CAPA upstaged

Diana Surma told herself she wasn’t going to cry Tuesday afternoon. The senior at the High School for the Creative and Performing Arts expected to face a wave of emotions as her volleyball team played for the Public League championship. But when Masterman — the only team to defeat the CAPA Pegasus during the regular season — took the 3-1 victory, Surma just couldn’t hold back the tears.

"I am more sad that I can’t play than the fact that we lost," the middle hitter said, as teammates provided hugs on the Community College of Philadelphia court. "I want to thank [coach Rick] Shields. I owe him everything in the world. He was the heart and soul of the team."

Surma was one of two seniors on a very young CAPA roster that included two juniors, four sophomores and two freshmen. Masterman, on the other hand, had 10 seniors and an arsenal of championship titles — this year’s was the team’s fifth since 1997 and 10th overall.

But CAPA didn’t let its inexperience get in the way. After losing the first game 17-25, the Pegasus came back to build a 24-14 lead and win the second game 25-20. That tied the match 1-1, prompting the squad’s talented fans to put on a sideline break-dancing show.

The third game was a real tug of war as CAPA built an early 8-3 lead, only to see Masterman come back and tie the game and later make the score 18-22. It was then the Pegasus’ turn to tie the game at 25, but Masterman scored again to win 25-27. The fourth and final game also went to Masterman, 17-25.

Despite the loss, Shields praised his team’s wholehearted effort.

"It was wonderful. It was terrific," he said. "We have four sophomores and a junior with 12 games’ experience. I couldn’t believe we stayed that close to that team."

The 11-2 Pegasus advanced to the title match by beating defending champion Kensington in last Thursday’s semifinal contest, while undefeated Masterman knocked off Central. CAPA, who finished second with a 9-1 record, suffered its only regular-season loss to first-place Masterman. The Pegasus has advanced to at least the Public League semifinals in each of the last four seasons. The trip to the championship game is the second in school history — the first was in 2001. That contest also ended in a 3-1 loss to Masterman.

Senior outside hitter Felicia Reilly entered Tuesday’s game confident that she and her teammates — who all wore white and blue ribbons in their hair — would make history by winning the program’s first title.

When Masterman proved too mighty to beat, Reilly was absolutely crushed. She sat alone against the bleachers until teammates, friends, her coach and a reporter came over to console her.

"It’s not fair," the athlete said as the tears flowed down her face. "I’ve worked my a– off for four years and it comes down to one day. It breaks your heart. It’s not fair."

Although Reilly and Surma are graduating, the outlook is still bright for the team. The younger players already have proved they can hold their own against the city’s elite squads.

"I’ll be here next year when these girls get to the championship," Surma said.

Thanksgiving is approaching, which means the St. John Neumann Pirates are preparing to butt heads with the Southern Rams.

But the traditional game is taking a backseat to tomorrow night’s semifinal contest against Blue Division regular-season champ Archbishop Wood. The game will kick off at 7 p.m. at Northeast High, with the winner earning a spot in the Dec. 6 championship game against the victor of tomorrow night’s other semifinal match between defending champ Archbishop Carroll and West Catholic.

The Pirates, who finished fourth in Blue Division play with a 5-3 record, will try to be the first team to defeat Wood, who enters the contest with an 8-0 record, and has limited opponents to a league-best 5.25 points per game. Neumann also has had an impressive season, with an offensive attack that is averaging more than 25 points per game.

The Pirates will be looking to avenge a 17-7 regular-season loss to Wood in which they had a 7-0 lead with two minutes remaining in the third quarter.

"The kids feel they can beat them," Neumann coach Ed "Bubby" DiCamillo said.

The key will be protecting senior quarterback Jon Brady, who was sacked six times in the last meeting. Neumann also will need to contain Wood sophomore running back Bryan McCartney, who enters the contest with more than 1,200 rushing yards and 12 touchdowns. Against the Pirates, he racked up 178 yards and two touchdowns, 68 of which came during a fourth-quarter touchdown run. The local squad also wants to keep Wood out of field-goal range, as its kicker, senior Tom Laurich, has the most accurate foot in the league.

"Hopefully, things will go in our favor," DiCamillo said. "We’ve been a bridesmaid so many times."

The Bok football team will close its season today at 2:30 p.m. when it hosts Mastbaum. The Wildcats would prefer to be playing in Saturday’s Public League semifinals, but those hopes came to a halt in Friday’s 21-6 loss to Washington. Senior running back Cedric Green scored Bok’s only touchdown with 3:51 left in regulation. Despite the loss, it was another solid season for the Division D champion Wildcats, who enter the game with a 5-0 league record and 6-2 overall mark.

The Southern and Furness soccer teams made the Public League playoffs, but both squads were eliminated in Monday’s opening-round games. Furness lost 7-1 to Central, while Fels knocked out Southern, 2-1.