Monaghan efficient at QB for Archbishop Wood

In the second quarter against West Catholic, Joey Monaghan hesitated in unleashing the ball downfield, crossed the line of scrimmage before finally tossing it, and Archbishop Wood was penalized for the infraction.

Soon after, the quarterback, not surprisingly, received an earful from Vikings coach Steve Devlin on the sideline.

"After four years of it, I'm used to it," Monaghan said afterward with a laugh. "I get it a couple of times a week. It's all good."

Said Devlin, following Wood's 28-0 blanking of West Saturday night at William Tennent: "Joey's such a tough kid. Sometimes you have to give him a bit of a nudge."

Monaghan, a southpaw and one of the area's most efficient passers, hit on 8 of 10 throws for 279 yards and a pair of scores as the Vikings rebounded from a 20-17 loss to Pittsburgh Central Catholic. Doubling at free safety, he notched five tackles, including four solos.

"He's such a great quarterback," Devlin said. "I wouldn't want any other kid running my offense. He's got all the tools."

The 6-foot-1, 190-pounder's primary target was Nate Smith, a speedy wideout and transfer from George Washington. The senior duo hooked up five times for 218 yards, including touchdowns of 52 and 65 yards.

"It makes it a heck of a lot easier having a receiver like Nate," Monaghan said. "With his quickness, he's going to get open and make plays. He's a game-changer."

Monaghan's non-TD completions to Smith, a Division I-A recruit considering Temple and others, covered 37, 33, and 31 yards.

"It was good, but we can get better," said the 6-foot, 190-pound Smith, a safety on defense. "We're still a little rusty. We need to work on a few things."

On the second Monaghan-to-Smith score, Smith, running a post route over the middle, burned a pair of West defensive backs.

In two games, Monaghan, who threw for 1,500 yards and 15 scores last season, has converted 14 of 17 passes for 389 yards.

Devlin, who coached at St. Joseph's Prep before coming over to Wood, compared the captain to former Prep and Villanova standout Chris Whitney. "The intangibles that Chris had, Joey has the same ones," he said.

Monaghan, an outfielder and pitcher in baseball, has Division I-AA potential in football. In the offseason, he attended a camp at Holy Cross and was at Bucknell's junior day.

"I'd just like to go and play somewhere," he said. "I don't care if it's as a quarterback or defensive back. I'm open to anything."

West-Wood. West junior tailback David Williams carried 33 times for 205 yards. His longest run, midway through the second quarter, covered 51 yards. "That back is a tough kid," Devlin said. "He's one of the better ones I've seen." . . . Andrew Guckin, an outside linebacker for the Vikings, recorded a team-high 10 tackles, including seven solos. Next in line for Wood was strong safety Kyle Adkins, who made eight stops (six solos). . . . West's tackling leaders were safeties Kevin Malone (seven stops, five solos) and Blaise Schieler (five, four) and linebacker Avery Davis (five, three). Early in the fourth quarter, Davis forced a fumble that was recovered by Schieler. . . . The Burrs, who were coming off a 19-7 defeat against Roman Catholic in Wildwood, were shut out for the first time since losing to Wood, 29-0, in the 2004 Catholic League Blue Division championship game. . . . Wood tailback Desmon Peoples sat out with a left high-ankle sprain suffered early in Week 1. He is expected to resume practicing this week.

Trivia time. Since 2000, North Penn has a 7-5 record in season openers. Excluding the two straight losses to La Salle, which three teams beat the Knights to kick off the season?

The first to e-mail the names of the schools to the address below (one guess per e-mailer) will win a Rally gift pack, including a T-shirt.

Extra points. In Council Rock South's 35-34 win over Father Judge on Saturday, the Golden Hawks totaled 320 rushing yards on 39 attempts. QB Brian Donnelly, who carried 16 times for 225 yards and three scores, attempted only one pass. . . . For C.R. South, tackle Andrew Cohen and end P.J. Gallo, a Maryland commit, combined to make 11 solo tackles. . . . Judge's Rob Daniels, a lefty, converted 14 of 23 passes for 247 yards and three TDs. John Landis had six catches for 77 yards, including a 32-yard TD. . . . On defense, the Crusaders were led by tackle Eric Condron (eight tackles, five solos) and linebacker Matt Meyers (six, five). . . . Judge's Dave Faraldo averaged 54.5 yards on two third-quarter punts. The first, a 58-yarder, pinned the visitors at their own 1-yard line. . . . Judge outgained C.R. South, 399-320. . . . Pope John Paul II's David Cotellese has thrown for 557 yards and six TDs. . . . Clay Ewell of Springfield (Montco) has carried 33 times for 260 yards and five scores. . . . Neshaminy safety Cole Creighton has made a team-best 14 tackles in two games.