Memorable comeback as Conwell-Egan stuns Neumann-Goretti

HERE'S A friendly warning to Kyle Techtmann's future son, assuming there will be one: Dad will be just like Grandpop.

He'll want you to play football and if he winds up coaching your team (almost a certainty), he'll go the pretty-much-obsessed route.

Overall? Nothing wrong with that. Every so often? Needs to be gently addressed.

That's the verdict from Kyle, a 5-10, 180-pound senior, who Saturday night played a prominent role, both in and out of action, as visiting Conwell-Egan High, thanks to a 20-0 run over the last 16 minutes, 48 seconds, stunned Ss. Neumann-Goretti, 34-33, in a Catholic League AA memory-maker.

The league playoffs include just two teams, but barring the unfolding of circumstances too outrageous to even worry about, C-E 2 weeks hence will make an appearance in the PIAA District 1/12 subregional semis.

Kyle's high-profile position is quarterback (he also starts at free safety) and while active he passed for one touchdown (to Joe LaRosa) and ran for two more on option keepers.

However, having tweaked a right-knee injury on a keeper with 8 minutes remaining, he could only watch - and make suggestions to dad, Jack, in season No. 2 of his second stint as C-E's coach - during a drive for what turned out to be the winning TD.

Likewise for the drama to follow.

Kyle was born during September of the 1994 season, a year after Jack had completed his first go-'round at Bishop Egan/C-E, and if there any cool stories about his arrival interrupting a day/night of football watching, he's never heard 'em.

Both will be retelling this one. Multiple times, guaranteed.

"This was probably the best football game I've ever seen or played in," Kyle gushed. "It was a great feeling. We've been talking a lot about making history for Egan, and to get the win like that was the best way we could have done it. We earned it pretty good."

While detailing his football relationship with Dad, Kyle said, "It has its good points and bad. There's a lot of extra teaching and film-watching, and that does get rough sometimes. We'll reach that point where it's, 'All right, that's enough for tonight.'

"Most of it's great, though, because we get to share something we love every day."

A 6-yard run by Tyliek Raynor gave N-G a 33-14 lead with 4:48 left in the third quarter. C-E posted eight points on Techtmann's 7-yard run and conversion pass to Chaz Cason (big play in drive: 31-yard completion to Tim Bolton) and six more on Wyett McLeod's 25-yard interception return (ball batted by Jordan Burney).

The Eagles soared 68 yards for the winning TD, and Techtmann, having experienced a minor dislocation to his right kneecap, had to shut things down with the ball at N-G's 38. His replacement was freshman Mike Alley.

"One of the hardest things is having to leave the field when you're trying to go for the winning score," Techtmann said. "But I had faith in my teammates. I knew they could get the job done."

He knew right. Thereafter, Cason and Dan McLaughlin added first-down runs of 11 yards, Alley broke free to put the ball at the 7 and Cason zipped in from there.

The Saints wound up with two last gasps, and the most dangerous was the next-to-last. Eric Neill appeared ready to enjoy a 7-yard TD catch with 1:08 left when Bobby Simcox arrived in the back of the end zone to deliver a serious teeth-rattler. The ball fell to the turf.

C-E finished with 288 yards of offense, if you ignore two snaps that sailed backward for 32. Techtmann passed 4-for-9 for 55 and turned 14 rushes into 71 more. The grunts were center Matt Toner, guards Shane Phillips (6-5, 305) and Ian Loveless (6-5, 240), and tackles Dan Morris and Matt Palmer.

Techtmann, a Levittown resident, is not yet positive whether he'll try to play football in college, but if so he'll probably opt for safety or slot receiver, his original C-E position. He does know he wants to coach.

OK, let's say he winds up having a football-playing son. Can the kid expect to be driven nuts?

"Yeah, probably."