Posted on 16 September 2015 by ldevlin.
NETHER PROVIDENCE >> For most of the first half Tuesday, Marple Newtown coach Charlie Dodds exhorted George Lambritsios to live out the “center” portion of his center forward position.
The All-Delco, quintessential No. 9 was following the action, drifting from the spaces between center backs and gravitating toward the ball as it often found Hunter Dyson’s left wing, instead of representing a passing outlet to attack the center of Strath Haven’s defense.
Midway through the half, Lambritsios got the message. And what followed should’ve come as no surprise to anyone who saw the forward tally one of the Central League’s most prolific goal totals last year.
Lambritsios recorded a hat trick, including two goals in 29 seconds in the first, to lead Marple Newtown to a 3-2, Central League win.
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Posted on 14 September 2015 by ldevlin.
SPRINGFIELD >> There’s another Crowley playing football at Ridley. His name is Sean and he’s a sophomore linebacker.
Friday night, the young Crowley — whose older brother, Mike, was an All-Delco defensive back in 2012 — made the play of the game to help Ridley to a 25-20 victory over Springfield.
In the third quarter, Crowley ripped the ball from a Springfield running back and ran 48 yards the other way to give the Green Raiders a lead they would not relinquish.
Crowley was one of the heroes in a statement win. Ridley is 2-0 for the first time since 2012, when it last qualified for the District One playoffs.
“I saw my other linebacker (Ryan) Gricco hold him up at the line of scrimmage. I knew he wasn’t carrying the ball,” Crowley said. “So, I just took the ball right from him and I knew I was gone. Nobody ever really touched me. All my boys blocked for me and I knew I was going for six.”
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Posted on 11 September 2015 by ldevlin.
TREDYFFRIN >> Needing a drink of water on a hot late-summer day, Evan Gibbs received that request from his Conestoga teammates.
The Conestoga senior got the water he deserved, but not just a cup to catch his breath. Instead, he got the entire Gatorade bucket dumped on him in celebration.
That bucket was the only object that could cool Gibbs off on the pitch Tuesday afternoon
Gibbs scored the game-winning goal in the 85th minute to lead Conestoga to a 2-1 overtime victory over West Chester Henderson in a nonleague game at Teamer Field.
To say Gibbs earned every ounce of that water is an understatement. He carried the Pioneers (2-0) on his back, scoring both goals in leading his team to a huge early-season win over one of the top teams in the Ches-Mont League.
“That’s one of the best teams in the state right there,” Gibbs said. “It means a ton to us and is just a big confidence boost to this team. This win tells us we have potential this year.”
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Posted on 08 September 2015 by ldevlin.
Jack was in the fifth grade and Billy was in sixth, both football players for Sacred Heart in Havertown. It was supposed to be their first year playing football together. Well… that was the idea anyhow.
“We were doing Oklahomas and Billy was running the ball. I was a linebacker,” Jack said. “I didn’t really know how to tackle back then, so my head was straight down and…
“…And right into my arm,” Billy chimed in.
Billy went directly to the hospital. The pain didn’t bother him as much as the realization that his football season was over.
“I was more mad at that than anything,” Billy said.
They’re the Farrell boys, and football has been a part of their lives for as long as they can remember. They’ve listened to gridiron glory stories from their dad and former youth coach, Bill, who was a linebacker at Haverford High and played lacrosse at West Chester University. Now the Farrell brothers are starting for the Fords, both as linebackers. Bone-crushing is a term often used to describe tough defensive players such as the Farrell brothers. Sometimes, Jack takes the expression a little too literally.
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Posted on 08 September 2015 by ldevlin.
BUCKTOWN >> Rich Kolka and the Wildcats didn’t get off to the start they had been hoping for.
In his first go as head coach of Owen J. Roberts on Friday night, Kolka and the Wildcats got into an early they couldn’t overcome, eventually falling to Conestoga 41-14.
“For our first live-action game tonight, I thought we did a lot of nice things,” he said afterward. “It’s tough to simulate live speed during the offseason, so hopefully these guys will learn from this game and be ready for the season. There are certainly some things we can take away from this loss and do different next time around.”
Conestoga running back Corey Manning ran wild against the OJR defense, racking up 199 yards on the ground to go along with two touchdowns.
“I was seeing the holes and running the ball hard,” said Manning. “My vision with the ball has always been the most important part of my game. I always try and run hard, but the main thing for me is to get behind my blockers and find some open space to run with it.”
Manning found plenty of open space from the start, needing just three rushes on his team’s opening drive to march the ball 64 yards for the score. He also punched it in from four yards out to cap off the Pioneers’ second drive, giving his team a 14-0 lead.
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Posted on 08 September 2015 by ldevlin.
RIDLEY TWP. >> For 23 minutes and 50 seconds Friday night, the meeting between Ridley and Glen Mills bore all the trappings of a Week 1 game. Then Christian Dunn got to work.
Dunn’s 55-yard pitch-and-catch from quarterback Cade Stratton as the first half clock expired permanently tipped the scales in the Green Raiders’ favor in a 30-0 win. It also exemplified the potential and the feeling-out process that Ridley’s offense dealt with in the first half.
The play was the best bit of execution Ridley mustered on the night, a crossing pattern where Stratton hit Dunn in stride at midfield, then Dunn used a stellar block from Brock Anderson and steamrolled a would-be tackler inside the 10.
“I heard the call, and just everyone did what they were supposed to do,” Dunn said. “Everything just fell into place.”
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Posted on 08 September 2015 by ldevlin.
GLENOLDEN >> The timeout gave Kyle Long time to think about what he’d do differently if given the chance.
The Springfield sophomore got taken down on a perfect form tackle by Interboro safety Connor Adams on a third-and-short dumpoff pass, leading the Cougars into a fourth-and-3 on their 20-yard line with the game on the line.
Fortunately for Long, though, he got another crack at it. With Temple-bound tight end Dan Archibong drawing a lot of Interboro attention on the left side, Long flared out to the right side and found himself in a one-on-one matchup. Quarterback Brandon DiChiacchio lofted a pass over an outstretched Interboro arm and into Long’s arms. He made one lethal right-to-left cut and zipped 80 yards for the game-winning touchdown in a 14-9 Springfield win.
“I was a checkdown and we had trips on the left side with Arch over there, so they shifted to that side and the safety had me,” Long said. “The play before, he tackled me, and I knew he wasn’t going to get me twice. I went out, cut back in and I was off to the races after that.”
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Posted on 08 September 2015 by ldevlin.
UPPER DARBY >> There was a time when broken plays in practice would’ve elicited the same reaction from Rich Gentile’s players – guys standing around, with their hands on their hips.
“Hasn’t been like that in awhile,” said Gentile, Upper Darby’s coach.
The Royals make a habit of playing through bad snaps, dropped handoffs, and false starts. The way Gentile sees it, those plays are bound to surface in games. His players might as well be prepared to see them through.
Upper Darby scored a pair of touchdowns on broken plays, building a sizeable early lead and burying Bonner-Prendergast, 21-8, Friday night to win the John E. Clark Trophy in the annual Upper Darby Bowl.
“This is exactly how we wanted to start the season,” Gentile said.
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Posted on 08 September 2015 by ldevlin.
MARPLE >> Nearly one year had passed since Michael Shelly was honored at Marple Newtown High’s Harry R. Harvey Field.
The Tigers were hosting Harriton in a Central League contest Friday, Sept. 12, 2014. At the time, the freshman Shelly wanted nothing more than to be in uniform, standing on the home sideline and supporting his teammates. Instead, Shelly was bound to a wheelchair. The hundreds of fans and students in attendance gave Shelly a raucous ovation 30 minutes before the game. Shelly, with his family by his side, raised his hand to acknowledge his adoring fans.
In August 2014, days before the start of his first high school training camp, Shelly received the diagnosis: non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. Cancer.
Fast forward to Sept. 4, 2015, opening night of the football season. Marple Newtown at Cardinal O’Hara.
There was Shelly in uniform, ready for the chance to hit the field and lend a hand on offense, defense or special teams. Shelly had overcome the odds and put the stamp on his victory over this terrible disease.
Shelly dressed. And Shelly played.
With the Tigers on their way to a lopsided win, Shelly experienced one of the happiest moments of his life. He hustled onto the field in the fourth quarter and lined up on defense. The ball was snapped and Shelly, a sophomore defensive lineman, was officially a high school football player.
It was a ride he will never forget.
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Posted on 08 September 2015 by ldevlin.
Penncrest’s school-record setting 2014 season came at a steep price, with Paul Norris having to replace 10 of the seniors who backstopped that 14-win performance.
This fall’s follow-up effort will be anchored on opposite edges of the pitch – by All-Central goalie Liam Thomas and highly-touted, well-coiffed forward Sam Brown, who was injured last season but notched 10 goals as a freshman. The rest of Norris’ team will flow around those two, a characteristic corps of technically-sound, solid-but-not-spectacular players like Zac Groses, Shea Morgan, Ryan Schultz and Charlie Simpson who will form the backbone. Freshman Max Brown could contribute this season for the Lions, who will play their games on the new turf at Louis Scott Field.
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