An insurance adjuster would have figured this out by the end of the first quarter. The La Salle Explorers, now 4-0, went out and totaled the Haverford School Fords, 44-0, in a game at Wissahickon High School. Here’s how the damage occurred:
La Salle won the toss and deferred to the second half, allowing their aggressive defense the opportunity to get the ball back quickly. Santi Sturla booted the kickoff to the 3, where Sam Gerber returned the ball to the 21, with Sean McFadden and Chris Convey combining on the stop. Ford QB Michael Galasso came out firing, but his pass over the middle to Matthew Kearney was overthrown. Haverford must have seen the film from the opener against Bishop McDevitt, where La Salle was burned on a few bombs. Galasso let loose down the left side to Derrick Knox, but Amir Anderson had him blanketed, setting up a third and 10 at the 21. Galasso tried to find Kearney on a wheel route down the left sideline, but again the pass was overthrown, with coverage by Mekhi Johnson. Will Costin’s punt to the Haverford 48 was returned by Ryan Moore to the 44, with 11:22 left in the first period.
La Salle wanted to pound the rock inside with a 6-man line. But Stevie Davis took a toss to the right for a 14-yard gain and a first down to the Ford 30. Sam Brown was hit immediately on the right for a one-yard loss, as the Fords were keying on Brown. Moore took a jet sweep to the left for a 5-yard gain, setting up a third and 6 at the 26. The Explorers were called for a procedure penalty, and their third down pass from QB Alan Paturzo to Moore on a deep post was overthrown. On fourth down, Paturzo tossed deep to Brown, who was double-covered, and the Fords escaped La Salle’s great field position to take over on downs at their own 31, with 9:27 left in the opening stanza.
But the Fords self-destructed, as a high-snap over Galasso resulted in a 25-yard loss back to their own 6. On play action, Galasso overthrew Gerber on the right side. On third and 35 at the 6, Jahmon Silver was plugged up the middle for no gain, as Darold Dengohe was the plug. On fourth down, Costin’s punt to the Ford 36 was returned by Moore down the right side to the 4-yard line, and La Salle would start their drive with a first and goal, with 8:02 left in the first.
Brown swept the left side, but the Fords anticipated him, and he was stopped for a 1-yard loss. Brown tried the middle, and gained the yard back, setting up a third and goal at the 4. The Fords jumped offsides during a La Salle shift, and the ball was placed at the 2. Brown swept to the right and was hit immediately for a 7-yard loss. Sturla’s attempt at a 26-yard field goal was off to the left, and two short drives by La Salle went for naught, and the game stayed scoreless, with 6 minutes left in the first quarter.
Fortunately, the La Salle defense, which had surrendered only 15 points in the first 3 games, were not going to allow the Fords any chance in changing the momentum of the game. Matthew Brosko was smothered for a two-yard loss by Dengohe and Moore. Galasso did find James Falk in the left flat for a 7-yard gain, with a hit by Abdul Carter. On third and 5 at the 25, Galasso rolled right, and threw to Kearney, who caught the ball out of bounds, and the Fords would have to punt again. Costin’s punt was shanked to the left, and went out of bounds on the Haverford 40, with 4:12 left in the first period.
It was now time for La Salle to take advantage of their great field position. In a trips left formation, EJ Wentz ran through a trap up the middle, veered to the right flag, and scored from 40 yards out. Sturla’s PAT gave La Salle a 7-0 lead, with 4:01 left in the quarter.
Sturla’s kickoff to the 7 was returned by Gerber to the 23, with freshman James Dolan on the tackle. Mike Dean ran through a trap up the middle for 2 yards, with stop by McFadden. Dolan gained two more off left tackle, and Dengohe brought him down, setting up a third and 6 at the 27. Galasso scrambled up the middle and gained 6 yards and a first down before Daniel Ford brought him down. Dean tested the middle, but he fumbled, and Carter came away with the ball at the 32 for a La Salle first down, and they would start their fourth possession, all in Ford territory, with 1:44 left in the quarter.
Moore, in at wildcat, faked a handoff and optioned himself up right tackle to the Haverford 21 for a first down. On a low snap, the handoff to Wentz was out of kilter, and he was stopped for a 2-yard loss. Another low snap, but Paturzo tossed a flare pass to Wentz on the left side, and Wentz got to the Ford 7 for a first and goal. Brown took a pitch to the right side, but was bottled up again for no gain, as the first quarter ended with La Salle driving, and ahead, 7-0. Paturzo flared another pass to Wentz, this time on the right side, and Wentz was bumped out of bounds on the 4, but the Fords were hit for an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty, and the ball was moved to the 2. Now, this should have made the next play third down. On third and goal at the two, La Salle pulled out the Philly Philly play, as Paturzo handed off to Wentz, who handed off to Connor Mehlmann on what looked like a double reverse, but Mehlmann, a quarterback, tossed to a wide-open Paturzo in the end zone for an apparent TD. But no! La Salle was called for holding, setting them back to the 20-yard line. Confusion then reigned over the field, as the line crew indicated 4th down on the chains. But the penalty would have kept it at third down. La Salle seemed to think it was fourth down, and they sent Sturla on to attempt a 37-yard field goal. Sturla fortunately split the uprights, and La Salle led, 10-0, with 11:40 left in the half.
Sturla’s book was returned from the 3 to the 21 by Knox, as McFadden made another tackle. Galasso scrambled up the middle for no gain, with Kevin Hawley, replacing the injured Chris “Tacony Tough” Thompson, on the hit. Galasso, under a big rush, was sacked by the combo of Carter and Declan Smith for a 6-yard loss. On third and 16 at the 15, Galasso found Matt Brosko on an out pattern for 7 yards, forcing another punt. Costin’s punt rolled dead on the La Salle 46, the first time in the game that La Salle was on their own side of the 50, with 9:06 left in the second stanza.
Brown went up left tackle with power for 5 yards. Paturzo threw a little bubble screen to McFadden on the right side for a first down to the Ford 43. Brown went off the right side and was bumped out of bounds for a 9-yard gain. Brown then swept the left side, following a great block by Wentz, and got the edge down the sideline for a 34-yard touchdown. Sturla’s PAT was good, and the Explorer lead ballooned to 17-0, with 7:38 left in the half.
Sturla’s kickoff to the 2 was returned by Gerber to the 21, with another special teams tackle by Convey. Galasso found Ryan Getz on a look-in for 6 yards, with tackle by Convey. Matt Brosko went up left guard for two, with hit by soph Kieran Campbell. On third and 2 at the 29, Galasso’s sneak for 4 yards got the first down. Galasso dropped back to pass, but was sacked on the blind side by a blitzing soph Matt Wills for a 6-yard loss. On play action, Galasso rolled right, but threw out of bounds while Sam Ross was in hot pursuit. On third down, Galasso’s pass was batted down by Campbell, and another Ford punt would occur. Costin shanked another one, which went out of bounds on the Ford 45, with 4:35 left in the half.
Moore wildcatted, and seemed trapped in the backfield, but he scrambled to the left for a first down at the Haverford 31. Brown gained three up right tackle. Davis, at the H-back position, gained 5 up the middle. On third and two at the Haverford 23, Brown went off left tackle, and followed another great block by Wentz to the Ford 15 for a first down. On play action, Paturzo, helped by a good block by Brown on a blitzer, found Nole Henry crossing from left to right in the end zone for a 15-yard touchdown. Sturla was good on his PAT, and the Explorers now led, 24-0, with 2:14 left in the half, and they weren’t done.
Sturla kicked a curve ball that was caught by Knox on the run toward the sideline, and he went out of bounds on his own 6. Silver gained a yard up the middle. Both sides were hit with unsportsmanlike conduct penalties, and La Salle took their second time out. Silver went off left tackle for 5 yards, as Johnson made a nice tackle, and La Salle took their last time out. On third and 4 at the 12, Galasso let loose a bomb to Knox on the left side that was overthrown, with again great coverage by Amir Anderson. “Number 16” came on to punt, and Moore caught the ball on the Haverford 45. He went up the middle, and then danced/slid/snaked through the Fords and got to the left side and down the sideline for a 45-yard touchdown. After a procedure call, Sturla made the PAT, and the lead was now 31-0 with 1:30 left in the half.
Sturla’s kickoff was popped up to the 10, where Kellen Gardner caught it, and he veered to the left side, but a heat-seeking missile named Abdul Carter gunned him down on the 16. The Fords were content to run out the clock. Silver went up the middle, and Ford tackled him. Silver then went off the right side, and Dengohe and Ford combined on the stop, and La Salle took a commanding 31-0 lead into the locker room.
Despite missing out on early golden opportunities to score, La Salle was in total command, as the defense was getting the ball back in the offense’s hands in a hurry. And it didn’t seem like the Haverford School would be able to score, and maybe not even get into La Salle territory.
Haverford’s kickoff to start the third quarter was returned by Davis from the 9 to the 30. The starting eleven was in on offense, and Brown was hit in the backfield for a 3-yard loss. Brown swept the right side, reversed his field, and got to the left side, as QB Paturzo helped with a good block, for a 12-yard gain. On third and two at the 39, Brown gained two for a first down. Moore ran an option keeper on the left side for 3 yards. Brown gained 5 up the middle, setting up a third and 2 at the La Salle 49. Brown went to the right side, and kicked out to the sideline, breaking tackles for a first down at the Ford 23. Wentz smashed up left tackle for 3 yards. He then went for 5 yards up right guard. On third and two at the Ford 15, Davis was stuffed for no gain. On fourth down, Brown went up left tackle for 5 yards and a first and goal at the 10. Brown swept the right side for 7. He had no room up the middle, losing a yard. On third and goal at the 4, Brown swept the right side, but was bumped out of bounds at the one. On fourth and goal at the one, Brown went up left tackle through a good hole for a 1-yard touchdown. Sturla’s extra point was blocked, but the 37-0 lead meant that the mercy rule was in effect, and the clock would run for the rest of the game, with 4:56 left in the third quarter.
Sturla blasted his kick into the end zone. The first-line defense was still in at the start of the next Ford drive. Silver gained six up the middle, with Dengohe, Convey, and Anderson combining on the takedown. Galasso threw deep down the left side to Knox, who appeared to make the catch, but Anderson wrestled the ball from him at about the Ford 48, and Anderson returned the interception to the Haverford 29. La Salle was flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct after the play, and would start at the Ford 44.
The senior Mehlmann entered at quarterback, and on a high snap, handed off to Dom Martin, but he lost 5 on the messed-up play. Mehlmann then swung a pass to Davis on the left, but the pass was overthrown. La Salle was then flagged for a procedure penalty. On third and 20 at the La Salle 46, Mehlmann swung a pass to Davis for no gain. Sturla came on for his first punt of the game, and got it off under a big rush, and the ball rolled dead on the Ford 7, as the third quarter ended with La Salle coasting, 37-0.
Galasso threw to Knox on the left side, but Dolan broke up the play. Galasso tossed to Gerber on the right, but Brian Donahue stopped him for no gain. Galasso then lost two yards on a fumbled snap. On fourth and 12 at the 5, “Number 16’s” punt rolled dead on the Ford 44.
Martin gained three up the middle. On a jet sweep to the right, it was smelled out, and Martin lost 6. On third and thirteen on the Ford 47, Mehlmann, on play action, swung a pass to the right to junior Colin Dunlap, who bulldozed his way down to the 31 for a first down. Martin then swept the left side, waiting for his blocks, and got to the 20 for another first down. Davis tested the middle for two. Davis was then hit immediately, but dragged tacklers up the middle for 3 yards. On third and 5 at the Ford 15, Martin went off left tackle and swerved down to the 8 for a first and goal. On an option keeper that fooled everyone, Mehlmann faked a handoff to Martin and kept the ball around the left side for an 8-yard touchdown. Sturla’s boot was true, and the lead was now 44-0, with 4 minutes left.
Sturla again found the end zone on his kickoff. Zach Powell went up the middle for three yards, with tackle by Mason Lange. Galasso swung a pass on the right side to Getz for no gain, with stop by Dolan. On third and 7 at the Ford 23, Galasso let loose one last time, deep left to Gavin Wright, but the pass was overthrown. On the final play of the game, Galasso was sacked for an 8-yard loss by Conor Jennings, and the game was over. La Salle had thoroughly dominated Haverford, 44-0, not only gaining a shutout, but keeping the Fords on their side of the field for the whole game.
Notes
The two most recent games against the Fords (2018, 2019) were high-scoring affairs that seemed like games out of the old American Football League. Bu the Explorer defense this year is a very special one. heart of this defense is their linebackers, at least 5 deep in quality players, if not more. They play with an aggression, led by Abdul Carter and Chris Thompson (who didn’t play tonight). The defensive backs are also more aggressive than I can remember in recent years, and it seems like aggressiveness is contagious. The D-line is young, and maybe not intimidating in size, but they tackle well, and also tie up the blockers to allow the linebackers to get in their licks.
Offensively, more weapons are unearthed as the season progresses. The most significant thing I saw on offense today was the blocking of the backs, certainly an unsung achievement, but there were at least 4 plays where the success of a long run or a sure pass was determined by a block by a back.
This team is really a fun one to watch. They have an energy, an enjoyment, and an enthusiasm that is contagious among all players, including the underclassmen, and they will take on all comers.
Next Saturday, at 1 PM in Owings Mills, MD, the 4-0 Explorers will battle the Eagles of the McDonogh School, another real test for the Blue and Gold.
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