La Salle College High School Football: Chronicle 1993 Game 1, September 10, 1993: Plymouth-Whitemarsh 28 – La Salle 7 by Beth Onufrak, Inquirer Four Touchdowns Put A Colonial Ahead Of Himself And Explorers Mark Washington made the most of a big chance Friday night. The Plymouth-Whitemarsh senior running back scored four touchdowns and ran for 164 yards as the host Colonials beat La Salle, 28-7, in the season opener for both teams. "My sophomore year, I really didn't play against them," he recalled. "My junior year, I was hurt (separated shoulder) so I couldn't play against them. Now I finally got my first start against them, and I wanted to show them what I had." Washington carried the ball 23 times, while backfield mate Matt Matheson rushed for 119 yards on 20 carries. "I can't imagine two better backs in the same backfield," Explorers coach Joe Colistra said. The Colonials gained 325 yards - all on the ground. "I think we're going to keep working hard on the passing game," said Colonials coach Joe Iacovitti, whose team avenged back-to-back losses to the Explorers. "It's tough to just run the ball when they know you are going to run it all the time." Washington capped a 61-yard drive with a one-yard scoring run on the Colonials' first possession, and Steve Clement added the kick for a 7-0 lead in the first quarter. With 4 minutes, 36 seconds remaining in the second quarter, Washington broke through the line and raced 46 yards to score, and Clement added the kick for a 14-0 lead at halftime. An interception by Mike Ricci, who also had a fumble recovery, set up Washington's third touchdown. With 2:52 remaining in the third quarter, he completed a 30-yard drive with a one-yard scamper. While the Colonials offense was running right through the Explorers, their defense was being particularly stingy. The Explorers were limited to 97 yards of total offense. Helped by 25 yards in penalties against the Colonials, the Explorers capped a 68-yard drive with a 16- yard touchdown pass from sophomore Dan Hangey to senior Andrew Wickersham and cut the lead to 21-7. "To our credit, we did come back and score with a sophomore quarterback against an outstanding team," said Colistra, who had his starting quarterback, Jim Meehan, sidelined in the second half because of a virus. "If we take anything positive away, it's that we did score." Washington was on the sideline with an ice pack on his forearm when he got the call to return to the game. He promptly took the ball 37 yards for his final touchdown of the day. Clement added the kick, and the Colonials led, 28-7, with 2:56 remaining in the game. "Everybody played well and stuck together for the whole four quarters," said sophomore defensive back Paul Borusiewicz, who in his first varsity start had a tackle for a loss and an interception. "Everybody just played great." The defense had had Iacovitti worried entering the season, with senior defensive back Mark Fields as the lone returning starter. "I thought Drew Ferst had a fantastic game at outside linebacker, he's a first-year starter," Iacovitti said. "I thought Tim Donovan, defensive end, played extremely well. Also, Mike Ricci came in an inside linebacker when Jamie Fell went out with an injury, and he came in and made two big tackles and a big interception. He feels he should start, and he kind of made a point tonight." 1 La Salle College High School Football: Chronicle 1993 The Explorers hope to avenge last season's loss to Holy Cross of Delran, NJ, on Saturday. The Colonials visit Hatboro-Horsham on Friday. Game 2, September 18, 1993: Holy Cross NJ 6 – La Salle 0 by Matt Toll, Inquirer No Mistaking It: Lancers Escaped Against La Salle; Holy Cross' Coach Said Something. So Did An Official. The Confusion Almost Led To A Loss. That sigh of relief reverberating through Delran belongs to Holy Cross coach Tom Maderia. The No. 2 Lancers outplayed visiting La Salle of Philadelphia Catholic League all Saturday afternoon, but barely escaped with a 6-0 win after a mental lapse gave the Explorers a final chance to score from Holy Cross' 2-yard line with four seconds left. They got that chance because Lancers quarterback Tom McKeown, told by Maderia to take a delay-of- game penalty on a fourth-down play with 31 seconds left, was told by an official that he had to run a play or take a delay-of- game penalty. Maderia wanted a delay call, but McKeown misunderstood either his coach or the official. He dropped on one knee, and La Salle took over on the 2. Brian Bartleson then saved the day for the Lancers by intercepting a pass. Maderia was put in the strange position of preferring a 6-2 victory to a shutout. "It's an embarrassing situation, because it looked like we didn't know what we were doing," Maderia said yesterday. "I knew exactly what we were doing. We were going to take the delay of game, snap the ball through the end zone (for a safety), and then punt the ball to them with five seconds left. The game was going to end 6-2." The finish was a lesson for the talented but inexperienced McKeown. "I hope they realize that from now on, they should listen to me and not to the referee," Maderia said. "But we got a win, and we deserved to win. It's not like we stole it." QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS: Before Delran High's opening 22-0 victory over Moorestown on Saturday night, Bears coach Pete Miles had several questions that could be answered only by game action. Most pressing was whether his inexperienced receivers could play to the caliber of Delran's standout quarterback, Ralph Sacca. Miles saw mixed results. Sacca was 7 for 16 passing, but only one of those completions was to a wideout, and several other passes should have been caught, according to Miles. "The one thing that game confirmed was that our receivers are a little questionable," he said. Sacca's most productive target was tight end Sean Theis, who had three catches for 55 yards. The lone reception by a wide receiver was made by sophomore Adam Ullberg, a converted tailback. Miles said that Saturday's game, which featured running back Ervin Turner's 72 yards rushing and two touchdowns, confirmed that despite an outstanding passer in Sacca, Delran's early focus will be on the backfield. That doesn't sit well with Miles. Game 3, September 25, 1993: La Salle 21 – North Catholic 6 by Mike Biglin, Inquirer Explorers Find Way Onto Winning Track 2 La Salle College High School Football: Chronicle 1993 LaSalle's 21-6 win over North Catholic on Saturday was like a magic elixir that swept away all the bad symptoms of a frustrating 0-2 start and put the Explorers back in good spirits. "That was a big win for us," Explorers running back Chris Brady said. ''We really needed it, especially after last week's disappointing (6-0) loss (to Holy Cross, N.J.). We played well today, and it gets us set for a run at the Catholic League title." The game was the league opener for both schools. LaSalle raised its overall record to 1-2, while North Catholic dropped to 0-3. LaSalle won the game for two reasons: North Catholic's inability to stop the Explorers' running game, and North's penchant for killing itself with penalties. The Explorers exploited the Falcons' defense all day with one play: the counter trap up the middle. Running back Tim Foster romped unmolested through gaping holes all day, gaining 77 yards on seven carries - including three straight 15- yard jaunts. "Our biggest problem was stopping that counter trap," Falcon coach Jack Patton said. "They ran inside center real well all day, and we just couldn't stop it." Explorers coach Joe Colistra kept the Falcons off-balance by handing the ball off to six different running backs, as well as passing the ball 12 times, the most during a game this season. His strategy worked to perfection, as the Explorers gobbled up more than 300 yards in total offense with runners Tom Gorman (six carries for 65 yards), Tom Grebis (nine for 51) and Brady (10 for 49) picking up lots of yardage per carry. "The offense ran smooth today," Brady said. "We were getting off the ball quickly, and the backs were getting to the holes quickly. We were intense today." Colistra really threw the Falcons for a loop by looking to the air inside the 20, scoring their first two touchdowns via the pass. Quarterback Jim Meehan hit Gorman in the flat, and Gorman waltzed into the end zone from eight yards out with 2:29 left in the first quarter for a 7-0 lead. Then, Meehan capped off a 71-yard drive with 2 minutes left in the half with a perfect toss in the right corner of the end zone to a diving Andrew Wickersham for a 15-yard score. Both these drives were aided by Falcon penalties, as North was whistled for nine in the first half. Six of those were defensive, including three on the Explorers' first scoring march. North Catholic made the game interesting by coming right back to score just before halftime. Quarterback Chris Hayes piloted the Falcons down the field in the air, with three big completions to get the ball down to the Explorers' one-yard line.