La Salle College High School Football: In Retrospect
NOTE: This is the twentieth of, I hope, many retrospectives highlighting some unique history of the football program at La Salle. The topics to discuss seem endless at this time. Hope you enjoy these.
Bill Wasylenko, ‘69 Issue Number Twenty: Where Eagles Once Flew STILL FLY
This Retrospect is dedicated to the memory of Mike Tos, who was the heart and soul of Egan football for 50 years. Mike Tos did everything but knit the uniforms for the Bishop Egan and Conwell- Egan Eagles, and special guys like this who had unbounded loyalty to their school always need to be remembered. I’ve used a lot of his notes in this Retrospect.
This is the story of the La Salle-Egan football rivalry. MIKE TOS
Again, one of these Retrospects starts in 1955, when La Salle won the City Title with a coaching staff featuring three alums whose combined effort brought the Explorers to the forefront of the Catholic League.
Head coach James Gallagher ‘43 left after the 1955-56 school year to take an administrative position at Hatboro Horsham High School in addition to head coaching duties. John “Tex” Flannery ‘40 became head coach in 1956, starting a 29-year tenure as gridiron chief, and Dick Bedesem stayed on for his third year as assistant. But, much like the school closings that are reducing the landscape of Catholic high schools now in the Delaware Valley, 55+ years ago the change was expanding that same landscape, as several schools opened in the 50’s, and more opened in the 60’s.
In September of 1956, ground was broken on the construction of a new co-educational high school in Levittown, to be called Bishop Egan High School. The school opened for the 1957-58 school year, and only freshmen and sophomores were enrolled that first year. Eventually, the school population grew so large that another school was built in nearby Fairless Hills. The boys moved into the new school during the 1965-66 school year, and took the Bishop Egan name with them; the girls stayed at the original school, now called Bishop Conwell.
Dick Bedesem was named the head coach of the football program for the new school, and the first Varsity season at Bishop Egan was played in 1958; they were not yet members of the Philadelphia Catholic League, and played an independent schedule for a few years, taking on local powerhouses like Neshaminy and Pennsbury to steel themselves for eventual entry into the Catholic League. In hindsight, the selection of Bedesem was a brilliant one, but in 1957, he was about 26 years old, and starting up a program from scratch. The growing Catholic community in Lower Bucks County came out to support their new school’s team, despite an 0-8-1 record in their inaugural Varsity year of 1958. But in 1959, the team finally had some seniors, and finished a respectable 5- 5-0. Though 1960 resulted in a disappointing 3-7-0 record, the foundation was set for a program that was taking off. 1961 started with a tough loss to local powerhouse Neshaminy, but the Eagles finished 8-1-1, tying Pennsbury.
1962 was a preparatory season for entrance into the Catholic League the next year with several other new schools, starting the Northern/Southern divisional play. Bedesem scheduled games against some of his future rivals, including Bishop McDevitt and St. Joseph’s Prep, as well as his Alma Mater, La Salle. Their first meeting was the final game of the season, and La Salle prevailed, 20-8. But the Eagles went 6-4-0 that year, and were fully prepared to take the Catholic League by storm in 1963.
Neighborhood rival Neshaminy 1962 was the opening day opponent for Egan in 1963. The Redskins were in their heyday as a powerhouse, but the Eagles burst out to a 13-0 lead. Neshaminy used a key punt return to edge past the Eagles, 14-13, at the appropriately nicknamed Heartbreak Ridge. The Eagles then lost a non- divisional game to the Bulldogs of St. James, but then set sail into their Northern Division games. After two wins, a loss to the Falcons of North Catholic set up a key matchup against La Salle.
La Salle’s defense was up to the test, but a touchdown pass by Bill Creeden led Bedesem’s charges past the Explorers, 8-6. The Eagles won their last two league games, and a North loss vaulted them into the PCL title game against St. Joseph’s Prep, who just returned to the Catholic League after a 7-year absence.
Egan won their first Catholic League championship in their first year in the league over St. Joe’s at Franklin Field, 36-14, and tied Roxborough in the City Title game, 16-16. Dick Bedesem had done what Jack Ferrante did at Monsignor Bonner, inaugurating a program and winning a championship, and the balance of power in the Catholic League started a suburban shift. But 1964 brought a dose of reality to the upstart program. Six losses in the first seven games, including a 20-0 whitewash at the hands of La Salle, insured the Eagles season to be a rebuilding one. The 4-7-0 mark was an unpleasant surprise, but Bedesem was just getting started. 1964
Despite the transition between schools in the fall of 1965, and the opening day drubbing by Neshaminy, 41-0, the Eagles went off and running with two non-league wins against Wilson and St. James, and they ran the table in the Northern Division with a relatively young team. They defeated La Salle, 14-7, in the rain and mud, on their way to the Catholic League Championship game for the second time in three years. But this time, the Burrs of West Catholic, in a matchup of La Salle alum head coaches (Dick Bedesem ‘49 vs. John McAneney ‘51), pulled away from the Eagles, 28-13.
Bedesem’s young team was now stronger and more mature in 1966, and they were favored to win the Northern Division again. La Salle had a year of struggle in 1965, but was returning a strong nucleus, and was hoping to challenge Egan and others for the Northern crown. But first for Egan was their opening day game against Neshaminy, who had bludgeoned the Eagles a year ago, 41-0. The Redskins were sporting a 51-game unbeaten streak at 47-0-4, but were now up against a team that had significantly improved from a year ago. But who knew that this was coming? The Eagles turned the 1965 score around on Neshaminy, crushing them 41-0, and serving notice to all area schools that this team was to take no prisoners this year.
Bishop Egan then handed Wilson their only loss of the season, 9-0, and crunched St. James, 31-6, to prepare for Northern Division play. Led by quarterback Sylvester “Pancho” Micir, the Eagles laid waste to their league opponents, winning their first six games by an average of 35 points! La Salle’s dreams of competing for the Northern crown were dashed in the first two League games with losses to McDevitt and Judge, but they then won four straight, and also notched an early-season tie against Neshaminy. Bishop Egan had already clinched the Northern Division before the La Salle game, but Bedesem was on a mission for a perfect 13-0 season, obliterating all opponents.
The game was played on Sunday, November 13, 1966, at McCarthy Stadium. The La Salle student body had a “Beat Egan” pep rally on Friday before the game, and, despite having no opportunity for post-season play, this last game of the season was the biggest game for the Explorers in years.
The La Salle defense had stiffened in the second half of the year, giving up only 18 points in their 4-game win streak. The Eagles were missing their star running back, Don Becker, due to a broken leg, but he was replaced by junior Larry Marshall, who went on to play for those green-and-white Eagles in the 70’s.
Bishop Egan dominated the line of scrimmage, and relentlessly moved the ball down the field. But every time, the Explorer defense stiffened, and the game headed into the fourth quarter as a scoreless tie; the Blue and Gold defense had kept the vaunted Eagle offense off the board. Late in the fourth quarter, with 2:55 left, end Mike Whitaker, subbing for All-Catholic Chuck Zapiec, snared a Gerry Murphy pass on the Egan 36 and took it in for the only score of the game. La Salle had defeated Egan, 6-0, and pandemonium broke out on that field in front of Wister Woods. One of my sophomore classmates in that celebration on the field that day was struck by the number of large Egan players crying their eyes out.
The “We Beat Egan” chant was heard in the hallways on Monday morning as well.
Bishop Egan recovered to win the Catholic League Championship, trouncing West Catholic, 39-6, and they won the City Championship as well, blanking Ben Franklin, 27-0. They had scored 438 points and only gave up 50. Truly, this was one of the greatest Catholic League teams of all time, but many of the Egan faithful, and especially the seniors on that team, consider November 13, 1966 to be one of the worst days of their lives.
For years, that loss to his Alma Mater stuck in Dick Bedesem’s craw.
Egan now had two Catholic League Championships in their pocket, and they were in the middle of one of the most powerful dynasties in Catholic League Gerry Mike football history. Murphy Whitaker The 1967 Egan team started out like a house afire: behind QB Jim Ryan, RB Larry Marshall, and defensive stalwart Gary Gray, they blanked both Neshaminy and Wilson to start their season. The Northern Division opponents were tough, though, and Dougherty and Judge tested the Eagles. The Explorers fell to Egan by a 14-6 score, staying in the game due to their strong defense. Egan remained undefeated until their tenth game, but the Lancers of Bishop McDevitt, led by their senior quarterback Drew Gordon, brought the Eagles down to earth with a 27-25 upset to ruin their quest for a perfect season.
The Royal Blue and White regrouped as they did in 1966 by defeating West Catholic for the Catholic League Championship, and made it two straight City Titles with a victory over Central. But they couldn’t make it three in a row, because Cardinal Dougherty’s 1968 team had a perfect season at 12-0-0. The Eagles, however, did humble the Explorers, 28-0, to start a stretch of three games against La Salle where they did not give up a point. The budding rivalry between the two schools had swung completely to the boys from Lower Bucks.
1969 brought Bishop Egan back to the winner’s circle, and La Salle had a hand in their success with a surprising early-season 14-0 victory over the defending champion Cardinals. The final regular season game pitted 7-0 Egan against 6-1 CD, and the Eagles came back from an 18-7 deficit to vanquish the Cards, 27-18. The Jimmies of St. James, starting their own little dynasty, gave Egan fits in the championship game, but a touchdown by Ed McDowell halfway through the fourth quarter, and the extra point by Tim Koch, gave the Eagles their fourth PCL championship in 7 years, 7-6. In the City Title game, much like the CD game, Egan spotted Frankford a 20-7 lead to score the final 22 points of the game to win, 29-20.
It looked like 1970 was to be a rebuilding year for Egan, but Dick Bedesem reloaded instead. The Eagles blew out La Salle, 42-0, on the way to another showdown with Cardinal Dougherty, and they won the Northern Division with an 18-6 win. St. James was again the Southern Division opponent in the PCL Championship game, and the Eagles came away with their fifth title in eight years with a 20-8 win over the Bulldogs. In the City Title game, though, the Central Lancers surprised the Eagles, 13-6. But the 1970 team was young, and the Egan dynasty was motoring on all cylinders. No one in their right mind would have ever predicted that the 1970 Catholic League Championship would be the last one for the boys from Fairless Hills. La Salle – Bishop Egan Action in 1969
La Salle – Bishop Egan Action in 1970
Dick Bedesem resigned his position early in 1971, and went to Archbishop Wood to be their next head coach. It was quite a shock to the Egan faithful, and had immediate repercussions. Several of the returning football players transferred to their local public high schools. Bernie Farrell returned to Philadelphia from Texas to take over the job of keeping Bishop Egan football at the pinnacle of the Catholic League. And he almost pulled it off, keeping the Eagles in contention until the final weekend. The Eagles of 1971 went 5-1-2 in the Northern Division, including a 28-12 spanking of La Salle, their sixth straight win over the Explorers. Bedesem coached Wood for two years, assisted at Temple for two years, coached Villanova for six years, assisted at Pitt, and sandwiched in 5 years at Delaware Valley College around two stints at his old rival, Neshaminy. Dick Bedesem died in 1999, 50 years after his graduation from La Salle. He was one of the early inductees into the La Salle College High School Hall of Fame. Bernie Farrell now had a full off-season to prepare 1972 for 1972, and was confident that the Eagles, no longer the favorites, would rise again. After an opening day win against Neshaminy, they opened up league play with a win against Cardinal Dougherty. But then they ran into an ambush against the Explorers, who used the pitch-and- catch duo of Jack Flannery and John Mastronardo to hand the Eagles their first loss to the Blue and Gold since 1966, 33-6. Losses to McDevitt, and to Bedesem’s Wood team, knocked the Eagles out of contention. They finished the season with an overall 6-5-0 record, but all 5 losses were in divisional play. Bernie Farrell resigned soon after the season.
Bob Wagner took over as head coach in 1973, and guided the Eagles to a playoff game against Ryan, and the Raiders won at Temple Stadium, 31-6. There were higher expectations in 1974, but the Eagles fell short of a playoff spot. In both seasons, they handled La Salle, but the Explorers came close in 1974 with a 14-13 loss amidst a dreadful 0-9-0 season. 1975 became Egan’s first losing season since 1964, and 1976 Wagner resigned after the season. Bill Travers, whose sons went on to play at La Salle, took over as head coach, but the season was a struggle at 3-5-1. In both 1975 and 1976, La Salle extracted some revenge against the Eagles, winning 14-7 and 6-0, the score of that famous game in 1966. La Salle – Bishop Egan Action in 1975 The years between 1977 and 1987 were somewhat grim for La Salle, finishing out the Flannery era and starting the Colistra era. The Explorers beat Egan only twice in those 11 years, a 7-6 win in 1979, and a matching 7-6 victory in Flannery’s last year, 1984. Travers got the Eagles back to winning, with 7-3 records in 1977 and 1978, and a 6-4 mark in 1979. A strong senior class bode well for the 1980 season, and though the opener against Neshaminy resulted in a 7-7 tie, the Eagles were off and running, winning many games late in the 4th quarter, and setting up a showdown between Bishop Egan and the Archbishop Wood Vikings, both 7-0 in league play. In front of about 13,000 fans at Henry C. Morgan Stadium, Egan got out to a 14-0 lead, but Wood scored near the end of the first half, and drove into the end zone after the second half kickoff to get to within one at 14- 13. The Vikings scored on a 79 yard TD pass in the third quarter, and held on to a 19-14 victory, dashing Egan’s hopes to play in the Championship game, won by Cardinal O’Hara, 20-6.
In 1981, Bishop Egan won their first playoff game since 1970 with a gut-wrenching 13-7 victory over Cardinal Dougherty, which featured a last-minute goal-line stand. Father Judge ended the Eagles’ season with a 14-0 whitewash. The Eagles made the playoffs in 1982, 1983, and 1986, but lost in the first round each time. Bishop Egan had some great players in those years, including running backs Keith Armstrong and Ricky Burns, and both went to Temple, Armstrong for football and Burns for baseball. Quarterback Bob Zupcic was also another notable player, who went on to become an outfielder for the Boston Red Sox.
Egan suffered through a dismal 2-9 season in 1984, including a loss to Dick Bedesem’s Neshaminy team. Bill Travers resigned in the spring after the 1984 season, compiling a successful 55-35-4 record in his 9 seasons in Fairless Hills.
His successor was Chuck Knowles, La Salle Class of 1967. The team had some growing pains that first year, going 2-8-0, but rebounded to notch a 6-4-0 record in 1986 before slipping back to 2-8-0 the next year. La Salle was in their own transition period from the end of the Flannery era to the start of the Colistra regime, and struggled through 1987, but were ready to catch lightning in a bottle with the great Jack Stanczak in 1988. Little did anyone know that the Revenge of ‘66 was brewing as the season started.
1988 was a magical year for La Salle football, as a stout defense and the fourth-quarter heroics of Stanczak were the stuff of Frank Merriwell. After a 3-7-0 season in 1987, La Salle ran the table, and were unbeaten heading into a final regular season game against Bishop Egan. La Salle had already clinched their first playoff berth since 1960, and were looking to get to 10-0 prior to the playoffs. The Eagles were 4-2-1 in the league, and would also be making the playoffs, win or lose. In fact, it was probable that these two teams would match up the following week in the playoffs. But La Salle was motivated to keep their perfect season alive, and they blanked the Eagles, 15-0, at Springfield High. Jason Pennington scored from 35 yards out in the first quarter, and Stanczak hit Carl Mattia with an 8-yard TD pass late in the second quarter. A late safety made the score 15-0; the Explorers held the Eagles to just 50 yards of total offense, and left a calling card for next week’s playoff matchup.
But coach Chuck Knowles had some great players of his own, including linebacker John Fletcher, defensive end Dom Marino, and defensive back Tony Spatafore. A heavy rain forced a postponement of the game, which was played on Monday night, November 14, 1988 at muddy Northeast High. The slow track would certainly favor the defenses that night.
La Salle moved the ball against the Egan defense, getting inside the 10 on three different occasions. But fumbles, dropped passes, and sacks plagued the Explorer offense, and an Eagle field goal and a TD pass after a fumbled punt gave Egan a 9-0 first half lead, and they held on to upset the previously unbeaten Explorers and knock them out of the playoffs. The Revenge of ‘66 was complete. It was also the last time that an Egan football team would ever beat La Salle.
Egan now hit a really rough patch in their football history. After two disappointing seasons in 1989 and 1990, Knowles was replaced by Jack Techtman, only to return to the helm from 1994 to 1998. La Salle, meanwhile, clobbered the Eagles, 23-0, during their run to the 1989 Catholic League Championship, and now had their way with Egan, winning by scores like 41-0 in 1991 and 47-6 in 1992. Bishop Egan combined with Bishop Conwell to form Conwell-Egan Catholic High School in 1993, but that didn’t change their football fortunes. 1994 brought the return of Chuck Knowles, and a respectable 4-5-0 record. La Salle had offensive struggles early in that season, and the Eagles gave them a tussle, only to fall by that famous score of 6-0 on a touchdown by Tim Foster. La Salle was heading into arguably their second “Golden Era”, and won the Catholic League Championship in 1995, 1996, and 1998. Meanwhile, Conwell-Egan didn’t play in a playoff game in the decade of the 90’s.
On Sunday, November 8, 1998, La Salle hosted Conwell-Egan on Senior Day at Springfield High School. The tape of the game is quite memorable, because it shows the seniors and their parents at halftime of the game receiving their honors. And one of those seniors was number 25, Travis Manion, with his parents. The game was somewhat uneventful, as the Explorers rebounded from an overtime loss the previous week to Ryan, and pulled past the feisty Eagles, 45-17. Obi Amachi caught a touchdown pass from Gabe Marabella to stretch the lead to 21-10, and Chris Pennington raced 83 yards for a second-half touchdown. La Salle had warmed up for their playoff run, as they defeated Archbishop Wood, Cardinal O’Hara, and Archbishop Ryan to notch their third Catholic League title in 4 years. Chuck Knowles left after the 1998 season, and was replaced by John Quinn.
No one at the time realized that November 8, 1998 may have been the last game between the Explorers and the Eagles. 1999 brought on the start of the Red and Blue Divisions in the Catholic League, based now on school size, not geography. Conwell-Egan was losing its student population, and was placed in the Blue Division, while La Salle was located in the Red Division. There were now no real opportunities for the teams to play any more, as they booked other non- league opponents to fill up the schedule. Conwell-Egan still struggled in their three years under John Quinn, but Kevin Kelly instilled some energy into the program when he took over starting with the 2002 season. Of course, Kelly had a secret weapon in his back pocket: running back Steve Slaton, bound for West Virginia and the NFL, who was a first-team All-Catholic player for FOUR years (2001-2004). With Slaton a freshman in 2001, the Eagles made the playoffs for the first time since 1988, but they bowed to Neumann, 33-12. Kelly’s first year in 2002 resulted in an 8-4-0 record, and an overtime playoff win against Kennedy-Kenrick, 13-10, on Matt Fischer’s field goal. C-E was knocked out the playoffs the following week against Archbishop Carroll, 21-14.
2003 was a down year for the Eagles, but they re-loaded for Slaton’s senior year in 2004. On their way to a 10-3-0 record, the last great Egan team won an opening round game against the Royal Lancers of McDevitt, 3-0, on a Ryan Terry first-half field goal. Steve Slaton took a break from his ball-carrying duties to block a field goal to preserve the victory. But the Eagles ran into an Archbishop Wood buzzsaw the following week, 40-20, despite Slaton’s three TD’s, and 13 tackles on defense.
La Salle, meanwhile, was in a lull between Golden Eras, playing respectable football in the early 2000’s, but not able to crack the O’Hara/Prep monopoly on the top spots in the Red Division. But, since the 2005 Thanksgiving Day game, the Explorers have had a vaunted string of excellence, winning 5 PCL titles in 6 years.
Conwell-Egan would have a few more notable seasons under Kevin Kelly in the 2000’s, especially the 8-4-0 season of 2008. And the Eagles would win opening round playoff games in 2005, 2006, and 2008. The 2005 win was an overtime classic against McDevitt, and the Eagles easily handled the Lancers in 2006. But Archbishop Wood and West Catholic proved to be too much in the subsequent playoff games.
By 2008, the league was split into three, to align with the PIAA guidelines. C-E won their AAA opening round playoff game against the North Catholic Falcons, 17-14, as Matt Della-Croce tossed a game-winning TD to Ryan Golin. And the Eagles were now in a Catholic League Championship game for the first time since 1970. But the Wood Vikings were too much, slamming the Eagles, 44-14.
In 2009, Kevin Kelly led the Eagles to a 6-5-0 record, their last winning season. In their playoff game, C-E broke on top against North, 17-0, but the Falcons rallied to slip past the Eagles, 20-17, despite the offensive heroics of Anthony Singlar. Kelly lasted through the 2010 season, and Jack Techtmann returned for the 2011 season. Each season resulted in just one win. But Techtmann led the 2012 team to a 6-5 record. The Explorers’ overall record against the Bishop Egan/Conwell-Egan Eagles is a fitting 19-19-0, despite winning the last 10 games of the rivalry. La Salle was shut out 5 times, and Egan was shut out 8 times, indicating the defensive prowess of these two great football organizations. Three other games were played in the single digits. These two schools are linked with LSFB alums like Flannery, Bedesem, Gallagher, Knowles, and Colistra. Bill Travers became an assistant at La Salle, as did Drew Gordon, before he became head coach. And Gordon is part of the Bishop Egan story: in 1967, the Eagles were sitting at 9-0, replicating the previous season, up until that 6-0 upset to La Salle. But Bishop McDevitt’s Drew Gordon led the Royal Lancers to a 27-25 upset of the Eagles, ruining their perfect season much like Gerry Murphy and Mike Whitaker did a year before. Bishop Egan/Conwell-Egan had many great, great players. Here’s a list of some of those players who were multiple first-team All-Catholic: • Sylvester “Pancho” Micir, quarterback in 1965-66 • Jim Boyle, lineman in 1968, defensive lineman in 1969 • Mike Yeager, offensive lineman in 1970-71 • Brian Sottile, defensive back in 1973-74 • Len Lynch, offensive lineman in 1978-79 • Tom Seger, running back in 1979-80 • Ricky Burns, receiver in 1980, receiver/defensive back in 1981, receiver in 1982 • Chris Rooney, running back in 1982-83 • Mark Pizzo, defensive lineman in 1983-84 • Jeff Perry, punter in 1992-93 • Joe Lamina, outside linebacker in 2000-01 • Bill Jacobs, center in 2001-02 • Matt Brazil, offensive lineman in 2001-02, defensive lineman in 2002 • Steve Slaton, running back in 2001-04 • Dan Quinn, defensive back in 2001-02 • Ryan Golin, wide receiver in 2007-08 • Anthony Singlar, defensive back in 2008, quarterback in 2009 • Ryan Bond, defensive back in 2008, wide receiver in 2009 • Austin Oscovitch, inslde linebacker in 2009, offensive lineman and linebacker in 2010 • Kyle Techtmann, defensive back in 2011-12
Final Note: years from now, in a Lower Bucks County tavern, two young men will be arguing about the all-time merits of the current Neshaminy Redskins and Pennsbury Falcons teams. A middle-aged man will remind them of the great Neshaminy team of 2001 that won the State Championship. But a wizened old man at the end of the bar will just smile, as he recalls the glory days of Lower Bucks high school football, when Wilson High School made a fearsome triumvirate with those two other public schools, and he will just nod his head to himself as he remembers the greatness of Richard Bedesem and that Catholic high school football team in Fairless Hills. The Eagles still fly, because on February 24, 2012, Archbishop Charles Chaput announced that Conwell- Egan will remain open. Long live Egan!! I welcome your comments, corrections, and additions. Go La Salle!! Bill Wasylenko, ‘69 [email protected] February 10, 2012, revised July 20, 2013