Rouse posted Nos. 4 and 5 on interception returns, of 47 and 84 yards, respectively, and that act of whirlwindry enabled him led him to tie O'Hara's Scott Taylor ('05 vs. La Salle) and Mastbaum's Darren Berry ('08 vs. Roxborough) for most pick-sixes in a postseason game. Taylor's scores totaled 57 yards, while Berry's covered 91.
"I went out for track to help with conditioning," said Rouse, who became a force in the 200, 400 and 4 x 400 relay. "It did a lot for me, and I'm going to run indoor track this winter, too. I feel like I can just run past people."
The interception TDs started with slants.
"We were playing zone," Rouse said. "I just cheated over toward the middle and jumped the route. The first one was the easiest, because the only guy I had to beat was the quarterback. Nobody else was there. On the long one, I didn't know if I was going to make it all the way. By the end, I was tired. Early, I got a great block from Daqwan Freeman."
At wideout, the Mount Airy resident has turned 14 catches into 453 yards and five TDs. That yards-per-catch average computes to an outrageous 32.4.
"Colleges are looking at me for defensive back, but I want to be scouted as a wide receiver," he said.
Yeah, guys, keep track of his exploits on both sides of the ball.
Gratz coach Erik Zipay said the game against MN, set for 2 days before Thanksgiving at 4 o'clock, is still on the schedule. The schools already have banged pads twice this season. In '09, West Catholic beat McDevitt thrice in a 4-week period . . . The Malvern-St. Joseph's Prep Thanksgiving bash won't be held at Villanova Stadium. Hello again, Plymouth-Whitemarsh . . . Washington's drumline, captained by Lawrence Marshall, who was killin' it on quads, laid down some serious beats at halftime of the Pub AAAA semi vs. Central . . .
Franklin-Comm Tech featured four turnovers in a five-play span and five in seven! Franklin's Nagee Brown recovered a fumble. Michael Edwards completed a 14-yard pass to Bycil Elliot. Edwards' next pass was intercepted by CT's Devon Brunson. Brunson caught a pass and tried a hook-and-lateral. Jymil Harmon recovered the loose ball. Edwards passed incomplete. Diquan Gilbert's sack forced Edwards to fumble and Tylik Womack recovered. On another trick play, Gilbert took a handoff and flipped back to QB Zaki Jamison. No go. The loose ball was recovered by Rafael Rodriguez . . . After a Franklin receiver dropped a pass, coach David Carter yelled at him, "Take those gloves off! You watch too much TV!" . . .
In La Salle's win over Roman in a Catholic AAAA semi, soph Jimmy Herron became the first player in city history to twice produce TDs by running, catching and throwing in one game. He first did so in Week 5 vs. Ryan . . . Wood's Andrew Guckin (345, then 304) is the second rusher in city annals to top 300 yards in consecutive weeks. West Catholic's Curtis "Boonah" Brinkley, now with the San Diego Chargers, did so in '03 (399, 314). Guckin's 304 vs. O'Hara came in a CL AAA semi and left him 12 yards short of the city's postseason record; SJ Prep's Pat Kaiser had 316 vs. Roman in the '02 Red final . . .
Dobbins' Dishon Solomon twice scored on end-arounds vs. Fels . . . Congrats to whoever is responsible for replacing most of the burned-out lights at Northeast . . . A bad snap and penalty far behind the line presented Overbrook with third-and-46 vs. Lincoln. Or, as assistant Will Nesmith called it, "Third-and-a-schoolyard." Earlier, a Panther was flagged for holding and Nesmith wailed, "This ain't WWF!" . . .
Notre Dame-bound Mike McGlinchey, who goes 6-9, 275, lined up at fullback and powered for a 1-yard TD in Penn Charter's win over SCH Academy. He bagged 25 yards on two other carries. Two weeks beforehand vs. Malvern, he threw a pass . . . Malvern's two-game Inter-Ac losing streak is its first since '04.
City top 10
1. St. Joseph's Prep 9-0
2. La Salle 9-1
3. Archbishop Wood 8-2
4. Imhotep Charter 10-0
5. Episcopal Academy 9-0
6. West Catholic 6-3
7. Roman Catholic 5-4
8. Frankford 7-2
9. Archbishop Ryan 5-5
10. George Washington 8-1
Under consideration: Haverford School (7-3), Malvern Prep (5-5), Simon Gratz Charter (10-0), Edward Bok Tech (8-2).
Contact Ted Silary at silaryt@phillynews.com. High school coverage online at www.philly.com/rally.
