La Salle's win is all in the Wasylenko files

WHEN IT COMES to La Salle High's mostly rich football history, the Wasylenkos are quite the dual threat.

Son creates. Father chronicles.

Dan Wasylenko, a 6-2, 245-pound senior, starts at offensive tackle and sees half-time duty at defensive tackle. His father, Bill, a 1969 grad, fashions PDF-file retrospects, fleshed out with photos, that cover the program's various aspects and are linked on the school's website, in addition to being emailed to football alumni.

"I read most of my dad's stuff," Dan said, "especially the parts that deal with the teams I've played on. He's up all hours of the night doing it. I don't get to read all of it because of schoolwork and whatnot, but he doesn't push me. I do think it's all pretty cool."

The 2011 installment is still being written, of course, and another chapter is in the books. Saturday at Northeast High, Wasylenko's play on both sides of the ball helped the Explorers dismantle George Washington, 41-7, for their third consecutive Class AAAA City Title.

After some down time, coach Drew Gordon's ballclub will return to action Dec. 2 or 3 for a state quarterfinal. Overall goal: To repeat the accomplishment of the 2009 squad, which won a state title.

"When I was a freshman, it almost seemed impossible that we'd be able to make a run for a state title since we lost the City Title to Washington," Wasylenko said. "But then in '09, we did win the states and we came to realize, 'All of this is possible,' and we made it our goal to keep doing the same thing.

"I didn't get on the field too much in 10th grade, but I became determined to start by senior year and hard work made that happen."

So did rubbing shoulders with a neighbor.

The Wasylenkos live in Lansdale and right next door are the Sinnotts. Steve Sinnott, now making an impact as a redshirt freshman for William & Mary, was a star lineman for those '09 Explorers.

The Sinnotts' house was quite the meeting place for senior members of that squad and Dan, along with his brother, Steve (La Salle '11; played baseball), were regular invitees, thanks to proximity.

Dan would sit there wide-eyed, enjoying the present but also thinking ahead. Once his future arrived, he made the most of it and even earned first-team honors this fall (offense) on the coaches' All-Catholic squad.

Saturday, Wasylenko's fellow grunts were center Connor Kerrigan, guards Pat Hoffman and Luke Persichetti (injured early; David Geppert replaced him) and tackle Matt Maginnis.

The Explorers rolled to a 28-0 halftime lead as Tim Wade (12-79) ran for three touchdowns and quarterback Matt Magarity added the fourth on an adventurous 65-yard keeper. The first two series of the third quarter also produced scores, Magarity's 13-yard pass to Sean Coleman and a 31-yard dash by highly promising frosh Jordan Meachum (12-101).

"Every time Tim scores, or even gets positive yardage, he comes back to the huddle and taps all of us on the back, and says how he can't do it without us," Wasylenko said. "And Matt always lets us know how much he appreciates what we do."

Thanks to an unreturned kickoff, with the recovery going to Dad Poquie, La Salle owned a 14-0 lead before Washington ran a play.

Wasylenko made an immediate statement, too, holding the city's top rusher, Hakeem Sillman, to a 1-yard gain. With a resounding pop, Tyler Kern dropped Sillman for a 1-yard loss two plays later and "Hak" finished the game with just 18 yards on eight carries.

The Eagles avoided a blanking on David Gavrilov's 58-yard, third-quarter hookup with Donald Smith.

Wasylenko, who's eying a career in business, is hearing from West Chester, Susquehanna, Franklin & Marshall and Salve Regina, in Rhode Island. What he loves to watch, meanwhile, are highlight tapes from 2009.

"The best memories are the two games in the snow," he said, referring to the wins over Easton (quarterfinal) and State College (final). "I must have watched that championship game 20 times. I use it to pump me up.

"It's been a great ride these past 3 years [the 2010 squad advanced to the state final]. Our goal is always to play in December. Now we want to keep it going."

Dad needs fresh material.