Football variety.

A week ago, as the Vikings posted only a 22-19 win over Lansdale Catholic in a Catholic AAA semifinal that figured to be easier, Murt lost a fumble for the first time in two seasons of varsity ballcarrying.

"All week in practice, coach [Steve] Devlin made me carry around a football," Murt said. "The other guys were told to slap at it. Try to knock it out. He said, 'If you drop it, you have to run extra.' "

He laughed. "I don't need any extra running. We do enough."

So, was there?

"No sir," he said. "I didn't fumble at all. It was mostly the linemen that were trying to get me. How many times? Not even sure. Maybe 100 total?

"Scott Adkins had to do it, too, because he also fumbled against Lansdale. He didn't fumble this week, either. We stuck together. Didn't try to make each other lose the ball."

Murt is a 5-11, 190-pound senior rusher (halfback or fullback, depending) and last night, in wicked wind and spritzing rain at Northeast's Charlie Martin Memorial Stadium, he helped Wood capture the CL AAA title.

As the Vikings bested North Catholic, 21-7, he carried 21 times for 60 yards and early touchdowns of 2 yards, then 1. He also packed 44 of his yards (on 10 carries) into the fourth quarter, enabling his squad to maintain a 14-7 lead, then expand on it, and therein he posted the play of the night.

On the first play of the session, with the wind now behind their backs, Murt got the call on fourth-and-1 at the Vikings' 44. He responded with a 7-yard gain.

"It felt great that coach Devlin had confidence in me for that play," Murt said. "You could really feel what it meant. North had their defense stacked right up against us. Fullback Pat Glemser gave me a great block, and the linemen did their jobs. I kept my legs driving."

That drive covered 65 yards in 12 plays. Kevin Shaw capped it with a 23-yard catch from Jerry Rahill. Shaw also uncorked a 31-yard catch to set up Murt's first TD and a 20-yard run to help make the second one possible.

If Murt felt any apprehension after last week's misadventure, it never showed.

"The ball was wet," he said. "The rain was coming down sideways. I kept telling myself, 'Hold on to it. Keep the chains moving.' "

With a 4.0 GPA, Murt ranks ninth among Wood's 300-odd seniors. He has scored 1,400 on the regular SAT and 2,000 on the three-pack version. He's a member of the National Honor Society (duh) and belongs to the archdiocese's FACE organization (Fostering Awareness of Catholic Education).

In that role, one of his duties is to travel to various grade schools and answers students' questions.

How 'bout at Wood? Is he the best president ever?

"Well, we had a pseudo dress-down day," said the Southampton resident. "That's a first. And we're going to have a talent show. That's a first. Oh, and a wing bowl. And we'll have some games and nice surprises for the eighth-graders when they come to visit our school."

When asked about his career plans, Murt said, "I want to retire early." He then added, "I really like math - just aced calculus for the quarter - so I'm figuring something in economics or civil engineering."

Wood's defense featured solid contributions from Glemser (five tackles, sack) and Brian Butler (sack, two other tackles for losses).

For North, which is slated to close in June, Eugene "U-Turn" Byrd ran 13 times for 87 yards and a TD, Julian Huggins posted an interception and David D. Williams' 10 tackles included eight solos.

In a Catholic AAAA semifinal:

* SJ Prep 42, Roman 7: Skyler Mornhinweg passed 8-for-13 for 149 yards and three TDs, two to Pete Hurley (4-74) and one to Bobby D'Orazio. Mornhinweg ran for the game's first score. Desmon Peoples turned 12 carries into 142 yards. Spencer Reid (15-74, TD) led the subs, and Kushmir Miller returned a pick for a 32-yard TD. Roman ended the scoring on Roemel Morrison's 70-yard fumble return.

In another game:

* Ryan 17, Central Bucks West 0: The skid is over. After losing 20 consecutive games (10 in each season), the Raiders rolled to the nonleague victory for rookie coach Frank McArdle Jr. as Mark Golic rushed for TDs of 26 and 78 yards and Miguel Rendon hammered a 40-yard field goal. *