Falcons fall to IMHOTEP 77-64

The Falcons were attempting to get a little revenge for the loss they suffered at the hands of IMHOTEP in the 2007-2008 campaign. The current North Catholic team is a little different than last year’s team, but no less talented. Some believe there is more overall talent on this team than what was on the PCL championship team from last season. The revenge the Falcons sought, was not to come.

I followed the bus to the game, which was probably a mistake. With all of the traffic and such, I ended up somewhere out in Olney, not knowing exactly where I was as the bus blew through a yellow light, leaving me in the dust. But, thanks to my hand-dandy iPhone, I was able to figure out exactly where I was. Once I determined that I was on the LaSalle University campus, getting to 21st and Godfrey was fairly easy.

The visitor's locker room

When we got to the school, there was a game already being played in the gym, and the locker rooms were not yet available. So, the IMHOTEP administrator who was directing us, put the team in the school library (see photo below). The team changed into uniforms in an empty classroom before taking the floor for some warm-up shots. After finishing with the warm-ups, the locker room was now available. It was more like a large bathroom. Actually, it was a bathroom. The home team gets the boys bathroom and the visitors use the girls bathroom, which has a door that opens directly onto the court. Inside the bathroom, there is a small locker room which barely holds a team and coaching staff (see photo above).

Players in the IMHOTEP library, waiting for the locker room to be available

The ever shy Bob Makor (r) hams it up with Jack O'Neill

NEXT GAME
Come out on Friday night as the Falcons open the regular season, when they host the Friars from Monsignor Bonner on the brand new floor in the Pit. The Falcons won a non-league contest against the Friars. Bonner made it to the PCL semi-finals last season before getting knocked off by Archbishop Ryan at the Palestra.

Elwood Cubbage '66 - Rest In Peace

If anyone has attended a North/Frankford Thanksgiving Day game in the past several years, you probably noticed a group of guys on Large St, just North of Dyre, tailgating before (and most often after too) the game. Most of these gentlemen are Northeast Catholic grads from the mid-1960's. Although, the past couple of years, some younger guys have joined them for some shrimp or brandy soaked cherries. They come every year for two reasons. First and foremost, because it gives them all a chance to catch up with fellow classmates. The second reason (let's call it reason "1a" is because of their love of North Catholic, and the traditional Thanksgiving Day game. One of the men who was a regular at this annual event was Elwood Cubbage. Although I didn't know Mr Cubbage, other than just another one of the guys on Thanksgiving, I thought it was important for you to get to know him. I had request some background information from Elwood's classmate, Tom Furphy. Well, instead of trying to write my own tribute, I decided to just post Tom's words.

----From Tom Furphy, class of 1966---
Elwood T.Cubbage played at North all four years. He entered North in the fall of 1962. That's where I met him while playing Freshman Football for North and played through the 1965 campaign and graduated in 1966. His jersey number that he wore was #52 and was a offensive/defensive end. He loved playing the game as well as the friendships he formed while doing so at North.
The thing I remember most in those years was his dedication to North football. He came from the parish of St. Columba, in the area of the city know as Swamp Poodle, 22nd and Lehigh. Most us us had direct routes either by bus, trolley or the elevated trains, but Elwood would make the travel down to Somerset Station then the 54 bus line back home every night after practice on his own. I can't remember anyone taking the same route with him, but he did it time and time again for those four years. You need to remember that our practice would go to 5:00-5:30 P.M. so his day started early and was probably a 12-14 hour day during the season. Never heard him complain, but just always be there.
Back in those days, the last players leaving the locker room would have to take all the washables (jocks, socks, wraps & teeshirts) over to the laundry which was located under the Oblates living quarters. Elwood seemed to always be the one. I asked him one time why he always was the one at the end. His answer was that there were teamates whether they were hurt, or he just felt bad that they would pull the duty, that he purposely would be last so he would be able to help them and again make the trip home alone.
I believe it was our senior year that the bus driver that took us back and forth to games could no longer do it, so Elwood went home and asked his father, who worked for PTC at that time, if he would drive the bus for North. Mr. Cubbage became our official driver for the year.
We weren't by today's standards what you would call high profile players, but just a team, and Elwood was the type that if you were family, friend or team mate, you had his dedication through all times, both the tough and the good. His pride in being a North Catholic Football Alumni never wavered through the years. He would have shirts made with the North insignias for players from our team that included: 1. The score when we beat Frankford in 1965 our senior year. 2. One that had the Fire fighters for North but the last one he gave us was an actual jersey with our names and playing numbers from our senoir year. This was done with him paying for all.
I remained friends with Elwood after North up until his passing. You couldn't asked for a better person to have as a friend and know that he was always there. We should all appreciate the fact that he was a Falcon and we got the experience of having him be who and what he was to us. His favorite cheer was the Fablio.

Tom Furphy, '66.

North Soccer: A Year in Review

Wow, what year, or better yet, what a fantastic four months. It was an exhilarating ride from beginning to end. As we approach one of the most joyous holidays of the year in Christmas, our gift was the smiles, shouts and goodwill when North Soccer was once again crowned Catholic League and City Champ on October 28th and 31st respectively.

This championship was the culmination of teamwork, coaching and soccer talent. For many programs, these are the three-headed monster that when non-correlated can prove fatal. From the outset, at least in the public opinion and print forums, North was under the radar screen. From the moment our season ended last year, the coaching staff new that this team had a chance and in sports, that is all you can ask.

Our first venture into the PIAA State Playoff was exciting but to tell you the truth, the real thrill is being Catholic League Champ, not that we would not have taken a State Championship. I have argued this point over and over with those outside of the Catholic League and the City with our roots ingrained in this tradition that is the Catholic League.

We are excited and enthused about next year. We return most of the nucleus of this championship squad and like most teams with and without championships, we will have a bulls eye on us. We welcome this respect and it is not lost on us the legacy of this program. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to one and all. Check out this site and North Soccer's website (www.northcatholicsoccer.com) for updates throughout the winter.

Falcon Basketball Team opens 2008-2009 with 63-55 Win

The 2008-2009 basketball season opened up in Upper Marlboro, as the Falcons took on highly rated junior, Roscoe Smith and his Walbrook team (Baltimore). Since I have no real life, I decided to make the trip down there to see the defending Philadelphia Catholic League champs start the year. The game was at Wise High School, which is a few miles west of Washington D.C. It took about 3 hours to get there, but that’s mainly because I took the scenic route down there. Coming home, we took the more traditional trek up the beltway and I-95, and that took a little over 2 hours.

The Wise High School looks like a brand new building, and their gym is NOTHING like our Pit. Actually, it’s bigger than some college gyms that I’ve been in (see photo below). I may have been the only North Catholic fan in the joint, as many of the folks at this tournament were scouts who were there checking out the talent of the 10 or 12 teams who played over the weekend.

Preliminary game between Wise HS (MD) and Archbishop Carroll (D.C.)

This gym is huge

One thing that was very noticeable in this game was that the Falcons really moved the ball around very well. Our guys seemed much quicker and, as a team, much more talented than the Walbrook team. Rakeem Christmas was a real force in the middle. I don’t have the stats handy, but he had to be in double digits in rebounds, and what I remember, he scored about a dozen points, with 2 or 3 baskets coming on dunks. Walbrook’s Smith scored about 23 points, but he really did seem to be full of himself, including one play where he had a blocked shot, and while he was busy pounding his chest and screaming, the Falcons took the loose ball, made two quick passes and got an easy lay up. This was the first time I’ve seen transfer, Jack O’Neill since he rang up 27 in a game against North last season, while he was playing for Episcopal Academy in an early season 80-78 win at the GA tournament. O’Neill came off the bench to score a team high 18 points in this win. Actually, the entire team played well. There was no selfish play, as the ball was moved around quite well on offense, with Woody Redding acting as the quarterback in this high powered offense, as the Falcons came away with a 63-55 win.

Some random comments about the experience:

- While I went to just be a spectator and take some pictures, I was pressed into service as the score-keeper for the team. So, sitting at the scorers’ table didn’t give me much of a chance to take pictures. But, I’m glad I could help.
- The food at the tournament was not the best, but it certainly was expensive. A hotdog was $2.50 and a combo (dog, fries, soda) was $4.50. The fries were those little skinny fries and there was no relish for the dog. What’s with that?
- At halftime, and after the game, there were stat sheets available for every game. You don’t see that at many games during the year. Overall, the folks running this tournament seemed to do a decent job.