Ryan trying to avoid back-to-back oh-fer seasons

Passing along some city high school football tidbits...

On Thanksgiving morning 2007, all was right in Mark Golic's football world.

Then a sophomore, he rushed for 122 yards and a touchdown as Ryan bested Washington, the newly crowned Public League champion, 26-14, and couldn't help but dream about how enjoyable the next two seasons were going to be.

"I never saw 0-10 coming last year. Or an oh-fer this year," he said. "Not at all."

Catholic League football began in 1920. Just five times - St. Thomas More, 1952-53; Roman, 1970-71; West Catholic and Conwell-Egan, 1996-97; and Bonner, 2006-07 - have programs experienced back-to-back seasons with nothing but losses.

Ryan is again 0-10 with a nonleague game Friday night at Central Bucks West and maybe another holiday meeting with Washington (depending upon that school's playoff involvement).

The 5-6, 160-pound Golic, also a free safety, needs 13 yards to reach 1,000...for his career. Those 253 carries have also produced seven TDs.

Football is not even Golic's best or primary sport; that's baseball.

"It's been rough," he said. "Quitting has crossed my mind a few times, but that's just not right. I don't do that. I stay around because of my friends. We have good relationships. I know everyone has my back.

"We play around a little before practice. Try to make things fun. And the coaches help, because they're a good group to be around. They'll get things going here. They know what they're doing."

To handle the rough times, Golic has most leaned on teammates Fran Corbett, Dan Oliveri and Tony Vendetti.

"Our problem is still numbers," he said. "The kids in school are busy with other things. They don't care much at all about football. When there is football talk, it's not good."

With a hint of a laugh, he added, "Sometimes I want to punch someone in the nose."

In postseason action last year, Northeast's Malik Stokes hit brother Je'Ron with three total TD passes. In Saturday's loss to Dobbins, Mastbaum's Tyree Stone-Davis whipped a 59-yard TD pass to his twin, Tyrin. A brother, Tre, plays for North Catholic. Old heads might remember this: In the '71 City Title game, Carroll's Billy Zwaan, now the coach at West Chester University, threw for one TD apiece to twins Mike and Steve Adelizzi...Over the last 29 seasons, Chestnut Hill's Ibraheim Campbell ranks second in points per game with 18.7 (one game remaining). Fellow rushing star Pat Kaiser (23.5 for SJ Prep in 2002) holds the top spot, but he was also a kicker. His average output, not counting 82 kicking points, was 17.2...

Lincoln coach Gene Kelly, who's retiring, finds it interesting that, as a Railsplitter, he played against three other current Pub coaches, Frankford's Mike Capriotti (same), Dobbins' Lou Zambino (for Southern) and Overbrook's Ken Sturm (for Northeast)...Spotting a facemask penalty at Franklin-Lincoln, line judge Ruthie Rotimi inadvertently blew her whistle, causing a do-over. She's one of two female refs working Pub varsity games (this was her third) on a fill-in basis (Valerie King made her debut in '07). Rotimi is a first-year official. "I'm a little nervous," she said, "but I'm going to get better"...Assistant Will Crawford, when a Franklin player became too involved while making a block: "This is football! You don't gotta give him a hug!"...The Sports Illustrated jinx expands: After being featured last week in the magazine's Scorecard section, Frankford star Tyrell Martin was knocked out of Saturday's loss to Northeast with bruised ribs...

Someone please explain why a rap song featuring the F-word played over the sound system during Gratz-Roxborough...Well after that one ended, Roxborough's Chris Stoffere trotted all the way downfield to offer personal congratulations to Gratz hero Khalil Brown...Oh, someone also please explain why the referees at Haverford School-Chestnut Hill saw no holding on 96 plays in regulation, but did spot it the instant OT began, thus erasing a 10-yard rushing TD by HS' Wyatt Benson...Wood's Scott Adkins has scored TDs five ways this season: rushing, receiving, three varieties of returns (punt, interception, fumble)...Kevin Murt's catch vs. Lansdale was Wood's first non-kicking conversion in Steve Devlin's two seasons as coach.i

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