Courier-Post from Camden, New Jersey • Page 91

HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL CHAMPIONSHIPS Too many Chief and not enough Indians Cherokee takes Group 4 crown with victory over Pennsauken i if I ilir 'Xi4 Jiff A ft, vV 3 32yards and some bruisingruns by Bill Rogers and Maki. Late in the second quarter, Pennsauken put its second sustained drive together, moving from its 36 to Cherokee's 23 before a fourth-and-seven pass from Carducci went incomplete as Mehigan supplied tremendous pressure. During the drive, an interception by Rick Kropinski was nullified by a personal foul. Three turnovers marked the last three series Collins stripped Horner of the ball in a passing situation with Greg Selverian recovering; Carducci was intercepted by Chris Ilconich on a ourth-and-47 in a series that started at Cherokee's 20 following the fumble and quickly went in reverse on an illegal block, incomplete pass, offensive pass interference and a seven-yard sack by Catullo with help from Mehigan and Barbagiovanni; and an interception by Tim Phillips off Horner on the final play of the first half. Untimely penalties did as much damage to Cherokee in the second half as Pennsauken's outstanding defensive effort led by nose guard Selverian, ends Collins and Craig Jackson, linebackers Tom Gibson and Nap Robertson and corner Dave Kuczy-kowski.

An illegal block wiped out another TD pass to Pitchko, one that would have tied Horner for the most touchdown passes in a season and tied Pitchko for TD receptions in a season. But Cherokee finally put the lid on when Maki capped a seven-play, 42-yard drive with a two-yard run behind the blocks of Mehigan and Pete Zeuli on the line as he followed lead blocker Scott Goehringer out of the backfield with 3:56 left in the game. SIDELINES Cherokee finished with 14 first downs, 154 net yards on the ground and a 12-for-16 passing effort for 127 yards by Horner. Maki rushed 1 3 times or 42 yard Rogers 1 5 for 59 and Goehringer four for 56 Pennsauken had a net total of 107 yards and nine first downs. McNair rushed 17 times for 51 yards, Mark Lovallo seven for 31 and Selverian four for 19.

Carducci was 3-for-13 for 30 yards and was sacked five times. ByJOHN VOGEDING Of the Courier-Post MARLTON Quarterback Kyle Horner threw for one touchdown to Dave Pitchko and Shaun Maki ran for another as Cherokee High School completed an 11-0 season with a 14-0 victory over defending champion Pennsauken in the Group 4 championship game before a crowd of over 5,000 fans here yesterday. "A lot of people felt we couldn't win the Group 4 title. I think we've laid that story to rest," said Cherokee coach Jim Horner, whose team is No. 2 in the Top Ten Poll.

This group of seniors lost 7-6 to Brick (in the semifinals) as sophomores and made it to the finals last year before losing to Pennsauken. I think they overcame a lot of adversity in accomplishing their final goal. The adversity started three weeks ago when Horner's son Kyle suffered a collapsed lung the morning of the Kennedy game. He hadn't played a down since. In fact, Wednesday was his first day in pads since that time.

But coach Horner didn't want to dwell on what happened to his son. "The Kyle Horner story is over. His being able to play was great," said the coach. "But our team played a ired-up clubcomingoffagamethatreallyhurt their coach. The only way they could remove that hurt was with a superlative effort.

And they did just that." Horner was alluding to the fact Pennsauken coach Vince McAneney benched 19 players, includingsixstart-ers, against Bishop Eustace in its last game. Pennsauken lost, 28-0. "We went into the game wanting a shutout and to score three ourselves," said coach Horner. "We did that (one TD was nullified on a penalty). I couldn'thaveaskedforagreatereffort especially on defense." The coach's assessment was accurate.

It looked at times in the first half like Pennsauken was one good play away from scoring. But a ired-up unit led by linemen Mark McKenna, John Mehigan, Joe Barbagiovanni and Jim Catullo and punctuated by the play of backers Rob Jones, Joe Quinn and Greg Harvey bent but never broke, SJ. GROUP 4 FINAL then was even more dazzling in the second half. Final stats revealed that Cherokee's defense allowed just two first downsandanetyardagegainof 29 yards in the second half. "Maybe they've been a little underrated all year," said Horner proudly.

"McKenna, Mehigan what more could I ask? The intensity they played with is championship caliber. And that's a tribute to John Gambone, our defensive coordinator. It was strictly in his hands today." McAneney said he couldn't have asked for a better effort "The kids played great -1 couldn't ask for anything more," said McAneney, whose team finished 8-3 and is No. 7 in the poll. "We were surprised to be here.

I can't say enough about the 11 seniors who played and we' ve got 1 4-1 5 guys back who played today. "We just don't play too great in the little legs. It was hard for him to get traction he's definitely not a mud-der. We're not a great football team, but we came a long way." McAneney said it didn't surprise him to see Kyle Horner start the game. "That didn't bother us.

In fact, we were more concerned with stopping the off-tackle play, the running game, then we were with the passing game. We felt we had to stop Maki. We keyed on their guards a couple times we just didn't stay home." Pennsauken presented the first threat, going from its own 32, after Scott McNair intercepted Horner's first pass attempt, to Cherokee's 15 before a 12-play drive stalled. On fourth-and-14, Orville Collins tried a 33-yard field goal that was short. The Indians made only one sustained drive into Cherokee territory the rest of the game.

Cherokee followed the missed field goal with an 80-yard drive in 11 plays that ended with Horner hitting Pitchko on a 10-yard fade pass for a touchdown at 11:55 of the second quarter. John O'Neill was perfect on the first of two placements for a 7-0 lead. The drive featured 4-f or-5 passing by Horner for Courier-Post photo by Frank Saia Big Chief returns Cherokee High School quarterback Kyle championship game at Cherokee. Horner, Horner throws over Pennsauken defenders playing for the first time since suffering a Andre Carter (left) and Orville Collins in collapsed lung three weeks ago, guided yesterday's South Jersey Group 4 football the Chiefs to a 14-0 victory. For Cherokee's Kyle Horner, a triumphant conclusion played all that bad.

I wasn't in pads until Wednesday, and that was the last day we went in pads." Did it bother him to see the touchdown pass that would've tied the record wiped out by the penalty? "That would've been nice, but what's more important is winning the title -knowing we are Group 4 champions." Young Horner politely fielded probing questions about his health, overcoming the epilepsy he suffered as a youngster, the nagging injuries he suffered this year. He blacked out momentarily just after the game. "It had nothing to do with my lungs. Two plays before the end, I got crushed by a linebacker. I was a little dazed." The decision to play was a family being able to play in the championship game and winning it.

"I just had the desire to be the best I can," said the quarterback, who certainly will be courted by many major colleges before it's all over. "My dad's always been a winner. I waited my turn. Dave and Charley (Dragum) -1 worked with them all summer. They have contributed more to the team than I could have asked.

And the linemen they did a great job. Pennsauken was really bringing a lot at us." Kyle said Pennsauken did things he didn't expect, but nothing he hadn't seen before. He said it took him a little time to get warmed up, that's why the offense looked sluggish at the start. "I lost 14 pounds in the hospital and put about five back. I don't think I Horner not only started the game he finished it.

His stats 12-for-16 for 127 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions enabled him to complete the year an impressive 111-for-1 54 for 1 ,429 yards, 22 touchdowns and four interceptions. His touchdown pass to Dave Pitchko was evidence of the hours the two worked together on timing. He dropped back, looked left while Pitchko made a move, then fired a strike. "It was a 73 fade," said Pitchko. "I'm the primary receiver.

I was surprised it worked because it was to the short side of the field and I had to drag a little deeper the way my man was playing me. But it was perfect." Perfection. Kyle Horner wasn't perfect yesterday, but darn close. "The soggy field didn't help," said Jim Horner, Kyle's father and the Cherokee coach. "That and the Pennsauken defense.

They were firing two guys in a gap sometimes so we had to go more to a rollout. Kyle just isn't as strong as he was a couple weeks ago. He was okay on the short routes, but going long was a little more difficult. When you roll and ha ve bad field conditions, you can't get set up right" Kyle said the first interception by Scott McNair was his fault. His father said not being able to set up hurt and that McNair made a great play.

What tickled Kyle Horner more than the TD pass to Pitchko that left both players one short of tying existing records for TD passes and receptions, was By JOHN VOGEDING Of the Courier-Post MARLTON Years of watching from the sidelines, going over simulated game situations at home, waiting his turn as he came up through the ranks all soared through Kyle Horner's head the last few weeks. The gifted Cherokee High School quarterback was thrown for the biggest loss in his high school career when he got upout of bed three weeks ago and was rushed to the hospital with a collapsed lung. The immediate prognosis: No more football this year. Yesterday, wearing a flak jacket that he said was standard equipment since he suffered separated ribs in the Holy Cross game earlier in the season, Doctor's prescription gives Bishop Ahr championship matter. Jim said he arrived at his decision ater a prayer session Sunday night.

"I was searching for an answer, spiritially and mentally," said the coach. "Next day a friend called from Temple, had me take Kyle to a specialist. He explained all the possibilities and then said if he were Kyle he'd play Kyle already knew that. He deserved his shot. He worked hard to get here.

I'm thankful it turned out okay." Moments after the game, Horner addressed his squad, joined in their glory of winning. He thanked his coaches and players. Then asked for two things: "From the bottom of my heart I mean this. Use wisdom in your celebration, be a winner with class. And go to church tomorrow." "The touchdown play was called by Brian Pierce," said Byrnes.

"We had a running play called and Brian saw something that made him audible. It was a heads-up decision on his part." Holy Spirit came out on the first drive of the second half intent on putting the game out of reach. Taking the kickoff the Spartans used 16 plays and 7:12 moving the ball from their own 24 to the Trojan 12. But, on fourth-and-four, Pierce's pass intended for Dye was picked off by Aaron Veres on the eight-yard line, halting the drive. As in the first half, defense was the tone-setter for the balance of the third period and into the final stanza.

Veres, who recorded two interceptions, Mike McGoldrick, Luke Buza and Mike Burns took turns shutting down Holy Spirit. Jeff lannotti, John Connors, Charlie Roman and Joe Russo continually came up big for the Spartans. Russo, a senior linebacker, had 14 tackles and played an exceptionally fine, all-around defensive game. After a sack by Bishop Ahr's Adam DiPaulo ended a Spartan drive on the Ahr 28, the Trojans struck for the decisive touchdown. Two passes and a personal foul against Holy Spirit moved the ball to theSpartan 48-yard line.

There, on sec-ond-and-12, quarterback Joe Holo-boski hit Doctor out of the backfield and the speedy running back shook off a oefender at the 25 and sprinted down the right sideline into the end zone. it 'v 7 By LEE WAGNER Of the Courier-Post ABSECON Junior running back Mike Doctor's 48-yard touchdown reception with 9:32 left led defending champion Bishop Ahr to a hard-fought 10-6 win over Holy Spirit here yesterday as the Trojans captured the South Jersey Parochial A championship. Doctor's reception brought Bishop Ahr (9-2)back from 6-3 half time deficit in a game that featured hard-hitting defense on the part of both squads. And, as Trojan coach Tony Aschet-tino noted, it was his defense that got them here in the first place. "The defense has been doing this all year long," said Aschettino.

"We bend, but we don't break. These kids really came of age today." No single item points out the success of the Trojans' defense as much as the success of the defensive backfield. The Ahr defenders picked off five Holy Spirit passes, several when the Spartans were knocking at the end zone door. But the loss shouldn't take away from the success of the Holy Spirit defensrve unit, as the Spartan defenders held the Bishop Ahr running game to just 10 yards on 26 carries and, except for the 48-yard touchdown reception, kept the vaunted Trojan passing game at bay. "We'vecomea long way through a lot S.J.

GROUP 4 FINAL of tough games to get here," said Spartan coach Ed Byrnes. "This is a tough loss, but our kids will be back. I couldn't be more proud of these players." Bishop Ahr drew first blood on its opening possession as the Trojans mounted a 1 2-play drive, with quarterback Brian Pierce completing three passes for 48 yards as Ahr moved to the Spartan 18. Holy Spirit's defense rose to the occasion and, faced with a fourth-and-eight on the 18, Aschettino opted for three points. Tom Withka made the coach's decision a correct one by drilling a 35-yard field goal out of Chris Farley's hold and Bishop Ahr led, 3-0.

The field goal was the 12th of the season for Withka, who had previously broken the state record of 10 Holy Spirit took the lead late in the first half after a Trojan punt from the 18-yard line traveled 28 yards and was returned by Charles Harvey to the Bishop Ahr 38. Senior fullback Jeff Dye (19 carries, 88 yards) picked up 12, five and 10 yards on three successive carries, moving the ball to the Trojan 1 l.There, on first-and-10, junior quarterback Brian Pierce found split end Kevin King on a slant-in for 11 yards and the touchdown with just 2: 19 remaining in the half. The conversion attempt was wide left, but the Spartans led, 6-3. fW.ntm vourwr-rmi pneno By frank Sail Too many Chiefs Pennsauken High School's Scott McNair yesterday's South Jersey Group 4 football is ambushed by Cherokee tacklers in championship game. Cherokee won, 14-0..