Defense, depth on display as La Salle tops Father Judge

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UPPER DUBLIN >> It only took one defensive snap for Ryan Savage to prove a point.

A week after getting picked apart in a loss to St. Joe’s Prep, Savage and the rest of the La Salle defense wanted to prove they were much better than that performance showed. Even with standout linebacker Dillon Trainer on the sidelines injured, the Explorers came out fast and focused.

With the offense clicking as well, the Explorers defense got back on track as they showed their depth in a 49-7 Homecoming win over Father Judge played at Upper Dublin on Saturday night.

“We definitely wanted to make a statement,” Savage, a senior co-captain and defensive end, said. “Last week we didn’t play as well as we thought we could have but this week, we just wanted get back to the fundamentals, get back to what we do best and be a downhill, aggressive football team.”

Savage dropped Judge quarterback Mike Van Horn for a sack on the Explorers’ first defensive play and fellow senior Tyson Goldstein came up with a huge hit at linebacker on third down as La Salle just stonewalled the Crusaders’ opening drive. By halftime, Savage had accounted for one and a half sacks, a pressure-forced incompletion and another quarterback hit as the Explorers limited Judge to 30 yards of offense.

A week after being on the wrong side of a 35-0 halftime score, La Salle had that same advantage going to the half against Judge. Offensively, the Explorers were humming with Sam Brown scoring three times in the first quarter, Jack Machita throwing a dime to Liam Kennedy for a touchdown and freshman Mao Howell finishing a drive with a rushing score.

The offense scored on the game’s opening drive and Savage credited that for giving La Salle momentum the rest of the night. But the defense still had its point to make and they were eager to go do it.

“I think we were a little cocky going into it last week and they really gave it to us,” Savage said. “This week, we were just trying to correct those mistakes and hopefully we’ll see them again and we’ll be an even better team by then.”

Savage essentially shut down Judge’s second drive by himself. The senior pressured Van Horn into a first down incompletion, wrangled down hard-running back Damier Johnson for a yard game on second down, then hit Van Horn as he threw on third down, forcing another incompletion and an appearance from the punting unit.

“Right away, we set the tone and realized we were back to our old ways,” Savage said. “That little gap in your mind, it’s natural to think ‘did we get worse?’ after last week but I think we proved right away we were back doing what we needed.”

Judge, which has been fighting a war of attrition with injuries, continued to play its brand of hard-nosed physical football. Johnson carried 16 times for 53 yards, often needing two or more guys to fully bring him down while senior Shane McGovern had team’s lone score on a 17-yard TD pass and was all over defensively.

Savage said the Explorers wanted to out-match Judge’s physical play and he felt they did just that. On top of the defensive effort, La Salle got a lot of players reps, with back-up quarterback Gavin Daly leading a touchdown drive and a lot of defensive players earning a shot to get snaps in a live game.

“We want to give them a shot,” Savage said. “The greatest part about them is they’re the hungriest guys on the team. They want to get on the field, they want to make a difference and they want to do whatever they can to be the difference when we’re in a game that’s a little bit closer.”

THOMPSON FILLS THE GAP

Chris Thompson knew he was stepping into big shoes on Saturday.

The sophomore, who’s gotten varsity snaps the last two seasons, was being given a much bigger plate to fill against Judge as he got the start in Trainer’s place. A 6-foot-3, 225-pound linebacker, Thompson had plenty of incentive to get the job done.

A Northeast Philly native, Thompson wanted to prove himself in an expanded role against one of his neighborhood schools.

“It was different, I was definitely nervous going in but Dillon really helped me a lot,” Thompson said. “I can’t take all the credit, everyone helped out and it was a team effort but against one of my hometown schools, I was definitely trying to go off and have myself a night.”

Thompson had one of the biggest stops of the night, turning a tackle on Johnson into a suplex that had the entire La Salle sideline jumping. The sophomore was in on at least seven tackles and a had a good back-and-forth going with senior linebacker Jalen DeVose with each trading stops early in the second half.

Having varsity snaps to his name, Thompson said the speed of the game wasn’t something he was worried about but his concern was more the amount he was going to play.

Thompson said the first day back at practice last week was tough coming off the Prep game, but as the week went on, the defense found its fire again. Lining up with DeVose, Abdul Carter and Goldstein at linebacker, the sophomore told himself to just do what he had to and rely on the guys around him.

“I was trying to do my best and not let my teammates down, that’s always my No. 1 goal,” Thompson said. “Since the big loss to Prep, we were all pretty fired up and ready to get back at it. We had to go out and ball.”

DeVose and Thompson got back to back stops right before the half, then flipped roles on a third quarter drive and even combined on a tackle during Judge’s sole scoring drive.

“He’s one of my good friends on the team,” Thompson said. “It really was a team effort, I can’t take any credit on myself, I was just trying to ball out and I have to thank Dillon Trainer, he helped me all along the way and studied with me this week.”

EXTRA MAO

With each passing week, it seems like Mao Howell is giving La Salle more and more to like on offense.

Saturday, the small but fleet freshman led the team with 76 yards rushing, scored a touchdown and had a 67-yard kickoff return. At 5-foot-4, he doesn’t look like a power back, but he ran through a couple would-be tacklers against Judge, most impressively on a 34-yard jaunt a couple plays before his TD.

Howell is best suited for life on the perimeter however.

“I’m just trying to take all the opportunities the o-line is giving me,” Howell said. “I like bouncing it to the outside, that’s been working for me. I’m going to keep trying to help my team out there and keep getting wins.”

Howell’s emergence as a threat from the backfield has allowed Sam Brown to slot out at receiver more or even spell the sophomore when he needs a break.

La Salle has a pretty veteran roster and many of them either slapped the freshman on the shoulder pads or gave him props as they walked by while he was discussing his role this season. Breaking into the Explorers’ lineup as an underclassmen isn’t an easy task and Howell has continued to work hard for it.

“I know I have to take advantage of all my opportunities and do the best I can every time I can,” Howell said. “It boosts my confidence a lot just because I’m a freshman.”

Gavin Daly and Howell combined for all 65 yards on the ground on La Salle’s third quarter scoring drive, which Daly finished off with a rushing score.

Howell heaped plenty of credit on the linemen, saying they do the work so he can the ball to the edge and go, something he doesn’t take for granted.

“We just want to keep better going forward,” Howell said. “The older guys keep telling me to be myself and just do what I do.”

LA SALLE 21 14 7 7 – 49

FATHER JUDGE 0 0 0 7 – 7

Scoring Plays

1st Quarter

L – Sam Brown 5 run (Jake Gandolfo kick) 8:45

L  Brown 12 run (Gandolfo kick) 4:24

L – Jack Machita 45 pass to Sam Brown (Gandolfo kick) 2:30

2nd Quarter

L – Machita 29 pass to Liam Kennedy (Gandolfo kick) 4:48

L – Mao Howell 6 run (Gandolfo kick) 1:42

3rd Quarter

L – Gavin Daly 4 run (John O’Donnell kick) 4:27

4th Quarter

FJ – Mike Van Horn 17 pass to Shane McGovern (Jack Isdell kick) 9:48

L – EJ Wentz 18 run (O’Donnell kick) 7:32

Team Stats

L FJ

First Downs 19 3

Rushes-Yards  34-255 22-62

Passing 6-10-2-0 10-15-1-0

Passing Yards 147 47

Total Yards 402 109

Penalties-Yards 4-32 5-40

Fumbles-Lost 0-0 1-0

Individual Stats

Rushing: L – Jack Machita 6-51, Sam Brown 6-29, Mao Howell 10-76, Timothy Mehlmann 1-6, Alan Paturzo 1-6, EJ Wentz 2-22, Sean McFadden 5-28; FJ – Damier Johnson 16-53, Mike Van Horn 4-9, Bill Whiteley 2-0

Passing: L – Machita 6-10-2-0-147; FJ – Van Horn 10-15-1-0-47

Receiving: L – Rob Tatum 1-26, Brown 2-85, Brad Vespe 2-7, Liam Kennedy 1-29; FJ – John Zanczuk 1-1, Shane McGovern 4-27, Johnson 3-6, Dan Foy 2-13

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Andrew Robinson

Andrew Robinson
Montgomery Media/Lansdale Reporter sports writer.

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