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Upon providing his final bit of pre-game advice Friday morning, football coach Frank “Roscoe” Natale reminded the South Philadelphia High School Rams, 2101 S. Broad St., to support one another so as not to give themselves two foes.
Eager to notch a unique victory to kick off the season, his athletes displayed patchy unity in falling 32-8 to the Prep Charter Huskies, 1928 Point Breeze Ave., at the South Philadelphia super site, 10th and Bigler streets.
Through cooperative sponsorships with Parkway Center City and Universal Audenried Charter High School, 3301 Tasker St., the Lower Moyamensing-based squad had already featured an integrated roster, with last week’s affair offering more novelty as Natale and other contributors joined the Rams’ ranks earlier this summer following the closing of Edward Bok Technical High School, formerly 1901 S. Ninth St. He and his performers welcomed their initial occasion to test their togetherness against a West Passyunk-situated unit also adjusting to changes.
“It’s a nice mix of kids,” Natale, of the 1600 block of South Juniper Street, said. “They just have to learn. It takes time to get that momentum going.”
The 2011 Public League Coach of the Year chose to gauge their tenacity by electing to kick off. Junior quarterback Vian Dolo, who guided the Huskies to a 7-5 mark last year, hit senior wide receiver Curran Simmons with a 41-yard pass on the first play from scrimmage and reveled two plays later when junior running back Tarr Monway broke free for a 9-yard score. Uneventful drives, especially for Southern, marked the rest of the quarter, but the visitors again gave the defenders fits with their first second-half possession, with Dolo and Monway activating their legs and moving the chains. Overseeing a no-huddle scheme, the signal caller tallied a 7-yard score that made the hosts, especially Mark Webb, miffed.
“I like our identity,” the senior All-Publc offensive guard and defensive tackle said. “Our technique is there but our conditioning needs work, and I think the second quarter showed that.”
With little wiggle room on their next attempt, the Rams fell behind 20-0 when sophomore running back Samid Williams’ fumble wound up in the trusty hands of sophomore defensive back Qadir Strothers. The Huskies appeared to have another six when Dolo heaved a beautiful ball to senior wide receiver John Graham for a 31-yard gain, but the upperclassman fell just short of the plane. Regardless of the missed chance, the guests gladly entered halftime with pride in their precision.
“I took this job knowing the team had an extreme amount of youthful talent,” first-year Huskies’ coach David Hand, a long-time defensive assistant for St. Joe’s Prep, said. “We put in some changes that are all about putting great athletes in a position to win games.”
As the Southern troops rested, Natale lamented blown opportunities and stressed to the charges, especially those who played for him at Bok, to tidy their approach.
“They think they got you,” he said. “Pay attention, and prove them wrong.”
Editing their script yielded little change, as the Rams fumbled away the second-half kickoff. They escaped harm on their first defensive stand, but Dolo ripped off a 38-yard run to put them close to the goal line again. With Hand’s system placing so much trust in him, the junior admitted he loves to look for Graham as often as possible and found his 6-foot-3 target for a 15-yard strike to up the lead to 26-0.
“I feel really good about the season because we’re hungry, and we know how to go after what we want,” Dolo said. “I think we showed today that we’re coming together quickly.”
More athletic displays from the Southwest Philly resident brought the Huskies to the 1, where Monway converted a carry to cap their scoring. Facing the never-sought possibility of being a shutout victim, the Rams soon found a bit more space against Hand’s second-stringers and seemed to gain a sense of redemption when senior quarterback Ryan Stewart scored with 33 seconds left. A two-point conversion finished the day, with the teams meeting right after to share respectful sentiments.
“Next time, you just have to do your jobs better,” Natale said of his outgunned guys, who visit Spring-Ford tonight. “We gave away opportunities and this is what happens.”
Set to play against Del-Val Saturday at Simon Gratz High School, Prep Charter felt very good about scoring an impressive win, especially because Southern features many old Bok Wildcats.
“I saw them as Bok, and we owed them for a couple years now,” Graham, a Southwest Philly dweller, said of 42-15 and 32-0 losses to the defunct East Passyunk Crossing school in 2011.
The agile receiver nabbed four of Dolo’s completions for 69 yards and shared with his coach a great sense of respect for the vanquished team.
“I know they’re always well-coached, so we’ll definitely take a bunch from this,” Hand said.
Webb will likewise gain lessons from the result.
“Definitely not a good day,” the West Philadelphian said, “but we’ll be able to bounce back.”
Contact Staff Writer Joseph Myers at jmyers@southphillyreview.com or ext. 124.
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