The Falcons clinched a playoff spot on Friday night with a 60-53 win at Archbishop Ryan. If they can get past St Joe Prep on Tuesday, they will secure 2nd place in the Red Division and get a bye in the first round of the playoffs.
Game Summary
See Roc….See Roc jump…..See Roc dunk……Dunk, Roc, Dunk. For those of you in the over 30 crowd, this is what it seemed like Friday night, as Rakeem Christmas did something you don’t see often in this young man. He got mad. And, as we now know, when Roc gets mad, just get out of his way. After getting tangled up under the North basket with a Ryan player, and then crashing hard to the floor, the refs called Roc for a foul and gave offsetting technical fouls to each player. It was at this point that people in the crowd started to taunt the big sophomore. And, it was from that point on that Roc exploded. Going down the stretch, the Raiders hit 6 or 7 late 3-pointers to stay close to the Falcons, but it was also during that same stretch that Roc blocked 4 shots, grabbed 4 boards and scored about 6 or 7 of his 18 points (5 blks, 8 rebs) to keep the Raiders from actually catching up. Despite what the Ryan fan wrote in his game summary for TedSilary.com, the crowd not only didn’t faze the Falcons, it made them play better. But, I think it may have inspired the Raider players too. Down the stretch, they stayed close not because of mistakes on the part of the Falcons, but rather because they just couldn’t seem to miss from beyond the arc.
This is now two straight games where I saw the raw intensity in Roc that just makes him an almost one-man show on the floor. I say “almost” because the team effort in this game was superb. Jack O’Neill (14 pts, 9 rebs,5 for 5 from the line) was seemingly in the right place at the right time on many occasions last night. We believe Jack was shorted a point on one of his 3-point baskets. The ref’s hands went up like it was a three, but the scoreboard guy only put up two. When North’s stats guru, Tom “Hockey Puck” McKenna, tried to correct the score, the “official” scorekeeper said it was only a two. The ref didn’t remember, so it stayed as a 2-pointer. Another big contributor was Mike Terry, who scored 14 points while getting 4 steals. Seems that Mike is over his injury, which kept him out of the Prep Charter game. To the home crowd (and Ryan players), just keep in mind the words of legendary songwriter, Jim Croce (paraphrased, of course), “You don’t tug on Superman’s cape, you don’t spit into the wind, you don’t pull the mask off the old Lone Ranger, and you don’t mess around with Roc!”
No pictures for this one. I may get to them later.........
Next Game
The Falcons travel to Villanova University Saturday night to play Jamesville-Dewitt. This will be a tall order for the young Falcons, as the Jamesville team comes into this game undefeated and ranked as high as 28th in the nation (ESPN’s Rise magazine) and in the top 15 in the region (USA Today). But, to be the best, you have to play the best. Come on out and support the team.
CHAMPIONSHIP VS. LASALLE POSTPONED TILL THURSDAY!!!
THE PCL CHAMPIONSHIP WRESTLING MATCH BETWEEN NORTH AND LASALLE HAS BEEN POSTPONED DUE TO THE WEATHER. THE MATCH WILL TAKE PLACE ON THURSDAY NIGHT AT 7PM AT LASALLE.
SORRY ABOUT THE POSTPONEMENT. HOPE TO SEE YOU ALL THERE ON THURSDAY NIGHT....
COACH SAV
SORRY ABOUT THE POSTPONEMENT. HOPE TO SEE YOU ALL THERE ON THURSDAY NIGHT....
COACH SAV
Falcons Split over weekend.
If you were able to make it to the Pit on Friday night, you were treated to a real good game. The Falcons were taking on perennial basketball power, Roman Catholic, in a division battle to determine first place in the Red division. Roman came into the game at 8-0, while our Falcons entered the contest with only 1 loss (to Roman). After erasing a 9 point deficit after the first quarter, this game became a barn-burner, with the Falcons actually taking a 61-60 lead with 2 minutes remaining the the fourth quarter. But, the back court combination of Maalik Wayans (19pts) and Rakeem Brookins (31 pts) proved too much and the Cahillites scored 10 of the last 11 points in the game to get away with the 70-62 win.
Did you notice…..
……Even though the Pit was virtually filled to capacity, we wonder if the talk about sellout and not enough room in the gym helped keep some people away. There was a closed circuit broadcast of the game in the cafeteria, but many of the overflow spectators decided to crowd the steps to watch. Oh well, what can you do?
Ted Silary
....The Glackins slipped in just before the game. Here they are heading for the alumni section.
......Representing AOH Division 87 was Murph and Tug McGraw. Apparently they are no longer coordinating their attire like they did a couple games back.
Did you notice…..
……Even though the Pit was virtually filled to capacity, we wonder if the talk about sellout and not enough room in the gym helped keep some people away. There was a closed circuit broadcast of the game in the cafeteria, but many of the overflow spectators decided to crowd the steps to watch. Oh well, what can you do?
……With both Mike Kaiser Sr and Mike Kaiser Jr in the announcers’ booth, Jr took on the responsibility of announcing the game on Friday night. For the second straight game, the younger Kaiser provided clear and informative announcements throughout the game. 
……The concession stand was in the cafeteria, as opposed to the space in the corner at the end of the hall?
……We’re not going to mention names, but did you see the father of a player come onto the floor to attend to his injured son, who was in obvious pain from an ankle injury? Well, instead of comforting and coddling him, he gave him a “smack” on the head and told him to get up. Personally, I love that type of parenting. If more parents were like this dad, we wouldn’t have so many problems in the world. For those of you who are counting, that’s 1 point for dads and 0 points for the nitwits who think giving a kid a timeout is better than giving him a swift kick in the pants when they need it. 
Faces in the Crowd……
……The game brought out several young alum. We spotted former football players Andy Jander ’08, Stan Waclawski ’07, Tom Hannan ’07, as well as former basketball player Kevin O’Neil.
……One of our staffers also noticed soccer coach, Jerry Brindisi, and assistant, Tom Crossett. Even in the off season, these guys can usually be found at North games.
…… Another one of our staffers caught two superfans (Bainesy and Tim Murphy) sharing some stories over a cup of coffee before the game. Apparently, Murph's wardrobe is provided by the Head Coach of Oak Hill Academy (see photo below)
Murph, modeling the latest in Oak Hill Apparel
Bainsey (this guy is everywhere)
Keith Pompey
Ted Silary
....The Glackins slipped in just before the game. Here they are heading for the alumni section.
......Representing AOH Division 87 was Murph and Tug McGraw. Apparently they are no longer coordinating their attire like they did a couple games back.
North v Prep Charter (Sunday Night)
On Sunday night, at The Shipley School, the Falcons once again were taking on one of the best teams in SE PA in Prep Charter. It wasn’t bad enough that we were playing a real good team, but we were doing so without the services of Mike Terry and Bob Makor. Since last week, most of the team has had some level of sickness, with a couple of players even sitting out the past couple of games due to it. For those players who were only mildly stricken, they played their butts off. So, with a depleted line up, the Falcons did the unexpected, and upset the Huskies in OT. This game was very exciting, as the Falcons got off to a real good start and held an 8 point lead for most of the way. Late in the game, with our guys pulling a ton of minutes, Prep Charter, with the scoring machine, Ferg Myrick (27pts), tied it up in the last minute of regulation. But, the Falcons, led by Rakeem Christmas (22 pts – 13 rebs) and Jack O’Neill (22 pts), secured the OT win. Just a note before we move on. Rakeem Christmas had several monster dunks in this game. On one, I didn’t think he would get a rebound on a high bounce off the rim. He not only used his long arms to secure the rebound, but he came up with what appeared to be a windmill dunk that seemed to suck the life out of the Huskies. Jack O’Neill also had a couple of dunk. One while coming in from the baseline right, and the other on a fast break. Although, the fast break dunk almost didn’t happen. His dunk attempt hit the back of the rim, then the front of the rim and then the backboard, and then nothing but net. It was one of the strangest dunks you’ll ever see, but we’ll take it. Final note: One of our young staffers heard that Jack was a little under the weather for the Roman game. We did notice that he was sweating profusely late in the Prep Charter game. But, we’re not sure if that was due to the illness finally leaving his system or just from extended playing time (34 minutes) due to the injuries. Whatever it was, this young man played hard and we appreciated the effort.
Sorry folks. There were no photos taken at this game, but there are a couple of observations that I'd like to make.
......When the team arrived at the gym, the first thing I noticed was that Mike Terry and Bob Makor were in street clothes, and two JV players had suited up. Oh boy! But, if you read the recap above, you'll know that this team can overcome nearly anything.
......Prior to the game, I was walking back to the scorers' table when I saw a face I hadn't seen in awhile. It was Lefty Ervin, sporting a neck brace due to a recent back surgery. It sure was nice seeing Lefty's smiling face in the house Sunday.
......Speaking of the Shipley School, I wonder if it's possible to hide that place any better. It's very dark and there are little or no signs. I drove around the block two or three times before I realized where the place was. Hell, it was harder to find than the West Catholic football practice field.
....Prior to the North-Prep Charter game, I watch the Pennsbury-Bartram game. In the second half, the Bartram coach called a timeout to yell at his players. The yelling went something like this:
Coach: "You guys aren't playing defense. What's wit dat?"
Coach: "You guys aren't in the flow. What's wit dat?"
Coach: "You guys are playing real bad. What's wit dat?"
Coach: "Get back into the flow down here."
Timeout over.
This isn't neccessarily what was said, but it seemed like that. Two points here. First, why call a timeout if you're not going to give constructive criticism or instruction. Second, this guy should run a clinic for Marine drill instructors.
....After the North-Prep Charter game, one of our staffers had to use the restroom. The report we got was that the Prep Charter coach wasn't too happy with their OT loss. He was holding up their pizza until he could yell at all of them. I hope they finally got the pizza because I'd hate to think that 5 perfectly good pizzas went to waste when there was one large observer who would have eaten them.
.....A raise, and bonus, is due one of our hustling young staffers, who witnessed the soaking that yours truly received on Friday night. For that, I was given an umbrella to protect myself from the "Rain of Puck". I was also given breath mints to pass out to a certain someone at the scorers' table. No names involved here. I'll just say, in a word, SupercalifragilisticPucksGotHalitosis!
Well, this was longer than normal, so I'll just sign off and get ready for the Judge game tomorrow night at the Pit. You really don't want to miss this one. It would be nice to clinch a playoff spot by beating our rivals to the North.
NORTH WRESTLING TO TAKE ON LASALLE IN THE DISTRICT SEMI-FINALS
grettings north wrestling fans! on saturday the falcon wrestling team had to travel to monsignor bonner high school to fight their way in to the district 12 semi-finals. we had to wrestle two matches in a row to see who would meet lasalle on wednesday night. here is a listing of the scores..
NORTH - 54 -- WOOD - 15
our day began with a rematch with archbishop wood. the outcome of the match was never in question. we were very aggressive with our control ties and were constantly attacking. we dominated from all 3 positions to come away with an easy victory.
NORTH - 39 -- BONNER - 21
bonner was hosting their first catholic league playoff match in over a decade. the friars came out very aggressive and pumped-up. in the beginning we were not able to match their intensity level. we were even down 11 points in the middle of the match. fortunately for us, we were still sitting on our big guns. the middle of our lineup were waiting and we ended up winning the last 8 matches to cruise into the semi-finals...
NORTH CATHOLIC VS LASALLE
7 PM - WEDNESDAY NIGHT
@ LASALLE
I HOPE TO SEE YOU ALL THERE. LETS ALL WEAR SOMETHING RED TO SHOW OUR SUPPORT TO THE BOYS WHO ARE GONNA LEAVE IT ALL ON THE MAT!!!!
lastly, i would like to thank all of you who came out to our beef-n-beer on saturday night. i would personally like to thank the following people...
- brian and karen stankiewicz for helping with the setup coordination and the jello-shots
- mike and michelle cancelliere for the gift basket
- the parents of scott mathews who are the owners of fishtown beverage for supplying the beer, donating a keg, and the gift certificate to the beverage shop.
- janet ogden (david davidsons mom) for the meat balls. get well from the back surgery.
- elaine dougherty for the stocks pound cake.
- cheryl rand for the food and goodies (sorry cheryl - im doing this off the top of my head so im not sure what you brought but i i know you brought something and i ate almost everything!!!)
- sherri for organization and helping coordinate the junior falcon parents.
- mr steffa for the sweatshirts.
- LASTLY I WOULD LIKE TO THANK ALL OF THE PEOPLE I FORGOT!!! I DID NOT DO IT ON PURPOSE...(I SWEAR!!!!) IM JUST GETTING OLD AND DUMB!!!
NORTH - 54 -- WOOD - 15
our day began with a rematch with archbishop wood. the outcome of the match was never in question. we were very aggressive with our control ties and were constantly attacking. we dominated from all 3 positions to come away with an easy victory.
NORTH - 39 -- BONNER - 21
bonner was hosting their first catholic league playoff match in over a decade. the friars came out very aggressive and pumped-up. in the beginning we were not able to match their intensity level. we were even down 11 points in the middle of the match. fortunately for us, we were still sitting on our big guns. the middle of our lineup were waiting and we ended up winning the last 8 matches to cruise into the semi-finals...
NORTH CATHOLIC VS LASALLE
7 PM - WEDNESDAY NIGHT
@ LASALLE
I HOPE TO SEE YOU ALL THERE. LETS ALL WEAR SOMETHING RED TO SHOW OUR SUPPORT TO THE BOYS WHO ARE GONNA LEAVE IT ALL ON THE MAT!!!!
lastly, i would like to thank all of you who came out to our beef-n-beer on saturday night. i would personally like to thank the following people...
- brian and karen stankiewicz for helping with the setup coordination and the jello-shots
- mike and michelle cancelliere for the gift basket
- the parents of scott mathews who are the owners of fishtown beverage for supplying the beer, donating a keg, and the gift certificate to the beverage shop.
- janet ogden (david davidsons mom) for the meat balls. get well from the back surgery.
- elaine dougherty for the stocks pound cake.
- cheryl rand for the food and goodies (sorry cheryl - im doing this off the top of my head so im not sure what you brought but i i know you brought something and i ate almost everything!!!)
- sherri for organization and helping coordinate the junior falcon parents.
- mr steffa for the sweatshirts.
- LASTLY I WOULD LIKE TO THANK ALL OF THE PEOPLE I FORGOT!!! I DID NOT DO IT ON PURPOSE...(I SWEAR!!!!) IM JUST GETTING OLD AND DUMB!!!
WRESTLING TIME CHANGE!!!
attention north wrestling fans. the times have changed for the first round of the playoffs. here are the time changes. remember the matches take place at bonner.
we wrestle wood at 2pm. followed by bonner about 330.
this gives us plenty of time to make it home for the beef-n-beer.
we hope to see you all there. also, we are asking you to wear something red so we can create a sea of red.
we wrestle wood at 2pm. followed by bonner about 330.
this gives us plenty of time to make it home for the beef-n-beer.
we hope to see you all there. also, we are asking you to wear something red so we can create a sea of red.
NORTH WRESTLING IS RED HOT ENTERING PLAYOFFS!!!
NORTH VS. CONWELL EGAN
last wednesday, the north catholic wrestling team welcomed conwell-egan to the pit. after it was all over, egan wished they did not show up. we dominated the match and came away with a 60-24 victory. this win could have been more lopsided since north wrestling studs MATT DUGAN and KEVIN MALLON were out with injury and illness. however, like all year, our talented and determined jv wrestlers stepped up and came through with some big wins.
NORTH CATHOLIC AT THE BUCKLEY DUALS
North 57 - Frankford - 16
North 42 - Harriton - 21
North 66 - Lower Merion - 3
North 45 - Coatsville - 22
and in the Championship...
North 32 - Octorara - 26
the match with octorara was pretty intense and came down to the last match. Sophomore Jeremy Reith came away with a decision to clinch the match for the falcons.
CONGRATULATIONS TJ VAN HORN!!!!
During the buckley duals, tj van horn became the 12 north catholic wrestler reach the 100 win plateau. he got his 100 victory with a first period pin against lower merion. good luck climbing the career win total!!
NORTH VS JUDGE
Last night the north squad traveled to judge to face what has become a new rival and battle for neighborhood supremacy. there was no doubt who the most dominating team was. we dominated every position and came away with a 59-10 final score. of the 28 jv and varsity matches contested, judge won only 6! now that is domination!!!!
PLAYOFFS START SATURDAY!!!!
this saturday starts the first round of the playoffs. we have to travel to bonner to take on archbishop wood. after the wood match, we will wrestle bonner to see who goes to the catholic league championship. (yes. i do plan on beating wood.) here are the times...
4pm - north vs wood
530ish - north vs bonner
hopefully you all can make it out to see us get to the championship. afterword, dont forget that our beef n beer is on saturday night. (i know we are going to run late...SAT's are scheduled the same day so they had to push the time back....dont worry - we will still be able to get our drink on!) what a way to celebrate with another trip to the championship!!!!
COACH MASCINO VS THE BURGER
after practice on monday, self-proclaimed big eatter henry "rick" mascino tried to tackle the bridesburg bommer at daddy'0s. the bommer is a 3 pound hamburger what has ham, bacon, pepperoni, sausage and veggies on it. the challenge is to eat the whole thing in less than an hour. after our barmaid told us she could do it in 30min, rick stepped up to the challenge....
rick tried to tackle the burger by cutting it into quarters. he devoured the 1st quarter in 6 minutes. he then devoured the 2nd quarter in an additional 8 minutes. about midway through the 3rd quarter he began to hit the wall.....
last wednesday, the north catholic wrestling team welcomed conwell-egan to the pit. after it was all over, egan wished they did not show up. we dominated the match and came away with a 60-24 victory. this win could have been more lopsided since north wrestling studs MATT DUGAN and KEVIN MALLON were out with injury and illness. however, like all year, our talented and determined jv wrestlers stepped up and came through with some big wins.
NORTH CATHOLIC AT THE BUCKLEY DUALS
on saturday, the north wrestling team traveled to the Haverford School to compete in the annual Buckley Duals. this competition saw north wrestle 5 matches in one day. we welcomed Kevin Mallon back to the line-up but still were without Matt Dugan. despite the hole in our lineup, north catholic went 5-0 and finished in first place! great performances were had by TJ Van Horn, Mike McCall, AJ Vizcarrondo and Kevin Mallon, all of which came away with 5-0 records. Here are the boxscores...
North 57 - Frankford - 16
North 42 - Harriton - 21
North 66 - Lower Merion - 3
North 45 - Coatsville - 22
and in the Championship...
North 32 - Octorara - 26
the match with octorara was pretty intense and came down to the last match. Sophomore Jeremy Reith came away with a decision to clinch the match for the falcons.
CONGRATULATIONS TJ VAN HORN!!!!
During the buckley duals, tj van horn became the 12 north catholic wrestler reach the 100 win plateau. he got his 100 victory with a first period pin against lower merion. good luck climbing the career win total!!
NORTH VS JUDGE
Last night the north squad traveled to judge to face what has become a new rival and battle for neighborhood supremacy. there was no doubt who the most dominating team was. we dominated every position and came away with a 59-10 final score. of the 28 jv and varsity matches contested, judge won only 6! now that is domination!!!!
PLAYOFFS START SATURDAY!!!!
this saturday starts the first round of the playoffs. we have to travel to bonner to take on archbishop wood. after the wood match, we will wrestle bonner to see who goes to the catholic league championship. (yes. i do plan on beating wood.) here are the times...
4pm - north vs wood
530ish - north vs bonner
hopefully you all can make it out to see us get to the championship. afterword, dont forget that our beef n beer is on saturday night. (i know we are going to run late...SAT's are scheduled the same day so they had to push the time back....dont worry - we will still be able to get our drink on!) what a way to celebrate with another trip to the championship!!!!
COACH MASCINO VS THE BURGER
after practice on monday, self-proclaimed big eatter henry "rick" mascino tried to tackle the bridesburg bommer at daddy'0s. the bommer is a 3 pound hamburger what has ham, bacon, pepperoni, sausage and veggies on it. the challenge is to eat the whole thing in less than an hour. after our barmaid told us she could do it in 30min, rick stepped up to the challenge....
rick tried to tackle the burger by cutting it into quarters. he devoured the 1st quarter in 6 minutes. he then devoured the 2nd quarter in an additional 8 minutes. about midway through the 3rd quarter he began to hit the wall.....
rick tried to push through. he finished the 3rd quarter with about 20 minutes to spare and began to work on the last quarter.
DELIRIUM BEGINS TO SET IN......
THEN DISPAIR...............
FINALLY WITH ABOUT 10 BITES LEFT...
RICK THROWS IN THE TOWEL!!!!
we at north catholic commend rick on his effort...however in our eyes he will always be a no-good stinking quitter!!!!!
Falcons pick up two wins over Delco teams.
The Falcons played two games over the weekend, and came away with wins in both. On Friday evening, the team hosted the Lions of O’Hara, in what became more of an extended practice for the team, beating the Lions 82-52. On Sunday, the young Falcons traveled to Drexel Hill to play the Friars of Monsignor Bonner, where they came out better than the Eagles did later that afternoon, beating the Friars, 61-48.
In the Friday night game, the starters played so well that they were rewarded with an extended rest period in the second half, with the bench guys accounting for 30 points in this game. Starters Mike Terry shot 9 for 11 from the field for 19 points, while Jaleel Mack went 7 for 9 from the field, including 2 for 3 from beyond the arc to score 16 points. But, it was the play of a couple of bench players that showed that the Falcons have significant depth. John Dever came off the bench for 12 minutes of play. In that time, he grabbed 11 rebounds and had 3 blocks, and Dennis Logue, fresh off setting the career passing mark for North, hit all 5 of his field goals and scored 11 points. But, there was one thing in this game that confused me a bit. This is the second team from Delaware County (Bonner was the other) that came into the Pit and decided to challenge the big guy (Rakeem “Roc” Christmas). In just 20 minutes of play, Roc accounted for 7 blocked shots. What’s the matter; is the Pit not intimidating enough for you? It’s gotta be downright scary now.
On Sunday afternoon, the game with Bonner was moved up to noon to allow people to get home for the Eagles game. In hindsight, it really wasn’t necessary. Due to an important commitment, I couldn’t attend, but I did send a young staffer to the game to collect the stats so you would have them posted on the team website by Monday morning. That staffer may be getting a bonus. In that game, Roc lit up the Friars for 23 points (12 rebs), with Mike Terry, who has been a recent scoring machine, scored 20, to go along with his 7 boards.
We only have observations from the O’Hara game, but we promise to have the entire staff covering the Roman game on Friday night.
Did You Notice……
….the Falcon Mall is still locked up during games. I sure hope it’s open on Friday, especially with the crowd that is expected that night
.….Mike Kaiser, our regular announcer, wasn’t doing the chores on Friday night? Mike was otherwise occupied on personal business, so Mike Kaiser Jr stepped in to cover for his dad
.….Jimmy Dever filmed from the southeast corner instead of from the Falcon Nest (no relation). Apparently, this was the dress rehearsal for the closed circuit broadcast expected for the game on Friday night
.….The young man keeping the stats for O’Hara seemed determine to get the Lions some free shots (Technical Fouls) due to alleged discrepancies in the score book. You see, before each game, the head ref comes over to the scorers’ table to ask how many players are in the book for each team. The North book listed 12 players, but there were only 11 in uniform. The Lion scorekeeping asked the ref to come over to the table, after the “official count” and just prior to the game starting. He explained that we only had 11 uniformed players, but 12 listed in the book. The ref explained that it’s not a problem. The scorekeeper looked disappointed.
….Speaking the young O’Hara scorekeeper, when Ryan Etsell entered the game wearing Number 3, the scorekeeper again asked the ref to come over to the scorers’ table. He informed the ref that a player on the floor is listed with a different number in the book (#10). The first ref rolled his eyes and then got the head ref to make a decision. The head ref decided not to prolong O’Hara’s agony. He realized Falcons had lapped the Lions and were pulling away with bench players on the floor. He explained that it was not a technical foul. But, you have to give the kid credit to trying to get an assist in this game.
Faces in the crowd……
….The Finns were in the crowd, taking in the Falcons. Actually, you can find them at many North games
.…..Jimmy Dever was caught chatting with John Dever Sr, dad of player John Dever. I’m not sure how Jim is related, but it seems that every place I go, there’s another relative of the Dever family
.…..As mentioned above, Mike Kaiser Jr filled in for Dad, handling the announcing duties. A couple of people around me were overheard stating that the announcer was getting better as the season gets deeper. I pointed out that it’s not the same announcer. The response to that was, “This guy’s better.” Great job, Mike
.….I have to apologize, but I don’t know this guy’s name. I’ve seen him at North games for years. This could be me in 30 years or so
.….Fellow blogger, Tom Crossett, abandoned the alumni section for the “Murph Section”. For you younger guys out there, Murph’s section is the far southwest corner of the gym, right under the Falcon Nest
.….Former multi-sport All Catholic and member of the 1987 championship basketball team, Dave Mastropietro ‘87, was in the house for the game
.….Regulars, Ed White ’55 and Mike Fagan ’57, were holding down the fort in the alumni section. (No Pic this week)
.….I know I keep mentioning her, but as long as Taylor Rand keeps wowing the crowd with the singing of the National Anthem, I’ll keep mentioning her. Plus, this was the first time I was able to get a half decent shot of Taylor’s face.
Hanging out on the steps were NC President, Stan Witalec and his old classmate, and big fan of North basketball, Paul Hondros.
In the Friday night game, the starters played so well that they were rewarded with an extended rest period in the second half, with the bench guys accounting for 30 points in this game. Starters Mike Terry shot 9 for 11 from the field for 19 points, while Jaleel Mack went 7 for 9 from the field, including 2 for 3 from beyond the arc to score 16 points. But, it was the play of a couple of bench players that showed that the Falcons have significant depth. John Dever came off the bench for 12 minutes of play. In that time, he grabbed 11 rebounds and had 3 blocks, and Dennis Logue, fresh off setting the career passing mark for North, hit all 5 of his field goals and scored 11 points. But, there was one thing in this game that confused me a bit. This is the second team from Delaware County (Bonner was the other) that came into the Pit and decided to challenge the big guy (Rakeem “Roc” Christmas). In just 20 minutes of play, Roc accounted for 7 blocked shots. What’s the matter; is the Pit not intimidating enough for you? It’s gotta be downright scary now.
On Sunday afternoon, the game with Bonner was moved up to noon to allow people to get home for the Eagles game. In hindsight, it really wasn’t necessary. Due to an important commitment, I couldn’t attend, but I did send a young staffer to the game to collect the stats so you would have them posted on the team website by Monday morning. That staffer may be getting a bonus. In that game, Roc lit up the Friars for 23 points (12 rebs), with Mike Terry, who has been a recent scoring machine, scored 20, to go along with his 7 boards.
We only have observations from the O’Hara game, but we promise to have the entire staff covering the Roman game on Friday night.
Did You Notice……
….the Falcon Mall is still locked up during games. I sure hope it’s open on Friday, especially with the crowd that is expected that night
.….Mike Kaiser, our regular announcer, wasn’t doing the chores on Friday night? Mike was otherwise occupied on personal business, so Mike Kaiser Jr stepped in to cover for his dad
.….Jimmy Dever filmed from the southeast corner instead of from the Falcon Nest (no relation). Apparently, this was the dress rehearsal for the closed circuit broadcast expected for the game on Friday night
.….The young man keeping the stats for O’Hara seemed determine to get the Lions some free shots (Technical Fouls) due to alleged discrepancies in the score book. You see, before each game, the head ref comes over to the scorers’ table to ask how many players are in the book for each team. The North book listed 12 players, but there were only 11 in uniform. The Lion scorekeeping asked the ref to come over to the table, after the “official count” and just prior to the game starting. He explained that we only had 11 uniformed players, but 12 listed in the book. The ref explained that it’s not a problem. The scorekeeper looked disappointed.
….Speaking the young O’Hara scorekeeper, when Ryan Etsell entered the game wearing Number 3, the scorekeeper again asked the ref to come over to the scorers’ table. He informed the ref that a player on the floor is listed with a different number in the book (#10). The first ref rolled his eyes and then got the head ref to make a decision. The head ref decided not to prolong O’Hara’s agony. He realized Falcons had lapped the Lions and were pulling away with bench players on the floor. He explained that it was not a technical foul. But, you have to give the kid credit to trying to get an assist in this game.
Faces in the crowd……
….The Finns were in the crowd, taking in the Falcons. Actually, you can find them at many North games
.…..Jimmy Dever was caught chatting with John Dever Sr, dad of player John Dever. I’m not sure how Jim is related, but it seems that every place I go, there’s another relative of the Dever family
.…..As mentioned above, Mike Kaiser Jr filled in for Dad, handling the announcing duties. A couple of people around me were overheard stating that the announcer was getting better as the season gets deeper. I pointed out that it’s not the same announcer. The response to that was, “This guy’s better.” Great job, Mike
.….I have to apologize, but I don’t know this guy’s name. I’ve seen him at North games for years. This could be me in 30 years or so
.….Fellow blogger, Tom Crossett, abandoned the alumni section for the “Murph Section”. For you younger guys out there, Murph’s section is the far southwest corner of the gym, right under the Falcon Nest
.….Former multi-sport All Catholic and member of the 1987 championship basketball team, Dave Mastropietro ‘87, was in the house for the game
.….Regulars, Ed White ’55 and Mike Fagan ’57, were holding down the fort in the alumni section. (No Pic this week)
.….I know I keep mentioning her, but as long as Taylor Rand keeps wowing the crowd with the singing of the National Anthem, I’ll keep mentioning her. Plus, this was the first time I was able to get a half decent shot of Taylor’s face.
Hanging out on the steps were NC President, Stan Witalec and his old classmate, and big fan of North basketball, Paul Hondros.
Next Game: Roman, Friday Night at the PIT!!! Be there as the Falcons try to catch the Cahillites in the Red Division. Currently, the Falcons are a game behind, so this expects to be a huge game at mid-season. Get your tickets early, as this game is expected to sellout. Additional seats will be set up in the cafeteria, where a closed circuit broadcast will available.
NORTH WRESTLING UPDATE - JAN 13TH,2009
greetings all. the north catholic wrestling team had a very busy week. we wrestled 2 duals and competed in what has become the toughest tournament in the state of Pennsylvania.
NORTH VS. WOOD AND DOUGHERTY
our week began with 2 catholic league meets against archbishop wood and cardinal dougherty. we handled both of these teams quite easily. here were our scores...
North - 71 - Dougherty - 12
North - 59 - Wood - 21
NORTH AT ESCAPE THE ROCK TOURNAMENT
on friday and saturday the north catholic varsity team traveled to council rock south to take place in the 4th annual escape the rock tournament. the north squad squared up against some of the toughest teams in the country. here are some rankings of some of the teams at the escape the rock...
Central Mountain - 6th nationally
Wyoming Seminary - 7th nationally
Phillipsburgh - 4th in NJ
Paulsboro - 14th in NJ
Saleasium - 4th in DE
north catholic finished 19th out of 24 teams. although we were looking to finish in the top 12, we got some great experience and some very tough matches. we also had 4 place winners which is the most we ever had at the tournament (you can see how tough it has become). individual place winners were:
Kevin Mallon - 4th place (kevin went 2-2 against 4 wrestlers who are ranked in the top 12 in PA)
AJ Vizcarrondo - 6th place (this is great for a freshman wrestling 189)
Mike McCall - 7th place (mike beat one of the top wrestlers in southeast PA to place)
David Davidson - 8th place (david gets the north ironman award this week for wrestling 7 matches over the two day period.)
JV'S AT HAVERFORD TOURNAMENT
while our varsity was at the escape the rock, our jv's traveled to the haverford jv tournament. our jv's had a winning record for the day and showed a lot of improvement since the season began. here are our jv place winners
Thomas Goodyear - 1st place
Brian Sweeny - 2nd place
Gary Robinson - 3rd place
Roman Riccardo - 3rd place
Tad Meyers - 4th place
Dan Black - 4th place
we would like to thank the parents of brian sweeny and tim maguire for driving and staying to watch the wrestlers compete.
NORTH WRESTLING THIS WEEK
this wednesday night we wrestle conwell-egan. the match is going to be at north catholic at 7pm. we only have 2 matches left so try to get out and see some action.
this saturday the varsity will be at the buckley dual at the haverford school while the jv's will be at the garnett valley jv tournament.
COUNTDOWN TO 100!
here are the current win totals for our wrestlers trying to get to 100 wins:
TJ Van Horn - 96
Matt Dugan - 88
Kevin Mallon - 84
BEST OF LUCK GUYS!!!!!!
BEEF N BEER
remember - our beef n beer is going to be on the 24th. please see our banner on the right. for more info you can contact me at thesav150@aol.com or call the coaches office at 215-831-5246.
NORTH VS. WOOD AND DOUGHERTY
our week began with 2 catholic league meets against archbishop wood and cardinal dougherty. we handled both of these teams quite easily. here were our scores...
North - 71 - Dougherty - 12
North - 59 - Wood - 21
NORTH AT ESCAPE THE ROCK TOURNAMENT
on friday and saturday the north catholic varsity team traveled to council rock south to take place in the 4th annual escape the rock tournament. the north squad squared up against some of the toughest teams in the country. here are some rankings of some of the teams at the escape the rock...
Central Mountain - 6th nationally
Wyoming Seminary - 7th nationally
Phillipsburgh - 4th in NJ
Paulsboro - 14th in NJ
Saleasium - 4th in DE
north catholic finished 19th out of 24 teams. although we were looking to finish in the top 12, we got some great experience and some very tough matches. we also had 4 place winners which is the most we ever had at the tournament (you can see how tough it has become). individual place winners were:
Kevin Mallon - 4th place (kevin went 2-2 against 4 wrestlers who are ranked in the top 12 in PA)
AJ Vizcarrondo - 6th place (this is great for a freshman wrestling 189)
Mike McCall - 7th place (mike beat one of the top wrestlers in southeast PA to place)
David Davidson - 8th place (david gets the north ironman award this week for wrestling 7 matches over the two day period.)
JV'S AT HAVERFORD TOURNAMENT
while our varsity was at the escape the rock, our jv's traveled to the haverford jv tournament. our jv's had a winning record for the day and showed a lot of improvement since the season began. here are our jv place winners
Thomas Goodyear - 1st place
Brian Sweeny - 2nd place
Gary Robinson - 3rd place
Roman Riccardo - 3rd place
Tad Meyers - 4th place
Dan Black - 4th place
we would like to thank the parents of brian sweeny and tim maguire for driving and staying to watch the wrestlers compete.
NORTH WRESTLING THIS WEEK
this wednesday night we wrestle conwell-egan. the match is going to be at north catholic at 7pm. we only have 2 matches left so try to get out and see some action.
this saturday the varsity will be at the buckley dual at the haverford school while the jv's will be at the garnett valley jv tournament.
COUNTDOWN TO 100!
here are the current win totals for our wrestlers trying to get to 100 wins:
TJ Van Horn - 96
Matt Dugan - 88
Kevin Mallon - 84
BEST OF LUCK GUYS!!!!!!
BEEF N BEER
remember - our beef n beer is going to be on the 24th. please see our banner on the right. for more info you can contact me at thesav150@aol.com or call the coaches office at 215-831-5246.
Falcons Basketball Team Beat LaSalle 63-57
The game tonight against the Explorers was kind of a let down for me. A game in the middle of the season, which will determine second place going into the second half, and against a team that the Falcons played in the first round of the playoffs, and there were a lot of empty seats in the house. Of course, many of the Falcon faithful were there, as I’ll point out later, but where are the people who packed the gym for games against Judge and Ryan last season. Or those who were at the playoff games and championship at the Palestra? Come on folks, the holidays are over and the Eagles don’t play again until Sunday. Come out and catch a few games at the newly refurbished Pit.
We're going to do things a little different tonight. We're just going to go right to the "Sights and Sounds" of the game (ok, maybe no sounds, but I just like that phrase).
For the second game in a row at the Pit, Mike Kaiser handled the announcing duties with his son, Mike Jr, as his spotter. Young Mike is much better looking than the guy who spots for the announcer at the football games. The announcing is done from the Falcon’s Nest (a blatant rip off of our name, but we’ll let that slide for now). On Friday, Mike Jr will handle the announcing duties himself, as dad will be unavailable for the game. Speaking of being unavailable, I’ll miss what should be my only missed game (football and basketball) of the year. I have a very important personal appointment at the same time as the game on Sunday. And, you can’t bet it’s important to me if I’m missing a game.
Also spotted in the bleachers across from the bench was Brian Smith ’82, a classmate and former football teammate of yours truly. Brian usually catches a few games a year, but I wish I would have had an opportunity to chat for a minute. Also from the class of 1982 was Joe Steinmetz, who couldn’t attend the game, but we ran into him in the hallway prior to the game. Joe’s son is wrestling with the Junior Falcons. Rumor has it that he’s pretty good for a 6 year old. Kevin Leyland ’84, was also waiting for his son to finish wrestling.
Next Game
Friday night, the Falcons host winless Cardinal O’Hara. How can a school have a girls’ team that is ranked #1 in the nation and then have a boys’ team that can’t seem to win a game? I wonder if their girls’ team could beat their boys’ team? Now that’s a game I’d pay to see. Anyway, the game is at the Pit on Friday night (7:30PM). It’ll be cold outside on Friday, so a nice toasty Pit could be just the ticket for anyone who wants to catch the Falcons play.
We're going to do things a little different tonight. We're just going to go right to the "Sights and Sounds" of the game (ok, maybe no sounds, but I just like that phrase).
We stopped by the concession stand to get some dinner. With a full time job, 4 websites and 2 blogs to run, a couple of pretzels is about all we get for dinner on game night.
The Concession Crew
For the second game in a row at the Pit, Mike Kaiser handled the announcing duties with his son, Mike Jr, as his spotter. Young Mike is much better looking than the guy who spots for the announcer at the football games. The announcing is done from the Falcon’s Nest (a blatant rip off of our name, but we’ll let that slide for now). On Friday, Mike Jr will handle the announcing duties himself, as dad will be unavailable for the game. Speaking of being unavailable, I’ll miss what should be my only missed game (football and basketball) of the year. I have a very important personal appointment at the same time as the game on Sunday. And, you can’t bet it’s important to me if I’m missing a game.
Jim Dever, the film guy in the "Falcon's Nest"
Hanging out in the Alumni section with Ed White ’55 and Mike Fagan ’57, was Tom Crossett, who handles the soccer duties for this blog. Hey Tom, will you be at the game on Sunday? We need someone to write the story for that one.
Also spotted in the bleachers across from the bench was Brian Smith ’82, a classmate and former football teammate of yours truly. Brian usually catches a few games a year, but I wish I would have had an opportunity to chat for a minute. Also from the class of 1982 was Joe Steinmetz, who couldn’t attend the game, but we ran into him in the hallway prior to the game. Joe’s son is wrestling with the Junior Falcons. Rumor has it that he’s pretty good for a 6 year old. Kevin Leyland ’84, was also waiting for his son to finish wrestling.
Former football teammate from the class of 1982, Brian Smith
John Conners, class of 1971
During halftime, there was a spontaneous game of basketball that broke out with a bunch of future Falcons. These young guys were fun to watch. A couple of them could even reach the basket with their shots.
For the second home game in a row, the Falcon Mall was locked down. Ed Glackin, where have you gone? We really miss you!
Sitting in his usual spot in the southwest corner of the gym was superfan, Tim Murphy. Tim should know that the superfans usually sit in the northeast corner. Hanging out with Murph was another alum and AOH brother, Tug McGraw (No, not that Tug McGraw!)The AOH brothers also dress alike (Black jacket and tan khakis). Tim (middle), Tug (right) 
Finally, once again, Taylor Rand belted out the National Anthem. You can see Taylor’s music video on YouTube. Click Here to see it
Taylor Rand
Next Game
Friday night, the Falcons host winless Cardinal O’Hara. How can a school have a girls’ team that is ranked #1 in the nation and then have a boys’ team that can’t seem to win a game? I wonder if their girls’ team could beat their boys’ team? Now that’s a game I’d pay to see. Anyway, the game is at the Pit on Friday night (7:30PM). It’ll be cold outside on Friday, so a nice toasty Pit could be just the ticket for anyone who wants to catch the Falcons play.
Falcons Escape with 60-56 basketball win at Prep
I would say that the first half of this game was ugly for our Falcons, but it really wasn’t. Prep just shot the lights out in the opening two quarters and built an 8 point lead at the break. It was the second half that got ugly, but fortunately, our young Falcons overcame the mess and came out of Prep’s gym with a win. With Rakeem “Roc” Christmas in sweats due to being ejected from the Ryan game with 2 technical fouls (league rule), Bob Makor suffered a sprained ankle and Xavier Harris seemed to get fouls every time he stepped on the floor eventually fouling out with only 9 minutes of playing time. The Prep’s hot shooting cooled and the Falcons ran them into the ground the entire second half, getting out of Dodge with a win. And, as they say, “A win is a win.”
Did you notice…..
…. In the same hallway, there were two ticket tables? The first one was for wrestling and the second was for basketball.
…..If you had to visit the restroom or snack bar, you needed a ticket to re-enter. The ticket was for a Thanksgiving Day football game between Prep and LaSalle. Nothing like recycling old and unused tickets.
…..the number of potential basketball courts in the Prep gym? They could have like 5 games going at the same time in that gym. Toto, we’re at the pit anymore!
…..the JV team followed the varsity because Prep wanted their students, who live so far from school, to be able to watch the game. My opinion (which means nothing) is to try to get students who live closer to the school, and they won’t have that problem.
….speaking of early starts, why not just schedule their home games for Friday nights, as their Friday night games always seem to be played at 7:30pm.
Spotted in the Crowd…..
…..Mike Ritchie ‘84 was in the house checking out the Falcons
…..NC IT Academy donor, John Fries, was seen watching the game in his sharp peach colored sweater.
…..Superfan and Alumni Association President, Ed White ‘55, drove down to North Philly to catch this exciting game.
…..Friend of NC basketball, Paul Hondros, was seen chatting it up with a player after the game.
…..Stopping by from his duties at the Markward Club, Denny Hill ’67, wanted to check out the Falcons in person.
…..An unnamed spectator, and Mt St Joe alumna, was spotted in the crowd. She doesn’t care much for the Prep, but we’re not saying why.
…..NC AD, Tom Kaiser, was doing his normal networking at the game. Tom used to help out with the Prep football team years ago, so he has a few friends out there on West Girard Ave.
….Finally, Daily News high school reporter, Ted Silary, was catching his third North game of the season. Ted did a nice story about Mike Terry for the Daily News. Click Here to read story.
Next Game
Monday Night, the Falcons take on LaSalle, the team we beat in the first round of the playoffs last season. Both teams are currently 4-1, so this game will move one team to solo possession of 2nd place in the Red division and the other team to third at the half way point of the regular season. If you want to see a good game, head down to the Pit tonight to catch this game.
Did you notice…..
…. In the same hallway, there were two ticket tables? The first one was for wrestling and the second was for basketball.
…..If you had to visit the restroom or snack bar, you needed a ticket to re-enter. The ticket was for a Thanksgiving Day football game between Prep and LaSalle. Nothing like recycling old and unused tickets.
…..the number of potential basketball courts in the Prep gym? They could have like 5 games going at the same time in that gym. Toto, we’re at the pit anymore!
…..the JV team followed the varsity because Prep wanted their students, who live so far from school, to be able to watch the game. My opinion (which means nothing) is to try to get students who live closer to the school, and they won’t have that problem.
….speaking of early starts, why not just schedule their home games for Friday nights, as their Friday night games always seem to be played at 7:30pm.
Spotted in the Crowd…..
…..Mike Ritchie ‘84 was in the house checking out the Falcons
…..NC IT Academy donor, John Fries, was seen watching the game in his sharp peach colored sweater.
…..Superfan and Alumni Association President, Ed White ‘55, drove down to North Philly to catch this exciting game.
…..Friend of NC basketball, Paul Hondros, was seen chatting it up with a player after the game.
…..Stopping by from his duties at the Markward Club, Denny Hill ’67, wanted to check out the Falcons in person.
…..An unnamed spectator, and Mt St Joe alumna, was spotted in the crowd. She doesn’t care much for the Prep, but we’re not saying why.
…..NC AD, Tom Kaiser, was doing his normal networking at the game. Tom used to help out with the Prep football team years ago, so he has a few friends out there on West Girard Ave.
….Finally, Daily News high school reporter, Ted Silary, was catching his third North game of the season. Ted did a nice story about Mike Terry for the Daily News. Click Here to read story.
Next Game
Monday Night, the Falcons take on LaSalle, the team we beat in the first round of the playoffs last season. Both teams are currently 4-1, so this game will move one team to solo possession of 2nd place in the Red division and the other team to third at the half way point of the regular season. If you want to see a good game, head down to the Pit tonight to catch this game.
NORTH WRESTLING STORMS THE HOLIDAY SEASON!!!
i guess i have finally reached the big time...here is my first blog for north catholic wrestling. the last two posts have been added from my list server emails so away we go...
NORTH CATHOLIC DUAL MEETS
Over the break we wrestled two dual meets against some familiar foes. On Christmas eve eve we wrestled Cardinal O'Hara. O'Hara has some fantastic individual wrestlers so the match was going to be interesting. The pit was crowded and some some great matches. We came away with a convincing 52 - 23 win. The match of the night was TJ Van Horn wrestling O'Hara super-stud Chris Alexander. TJ lost a tough 6-4 decision however, we out wrestled him and won the last two periods. I have a feeling that they may meet again to determine the district champion.
On Monday night, we traveled to Archbishop Wood for a dual. Although we were missing about 5 varsity wrestlers due to illness and injury, we we won 49-13. Freshmen AJ Vizcarrondo beat Woods 189lber who was considered the #1 189lber in the district.
The wins over the break gives us currently a 7-2 record.
Matt Dugan - 2nd
Mike McCall - 3rd
David Davidson - 3rd
TJ Van Horn - 3rd
Kevin Mallon - 3rd
Brett Van Vactor - 4th
Eric Stankiewcz - 5th
AJ Vizcarrondo - 5th
***please note: all of these wrestlers placed higher than both Coach Mascino and Coach McMonigle ever did at this tournament.
Also with the varsity tournament there was also a JV tournament. JV wrestlers who won at least 2 matches were: Thomas Goodyear, Dan Black, Dan Sumara, Joe Janda, Tad Meyers, Vincenzo DiLeonardo, Tim Maguire, and Gil Dougherty (ironman award goes out to Gil who finished the last 15 seconds of his last match with a broken ankle...)
TAKE-DOWN-THON
we got a great write up in the northeast time about our take-down-a-thon. here is a link to the article: http://www.northeasttimes.com/2009/0101/wrestling.html
here are the current totals for the takedown a thon from the beginning of the new year. it is not too late to sponser a wrestler of the whole team. please let me know if you are interested.
MATT DUGAN 21
MIKE MCCALL 21
AJ VIZCORRANDO 17
TJ VAN HORN 20
ERIC STANK 21
KEVIN MALLON 18
TIM MCGUIRE 11
SHANE RAND 14
MARK BROWN 8
DAVID DAVIDSON 16
GIL DOUGHERTY 9
TOM GOODYEAR 8
RICARDO ROMAN 5
JEREMY REITH 7
DYLAN MARNOCH 6
BRIAN SWEENEY 6
TIM MARKERT 4
NICK CANC 7
JOE JANDA 7
SCOTT MATTHEWS 3
V. DILEANARDO 7
TYLER DENIGHT 2
MIKE LANG 2
WILL TRAINOR 5
TAD MEYERS 5
GARY ROBINSON 4
BOB BUTLER 1
ANTHONY SIWEK 4
TYLER POMROY 0
SEAN HAGAN 2
DAN SUMARA 2
DAN BLACK 3
CARTER WYSOCKI 0
BRETT VANVACTER 6
TOTALS 271
BIG SHOUT OUT TO BRENDAN FROM THE MEMPHIS TAPROOM. BRENDAN (OWNER AND PROPRIETER) HAS PLEDGED $1 PER TAKEDOWN FOR THE ENTIRE TEAM! STOP BY (MEMPHIS AND CUMBERLAND), HAVE A PINT, AND THANK BRENDAN FOR HIS CONTRIBUTION TO OUR CAUSE.
BEEF N BEER
our wrestling beef n beer will be on Janurary 24th. it is being held at Holy Name hall in fishtown from 7:30-11:30. tickets are $25 each and can be bought at the door.
COUNT DOWN TO 100!!!!
right now, north wrestling has 3 wrestlers approaching 100 wins (which is a big DEAL!) TJ Van Horn (94), Matt Dugan (86) and Kevin Mallon (80). Good luck guys!!! you can follow their progress and the progress of the whole team at http://www.nhscasportsnetwork.com/wrestling/highschool/pa/teams/northeastcatholic/schedule.htm
well...that is all that i have for now. Tonight we wrestle Doughery. Over the weekend, the varsity is at the escape the rock tournament at council rock south high school and the JV is traveling to the Haverford High JV tournament. The escape the rock tournament begins on friday night at 5 and on saturday at 9am. this has quickly become one of the toughest tournaments in Pennsylvania. If you have nothing to do, stop by to see some great wrestling (hopefully we are a part of it!!)
Coach Sav
NORTH CATHOLIC DUAL MEETS
Over the break we wrestled two dual meets against some familiar foes. On Christmas eve eve we wrestled Cardinal O'Hara. O'Hara has some fantastic individual wrestlers so the match was going to be interesting. The pit was crowded and some some great matches. We came away with a convincing 52 - 23 win. The match of the night was TJ Van Horn wrestling O'Hara super-stud Chris Alexander. TJ lost a tough 6-4 decision however, we out wrestled him and won the last two periods. I have a feeling that they may meet again to determine the district champion.
On Monday night, we traveled to Archbishop Wood for a dual. Although we were missing about 5 varsity wrestlers due to illness and injury, we we won 49-13. Freshmen AJ Vizcarrondo beat Woods 189lber who was considered the #1 189lber in the district.
The wins over the break gives us currently a 7-2 record.
GOVERNOR MIFFLIN TOURNAMENT
Matt Dugan - 2nd
Mike McCall - 3rd
David Davidson - 3rd
TJ Van Horn - 3rd
Kevin Mallon - 3rd
Brett Van Vactor - 4th
Eric Stankiewcz - 5th
AJ Vizcarrondo - 5th
***please note: all of these wrestlers placed higher than both Coach Mascino and Coach McMonigle ever did at this tournament.
Also with the varsity tournament there was also a JV tournament. JV wrestlers who won at least 2 matches were: Thomas Goodyear, Dan Black, Dan Sumara, Joe Janda, Tad Meyers, Vincenzo DiLeonardo, Tim Maguire, and Gil Dougherty (ironman award goes out to Gil who finished the last 15 seconds of his last match with a broken ankle...)
TAKE-DOWN-THON
we got a great write up in the northeast time about our take-down-a-thon. here is a link to the article: http://www.northeasttimes.com/2009/0101/wrestling.html
here are the current totals for the takedown a thon from the beginning of the new year. it is not too late to sponser a wrestler of the whole team. please let me know if you are interested.
MATT DUGAN 21
MIKE MCCALL 21
AJ VIZCORRANDO 17
TJ VAN HORN 20
ERIC STANK 21
KEVIN MALLON 18
TIM MCGUIRE 11
SHANE RAND 14
MARK BROWN 8
DAVID DAVIDSON 16
GIL DOUGHERTY 9
TOM GOODYEAR 8
RICARDO ROMAN 5
JEREMY REITH 7
DYLAN MARNOCH 6
BRIAN SWEENEY 6
TIM MARKERT 4
NICK CANC 7
JOE JANDA 7
SCOTT MATTHEWS 3
V. DILEANARDO 7
TYLER DENIGHT 2
MIKE LANG 2
WILL TRAINOR 5
TAD MEYERS 5
GARY ROBINSON 4
BOB BUTLER 1
ANTHONY SIWEK 4
TYLER POMROY 0
SEAN HAGAN 2
DAN SUMARA 2
DAN BLACK 3
CARTER WYSOCKI 0
BRETT VANVACTER 6
TOTALS 271
BIG SHOUT OUT TO BRENDAN FROM THE MEMPHIS TAPROOM. BRENDAN (OWNER AND PROPRIETER) HAS PLEDGED $1 PER TAKEDOWN FOR THE ENTIRE TEAM! STOP BY (MEMPHIS AND CUMBERLAND), HAVE A PINT, AND THANK BRENDAN FOR HIS CONTRIBUTION TO OUR CAUSE.
BEEF N BEER
our wrestling beef n beer will be on Janurary 24th. it is being held at Holy Name hall in fishtown from 7:30-11:30. tickets are $25 each and can be bought at the door.
COUNT DOWN TO 100!!!!
right now, north wrestling has 3 wrestlers approaching 100 wins (which is a big DEAL!) TJ Van Horn (94), Matt Dugan (86) and Kevin Mallon (80). Good luck guys!!! you can follow their progress and the progress of the whole team at http://www.nhscasportsnetwork.com/wrestling/highschool/pa/teams/northeastcatholic/schedule.htm
well...that is all that i have for now. Tonight we wrestle Doughery. Over the weekend, the varsity is at the escape the rock tournament at council rock south high school and the JV is traveling to the Haverford High JV tournament. The escape the rock tournament begins on friday night at 5 and on saturday at 9am. this has quickly become one of the toughest tournaments in Pennsylvania. If you have nothing to do, stop by to see some great wrestling (hopefully we are a part of it!!)
Coach Sav
Basketball Team Handles Ryan 61-51
I don’t know if it was the weather or just a lazy Tuesday night after the holidays, but tonight’s game was one big yawn. It had none of the excitement of last season’s championship game. The Falcons were up by 20 at half time and by as much as 30 during parts of the second half. The only excitement was all of the turnovers by the Falcons in the fourth quarter (15 of the team’s 24), which allowed Ryan to escape with a respectable 10 point deficit.
The only other notable event in this game was when “Roc” Christmas got his second technical foul, which removed him from the game after only 9 minutes of playing time, and disqualifies him from Friday night’s game at St Joe Prep. The first of the two technical was for grabbing the rim when a Xavier Harris shot bounced on the rim. The ball went in and there was some traffic under the backboard, so Roc seemed to grab the rim to prevent a fall onto other players. The ref saw it differently, and Roc was assessed a technical foul. The refs have a tough job out there, so we’ll give them the benefit of the doubt.
Editor’s Note: Our staff photographer couldn’t make it to the game tonight, so we have no pictures. Rumor has it that he stopped by one of the local watering holes and forgot about the game. Yes, he will be replaced before the next game.
Did You Notice
……….Taylor Rand was back in form singing the National Anthem before the game. By the way, you can check out Taylor’s music video here Taylor Rand's Music Video
….The Flag in the Pit is now on the east wall, next to the scoreboard. In recent seasons, it was covering the Falcon Nest (no relation) in the southwest corner of the gym. That space is now used for filming and is now the announcer’s box.
….Tom “Hockey Puck” McKenna, the stat guy for North, wears two pair of glasses while doing stats. Why? I have no friggin idea.
….Mike Kaiser, along with Mike Jr, handled the announcing duties from the Falcon Nest window.
Faces in the Crowd
….Superfan Ed White, who makes it to many Falcon games….
Superfan Tim Murphy, again with lovely daughter Erin. Erin passed on the opportunity to sell 50-50 tickets
.….Sitting with the Murphys was Soccer assistant and fellow blogger, Tom Crossett, who was sporting a soccer championship shirt
.….John Musial was in the alumni section (by the way, that would be the section in the northeast corner, next to the steps
.….From the class of 1988, Ken Florkowski and Jeff Rzepczynski. Jeff was working the ticket table in the cafeteria.
….Former teacher and NC baseball Hall of Famer, Larry Conti, was in the house for the game.
The only other notable event in this game was when “Roc” Christmas got his second technical foul, which removed him from the game after only 9 minutes of playing time, and disqualifies him from Friday night’s game at St Joe Prep. The first of the two technical was for grabbing the rim when a Xavier Harris shot bounced on the rim. The ball went in and there was some traffic under the backboard, so Roc seemed to grab the rim to prevent a fall onto other players. The ref saw it differently, and Roc was assessed a technical foul. The refs have a tough job out there, so we’ll give them the benefit of the doubt.
Editor’s Note: Our staff photographer couldn’t make it to the game tonight, so we have no pictures. Rumor has it that he stopped by one of the local watering holes and forgot about the game. Yes, he will be replaced before the next game.
Did You Notice
……….Taylor Rand was back in form singing the National Anthem before the game. By the way, you can check out Taylor’s music video here Taylor Rand's Music Video
….The Flag in the Pit is now on the east wall, next to the scoreboard. In recent seasons, it was covering the Falcon Nest (no relation) in the southwest corner of the gym. That space is now used for filming and is now the announcer’s box.
….Tom “Hockey Puck” McKenna, the stat guy for North, wears two pair of glasses while doing stats. Why? I have no friggin idea.
….Mike Kaiser, along with Mike Jr, handled the announcing duties from the Falcon Nest window.
Faces in the Crowd
….Superfan Ed White, who makes it to many Falcon games….
Superfan Tim Murphy, again with lovely daughter Erin. Erin passed on the opportunity to sell 50-50 tickets
.….Sitting with the Murphys was Soccer assistant and fellow blogger, Tom Crossett, who was sporting a soccer championship shirt
.….John Musial was in the alumni section (by the way, that would be the section in the northeast corner, next to the steps
.….From the class of 1988, Ken Florkowski and Jeff Rzepczynski. Jeff was working the ticket table in the cafeteria.
….Former teacher and NC baseball Hall of Famer, Larry Conti, was in the house for the game.
Basketball team puts hurting on Father Judge
Heading to Father Judge, I commented that North/Judge games are usually real good. It doesn’t matter which team may be a heavy favorite, these games usually go the distance, with the winner, more often than not, escaping with a win rather than beating their opponent. I figured this one would be no different. Boy was I wrong. Despite the change in time (2:30pm), the gym at Judge was still quite full. The Falcons pretty much dominated this one from start to finish, going up 30 at one point. All 12 Falcons played in this one, with no player getting more than 20 minutes throughout the game.
Did You Notice…….
…..that the Judge fans only seemed to get excited when one of their players knocked down or got overly physical, even when North was up by 30?
…..Judge’s basketball team looks and plays more like a football team than a basketball team?
…..That the only exit out of the Judge gym has 2 of the three doorways blocked by tables? One with Judge Merchandise and the other with the box office and 50-50 table. You’d think that by the end of the game, they could clear a passage out of the gym. I wouldn’t want to be caught in the gym if a fire ever broke out.
…..That the Falcons arrived in a Yellow Bus, but left the game in a luxury bus? You see, the team left Judge and headed for their game in Wheeling, WV. That’s another story.
…..That 30 minutes before the game started, the bleachers were virtually empty? Maybe it was the time change, but that is uncharacteristic of a North/Judge basketball game.
…..The Judge cheerleaders (are they Judge students?) outnumbered the team by like 3 to 1.
It was hard to find an empty seat in the Judge gym
Even the balcony was opened up to handle some of the overflow.
Did You Notice…….
…..that the Judge fans only seemed to get excited when one of their players knocked down or got overly physical, even when North was up by 30?
…..Judge’s basketball team looks and plays more like a football team than a basketball team?
…..That the only exit out of the Judge gym has 2 of the three doorways blocked by tables? One with Judge Merchandise and the other with the box office and 50-50 table. You’d think that by the end of the game, they could clear a passage out of the gym. I wouldn’t want to be caught in the gym if a fire ever broke out.
…..That the Falcons arrived in a Yellow Bus, but left the game in a luxury bus? You see, the team left Judge and headed for their game in Wheeling, WV. That’s another story.
…..That 30 minutes before the game started, the bleachers were virtually empty? Maybe it was the time change, but that is uncharacteristic of a North/Judge basketball game.
…..The Judge cheerleaders (are they Judge students?) outnumbered the team by like 3 to 1.
The Father Judge Cheerleaders
Faces in the Crowd…….
……The Murphy family was represented by Bob (c), Tim (r) and Erin (l), Tim’s daughter.
……Super fan, Ed White, was in attendance, just as we expected
……We saw several NC Soccer shirts in the crowd. Coach Jerry Brindisi and fellow blogger, Tom Crossett, were both in the house.
Jerry Brindisi, coach of the Champion Falcon Soccer Team
…… Mike “Mooch” Moran, former NC football coach and current assistant basketball coach for Holy Family Women’s team. We think Mooch was in the house recruiting some Judge players for his team.
…… Neumann-Goretti head football coach, Bill Sytsma, stopped by on his way up to Wood to watch the Saints play.
…… Also in the house, from the class of 1957, was Mike Fagan. This guy really gets around and could challenge for Super Fan status.
...... Always up for a North/Judge game was Father Smith and Father Kilty
After this game, the team hopped on a bus and headed for Wheeling, WV for the Cancer Research Classic, played at the Wheeling Jesuit University. More on that later.
Basketball team comes up short against Roman
We found ourself a little behind providing updates, but we should be all caught up by tonight.
The Falcons traveled up to Gwynedd Mercy College to play Roman. This would be the first regular season meeting between North and Roman since 1963. The Cahillites pretty much led from start to finish, but the Falcons made it interesting in the end, with a promise to make this an interesting game for years to come. As expected, the joint was jammed with spectators, scouts and reporters.
Did You Notice……
….that you had to walk to the far end of the court, up the stairs, cross the bridge and go through the game room just to get to the rest rooms? Same for the bleachers on the side of the court where the team benches were located.
….The reporter from the Evening Bulletin (Yes, the Bulletin has been back for several years now), who needed a plug and an internet connection to cover the game? Here’s a tip for reporters covering high school games……Watch Ted Silary take notes, keep stats and take pictures, with nothing more than a pencil, pad of paper and a clip board.
…..The person Roman had singing “God Bless America” (not the National Anthem), wasn’t bad, but definitely no Taylor Rand (If you haven’t heard Taylor belt out the National Anthem, stop by a game or wrestling match to catch her rendition).
….. The lack of outside lighting at Gwynedd Mercy? It was like trying to walk through a forest with a blindfold on. The gym is like two counties over from the entrance to the college.
…..Some players from our 2008 championship team……
The Falcons traveled up to Gwynedd Mercy College to play Roman. This would be the first regular season meeting between North and Roman since 1963. The Cahillites pretty much led from start to finish, but the Falcons made it interesting in the end, with a promise to make this an interesting game for years to come. As expected, the joint was jammed with spectators, scouts and reporters.
Did You Notice……
….that you had to walk to the far end of the court, up the stairs, cross the bridge and go through the game room just to get to the rest rooms? Same for the bleachers on the side of the court where the team benches were located.
….The reporter from the Evening Bulletin (Yes, the Bulletin has been back for several years now), who needed a plug and an internet connection to cover the game? Here’s a tip for reporters covering high school games……Watch Ted Silary take notes, keep stats and take pictures, with nothing more than a pencil, pad of paper and a clip board.
…..The person Roman had singing “God Bless America” (not the National Anthem), wasn’t bad, but definitely no Taylor Rand (If you haven’t heard Taylor belt out the National Anthem, stop by a game or wrestling match to catch her rendition).
….. The lack of outside lighting at Gwynedd Mercy? It was like trying to walk through a forest with a blindfold on. The gym is like two counties over from the entrance to the college.
Packed gym at Gwynedd-Mercy College
Faces in the Crowd……
…..Some random alumni ……superfan, Tim Murphy, along with his daughter, Erin. .....Frank Cahill (current Judge coach is behind Murph)
…..Some random alumni ……superfan, Tim Murphy, along with his daughter, Erin. .....Frank Cahill (current Judge coach is behind Murph)
.....Former multi-sport all catholic Mike Morrin
.....Paul Moore from Paddy’s Well, and another formerly popular Irish band
.....NC supporter Mike McBride
.....Dennis Seddon (former Roman coach)
.....Keith Pompey (Inquirer reporter, who has been at all four losses prior to the West Virginia trip.
…..Some random others…… Fran Dunphy (Temple coach), Erin Murphy (Tim’s daughter).
…..Some players from our 2008 championship team……
Former players Velton Jones (left) and R.J. Handy (Right)
Former football star and basketball player Terrell "TO" Oglesby
Former player Kevin O'Neil (Kevin was voted "Best Tattoo" in 2008)
Former Roman coach, and NC grad, Dennis Seddon
Former Roman coach, and NC grad, Dennis SeddonFreshman coach, and former player, Joe Rod
