Wade drives La Salle into Class AAAA semifinal

BETHLEHEM - You won't find Tim Wade's name on a list of football prospects being pursued by the likes of Temple, Villanova, Penn or other schools at the FBS/FCS levels.

Doesn't mean you won't find him in the end zone.

Though Wade, a senior tailback at La Salle High, goes only 5-9, 185 pounds, his heart occupies about two-thirds of his chest and he showed that multiple times Saturday during a terrific PIAA Class AAAA quarterfinal before a large, lively audience at Frank Banko Field, hard by Liberty High.

As the Explorers bested Nazareth, 41-33, thus setting up a rematch of 2010's semifinal with North Penn this Saturday, noon, at Northeast's Charlie Martin Memorial Stadium, Wade generated 259 yards and three touchdowns from scrimmage, plus 55 more yards on a pair of kickoff returns.

Gettysburg, Susquehanna, Franklin & Marshall, Albright, Salve Regina (that's in Rhode Island) or Some Other Lucky D-III School will be getting a heckuva player.

"I'm looking at a lot of places," Wade said. "I won't know which one it'll be until after the season, or even much later in the school year.

"It doesn't really bother me that I'm not getting D-I looks. I like hearing about all the other teams that have a bunch of D-I players. I like it. I like it. We all do. It drives us to show that we can be better than them. That we can give them a test."

In 2009 and 2010, Wade served as the fullback in front of star tailback Jamal Abdur-Rahman (Villanova), rushing for 1,150 total yards. In 2011, 251 carries have produced 1,493 yards and 20 scores. Fifty-six of those yards came with 4:28 remaining, expanding a 35-33 lead and no doubt causing Wade's heart to perform several somersaults.

The Explorers faced fourth-and-millimeters on their 46. During a timeout, offensive coordinator Joe Wade, Tim's uncle, stood with the offensive unit while a short distance away head coach Drew Gordon talked things over with John Steinmetz, the defensive coordinator.

Gamble or punt?

"We all wanted to go for it," Tim Wade said. "We had trust in ourselves. It gave us a boost when the coaches showed they had trust in us, too."

Said Gordon: "I always believe in, 'Go win the game.' The only reason I hesitated at all was the third-and-2 we didn't convert [late in the third quarter] . . . I told Steinmetz, 'Be ready, John. We're gonna go for this.' He said, 'As long as you give the ball to Wade.' "

The lead blocker was fullback Jared Herrmann. The targeted hole was the one between center Connor Kerrigan and left guard Pat Hoffman.

"My plan was to get the first, then go down," Wade said. "Then I saw the big hole and it was, 'I'm goin'! Gotta score!' Awesome feeling running down the field."

Not the first time. Though Wade entered this contest with minuscule 2011 receiving numbers - four catches for as many yards - he turned five snags into an eye-popping 131 and scores of 26 (right-side swing pass) and 47 yards (straight down the middle).

Haul-'em-in production from somebody/anybody was needed after star junior Sean Coleman departed late in the first quarter with a foot injury.

Speaking of the 47-yarder, Wade said, "It wasn't designed for me. Matt [Magarity] had a choice. The middle linebacker bumped me off my route, but I saw the safety wasn't there because he was worried about the wideouts toward the side. All I had to do was get back on my route and I knew I'd be fine from there. Perfect pass."

After completing his first seven tosses, Magarity finished 15-for-21 for 281 yards and three TDs; the other went to John Palermo. Herrmann was part of two TDs. He scored one on a 1-yard spurt and let loose a huge sigh of relief when Chris Kane, out of the tight-end spot, recovered his fumble in the end zone off a rushing play that began at the 4.

Defensively, Mike Eife recorded two sacks and a fumble recovery, Matt Maginnis and Palermo hustled for one apiece of sacks and TFLs, Sean Burke unleashed a series of denture-causers, and frosh Jimmy Herron made a clinching interception with 2:30 remaining.

(Well, kinda clinching. Magarity lost the handle on a keeper three plays later. Wideout Colin Buckley saved him by making the recovery at La Salle's 17.)

Wade, a Doylestown resident, explained his December passion by thinking back 11 months.

"I thought about all the hard work we've put in since January," he said. "I kept telling myself, 'It's not going to end here. Still too much to do.' We had some difficult moments, but we kept our composure. It's that old thing: Never give up. Anything can happen."

Even 131 receiving yards for a tailback who had owned 4.