Coyle said he and his assistants unanimously voted to honor only Condron "because he's the guy who gets things done. Through the years, I guess we've had anywhere from two to five captains. This year Eric's head and shoulders above the rest."
Surprisingly, Condron is not exactly Mr. High-Volume Chatterbox.
"I don't really say much," he noted. "I lead more with how I do things on the field. When I do talk to the guys, it's just as teammates. Mostly just, 'You're playing good. Keep it going.' "
Right before the game, the Crusaders gather for a chanting session that helps them get hyped.
"I always say the first few words, then the guys repeat after me," Condron said. "Tim Mills does the last part, when everybody's going crazy and screaming."
As Condron knows, he could soon have company.
"I'd like to see somebody join me," he said. "I mean, I like the honor of being the only captain, and my parents think it's cool, too, but this [arrangement] is really surprising me. Guys like Raul [Quinones] and Matt Smalley are having good seasons . . . And we have a few more guys who'd be eligible for a captain's role."
As Lansdale Catholic played Bonner, an assistant yelled in to a player: "Tell whatchamacallit he has to a better job of blocking!" . . . LC held a nice halftime ceremony to honor the memory of star quarterback Noell Maerz ('90), who was killed in New York City in the 9/11 attack. Twenty teammates attended. Among them was O'Hara coach Danny Algeo, son of LC coach Jim . . . Against Mastbaum, Olney likely set a city record for biggest weight differential between its kicker (Dontae Angus, 310 pounds) and punter (Valsky Auguste, 135) . . . Olney lost fumbles on six of its first seven second-half possessions. When Auguste did punt, the ball bounced off returner Frank Quiles and Olney's John Whitehead recovered . . .
