Winning day for fans

The hot dogs are cooking on the old-fashioned grill and the pitchers are full of Bloody Marys. Tunes by the Temptations and other golden oldies serve as the background music.

It’s the traditional Thanksgiving Day gathering of Southeast Catholic and Bishop Neumann alumni. This year’s meeting comes with added poignancy since St. John Neumann is on the brink of yet another name change.

Next fall, Neumann will merge with St. Maria Goretti to become a coed high school.

But on the field at 11th and Bigler last Thursday, it seemed as if not much had changed. Longtime friends were laughing, smiling and sharing stories.

Neumann’s Millay Club president Ed McBride (’55) confirmed the gathering is about more than just watching a football game.

"The guys come back to see the game and see the team, but it’s almost like a full reunion of guys coming here to see people they don’t see the whole year," said McBride, a member of the last Southeast Catholic class.

Neumann held a Wednesday-morning pep rally to pump up the players, and at practice, they were a little more focused on winning their final game as the Pirates (next year’s team will be known as the Saints to reflect the merger). Neumann now holds a commanding 49-18-3 lead in the series, and hasn’t lost since the 1989 season.

"The kids were excited about what we were going to do and all the different events we were celebrating," said Neumann’s president, the Rev. Michael Olivere. "At the same time, kids don’t express emotions as readily as adults, but I think they were definitely feeling what the rest of us were feeling."

The Southern supporters, a much smaller group, were more concerned about trying to clinch a win — their first of the season. The players displayed plenty of heart by keeping the Pirates scoreless until the 9:15 mark of the second quarter. Proud mother Bridgette Bennett, dressed in son Lamone Fox’s number 25 jersey and a goofy hat, provided the loudest cheers.

"I wish there were a lot more parents out here supporting each and every one of them," Bennett said, while paying close attention to her son’s every move. "I don’t feel too bad because I am here for all of them."

The group included a reunion of former Southern players from the 1983-86 football teams. Ken Hellings and Michael Campbell, who both grew up at Fifth and Shunk, look forward to Thanksgiving Day because it’s usually the one time all year they see each other.

"On Thanksgiving morning, I either call his mom and get his number or he calls mine and we get together every year," Campbell said.

Hellings makes the hour-plus drive from Toms River, N.J. The ’85 grad said attending the game instead of the Philadelphia Thanksgiving Day Parade with his wife and kids cost him his marriage.

"I have to come," he said. "If I was in California, I would get on a plane and come."

Southern junior Amir Ryan provided his team’s highlight by catching the first touchdown and interception of his high-school career.

"I enjoyed it a whole lot," Ryan said. "I wish the seniors could’ve left on a better note with a win."

Neumann senior Richard McMickens had a fine send-off with a game-high 140 rushing yards, three touchdowns and an interception.

"I think I will remember this game because it’s the last St. John Neumann class and I am a senior, so I’ve got to remember this one," he said.

The Southern and Neumann supporters plan on being back next Thanksgiving to watch the next incarnation of this neighborhood rivalry — the Neumann-Goretti Saints vs. the Southern Rams.

"We said last year that we will always have the game, even if we have to come and have a flag football game between the alumni, we will still have this get-together," McBride said. "Neumann-Southern is a tradition we don’t want to go away with the move."