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La Salle College : Chronicle 1990

Game 1, September 7, 1990: La Salle 21 – Upper Dublin 0 by Scott Huff, Inquirer

Explorers' Powerful Defense Stifles Cardinals Imagine the awesome strength and power of defensive lineman and the quickness and fury of Mike Singletary combined in a single defensive ballplayer. La Salle defensive ace Dave Gathman fits that description, at least on the high school level, and the junior proved it Friday night as he helped the Explorers stifle host Upper Dublin, 21-0, in a nonleague game. "We put Dave right in the middle of our defense as either a nose tackle or a middle linebacker," said La Salle coach Joe Colistra. "There is absolutely no way that teams are going to be able to run away from him. "The strength of this football team is our defense, and the strength of our defense is Dave. He's only a junior, but he started for us last season as a sophomore, and he is a leader on the field." The imposing Gathman, who stands 6 feet, 5 inches tall and weighs 205 pounds, intimidated the Flying Cardinals offense into a woeful performance - just 2 first downs, 46 yards total offense and a meager 1.4 yard average per play. "Dave had an excellent game, but then I thought the entire defense had an outstanding game," Colistra said. "Our defense is both very physical and very experienced. And it is in our game plan to play both tough and smart." Also gaining rave defensive reviews was the senior front four of Craig Fitzgerald, Vince Galzerano, Matt Romano and Keith Conlin. The line averages 6-4 and 226 pounds, led by Conlin at 6-8 and 265. The Explorers also had an active day from their outside , senior Kevin Schmidt and junior Craig Pensabene. The longest gain on a Cardinals rushing play was 4 yards, and the secondary limited UD to 39 yards passing. While the La Salle defense squelched an overmatched Cardinals offense, the Explorers' offense generated enough to win the game comfortably. La Salle scored its first touchdown on an 11-play, 48-yard drive that began at the close of the first quarter and culminated at 9:31 of the second. Key in the drive was the running of junior fullback Steve Cook, who led all rushers in the game with 73 yards on 22 carries. He ran the ball on the final 3 plays of the drive, scoring on a 6-yard run. Senior Jamie Earton, kicked the first of his three extra points. La Salle took the 7-0 lead into the locker room at the half. "Steve ran the same off-tackle play 3 times in a row," said Colistra. ''Our feeling there was to run the play until they stop it. Sometimes the game can become very simple." What wasn't as simple was Colistra's decision to start Cook. Junior Mitch Sava had battled Cook for the fullback job all during summer training camp, but a season-ending knee injury to Sava near the end of camp ended the battle. "We are going to give Mitch the game ball," said Colistra. "It was a shame to see his season end like that." La Salle posted a pair of touchdowns in the second half to ice the win.

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La Salle College High School Football: Chronicle 1990

The Explorers scored a third-period touchdown when senior quarterback Joe McNichol threw an 11-yard pass to senior split end Steve Strohecker. The final score came in the fourth period, when senior Keith Tornetta scored on a 14-yard run. "In a game like this one, it's hard for me to see anything but the progress of my team," Colistra said. "I thought we played hard and I thought we played well. Upper Dublin is a class program, and they are well-coached. It was a good experience for my football team to play a team like Upper Dublin."

Game 2, September 15, 1990: Central Bucks East 28 – La Salle 12 by Joe Ferry, Inquirer

Patriots Overwhelm Explorers Central Bucks East coach Larry Greene is not ready to anoint his team as a PIAA playoff contender. At least, not yet. But the Patriots took a big step in that direction Saturday night when they dominated defending La Salle, the Philadelphia Catholic League Northern Division champion, 28-12, in a nonleague contest in Doylestown. "We have to do it again next week," said Greene, whose team is scheduled to open the Suburban One National Colonial Division season against Council Rock on Saturday. "We beat one champion tonight, and we have to play another one next week." The Pats did just about everything right in running their nonleague record to 3-0. Senior quarterback Mike Morelli threw for 2 touchdowns and ran for another. Tailbacks Ray Crawley and Brian Titus keyed a ground game that accounted for 222 yards and controlled the clock. And the defense was overwhelming, holding the Explorers to only 154 yards in total offense. "Morelli played an almost flawless game," Greene said. "He has improved tremendously since his junior year. I give a lot of credit to his maturity and his off-season work." Morelli, who connected on 7 of 11 passes for 101 yards, twice hooked up with split end Brian Penecale for touchdowns. The first was a 7-yard strike in the opening quarter. The other was a 24-yard floater with 1 minute, 53 seconds left in the third quarter, which gave the Pats a 21-6 lead. Penecale, a 6- foot, 2- inch junior, leaped high in the air to snatch the ball over a pair of La Salle defenders in the corner of the end zone. Between the two scoring passes, Morelli engineered an 11-play, 76-yard touchdown drive. He accounted for the score with a 1-yard sneak. The biggest defensive play of the game occurred early in the third quarter with the Pats ahead, 15-6. La Salle, which scored late in the first half on a 2-yard run by senior running back Chad Stowe (47 yards on 13 carries), was at midfield when quarterback Joe McNichol tried a pass over the middle. But senior linebacker Ed Wess made a spectacular one-handed to squelch that threat. Both coaches agreed that Wess' theft was probably the turning point in the game. East went right down and scored on the second Morelli-to-Penecale pass to take firm control. La Salle did manage to trim its deficit to 21-12 with 7:05 left to play when junior Max Guevera (94 yards on 16 carries) ran 14 yards for a score. But on East's first play after the score, Titus turned the corner and sprinted 61 yards for a touchdown, which put the game out of reach. Titus, who finished the night with 83 yards on 6 carries, was in the game to replace Ray Crawley, who had 98 yards on 19 carries before suffering a leg injury in the fourth quarter.

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La Salle College High School Football: Chronicle 1990

The Explorers got a scare in the third quarter when 6-8, 265-pound senior defensive end Keith Conlin and senior running back Keith Tornetta went down with leg injuries. Tornetta eventually returned to the game, but Conlin hobbled off the field afterward on crutches. "He got banged on the knee," said Explorers coach Joe Colistra. "But we don't think there is any serious damage." Colistra downplayed the significance of La Salle's first loss of the season after opening with a 21-0 win over Upper Dublin. The Explorers are scheduled to open the Philadelphia Catholic League Northern Division season next week against North Catholic. "It was a good practice for us," the coach said. "Next week is what is important. That's when we have to win."

Game 3, September 21, 1990: La Salle 7 – North Catholic 6 by Frank Fitzpatrick, Inquirer

Falcons Lose Heartbreaker To Explorers North Catholic coach Bob Kaupp knew that if his Falcons were going to win their Catholic North opener against La Salle on Friday, they were going to have to beat more than the defending league champions. They were going to have to overcome the ghosts of North's recent football past. "For most of the last 25 years, this has been a mediocre program," North's second-year coach said. "They loved to play football here, but they never cared much about winning. At some point, these kids have to start believing in themselves. They have to start beating the La Salles, the McDevitts." Maybe the Falcons (0-2-1, 0-1) will get over that hump against McDevitt on Nov. 3. But Friday, despite outplaying the much-larger Explorers (2-1, 1-0) for most of their game at Northeast High, the Falcons - as Kaupp had feared - found a way to beat themselves and ended up on the short end of a heartbreaking 7- 6 defeat. "North Catholic is a rough, tough, physical team that is well-coached and obviously came to play," La Salle coach Joe Colistra said. "It wasn't a great game to watch, but it was what we anticipated - a real Catholic League war." Leading, 6-0, after Steve Wendt's 27-yard run on a counter play with 9 minutes, 54 seconds left in the first half, the Falcons turned into losers during a 5-minute stretch late in the third and early in the fourth period. On a third-and-6 at La Salle's 42, with about 2 1/2 minutes left in the third, Explorers junior Max Guevara (21 rushes for 141 yards) broke a tackle near midfield and ran 58 yards for the game-tying touchdown. Jamie Barton's extra point provided the eventual margin. But early in the final quarter, after a 27-yard run by Falcons tailback Jim Meintel (15 carries, 66 yards) and a 15-yard personal foul on the Explorers, North suddenly was at La Salle's 28. "Second-and-6, we just made a good run and they gave us the 15 on top of the run. We were going to go in," Kaupp said. "One more first down and we have a good shot at a field goal." Kaupp sent in a play: a screen pass. Unfortunately for him, he would send it in two more times before the Falcons could actually get the play off. Two successive times they were whistled for offsides. So a second-and-6 at the 28 became a second-and-16 at the 38. "I stayed with the play three times," Kaupp said. "And when we finally got it off, it was there. If he (quarterback Joe Bojko) gets him (Meintel) the ball, we got a three-on-one and he might have scored."

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La Salle College High School Football: Chronicle 1990

But Bojko's pass on the perfectly set up screen was short, his next one was long, and North had to punt. Thus reprieved, La Salle took the ball with 8:14 to play and did not relinquish it until North had just 28 seconds and no timeouts with which to work. "Except for that last drive, they didn't move the ball on us all night," Kaupp said. "I'm proud of those kids. Those La Salle players were not only big, but they were great athletes." Running behind massive Keith Conlin, the 6-foot-8, 265-pound senior tight end (and the brother of former La Salle University basketball center Craig Conlin), the Explorers moved the ball 53 yards on 16 plays on their time- gobbling, ultimate march. Guevara ran the ball eight times during the drive. "He ran the ball real hard," Matt Helverson, North's talented defensive end, said of Guevara. "And that Conlin - they kept moving him from side to side and running behind him. He is big, strong and very good." Bojko (2 for 11 for 50 yards and 3 ) completed a 13-yarder to Ronald Bird, but just 3 seconds remained. His desperation heave was intercepted by La Salle's Keith Tornetta. "We didn't do anything technically different," Colistra said. "But football is an emotional game, and in the second half, we challenged the kids. We told them that just because people keep saying we're good doesn't mean anything. At some point, we're going to have to start playing that way. And they finally did." Still, the Falcons might have escaped with a tie, had not Jason Pacetti failed on his extra-point try after Wendt's TD. On that play, Kaupp said, the snap was high and the holder never got the ball squarely on the tee. With Helverson and linebacker Walt Morris leading an inspired defense, the Falcons limited the Explorers to 43 yards and two first downs in the opening half. Until that last drive, La Salle had just two second-half first downs. And for the game, Explorers quarterbacks Joe McNichol and Geoff Crawford each threw an interception and completed none of their combined 7 passes "They played their hearts out," Kaupp said of his defense. "Take away the two sweeps (the 58-yard TD run and another 23-yarder by Guevara) and we held them pretty much in check all night."

Game 4, September 29, 1990: La Salle 13 – Father Judge 0 by Frank Fitzpatrick, Inquirer

Explorers Capitalize On Crusaders' Mistakes Catholic league North teams know that if they are to beat La Salle, they will have to do so with a minimum of errors. Make two mistakes in a row against the big and talented Explorers, as Father Judge did Saturday, and you've almost certainly assured your doom. A dropped pass and fumbled punt snap on consecutive plays late in the first quarter provided La Salle with an easy touchdown, and the Explorers never looked back in a 13-0 defeat of the Crusaders at Lincoln High. "Those mistakes killed us," said coach Whitey Sullivan of Judge (1-3, 1-1). "We the punt and give them an easy drive." "When you play those guys you have to beat their personnel," he said. ''It's like playing Michigan. They're so big and deep, you can't afford many mistakes." The mistakes took place while the game was scoreless, with Judge trying to pound its way out of its own territory. On a third-and-8 at the 28, Judge quarterback Jerry Smink dropped back and hit Rick Morasch with a pass near the Crusaders' 40. Morasch, a senior running back, couldn't hang on - and the affliction soon proved contagious. 4

La Salle College High School Football: Chronicle 1990

Punter John Shay fumbled the ensuing snap, and before he could recover and get off a kick, he was tackled at the 14. Two plays later, La Salle's Kevin Schmidt (15 carries for 81 yards and two TDs) loped in from the 9, and the Explorers (3-1, 2-0) had all the points they would require. Jamie Barton's extra point made it 7-0. "The dropped snap hurt them, sure," La Salle coach Joe Colistra said. ''But so did the dropped pass. "I think we bang receivers as hard as any team, certainly in our league. Judge can hurt you in a lot of ways, and I thought we did a real good job of taking away the pass." Such a good job, in fact, that Smink would complete just 5 of 17 passes for 58 yards - and two of those passes for 27 yards came on the first half's final two plays when La Salle was conceding territory. As a result, the Crusaders were left with virtually one play in their offense - a handoff to Jacob Bonelli (28 carries for 71 yards). Incredibly, for a team trying to come back from a 13-0 halftime deficit, the 5-foot, 6-inch, 163-pound junior lugged the ball on 20 of Judge's last 25 plays. "We usually like to throw the ball," Sullivan said. "We try to throw it a whole lot more. But they (La Salle's defensive backs) were walking away, and when they walk away, we run the ball. But they were big enough and strong enough to shut us down."

Game 5, October 7, 1990: La Salle 26 – Archbishop Wood 7 by Adam Gusdorff, Inquirer

Vikings' Turnovers Hand Game To Explorers The Archbishop Wood defense was thinking victory, forcing three turnovers against La Salle yesterday, but the Vikings' offense handed the ball over four times, allowing the visiting Explorers to take a 26-7 victory. The game was close through most of the first half, with Wood (1-4-1, 0-2-1) trailing at intermission, 13-7. The Explorers (4-1, 3-0) did not allow a first down in the second half, keeping them in excellent field position. In the third quarter, with Wood punting into the wind, the ball was on La Salle's side of the 50- yard line for only two plays. The Vikings' defense yielded only one score in that quarter, even though all of La Salle's possessions began on Wood's side of the 50. "The field position for their offense in the second half was a lot better than it was in the first half," Wood coach Charles Rocconi said. "That's one of the reasons I thought our defense played well. They were on our side of the 50 all day, and it wasn't because of sustained drives; it was because of our turnovers. Our defense played a lot harder in the second half, but we didn't take advantage of what they did." The hosts took the early lead after Shawn Bunting recovered a fumble on the first play of the game. The Wood offense took over on the La Salle 35 and scored four plays later. On second-and-goal from the six, senior quarterback Brian Lafond hit sophomore halfback Michael Wagner with a touchdown pass over the middle. With the early momentum, Wood held off the Explorers for the rest of the quarter. Enter La Salle running back Max Guevara. On the Explorers' first play of the second quarter, Guevara took the ball off tackle from his own 35 and burst 64 yards through the secondary virtually untouched. La Salle had a first-and-goal from inside the 1- yard line. Fullback Kevin Schmidt powered through the line on first down to put his team on the board.

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La Salle College High School Football: Chronicle 1990

"We were our own worst enemies, especially in the first quarter," Explorers coach Joe Colistra said. "I was disappointed, and I know the kids were disappointed with the way they were playing early on. But the mark of a maturing team is (its concern with) where it's going, not where it is, and we were nowhere in the first quarter. But we settled down and were able to score some points after that." The play that really hurt Wood's upset bid occurred on La Salle's next possession, which began as a result of one of Lafond's four interceptions on the day. Facing fourth-and-2 at their own 49, the Explorers lined up for a punt, but Rocconi instructed his defense to look for a fake. The ball - as Rocconi had expected - was snapped to the "up" man, Kevin Schmidt, who bulled his way for three yards and the first down. Two plays later, on first down from the 35, quarterback Joe McNichol found Chad Stowe streaking down the left sideline for the first of his two touchdown passes on the day. Jamie Barton, who had missed an earlier extra-point attempt, booted the point after to put La Salle up for good, 13-7. The second half belonged to the visitors, who, although they had only one possession that lasted longer than six plays, used their running game to eat up the clock. Leading 19-7 midway through the final quarter, La Salle held the ball for seven minutes on an 11-play, 68-yard scoring drive that was capped by a 4-yard bootleg by McNichol. After Barton's kick (he was 2-of-4 on the day), the score was 26-7 with less than three minutes to play. Wood has had problems when it has fallen behind this year in part because of a new offensive system. Rocconi, in his first year with the team after coaching at Central Bucks East, replaced the traditional Viking wishbone attack with a more balanced one. As a result, the team has yet to play consistently, and the new system may be the reason it is struggling.

Game 6, October 14, 1990: Archbishop Ryan 10 – La Salle 0 by Joe Fite, Inquirer

Raiders' Tough Defense Brings Explorers To A Grinding Halt The adage that defense wins football games was driven home forcefully Sunday afternoon by Archbishop Ryan in a game between the only two undefeated teams in the Philadelphia Catholic League Northern Division. The Raiders, led by middle guard Brian Devine (3 sacks and a blocked punt), shut down the La Salle offense and won 10-0 at Springfield High School. La Salle, with one of the premier running backs in the Northern Division in Max Guevara, was held to 11 yards rushing on 27 carries, including 13 on 6 carries by Guevara. Quarterback Joe McNichol also had a tough day, completing only 2 of 14 passes for 31 yards. All told, the Explorers (4-2, 3-1) managed a paltry 42 yards in total offense. La Salle picked up a first down in the first quarter, but didn't gain another until its final drive late in the fourth quarter. The Ryan (5-1, 4-0) defense excelled on the punt-return team. In the first quarter, snapper Keith Conlin rolled a snap back to McNichol, who got off a 30-yard punt. Ryan coach Glen Galeone decided the Raiders would put some pressure on McNichol if he should punt again. "To tell you the truth, I didn't think we could block their kick because Conlin snaps the ball and he gets it back there so well," Galeone said. "He killed us. He's a great player. You just can't block the kid. He's good. After the first one that bounced back there, I said, 'Let's go after it.' " It paid big dividends.

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La Salle College High School Football: Chronicle 1990

Midway through the second quarter, McNichol was back to punt inside his own 10-yard line. The snap came back low, allowing Gene McAleer time to get in and block the punt. The ball squirted out of bounds at the La Salle 14. Four plays later, Brian Hamill kicked a 27-yard field goal inside the left upright to give the Raiders a 3-0 lead. Late in the third quarter, Ryan again got to McNichol. With a fourth-and-16 and standing in his own end zone, McNichol again tried to get off a kick, but Devine blocked it. The ball rolled to the right side of the end zone, where Tom Zeo pounced on it for a touchdown with 23 seconds left in the quarter. Hamill's extra point made it 10-0. "We don't get two blocked punts in the same season, let alone one game," La Salle coach Joe Colistra said. "They're quick and talented up front. That was the name of the game."

Game 7, October 20, 1990: La Salle 21 – Bishop Egan 8 by Joe Fite, Inquirer

Explorers' Winning Ways Back La Salle went back to the business of winning Saturday afternoon. In the minds of the Explorers, they should be undefeated in the Philadelphia Catholic League Northern Division. They hadn't expected a 10-0 loss earlier in the week to Archbishop Ryan - the first division loss of the year. La Salle returned to its winning ways Saturday with a 21-8 win over winless Bishop Egan at Springfield High School. The Explorers (5-2, 4-1 division) had to guard against a letdown against Egan (0-6-1, 0-4-1) after playing a physically and mentally draining game against Ryan. "When you lose a game that I'm sure our kids did not expect to lose - that's not that we take anything away from Ryan - you have to question yourself," La Salle coach Joe Colistra said. "Our kids were saying . . . 'Hey, we lost, and it's over with. It's best we lose now. Let's go from here,' " he said. La Salle used just 6 plays to score on its first drive of the day. Joe McNichol, who connected on 6 of 14 passes for 113 yards, ran a bootleg to the right side for 16 yards to the 18. That set up Keith Tornetta's bolt around left tackle for a touchdown with 6 minutes, 6 seconds left in the quarter. Jamie Barton's extra point gave La Salle a 7-0 lead. Egan, which came into the game having scored just 4 touchdowns all season, looked as if it had put its offensive woes behind in the second quarter. The Eagles got a big break on third-and-6 at their own 38-yard line. On the first play of the second quarter, Mike Fabiano went 44 yards down the sideline on a reverse to the La Salle 18. Quarterback Frank Birney capped the drive 6 plays later when he went in for a touchdown on third-and- goal at the 2 with 8:08 left in the half. A 2-point conversion gave Egan an 8-7 lead. The rest of the quarter was a defensive standoff until the Explorers' final drive of the half. With a first down at his own 47, McNichol connected with Steve Strohecker for 34 yards to the Egan 19. McNichol lost 4 yards on a fumble, threw an incompletion, then was sacked for a 3-yard loss. But on fourth-and-17 from the 26, he threw a strike to Tornetta for a back-breaking touchdown with 20 seconds left. Barton's kick gave La Salle a 14-8 halftime lead.

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La Salle College High School Football: Chronicle 1990

Tornetta, who rushed for a game-high 61 yards on 12 carries, injured his neck late in the game and was taken to Chestnut Hill Hospital, where he was treated and released. According to Colistra, the injury is not serious. "I don't know what would have happened if (La Salle) didn't make that play," Egan coach Chuck Knowles said. "I told the kids I didn't expect the game to end 8-7, but that doesn't mean I expected (La Salle) to score more," he said. "It means we that we expect to score more, too." Egan didn't score again, due in large part to the Explorers' defense, limiting Egan to 2 yards' rushing in the second half. La Salle added an insurance touchdown on the first play of the fourth quarter when McNichol lobbed a 6- yard pass to Vince Galzerano on the left side of the end zone just 6 seconds into the quarter. Barton's extra-point kick closed out the scoring with La Salle ahead to stay, 21-8, and well on its way to getting on with its season.

Game 8, October 28, 1990: Bishop McDevitt 9 – La Salle 0 by Ted Silary, Daily News

McDevitt's Variety Show: Wingback Mangini Demonstrates Versatility In Win Over La Salle Scott Mangini is much better at playing his position than he is at suggesting his position. Before the start of Bishop McDevitt's football season, Mangini approached coach Pat Manzi and announced he wanted to take flight from being a wingback. He wanted a more glamorous spot in the Lancers' entertaining offense. Like, tailback. Like, forget it. "Coach Manzi said if he moved me to tailback, he'd have trouble filling the wingback spot," Mangini said. "He said how important it is to our offense to have a second-year starter at wingback. "I was disappointed at first about not being able to switch, but I said, 'As long as I get the ball . . . ' " Yesterday, Mangini, a 5-7, 165-pound senior, touched the ball eight times as McDevitt muffled host La Salle, 9-0, in a Catholic North game between teams that will meet again, Nov. 10, in the first round of the playoffs. He carried four times for 29 yards and an 8-yard, second-quarter touchdown. He made one reception for 18 yards. He returned two kickoffs for 51 yards. He ran back one punt for 3. Eight touches, 101 yards, 6 points. "I take pride in being able to do - at least try - whatever the coaches ask of me," said Mangini, who is maintaining a great Lancer wingback tradition started by Mark Dianno, then continued by Jake Kolen. "I want to establish myself as someone who's able to do anything. Run, catch, block . . . " And throw. A week ago, Mangini had an ultrarare touchdown trifecta in the Lancers' blowout of Dougherty. He caught a touchdown pass - on a 32-yard screen from quarterback Sekou Wilson. He threw for a touchdown - a 10-yarder to tight end John Taylor, off a wingback sweep. And he ran for a touchdown - a 3-yarder on an inside counter. If any other city-league player has accomplished that feat in recent times, contact with the good, ol' Daily News has yet to be made.

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La Salle College High School Football: Chronicle 1990

"I didn't realize what was going on as I was doing it," Mangini said. ''But later in the fourth quarter, people were saying, 'Do you realize all the kinds of touchdowns you made today?' Some of my coaches and teammates were kidding me. No one could remember seeing it." In two varsity seasons, Mangini has made 27 receptions for 464 yards and two scores. He also has run for five touchdowns and thrown for three. "I'm 3-for-3 career," he said of his career passing statistics. "Today's touchdown on the wingback sweep was an all-out run. Usually, when we're close to the goal line, I do have that option. Maybe the wind was a factor. There's a lot of pressure on the defense. I have lead blockers out there. My decision is based on the cornerback's decision. If he comes up, I throw. If not, I run." All season, Mangini, who ranks among the top 15 in his class and has scored 980 on the Scholastic Aptitude Test, has served as a single safety on punts. "Almost all last year," he said, "we had a double safety with another guy right in front. It would get confusing making the calls. I like being back there myself. We went to that in the La Salle playoff game because we thought we could block a punt. It worked, and we stuck with it." Said Manzi: "Scott Mangini is the type of player, we like to have the ball in his hands. He's smart. He has great control of himself when he runs. We like those odds (calling on Mangini from the 10-yard line in). We put him in a lot of pressure situations. And he always comes up big." All other big plays yesterday came from the respective defenses. Though the game was intense, neither team seemed particularly interested in being tricky, or even dominant. The clinching moment came with 0:27 left, when defensive back Steve Spencer tackled backup quarter Geoff Crawford for a safety. Starter Joe McNichol had departed early in the second quarter with a slight ankle injury. "We did realize," Mangini said, "that we were going to see each other again." by Gwen Knapp, Inquirer

McDevitt Overcomes La Salle, 9-0, In Game Dominated By Defense A caveat to fans of the Catholic League: If you like high-scoring affairs, skip the Northern Division football playoffs this year. Try the soccer semifinals, instead; they should produce more points. Bishop McDevitt and La Salle, two of the four playoff teams, met to decide second place yesterday, and the result was a 9-0 McDevitt victory that could easily have been a scoreless tie. The two are scheduled to meet again in the semifinals on Nov. 10 at Northeast High. McDevitt (5-2 overall, 5-1 league) clinched the second spot, but that means only that the Lancers will get the home side of the field. La Salle (5-3, 4-2) has secured third place, and Archbishop Ryan, another team that wins on defense, clinched first on Saturday night. Father Judge and Archbishop Wood are still in contention for the fourth and final playoff spot. Judge has the berth unless it loses to Bishop Egan next weekend and Wood beats Ryan. La Salle, which started yesterday's game without its top running back and lost its quarterback early in the second quarter, managed just 44 yards in total offense (27 rushing, 17 passing). The Lancers fared better statistically (158 rushing, 28 passing), but McDevitt still had to rely on its defense for most of its offense. Or more accurately, it had to rely on Steve Spencer. The game's only touchdown followed a Spencer interception in the second quarter. He returned it 21 yards for an apparent touchdown, but a clipping penalty nullified the score and pushed McDevitt back to the 34. Eventually, McDevitt got to the 8, and Scott Mangini took the ball on a sweep and reached the end zone with 53 seconds left in the half. Spencer added an extra point for a 7-0 lead.

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La Salle College High School Football: Chronicle 1990

With 27 seconds left in the game, Spencer also gave the Lancers a safety when he sacked La Salle's Geoff Crawford in the end zone. He had tackled Crawford for a 7-yard loss a play earlier. Other than Spencer, the biggest force in the game was the officials' flags. They were thrown a total of 19 times (10 against La Salle, 9 against McDevitt). At one point late in the second quarter, the two teams combined for six penalties on nine plays. Most of the game's action took place on the line, where the teams boast two of the top players in Southeastern Pennsylvania - the Explorers' Keith Conlin, who moved to center for the first time in his career, and McDevitt's Mark Zataveski. It made for a game that, as La Salle coach Joe Colistra put it, "is not pretty to watch. But it's the way the game is supposed to be played. Neither team backs off." La Salle can only hope that quarterback and punter Joe McNichol, who injured his right ankle in the second quarter yesterday, can recover in time for the playoffs. Colistra said he did not suspect a broken bone, but he couldn't speculate beyond that. Crawford, the junior who replaced McNichol yesterday, shows a lot of promise, and Colistra said, "After the third or fourth snap, (McNichol's absence) wasn't the issue." But he acknowledged that the team missed his experience as a punter, especially in a defensive battle that hinged so much on field position. Running back Max Guevara has been sidelined for the last two weeks, and Colistra could not estimate when he would return.

Game 9, November 2, 1990: La Salle 28 – Cardinal Dougherty 7 by Frank Fitzpatrick, Inquirer

The Explorers Pound Cardinals It was a game pitting contrasting offensive philosophies. La Salle prefers to grind it out, letting its big running backs carry the ball behind its big offensive linemen. Cardinal Dougherty, on the other hand, has smaller, swifter backs and receivers and it likes to go for the quick strike with its run-and-shoot. And in their Catholic League North matchup Friday night at Northeast High, the Explorers' grind-it-out approach paid off as La Salle ran the ball 54 times for 261 yards in a 28-7 win over Dougherty. With the victory, La Salle finished the regular league season with a 5-2 mark (6-3 overall) and third in the division. The defending league champions will meet 5-1 and second-place finisher Bishop McDevitt in a divisional playoff game Nov. 17. Dougherty (3-6) ended division play at 2-5 in coach Dom Damico's first year. "I think we needed that kind of game," La Salle coach Joe Colistra said, ''whether we're playing Dougherty or anybody. We needed that ourselves. We were pretty sharp." Sharpest of the Explorers' phalanx of running backs (they employed eight during the game) was talented junior Max Guevara. The 6-foot-2, 175-pound Guevara rushed for 114 yards on 20 carries, most of them in the second half, when he dominated play. On one seven-play, 37-yard scoring drive that spanned the third and fourth periods, Guevara carried the ball on every play. He culminated the drive with a 4-yard burst that gave the Explorers a 27-0 lead with 10:33 to play. Jamie Barton's fourth of four extra points made it 28-0. "He's one of those kids that once he gets cooking he really boils over," Colistra said. "He's not quick out of the gate. We recognize that about him and that's the way we play him," giving him the ball more as the game progresses. 10

La Salle College High School Football: Chronicle 1990

Guevara's running mate, Keith Tornetta, also had a big game. He gained 93 yards on 18 carries and scored the other three Explorers' touchdowns on runs of 8, 2 and 5 yards. "He has been up and down health-wise," Colistra said. "But when he's healthy, he's as quick and as sharp and as tough as anyone we've had here." Keith Conlin, a 6-8, 265-pound center, and the rest of the Explorers' offensive line overpowered the Cardinals late in the first half and for the entire final two periods. Damico said he could see that coming. "We turned the ball over four times in the first half, and as a result, our defense was on the field almost the whole half," he said. "They were dead-tired there at the end; you could just see it. "Overall, we played horribly. Those turnovers just killed us. We didn't execute offensively at all. I'm very disappointed." The Dougherty turnovers started early - on the first play of the game, in fact. Barton's short kickoff bounced off the Cardinals' Jamal Barr and the Explorers recovered at their opponents' 24. La Salle did not capitalize on that mistake, nor did it when Dougherty's Gerald Berry fumbled the ball away at his 39 on the next series. But Dougherty continued with the gifts, and eventually, La Salle turned one into a touchdown. One play after Berry lost another fumble, at Dougherty's 8-yard line, Tornetta scored his first TD. Barton's extra point made it 7-0 with 8:23 to go in the half. The Cardinals moved the ball smartly on their next possession, but that one also ended in a turnover - a John Butler interception of a Derrick Norris pass at the Explorers' 12. Then, on a third and 5, backup quarterback Geoff Crawford unloaded a lofty, lengthy pass that tight end Vince Galzerano ran under at Dougherty's 33 for a 49-yard gain. "We get beat deep once every week," Damico said. "It was a backside tight end, and the free safety has to cover him on that. He ran deep, and the quarterback threw one about 100 miles high. Our safety has to make the play there. That's the kind of play we have to make, and we just haven't been making them this year." Five running plays later, Tornetta ran it in from the 2. Barton's extra point gave La Salle a 14-0 advantage with 41 seconds left in the half. Guevara and Tornetta took over in the second half. They carried on 8 of 9 plays in a third-period drive that ended in Tornetta's third TD, a 5-yard burst with 3:49 to play. Then Guevara carried on all seven plays in the Explorers' final scoring drive.

Game 10, November 11, 1990: La Salle 6 – Bishop McDevitt 0 (PCL Qfinal) by Ted Silary, Daily News

La Salle Defense Stuns McDevitt Keith Conlin and several of his football-playing La Salle High buddies were having an interesting discussion the other day. How tremendous a team, the guys asked themselves, would Bishop McDevitt be able to field if La Salle did not exist? Off the top of his high-altitude head - he does stand 6-8, after all - Conlin named five prominent Explorers who live in McDevitt's territory. Conlin, a center and defensive tackle, started the list with himself. (No argument there. Plus, he's too big to mess with.) He then mentioned linebacker Kevin Schmidt, defensive back John Butler, defensive end Craig Fitzgerald and quarterback-punter Joe McNichol. 11

La Salle College High School Football: Chronicle 1990

"With all of us," Conlin said, "they'd be unstoppable." Remove "un" from stoppable and precede it with "eminently" and one has the perfect phrase to describe McDevitt in yesterday's Catholic North playoff semifinal at Northeast. With Conlin, Schmidt, Butler and Fitzgerald leading the way on defense, La Salle held the Lancers to 100 yards total offense, 4 first downs and 2-for-18 passing in a 6-0 win. McDevitt has suffered just five shutouts in coach Pat Manzi's nine seasons and two of those blanks were fired in his first five games. The game wasn't pretty and it wasn't exciting. Defensive struggles rarely are. But Conlin, who played a prominent role in the game-winning play, wasn't thinking about the number of fans who fell asleep. He was thinking big picture, about how much good-natured gloating he'll be able to do in the future. "Ten years down the road, I'll be hanging around with all those guys," said Conlin, a Glenside resident. McDevitt is in neighboring Wyncote. "It feels good knowing we had the upper hand. That's five meetings now (in three varsity seasons), and we've won three of them." How did this win come about? Glad you asked. We'll now describe the play, but be forewarned, things got sticky. Second quarter. McDevitt ball. Second-and-6 from McDevitt's 24. Tailback Jamal Love starts a sweep to the left. He's met in the backfield (principally by Conlin), takes a few steps backward and decides to head for the right. No daylight there, either. He heads back to the left and backtracks some more. Conlin and defensive back Jim Cairnes corner Love, then move in. They deliver a hit and the ball pops loose. At the 6, Fitzgerald picks up the ball and rumbles into the end zone. "When I saw the ball on the ground, everything went in slow motion," said Fitzgerald, a 6-3, 215-pound senior. "I picked it up and the next thing I knew, I had six points . . . Well, the team had six points. "I didn't expect anybody to be around. Somebody hopped on my back, though. I just fell right into the end zone." The last - and only previous - time he had scored a touchdown, Fitzgerald did so standing up. Back then, though, he didn't stand nearly as tall. "Eighth grade at Gwynedd-Mercy. I caught a touchdown pass," Fitzgerald said. "We ran a fake out of the wishbone. I went into the end zone and caught the ball over some d-back's head." According to Conlin, Cairnes was first to arrive on the scene. "One of our d-backs had (Love) held up," Conlin said. "But then he fell and that left (Love) totally off- balance. I went in to clean house. Luckily, the ball fell out. I was screaming, then there was Fitz in the end zone." Conlin, a brother of the Indianapolis Colts' Chris Conlin (ironically, he played for McDevitt), has received recruiting scrutiny from many of the country's major college programs. Any school that sees the video tape of this game has to fall further in love, seeing as how Conlin involved himself in 11 tackles. "Keith owed himself a good game," said coach Joe Colistra. "For a while there, he thought he had to put us on his back and carry us. When he settles down and plays his position - instead of running all over the place and trying to do everything - obviously, he's a good player. "It's hard to get leverage at 6-8, but he's been missing a lot of tackles. He makes great hits, then falls off. Did you see that one tackle today? It looked like the guy was going to get away, then Keith really wrapped." McDevitt's best scoring opportunities occurred in the fourth quarter. Fitzgerald's 8-yard sack of Sekou Wilson helped abort the first. Butler's heads-up coverage, on a halfback pass by Love, took care of the second. Then came the third . . .

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La Salle College High School Football: Chronicle 1990

With 0:07 left, after a punt, Wilson completed a 25-yard pass to John Taylor, down to La Salle's 30. When Wilson spiked the ball at 0:03 to stop the clock, he was called for intentional grounding. Next, Wilson lofted a pass to Taylor in the back of the end zone. Again, the Butler did it - made sure there wasn't a catch. Today, McDevitt brass might be checking into a way to get La Salle to close its doors.

November 15, 1990 by Joe Ferry, Inquirer

La Salle Gets Set To Retain Crown In PCL North La Salle coach Joe Colistra does not have to go far to get an up close and personal look at Archbishop Ryan, his team's opponent in the Philadelphia Catholic League Northern Division championship game scheduled for Saturday (7 p.m.) at Northeast High. "We see the same team in practice every day," said Colistra. "Ryan is very much like we are. We both like to play strong-willed defense and we're both basically run-oriented, ball-control type of offenses." The Explorers (7-3) advanced to the title contest in a bone-jarring, 6-0 defensive struggle win against Bishop McDevitt last week. Ryan (9-1) beat Father Judge, 14-7, as running back Mark Ostaszewski paced the Raiders with 156 yards rushing and a pair of touchdowns. "The key for us is preparation," said Colistra. "We have to be ready to play up to our potential. We can't worry too much about what the other team has." What the Explorers have is an aggressive, hard-hitting defense anchored by 6-foot, 8-inch, 265-pound senior tackle Keith Conlin. On only one occasion this season have the Explorers given up more than 10 points. That was in a 28-12 loss to Central Bucks East in the second game of the season. Since then, La Salle has allowed only 47 points in 8 games (5.8 average). Offensively, the Explorers are led by junior running back Max Guevara, who has rushed for 510 yards and 3 touchdowns. Ostaszewski (804 yards, 8 touchdowns) spearheads the Ryan attack. The Raiders have a potent offensive weapon in kicker Brian Hamill, who has booted 7 field goals this season. In a tough defensive struggle, Hamill's leg could be the deciding factor. The Explorers dropped a 10-0 decision when the two teams met during the regular season on Oct. 14. The Raiders held La Salle to only 42 yards total offense in that contest.

Game 11, November 17, 1990: Archbishop Ryan 17 – La Salle 0 (PCL Semi) by Frank Fitzpatrick, Inquirer

Co-Stars Help Raiders Coast To North Title Archbishop Ryan's coaching staff noticed right away that a La Salle linebacker was spying on star running back Mark Ostaszewski. With the Catholic North title on the line, it was time for the Raiders to see whether their offense possessed a secret weapon. Sure enough, fullback Tim Crozier, who spent most of the season blocking for Ostaszewski, collected 62 yards on 16 carries and junior quarterback Jamie Sutton, who had spent most of his time handing off to Ostaszewski, completed 6 of 15 passes for 87 yards as Ryan captured the division title with a convincing 17-0 win over La Salle at Northeast High on Saturday night. The 10th straight victory by the Raiders (10-1) sent them into the league's championship game at 2:30 p.m. Dec. 1 against Archbishop Carroll at Villanova Stadium.

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La Salle College High School Football: Chronicle 1990

Even with the spy keying on him, Ostaszewski picked up 94 yards on 20 carries, but first-year coach Glen Galeone was extremely pleased with the balance his offense displayed. "Jamie really came through tonight," Galeone said of his quarterback. "I think this was a real test for him. And Timmie had a great game, too. We went to him a little more than usual when we saw that they had a spy on Ostaszewski." As well as the Ryan offense played, it was the Raiders' defense that dominated once again. No Northern Division team scored more than 7 points against Ryan this season, and the Raiders shut out defending champion La Salle (7-4) twice. Ryan's blitzing linebackers and nose tackle Brian Devine, the division's MVP this season, harassed La Salle quarterback Joe McNichol and kept talented running backs Keith Tornetta and Max Guevara in check. "That is a great defensive team," La Salle coach Joe Colistra said. ''Brian Devine is an outstanding player, and it's hard to believe that No. 47 (linebacker Gene McAleer) is only a sophomore. He's a great player." Ryan led, 7-0, in the second quarter on a 3-yard run by Crozier. A roughing-the-punter penalty kept a La Salle drive alive, but two plays later, McAleer, a first-team all-division player, stripped running back Chad Stowe of the ball and the Raiders' Ryan Hulmes recovered at the La Salle 39. After Sutton hit wide receiver Bob McDevitt (3 catches for 61 yards) for a 24-yard gain, Crozier took a handoff and sped toward the end zone. He fumbled when hit at the 1, but offensive lineman Tim Gasiewski fell on it in the end zone for a touchdown. Brian Hamill kicked his second extra point, and the Raiders led, 14-0, with 4 minutes, 33 seconds left in the half. The game's final points came with just 5 seconds left in the half on a 36- yard field goal by Hamill, another first-team all-division performer.

Game 12, Nov 22, 1990: La Salle 21 – St. Joseph’s Prep 0 (Thanksgiving) by Jeff Hurvitz, Inquirer

Explorers Rebound Well From Playoff Elimination Keith Conlin had a case of deja vu as his La Salle Little Explorers defeated visiting St. Joseph's Prep, 21- 0, on Thanksgiving Day. He remembered opening his scholastic career on the same note in which he closed it. In between were 28 victories for La Salle, in what may someday be looked upon as the glory years for the Explorers. "It's nice to end it on a win," he said after his 4 tackles and assist from his defensive end position helped in the easy win over Prep. "But I remember my first game was also a shutout. We beat North (Catholic), 21-0," he said of the 1988 season-opener. Conlin helped propel the Explorers to the Philadelphia Catholic League championship last year. This time around, they ended up with a very respectable record of 8-4, after a playoff-ending loss to Archbishop Ryan two weeks ago. Beginning this week, he takes his La Salle legacy with him to meetings with representatives of Florida State, Penn State and Notre Dame, the first two of which he says have already offered him scholarships. He says his choice, from a field that also includes scholarship offers from Syracuse and Rutgers, will be based mainly on curriculums offered. He said he would announce his decision on Feb. 14.

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La Salle College High School Football: Chronicle 1990

That is then. But Thursday, he was part of a La Salle team that had to rebound from the loss to Ryan. If there were any game that could be a catalyst for emotions after such a letdown, however, this was the one. With a crowd estimated at > 3,000 at La Salle's Springfield High home field, the Explorers struck early. A 61-yard pass from senior quarterback Joe McNichol to senior split end Steve Strohecker occurred on the game's fourth play from scrimmage. La Salle then held the Hawks, as defensive end Matt Romano stopped the Prep's quarterback Anthony Klarman for a 1-yard gain on a third-and-2, thus forcing a punt. The Explorers again held St. Joseph's on its next possession, with linebacker Craig Pensabene dumping Klarman for a 10-yard loss. La Salle's final series of the quarter was created by defensive back Geoff Crawford's interception. It ended when - with 36 seconds remaining in the period - McNichol connected with tight end Chris Hasson for a 29-yard touchdown play. "We were ready for them, it being Prep," said McNichol. "It felt good to get out at them (early)." After a scoreless 2nd quarter, the Explorers started the 2nd half with a classic exhibition of ball control. They ran off 15 consecutive plays in the space of 8 minutes, 5 seconds. The series included 5 first downs but ended with an interception by Prep's Keith Delaney. Their final strike was in the beginning of the final period. The 10-play, 49-yard drive culminated in a 3-yard run by junior Steve Cook for the TD. Jamie Barton's last of three successive extra-point kicks brought the score to its final total. "It was great," Conlin said of his just-completed career at La Salle. ''Winning 28 games, it was a good time.” "We had a real bad time (getting up after the loss to Ryan)," he conceded. "But we walked out on the field and they had spray-painted, 'Go Hawks,' in the end zone and at the 50-yard line, and that inspired us all up." The Hawks, who were outscored for the season by 269-12, saw their final record reach 1-9. They also are now behind in the series with the Explorers, 12-3. "He's going to be a great player," La Salle coach Joe Colistra said of Conlin. "He has all the tools, and I wish him a lot of luck. "Our kids are disappointed because they didn't win the championship," Colistra summarized. "And that's a good sign. "But we have a lot of good underclassmen, and we're looking for the future."

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