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“I’m expecting a great game,” coach Anthony Pastore said Friday as his Horace Furness Falcons completed their four-week camp at the South Philadelphia super site, 10th and Bigler streets. “It is the next step in growing our program because of the exposure.”
The resident of Broad and Porter streets will lead his Pennsport squad, 1900 S. Third St., against East Passyunk Crossing’s Ss. Neumann-Goretti High School, 1736 S. 10th St., in Saturday’s 4 p.m. battle at Wildwood, N.J.’s Maxwell Stadium. The tilt will mark the football teams’ third consecutive season-opening affair and looks to offer a solid matchup of a young and confident public institution versus a mature and eager parochial site.
The Falcons, coming off a 6-5 campaign, will be making their first Garden State journey, while the Saints, looking to exorcise the demons from a 4-7 year, will return to Wildwood after a two-year absence. Along with a chance to travel, the players will look to secure bragging rights, with the series tied 1-1.
Pat DiPilla, the Saints’ athletic director, approached Dave Connolly, his Furness counterpart, about making a New Jersey jaunt, receiving immediate acceptance. The news thrilled Pastore, whose athletes, through a School District agreement, also come from Franklin Learning Center and The Academy at Palumbo, 1100 Catharine St.
“Our time together has shown me we have great potential,” the Lower Moyamensing figure said. “We’re still looking to improve our hunger and our drive, and I want to see more fierceness. Maybe it will all come together against Neumann-Goretti.”
A defensive guru, Pastore expects great seasons from his ball hawks, who dropped last year’s contest to the Saints, 34-20. His offense will need to gel quickly, as it lost Sharif Smith, whose 4,457 yards rank fifth-best in city history, to graduation. His tireless legs helped Furness to score 224 points and led the school to retire his number. Sophomore Kharee Ruley will hope to harass defenders, with junior quarterback Khaaliq Shuler running the huddles.
“Since I’m taking on a new role, I’m looking to execute my plays,” the signal caller, formerly a wide receiver, said. “We’re a young team and understand the need to pick one another up. I see us improving each day.”
The North Philadelphian, a student at Hawthorne’s Palumbo, eagerly awaits clashes against fellow AAAA Silver member South Philadelphia High School, 2101 S. Broad St. and AA resident Prep Charter High School, 1928 Point Breeze Ave., but is not engaging in too much tunnel vision, emphasizing the road to a great run must begin against the Saints.
“We know it’s a non-league game and that it won’t factor into our goal to win a division championship, but we know the importance,” he said. “I know Neumann-Goretti is a good team. We just need to be a bit better.”
Sharif Custis is yearning to delay the Falcons’ flight. The First-Team All-Catholic senior tight end and outside linebacker, who has drawn interest from, among others, Temple University, where brother Kadeem serves as a defensive end, wants to duplicate last year’s victory over Pastore’s bunch during which he caught a scoring pass.
“Last year was more fun than 2010,” the resident of the 1500 block of South 32nd Street said of that year’s 24-23 setback. “This time we’re really looking to show our skills have evolved.”
Custis enjoys playing on both sides of the ball, which pleases second-year coach Charles Szydlik.
“We are heading in the direction I wanted,” the Northeast Philadelphia resident, who described last year’s 35-7 Thanksgiving Day roasting of Southern as a momentum builder, said as his charges practiced at McNichol Field, 26th and Moore streets. “I am seeing guys who are more knowledgeable of the game.”
Szydlik, who faced the Saints in Wildwood while coaching for now-shuttered Northeast Catholic High School, credits commitment to fitness as a boon to his team’s prospects. Weight lifting has given his athletes more vigor, and he is hoping the extra muscle will help his defenders confuse quarterbacks and aid blockers to give his running backs more chances to pick up big yards.
Last year presented the Saints an opportunity to learn his system, with mixed results. The team scored a respectable 180 points, but opponents registered 289. After beginning 2-6, however, they rebounded to capture two of their final three duels, even celebrating a shutout of Wyncote’s Bishop McDevitt High School.
“This year they seem even more committed to executing schemes,” Szydlik said. “I think it’s great then that we’re to have this test against Furness because I know coach Pastore will have his guys ready.”
As Furness employs a run-heavy offense, Szydlik wants Custis and company to make use of their size and speed to seize momentum.
“Even beyond the Wildwood game, I’m looking forward to the Catholic League schedule because I think we’re a playoff-caliber team ready to make a run,” the coach said.
Pastore, in his sixth year as the Falcons’ overseer, expressed similar regards about his band’s upcoming challengers but is not losing sight of the possible rewards of a pre-Labor Day triumph over a Catholic foe.
“Plenty of people have been instrumental in putting this together,” he said of the game, which will be at 4000 Park Blvd., with $10 tickets available at the gate. “I want to start off with a bang.”
Contact Staff Writer Joseph Myers at jmyers@southphillyreview.com or ext. 124.
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