"I was desperately trying not to let anyone know what was going on. Later, the school nurse said my blood pressure was off the charts."
The nurse and others recommended that Fenerty be taken to the hospital for testing. With an Inter-Ac League hoops game scheduled to be played at Malvern Prep that day, the 32d-year coach did not go quietly.
"I was refusing to go to the hospital," he said. "[Associate athletic director] Ginny Hoffman said, "We're calling Kurt [Ruch, Malvern Prep's AD], canceling the game, and we're going to the hospital."
Put on hold was Fenerty's crack at earning the 500th victory of his career. "My timing was real good, wasn't it?" he cracked.
Tests have revealed that the 61-year-old has Polycythemia vera, a bone marrow disease that leads to an abnormal increase in the number of blood cells.
"They had to remove some blood from my system," Fenerty said. "I'll be fine, but I'll need some time to rest. I was actually lucky that they found it when they did."
According to Mayoclinic.com, one can have Polycythemia vera "for years without noticing signs or symptoms. With proper medical care, many people experience few problems related to this disease."
Fenerty, who previously coached at Conwell-Egan and has a career record of 499-322, said Thursday that he did not expect to coach in Friday night's Inter-Ac matchup with visiting Haverford School.
His likely return to the sideline, he said, is Saturday. As part of GA's senior day, the Patriots will host Peddie School (N.J.) at 2 p.m.
No. 900. Like Fenerty, William "Speedy" Morris is on the cusp of a milestone. The St. Joseph's Prep boss will go for career win No. 900 (high school and college) Friday when his Hawks host Roman Catholic in a 3:45 p.m. Catholic League showdown.
Coincidentally, his start was at Roman, where the Big Five Hall of Fame member won 347 games from 1967 to 1981.
Before coming to the Prep in 2001, Morris posted a 238-203 record with the La Salle University men's squad. His first two years at 20th and Olney Avenue were spent with the women's program.
Overall, Morris, who also coached the Penn Charter boys for two years, has a mark of 899-384. He is 230-69 in 11 seasons on Girard Avenue.
New venue. The third annual Hakim Warrick Philly.com/Rally Classic, originally set for Gwynedd-Mercy College, will be played Saturday at Archbishop Wood.
At 1 p.m., Friends' Central, led by blue-chip recruit Amile Jefferson, will take on Imhotep Charter, which is spurred by Khyree Wooten and Brandon Austin.
That will be followed, at about 3 p.m., by the host Vikings, sparked by rising 6-foot-4 sophomore swingman Pat Smith, taking on St. Andrew's (Del.).
Tap-ins. With three games remaining, Tim Abruzzo, a senior guard for Pennridge, has 1,085 career points, placing him No. 2 on the school's all-time list. He needs 34 more to eclipse the top mark of 1,118 set by Jim Groff in 1988. Abruzzo, averaging 21.2 points, is receiving interest from Navy, West Chester, New Jersey Institute of Technology, and Chestnut Hill. . . . Vermont signee Brendan Kilpatrick (18.5 ppg), Steve Perpiglia (12.5), and Tom Pitt (10.1) are Malvern Prep's go-to scorers. Pitt is averaging nine rebounds. . . . For Wissahickon, senior swingman Jordan Reed is averaging 26.1 points. Teammate Tanoh Kpassagnon, a 6-7, 245-pound senior headed to Villanova for football, averages 10.9 points. . . . Neumann-Goretti junior forward John Davis (12 ppg, 10.5 rpg) is shooting 49.3 percent from the field. Senior guard Billy Shank (10 ppg) has hit 44 of 101 three-point tries (43.6 percent). . . . Harriton's Matt Sherman (14.3 ppg) has drilled 21 treys.
Contact staff writer Rick O'Brien at 610-313-8019, robrien@phillynews.com, or @ozoneinq on Twitter. Read his blog, "The O'Zone," at www.philly.com/ozone
