CBS Philly: St. Joseph's Prep football voted Team of Year

Courtesy of CBS Philly and Joe Santoliquito

Philadelphia, PA (CBS)—All season long the thought was the same: Get to Hershey and win the state championship. All season long there were obstacles, some placed there on purpose, and others were there inadvertently.

All year long, St. Joseph’s Prep stayed the course. There were pratfalls, like the 42-0 spanking the Hawks took their second game against national power Don Bosco Prep, and the 27-14 stumble against a good Archbishop Ryan team (which beat two state champions and didn’t make the Catholic League playoffs). But in the end, the goal everyone envisioned came to fruition—and then some.

No one thought The Prep would be able to beat state juggernaut—and undefeated—Pittsburgh Central Catholic in the PIAA Class AAAA (large school) state championship. No one, that is, with the exception of the Hawks and their coaching staff. Then The Prep went out and devoured the Vikings, 35-10.
To get there, Prep quite easily stopped Parkland, another team it was also not supposed to beat, 21-10. Then the Hawks ripped through a very good Neshaminy team, 37-21, in the state semifinals. The Hawks finished 12-3—capturing the first state title in school history, and in doing so, they are the 2013 Team of the Year.

Archbishop Wood and Imhotep Charter had amazing seasons. Wood won the Class AAA state title for the second time in three years, becoming the first District 12 team in history to win multiple state championships, and Imhotep became the first Philadelphia Public League team to reach the state championship.

But the grand design that Hawks’ coach Gabe Infante put into motion four years ago couldn’t have had a better finish than this year. Infante challenged them. He made sure nothing came easy. And when he ran out of tests, he conjured up some more, always working, cajoling to get the utmost from his young team.

Each time, they responded. Each time, they were able to navigate over the rocky terrain their coach placed in front of them.

It got the Hawks their first state championship.

“This was a special team; it was special in how we all came together as a group and we developed leaders,” said Hawks’ unflappable senior quarterback Chris Martin, who wound up becoming a force this year. “We had young guys across the board that stepped into key roles and it was how everyone bought into the process coach Infante always talks about.

“Coach always says those games in the beginning of the year are a gift to us because we learn. We saw what the young guys could do against Dallas Jesuit and we saw how to deal with adversity in losing to Don Bosco Prep. The Bosco loss helped us grow and helped the leaders on the team begin to emerge. That was a tough loss, but without learning from that, I don’t think that we would be here as state champions.”

The season was marked by the emergence of freshman tailback D’Andre Swift, who scored a touchdown in the state championship, and junior Jon Daniel Runyan, who blossomed into a beast, playing both ways in the state title game with three tackles, two sacks and a forced fumble.

The Michigan-bound junior is going to have an interesting dilemma on his hands, as to whether he’ll play offensive tackle for the Wolverines, like his father, former Eagle All-Pro Jon Runyan, or defensive line.
Add the play of senior linebacker Ryan McNulty, junior defensive end Jake Strain, junior defensive back Tom Johnson and sophomore defensive back Shawn Harris and the Hawks were suffocating in the title game.

What’s more is expect Prep, a program it has to be noted that was long dormant before Gil Brooks resurrected it and set it on its path early this decade, to be back as the state’s preseason No. 1 again in 2014. The Hawks have arguably the best player in the state returning in junior defensive back John Reid, along with Runyan, Strain, Swift, Harris, Johnson and talented junior tailback Olamide Zaccheaus all returning.

Losing Martin will be a gaping void to fill, as will McNulty’s departure, but it was a young group that took a major step into a realm it appears St. Joe’s Prep will be maintaining for a while.

St. Joseph's Prep knocks off Pittsburgh Central Catholic, wins Class 4A football title

On Sunday night in Hershey, PA, St. Joseph's Prep completed a miracle run to the Pennsylvania  football championship, striking several blows in favor of football from the region East of the Susquehanna River in the process.

The Hawks became the bellwether of the Philadelphia Catholic League in its fight to gain acceptance in the PIAA. They knocked off rival La Salle -- who steamrolled Prep four years ago en route to their own Class 4A championship, then took out 2001 champions and perennial powerhouses Neshaminy immediately after conquering 2002 titlist Parkland.

Saving the best for last, the Jesuit institution nestled in the heart of the Western portion of North Philadelphia knocked off previously unbeaten Pittsburgh Central Catholic, which was seeking its first state crown since 2007 as the top-ranked school in the Commonwealth.

It was a masterful performance, with 28 straight points in the second half against the top-ranked defense in PA, after being down 10-7 at intermission. Their 21 fourth-quarter points set a record for the Quad A title game, which had been 19 for Central Bucks West back in 1991.

Read the recap from the Inquirer, then get the scoop plus video highlights, from the Post-Gazette. 

According to several sites dialed into the high school game, the Prep endured the toughest schedule of any school, and passing through the gauntlet provided the greatest reward.


It marks the apex of a program which began its ascent towards relevance beyond the Delaware Valley with the 1997 Catholic League championship under Gil Brooks and culminated 90 miles West 16 years later with Gabe Infante at the helm.

The victory was so unexpected and monumental, that the school called its own number (218) and will not hold classes on Monday. Plans to officially celebrate the championship will be made shortly. 

SJP's Morris nominated for Basketball Hall of Fame

Philadelphia, PA -- Former Temple University men's head basketball coach John Chaney announced the nomination of long-time city basketball coach and current St. Joseph's Prep bench boss Bill “Speedy” Morris to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame on Wednesday.

In his 44 years of coaching at the high school and college level, Morris has had nothing but success. At all five of his coaching stops, he has guided his team to a championship in his second year, often after taking over moribund programs. At Roman Catholic High School, where he began his career and spent 14 seasons as head coach, Morris won six championships and still holds the best winning percentage in school history. He then moved to Penn Charter where he led the team to 41 wins in two seasons, winning the league championship in his second season.

That began Morris’ 17 years coaching at the collegiate level. First, he took over the La Salle women’s basketball team. Like Roman and Penn Charter, he was immediately successful, winning 43 games and a conference championship in his second season, when the Explorers advanced to the NCAA Tournament. He then moved to take the head men’s position at La Salle, becoming the only coach in NCAA history to ever make the switch from women to men. With the men’s team, Morris continued his amazing success. He still has the most wins in school history and led the Explorers to four conference titles and six postseason appearances (four NCAA tournaments and two NIT tournaments).

In 2001, Morris returned to his roots in Philadelphia Catholic League basketball, taking over the reins of the Prep. In 2003, he won the first of back-to-back Catholic League titles, the school’s first in three decades. His 235 wins are the most in school history and the team won the school’s first PIAA district championship in 2012. Overall, his eight Catholic League titles rank him at the top of the record books and last year he became the all-time winningest high school coach in Philadelphia history. He is also in exclusive company with 904 career wins.

“Speedy’s success on the floor is obvious and legendary,” says Rev. George W. Bur, S.J., President of St. Joseph’s Prep. “On the court, he has made our program into a consistent winner, something that we had been unable to achieve over the first 80 years that we had basketball. Off the court, Speedy runs a solid program, one that we are very proud to be associated with. He has made the program into a family and incorporated the mission of our school into the mission of our team.”

Morris is a tireless supporter of Coaches vs. Cancer and has consistently been one of the group’s top area fundraisers. In addition, Speedy raises money for many area charities, mostly speaking without a stipend. He and his son Chris have performed more than two dozen comedy shows, with all proceeds benefitting a local charity.

Morris has received many honors over the past few years: Philadelphia Big Five Hall of Fame, Philadelphia Sports Hall of Fame, La Salle University Athletics Hall of Fame, the Archdiocesan Hall of Fame the Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame and the court was named in his honor at Roman Catholic. He is one of the most accomplished and honored coaches in one of the world’s greatest basketball cities.

Prestifilippo's overtime luck runs out

By Steven Lienert

Hershey, PA (The Phanatic Magazine) - Matt Prestifilippo's luck in overtime matches finally came to an end last week.

At each stop along the way to the PIAA state championship tournament at the Giant Center in Hershey, the North Penn 112-pound junior wrestler emerged victorious either at the last second or in extra sessions to capture the title.

After winning his first two matches by a scant two points each, Prestifilippo was tied at 2-2 in an overtime ride out against Emmaus senior Taylor Brown.

The winner earned a berth in the championship final, while the other was left lamenting what could have been.

While most matches like that are decided on the mat, the referee's ruled that Prestifilippo was penalized with a third caution on a restart with 13 seconds left in the ride out, which gave Brown a shocking 3-2 win.

"I was upset after that happened," Prestifilippo said. "I guess you can say I ran out of luck, but I thought it was a bad call. It was my fault. I could have been more prepared when I got back on top of him."

Prestifilippo was pinned in his consolation semifinal before rallying to defeat State College's Erik Galloway by major decision to capture fifth place. But watching Brown in the championship match stuck in Prestifilippo's craw.

"When I saw that kid wrestling in the finals, I told myself I'll be in the finals next year."

Fellow North Penn grappler Mike Incollingo (125) had a rude introduction to the state championship tournament. Incollingo, a senior, was pinned by West Mifflin's Sam Sherlock just 45 seconds into the first period of his first bout.

"The whole experience took me by surprise," Incollingo said. "I was like a deer in the headlights in my first match. I just wasn't ready."
Incollingo came back to pin Northampton's Josh Yurasits early in the second period of their consolation bout before falling in the second round of consolations to Rocco Wellek from Erie Cathedral Prep.

Incollingo will wrestle in an all-star match at Harry S Truman High School on Thursday, but after that, his wrestling career comes to an end.
"That's my last competition ever, I guess," Incollingo said. "I was excited for it to end so I could have a real life. But I know I'm going to miss it. It's going to be a whole different life without wrestling because it takes so much of your time. I almost don't know what to do with myself."

Pennridge

Pennridge 145-pound junior grappler Colin McConnell wanted desperately for this year's state championship run to start better than last year's did.

In last year's opening bout, McConnell dropped a major decision before getting pinned in the first consolation round.

Unfortunately, this year's story was much of the same. McConnell lost in the final seconds of his opening match against Cumberland Valley's Joseph Napoli, the eventual 145-pound champion.

"I think that the guys that he wrestled were very good and he may have been a little apprehensive," Pennridge coach Derek Sola said.

In the first consolation round, McConnell rebounded to earn a 6-2 win over Shane Alterio from Bellefonte, but his season came to end after a 3-1 loss to Easton's Eric Burgey.

"We would have liked him to open up a little more but I think that he has learned a lot from his experience at states and he will use it to motivate him this off season and next year," Sola said.

Art of Heckling is lost

By Steven Lienert

The Phanatic Magazine

When my Uncle Bob started taking me down to Veterans Stadium as a kid, he knew I was going to be a huge project.

But he took me under his wing and began teaching me how to be a sports fan anyway.

He taught me that there are rules to being a fan – things like: Don’t kick the seat in front of you, always stand up to let people by, pass the beer down the row without taking a sip, and so on.

One of the big rules was – and still is – no cursing.

Which brings me to my problem: What was up with all of the foul language at the Pennridge-Central Bucks South Ice Hockey championship series last week?

I mean, this wasn’t just foul language – this was language that would make Navy sailors blush. At one point in Game 3, there was loud mention of unpleasant bodily functions. F-bombs were being used as verbs, adjectives and nouns – all at the same time.

Any and all parts of the human anatomy were fair game. Anything that had three syllables and ended with a swear morphed into a chant.

According to staff working at Face-Off Circle during Game 3, six people were ejected from the stands and police had to be called in case a riot broke out in the parking lot.

In all, it was an ugly scene.

Before almost every high-school basketball game I’ve recently attended, an announcer reads a fans code of conduct policy that all entrants are expected to adhere to.

Perhaps the problem is that ice hockey isn’t considered a varsity school-sanctioned sport and therefore there is little that can be done to punish the behavior of the fans.

Obviously, though, something needs to be done before things get out of control.

What happened to good ol’ fashioned heckling?

For instance, a few Central Bucks South fans were carrying baby rattles and noise makers. The material to work with there is endless.

(By the way, taking “Central Bucks” and filling in another word that starts with the letter ‘S’ is not a heckle. It’s unintelligent.)

Also, do some research. If you want to heckle a goalie, look up the last time he gave up five goals and remind him of that. Perhaps get on a goal scorer by asking him when was the last time he got blanked. Coaches and teams haven’t done well at one time or another. The internet has vast amounts of information at your disposal.

So why was it necessary to yell an obscenity when, with just a little bit of wit, someone could have come up with something everyone could enjoy?

If you can’t say it in front of your mother or grandmother, it shouldn’t be said at a sporting event.

When I asked some parents what they thought about the evening’s display, most wouldn’t comment on the record. Personally, I think that speaks volumes on how embarrassing it was, especially last Friday night.

However, Perkasie’s Tina Berrios, who was wearing her son’s Pennridge jersey, wasn’t afraid to give her opinion.

“That’s uncalled for,” Berrios said. “It makes both schools look bad. It’s nice to see the constable here.”

That also spoke volumes.

After all, it’s pretty sad when fans are happy to see the police arrive so they can feel safe while watching high school kids play a game.

Steve Lienert is a sportswriter for the Montgomery Media Group. You can reach him at stevelienert@hotmail.com.

Assist from Above

By Steven Lienert

The Phanatic Magazine

After scoring the game-winning goal in double overtime against rival North Penn to put Pennridge into the Suburban High School Hockey League’s AA championship series nearly two weeks ago, Timothy Chubb jumped as high as the boards in celebration as if a weight had been lifted off his shoulders.

In the back of the Rams’ locker room at Hatfield Ice 10 minutes later, Chubb was crying his eyes out with assistant coach Rich Root.

Five months ago, Chubb’s father, Tim Chubb Sr., went away on a business trip to Tampa, Florida . He suffered a heart attack and died his first day away from home.

“We saw him at practice on Friday and we found out he died on Monday,” Pennridge coach Frank Reago said. “We were like, ‘How can that be? We just saw him.’”

For Chubb, the loss of his father couldn’t have been more devastating. His father loved hockey, particularly the Flyers. His family has had season tickets since the 1970s. Chubb’s dad taught him how to skate when he was four.

“Hockey was our thing,” Chubb said. “My dad was like my best friend.”

Chubb was on the smallish side as a child, so his mom decided to hold him out of hockey for a while. In the meantime, as Chubb and his dad went down to watch the Flyers, their bond -- and their love of hockey -- grew.

When Chubb was finally ready to take the ice himself, he could always count on looking up in the stands and finding his dad. As Chubb’s skills developed, he moved up to travel teams and, eventually, the high-school team.

And Tim Chubb Sr. was at every stop along the way.

“He got to see me play all over the country,” Chubb said. “Unfortunately, he didn’t get to see me make too much happen. I’m happy he was able to see me play hockey.”

For the past few years, Chubb and Reago didn’t see eye-to-eye on many things. Chubb kept asking his coach to put on him on the Rams’ top line with Harrison Welch and A.J. Moyer, but Reago balked at the idea several times. He felt Chubb still had work to do.

“His dad didn’t agree with me all the time (either),” Reago said. “He didn’t think I was playing Tim enough.

“Tim would ask me to put him on the first line. He never gave me attitude, but I didn’t believe in him. He earned it this year.”

Since being named to the line, Chubb has been what Moyer described as a perfect fit.

“It was a reward for hard work,” Chubb said. “I’ve been telling him for the past two seasons ‘I can do it, I can do it, I can do it.’”

Chubb understood that Welch and Moyer were going to score a bulk of the Rams’ goals and that his role was to play defense and pick up the loose change.

But his father’s sudden death threw the plan into disarray.

“He realizes,” Reago said. “I told him that he had to be the man of the house. He was playing for the Glaciers (travel team) and he stopped playing for them. He had to give up hockey. He definitely grew up big time.”

But it didn’t come without some pain.

Moyer recalled a game soon after Chubb returned from his hiatus where Chubb was understandably distracted. According to teammates, Chubb never really spoke about his father’s death.

“I think he took a few games off,” Moyer said. “When he came back at a game at Warwick (rink), I asked him if he was ok. He (opened up) and said he missed his dad. It was a tough time for him.”

It was tough for everyone, including the Rams themselves.

“I found out the day that it happened,” Moyer said. “I was shocked. I knew Mr. Chubb – I would go over and talk to him. The next day in school, everyone was like, ‘How did that happen?’”

With his sister and mother, Chubb suddenly had new responsibilities around the house that didn’t involve hockey. When he finally did return to the ice, there was one more thing that he had to deal with.

“It was weird to look up into the stands and not see him anymore,” Chubb said. “It took time. It was tough to step on the ice, look up and just see my mom.”

That’s what made the goal against North Penn so special.

“It was as if his dad was saying ‘I’m watching you,’” Reago said. “I think he can put it to rest. It was amazing. That moment will be frozen in my mind forever.”

That goal seemed to lift more than just an emotional weight off Chubb. He tallied overtime game-winners in both Game 1 and Game 3 of the SHSHL championship series against Central Bucks South, the latter of which propelled them to the championship.

During the trophy presentation following the game, Chubb took the hardware and skated over to the boards while Pennridge fans chanted his father’s name.

Furthermore, Chubb and the Rams skate in the first round of the Flyers Cup on Thursday.

“I’m sure he would have loved it,” Chubb said. “Before every game, Frank says a prayer and I do a personal one myself. I tell my dad this one’s for him.”

Undoubtedly, Tim Chubb Sr. will have one of the best seats in the house.

Steve Lienert is a sportswriter for the Montgomery Media Group. You can reach him at stevelienert@hotmail.com.

Glassboro High QB charged with rape

Glassboro High School star quarterback Justin Breaker, who led his team to the South Jersey Group I Championship on Saturday, was indicted last week on charges that he and two others raped a 15-year-old girl.

The Salem County prosecutors office said the 19-year-old Breaker was one of three teens who allegedly took part in the April 1 gang rape of a Salem County girl at a Pittsgrove, New Jersey apartment.

He was indicted last Wednesday but school officials claim they were unaware Breaker had been charged until Wednesday of this week, four days after Glassboro downed Paulsboro 24-7.

Police charged Breaker; Mark Wood, 19, of Pittsgrove, and a 16-year-old boy on April 2. The 16-year-old, whose name was withheld because he is a minor, pleaded guilty in August to a lesser charge related to the attack and served a a 15-day sentence.

Breaker faces 20 years in prison if convicted on the charges which include aggravated sexual assault, aggravated sexual contact, sexual assault and criminal restraint.

No steroids in High School?

...That's what New Jersey is trying to sell. The Garden State's first in-the-nation tests for steroid abuse by high school athletes found no positive results...And you wonder why people question the veracity of those tests.