Thaenrat rushes for 313 in Judge win

He had 313 rushing yards and four touchdowns on only 18 carries, but just imagine what Yeedee Thaenrat could have done if he hadn't been sick.

The 5-foot-9, 190-pound Father Judge running back spent Saturday afternoon running around, over, and through host Springside Chestnut Hill in the Crusaders' 38-0 non-league victory.

The night before, however, a 103-degree fever caused considerable discomfort at Thaenrat's home on Summerdale Avenue and Benner Street in the Northeast.

"I was tossing and turning and had a cold pad on my head," he said. "I had to wake up and take some medicine."

Over-the-counter help notwithstanding, perhaps the traditional Liberian soup prepared by his aunt and guardian, Theresa Biyoyouwei (he calls her mom), was the best medicine.

"I woke up feeling a little better," the native of Liberia said. "My mom gave me some soup with all this pepper. That thing was crazy."

Maybe a few cauldrons of the dish, which is made with chicken, beef, shrimp, and various spices, should be shipped over for the whole team.

"Like 10 people on the team are sick," Thaenrat said. "It's been going around the locker room. We've just got to get [healthy]. I have a sinus infection and it's hard to breath, that's why I kept coming out of the game every time I ran because it was hard to breath."

Burning through 194 yards on 11 carries by halftime will do that, too. Thaenrat finished with touchdown runs of 26, 75, 85, and 11 yards.

The 313-yard performance wasn't even his best. Last season, he set a single-game school record with 377 yards - fourth most in city history.

However, his performance does rank in the top 25 in city history, according to TedSilary.com.

Reed Marko from Germantown Academy (453 yards in 2007), Curtis Brinkley from West Catholic (399 in 2003), and Lawrence Reid from Cardinal Dougherty (379 in 1975) own the top three spots.

Also for Judge on Saturday, junior quarterback Rob King added a 48-yard score that gave the Crusaders (3-1) a, 24-0 lead at intermission.

King finished with 76 yards on four carries (19 per carry).

For the Blue Devils (3-1), Matt Rahill completed 14 of 24 passes for 114 yards. Receivers Matt Hoffman (49 yards) and Jack Cucinotta (68 yards) caught seven passes apiece.

Defensively for Judge, Zamir Gindraw and Justin Gies each added interceptions.

"This is a big win to really uplift our offense because we haven't been putting many points on the board," Thaenrat said. "Mostly, our defense has been scoring for us."

A few more 300-yard performances should help. Just don't count on pepper soup becoming a pregame staple.

"Nah, I don't think so," he said. "Because I don't like pepper like that much. Only when I have a fever."

Father Judge 10 14 7 7 - 38

Springside Chestnut Hill 0 0 0 0 - 00

FJ: FG (Joe Gallgher) 32

FJ: Yeedee Thaenrat 26 run (Gallagher kick)

FJ: Thaenrat 75 run (Gallagher kick)

FJ: Rob King 48 run (Gallagher kick)

FJ: Thaenrat 85 run (Gallagher kick)

FJ: Thaenrat 11 run (Gallagher kick)

cartera@phillynews.com

@AceCarterINQ