Week 6 - Falcons Escape with 5th straight win 28-22

Did anyone hear that bell going off about halftime in the game on Saturday? That would have been the wake up call for the Falcons. My guess it that the team went into the locker room thinking, “We’re supposed to be way ahead by now.” But, I’m sure the coaching staff reminded them that you can’t just show up with a better record and expect to win a game, no matter who the opponent is. Well, the football gods forgave the players and smiled on them late in the game to allow the Falcons to escape Radnor with a win over Archbishop Carroll, 28-22.

The Falcons came into the game only giving up about 104 rushing yards per game, with many of those yards coming in the first game. So, for the past 4 weeks, the Falcon defense has pretty much shut down opposing offensive teams on the ground, while the defensive secondary has shown some flexibility, but have not really been broken in the early going. Archbishop Carroll rushed for more than 200 yards this week, mostly on reverses and counters to the outside, a place that the Falcon defense has owned this year. I’m sure that will be corrected before next week.

As for the game, the Falcons fell behind twice in this game. The first time was when the Patriots scored twice in a period of 2 minutes and 16 seconds. The second touchdown was a 28 yard run with 8:16 remaining in the first half. The Falcons went out on 3 downs on their next possession, and following that, they drove to the Carroll 11 before an apparent first down pass by Logue was dropped, and they went out on downs . Carroll couldn’t move the ball much and were forced to punt. The Falcons took over at their own 40 with 1:17 left in the half and down 8 points. The final drive of the half was a work of art, with Logue finding Scott twice for a total of 45 yards. But, the best catch of the drive (and possibly the game) was when Logue threw a sideline fade into the endzone. Ryan Etsell and the Carroll defender both went up for the ball, but it seemed like Etsell wanted it more and grabbed the ball out of the air and came down with it for the touchdown.

The second half was like something I haven’t seen in quite some time in a North Catholic game. It seemed as though the team decided to bag the running game and put the fate of the team in the hands of Dennis Logue. It that was the case, it was a great decision, as Logue, with time to pass (thanks to the line), found 5 different receivers in the second half, going 9 for 14 for 181 yards in the second half. Mike Scott, who seemed just as determined to win this game as Logue, pulled down 5 of those passes for 137 yards and 2 touchdowns, in the second half. By the way, the only player in North history to rack up more than 137 yards in an entire game was, well, Mike Scott, who caught 2 passes for 140 yards in the Ryan game during week 2. The best Scott catch of the day one that I almost missed. Mike Scott caught a pass and advanced to about mid-field before he was, as I thought, tackled. As I looked down to start writing, I heard a cheer from the North crowd, and when I looked up, Scott was scampering down the sideline for a score. Overall, Scott had 8 catches for 193 yards and 2 touchdowns in the game, breaking his own school record.

The fourth quarter started with the Falcons leading 21-14. It was about mid-way through the quarter when Carroll made it very interesting. They started a drive with 2:03 remaining in the 3rd quarter and drove 74 yards on 12 plays (all rushes), and scored with 7:43 remaining in the game. But, they faked the extra point and made the 2 point conversion, giving the Patriots a 22-21 lead. After trading punts on their next possessions, the Falcons started a drive at their own 35 with 3:24 remaining in the half. (A little insight here. I’ve been following North Football for about 30 years now, and most years (with only a couple of exceptions), I have seen games like this go down the drain with North getting a crushing defeat.) But, with 3 minutes and 24 seconds and 65 yards to go, it became the Logue to Scott and Logue to Sherman show. Scott caught 2 passes for a total of 30 yards and a touchdown, while Sherman caught 2 passes for 31 yards, gaining first downs on each of his catches. The drive was capped off with a 14 yard touchdown pass from Logue to Scott with 1:12 remaining in the game. The defense held off the Patriots to earn the win…..and the Falcons got out of Dodge as quickly as possible. But, not before awarding game balls to both Dennis Logue and Mike Scott, who each broke school records (Logue broke the record for most passing yards in a game with 281).

Did You Notice….
….the soccer players who were warming up on the field prior to the game? Yes, they were politely asked to move, which they did.

….the Carroll team blew two timeout by trying to get the North defense to jump on long counts on fourth downs. Both times, the Falcons showed discipline and Carroll was forced to call a timeout to get their punt team on the field.

….that I’m not a coach, but I was wondering why the Falcons didn’t go for a 2 point conversion after scoring their last touchdown. Going up 27-22 with just a few minutes left, I would have gone for 2 to make Carroll score and kick the extra point to tie rather than to win. But, that’s why I’m in the cyber world and not on the sidelines coaching.

….how friggin hot it got by game time? I even had to take my jacket back to my truck because I was starting to break out in a sweat.

….that on the team website (http://www.northcatholicfootball.com/) the coach is inviting former players to the game this Saturday. The first 100 former players will receive a t-shirt as the team salutes the alumni.

....the article in the Philadelphia Daily News today, featuring Dennis Logue?

See You at the Game on Saturday afternoon!