La Salle College High School Football: In Retrospect

NOTE: This is the fifteenth of, I hope, many retrospectives highlighting some unique

history of the football program at La Salle. The topics to discuss seem endless at this

time. Hope you enjoy these.

Bill Wasylenko, ‘69

Issue Number Fifteen: The Rainmakers of 1989

La Salle football was certainly in a dry spell. The glory years of the late 50’s and early

60’s weren’t even a memory anymore to teachers and students in the early 80’s. Mr.

Flannery had passed his silver anniversary as head coach, but many felt that the game

was passing him by. Joe Colistra started coaching in 1968 after his college days at

Villanova, and completed his 17th year as an assistant when he took the reins after Tex

retired as head coach following the 1984 season.

Colistra had already initiated a few things of his own into the La Salle football program.

Weight-training became a staple of the La Salle football player, though it took a while to

develop the program and the bodies. The waning spirit of the program was attended to:

the team would be a part of the singing of the Alma Mater both before and after each

game.

But the results were not evident just yet. 1985 was a struggle, with just two wins to brag

about. The following two years brought only 4 more wins. Certain players stood out

during those difficult seasons, most notably linemen Jim Blount ’86 and Pat Gibson ’88,

who each made at least honorable mention All-Catholic for three straight seasons. But

the offensive skill position players were scarce in the mid-80’s: the Explorers were shut

out 8 times in the four seasons between 1984 and 1987.

The vaunted La Salle defense was just adequate through these years, maybe because

they were on the field so much. In Colistra’s first three years, they surrendered 24 or

more points an amazing sixteen times. But the winds in Wyndmoor started to shift, and

the easterly breeze in 1988 brought in some storm clouds. Would it rain championships

soon?

The storm clouds came from several locations on the field. First and foremost, the La

Salle defense returned to the pinnacle of the Catholic League. The four shutouts in 1988

matched the whitewashes notched by the 1976 team, the last truly good Explorer team.

While the defense was great, the offense had Jack Stanczak, whose come-from-behind

exploits at quarterback and stellar play at defensive back reminded old-timers of a

mythical Frank Merriwell type of heroic figure. Several times during the season, Stanczak

ran or threw for a game-winning touchdown, or intercepted a pass in the closing minutes

of a game to preserve the victory. And he was a great baseball player, too, maybe a latter-

day Chip Hilton instead of Merriwell.

And suddenly, the Explorers were running the

table, rising like a Phoenix from the ashes of the

Northern Division basement. Stanczak wasn’t

the only mythical figure out there. Senior Marc

Borrelli used his large frame to excel at both

tight end and the defensive line.

Other senior stalwarts included Joe McDonald

and Austin Noonan on the line, Dave Billitto at

fullback, and many others anchoring starting

spots with new-found success. Not yet noticed

was the fact that the sophs and juniors on this

team were also major contributors, and this

bode well for 1989 and beyond.

La Salle ran off ten straight wins to start the season, including a regular-season ending

blanking of Bishop Egan, 15-0. The Blue and Gold were entering the playoffs for the first

time since the 1961 PCL Championship game against Monsignor Bonner, and the

Explorers were poised to go undefeated and to make it rain.

As luck would have it, the semifinal game was against Egan, who they just shut out 8

days ago, coached by Chuck Knowles ‘67. The dream of a PCL championship ended in a

9-0 defeat to the Eagles. Though La Salle pulled out a thrilling come from behind Turkey

Day victory against the winless St. Joseph’s Prep eleven, the magical season had been

tarnished a little with the unexpected playoff loss. And with Stanczak leaving, 1989

sounded like a rebuilding year, and 1988 would probably be remembered as the best La

Salle year since 1960 for quite a while.

In the Philadelphia Inquirer’s Catholic League preview for 1989, though “rebuilding” was

the theme, Coach Colistra emphasized two things: La Salle had an outstanding coaching

staff, and he couldn’t remember when La Salle had such great athletes on the team. The

juniors of 1988 were now the leaders of 1989, and the sophs of 1988 had stepped up to

much-required responsibilities.

But there was no Jack Stanczak this year, and the quarterbacking duties were initially

shared between senior Chris Massella and junior Joe McNichol Jr, son of offensive coach

Joe McNichol ’59, who had great renown as a head coach in his own right, being the

founding coach at Archbishop Carroll, and notching a Catholic League championship in

their third year of existence.

An opening 14-7 victory against Upper Dublin had both quarterbacks play successfully.

Keith Tornetta ran in with a 21-yard counter, but it took McNichol’s touchdown pass to

Dave DeMara late in the fourth quarter to win the game. Continuing their dominance from

1988, the defense was strong.

Jack Stanczak

CHIP HILTON

Next up was Archbishop Ryan, an emerging power in the PCL North. Brian Daly scored

the first points of the game in the 3rd quarter on a 2-yard run, and the defense held Ryan

off the board until midway through the 4th quarter, when the Raiders tied the game.

Ryan eked out a victory late in the game as they returned a McNichol interception to the

three-yard line, and punched it in with less than a minute to go. Any dream of matching

the 1988 team step for step was shattered with the 14-7 loss.

A battle against the Lancers of Bishop McDevitt was a big test. La Salle was looking to

get back on track against their formidable Wyncote neighbors. At least the defense was

still strong. But the Explorers were ambushed by the McDevitt offense, as their own

offense sputtered. With most of the fourth quarter left, the Lancers dominated both

sides of the ball with a 35-7 lead. In retrospect, this was the low point of the season.

Massella replaced McNichol at quarterback, and engineered two late drives to make the

score more respectable at 35-22. La Salle was now 1-2, and 0-2 in the Northern Division.

No one was expecting that it would rain anytime soon. But no one knew what was going

to happen.

The Explorers evened their overall record with their

first Catholic League win over Archbishop Wood,

14-7, overcoming an early Viking lead. John

Slowick scored to tie the game in the second

quarter, and Massella found Chad Stowe in the end

zone in the fourth quarter for the winning score.

And the defense was back, stopping Wood in the

red zone on a late drive.

Cardinal Dougherty provided a breather, as Jason

Pennington tallied two scores, and Brian Daly

returned a punt for a touchdown in a 34-0 rout.

Massella solidified his starting position, hooking up

with Chad Stowe for two completions, and the

defense, led by Keith Conlin, stifled the Cardinals.

The Eagles of Bishop Egan were no match for the vengeance-minded Explorers. The 23-

0 blanking included a couple of short touchdown runs by fullback Martin Feeny, who

topped off the scoring by returning a fumble for a touchdown. And the defense

continued their shutout streak, led by Conlin, Jim Convey, and Ken St. Clair, who

dominated the line of scrimmage. La Salle had won three in a row.

Massella continued his fine play against Father Judge, launching two scoring strikes to

DeMara and Stowe. Though they lost their shutout streak, the defense was strong yet

again, and the Explorers were on a roll, besting the Crusaders, 26-7.

Jason Pennington

North Catholic struck first in the final regular-season game, but Pennington’s three TD’s,

and Massella’s 56-yard pass to Feeny helped the Explorers dash the Falcons’ playoff

hopes, 34-6. La Salle finished 5-2 in league play after an 0-2 start, and began the playoffs

with a PCL quarterfinal game against Father Judge.

The defense dominated the Crusaders, as the Explorers won their first playoff game in 29

years with a 14-0 blanking of Judge. Pennington and Slowick dominated the game on the

ground. Slowick had one of the scores, and Massella hooked up with DeMara on a 7-yard

TD pass to cement the game in the fourth quarter. The Lancers of McDevitt loomed ahead

for the Northern Division crown. This time, playoff vengeance was La Salle’s.

But it wasn’t easy. After several missed opportunities to get on the board, La Salle fell

behind in the third quarter, as McDevitt converted a drive after an interception of a

Massella pass. The fourth quarter was winding down below the 6-minute mark, when

Pennington took a pitchout at midfield and suddenly broke free, and the 50-yard scamper

and extra point tied the game at 7-7. It was now the defense’s turn to come through, and

they forced a Lancer punt. Return man extraordinaire Brian Daly grabbed the punt at his

own 26-yard line, and zigzagged his way through blockers, missed tackles, stumbles, and

cutbacks, and Daly willed himself into the end zone with 3:20 left in the game. The

defense closed the door on McDevitt, avenging that 35-22 loss, and putting the Explorers

into the Catholic League Championship game against the Cahillites of Roman Catholic.

But first, St. Joseph’s Prep had a shot at softening up the Explorers for their Southern

Division brethren in the Thanksgiving Day game. The Hawks had a great offense behind

QB Frank Costa, but, in the Conshohocken snow, La Salle shut out St. Joseph’s, 16-0, as

their running attack dominated the game and made the turkey taste good that day. It was

now time for the Catholic League Championship.

It had been 27 years since these two ancient rivals met on the gridiron, a series that went

back as far as 1903, when La Salle lost a 6-5 game against Catholic High. Roman had an

excellent quarterback in Jim McGeehan, who had Marvin Harrison, soon to be of Syracuse

and the Indianapolis Colts, as a wide receiver. The Cahillites would provide a difficult test

for the La Salle defense.

Saturday afternoon, December 2, 1989 in Villanova Stadium. A crisp, cold day, the first

December game for the Explorers in eons. It was a day made for defense.

VS.

In the first period, McGeehan dropped back to pass deep in his own territory. Feeny

forced a fumble during a fierce pass rush, and Convey fell on the ball in the end zone to

give the Explorers the early lead, though the extra point was missed. Roman was able to

move the ball against the Blue and Gold defense, and threatened twice in the second

quarter. On two fourth down plays on different drives, McGeehan’s passes were

intercepted, once by Jerry Rock and once by Daly. La Salle clung to a 6-0 lead at half, as

their offense had trouble moving the ball.

Roman kicked off to start the second half, and the kick was line-drived down the field.

Daly tracked down the ball at the 26-yard line, and shot through a gap all the way to the

end zone for a 74-yard touchdown to start the third quarter. Rock’s extra point made it 13-

0 La Salle.

The offense continued to struggle, and the defense was on the field for a long time in this

game. McGeehan continued to pressure the Blue and Gold defense, unabashed despite a

Daly interception in the end zone in the second quarter. But the ubiquitous Daly was not

done; he intercepted passes in each quarter of the second half, and combined with his

kickoff return, was a nightmare for the Cahillites. La Salle’s defensive backs snagged two

more picks, by Rock and Jim McGoldrick, and the shutout was preserved.

It still was hard to believe until the final gun sounded, when pure jubilation broke out

along the sideline and in the Villanova Stadium stands. On a cold, dry evening, the rain

finally fell, and the drought was over. The 1989 team were indeed rainmakers, becoming

champs for the first time since December 10, 1960, sixteen days before the Philadelphia

Eagles won their last championship.

The 1990 and 1991 teams were also great teams, but fell short of the PCL Championship.

It took the 1995 team to bring back the hubcap trophy to Wyndmoor, a mere six years

since the rainmakers did it. And the rain continues, with PCL Championships in 1996,

1998, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, and 2012.

Homecoming For the Rainmakers of 1989

On Friday, September 16, 2011, the game against the Burrs of West Catholic at Springfield

High School was our Homecoming game. The 1989 Philadelphia Catholic League

Champions were to be celebrated at halftime, with a ceremony at midfield. The

Homecoming event prior to the game was held at the base of the new fields, fields of

dreams that didn't exist in 1989. Several members of the 1989 team went to the event

prior to the game, and crossed Paper Mill Road to get to Springfield, just like they did 22

years ago in uniform.

The current team filed by the Homecoming crowd at the new fields two by two, with looks

of determination, anxiety, nervousness, and importance. After losing big to Bergen

Catholic the previous week, 41-17, they were taking on a West Catholic team with great

speed, a great running back, great size, and in desperate need of a win. They headed

across Paper Mill Road to warm up for the game.

Unbeknownst to La Salle's parents and fans, and even the offense, the defensive team

had a visitor in the Springfield home locker room before the game. Martin Feeny '90, All-

Catholic, fullback and linebacker for the 1989 team, addressed the defense that gave up

41 points just six days ago. I contacted Martin a few days after the game, and here are his

words about that pre-game speech:

“(Defensive Coordinator) John (Steinmetz) had me speak to the defense immediately

following the team pre-game warmups. He reminds them periodically that they are only

"renting" La Salle jerseys and introduced me in a similar fashion, mentioning that our

team shut out Marvin Harrison's Roman Catholic team in the Catholic League

Championship game in 1989. It's funny because I had a 2-page speech prepared but was

told by John that I would only have about 30 seconds, which was for the best because I

was so nervous and emotional that I definitely wouldn't have been able to keep it together

for much longer than that.”

“I basically told them I would give anything to trade places with them over the next 3

months, and that so would any of my teammates who were at the game. I told them what

an incredibly special time it was in their lives and that they should go out and play for one

another - not for their parents (no offense!), not for their teachers - but for their

teammates. I told them to play with pride and intensity, to honor those who had come

before them and those who would come after them, to never surrender and to have no

regrets. I said if they did all those things, they would be back in 20 years celebrating their

championship season. I was pretty close to tears by the end but looking into some of

their faces, it seemed like they were listening to what I was saying.”

“I was very touched when Mike Piscopo came up to me afterwards and gave me a fist

bump. I was worried they were going think I was some old loser trying to re-live my glory

years.”

Feeny's words hit home, and the fired-up defense held the star Burr running back,

Williams, to just 35 yards on the ground, and the 24-0 whitewash of West Catholic was a

Homecoming gift from the 2011 team to the 1989 team, and, according to Feeny, a gift to

each other.

A postscript: the 2011 team indeed did go on to win the Philadelphia Catholic League

Championship, defeating none other than Roman Catholic, the 1989 opponents, 16-6, with

an intense defensive performance.

After the West Catholic game ended, and the Alma Mater was sung, everyone went their

own way. After a team huddle, the players headed through the crowd and back to the

school locker room. The 1989 team headed in a different direction, many to MaGurk's to

continue their reconnection.

But, for 3 hours, those two teams were ONE, sharing the same dreams, anxieties,

concerns, and joys that all of them had and still have as football Explorers.

Martin Feeny’s #33 jersey is now “rented” by co-captain Tim Wade, who rushed for 130

yards and a touchdown on 24 carries. Perhaps Tim will provide his own locker-room

speech a few decades from now, and perhaps a future #33 will be inspired by him.

And the rain has continued to fall steadily in Wyndmoor, keeping the grass green and the

flowers bright, and championship hopes alive. Though memories of the drought will

always linger, a stronger memory will forever be the rainmakers from the 1989 Catholic

League Champions.

Martin Feeny

Here’s a link to a Youtube video that shows the last play of the 1989 PCL Championship

game, and the celebration afterward:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s7d75REfcLU

Also, here’s a link to a Youtube video that shows the halftime ceremony from the

Homecoming game on September 16, 2011, honoring the 1989 PCL Champions:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XtAs_Iy7TIE

And, for a few pages after my signoff here, there is a picture roster of the 1989 team.

Hope you enjoyed this Retrospect on one of the great teams in La Salle football history,

the rainmakers of 1989.

I welcome your comments, corrections, and additions.

Go La Salle!!

Bill Wasylenko, ‘69

explorerfb@gmail.com

September 21, 2011, revised June 7, 2013

La Salle College High School - 1989 Game Roster

Chuck Hirschbuhl

#4 - RB

Mark Houck

#5 - DB

Steve Lynch

#6 - DB

Joe Markmann

#7 - DB

Chris Massella

#11 - QB John Butler

#12 - DB

Joe McNichol

#13 - QB

Geoff Crawford

#15 - QB

Chris Smith

#16 - QB

Jamie Rodgers

#17 – LB/DE

Steve Herrera

#14 - DB

Chad Stowe

#19 - RB

Anthony Campagna

#23 - DB

Jerry Rock

#24 – SE/DB

Kyle Evans

#26 – SE/DB

Brian Daly

#27 – DB/OB

John Russo

#28 - DB

Jason Pennington

#30 - RB

Steve Cook

#32 - FB

Martin Feeny

#33 – FB/LB

John Slowick

#34 – RB/DE

Mitch Sava

#36 – RB

John Byrnes

#38 - RB

Max Guevara

#18 - RB

Colin Gallagher

#22 – LB/DE

Pat Gallagher

#25 – LB/DE

Keith Tornetta

#39 - RB

Will Spearing

#40 - DB

Ken St. Clair

#41 – DL

Steve Strohecker

#43 – SE/DB

La Salle College High School - 1989 Game Roster

Tim Callahan

#44 – DB

Kevin Schmidt

#45 - LB

Jerry Patterson

#46 - OL

Brent Griffith

#48 - DB

Joe Morrissey

#49 – FB

Nick Lazorko

#50 – LB

Craig Fitzgerald

#54 – LB

John White

#55 - OL John Pluck

#56 - OL

Shawn O’Brien

#57 - OL

Geoff Tragemann

#59 - OL

Sean Hendrick

#60 - OL

Tim Novak

#61 - OL

Craig Pensabene

#62 - LB

Jim Convey

#64 - DE

Sean Duffy

#66 - OL

Keith Conlin

#67 – OL/DL

Brian Gibson

#68 – OL

Matt Romano

#70 - DL

Tom Craig

#71 - DL

Dan Walls

#72 - OL

Mike Bate

#73 – OL

Brian Donahue

#75 – OL

Mike Vennera

#76 – OL

Dom Maida

#77 - OL

Ryan Marsh

#78 - OL

Jeff Fafara

#80 – DL

John Brackin

#79 - OL

Dave Gathman

#81 – LB/DE

Jim McGoldrick

#82 – DB/SE

La Salle College High School - 1989 Game Roster

Dave DeMara

#83 – TE

Chris Hasson

#84 - TE Vince Galzerano

#85 – LB/DE

Dan Collins

#86 - DE

Mike Van Stone

#87 – DB/K

Kevin Burke

#89 – LB/DE

Jim Cairnes

DB

Tony Lee

DB Mike Bacica

OL

Vince Blatney

OL

Michael B’Oris

DE

Michael Brusca

DB

Chris Citrino

RB

Tim Daniel

DL

Joe Flemming

OL

Brian Griffith

OL

Bill Nichols

DL

Cheyney Sparks

DL

Frank Osborne

RB

Rainmakers