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?

……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)

.....Games like this one brings out the reporters from all the newspapers. Below, you'll see the Inquirer's Keith Pompey getting the story down while in the stands. Below that, legendary high school sports reporter from the Daily News, Ted Silary, taking some shots for his even more famous website.

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.