Lansdale Catholic

To those who have seen Lansdale Catholic's football team over the last couple of seasons, the Crusaders' high-powered offense appears to come from many years of practice. And if you didn't know better, you'd think quarterback Mike deMarteleire diagrams half his team's plays in the dirt for friends he's known since he was 6. It certainly looked that way Saturday night when the Crusaders clobbered Owen J. Roberts, 43-13, in a Pioneer Athletic Conference game at North Penn. But deMarteleire had never met any of his classmates until transferring to Lansdale Catholic after his family moved from New Jersey when he was a freshman.

Led by prolific passer John Algeo, the Lansdale Catholic offense has been grabbing more of the attention in this young football season. But to repeat as District 1 Class AA champions, or even go beyond, the Crusaders know there will be games when the defense will have to carry the load. Luckily for the Crusaders, that unit appears more than capable of doing the job. Just ask Great Valley. Lansdale Catholic held visiting Great Valley to just 120 yards of total offense and earned a 14-0 victory in the Pioneer Athletic Conference opener for both teams Saturday night at North Penn High School.

Mickey Algeo held her 4-week-old grandson, Ryan Anthony, in a baby blanket and waited patiently for her husband, Jim Algeo Sr., to finish speaking with reporters. Lansdale Catholic had just escaped with a 29-26 win over visiting Phoenixville in a Pioneer Athletic Conference football game Saturday night at Wissahickon High, and Mickey Algeo had every reason to smile. Her husband's team won the game. The victory came at the expense of Jim and Mickey's son, Dan, who is in his first year as Phoenixville coach.

Sure, Lansdale Catholic coach Paul Duddy is disappointed that his Crusaders lost to powerful Holy Ghost Prep in a PIAA District 1 Class AA semifinal Tuesday. But even he concedes that, in a week or so, he and his team will appreciate the successful postseason run that landed them one game short of the state tournament. Lansdale Catholic lost by only 1-0 to a dominant Prep team, despite being outshot by a 24-3 margin. Prep controlled play, shut down junior Mark Jackson and the Crusaders' offense, and peppered Crusaders goalie Dan Heron, who made 15 saves.

This time last season, Lansdale Catholic was struggling. High expectations evaporated beneath an 0-3 cloud that the Crusaders never were able to crawl from under, and their season ended with a disappointing 6-11 record. So this season's 3-1-1 start (2-1 Pioneer Athletic Conference) has been refreshing. The Crusaders have played well, with a 2-1 nonleague victory Saturday over Upper Darby for the first time in three years and a 2-2 tie in their season opener against North Penn. Lansdale Catholic coach Tom O'Donnell has changed his lineup slightly, moving senior Chris Glinski, the team's leader in assists last season, back to the sweeper position to shore up a porous defense.

Highlights of Monday's contests can be found at: www.philly.com/rally Final regular season. CENTRAL LEAGUE League W   L    Garnet Valley. . . 11   0    Radnor. . . 9   2    Harriton. . . 9   2    Springfield (D). . . 8   3    Strath Haven. . . 7   4    Conestoga. . . 7   4    Haverford High. . . 5   6    Lower Merion. . . 4   7    Penncrest.

SINCE HIS former position will also be part of his future, Kevin Neumann would have been mildly justified in offering resistance. But, hey, the kid's a team player. So during his senior baseball season at Lansdale Catholic High, there he is, playing catcher. And playing it some more. And some more. And some more. At least, that was the scenario Thursday as LC visited Conwell-Egan for a Catholic Blue regular-season finale in semi-hot temps. At 6:48 p.m., 183 minutes after the first pitch was thrown, Neumann framed a called third strike from righthander Matt Kress and the Crusaders owned an 8-6, 10-inning victory.

Ellie Murray's run-scoring single in the fifth inning proved to be enough on Thursday afternoon as Conwell-Egan held off visiting Lansdale Catholic, 1-0, in the Catholic League softball quarterfinals. Rebecca Maziarz came home on the single and finished the day 3 for 3. Gina Massaro pitched a shutout and struck out 10. Also in the quarterfinals, Erica Ragazzone struck out nine batters and drove in three runs to help lead St. Hubert past visiting Archbishop Carroll, 5-2. Nikki Michalowski beat out a ground ball in the seventh inning as Kerri Dadalski scored the winning run and Archbishop Ryan topped visiting Cardinal O'Hara, 5-4. Public.

Mary Cate Scott stayed late after Lansdale Catholic's loss to Archbishop Wood on Tuesday. The senior had pitched yet another complete game, but a late-inning meltdown was fresh on her mind. So she fired and fired - everything from inside fastballs to changeups and screwballs - as her coaches and her father picked apart her delivery. When Thursday's pivotal game against Archbishop Carroll arrived, "I came out ready," Scott said. Working in and out of trouble, Scott guided the Crusaders to a 4-2 victory to rebound from two straight Catholic League losses.

THIS TIME AROUND, only the sight of bone popping through skin would have kept Eric McGough off the mound for the seventh inning. Not again, in effect, would he leave the dance without asking the most beautiful girl for a slow one. On April 4, McGough, a 5-11, 170-pound junior righthander at Archbishop Carroll High, pitched six innings of no-hit ball vs. Lansdale Catholic and then, with his pitch count at 92 and his arm "not really hurting,...

DAVE CONNOLLY'S stretch as Philadelphia's calmest sports person ended Monday. His phone and email accounts again were ablaze/jammed and all was finally not right in his management world. Connolly, the athletic director at Horace Furness High, in South Philly, is the Public League baseball chairman and Monday, for the first time all season, rain and/or wet grounds caused a rash of postponements. Ten, 20, 30 years from now, someone will stumble upon this story via a search engine and growl, "Hold on here.

The battle for first place in Suburban One League Continental Conference softball, expected to be a pitching gem between Central Bucks South's Haileigh Stocks and Hatboro-Horsham's Maggie Shaffer, was decided instead by a big offensive inning Thursday. Central Bucks South (9-1 overall, 6-0 division) snapped a 2-2 deadlock with a seven-run seventh, capped by Morgan Decker's three-run homer, and dealt the host Hatters their first loss, 9-2. Lauren Klepchick's two-out, RBI single in the sixth inning allowed the Titans to tie the score, 2-2. In the seventh, Decker's home run followed Jae Epstein's two-run hit that provided a 4-2 lead over the Hatters (9-1, 5-1)