Philadelphia, Pa. Tim Wade had a night he won’t soon forget as the LaSalle Explorers took the first step in defense of their PCL title with a 26-16 first round playoff win over Father Judge at Northeast High’s Charles Martin stadium.
Judge was without their all everything offensive/defensive lineman, Eric Condron, who suffered a sprained MCL in the victory last week against Archbishop Ryan. The Explorers wore down the Crusader defensive line a few weeks back in their 33-14 victory and not having Condron for this one would be a tougher one for Coach Tom Coyle to endure.
Judge employs a sturdy two back system with Matt Smalley and Raul Quinones and it was apparent from the outset that their game plan was to use their speed to counter some of the great athletes LaSalle has on the defensive side. Quinones ran for a 72 yard touchdown on the game’s second play and it looked as though this was going to be a high scoring affair. LaSalle came right back and began a steady diet of ball control as they did in their previous meeting. They scored on three of their next four possessions with two touchdowns (a Wade three yard run, a Matt Magarity 19 yard pass to Colin Buckley and a Ryan Winslow field goal). The effectiveness of the Explorer offense kept the Judge offense off the field for much of the first half.
With a 17-9 cushion at halftime, the Explorers began the second half with a quick six play drive that resulted in John Palermo’s 35 yard touchdown run set up by runs of 10 and 38 yards by Wade. The Crusaders did go on a ten play drive (capped by Rob Daniels seven yard toss to Albi Arapaj), but LaSalle finished the game with a 13 play drive that virtually eliminated any chance of a Judge comeback.
Wade finished unofficially with 322 yards on 42 carries and a touchdown. The combination of his running with the sensational play of the offensive line gave this team a shot to go far in the state playoffs.
With the win, LaSalle advances to the AAA, PCL championship versus the Roman Catholic/St. Joe’s Prep winner. Judge finishes with a 6-4 record. All their losses (Roman Catholic, Council Rock South and two to LaSalle) were against some of the best teams in the state. They have a Thanksgiving date left against Lincoln High.
Scoring By Quarters
1st Quarter
Father Judge: Raul Quinones: 72 yard run: PAT: No Good: 11:09
LaSalle: Ryan Winslow: 22 yard FG: 9:03
LaSalle: Tim Wade: 3 yard run: PAT: Ryan Winslow: 2:56
2nd Quarter
LaSalle: Colin Buckley: 19 yard pass from Matt Magarity: PAT: Ryan Winslow: 1:41
Father Judge: Connor Foley: 20 yard Field Goal: :16
3rd Quarter
LaSalle: John Palermo: 35 yard run: PAT: No Good: 10:03
4th Quarter
LaSalle: Ryan Winslow: 17 yard field goal: 10:35
Father Judge: Albi Arapaj: 7 yard pass from Rob Daniels: PAT: Connor Foley: 7:35
