West Catholic Game Summary
PCL 2A SEMIFINAL
10-29-09
West Catholic 44, Cardinal Dougherty 0
Burrs Roll to 8th Straight League Championship Game
It’s been a while since Head Coach Brian Fluck’s team has failed to make a league championship game. How long? Well, this will be the eighth straight year that the Burrs will vie for some Catholic League hardware. Since falling in their first four attempts, the Burrs have captured wins in the last three.
In a game played at Truman H.S. in Levittown, the Burrs overwhelmed Cardinal Dougherty, 44-0. Next week, West will play Bishop McDevitt for PCL 2A honors. The Burrs bested the Lancers just two weeks ago in the regular season finale, 28-12.
In this one the Burrs wasted little time establishing control when they scored on the game’s first possession. Junior running back Brandon Hollomon capped a 6-play, 65-yard drive with a 15-yard run. Hollomon would just be getting started too, as he went onto score three more times in the opening half.
Midway through the opening quarter, junior linebacker Kevin Burns came untouched from the right-side of the line on a Dougherty punt and got a large chunk of the kick, giving the Burrs the ball at the Cardinal 16-yard line. On the next play, Hollomon went in from 16 yards to make it, 14-0.
Later, and in the final seconds of the first quarter, Hollomon put his name in the record book after he returned a punt 99 yards for a touchdown. The return goes down as the longest punt return in city postseason history. The previous mark was set in 1922 and covered 95 yards.
In the second quarter the score swelled to 28-0, after junior running back Joshua Mathis dashed in from ten yards. This capped a 7-play, 46-yard drive.
As the second quarter wound down, again Hollomon provided some magic, when he accepted a short swing pass from senior quarterback Jarred Evens, then zipped from right to left for a 58-yard score. This made the score 35-0 and ensured that the second half clock would run.
After the intermission the Burrs notched a safety when a faulty snap on a Dougherty punt was shoveled out of the back of the end zone. Later in the third quarter senior running back Kaheem Summerville capped the scoring with a 2-yard run.
West accumulated 324 yards of offense in the game. Much credit should go to the players doing the grunt work in the trenches. This group includes: sophomore center Dom DiGalbo, senior guards Jake Zuzek and Marcus Burwell, junior tackle Rodney Linder and senior tackle Erik Harper, and junior tight end Jim Lynch.
Hollomon only touched the ball six times, but turned this number into 237 all-purpose yards. He rushed four times for 80 yards. Summerville ran hard in the second half and contributed 90 yards on 13 carries. Mathis added 41 yards on 10 carries. Evans passed for 80 yards.
Senior kicker Tim Carroll belted all six PAT attempts. In doing so he eclipsed the 150 mark for his career (152 total). The city record is now within reach at 157. Congratulations, Tim!
Defensively, the Burrs swarmed to the ball all evening and held the Dougherty offense to just 62 yards in offense, including just three yards on the ground. In a total team effort, twenty-one different Burrs made tackles. Leading the way was junior linebacker Anthony McDonnaugh with four. McDonnaugh, senior linebacker Bill Tobin, and Lynch (DE) each registered a sack. Senior linebacker Dante Dickens had an interception, while senior defensive back Dwayne Medley recovered a fumble that was forced by senior linebacker Jeremy Ricahrdson.
In closing, the Burr football community would like to thank Cardinal Dougherty for being an intricate part of the Philadelphia Catholic League for the past 53 years. Dougherty will be closing at the end of this school year and this was quite likely their last football game ever.