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One last chance to shine for Casale, St. Joseph’s Prep

It's the kind of statement, made by coaches to players, again and again and forever.

It's the kind of statement, made by coaches to players, again and again and forever.

Always be ready. Never know when your chance might come.

Any such comment made last fall to Mark Casale, then a junior at St. Joseph's Prep, was likely met with at least a muffled snicker, if not a full-blown belly laugh.

After all, he was at least, what, the fourth-string tailback?

"Sixth," he piped right up, smiling. "Fourth. Sixth. It doesn't really matter, right? You're still not getting in."

Of the five guys ahead of Casale when the 2009 campaign began, Garrett Compton was the only senior. Maybe a switch to soccer would have made the most sense? Or quick rides home after school to concentrate on making solid grades even stronger?

"I still was hoping to start this year on defense, and I think that would have happened at safety or corner," said the 5-9, 170-pound Casale.

Instead, by default, and then more default, and then the fact that his skills proved worthy once he received an extended opportunity, Casale has emerged as the Hawks' top rusher.

His season yardage total stands at 814 (on 147 carries; he owns five touchdowns) and there's one last chance to make it mushroom. That will be Thursday, 10:30, at Plymouth-Whitemarsh High when This Prep meets The Other Prep, as in Malvern.

The private Catholic schools - the first from the Catholic League, the other from the Inter-Ac - are in their fourth year of a Thanksgiving rivalry. Malvern leads the series, 2-1.

In a unique twist, halftime will feature a mini-rugby contest (a pair of 7-minute halves) between the schools.

"It would really mean a lot to win this last game," said Casale, who lives in Radnor and knows some of the Friars. "No. 1, 5-6 sounds a lot better than 4-7 and we all think we should have won these last two meetings. We don't want to give those guys another reason to gloat, or to feel like they have anything over us."

So, how did Casale become the No. 1 tailback for first-year coach Gabe Infante?

Transfer winds. Of gale-force intensity.

Spencer Reid, son of Eagles' coach Andy Reid, departed for Harriton shortly after the '09 season concluded. Jarad Alwan (Camden Catholic), Eric Neefe (Penn Charter) and Desmon Peoples (Archbishop Wood) bid the school adios as time marched on.

In '09, Peoples had shared time with Compton at the start of the season. After a Week 4 injury sidelined Compton, Peoples became the go-to back and finished with 1,050 yards. Casale's season output: seven carries for 25 yards (no TDs).

Peoples was the last to transfer.

"We were in the period of [summertime] 7-on-7 workouts," Casale said. "He missed a couple days, but I didn't think much of it. I thought maybe he was attending a camp somewhere, like [quarterback] Skyler Mornhinweg had done. Then people were saying he'd transferred, but it was all hearsay. Finally somebody called him. It was true.

"At first I didn't know how to react. We were losing such a great player. My dad just said, 'This is your shot. Make the most of it.' My teammates were saying the same thing."

In official training camp, Casale was challenged by Michael DeFeo. Each was offered carries in the opener vs. George Washington and Casale wound up being more productive.

His reaction to the whole sequence of events?

"Coming into the Prep, I never thought I'd be a running back," Casale said. "It was never one of those things where I had to get the ball. Defense would have been fine. It seemed kind of ludicrous to think I'd be playing the same position where the Prep had great kids like Kyle Ambrogi, Jamir Livingston . . . All those storied guys, then me? Kind of a shock.

"I was the dreaded scout-team back for the last 2 years. I suffered having to run against the Mike Pereiras and Mike Labors [star linebackers] of the world. It helped, though."

When pressed, Casale said he might be the fastest Hawk. His only competition, he figured, would come from kicker Pat Kardish, who happens to double as a soccer whiz.

"I definitely have more speed than I thought," Casale said. "I seem to break one or two long ones a game. That's something I take pride in. I can also catch the ball."

Said Infante, whose grunts include center Pat Kueny, guards Luke Hutkin and Peter Kelly, and tackles David Tracz and James Udovich: "Mark has that big-play potential. He can really accelerate in the open field. He gives you those bursts."

Casale, who also sees d-back time in nickel packages (and runs track in the spring), has received preliminary interest from Ivy and Patriot schools, along with D-3's. He wants to major in business, but has dabbled in journalism. (And if this racket ever makes a recovery, who knows?)

By the way, Alwan, Neefe and Peoples were underclassmen.

But . . .

"In our senior class, since freshman year, we've lot about 10 players," Casale said. "And of course we lost our coach [Gil Brooks, fired last offseason]. It has all made us closer. We're a little undersized, but we have banded together."

One last outing is coming right up.

To show, symbolically, how far he has come, maybe Mark Casale should ditch No. 4 in favor of 6. *