The Explorers used their bye week to fine-tune their offense in their 52-14 rout of Father Judge at Ramp Athletic Complex on Friday night. Here’s how the game went down:
The Crusaders deferred, and the opening kickoff by Judge’s John Westfield was returned by Dom Martin from the 26 to the La Salle 34. The Explorers came out throwing, but Alan Paturzo’s swing pass to Sam Brown in the right flat misfired. Then, Paturzo overthrew fullback EJ Wentz sprinting through the right slot. On third and 10 at the Explorer 34, Paturzo rolled right, and hit reliable receiver Ryan Sorge on the right sideline for a first down to the La Salle 48. Brown went up the middle, and kicked out to the right side for 5 yards. Brown then took a pitch left and got a first down at the Judge 39; Brown came off the field after a hard tackle but went back in after a few plays. Paturzo found Sorge on a quick swing pass to the right for a first down at the Judge 27, and the engine was rolling. On play action, Paturzo again passed to Sorge in the left flat for 4 yards, and only a good tackle by the Judge defensive back kept Sorge from scoring. Paturzo rolled right, but this time his pass to Sorge was overthrown. On third and 6 at the Crusader 23, Paturzo scrambled to the right, and found a lane to the Judge 9 for a first and goal. Wentz sept the left side, and followed good blocking into the end zone for a 9-yard touchdown. Santi Sturla’s kick was good, and La Salle took a 7-0 lead, with 9:50 remaining on the first quarter clock.
Sturla boomed the kickoff into the end zone, and it was now Father Judge’s turn on offense. Quarterback Mike Van Horn handed off to soph running back Eric Smith, and Smith went up right guard for no gain, as Darold Dengohe, along with Chris “Tacony Tough” Thompson, returning after missing a few games with an injury, made the stop. Billy Whiteley gained two yards as Sam Ross and Abdul Carter combined on the hit, setting up a third and 8 at the Judge 22. Van Horn rolled right, and overthrew his receiver Jordan Rhinehart. Westfield’s punt was short, and hit a La Salle player, but Amir Anderson recovered for La Salle at midfield, with 8:04 left in the first period.
Paturzo was looking deep for soph receiver Kelby Hampton, making his debut on offense, but w as sacked by Eric Smith for a 7-yard loss. On play action, Paturzo zipped the ball to Sorge on an inside screen to the right, and Sorge followed good blocking for a first down at the Judge 38. Brown went up right guard for 7 yards. Again on play action, Paturzo threw the screen to the right to Hampton this time, and Hampton negotiated his way to the Crusader 25 for another first down. Brown went off left tackle, and found a seam, blazing upfield and into the end zone for a 25-yard touchdown. Sturla converted the PAT, and La Salle now led, 14-0, with 5:51 left in the initial stanza.
Sturla’s kickoff reached the 1, where Smith returned it to the 26, as Colin Dunlap brought him down. Smith gained 5 off right tackle, with stops by Dengohe and soph DL Kieran Campbell. Van Horn ran a keeper up the middle for a yard, as Thompson and DL Dan Ford took him to the turf. On third and 4 at the 32, Smith went off the right side for a first down at the Judge 39, as LB Sean McFadden made the stop. Judge kept testing the right side, as Smith gained 5 yards off right tackle, as Del Jackson and soph LB Matt Wills made the tackle. Van Horn kept the ball up the middle for two more, as a trio of Dengohe, Thompson, and Wills slammed him down. On third and three at the Judge 46, Smith was stuffed up the middle for no gain by Ford and many others. On fourth down, upback Justin NIkolopolous took the snap in a fake punt, and gained just two up the middle, and La Salle would take over on downs at the Judge 48, looking for their third score.
Soph Stevie “Energy” Davis shot off right tackle for a 14-yard gain and a first down at the Judge 34. Davis gained two off right tackle. On a high snap, Paturzo ran a naked bootleg for about 7 yards to the right side, but the Explorers were flagged for holding, setting themselves back to the Judge 44, as the first quarter ended with the Explorers on top, 14-0. In a trips left formation, Paturzo found Sorge wide-open deep down the left slot for a 44-yard touchdown. Sturla made good, and the lead swelled to 21-0, with 11:51 left in the half.
Sturla’s short kickoff bounced down to about the 10, and Smith returned it to the 40, as Carter, Anderson, and Kevin Hawley took him down. But Judge was called for holding, and would start at their own 21. Whiteley gained a yard up left guard, as McFadden made a good ankle tackle. Van Horn scrambled for 4, as Thompson made the stop. On third and 5 at the 26, Van Horn rolled right, and under pressure by a Carter blitz, threw out of bounds. Westfield’s booming punt was fumbled by Sorge, and Judge recovered the ball at the La Salle 30, with 9:46 left.
Wills brought down Van Horn for a yard on a keeper up the middle. Smith went up left guard for 4, as McFadden and Ford made the stop. On third and 5 at the La Salle 25, Smith was stopped for no gain up left tackle by Ross. On fourth down, Van Horn rolled right, but missed receiver Joe Murphy, and La Salle got the ball back with 7:24 left in the half.
On play action, Paturzo’s bubble screen to Hampton was dropped, as the ball looked like it was deflected. Brown swept the left side, made two small cuts, and turned on the jets like Secretariat at the Belmont in 1973, leaving the field in his wake on a 75-yard touchdown gallop. Sturla did it again, and the Explorers had a commanding lead at 28-0, with 7:06 left in the half.
Sturla’s kickoff to the 6 was returned by Rhinehart to the 20, as Martin made a good tackle. On play action, Van Horn rolled right an overthrew receiver Denzel Dunbar, but La Salle was flagged for a personal foul, and the ball was placed at the Judge 35. Smith swept the left side for three, with takedown by Carter. Smith gained 10 yards up a hole near left guard for a first down, with Anderson, McFadden, and Mekhi Johnson on the stop. Van Horn kept the ball for another 10 yards as Johnson and Anderson brought him down. With first down at the La Salle 41, Smith gained 3 up left guard, as Carter did the tackling honors. Van Horn lost a yard on an option keeper, with Wills and Campbell on the stop. With third a 8 at the La Salle 39, Van Horn tossed a middle screen to Smith, who gained 22 yards to the La Salle 18, as Judge was now moving the ball. Van Horn kept the ball for a yard, with Johnson and McFadden taking him down. Van Horn kept it again, this time gaining 7 yards off the right side, with Johnson again on the stop. On third and two at the 10, Van Horn snuck up the middle for a first and goal at the 6. Smith gained 5 yads up a hole at left guard, as Carter took him down a yard from the goal line. Van Horn then snuck over for a one-yard touchdown. Westfield’s PAT was good, and Judge cracked the scoreboard, making the score 28-7, La Salle, with just 22 seconds left in the first half. La Salle no doubt would just take a knee after the kickoff and head off the field with a good halftime lead.
Westfield’s short kickoff bounced to about the 20, where Stevie Davis caught the ball on one bounce, broke up the middle, and outraced three Judge pursuers into the end zone for an approximately 80-yard kickoff return for a touchdown. Sturla made it 35-7, with 10 seconds left in the half.
Sturla’s kickoff was popped down to the Judge 6, and returned three yards before Chris Convey made the tackle. This time, Van Horn did indeed kneel down, and the half ended with La Salle riding a bunch of big plays to a 35-7 lead.
Paturzo, Sorge, Brown, and Davis were racking up yards and points in the first half, and were virtually unstoppable, but the blocking of the O-line and the special teams deserve mention as well. The first-string offense would stay out on the field a good bit of the second half. The game was not in doubt, but the offense was continuing its prep for next week’s Archbishop Wood showdown.
With a waning hunter’s moon rising above the main building at Father Judge, Sturla’s kickoff to the 10 was bobbled by Rhinehart and returned to the 24, with Dunlap, McFadden, and Hawley on the stop. Smith was nailed for no gain up the middle by Ford and Anderson. Smith got two up left guard, with stop by McFadden. On third down, Van Horn tossed deep over the middle to Whiteley, but the pass was overthrown, with good coverage by Johnson. Westfield’s punt was dropped by Matt Mitchell, but Mitchell recovered, and La Salle would start at their own 35, with 10:11 left in the third period.
Paturzo fired a quick look-in to Hampton on the left side for a first down at the Judge 48. Paturzo and Hampton hooked up again, this time on a screen right with good blocking, and Hampton gout another first down at the Crusader 37. On play action, Paturzo found Nole Henry on the left side, and Henry stiff-armed his way for a 7-yard gain. Paturzo’s deep pass in the end zone to Hampton was dropped. On third and tree at the Judge 30, Paturzo rolled right, and tossed to an open Brown for a first down at the Judge 18. Brown then swept off the right side to inside the 5-yard line, but La Salle was hit again for a holding penalty. Back at the Judge 28, Paturzo swung a pass to Brown in the left flat, but Brown just gained 2 yards, as the Judge defender made a good tackle. Paturzo, with no one open, scrambled, but was taken down for a sack and a 5-yard loss. On third and 23 at the Crusader 30, Paturzo sprinted out to the right, threw to Brown, who made a leaping catch on the right side, and he then veered left and went all the way across the field and into the end zone, but, you guessed it, La Salle was flagged for holding on the play. With a lovely third and 35 at the Judge 42, Paturzo tossed a screen to Wentz on the right side, and Wentz motored to the Judge 17, allowing Sturla a field goal try. Sturla’s 34-yard field goal attempt looked like he kicked a Tom Brady deflated ball, and maybe deflected as well, but it got over the crossbar, and La Salle’s lead was now 38-7, with 6:10 left in the third stanza.
Sturla’s kickoff to the 1 was returned to the 17 by Smith, as Convey and Hawley combined to bring him down. Van Horn threw to Whiteley in the left flat for no gain, as Thompson made a thunderous hit. Whiteley went off left tackle for three, with Carter and DL Tim Fiedler on the combo tackle. With third and 7 at the 20, a screen from Van Horn to Whiteley was overthrown. Westfield’s punt was downed on the La Salle 37, with 4:03 left in the third.
On play action, Paturzo threw to Brown on an inside screen for 14 yards to the Judge 49. Paturzo then missed Brown on a busted route on the left side. Brown then took a pitch right, and outran everyone to the right flag for a 49-yard touchdown. Sturla did his thing, and La Salle now led, 45-7, as the mercy rule was now in effect, with the clock not stopping between downs.
Sturla’s kickoff found the end zone. Smith went off right guard, but Convey caused him to fumble, and Convey also recovered the ball at the Judge 34. Martin gained a yard for La Salle up right guard. On play action, Paturzo hit Davis on a slant to the right, and no one was covering him. Davis scored on the 33-yard reception, and Sturla’s extra point extended the lead to 52-7, with 1:17 left in the running third quarter clock.
Sturla’s kickoff was returned to the 38 by Smith. Smith gained 10 yards and a first down, as the third quarter ended, with La Salle in cruise control, leading 52-7. Whiteley gained 5 up left guard, with tackle by Nicholas Gambone, as the La Salle second defensive team was getting in their licks. Van Horn had to scramble, and was sacked for a 2-yard loss by DL Nick Prosperi. On third and 7 at the La Salle 49, Whiteley gained 3 yards up left guard, with Hawley on the takedown. On fourth down, Van Horn scrambled up the middle for a first down to the La Salle 39, as Cole Kozlowski took him down. Smith got 5 up left guard, with Gambone and Dunlap on the tackle. Smith broke a tackle for a first down on the La Salle 27, with Dunlap again on the hit. Smith gained two, and Dunlap again brought him down. Smith went up left tackle for 6 yards, with tackle by freshman Jimmy Dolan. On third and two at the La Salle 19, Whiteley got a first down at the La Salle 15, as Gambone took him to the turf. Whiteley gained 6 up the middle before DL Brendan O’Connor stopped him. Smith gained two up left tackle, with Gambone and Dunlap on the takedown, but La Salle was hit for a face mask penalty, and Judge had a first and goal on the four. Smith went up left guard for a 4-yard touchdown. Westfield’s PAT made the score 52-14, La Salle, with 3:46 left in the game.
Westfield’s kickoff to the 10 was returned by soph Machi Holland to the 26. Connor Mehlmann got the reins at quarterback, and handed off to Martin, who made a good push off left tackle for 6 yards. Martin then swerved from the left to the right for a first down at the La Salle 39. On a jet sweep to the right, Martin gained 5 more. Mehlmann ran an option keeper for no gain. Mehlman then threw into the left flat to soph John McSorley, who raced to the Judge 39 for a first down. That proved to be the last play of the game, as La Salle ran their record to 7-1 with a 52-14 victory over the Crusaders of Father Judge.
Notes
The bye week proved to be therapeutic for the La Salle offense, as they were hitting on all cylinders on all of their drives. Alan Paturzo spread the ball all around, getting the ball out on short passes to skill position players like Sam Brown, Ryan Sorge, and Stevie Davis, and also throwing the deep ball when it was there. The O-line did a good job in protecting Paturzo, and additional offensive weapons like soph Kelby Hampton were discovered in this game.
The La Salle defense was bolstered by the return of linebacker Chris Thompson, who played as if he was just let out of a cage. Thompson, and Abdul Carter, each 6’-3” and 240 lbs, represent maybe the most formidable linebacker tandem in La Salle history. They will need to be on their game if La Salle is to advance in the playoffs.
Sam Brown continues to rack up yards and touchdowns, and there have been many inquiries as to where he stands in La Salle football history with some of his offensive statistics. Jamal Abdur-Rahman ’11 owns most of La Salle’s rushing records, and I’ll come up with an “unofficial” comparison of these two great running backs soon.
Next week, Senior Night, Friday night, October 29, with a 7 PM kickoff at Wissahickon High School versus Archbishop Wood. Senior Night festivities will occur at least a half-hour before kickoff. If La Salle defeats the Vikings, they will win the Catholic League Championship of the Red Division, awarded to the first-place team of the regular season. They will also get the first seed in the first round of the PIAA playoffs, and may indeed get a chance at revenge at the Cahillites of Roman Catholic, who lost Friday night to St. Joseph’s Prep, 44-14.
