Bon Voyage, Pirates

It’s a historic day for the St. John Neumann football team: It’s the final time the St. John Neumann Pirates will play a football game at 11th and Bigler streets before the Saints come marching in.

Specifically, the St. John Neumann-St. Maria Goretti Saints. Come September, the consolidation of the two Catholic high schools will mean a new mascot, uniforms, team colors and many other adjustments.

But today, the Neumann players aren’t worried about what the future holds. They simply want to close out this chapter of their school’s Thanksgiving Day tradition with a victory. The Pirates have a 13-game winning streak in the annual contest, which includes a 2001 forfeit by Southern.

"There is more excitement this year than in the past because the school is closing and we want them to go out with a win," said coach Ed "Bubby" DiCamillo.

Neumann also wanted to go out with a Catholic League Blue Division championship. The Pirates made their second straight trip to the semifinals Friday night, but just like last year, they came up a touchdown short in a 13-7 loss.

This time, the game’s end incited a controversy between the teams. Undefeated Wood scored the winning touchdown with 24 seconds remaining. Was it really a touchdown?

DiCamillo, who was watching the game from the stands due to a knee injury, said it looked as if his team stopped Wood running back Mike Kruzits at the 14-yard line, but somehow Kruzits wound up in the end zone for the game-winning score. Add eight penalties for 54 yards, some of which were questionable, and the coach couldn’t help but express his puzzlement.

"It was very, very weird, and unfortunately it cost us a very important game," said DiCamillo, who diplomatically added: "It was a tremendous ballgame, and both teams should be complimented."

With their sole focus on the Thanksgiving Day contest, the Neumann players are feeling confident — and like a part of history.

The Pirates are 2-0 in Thanksgiving Day games that take place before a name change. Southeast Catholic toppled Southern 33-0 in 1954 before becoming Bishop Neumann in 1955. In 1977, Bishop Neumann defeated Southern 9-7 and changed its name to St. John Neumann the following season.

Team: St. John Neumann Pirates
Record: 5-4
Head coach: Ed "Bubby" DiCamillo

If Neumann’s past two games against the Southern Rams are any indication, don’t expect any controversy out of today’s contest. The Catholic League squad has outscored Southern 129-6 in their last two meetings.

The teams appear to be just as mismatched this year. The Rams are 0-9 and struggling to score even one touchdown a game. Neumann is averaging 23.5 points per game, while holding opponents to 14.6 points a contest.

Still, the Pirates are aware that overconfidence has hurt many a football team.

"It’s still competitive," said senior fullback Richard McMickens, who has 428 rushing yards on the season. "They still come to play us and we come to play them."

Since many of the players are friends off the field, the Neumann athletes actually feel for their opponents, who have long struggled to compete in the holiday tradition that dates back to 1934.

"They are going to keep improving and one of these years they are going to beat us," said senior Billy Canady, a Second Team All-Catholic defensive back.

Canady is one of the Pirates’ top offensive threats, leading the team with 507 rushing yards, 271 receiving yards and 94 points.

The backfield trio of Canady, McMickens and senior fullback Frank Baldino has combined for more than 1,000 yards this season.

Neumann also has a strong passing game, led by senior quarterback Jon Brady, a First Team All-Catholic. He enters today’s contest with 816 passing yards and nine touchdowns — stats that rank him among the city leaders. His favorite target is junior wide receiver Antoine Stout, who has eight catches for 257 yards and two touchdowns.

The Pirates’ success this season has started with blocking and protection up front, led by junior offensive-defensive lineman Marques Slocum, 6-foot-3, 315 pounds. Slocum earned First Team All-Catholic honors on both sides of the ball.

Today, the squad’s many individual accomplishments will be set aside for the team goal of maintaining the Thanksgiving win streak. DiCamillo plans to continue his annual practice of making sure all his players see action.

"We want everybody to play and take the field," the coach said. "Last year, we cleared the bench by halftime."

The coach has participated in his share of Thanksgiving Day games as a player, coach and athletic director. Having lost to Southern his senior year, he does his best to make sure his seniors don’t leave Neumann with the same disappointment, especially this season.

Team: South Philadelphia High Rams
Coach: Bill Edger
Record: 0-9

Don’t let the winless record fool you. The Rams believe today marks a fresh start.

The players could’ve easily quit on their coach and told him to cancel the Thanksgiving game. They didn’t.

The athletes could’ve easily arrived at Monday’s practice completely dejected because they haven’t won a game all year. They didn’t do that, either.

Instead, the Rams were upbeat and focused on staying competitive with their neighborhood rival. Senior fullback-linebacker Gerald Terry, who is participating in his third Neumann-Southern game, said it’s all about playing with passion.

"I just want to go out there and play my game," Terry said while getting ready for Monday’s practice. "We have to come out with heart. Even if we win or lose, we have to come out and show where our heart is."

That emotion brought the struggling team within four points of beating West Philadelphia last month. Even though the Southern offense has been shut out in four games this season, the squad still finds reasons for hope.

"Every time we score a touchdown, it really jacks up the team," Edger said. "They want to stay in the game and be competitive."

Throughout the season, people kept asking the coach whether the Neumann-Southern game was still on. The game hasn’t been close for several years, and lack of numbers and experience has hurt the Rams’ ability to challenge the Pirates. But Edger still sees plenty of reasons to continue.

"Just hearing people talk about what the game means and all the tradition that goes with it makes me realize that South Philly people still have feelings about the game," the coach said. "The people still enjoy going to the game."

For senior linebacker Shamir Kase, today’s game is about family bragging rights. His cousin Darryl Gillard is a starter for the Pirates, which creates quite a rivalry.

"I told him I am going to make some blocks and put some moves on him," said Kase, who added he was looking forward to playing in front of his family and friends.

Senior center-defensive tackle Dan Fields also associates a family tradition with playing Neumann on Thanksgiving Day. His cousins have played for Neumann, and some of his uncles played for Southern. This will be the first year that Fields participates in the Neumann-Southern game without his father in the stands — his dad died last month from complications of heart problems and diabetes. Fields hopes to make his father proud by putting forth his best effort.

"We haven’t won yet, but we still have one left to play," the athlete said. "Hopefully, the ball will bounce in our direction and everyone will come to play."

The Rams will need all 25 players to make strong contributions. Junior quarterback Jalil Harris, now with nine games under his belt, will lead the offense. He has passed for 490 yards and two touchdowns this season, which includes a season-high 129-yard performance against West Philadelphia. The Rams’ top offensive threat is tailback Lamone Fox, who has racked up a team-best 496 rushing yards and four touchdowns. Against Bartram, Fox rushed for 173 yards and two touchdowns to keep Southern in the game.

Junior defensive end Amir Ryan, who also plays basketball, is the vocal leader of Southern’s defense.

"He just comes up and hits people," Edger said. "He just really seems to charge the troops up."

If each athlete performs at his peak, the Rams will have a chance to make this year’s game a little more competitive.

Both teams held pep rallies yesterday to get their players pumped for another Neumann-Southern meeting — and the Pirates’ last Thanksgiving.

Neumann leads series, 48-18-3

The contests between the Neumann Pirates and the Southern Rams began way back in 1934, when the Public League team was dominant. Times have changed, though, as the Rams’ last win came in 1989. The Pirates could extend their winning streak to 14 with today’s game. Here’s a list of Neumann-Southern scores, from the first meeting to last year’s battle:

*Southeast Catholic changed its name to Bishop Neumann in 1955 and then to St. John Neumann in 1978.

Neumann’s starting lineup

OFFENSE

DEFENSE

Southern’s starting lineup

OFFENSE

DEFENSE