The Daily Journal from Vineland, New Jersey • 20

C4 Monday, November 20, 2000 www.thedailyjournal.com The Daily Journal SPORTS Thomason etching a role with Eagles By JOHN Di CARLO Staff Writer 1994 season, Thomason latched on with Green Bay, only to be cut just three days later. He spent the entire 94 season out of the league and sold environmental products in Boulder, Colo. He wondered if his NFL career was over. "I was making pennies, just barely getting by," he said. Thomason again signed with Green Bay just after the 1994 season and spent five seasons with current Eagles head coach Andy Reid as his position coach in '95 and '96.

He came to Philadelphia in March when the Eagles sent backup tight end Kaseem Sinceno to Green Bay. Now Thomason has found a home. He's found a role, a niche, it seems. He doesn't worry about having a job. He just catches touchdowns.

"Tillman was draped all over him on that play today, and Jeff just kept fighting," Lewis said. "He's making great plays for us." Chmura. But of Thomason's seven catches this season, four have been in the end zona He scored the first points of the season on a 1-yard touchdown catch in the 41-14 blowout win at Dallas. Last week in Pittsburgh, his second quarter scoring grab ended the Steelers' 21 consecutive quarters without allowing a touchdown. The four touchdowns are a career high for Thomason and tie him for the team lead with wideaut Charles Johnson.

They've all come on one particular play, which starts with a play fake to the running back and Thomason at the line of scrimmage as a blocker. Then the 6-foot-5, 255-pound veteran comes off his block and pops into the end zone before snaring McNabb's pass. That's how it went down Sunday, with McNabb faking a handoff to tailback Darnell Autry. Cardinals safety Pat Tillman bit on the fake and did his best to drape himself along the back of Thomason once he realized he was beat on the play. Thomason hauled in the pass anyway and rejoiced with his patented "Flying celebration, with arms outstretched to each side of his body.

Tm just fortunate," he said, "that they put me in on the goal-line That is Thomason. He credits the play more than he does himself. He says it's a play that made better players of Jackson and Chmura. Even now, when the time would be ripe to do so, Thomason doesn't like to talk about himself all that much. Why? Perhaps because his eight-year career has taught him humility, taught him to be thankful for simply being on the field on Sundays.

Signed as an undrafted rookie free agent out of Oregon in 1992 by Cincinnati, Thomason spent two, uneventful years with the Bengals. After he was released that July, prior to the Hjl v-- PHILADELPHIA -Remember when former Eagles coach Buddy Ryan offered up his famous quote about ex-Eagle receiver Cris Carter, when the fiery old man said all the current Minnesota Vikings star did was catch touchdowns? The same might be said of Eagles tight end Jeff Thomason. Thomason caught a 1-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Donovan McNabb in the first quarter Sunday afternoon. The score gave the Birds a 10-3 lead and sent them on their way to a 34-9 win over Arizona and first place in the NFC East Thomasoa, a career backup in his seven previous NFL seasons, is playing the same role this year in Philadelphia He's backing up Chad Lewis. It's nothing new, really.

He fought for playing time in his five seasons in Green Bay playing behind Keith Jackson and Mark APLaserphoto Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb (5) eludes a Cardinals tackle en route to the end zone Sunday at the Vet. Senior leadership keeps Seminoles in BCS hunt i i I rrV -V JtyjTlWr1hl In Florida State quarterback Chris Weinke (16) celebrates a touchdown gama "You really got the feeling they would take it in their hands and not let us lose." After Weinke and Minnis answered Florida's only score with a touchdown bomb four plays later in the first quarter, deciding and not people, because peoples' minds change. The computer was fed the guidelines before the year." What's helping Florida State is lopsided scores in 10 of its 11 victories. The Seminoles also are getting help from their schedule, where it's possible that five opponents (Louisville, Georgia Tech, Miami, Clemson and Florida) will finish nationally ranked. "I feel like if we didn't do enough or weren't convincing enough with this win over Florida, then nothing is," said Allea "I'd be so shocked if we didn't get ia" Said Weinke: "This is the best football team in the country right now." And Weinke can lay claim to being the best player in the country.

With a horde of national media watching, he stated his case for the Heisman Trophy, becoming the first Florida State quarterback to pass for 4,000 yards in a seasoa His 353-yard, three touchdown, two interception effort came a day after being hospitalized for flu symptoms and requiring IV tubes inserted in his arms. a tackle for the final 2 yards. He threw an air ball as he tried to celebrate the touchdown by shooting the football free-throw style over the goal post "It was very windy out there," McNabb joked "I have to blame something." Philadelphia, which hadn't won its eighth game this early in the season since 1995, is seeking its first playoff berth in four years. many more chances. Cumberland dominated from then on, collecting a 6-1 advantage in corners, and a 11-1 edge in shots.

The Blue Streaks didn't register their only shot until the last 30 seconds of play. "We played at desperation at the end," Warren Hills coach Laurie Kerr. "It was a little too little, too late. We didn't play with any intensity the entire game If you expect to win the game in the last two minutes, you're not going to do it against a team that is this good, with this caliber of play." This was Cumberland's first appearance in the state title game since 1985. Moorestown 314 73-27 Scoring: First quarter Mack 8 run (Cervino kick) 7:35 Wisnosky 18 field goal 2:47 Second quarter DiFilipo 6 pass from Thompson (Wisnosky kick) 4:44 Thompson 2 run (Wisnosky kick) :25 Third quarter Young 10 pass from Thompson (Wisnosky kick) 4:03 Fourth quarter Wisnosky 30 field goal 10:06 Individual statistics Rushing: B-Maxwell 12-96, Mack 10-24, Shaughnessy 3-6, Cirino 3-0; M-Young 21-212, Thompson 18-135, TD, Ketchel 2-10, Hadden 6-7, Dannheim Passing: B-Shaughnessy 6-10-2, 46 yds; M-Thompson 4-5-0, 81 2 TD.

Receiving: B-Mack 3-13, Cifaloglio 2 24, Maxwell 1-9; M-Young 3-75, TD, DiFilipo 1-6, TD. admiring his defensive teammates. "When they get so focussed like that it's an amazing thing to watch. "The big deal around here is traditioa Anytime you have to end a career in this stadium against a Florida team, there is pressure to perform. What a finish." Finishing the regular season with an exclamation, the Seminoles now await their postseason fate.

Some of the mystery begins to solve Monday when the Bowl Championship Series standings are released. The Seminoles (11-1), who remained No. 3 in both polls (Associated Press, USA TODAY-ESPN), but gained ground on Miami, are expected to releap the Hurricanes for No. 2 in the all-decisive BCS rankings. At issue will be the point differential and whether the Seminoles can hang on to qualify for the national title game in the Orange Bowl.

The final BCS standings are Dec. 3. "(That) computer better not betray me," said Bowden, jokingly. "It might not pick us again. I think we're deserving, but at least it's a computer Eagles FromCl trol with a long scoring drive to open the second half.

McNabb's 7-yard TD run made it 17-3, and capped a 15-play, 65-yard drive that consumed 832. McNabb scrambled nearly 25 yards to get the touchdown, lowering his shoulder and breaking Colts From CI out how to play on the artificial turf of Lions Stadium. Midway through the second half, the Colts had control of the game's pace, threading short passes in the midfield and keeping the ball in Warren Hills' defensive end. Both teams found chances few and far between. Warren Hills (17-5-1) earned the first penalty corner just under four minutes into the game Trisha Toepfer fanned on a point-blank shot on Cumberland keeper Miranda Riley 30 seconds later.

The Blue Streaks wouldn't get nessy said, "the one thing I didn't really see them do was throw the bait I was a little bit worried about that because you wonder if they can do it or not It turns out they were able to do it today." And if you were wondering about Young? He's as good as advertised. The 5-9, 187-pound tailback carried 21 times for 212 yards he also caught three balls for 75 yards and now has L653 rushing yards on the seasoa He reeled off runs of 28, 17 and 50 yards, the latter of which set up Wisnosky for a 30-yard field goal that made it 27-7 with 10K)6toplay. Moorestown 27, Buena 7 Buena 7 0 0 0-7 By BILL VIL0NA Gannett News Service TALLAHASSEE, Fla The speech is repeated every Friday, usually the cue that Florida State coach Bobby Bowden is about to finish his pregame pep talk. "Seniors, you're not going to let us lose," Bowden says, as if a reminding of a mantra. "Most of the time, we hear it, but we're ready to get out of the meeting," said offensive tackle Char-ron Dorsey, one of the Seminoles' 25 seniors.

But this time, it really resonated. The finality hit like harsh reality. The performance 24 hours later left no doubt what those words meant Senior night became a coronation Saturday at Doak Campbell Stadium. The Seminoles turned to their elders and everywhere you looked, their convincing 30-7 victory over rival Florida was senior- related. Start with quarterback Chris Weinke's grit Or receiver Marvin "Snoop" Minnis' theatrics.

Or cornerback Tay Cody's determination. Or linebackers Brian Allen and Tommy Polley Delsea From a we are Personally, I give credit to the defense They stepped up." Hafiz' first fumble thwarted an apparent Crusader scoring drive deep in EHT territory. The second, at his own 19 with less than two minutes to go in the first half, allowed the Eagles to slice into the Crusader lead before halftime when Eagles fullback Neil Anderson scored from three yards out to make it 14-6 at intermissioa Egg Harbor (7-3) tied it after Matt Dickerson pounced on Delsea's third fumble of the game Taking over at the Crusader 25, the Eagles needed just four plays to reach paydirt as sophomore Korry Williams went nine yards untouched around right end. Pepper hit Cortez Nelson with the two-point conversion to knot the game at 14-14 with 757 left in the third quarter. Hafiz and Elie ripped off runs of 18 and 24 yards, respectively, moving the Crusaders into field goal range with two minutes remaining.

Buena From a regular basis. Quakers quarterback Mark Thompson had a hand in every one of his team's touchdowns he threw for two and rushed for another and Moorestown racked up 359 yards of total offense en route to a 27-7 rout of Buena The Quakers (9-1) are off to the Group II title game and will take on Cape-Atlantic League National Division champion Hammonton, the team Buena so desperately wanted to beat for a South Jersey title The Chiefs (641instead will conclude their season Friday against St Augustine in their each providing emotional lifts. "I can't remember a team where I felt like the seniors were in charge as well as this group of seniors were," said Bowden, his face still aglow Sunday as he reviewed the Boland, a junior who entered the game 31-of-31 on extra points and 3-of-5 on field goal attempts, hooked his 26-yard attempt and wasn't sure if it would get between the uprights. "It was close. My heart stopped.

Those were the longest five seconds of my life," Boland said after watching the official pause before signaling the kick was good. "I was so scared he was going to call it no good." Delsea coach Sal Marchese didn't think twice about putting Boland on the spot "I can't say enough about these kids," the third-year coach said. "I thought we dominated the first half and should have had a 21-0 lead. I was concerned when it was 14-6. "A lesser group of kids could have folded.

This team has a tremendous amount of heart" Delsea's Elie, Brett Kammer, Leon Walker, and freshman Greg Wynne helped contain the Eagles' speedy corps of running backs. EHT ran 43 times and averaged just over three yards per carry. Delsea 17, Egg Harbor Twp. 14 4 APLaserphoto pass Saturday night. the Seminoles regained the lead and never lost control.

Their defense played exceptional, stuffing everything Florida offered. "Unbelievable," said Seminoles' center Jarad Moon, nn. mui, jii mi i mum- Rushing: D-Assad Hafiz 26-1 22, Darnell Elie 7-31, Mike Ruppert 4-13, Johnnie Jones 3-0; EHT-Neil Anderson 24-68, Korry Williams 8-21, Cortez Nelson 3-1 7, Terrance Tolbert 3-12, Ismail Abdus-samad 4-2, Louis Pepper 1-14, Passing: D-Mark Kargman 3-4-1, 85 yards, Darnell Elie 1 -1 -0, 28 yards; EHT-Louis Pepper 1 1 -1 8-2, 1 06 yards. Receiving: D- James Stevenson 2-69, Justin Bozeman 1-16, Mike Ruppert 1-28; EHT-Jason Vazquez 7-91 J.R Curry 1-8, Miguel Cruz 1-2, Korry Williams 1-2, Cortez Nelson 1-3. had not allowed a point in the first quarter all season, the Chiefs went 77 yards on nine plays, capping the drive with Andrew Mack's 8-yard scoring rua With the Quakers trailing, 7-3, Thompson connected with a wide open Paul Difilipo in the corner of the end zone for a 6-yard scoring pass that put Moorestown ahead to stay at the 4:44 mark of the second quarter.

Later on, with 4.03 left in the third quarter, Thompson connected with Young on a 10-yard scoring strike, and the Matt Wisnosky extra point upped the lead to 24-7. "When I came to watch them play against Collingswood last weekend (in Moorestown's first round playoff game)," Shaugh rail ir jjiTiiarrif mi Wii unri a. 1 1 Staff photoCharles Olson Delsea's Assad Hafiz (30) scores on a 3-yard touchdown run in Saturday's Group III sectional semifinal win at Williamstown. EHT 0680-14 Delsea 7703-17 First quarter D-Assad Hafiz 42 run (Brock Boland kick) Second quarter D-Hafiz 3 run (Boland kick) E-Neil Anderson 3 run (kick failed) Third quarter E-Korry Williams 9 run (Cortez Nelson pass from Louis Pepper) Fourth quarter D-FG, Boland 26. Individual statistics a great game plan, and we just never got things together," Chiefs coach George Maxwell said.

"We were only down 10 (17-7) at the half, and I told the guys we were able to come back against West Deptford (in the first round.) We needed opportunities in the second half, but we just didn't get them." Thompson was nearly flawless in engineering Moorestown's offense. The 6-foot-2, 185-pound senior completed 4-of-5 passes for 81 yards and the two TDs, but he was even more dangerous on the ground, churning out 135 yards on 18 carries. Buena never found a way to bottle up the energy it generated on its first possessioa Moving the ball at will on a team that pseudo Thanksgiving game "To end your season like that in a game that's not in the playoffs? Yeah, it's not how I pictured my senior season to be," Chiefs quarterback Steve Shaughnessy said. "But it'll be our last game, the last game for all the seniors. It just won't be the last game we we're hoping to play." Nothing on Saturday really worked out as Buena would have hoped.

After scoring on their opening drive, the Chiefs never threatened agaia By the time they got into the red zone again inside the Moorestown 20-yard line the Quakers had a 27-7 lead and were about to pick Shaughnessy off for the second time before running out the clock. "What can you say? They had.