Rick O'Brien: A look back at heroics of North, Dougherty
While talks continue about the possibility of moving the Thanksgiving Day meeting between Frankford and North Catholic to a bigger venue, say Franklin Field or Lincoln Financial Field, here's a personal Top 5 list of memorable sporting moments associated with North and Cardinal Dougherty.
Contact staff writer Rick O'Brien at 610-313-8019
Sorry, Frank "Bucko" Kilroy fans, this list goes back only to the late 1980s, when yours truly began covering high school sports.
1. Feb. 25, 2008. With a 51-45 win over Northeast Philly neighbor Archbishop Ryan at the Palestra, North captured its first Catholic League basketball championship since 1987 and its eighth overall. Woody Redding netted a game-high 21 points, including four treys, to make a winner of coach Mike McCarron, who starred at Torresdale and Erie Avenues in the early 1980s and recently retired after seven seasons for personal reasons.
2. Nov. 28, 1996. Junior quarterback Jim Miller burrowed for a 1-yard touchdown with 29 seconds to play as North stunned previously undefeated Frankford, 20-19, on Turkey Day at Large and Dyre Streets. The Falcons held Eddie Gaskins, one of the Pioneers' best-ever running backs, to 130 yards and two scores on 25 carries.
3. March 6, 1989. Down by 13 points in the third quarter, Dougherty rallied for a 66-62 victory over Cardinal O'Hara in the Catholic League girls' basketball final at St. Joseph's University Fieldhouse. The 20-6 Cardinals, directed by Rich Kirk, were spurred by Maureen Dolphin (27 points, 18 in the second half) and Patti Lynn (11 rebounds).
4. Jan. 31, 2004. Dougherty's Kyle Lowry and Penn Charter's Sean Singletary, two of Philadelphia's premier point guards, squared off in the Scholastic Play-by-Play Classic at Arcadia University. Lowry netted 18 points and Singletary 29 as the Cardinals turned back the Quakers, 72-68, in a thriller before an overflow crowd.
5. Oct. 29, 2008. At Archbishop Ryan, midfielder Carl Essentheir scored on a direct kick in the 81st minute as North beat fellow soccer powerhouse La Salle, 1-0, in overtime for the Catholic League crown. For coach Jerry Brindisi's program, it was the first league title since 2002 and 22d overall.
Recognition time. We received plenty of e-mails from supporters of North's wrestling program. Yes, we know all about the Falcons' success on the mat. Since 1991, they have bagged 13 Catholic League titles.
Their last championship, in 2007-08, was led by senior heavyweight Eric French. Their 29-20 final win over La Salle at the Pit capped a 17-0 season.
In addition to French, other recent standouts were Chris James (Class of 2008), Mike Hunter (2006), Rick Mascino (2004), Don Campbell (1999), and Elvin DeJesus (1998).
Another batch. On Oct. 8, we ranked Southeastern Pennsylvania's best quarterbacks. Since the area is flooded with quality signal-callers, here are 15 others to watch:
1. Colin Masterson, Ridley, senior, 6-1, 170.
2. Todd Smolinsky, North Penn, senior, 5-11, 200.
3. Brandon Gunn, Wissahickon, senior, 5-10, 205.
4. Ryan Laughlin, Cardinal O'Hara, junior, 6-2, 195.
5. Terrell Chestnut, Pottsgrove, junior, 5-11, 175.
6. Brandon Pepper, Pennsbury, junior, 6-0, 180.
7. Kevin Regan, Roman Catholic, senior, 6-4, 200.
8. Austin Kevitch, Germantown Academy, senior, 6-1, 185.
9. Casey Perlstein, Upper Perkiomen, junior, 6-2, 185.
10. Brian Titus, Neshaminy, senior, 6-2, 185.
11. Aaron Wilmer, George Washington, senior, 5-10, 190.
12. Jerry Rahill, Archbishop Wood, senior, 6-1, 180.
13. Kyle Kush, Avon Grove, senior, 5-11, 190.
14. Jarred Evans, West Catholic, senior, 6-1, 165.
15. Drew Siegfried, Bishop McDevitt, senior, 6-1, 185.
Contact staff writer Rick O'Brien at 610-313-8019
