Great Game

Phil-Mont Christian Academy coach Bill DeHeer had a little talk with his co-captains, senior Beth Johnson and junior Jill Altieri, before Friday's Keystone Conference girls' basketball game against Delco Christian, and it produced big results. Johnson had a career-high 22 points and Altieri added 11 as the Falcons (4-2, 3-1) posted a 51-23 victory. "I told them both they had had some good games, but neither of them had had a great game," said DeHeer, whose team has won three in a row. "I told them I was hoping they'd have that great game.

Tony Chapman left Bristol's gym with a somewhat sour taste in his mouth Friday night. He wasn't upset with the way his Holy Ghost team played, and he wasn't griping about the officiating. His complaint was that the Firebirds were allowed to cut down only one net after they defeated the Warriors, 66-64, in overtime for the Bicentennial League championship. Of course, all the other teams in the league would love to be able make such a complaint. For most of the season, both teams were pointing to this game, as it figured all along to be for the league championship.

Some victories, even nonleague victories early in the season, mean more than others. Friends' Central's 44-37 victory over the Baldwin School on Tuesday qualifies as one of those victories. Baldwin and coach Pat West entered the game with a 2-0 record. Host Friends' Central was 3-1 and hoping to show that its early season success wasn't a mirage. Baldwin is "a good team and they're well-coached," Phoenix coach Tim Beach said. "I was happy with the way the kids played. It's a big win for us. We hadn't beaten them in four years.

Two of the key players in Downingtown's thrilling 10-9 win over Coatesville last Saturday were the Whippets' Ben Boggs and the Red Raiders' Tony Miller. Boggs plays halfback and linebacker for Downingtown, while Miller lines up at halfback and safety. In addition to being two of the area's best players, they are also the best of friends. "We practically grew up together," Miller said. "We played together (for the Downingtown Little Whippets youth football program) and started together in the backfield.

Woe unto them that join house to house, that lay field to field, till there be no place. - Isaiah 5:8. No place for softball. No place for soccer. Too many houses, not enough fields. When Isaiah uttered the above, he wasn't thinking of the victims of suburban sprawl or of the growing popularity of spring sports. But woe to them, anyway. In Camden, Gloucester and Burlington Counties, it can be easier to pitch a no-hitter than to find an available ball field. George Rague, director of parks and recreation in Camden County, said there are always more teams than fields.

When Bishop Egan played Cardinal Dougherty on Jan. 3, Dougherty rallied from a 15-point first-half deficit for an 18-point victory, 82-64. So, when Egan went into the fourth period of Friday night's home game with a 25-point - 83-58 - over the Cardinals, Eagles head coach Dave Schafer apparently didn't feel safe enough to get his regulars completely out of the game. "It was a great game to watch, but as a coach, I was pulling my hair out," he said after Egan set a school scoring record in a 103-94 win. "We were sending guys in and out in the last quarter, trying to keep everybody fresh.

Phil-Mont Christian Academy continued to make a shambles of the Keystone Conference, coasting to an 83-30 victory over Perkiomen School on Monday. The Falcons preceded the victory with a 102-52 thrashing of Cedar Grove last Tuesday in their league opener. "To be honest, the first two games were against the weaker teams in the league," Phil-Mont coach Chip Struck said. "These games should not be typical of the rest of the season. " The Falcons received blockbuster games Monday from 6-foot, 6-inch senior Carlin Warley, who scored 26 points and had 10 rebounds, and 6-5 junior Jim Petty, who scored a game-high 27 points.

Hatboro-Horsham's 21-0 Suburban One American win Saturday over Cheltenham was only seconds old when Hatters coach Dennis Steinly began to think about next week's opponent, Souderton. "I don't think about next month or next year, but what we have to get done for next week," said Steinly. "Souderton (4-1, 2-0) is a fine team, and we're going to have to play a fine game to beat them. " The Hatters (2-1-1 overall, 1-0 league) played a fine game to defeat the visiting Panthers (0-3, 0-2)

In a career of glistening seasons, 1957 was one of Willie Mays' shiniest. And since Mays' last season in the Polo Grounds was Jim Brennan's first as an APBA player, the season still holds a special fascination for Brennan, a baseball fanatic who places Mays on a pedestal above all other baseball heroes. Brennan, who lives in Houston, attends just a few Astros games each year. "I'm more into the past," he says. So he relies on APBA, his beloved baseball board game, to relive the memories and re-create history.

Two foul shots by Gary Duda in the final moments of the game brought victory to Malvern Prep's Friars over host St. John Neumann 69-68 in nonleague action yesterday afternoon. Malvern (11-2), fresh off a win in the finals of the Cardinal O'Hara Tournament last week, trailed for most of the game but finally got the lead with four minutes to go. The Friars stretched the lead to 5 points when Duda canned 3 of 4 foul shots after a double technical was called on the Neumann bench. Neumann would not die, however.