: Coleman 61 pass from Magarity (Winslow kick) LS: Coleman 27 pass from Magarity (kick blocked) RC: Fuller 9 pass from Cruz (kick blocked) LS: FG Winslow 25 by Ted Silary, Daily News Coleman, strong 'D' lift La Salle to fourth straight title Sean Coleman has a message for those high school coaches who like to limit their athletes, sometimes with strong-arm tactics, to one sport. "That's ridiculous," he said. "Being able to play multiple sports, that's the best thing about La Salle. We're not only allowed to do it, we're encouraged." Coleman, a 5-9, 160-pound junior, stars for the football squad as a wideout, defensive back and return man. But once he graduates in June 2013, his grid activity will be limited to rough touch outside the college dorm. His main sport is lacrosse, and he even owns a national profile. What else does he possess? Another Catholic AAAA football crown. Last night at Northeast, with a large crowd (overflow on the visiting side) watching in chilly temperatures, Coleman made the difference in several ways as the top-seeded Explorers bested Roman Catholic, 16-6, for their fourth consecutive title and fifth in 6 years. Standing out in bold relief were two touchdown catches, on passes of 61 and 27 yards. But he also broke up two passes and made a pair of heavy-traffic fair catches, as well. Who knows how many yards the FCs saved the Explorers? On the opposite side, however, there was no doubt the Cahillites lost all kinds of yards for failing to prevent Ryan Winslow's punts he averaged 48.0 on four from taking very favorable bounces, dribbles and rolls. Coleman's first score immediately followed a fair catch at Roman's 39. With Colin Buckley running a short pattern along the left sideline, Coleman went deep in the same direction and Matt Magarity hit him perfectly. The snag was made in stride and Roman's d-backs had no prayer of making a TD-saving stop. TD No. 2 also followed a fair catch. By three plays. And the second was a 20-yard gain by Coleman on a left-side option. The six-pointer covered 27 yards, and Coleman was so wide open, Magarity got away with... We'll let him tell you. 41

42 "That was quite a duck," he said, laughing. "The fact that Sean got that open for a pass that wasn't too good, against a secondary as great as Roman's with all their fast athletes, that's a testament to him. "Sean is probably the quickest kid I know. It's tough not to have chemistry with him. I can pretty much put the ball anywhere and know that he's going to get it. I don't know what it is. It's gotta be innate. Plus, he has a real high football IQ. He knows how and when to make plays. And nothing distracts him." On the first TD, Magarity had a choice of Coleman or Buckley. "I figured I'd to go to Sean and hope," he said. "And he was underneath it, like he always is." Said Coleman: "They're the best secondary I've played against all year, by far. But when you're playing man-to-man across the whole field with no help over the top, that makes it really difficult. We were able to exploit that, and it really helped, since Roman did such a great job against our running game." Indeed. Franchise rusher Tim Wade was held to 43 yards on 20 carries and even Magarity, overall, was substandard (3-for-14, 96 yards). Ah, but La Salle s defense was spectacular, forcing six turnovers. Chris Rocco and frosh Jimmy Herron posted interceptions, while David Losier, Dad Poquie, Sean Burke and Andrew Eidenshink recovered fumbles. Burke hustled for 11 tackles, while John Palermo and Mike Piscopo added 10 and seven, respectively. Palermo also blocked the extra point after Roman's one score, a 9-yard pass from Christopher Cruz to William Fuller with 1:45 remaining in the third quarter. "If you'd told me we'd play like defense like that, I would have said we'd win by 30-0," La Salle coach Drew Gordon said. "And if you'd told me we'd play offense like that, I would have said we'd lose by "Defense does win championships, right?" Winslow, the son of former NFL punter (and La Salle product) George Winslow, misfired on first-half field-goal attempts of 32 and 21 yards. He was masterful at punting throughout the game, however, and his 25-yard field goal with 3:32 left expanded the Explorers' not exactly comfy 13-6 lead. "Anytime you're able to change the field with a good punt, that helps out the D, " Winslow said. "If I put a solid foot on the ball, I get it to turn over [in flight], and that creates the extra bounce. "My teammates really picked me up at halftime. They built my confidence back up. Plus, there's one thing you always know [at only halftime]: There'll always be another chance." Cruz, so spectacular last week in a semifinal vs. St. Joseph's Prep (a city postseason-record five TD passes, plus a 62-yard touchdown run) while filling in for the injured Michael Keir, finished 11-for-28 for 126 yards. Marcus Kelly added 73 yards on 21 carries. As the final whistle sounded, the Explorers exploded in joy and soon rushed to the front of the home stands, so they could listen to the band play the school song and pump their helmets at the end. Posing for pictures followed, with a special emphasis on classes and position groups. Off to the side, Gordon, the coach for all five since '06, noted this championship was no more special than the others. "More nerve-racking, though," he quipped, "especially with all those threats that Roman has." La Salle has a pretty good one, too. Thanks to an admirable school policy. "Football helps me for lacrosse," Coleman said. "And lacrosse helps me for football. Being able to play both has made a big difference for me." 42

43 by Armand Vanore, Eastern PA Sports La Salle Captures Fourth Straight PCL Title in Defensive Struggle Matt Magarity connected on two key touchdown passes to Sean Coleman as the La Salle Explorers won their fourth consecutive Philadelphia Catholic league title with a hard fought 16-6 defensive battle over Roman Catholic at Charles Martin stadium. Six Roman turnovers kept their high powered offense out of the end zone most of the evening. The Cahillites came into the game without the services of their all catholic quarterback Michael Kier, who has experienced numbness in his throwing hand for the last two weeks. However, they didn t miss a beat as Chris Cruz took over the controls in their first round victory last week over St. Joe s Prep throwing for five touchdowns and running for over 100 yards. La Salle countered with senior running back Tim Wade who ran for 300 yards last week in their first round win over Father Judge as well as a smart, quick defense under the controls of defensive wiz, John Steinmetz. The Explorers failed to score early in the first quarter following consecutive fumbles by Cahillite back Marcus Kelly. Ryan Winslow missed a 30 yard field goal after Kelly s first miscue and Magarity was intercepted by Roman s Darryl Mintz after the second one. Magarity made good on their next possession when he found Coleman streaking down the left side for a 61 yard touchdown and a 7-0 lead. The Cahillites could not muster much offense at all in the first half and another fumble (this one by Cruz and recovered by Sean Burke) deep into the second quarter gave the Explorers a golden opportunity with the ball on the Roman 16. La Salle got the ball down to the Cahillite four, but Winslow missed another field goal (this one from 21). Roman s defense hunkered down the entire game and gave Wade very little room to produce the yardage he has been accumulating over the last two months of the season. The Explorer offensive line has been one of their strengths all season but on this night the purple and gold countered every Wade run putting multiple hats on him. As Roman continued loading the box and not giving Wade much room to maneuver, La Salle Offensive Coordinator Joe Wade tried a different approach by opening up the offense. On La Salle s second drive to open up the third quarter, Coleman scored again, this time on a 27 yard strike from Magarity. The touchdown was set up with Coleman picking up 20 yards on a well-executed reverse on a play in which the Cahillites anticipated Wade getting the ball. These were key calls especially in this game where points were at a bare minimum. Down 13-0 Roman then orchestrated a 13 play, seven minute, 72 yard drive and found pay dirt with Cruz s nine yard strike to William Fuller. It appeared that they were finally finding their sea legs as this game approached the home stretch and down by only a score at There s something to be said about the mystique of La Salle football especially when it comes to the second half of games and players who desperately need to make plays. Year after year, every big game, someone steps up or a key adjustment is made. It has been one of the things that have made this program as successful as it has been. At the five minute mark of the fourth quarter and the ball on Roman s 43 yard line Cruz was trying to make a play but was intercepted by Freshman Jimmy Herron, who returned the pick 46 yards to the Cahillite 10. Once again, however, Roman s defense contained Wade on three straight running plays and forced Winslow to kick a 25 yard field goal. Finally, another Cahillite fumble by William Howell (after a completion from Cruz), killed any chance for an upset. La Salle boss Drew Gordon knew this would not be easy. We just could not get much control on our offensive line tonight said Gordon. Their defense made things difficult for us. Gordon also shed praise 43

44 on the Roman QB. Both of their quarterbacks are different. One throws exceptionally well (Kier) and the other can do more with his legs (Cruz). Cruz gave us much to prepare for. La Salle now will await the winner of the Frankford, George Washington District 12, AAAA, Public league showdown. Roman Catholic head coach Joe McCourt had his team play explosive football all season and should have a very competitive group with guys like Kier and Fuller (both juniors) return next year. Notes: Although Winslow missed two field goals he was sensational punting with a couple of 50 yarders that gave Roman poor field position. Wade was held to 43 yards on 21 carries. Defensive lineman Tyrone Brown and Roberto Harris-Barton made life difficult for La Salle s offensive line. Roman ran 63 offensive plays to La Salle s 43. Marcus Kelly had 75 yards on 21 carries. by Danny Spinelli 14, Ted Silary website I ll begin with a short anecdote before moving onto a very eventful PCL championship! This summer, I worked at La Salle right after school let out, from Memorial Day up until the 4th of July. One day, while I was working in the La Salle Alumni House, I had a conversation with Paul Colistra, also a defensive assistant/special teams coach. I asked him what he thought about the season and his words were, "I think we ll surprise some people. How prophetic that statement was and what a bizarre game it took to prove it true. Yes, La Salle has won its fourth PCL championship in a row, as well as its fifth league title in six years. The Explorers capped an incredible fall sports season for La Salle, where the school took PCL crowns in golf, soccer, and football. The most surprising fact of all though was who the saviors were for La Salle, the defense. THE DEFENSE?! You mean the squad that as of last week, still gave up the most passing yards in the Catholic League? You mean the team that was missing two-way OL/DL Tom Spiteri (a force in the Judge game last week), as well as DB leader Ryan Otis to injury? Oh, yes. Coach John Steinmetz s unit played at the best level that I have seen them play, recording two INTs, four fumble recoveries, and limiting a strong Roman offense, that dropped 45 points on Prep last week, to just SIX POINTS. La Salle entered the game with injuries galore. As said before, Otis and Spiteri were both sidelined -- freshman Jimmy Herron acted as Otis s replacement in the secondary. Herron lit up the stadium with his huge INT in the 4th quarter, catching Roman QB Chris Cruz ball deep in La Salle territory and returning it about 40 yards. Herron showed tremendous skill in his INT return, evading Roman defenders at will. I really like the way this kid plays (I am a little biased he was on my grade-school football team). Herron has size, speed, and agility, all attributes of a strong four-year player in the La Salle football program. I am sure we will be seeing plenty of him in the years to come. On the offensive side, La Salle was missing backup RB Jarred Herrmann, meaning once again further production for RB Tim Wade. In actuality, the La Salle offense was bolstered more by the passing game, and Wade only rushed for 43 yards on 20 carries. Jr. dynamo Sean Coleman recorded two spectacular TD catches of 61 and 27 yards. Coleman was also an active player on the defense, stepping up from his role as a DB to record numerous stops on the second-line, alongside the linebackers. His TD catches mattered greatly, as both offenses progressed slowly in this game and made FGs were SCARCE, as shall be seen. After a scoreless draught for the majority of the 1Q, the game began to get interesting. With Roman beginning a drive at about their 20 yard line, La Salle forced a fumble recovering it to give the offense great field position. Alas, QB Matt Magarity tossed an INT to Roman sr. DB/WR Darryl Mintz. Roman now had the ball back with 3:21 left in the 1Q, but its possession ended in a punt. The Explorers were 44

45 now left at their own 40 yard line, with a promising drive ahead. On the first play, Magarity dropped back with great protection by the O-line (hampered by the loss of Spiteri), and tossed a beautiful pass to Coleman, galloping 61 yards for the score. With 1:04 left in the quarter, La Salle had a 7-0 lead. An elongated Roman possession finished up the 1Q, continuing into the second. Even with two firstdown passes from Cruz to jr. WR William Fuller and sr. RB/LB Marcus Kelly respectively, a wealth of yellow-flags halted the Cahillite drive. With Roman driving in the red zone, the La Salle defense took a stand. On second down, sr. DL Dan Wasylenko took down Cruz on a textbook tackle: Cruz broke from the pocket and Waz, following from behind, wrapped his arms around Cruz in a bear-hug, bringing him down. After a penalty on Roman, Cruz was sacked on third-down, leaving the Cahillites with a hopeless fourth-and-long. K Boomer Steigelman lined up to take a shot at a field goal, but lo-and-behold, the overflow crowd witnessed its first of many missed field goals in this CL title game. The La Salle defensive line continued its reign of ridiculousness (that s how I m describing their performance now) after an Explorer punt. On a 3rd and 9 late in the half, a sack of Cruz led to the ball coming loose for another fumble, again recovered by La Salle. The ensuing possession led to another missed FG though, this time the culprit being Ryan Winslow. As Ted Silary noted in his report of the game, Winslow did average 48 yards on 4 punts, really exonerating him from any FG troubles. Winslow and Steigelman did combine though for 4 missed FGs/PATs. Again, both kickers are not totally responsible as certain kicks were blocked. La Salle next scored with 8:12 left in the 3Q. Coleman caught his second TD pass, while the PAT was missed giving La Salle a 13-0 advantage. Roman responded with their only TD on the next possession, a 9-yard pass from Cruz to Fuller. Phillip Isaac s PAT was blocked by La Salle sr. LB John Palermo. My favorite part of the game, Herron s INT, ended Roman s game-tying drive, thus leading to La Salle s final points. Winslow capped the game with 3:32 remaining in the 4Q with a FG. A final fumble recovery by La Salle brought the hubcap out. Each playoff game to follow will be its own little championship; each game is win or lose. The Explorer football team will now face the winner of the George Washington-Frankford game as they continue through the postseason. Congratulations to the squad on accomplishing the first of their goals! HAIL LA SALLE! Game 12, Nov 19, 2011: La Salle 41 George Washington 7 (City Title) by Dennis Way, Times Herald Fast start gives La Salle third straight city title La Salle High head football coach Drew Gordon has a long memory. Prior to Saturday s PIAA Class AAAA District 12 Championship/City Title game against George Washington at Northeast High, Gordon explored his personal mental archives. Three seasons ago, he recalled another city championship game between the Explorers and Eagles that began poorly for La Salle. They hit a play-action pass for a touchdown, Gordon remembered, then we went three-and-out and they hit another one. The game wasn t four minutes old and we were behind by two touchdowns. And we weren t able to come back. With that in mind, Gordon put a premium on a fast start in this meeting against the Eagles. He got what he wanted, and by game s end La Salle was celebrating its third straight city championship. The Explorers scored twice before Washington ran an offensive play and eased to a 41-7 victory, propelling themselves back into position to chase another third a third straight state finals appearance. 45

46 Tim Wade rushed for three touchdowns in just one half of action and quarterback Matt Magarity ran 65 yards for one score and threw for another as La Salle made it look easy. George Washington is a great team, but we were confident we d win the game, Magarity said. Still, we wanted to set the tone and score on our first drive. Which the Explorers did, going 73 yards on 10 plays - nine on the ground - and Wade adding the final touch, using a great kick-out block by Colin O Hara to scamper 17 yards for the lead. The Explorers got a major bonus on the ensuing kickoff when the Eagles failed to field a short boot from Ryan Winslow, and hustling Explorer Dad Poquie covered it at the GW 20. Five plays later, Wade had another touchdown and Washington was chasing two scores. Sound familiar? That kickoff really put the momentum in our corner, Magarity said. That was big, echoed Gordon. That was what happened to us three years ago, getting down early. The Eagles did nothing with their first possession, and Wade and La Salle went back to the ground attack. This time it took 11 plays, but the result was the same. And Wade s third straight score pushed the La Salle advantage to 20-0 with 11:01 left in the half. The game plan was to establish the run, Magarity said. Our offensive line has really come together and has been playing great. There was a lot of wind, so I was on board when the coaches said we were going to run the ball. Meanwhile, the Eagles could get nothing going offensively. With the Explorers keying on their top rusher, Hakeem Sillman, GW had to go against its personality and throw the ball. And got few positive results. Magarity then tacked on another score before halftime. Beginning a drive at his own 8-yard line 2:15 before the break, the senior quarterback hit Sean Coleman for a 27-yard gain, then took off up the middle for a 65-yard score. Matt got his athletic ability, his speed and his good looks all from his mom, said Magarity s proud father after the game. With a four-touchdown lead at the break, La Salle went liberally to its bench in the second half, with freshman running back Jordan Meachum stealing the show with 101 yards rushing and more moves than a mixing bowl full of beaters. Jordan could be the next Jamal, said Magarity, referring to former La Salle running back Jamal Abdur- Rahman, now at Villanova. We had Jordan and (quarterback) Jimmy Herron both in the game at one point. I can t wait to come back here in three years and see how good those two turn out to be. For now, Magarity and the Explorers will get to see how good the rest of state is, beginning in two weeks (La Salle is off next week). Hey, Pittsburgh Central Catholic lost (Friday) night, Gordon said, and they were supposed to be the best team in the state. We reminded our guys not to let it happen to them today. And now we re just looking to win every week. by Rick O Brien, Inquirer La Salle coasts to District 12 championship After helping keep dynamic George Washington tailback Hakeem Sillman under wraps for a little more than two quarters, senior defensive ends Matt Maginnis and Tyler Kern happily gave way to La Salle's reserves. "Our entire game plan was pretty much focused on stopping him," said the 6-foot-3, 215-pound Maginnis, who doubles as an offensive tackle. "To us, their passing game wasn't that threatening." 46

47 The Explorers jumped on the Eagles with two early scores, repeatedly bottled up Sillman at or near the point of attack, and easily earned their third consecutive PIAA District 12 Class AAAA football title with a 41-7 romp Saturday at Northeast. "We treated this as just another game," Kern said. "We wanted to come out strong, get the early lead, and finish things off. That's what we did." Maginnis and the 6-foot, 220-pound Kern forced Sillman to the middle, where rotating tackles David Losier, Andrew Carlone, and Dan Wasylenko were waiting to pounce. A linebacking corps that included Sean Burke and John Palermo also benefited. Sillman, who came in with more than 1,600 rushing yards and 27 touchdowns, netted only 19 yards on eight carries in the first half. With Washington down by 27-0 at intermission, he did not get any touches after the break. Said Kern: "It's like our coach [Drew Gordon] says, 'Defense wins championships.' We had a good effort last week against Roman Catholic, and we wanted to keep that going." After taking next weekend off, La Salle (11-1) will meet District 11's champion, Nazareth or Easton, in a state quarterfinal the weekend of Dec. 2. Against the Eagles, senior tailback Tim Wade ran for three touchdowns in the first 13 minutes and La Salle coasted from there. Wade scored on runs of 17, 2, and 4 yards. His second tally came five plays after a wide-eyed Washington underclassman failed to field Ryan Winslow's kickoff near the sideline, and Dad Poquie alertly fell on the ball at the 20-yard line. Late in the second quarter, La Salle quarterback Matt Magarity tucked the ball away and dashed 65 yards to make it On 22 plays from scrimmage, the Public League champs managed only 75 yards (32 rushing, 43 passing) in the first half. "They beat us up pretty good up front," Eagles coach Ron Cohen said. Wade totaled 96 yards on 12 attempts. Because of a right-shoulder stinger, he did not return after notching his third TD early in the second quarter. George Washington La Salle LS: Tim Wade 17 run (Ryan Winslow kick) LS: Tim Wade 2 run (Ryan Winslow kick) LS: Tim Wade 4 run (kick failed) LS: Matt Magarity 65 run (Ryan Winslow kick) LS: Sean Coleman 13 pass from Matt Magarity (Ryan Winslow kick) LS: Jordan Meachum 31 run (Matt Raczak kick) GW: Donald Smith 58 pass from David Gavrilov (Jake Wright kick) TEAM STATISTICS GW LS First Downs 6 22 Rushing Yards Passing Yards Totals Yards Passing

48 Fumbles lost Penalties-Yards Punts-Avg INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS RUSHING George Washington: Silllman 8-20; Everage 2-14; Santos 1-1; Augustine 2-(-8). La Salle: Meachum , 1 TD; Wade 12-79, 3 TDs; Magarity 5-77, 1 TD; Coleman 2-22; O Hara 6-17; Palermo 3-15; Kane 1-5; Calhoun 1-1; Dean 1-0; Herron 2-0. PASSING George Washington: Augustine ints., 43 yds.; Gavrilov int., 61 yds., 1 TD; Santos ints. La Salle: Magarity int., 59 yds., 1 TD; Kane ints. RECEIVING George Washington: Allen 4-14; Black 3-15; D.Smith 2-75, 1 TD. La Salle: Coleman 3-43, 1 TD; Buckley 1-11; Palermo 1-5. INTERCEPTIONS George Washington: Yin. La Salle: Rocco. SACKS George Washington: Young. La Salle: Eife. by Ted Silary 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 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 48

49 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. by Ted Silary, Daily News La Salle's win is all in the Wasylenko files When it comes to La Salle High's mostly rich football history, the Wasylenkos are quite the dual threat. Son creates. Father chronicles. Dan Wasylenko, a 6-2, 245-pound senior, starts at offensive tackle and sees half-time duty at defensive tackle. His father, Bill, a 1969 grad, fashions PDF-file retrospects, fleshed out with photos, that cover the program's various aspects and are linked on the school's website, in addition to being ed to football alumni. "I read most of my dad's stuff," Dan said, "especially the parts that deal with the teams I've played on. He's up all hours of the night doing it. I don't get to read all of it because of schoolwork and whatnot, but he doesn't push me. I do think it's all pretty cool." The 2011 installment is still being written, of course, and another chapter is in the books. Saturday at Northeast High, Wasylenko's play on both sides of the ball helped the Explorers dismantle George Washington, 41-7, for their third consecutive Class AAAA City Title. After some down time, coach Drew Gordon's ballclub will return to action Dec. 2 or 3 for a state quarterfinal. Overall goal: To repeat the accomplishment of the 2009 squad, which won a state title. "When I was a freshman, it almost seemed impossible that we'd be able to make a run for a state title since we lost the City Title to Washington," Wasylenko said. "But then in '09, we did win the states and we came to realize, 'All of this is possible,' and we made it our goal to keep doing the same thing. "I didn't get on the field too much in 10th grade, but I became determined to start by senior year and hard work made that happen." So did rubbing shoulders with a neighbor. The Wasylenkos live in Lansdale and right next door are the Sinnotts. Steve Sinnott, now making an impact as a redshirt freshman for William & Mary, was a star lineman for those '09 Explorers. The Sinnotts' house was quite the meeting place for senior members of that squad and Dan, along with his brother, Steve (La Salle '11; played baseball), were regular invitees, thanks to proximity. Dan would sit there wide-eyed, enjoying the present but also thinking ahead. Once his future arrived, he made the most of it and even earned first-team honors this fall (offense) on the coaches' All-Catholic squad. Saturday, Wasylenko's fellow grunts were center Connor Kerrigan, guards Pat Hoffman and Luke Persichetti (injured early; David Geppert replaced him) and tackle Matt Maginnis. The Explorers rolled to a 28-0 halftime lead as Tim Wade (12-79) ran for three touchdowns and quarterback Matt Magarity added the fourth on an adventurous 65-yard keeper. The first two series of the third quarter also produced scores, Magarity's 13-yard pass to Sean Coleman and a 31-yard dash by highly promising frosh Jordan Meachum (12-101). 49

50 "Every time Tim scores, or even gets positive yardage, he comes back to the huddle and taps all of us on the back, and says how he can't do it without us," Wasylenko said. "And Matt always lets us know how much he appreciates what we do." Thanks to an unreturned kickoff, with the recovery going to Dad Poquie, La Salle owned a 14-0 lead before Washington ran a play. Wasylenko made an immediate statement, too, holding the city's top rusher, Hakeem Sillman, to a 1-yard gain. With a resounding pop, Tyler Kern dropped Sillman for a 1-yard loss two plays later and "Hak" finished the game with just 18 yards on eight carries. The Eagles avoided a blanking on David Gavrilov's 58-yard, third-quarter hookup with Donald Smith. Wasylenko, who's eying a career in business, is hearing from West Chester, Susquehanna, Franklin & Marshall and Salve Regina, in Rhode Island. What he loves to watch, meanwhile, are highlight tapes from "The best memories are the two games in the snow," he said, referring to the wins over Easton (quarterfinal) and State College (final). "I must have watched that championship game 20 times. I use it to pump me up. "It's been a great ride these past 3 years [the 2010 squad advanced to the state final]. Our goal is always to play in December. Now we want to keep it going." Dad needs fresh material. Game 13, Dec 3, 2011: La Salle 41 Nazareth 33 (State Quarterfinal) December 2, 2011 by Dennis Way, Times Herald La Salle, Nazareth Highs prepare for battle in semifinal game It s not quite looking into a mirror. But there are enough similarities between La Salle and Nazareth Highs, who meet Saturday (1 p.m.) at Frank Banko Field in Bethlehem Area School District Stadium in a PIAA Class AAAA Eastern semifinal football game, that it s likely neither side had to prep the scout teams in practice this week. Both the District 12-champion Explorers (11-1) and District 11-champion Blue Eagles (12-1) are perfectly content to spread the field and put it up 50 times or buckle up and hammer the line of scrimmage. And considering La Salle (31) and Nazareth (40) have combined to average better than 70 points a game, the two teams are very good at what they do. They re not much different from us, said Explorers head coach Drew Gordon, who has watched the Eagles twice this season, most recently in last week s come-from-behind, district-title-winning, victory over Easton. We probably depend a little more on running the ball, but their offense is very good. This is probably our biggest challenge defensively since Bergen Catholic. We can t let them get up on us quickly. Nazareth has been an offensive juggernaut all season long. Its total of 521 points is 10th best in the state, and the Eagles have not been held under 20 points in a game all year. The maestro of the high-flying act is quarterback Dan Harding (229-for-337, 3,456 yds., 31 TDs), who for the majority of the season tossed more passes than a playboy cut loose in a Go-Go bar. His targets were many, and included twin track stars Adam and Andrew Bridgeforth, who have combined for 130 catches, 2,102 yards and 16 touchdowns, Dan Shepherd (36 catches, 449 yds., 8 TDs) and Alex Tonnies (37 catches, 598 yds., 6 TDs). 50

51 But after a loss to Parkland, Nazareth head coach Rob Melosky decided to add some balance to the offensive attack and began calling the number of freshman running back Jordan Gray. Five straight 100-yard games later, Gray is approaching 1,600 yards for the season and has scored 20 touchdowns. They were trying to add a dimension to the offense, and (Gray) developed as the season went on, Gordon said. It s pretty unusual for a freshman to run for 1,600 yards. As if chasing the Eagles around the field for the entire game isn t taxing enough, they present an added challenge. The team does not huddle. It merely gets a signal from the sideline and runs a play. They re right there snapping the ball, Gordon said. They keep the same people on the field, no (player) packages that might give you an idea what they re going to do. Gordon said the Explorers will try and stick to what they do best defensively, but the five-wide sets and multiple looks the Eagles present will force adjustments. It s also likely Harding will test the La Salle secondary, which beyond standout veteran Sean Coleman is still very young. Our secondary has gotten better throughout the season, Gordon said, and players like Dad Poquie, Chris Rocco and Joe Vanelli have really gotten better. But they re mostly juniors and sophomores, so you hope they can lose the jitters early on and play the way they can. Gordon admitted that Harding won t make that easy. He s very good, Gordon said. The most impressive things about him are his poise and accuracy. He can beat you with the long ball, but he s also very good on the short and medium routes. But Gordon also added that as potent as the Blue Eagles offense can be, the Explorers can just as effective. We can create problems, too, Gordon said. And like Nazareth, La Salle became a better football team with the emergence of running back Tim Wade (233 carries, 1,365 yds.). In the shadow of Jamal Abdur-Rahman last year, Wade has become a go-to running back who has already established the program s single-game rushing record with a 298- yard performance in a game against Father Judge earlier this season. His breakthrough year, coupled with the passing threat posed by quarterback Matt Magarity (98-for-187, 1,391 yds., 21 TDs) and receivers Colin Buckley (37 catches, 524 yds.) and Coleman (36 catches, 584 yds.), give a Blue Eagles defense, which has yielded 25.5 points a game, plenty to worry about, too. In a contest featuring two great offenses, it s usually a defensive play that decides it. But before that happens, expect some daytime fireworks in Bethlehem. December 1, 2011 by Ted Silary, Daily News La Salle High's Burke warming to state quarterfinals To look at Sean Burke Thursday, you would have thought it was summertime in Appalachia, not Dec. 1 in suburban Philly. OK, so he wasn't sweating profusely, but his arms were bare throughout La Salle High's football practice in ch-chilly weather at Plymouth-Whitemarsh High. "I'm always this way. No sleeves," said the 6-foot, 215-pound Burke, a senior and 2-year starter at middle linebacker. "While everyone else is in sweatpants and sweatshirts. "Actually, there are three of us. Linebackers Mike Eife and Dillon Smith do this, too, but I'm the ringleader because me and Connor Daly did it last year. We don't try to talk other guys into it. It's like, 'Do it if you want.' I've never regretted it. Yup, mind over matter." 51

52 As always, Burke was a focal point in the defensive drills, as orchestrated by coordinator John Steinmetz and linebacker coach Paul "Paco" Colistra. Did someone say drills? Burke wielded one last summer in Kentucky, hard by West Virginia, during a volunteer, weeklong, help-the-community project he experienced with roughly 30 La Salle students. "It was very fulfilling," Burke said, "because we actually got to meet the people we were helping. One of the ladies we helped, by redoing her roof, was elderly, and we got to hear how much she appreciated what we were doing. She would come out and give us snacks, too. "My job was to do the drilling. So I was on roofs that whole week, baking in the Kentucky sun." Now he's basking in the Explorers' annual glory. In the 2009 season, just No. 2 for the Catholic League as a PIAA participant, Burke filled a backup role as La Salle claimed a Class AAAA state title. The 2010 campaign yielded a trip to another final, with Burke enjoying occasional stardom, and Saturday's schedule shows a 1 o'clock quarterfinal vs. Nazareth at Liberty High in Bethlehem. Two other CL squads also will tackle state quarterfinals. In AAA, Archbishop Wood will meet Pottsgrove at 7 o'clock Friday night at Northeast's Charlie Martin Memorial Stadium. Saturday at noon, at the South Philly Super Site, it'll be West Catholic vs. Pen Argyl in AA. Before every Nazareth play, Burke will relay two defensive calls, as provided by Steinmetz, and then add two more right before the snap based on what tips he culls from checking out the offensive alignment." Thereafter? Pound away, baby! "I was a lineman in grade school," said Burke, who hails from Lansdale. "I got moved to linebacker as a freshman and wasn't too sure what I was doing. Then I got to sophomore year and coach 'Paco' taught me everything I needed to know. He made my game take off. I love linebacker because you can see everything, then go hit people." A while back, before the game with archrival St. Joseph's Prep, you could have seen some pretty good hitting at La Salle's fall-sports pep rally, as organized by Burke with a focus, understandably, on football. Sean is the secretary of the student council and one extra element of the pep rally, right on the stage immediately after the showing of a wonderful sports video made by computer-savvy students, was "fights" with Sock'em Boppers (padded beanbags that cover hands). So, how'd that go? "I don't think we'll be doing that again," he said, laughing. "One kid had his nose broken. It split right open. He got rocked. Blood was everywhere." Burke, who also competes in track (javelin), plans to limit his college sports activity to football while majoring in business or economics. Carnegie-Mellon, Franklin & Marshall and Gettysburg are among the possibilities. No doubt about what Saturday will bring: another important game. One he wants to win very badly. "From the personal standpoint, there's certainly a different aspect to games like these when you're a senior," Burke said. "We had two great teams before this one, and I feel we're just as strong. "To still be playing football in December, that's the best feeling in the world." Sean Burke's bare arms agreed. December 3, by Kevin Cooney, phillyburbs.com North Penn gets another crack at Hershey The ball had just settled on the end zone turf after Dan Gevirtz's 42-yard touchdown run when the chant began from the North Penn student section. 52

53 "We want La Salle! We want La Salle!" It is the one program that has seemed to dog the Knights over the past few years. And yet, it seemed like every player wearing a white uniform and a powder blue helmet after North Penn's win over Council Rock South Friday night in the District One Class AAAA championship game seemed willing to share the sentiment. "I want La Salle," said fullback/linebacker Ralph Reeves said. "If Nazareth wins, then we'll adjust. But we want another shot at La Salle." They got it. The Knights will face their old nemesis Explorers- a winner over Nazareth on Saturday afternoon - in the Eastern Final at a site to be determined. (The best bet would be at either Northeast High in Philly or Plymouth Whitemarsh, the site of last year's East final.) This North Penn team is playing its finest football of the season and a senior class that has made the District One tournament its own, this is the one hurdle the Knights haven't seemed to get over. "It feels awesome," said Gevirtz, who put the game away on the first play of the fourth quarter with his long touchdown run. "You don't often get second chances at things. And now, we'll have another chance to go to Hershey." And not everyone worried about who the next foe was going to be. "Honestly, I don't care who we face," North Penn head coach Dick Beck said Friday night. "We could play Nazareth. We could play La Salle. We could play the Chicago Bears. Honestly, it doesn't really matter to me. I would be happy for Drew (Gordon, LaSalle's head coach) because we're friends. But I don't really care." La Salle has won the previous three meetings between the two teams, including a game back on Labor Day weekend. Some things have changed since that game and others have not. LaSalle's offense averages roughly 32 points per game. They still feature a spread formation that could give headaches to a North Penn's secondary - considered by many to be the suspect part of this squad. However, the Knights are playing with incredible tunnel vision. They are playing within themselves, not trying to play the hero and not making mistakes that allow an opponent to feel like it is in the ballgame. North Penn's run through this District One tournament was surgical in its efficiency and execution. The Knights never were threatened by any of their opponents, beating three of the four National Conference qualifiers by an average margin of 19.3 points. The story on Friday night was the fact that the Knights made the Golden Hawks pay for every mistake. CR South turned the ball over three times the one exact thing that almost everybody would have said they couldn't do to beat the Knights. "We couldn't turn the ball over," CR South coach Vince Bedesem said. "That's what hurt us. Nothing else did. But you can't turn the ball over against a perennial District One champion like North Penn." For the Knights, the Eastern Final has been the one hurdle that has been so difficult to get over. Since winning the PIAA Class AAAA title in 2003, North Penn has now made the state semifinals four times. The Knights have lost three times to Liberty in 2005 and 2008 and to the Explorers last year. It was that loss to La Salle in a classic game last year that still sticks out for this Knights team. When Reeves was asked about how long it took him to get over that game, he didn't hide his feelings. "It still hurts," Reeves said. "It will always hurt unless you get back there and have another shot at winning it." They will have that shot next week in what should be the biggest game in this region in a long time. The only question that remains to be seen is what the Knights do with this last chance at an old nemesis. 53

54 by Stephen Miller, Morning Call La Salle College High School Football: Chronicle 2011 Nazareth rally falls short in setback to La Salle; La Salle holds off Blue Eagles to advance to PIAA 4A semifinals. When a bad snap caused a La Salle College High School extra point to fail late in the fourth quarter, Nazareth's players shared a common thought they would pull off another comeback to keep their season alive. The Blue Eagles ran out of rallies Saturday. Eight points away from tying the Explorers, Nazareth drove to their 36-yard line with under three minutes to play. La Salle safety Jimmy Herron kept the Blue Eagles from going any farther, racing from the middle of the field toward the right sideline to leap in front of wide receiver Andrew Bridgeforth for an interception. La Salle then secured the one first down it needed to run out the clock for a victory over Nazareth in a PIAA Class 4A football quarterfinal at Bethlehem Area School District Stadium. The District 12-champion Explorers (12-1 overall) advanced to a state semifinal matchup with District One champ North Penn, a team they beat to open the season. Nazareth ended a season that saw it win the first Lehigh Valley Conference and District 11 Class 4A titles in program history at The Blue Eagles won those championships in part because of their resiliency. They took the field Saturday with comeback wins over Easton, Liberty, Freedom, Central Catholic and Whitehall on their ledger. Nazareth again hung tough Saturday against a La Salle team that has made the 4A state final the past two seasons, cutting a 15-point second-half deficit to two with 6:01 to go. The Blue Eagles could never wrest the lead from the Explorers, who managed to make a big play every time they needed one to preserve their lead. "We were confident in our offense going into that last drive," Nazareth quarterback Daniel Harding said. "If we had the opportunity, we were going to make the most of it. We just came up short." Harding, the leader of Nazareth's past rallies, enjoyed another strong effort. He went 25-for-38 for 283 yards and one touchdown, and also ran for two scores. His last completion of the day, an 8-yard pass to Andrew Bridgeforth, converted a fourth-and-three at the La Salle 44-yard line to keep the Blue Eagles' final drive alive. Harding looked for Bridgeforth again on Nazareth's next snap, lofting a pass toward the right sideline. Herron cut over for the pick, giving La Salle the ball back at its own 8-yard line. Nazareth nearly got another crack at La Salle from close range, but it could not recover a fumble by Explorers quarterback Matt Magarity. La Salle recovered the loose ball at its own 17-yard line and clinched a third straight trip to the state semifinals on the next play when Magarity pushed ahead for 3 yards and a first down. Magarity's sneak and Herron's interception were two of four key plays La Salle delivered in the fourth quarter. The others came on the scoring drive that set the final score. Holding a lead with under five minutes to play, La Salle was facing a third-and-17 from its own 28- yard line. Magarity moved them within one yard of a first down when he connected with Mike Piscopo for 16 yards. The completion was the last of the game for Magarity, who threw for a season-best 282 yards. Confronted with a fourth-and-one in his own territory, La Salle coach Drew Gordon decided to give the ball to running back Tim Wade, his best offensive player. Wade went straight up the middle and found nothing but green turf ahead of him, running 56 yards for a touchdown that left La Salle with a advantage. 54

55 "I would have been the worst coach in Pennsylvania if that didn't work," Gordon said. Plenty of plays that ended up with the ball in Wade's hands worked Saturday. He ran for 114 yards, which came as no surprise. Where Wade stung Nazareth most was in the passing game. He caught five passes for 131 yards and two touchdowns after having just four catches for 4 yards all season. "Our plan was just to ground and pound, run the whole game," Wade said. "We saw something during the game. We're always practicing every day on everything catching, ball control because it would come down to December and pay off. It did." Nazareth received a sixth straight 100-yard rushing game from freshman Jordan Gray (24 carries, 127 yards) and the typical mix of big plays from receivers Adam and Andrew Bridgeforth, Dan Shepherd and Alex Tonnies. They just came up short in securing a third championship this season. With the way the program has developed under coach Rob Melosky the Blue Eagles won just three games when he took over in 2008 they hope to play for more titles in the future. "We had the ball back there and still could have [tied it]," Melosky said. "It didn't work out that way. The La Salle coaches did a great job. They have a great team." by Tom HInkel, The Express Times Nazareth Area High School football team loses, 41-33, to La Salle College High School in state quarterfinals Senior Tim Wade had 243 yards rushing and receiving and scored three touchdowns today to lead La Salle College High School's football team to a victory over Nazareth in a PIAA Class AAAA quarterfinal at Bethlehem Area School District Stadium. La Salle (12-1) advances to play District 1 champion North Penn in a state semifinal next week at a site and time to be determined. "(La Salle) is a great team," said Nazareth defensive end David Wilke, who had a fumble recovery and a sack. "They're going to take it all. Props to them." Nazareth quarterback Dan Harding passed for 283 yards, including a touchdown to freshman running back Jordan Gray. Harding also ran for two scores. Adam and Andrew Bridgeforth each rushed for a touchdown for the Blue Eagles, who finished the season with a 12-2 record. Gray finished with 129 yards on 23 carries. Nazareth drove to La Salle's 36 late in the fourth quarter but Harding was intercepted by freshman safety Jimmy Herron at the Explorers' 8 with 2:30 remaining. La Salle proceeded to run out the clock. by Dennis Way, Times Herald La Salle outlasts Nazareth, advance to face North Penn in Eastern final Here we are, on the verge of Christmas, and La Salle High is back to its third straight PIAA Class AAAA Eastern final because Saturday, at Bethlehem Area School District Stadium s Frank Banko Field, the Explorers outlasted host Nazareth, 41-33, by putting on their best Halloween presentation. Explorers running back Tim Wade pretended he was teammate Sean Coleman playing offense, freshman safety Jimmy Herron pretended he was Coleman playing defense and quarterback Matt Magarity did his best (arguably better) imitation of Nazareth super quarterback Daniel Harding, and La Salle prevailed in a contest that resembled a 33 record played at

56 The Explorers advance for a rematch against North Penn in a game likely (but not officially) to be played Saturday at Northeast High. As expected, the Districts 11 and 12 champs flew up and down at the speed of light. And while La Salle never trailed, leads were as safe as a turtle parked in the middle of the Autobahn. And how did the Explorers pull it off? By out-offensing the 10th-best scoring team in the state and somehow holding off the Blue Eagles spread attack without the services of the aforementioned Coleman, who suffered an injury to his right foot while making a 31-yard reception in the first quarter. The standout receiver/defensive back spent the remainder of the game on crutches on the sidelines. We put in a lot of work this week, plus a lot film work, said Herron, whose dazzling, diving interception at the La Salle 8-yard line with 2:30 left in the game sealed the ever-precarious win. We played our hearts out. Sean s a really important player, but we have such a deep team, and people can step up. They stepped up today and we got the job done. The duel began as expected, with the Explorers rolling 59 yards to score on the game s first possession, and then, after an exchange of fumbles, the Eagles going 80 yards to tie it. The Nazareth spread takes very few breaths. The Eagles lined up immediately after the conclusion of a play, got a signal from their sideline and ran another. The pace was frenetic, but the execution was precise. Harding, a 3,500-yard passer this year, sprayed the ball around to a bevy of talented receivers. And when he didn t, freshman Jordan Gray took over on the ground. But on this day, Harding was matched, toss for accurate toss, by Magarity, who would wind up with virtually the same passing yardage total as his heralded counterpart, while bettering him in completion percentage and touchdowns. We threw the ball better than we have in a while, said La Salle head coach Drew Gordon, and if we hadn t been able to do that we would have been in trouble. Instead, La Salle got in the early haymakers. The 31-yard pass to Coleman helped set up La Salle s second score. A 32-yard Magarity connection to Coleman s replacement, Casey Eidenshink, set up the third, a gorgeous catch and run by Wade who caught a short flat pass and weaved his way into the end zone. The Explorers led, 21-7, early in the second, but Nazareth came storming back with an 86-yard scoring drive highlighted by Harding s 32-yard pass to Alexander Tonnies and Gray s 36-yard run. Another Eagles drive, late in the half, was capped by Harding s short touchdown. But a missed extra point dashed the hosts chances of drawing even. And just before the half, La Salle fired back. Wade hauled in a pass down the right sideline and turned it into a 50-yard gain. The Explorers scored when Jared Herrmann s fumble inside the 5-yard line was covered in the end zone by teammate Chris Kane. The Explorers blew out their lead to on their first possession of the second half. Once again, it was Wade who did the pass-catching damage, getting well behind the Eagles defense as the Explorers ran the wheel, and hauling in a 47-yard scoring pass. That was something we saw during the game, Wade said. We saw we had the wheel, Gordon added. The pass was supposed to go to (Colin) Buckley, but (Magarity) saw Wade come open. 56

57 Frantically, Nazareth roared back again, closing to within late in the third quarter, but failed to convert a two-point conversion attempt when Mike Eife dragged down receiver Adam Bridgeforth short of the goal line. But after forcing a La Salle three-and-out, the Eagles went 78 yards on 15 plays to pull within with 6:01 left in the game. And when the Explorers faced fourth-and-one at their own 44 on the ensuing drive, the hearts of the Explorers faithful were in their collective throats. Gordon decided to go for it. There was a little hesitation only because we failed on third-and-two, the coach said. We decided to go off-tackle, away from their strong push up the middle, and I just told our players, This is personal now, guys. Wade took the handoff, got the first down, and didn t stop running until he had a 56-yard touchdown. We trust our offensive line, Wade said. We start working hard in January for a play like this, and I got a big hole. It was just a straight-ahead inside zone and I was just hoping to get the first down. Connor Kerrigan. Patrick Hoffman and backfield mate Herrmann created the seam, and Wade was gone. But the jubilation of the touchdown, which came with 4:28 to play, was quickly doused when the Explorers were unable to convert the extra point. It was still a one-score game, and Nazareth came right up the field. The Eagles drive reached the La Salle 36 when Harding decided to go for all, to Andrew Bridgeforth, down the right sideline. But Herron got over in time for the pick. And finally, the win was secured. I was sitting on the bubble, Herron said. I saw the ball in the air and went for it. And now, La Salle will go for a third straight trip to Hershey - with its pals from North Penn standing in the way. And for the winner, it will be the Fourth of July. by Rick O Brien, Inquirer Wade, La Salle advance to semifinals An efficient passing game, an unlikely receiving hero, and a big payoff on a fourth-quarter gamble helped La Salle earn its third straight Final Four football berth. The Explorers also overcame an early injury to a two-way standout while holding off pass-happy Nazareth, 41-33, in a PIAA Class AAAA state quarterfinal Saturday at Liberty High's Frank Banko Field. With La Salle (12-1) forced away from its usual ground-and-pound approach, Matt Magarity hit on 15 of 21 passes for 281 yards and three touchdowns. His top target? Workhorse rusher Tim Wade. Coming out of the backfield, the senior tailback caught five passes for 131 yards, including gains of 26, 47, and 50 yards. "They did a good job of stopping the run, so we had to pass more," Wade said. "Matt's a great passer, and he kept hitting the open guy. You have to credit the line, too, for giving him time to throw." Ahead by with 4 1/2 minutes to play, the Explorers faced a fourth-and-1 from their own 44. They went for it, and Wade, following blocks from fullback Jarred Herrmann, center Connor Kerrigan, and left guard Patrick Hoffman, burst through the line and raced 56 yards to pay dirt. "I was just looking to go straight ahead and get a yard or two," Wade said. "I wanted to get the first down. But I saw the hole open up, hit it, and took off. It was nice to take a little of the pressure off us." 57

58 Next for La Salle, ranked No. 2 in Southeastern Pennsylvania by The Inquirer, is a repeat state semifinal against third-ranked North Penn (12-2) next weekend at a site and time to be determined. The Explorers nipped the Knights, 38-35, last year. In the first half against Nazareth, the District 11 titlist, La Salle lost junior Sean Coleman, a speedy receiver and safety, to an apparent right-foot injury. Early in the second quarter, the 5-foot-9, 185-pound Wade (16 carries, 108 yards) turned a right-side pass into a 26-yard TD. Wideout Casey Eidenshink nicely wiped out a would-be tackler at the 12. In the third quarter, Magarity and Wade, streaking wide open in the middle of the field, connected for a 47-yard TD to make it The Explorers won despite a strong effort from Nazareth's Dan Harding. The 6-4, 205-pound senior completed 25 of 38 passes for 273 yards and a TD. "We thought we'd get people in his face a little more," La Salle coach Drew Gordon said. Early in the fourth quarter, the Blue Eagles (12-2) put together a 15-play, 78-yard scoring drive to cut the gap to Soon after, La Salle rolled the dice on fourth down, and Wade's surprising jaunt squashed the comeback. by Ted Silary 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 58

59 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, fullout 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. by Armand Vanore, Eastern PA Football La Salle beats Nazareth in Air Raid Tim Wade s 56 yard touchdown run on a daring fourth and one deep into the final stanza proved to be the difference in the La Salle Explorers thriller over the Nazareth Area Blue Eagles in a AAAA state playoff game at Frank Banko Field in Bethlehem. This game was loaded with big plays which gave each team s defensive coordinator s nightmares. On this day Wade needed whatever blocking he could get because the Blue Eagles were running up big numbers themselves. Nazareth quarterback Dan Harding has a big time arm and his quick three step drop deliveries combined with coach Rob Melosky s no huddle scheme kept La Salle on their heels all afternoon. The Explorers looked to take control early when quarterback Matt Magarity hit John Palermo for an 18 yard TD strike on their first offensive series. La Salle then recovered a Nazareth fumble on their first play but Wade gave the ball right back to the Eagles when he fumbled on his next carry. Harding and company then went nine plays and he hit freshman sensation RB Jordan Gray with a 10 yard TD toss which tied the game at seven. La Salle scored touchdowns on their next two series and it appeared for a while that they were going to put on a clinic. Jared Herrmann s one yard plunge followed by a Magarity pitch and catch to Wade for a 26 yard score put the Explorers up by

60 After another Magarity to Wade 47 yard touchdown pass (this one down the middle of the field to a wide open Wade), gave the Explorers a lead they had a chance to put the game away on their next series but Magarity overthrew Casey Eidenshink, which would have been a certain 64 yard touchdown pass. At that point the Eagles made it a point to take advantage of the miscue and controlled the pace of the game for the next twelve minutes. They went on seven and 15 play drives, each producing touchdowns. Gray accounted for 50 of the yards on the longer drive and after Adam Bridgeforth s six yard touchdown on a reverse the Eagles suddenly had momentum and were down The stage was then set for Wade s huge run. Facing third and 17 from their own 28 on their next possession, Magarity got the Explorers close to a first down with a 16 yard toss to Mike Piscopo putting the ball on the Explorer 44. That s when La Salle coach Drew Gordon decided to roll the dice and put the ball in Wade s hands to settle things. After Wade s TD they failed to convert the extra point and held an eight point lead putting the ball in Harding s hands one last time and a chance for a tie. With four minutes and change left in the fourth quarter, Nazareth moved the ball from their own 29 to La Salle s 36. Harding s last pass was then picked off by Jimmy Herron ending any chance for a Blue Eagle comeback. Wade was modest when asked about the most important carry in his Explorer career: We needed a yard and Connor (Kerrigan), Pat (Hoffman) and Dan (Wasylenko) gave me a cushion and then I saw daylight said Wade on the play that earned LaSalle their third straight trip to the AAAA eastern final. I like working with the guys up front. I rely on them all the time. Gordon appeared relieved when the game ended. We felt coming in that we could put some points up but we needed a lot because of the effectiveness of Nazareth s no huddle scheme. The last time we faced this type of offense was when we played Bergen (New Jersey powerhouse back in week 2). I m glad we were able to get yards especially in the air. We needed everything we could get. The AAAA District 12 champs now move on to face District 1 champ North Penn next week for the right to represent the east in Hershey the following week. The Explorers defeated North Penn in a classic showcase game back in week one. Gordon saw them dismantle Council Rock South the night before and came away impressed. The North Penn team I saw last night is not the same team we played at the beginning of the year. We are going to have our hands full. Nazareth (District 11 champs) ends their magical season at 12-2 and gave the folks in the Lehigh Valley a lot to remember with their high flying offense. Notes: Wade had 18 carries for 104 yards and 5 catches for 131 yards. Gray had 133 yards on 21 totes. Sean Burke had a ton of tackles for La Salle. Harding was 26 of 39 for 276 yards. Magarity was for 280. Chris Rocco provided excellent coverage in the defensive backfield and almost made a sensational diving interception late in the game. La Salle Nazareth LS: Palermo 18 pass from Magarity (Winslow kick) N: Gray 10 pass from Harding (Portnoy kick) LS: Herrmann 1 run (Winslow kick) LS: Wade 26 pass from Magarity (Winslow kick) N: Harding 1 run (Portnoy kick) N: Harding 2 run (kick failed) LS: Kane fumble recovery in end zone (Winslow kick) 60

61 LS: Wade 47 pass from Magarity (Winslow kick) N: Andrew Bridgeforth 4 run (pass failed) N: Adam Bridgeforth 6 run (Portnoy kick) LS: Wade 56 run (run failed) TEAM STATISTICS L N First Downs Rushing Yards Passing Yards Total Yards Passing Fumbles lost Penalties-Yards Punts-Avg INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS RUSHING La Salle: Wade , 1 TD; Magarity 8-17, 1 TD; Palermo 1-3; Herrmann 2-5, 1 TD; Nazareth: Gray ; Adam Bridgeforth 1-6, 1 TD; Andrew Bridgeforth 1-4, 1 TD; Harding 7-(-27), 2 TD s. PASSING La Salle: Magarity int., 282 yds., 3 TD s; Nazareth: Harding int., 283 yds., 1 TD. RECEIVING La Salle: Wade 5-131, 2 TD s; Coleman 2-39; Buckley 1-14; Palermo 2-30, 1 TD; Herrmann 2-15; C. Eidenshink 1-32; Piscopo 1-16; Kane 1-5. Nazareth: Adam Bridgeforth 7-86; Shepherd 6-63; Tonnies 4-76; Andrew Bridgeforth 4-41; Gray 4-17, 1 TD. INTERCEPTIONS La Salle: Herron. SACKS La Salle: Eife, 2; Palermo; Maginnis. Nazareth: Sharo. Game 14, Dec 10, 2011: North Penn 21 La Salle 14 (State Semifinal) December 8, 2011 by Dennis Way, Times Herald La Salle looks to make it four straight Predictions are merely opinions, and anyone can tell you the part of the human anatomy to which opinions are most often compared. When a couple of local titans are set to play a big game, regardless of the sport, it most often falls upon the local media to put forth their two cents as to what team will emerge victorious. It doesn t get any bigger than this Saturday s PIAA Class AAAA Eastern final football clash between La Salle and North Penn Highs. Both have won state football titles in this decade and perennially, both are among the top programs in the Commonwealth. 61

62 For each of them, to land in the state title game is a yearly expectation, and anything short of that is considered a disappointing season. And it is a tribute to both programs that these standards are maintained at the scholastic level, where the annual turnover of talent is a foregone reality. In the past 15 months, the Knights and Explorers have met on the gridiron three times, with the Explorers getting the upper hand on all three occasions. The first meeting came in September of 2010, when North Penn, ranked first in the state, played host to No. 2 and returning state champion La Salle. The Knights had the better of it in the early going, using a punishing running game and two Dom Taggart touchdowns to take a 14-6 halftime lead. But the Explorers, behind the passing of quarterback Matt Magarity, scored touchdowns on three straight second-half drives and prevailed as the Knights succumbed to four turnovers. When the pair met again at Plymouth-Whitemarsh High School in last season s Eastern final, nothing less than a classic was expected. And true to form, the Knights and Explorers delivered in spades. Once again, Magarity, the Explorers passing game and turnovers were the difference, with Magarity tossing the game-winning strike to Sean Coleman with 2:21 left in the fourth quarter. Still, in a contest that saw seven lead changes and neither side lead by more than a touchdown, La Salle s win was not secured until the Explorers intercepted a tipped pass in the dying seconds to thwart a late North Penn drive. Once again, the Knights were hurt by turnovers (3) and lost despite outgaining the Explorers by nearly 100 yards and converting five of five fourth downs. And if the Knights weren t frustrated by their opening-game loss to La Salle, their collective knuckles were ghost-white after being denied a state finals berth. That frustration, however, was going to go the way of the eight-track tape in this season s curtain-lifter, once again at PW. Both sides had been depleted slightly by graduation, and it was only tradition that dictated the two sides be state ranked. This time, the two sides felt short of replicating last season s Eastern final classic. But, amazingly, the plot didn t change much from the earlier pair of La Salle victories. This time, North Penn impressively built a lead. But the La Salle passing game led by Magarity brought the Explorers back. The senior quarterback tossed four second-half touchdown passes to Colin Buckley, and North Penn lost two late fumbles to stay at arm s distance. By now, the Knights were justifiably flabbergasted. So much so, they were blown out two games later by Saint Joseph s Prep and were only rescued from their surprising 1-2 start by a gut-check, win over a very good Central Bucks South team in Week Four. North Penn hasn t lost since. But guess who s standing in the Knights way again this Saturday with a state-finals berth on the line? Will La Salle go 4-for-4? Will the Knights again fall victim to a passing game and turnovers? It says here that North Penn finally gets off the schneid and exacts a measure of revenge at Northeast High School. Yes, North Penn will defeat La Salle. Reason? Actually, there are a two. One is the ever-popular law of averages. La Salle is a great team. But that being said, the Explorers have not been dominant in their three previous wins. They simply made plays at the right time. They are not clearly the better team. And to go 4-for-4 against an equally skilled foe is bucking some severe odds. 62

63 Two is the revenge factor. While La Salle is happy to be in position to turn a state-finals-appearance hat trick, no matter who the opponent, North Penn is thrilled at the prospect of playing La Salle - so badly the Knights can taste it. It s no surprise the North Penn faithful were chanting, We want La Salle! during the District One title game. And to a man, the Knights players couldn t suppress their overwhelming joy at the prospect of getting another shot at the Explorers. That extra bit of emotion should turn the tide. It says here, North Penn - in another classic. But please, don t take this opinion to the bank. The odds are just as likely that by game s end, we ll be compared to a part of the human anatomy. December 8, 2011 by Ted Silary, Daily News Hits keep on coming for Magarity, La Salle Merely playing quarterback will prove to be enough of a challenge for La Salle High's Matt Magarity tomorrow. But as the Explorers begin their first possession in a Class AAAA state semifinal vs. North Penn, set for noon at Northeast High's Charlie Martin Memorial Stadium, the 6-1, 200-pound senior would not mind - momentarily, of course - performing double duty as the offensive coordinator. You see, Magarity needs just 3 passing yards to reach 3,000 for his career. And his preferred first pass would be... "Probably one to Colin Buckley," he said, referring to the star senior wideout. "We've been together for so long. I started out throwing to him, and now it's ending up with him." As a seventh-grader, Magarity was the part-time QB for a regional CYO squad based at St. Genevieve, in Flourtown. He achieved one-and-only status as an eighth-grader, then put in his time at La Salle before becoming a 2-year varsity starter. His career numbers now show 209 completions in 385 attempts (54 percent) for 2,997 yards and 37 touchdowns. Nice, but can he remember his very first pass? "Pretty sure it was against Plymouth-Whitemarsh [in 2009]," Magarity said yesterday, before the Explorers practiced on the turf at that very same school. It was. "And I think I completed it," he said. Right again. "A little waggle pass out in the flat." We don't have the film, but we'll trust him on that one. Back then, Magarity had no idea he'd even emerge as a factor, let alone reach lofty heights. His family's mark, after all, had been made in basketball, and that was still the sport that warmed Matt's heart, even though he'd left it behind. "I always liked the team atmosphere of football," he said. "The way everyone had to come together. But basketball was my favorite because of all the improvisation. Now, I'm getting to do some of that in football because they let me call some audibles." Looonnng-time followers of Catholic League sports will recognize the Magarity name in the basketball context. His uncle, Bill, was a starting guard for La Salle's 1963 champions and others (Greg, Joe, Mark, 63

64 Jake) also played the sport. On another branch of the family tree, cousin Bill paced Cardinal Dougherty to the '70 crown and later became an all-timer in Sweden as a player and coach. Matt's dad, Mike, a k a "Meek," favored cross country, however, and in '72 placed third overall while leading La Salle to - you got it - a CL title. Under coach Drew Gordon, going back to his days as the offensive coordinator under Joe Colistra, La Salle has become the very definition of QB High. And the significance is not lost on Magarity. "Just the fact that I've been able to follow John Harrison ['08] and Drew Loughery ['10] is something I find to be astounding," he said. Quick aside: Harrison passed for 5,810 yards and Loughery totaled 5,355. Those numbers rank 2-3 in city history behind the efforts of Gordon's son, Brett ('98), who racked up 6,837 and later became his dad's offensive coordinator. (Increased work responsibilities have caused him to yield to Joe Wade, uncle of star rusher Tim Wade.) "Just looking back at their statistics is enough," Magarity continued. "But when I walk around school every day, I see their pictures everywhere and the references to the PCL titles they won. To even be mentioned in the same sentence with those guys is truly a special feeling. "All the passing stuff here, it starts with the Gordons. I wouldn't be nearly the quarterback I am without them. Any skill you have, they hone it. They polish it. And now coach Wade is continuing that. The short passes I can make off quick reads? I can make those because I was made to rep it out SO many times." Magarity, who now lives in Southampton and is being eyed by Franklin & Marshall, Harrison's alma mater, is hardly a one-trick pony. His GPA is "Nah, not at the top of the class," he said, smiling. "At La Salle we have guys with 4.5s. Phew, 4.5! I'll see those guys around school and say, 'Have fun with the books, boys. I'm going to lift some weights.' " Magarity's other main talent is music. This spring, it's possible he'll sing lead for a band comprised of female buddies. And for going on 3 years now, he has dabbled in composing. "I had to spend 3, 4 days in the hospital with a throat problem," he said. "I was bored out of my mind, so I started writing songs. Relaxing pop music, I guess you'd call it. "I'd sung in the chorus as a kid. It was just an outlet. A way to express myself. Something to get my mind off football, a little." Once Magarity was released from the hospital... "I figured I'd go on Facebook and post some of the lyrics," he said, "Just to see what kind of response they'd get." He laughed. "Oh, boy. Was that a bad idea." Major busting of cubes, eh? "Exactly." Tomorrow, a classic is exactly what the fans can expect. At the same stage in last year's AAAA playoffs, Magarity passed for 180 yards and two TDs as La Salle prevailed, "It's always exciting to play North Penn. Always a good time," Magarity said. "The fact that we'll be playing them for the fourth time in 2 years [also season openers] just adds to it. These two programs have so much prestige. "Now, it's like I know all their guys. And I've known [star rusher] Ralph Reeves since the eighth grade. We played on an all-star team together. He was the fullback. I was the quarterback." And people are still singing Matt Magarity's praises. 64

65 December 7, 2011 by Dennis Way, Times Herald COUNTDOWN TO KICKOFF: La Salle s Burke, Wasylenko OK in enemy territory Living in the backyard of the enemy is hardly an enviable address. But for Lansdale area residents, and La Salle High football players, Sean Burke and Dan Wasylenko, they ve learned to cope and even enjoy their surroundings, even though they ll be doing battle with their neighbors Saturday when La Salle meets North Penn (12 noon, Northeast High) for the right to go to the PIAA Class AAAA state finals. Growing up virtually across the street from North Penn High School, it would be natural for senior linebacker Burke to take or even dish out some heat this week. Perhaps don a hard hat while strolling in the neighborhood or maybe venture into a chat room or three and remind the North Penn faithful that La Salle is 3-0 against the Knights over the past 15 months. But trash talk is not Burke s M.O. And neither, it seems, is it the way his old pals from the neighborhood are approaching the showdown. In fact, Burke is thrilled to be taking on North Penn this Saturday. And it has nothing to do with claiming neighborhood bragging rights. I know a handful of the North Penn players, Burke said. I ve played football with Matt Smith and Ralph Reeves and baseball with T.J. Smink and Ryan Copenhaver. I like the new rivalry. They re a good team. There s no envy. T.J. and I text, and if it s football season we usually talk about football. So, they exchange a few good-natured barbs, make a friendly wager or two? No, Burke laughed. He ll usually say, Good game, or wish me luck. We both want to play against some of the top teams in the state. We just want to play a good football game against a good football team. Two-way senior lineman Wasylenko finds himself in the same enemy territory as Burke. And he has dealt with it with the same unshakeable calm. It s pretty cool, I think, said Wasylenko when asked about the coincidence of playing one of the biggest football games in the state against players who live mere blocks away. I don t talk to their players that much, but I played CYO baseball and football against some of them. In football, I played for Mount Carmel and most of their guys played for Corpus Christi. And they re two of the big rivals in the league. Now, everywhere you go, you see North Penn bumper stickers and people wearing North Penn clothing. And I got some nasty looks in a restaurant this week when I wore my La Salle jacket. It s been a banner season, both individually and team-wise, for Burke, who was expected to be one of the Philadelphia Catholic League s top returning defenders, and has not disappointed. Arguably the Explorers best defender, Burke has helped La Salle tame high-octane offenses, from passhappy Saint Joseph s Prep and Nazareth, to the ground-grabbing attack of West Catholic, to the balanced schemes of North Penn and Roman Catholic. Last year, I got to play with and learn from some great linebackers, Burke said. This year I ve had to step up into a bigger role. But to me it s a team effort. I m just happy if we win a game, even if I don t have any tackles. The key to the Explorers recent success, Burke said, is continuity. We graduated a lot of seniors after we won the state championship (in 2009), Burke said. But last year, everyone stepped up. Our coaches put us in the positions we needed to be, and we continued to be successful. That approach has continued this season. 65

66 A prime example, Burke said, was La Salle s victory over Nazareth this past Saturday. The team lost key defensive back Sean Coleman early in the game, but kept the Blue Eagles in check with a group of underclassmen not often found in the lineup. Nazareth was very good, Burke said, but the kids stepped up. The (La Salle) teams before us set a very high standard, and our coaches expect us to play up to that standard. And we expect the same thing. Like Burke, Wasylenko gave the majority of credit to the Explorers coaches. The reason for our success, to me, is the way our coaches prepare us, he said. We ve been getting ready for anything this week, and we have to be able to stop whatever they try. North Penn is good at both running or passing, and they ll give you a little bit of everything. La Salle is hoping of parlaying another good season into another finals berth. In the Explorers way, however, is a very good football team featuring headliners from Burke s and Wasylenko s own neighborhoods. North Penn has been good for a long time, said Burke, who like Wasylenko was simply following a family tradition by choosing to attend La Salle over North Penn. And where I live, it s kind of cool to be in the middle of it. I don t get tired of hearing about it. We always try and make every game the same as the next, Wasylenko said. To us, it s more important that it s the (state) semifinal than it is we re playing North Penn. But what team has the advantage, the team (La Salle) that s won each of the last three meetings or the team (North Penn) that s seeking retribution after three straight losses? I think they have the revenge factor, Wasylenko said, and they have nothing to lose. That makes them dangerous, which is why we ve been preparing hard every day. The way I see it, Burke said, this is a completely different team than the one that beat them twice last year, That team is gone. And really, we re both different teams than the ones that played in September. North Penn has gotten so much better, and we feel we ve gotten better, too. It s going to be a totally different ballgame. by Rick O Brien, Inquirer North Penn solves La Salle, wins semifinal This time, North Penn's resolve never weakened. A rock-solid defensive showing, including a huge fourth-down stop late, and key contributions from three bullish fullbacks helped the formerly frustrated Knights claim their first victory over fellow Southeastern Pennsylvania power La Salle. Saturday's triumph, in a hard-fought PIAA Class AAAA state semifinal at Northeast's Charlie Martin Memorial Stadium, earned North Penn a trip to Hershey and ended an 0-for-3 skid against the Explorers. "This is awesome," said North Penn's Danny Wynne, a senior wingback and strong safety/outside linebacker. "We played as a team, didn't back down, and made enough big plays to get it done." In limiting La Salle to 80 yards rushing and two second-quarter scores, the Knights (13-2) moved to within a win of their first state championship since "I couldn't be prouder of our team," senior fullback and linebacker Ralph Reeves said. "This means the world to us. We have one more to play, but I'm so happy right now." 66

67 Next Saturday, at 6 p.m. at Hersheypark Stadium, North Penn will play District 3's Central Dauphin, a semifinal winner Saturday night over defending champ North Allegheny, of District 7. The 6-foot, 230-pound Reeves, playing with a badly bruised right hand, did all the scoring for Dick Beck's squad. The difference was his third rushing tally, a 1-yard dive with 3 minutes, 55 seconds left in the third quarter. Fellow fullback James Fielder was similarly productive. The 5-foot pounder, in his third game back after suffering a deep left-thigh bruise, carried 20 times for 104 yards. With tailback Kyle Mayfield nursing a shoulder injury and getting only three touches, the District 1 titlists also turned to handyman Dan Gevirtz (12 carries for 49 yards) and a third fullback, Matt Smith (six for 45). Smith, making up for a second-quarter fumble that resulted in La Salle's first score, set up Reeves' decisive plunge with a 22-yard dart up the middle. He later added runs of 9 and 14 yards. North Penn totaled 280 rushing yards on 56 attempts. Quarterback Corey Ernst (7-for-13 passing, 81 yards) chipped in 58 yards on seven tries. With 2:25 remaining, La Salle (12-2) faced a fourth and 1 from its own 49. The Knights' front four answered the challenge by stopping Tim Wade (19 carries for 79 yards) for no gain. Thanks to a fourth-down stand of their own, the Explorers regained possession with 1:58 to go. But five plays later, Steve Gozur stepped in front of Colin Buckley and made a clinching interception at the North Penn 15. North Penn La Salle LS: Herrmann 29 pass from Magarity (Winslow kick) NP: Reeves 1 run (Mandes kick) NP: Reeves 10 run (Mandes kick) LS: Buckley 12 pass from Magarity (Winslow kick) NP: Reeves 1 run (Mandes kick) TEAM STATISTICS North Penn La Salle 20 First Downs Rushing Yards Passing Yards Total Offense Punts / Avg Pen. / Yds 4-50 INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS NORTH PENN RUSHING: James Fielder , Corey Ernst 7-58, Dan Gevirtz 12-49, Matt Smith 6-45, Ralph Reeves 4-12, Kyle Mayfield 3-8, Danny Wynne 1-7. PASSING: Corey Ernst

68 RECEIVING: Dan Gevirtz 4-61, Shayne Watson 1-17, James Fielder 2-3. INTERCEPTIONS: Kris Akins, Steve Gozur. SACKS: Derek Brandt, Shayne Watson. TACKLING LEADERS: Ralph Reeves 6, Derek Brandt 6, Matt Smith 6 (all solos), Danny Wynne 5, Shayne Watson 5 (all solos). LA SALLE RUSHING: Tim Wade 19-79, Chris Kane 1-7, Jared Herrmann 1-0, Matt Magarity 7-(-2). PASSING: Matt Magarity RECEIVING: Sean Coleman 5-64, Colin Buckley 6-63, Jared Herrmann 1-29, Casey Eidenshink INTERCEPTIONS: None. SACKS: None. TACKLING LEADERS: Sean Burke 14 (9 solos), Chris Rocco 10 (8 solos), John Palermo 8, Matt Maginnis 7 (5 solos), Jimmy Herron 4, Andrew Carlone 4, Tyler Kern 4. by Charles Kruzits, Journal Register Explorers heartbroken after tough loss There wasn t a dry eye on the La Salle sidelines as the remaining seconds ticked off the clock at Charlie Martin Memorial stadium. The Explorers came up on the wrong end of a decision to rival North Penn on Saturday afternoon in the PIAA Class AAAA playoffs. It s only the second time the Explorers have felt the effects of a loss, but, the emotional hit was unrivaled. For the seniors on the team, this was the last time they would ever wear an L on their helmet or organized football for that matter. We ve played our hearts out and we gave our all, senior linebacker Sean Burke said while holding back tears. His high school career is over but the heart and soul of the Explorers defense added, This has been the best four months of my life. Despite not being in the same conference, these two successful programs have established quite the rivalry. La Salle has won the previous three contests, including a win in the state playoff semifinal last season. The two also battled to a nail-biter as the Explorers bested the Knights Like the games that came before, the competitive nature was evident and the energy was high. After stopping the Knights on fourth down with 1:58 seconds left in the fourth quarter giving senior quarterback Matt Magarity a chance for late game heroics. However, Magarity was intercepted as he attempted a deep ball down the field for the oft-targeted Colin Buckley. The rangy Buckley had a spectacular one-handed catch for a touchdown late in the second quarter as the defensive back for the Knights was holding Buckley s right arm and was flagged for pass interference. Buckley was saddened by the outcome but kept his head held high. This has been the greatest four years of my life, Buckley said. It was a great game and unfortunately we didn t come out on top. I wish North Penn the best and I hope they go on and win states. For La Salle coach Drew Gordon, he will now have to find replacements for his best players. Magarity, Buckley, Wade and Burke will venture off to college leaving important voids. Magarity threw for 26 touchdowns, Buckley was on the receiving end of 11 touchdowns and 601 yards. Wade, the undersized but tough-running back ran for 1574 yards and 22 touchdowns. Burke, who s looking to play football for a local D3 school, was a key component to the Explorers defense that held five opponents to seven points or less. 68

69 These seniors overachieved, Gordon said. They gave leadership and commitment and were a great example for the underclassmen. This season I ve had the most fun than any season before, it was very rewarding. While addressing the Explorers after the game, one of the La Salle assistant coaches said, you guys represented the Catholic league and are a true embodiment to La Salle. The reaction from the players on La Salle put a lot into perspective. The sport that exemplifies masculinity also illustrates the emotional ties that teammates have with one another. Pep rallies will be missed and the camaraderie will be gone. The long practices and grueling, cramped bus rides will be something these players talk about for years to come. by Ted Silary 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 tearyeyed 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 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 69

70 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. by Dennis Way, Journal Register North Penn grounds out win over La Salle It was never confirmed whether or not North Penn High s football team spent halftime of Saturday s PIAA Class AAAA Eastern final searching for black cats, ladders or broken mirrors. But the Knights sure didn t have many things go right. Playing new archrival La Salle at Northeast High School for the right to go to next weekend s state final in Hershey, the Knights first three possessions resulted in fumbling the ball away twice and being held on downs - and two of those possessions were deep in Explorers territory. Then, after finally righting the ship and taking a seven-point lead late in the second quarter, North Penn watched La Salle march 58 yards and tie the game with 35 seconds left before intermission. And having dropped their previous three meetings with La Salle, it appeared destiny would once again spit in the faces of the Knights. But at the break, North Penn coach Dick Beck did not look for excuses, blame the officials or claim the sun was in his eyes. Instead, he repeated a sermon he s given to his Knights on more than one occasion. We preach that it s not what you do when things are going good, Beck repeated, it s what you do when things are going bad. What the Knights did was buckle up, step up and step into the state finals with an inspired second-half performance that keyed a victory and set off a wild celebration in the middle of Charles Martin Memorial Field. This team deserved it, said North Penn senior linebacker/tight end/fullback Ralph Reeves, who scored all three Knights touchdowns, especially after letting up that touchdown at the end of the first half. Then to come back and play the way we did... 70

71 This means the world. We still have one game to go. But I m so happy to get this. What North Penn did in the second half was lean heavily on its running game, a sound strategy in a swirling wind, and defensively, lock down La Salle s passing game. Scorched for 137 yards and two touchdowns in the first half by La Salle quarterback Matt Magarity, North Penn held Magarity to a 5-for-16 second half, 47 passing yards. And for good measure, Knights defensive back Steve Gozur secured the victory with an interception with 41 seconds to play. We had to stop the pass, Reeves said. Everyone s been questioning our defensive backs. But they stepped up. But it looked like more of the same in the first half. North Penn got a short punt and began its first drive at the La Salle 39 - only to fumble the ball away two plays later. Then after driving to the Explorers 30 on their second drive, the Knights could not convert a fourth-and- 13 from the 35. A second lost fumble, on the first play of the second quarter, resulted in Magarity throwing a 29-yard strike to Jared Herrmann and La Salle taking a 7-0 lead. The Knights bounced back, however, and buoyed by two questionable calls - one for roughing the passer and another for pass interference - went 80 yards on 11 plays, with Reeves cracking in from the 1 to tie the game. After Shayne Watson s sack forced a Magarity fumble that Josh Cook pounced on on the ensuing La Salle possession, the Knights seized the opportunity, navigating 62 yards on seven snaps, with Reeves scoring from the 10. The holes were there all day, Reeves said. (On the touchdown) I could have driven a bus through that one. The Knights had the lead, the momentum and, seemingly, the halftime lead. But Magarity had other ideas. The La Salle quarterback, along with running back Tim Wade, pushed the Explorers toward paydirt. Magarity found Colin Buckley four times on the 58-yard drive, the final time in the left corner of the end zone, to tie the game at Hey, (Buckley) made a great catch, (Magarity) made a great throw, give them credit and keep playing, Beck told his team. After the break and a North Penn punt, Wade s running triggered an Explorers drive that eventually reached the Knights 14. But facing third-and-six, Magarity misfired on a pair of passes, the second one just missing Buckley inside the Knights 5. If the near-miss slightly deflated the Explorers balloon, what followed popped it. Two plays after the stop, North Penn quarterback Corey Ernst laid one up down the middle of the field and Dan Gevirtz went up to haul it in between two defenders 40 yards later. A 22-yard run by Matt Smith on a trap play got North Penn inside the 10. Two plays later, Reeves gave the Knights the lead. That was the turning point, said La Salle coach Drew Gordon. That was huge. They go down and score in six, seven plays and it was the difference in the game. That was a big step, stopping La Salle down there, Beck said. That ignited us. This is truly a team. They pick each other up. With the lead, North Penn s defense would allow just 63 yards the rest of the way. Meanwhile, the Knights chewed up valuable time and yardage with their ground game. We wanted to commit to the run, Beck said. I felt we had an advantage there. Our tight ends are such great blockers, James (Fielder) is a great downhill runner. And really, we wanted to take advantage of what we do best. 71

72 They ran the ball very well, said La Salle senior linebacker Sean Burke. We stopped them when we needed to most of the game. We just came up a little short. North Penn had a chance to add points early in the fourth quarter. But the Knights passed up a short field-goal attempt and tried to convert a fourth-and-two from the four. But the Explorers shut the door on an Ernst run. In the final 4 minutes, La Salle had two chances to tie. The first died on downs when North Penn swarmed Wade at midfield on fourth-and-a-half-yard with 2:17 left. The second brought the game to an end when Gozur made a diving pick at the Knights 15. If there was a hex when it came to playing La Salle, it was officially over. North Penn was on its way to Hershey. Give La Salle credit, Beck said. They re tough kids and that s really a classy program. You saw (La Salle standout Sean) Coleman out there playing (despite a foot injury that was supposed to sideline him), and Wade might be the toughest kid in Pennsylvania. It s a tough loss, Burke said, but everyone played their heart out and I couldn t ask my teammates for anything else. A great team won today, and I wish them well in Hershey. by Ted Silary, Daily News Playoff loss for La Salle, Kerrigan A good 15 minutes after the final whistle sounded on Saturday night, the pain remained quite raw. Wet eyes still made the prominent senior members of La Salle High's football team stand out from others, and when center Connor Kerrigan was approached for comment, he responded politely, yet firmly, "I really don't think I can talk right now." His father had warned him... In 1981, Jay Kerrigan was a star center for Roman Catholic, and wound up earning third team Daily News All-City honors before moving on to Ursinus. That fall, the Cahillites defeated Cardinal O'Hara, 18-6, in the Catholic South regular season, but then were table-turned by that same foe, 9-6, in a division semifinal that was also the first overtime game in city history. "When I come home from practice," a much more collected Connor said yesterday by phone, "I always talk with my dad about football things. He always mentions his Roman days and how heartbreaking it is to lose your last game [playoff, that is; Roman finished '81 with a frolic past Roxborough]. "Now I see what he meant. When I came home [Saturday], we had a good talk. He really comforted me. Made things easier. We talked about all the great times I've had through my football career at La Salle." The last game, played at Northeast, was a PIAA Class AAAA semi. The Explorers fell to North Penn, a team they'd bested in the season opener [and twice last year], by "When two good teams keep playing each other, it's like the law of averages is going to pop up at some point," coach Drew Gordon said. "But I don't want to just say, 'It was North Penn's turn.' They earned it." Thanks to great defense - linebacker Sean Burke notched 15 tackles (eight solos) and a forced fumble - and wise use of timeouts, La Salle had two possessions in the final 4 minutes, 16 seconds. The first ended inches from midfield, when star rusher Tim Wade was stonewalled on fourth-and-1. The final play of No. 2 began at NP's 36 with 46.4 seconds remaining. Trying to hit Colin Buckley, Matt Magarity (14- for-33, 184 yards, one touchdown apiece to Buckley and Jared Herrmann) threw an interception. "I thought Timmy had it. Just one inch short," Kerrigan said. "And then I thought the pass from Matt to Colin would work; they've been so successful. It was hard to watch that happen. We've been working 72

73 since January to get back to Hershey (the 2010 squad fell in the state final after the '09 contingent finished on top). To come close yet lose the way we did, by one touchdown, it was heartbreaking. "North Penn was very physical. They came in looking for revenge and they were swingin' right from the start." Kerrigan's fellow grunts were Luke Persichetti (guard) and Matt Maginnis (tackle) to the right, and Pat Hoffman (G) and Dan Wasylenko (T) to the left. Quality junior Tom Spiteri had been lost to injury a month ago. Though Maginnis was the only returning starter, the line helped the offense churn to 5,044 yards in 14 games (360.3 average). Saturday night, there was something that helped everyone regroup. "After I talked to my dad, a bunch of the senior players came over to our house," said Kerrigan, an Upper Dublin resident who's receiving Division III interest and wants to major in communications. "There were 14 of us, I think. We focused on all the great times. "Even though we're all from different neighborhoods, we have a tight bond. We've been playing together for 4 years now. We talk to each other in the hallways, talk again after school, always get together on the weekends... We're just very, very close." Thus, all the pain. As Connor Kerrigan's dad, 30 years later, could confirm, it never quite goes away by Dennis Way, Times Herald La Salle s injured Coleman put best foot forward in loss All week long, the reports out of the La Salle camp couldn t have been more pessimistic. Sean Coleman, the Explorers standout receiver and defensive back, had gone out in the first quarter of the team s PIAA Class AAAA Eastern semifinal against Nazareth with an injury to his right foot. He was on crutches for the remainder of the game, and as of Monday of this week, La Salle head coach Drew Gordon said he was 95 percent sure Coleman would not play in Saturday s Eastern final against North Penn. By Thursday, the word was, Coleman was going to try and give it a go. Saturday, Coleman was not only on the field, but hauling in five passes for 64 yards in the Explorers loss to the Knights. As it turned out, Coleman had no plans to miss the game. And when he showed up at La Salle Saturday morning, he pronounced himself good to go, He just came up and said, I m in, said La Salle assistant coach Dom D Addona. He s a warrior. Nothing was going to stop him. I hadn t practiced all week, Coleman explained, and I was waiting to see. I was told I couldn t hurt it any more. So I just tried my best not to let it get to me. The injury, Coleman said, was diagnosed as a sprain on the top of the foot. But it was at the bottom of the arch of the foot that caused the most discomfort. I guess it s bruised, Coleman said. Wednesday was the first day I walked on it, and by Friday I was able to run on the treadmill. (Saturday) morning I woke up and decided I could probably go. If it were possible, I wasn t going to miss this game. Coleman said the foot held up well, especially early on. At the beginning of the game, it wasn t bad at all, he said. I wasn t at my best, but I gave it all I could. By the end of the game it was pretty tough. I couldn t play defense and I wasn t full strength on offense. 73

74 Sean was OK d to play, said La Salle head coach Drew Gordon, and we told him to go as long as it wasn t hurting him. It made no sense to spot him. We wanted him to go as best he could for as long as he could, but to stop if was bothering him. It was really amazing that he was able to play today. Coleman was understandably disappointed in the outcome of the game, but he had nothing but praise for the team that emerged victorious. North Penn played well, they re really a good team, Coleman said. It stinks we lost, but we wish them well. We hope they can represent eastern Pennsylvania well. by Danny Spinelli 14 I am still in shock. Usually, I try to write my football recaps as soon as possible really who wants to read about a game that happened a week ago? In this case though, I sat just thinking. I did not know what to write about this game. North Penn had finally beaten La Salle, taking down the Explorer s football hegemony North Penn s senior giant, Ralph Reeves, scored three TDs, as his team dominated La Salle, even limiting them to 80 yards rushing. I know that the Knights had a chip on their shoulder (3 losses to La Salle) but WE were the hot team La Salle was rolling! They had 11 straight wins and were set for this collision course with North Penn. As La Salle teacher Ray Shay said, They had won the Christmas battle! They beat Nazareth at Bethlehem High! But alas! this was not the year, and the time has now come to evaluate what we have seen. I decided on three vital topics: teamwork, individual standouts, and the seniors. The La Salle football season is over how strange those words sound. The season began and ended with North Penn. A fired up crowd on Labor Day weekend was treated to an aerial show in which senior TE Colin Buckley caught 4 TD passes, as La Salle erased a halftime deficit to win Senior QB Matt Magarity showed resilience in bouncing back from a benching by coach Drew Gordon to eventually lead his team to victory. This game personified La Salle courage and strength in the face of an adversity. This theme would be highlighted again when the Explorers faced their ancient enemy (as Mr. Wasylenko calls them) St. Joe s Prep. This time the deficit was 17-0, and the hero was junior Sean Coleman. He reeled in a 34yd. TD pass following his own interception to help cement a La Salle victory. The Explorers exemplified the word team and rallied around each other in times of distress. The untimely deaths of junior OL/DL Andrew Carlone s father as well as sophomore Tamar Turner s mother caused widespread mourning across the La Salle community, including the football team. Each individual stepped up when a teammate was down. In the PCL semifinal game, senior RB Tim Wade carried the offense fully in the absence of fellow runner Jared Herrmann, finishing the game with a record-high 300 yards rushing. In the PCL final, a senior leader, cornerback Ryan Otis, had to sit out with an injury. Freshman Jimmy Herron started in place of Otis and helped give La Salle their third straight title with an important interception late in the game. Seniors defined this team and it is important to acknowledge their friendship. As a basketball manager, I have to run into the trainer s room a lot to grab things. The football seniors are always together in there, joking with each other and preparing for practice. After games they always hang out with each other. Over their four years in the program, these guys have embraced each other. From the sidelines, the magic of their friendship is evident. To see such a beautiful thing be lost now is sad. North Penn took this 74

75 season away from us but just as well, a new batch of seniors will be ready to play ball on Labor Day weekend of next year. Let s salute our departing Explorers: WR Tripp Kenney (a LEADING candidate for TedSilary.com s Teammate of the Year); LB Dillon Smith; WR Colin Buckley; WR Devin Merritt; WR Tom Finnegan; DB Ryan Otis; SS Nick McShane; QB Matt Magarity; TE/SS Mike Piscopo; WR/DB Jason DeNofa; SS Christian Ciammetti; FB/LB John Palermo; RB Tim Wade; LB Sean Burke; SS Mike Pizzo; OL Richie Storck; OL/DL Tyler Kern; OL/DL Dan Wasylenko; OL/DL Connor Kerrigan; OL/DL Andrew Carlin; OL Pat Flynn; DL Vince Sacco; OL/DL Matt Maginnis; WR Frank Ferguson; WR/DB Casey Eidenshink These seniors have devoted massive amounts of their time to something that they love. High school will be ending soon for them, but they have already proven themselves as winners. It has been my absolute pleasure to document their accomplishments (and occasional missteps) during this year. HAIL LA SALLE! 75