Basketball Teams Split; Hockey Dominates

The Bonner basketball team was in action Friday night against Archbishop Ryan. Unfortunately, they could not pull out a win, as the Friars lost to the Raiders by a score of 49-38. Keefer Francis scored a team high 10 points. Scott Slade and Jamal Melvin each had 8 points. Bonner falls to 5-11 (2-7).

Prendie was able to fare much better, as the rolled over West Catholic 56-28. Lindsay Cras led all scorers with 11 points. Prendie is now 12-6, and 7-2 in the league.

The Bonner hockey team destroyed Lansdale Catholic 10-0. The game did not make it past the 2nd period. More info later.

Bonner Wrestling Destroys St. Joe's Prep

The Bonner wrestling team took on St. Joe's Prep Wednesday night. It was their senior night, where they honored seniors Mike Murphy, Nick Bongard, Mickey France, and Luke Haley. The ceremony was followed by a outstanding match. Bonner owned the Hawks, and led 42-0 at one point. The Friars won the match 51-27. Nick Bongard pinned his opponent in 1:13 in the first round. Bonner also had pins by junior Marcus Collins, Mike Murphy, and Tommy Flynn. Mickey France also won his match 6 to 2 in three rounds.

From the Weekend That Was; Upcoming Week Schedule

A couple games went on over the weekend.

As you know, Bonner basketball defeated O'Hara Friday 53-42 (full report below, or on http://tedsilary.com/briannestelFB10.htm).

Prendie basketball fell to Ryan 55-25, and also lost a nail-biter to defending AAA state champion Mount St. Joseph on Sunday 47-46. The Magic hit a shot with four seconds left to force the game into overtime, where they would outlast the Pandas. Jenna Gassew had a team high 12 points for Prendie, who now falls to 9-5. Prendie was recently ranked 10th in the state at the AAA level according to the Patriot News. That will most likely change, but its a great honor. Meanwhile MSJ, the 8th ranked team in southeastern PA according to Philly.com, improves to 15-1.

Bonner hockey defeated Archbishop Wood to tighten their grip on the PCL Blue division lead with a win 7-3 (Stats below).

For the upcoming week:
Prendie basketball is in action as I type. They are taking on Neumann-Goretti at Prendie. They then take on Notre Dame two days later, and West Catholic Friday night. Both games are at Prendie.

Bonner basketball is home versus Archbishop Ryan. Tip off is set for 7:30.

The hockey team takes on the lowly Crusaders of Lansdale Catholic Friday at the Skatium.

Bonner Wrestling takes on St. Joe's Prep Wednesday night at 6pm in Bonner's gym.

Prendie Bowling takes on Hallahan tomorrow. They'll also face the Ragdolls from Archbishop Ryan on Friday after school.

Finally, the Bonner track team has a meet at 10 am Saturday at Glenn Mills.

Come out support the Bonner and Prendie sports teams.

Bonner Versus Prep Rescheduled for Monday

The Bonner basketball game scheduled for 2:30 Sunday at St. Joe's Prep has been postponed to 3:30 on Monday, January 25th. It will still be played at the Prep.

Bonner Hockey Takes First Place With Win Over Wood

Basketball wasn't the only sport being played on Friday night, as the Bonner hockey team traveled to Warminster for a big game against Archbishop Wood. With a win, Bonner would knock out the Vikings from clinching first place in the PCL Blue Division. They did just that, and in turn, move into first place with a 7-3 victory. Senior standout Dave Brewer recorded a hat trick. Juniors Billy Gregg, Corey Cahill, Dan Schwartzmen, and Dan Stone each tallied once for the Friars. Bonner leads Roman Catholic by 2 points for first place in the division. It should be interesting, as the two teams still have to play each other twice. But before that, there is still business to attend to. Bonner's next game will be on Friday, January 29th at the Skatium. The puck drops against the lowly Crusaders at 7:00pm.

PS. Big thanks to junior Matt Dolan for the info.

Big Second Half By Ragdolls Spells Prendie's Doom

The Prendie basketball team was in action Friday night as well as Bonner's. However, they didn't fare as well as the boys did, falling to Archbishop Ryan 55-25. A 14-12 first half lead by Ryan had all the signs of a defensive struggle in the second half. That was not the case. The Ragdolls offense exploded in the second half, scoring 22 in the third quarter, and 19 points in the fourth, while holding the Pandas to only 13 points in the half. Jess Koci led all scorers with 22 points. Ingrid Fitzgerald scored six for Prendie. Jess Rotella and Jenna Gassew also chipped in four points. With the loss, Prendie falls to 10-4 (7-2), while Ryan keeps rolling, improving to 11-4 (8-1). Prendie next takes on Neumann-Goretti on January 26th.

Bonner Hoops Continues Recent Dominance Over O'Hara

In the past couple seasons, Bonner has had much success against the Cardinal O'Hara basketball team. They have swept the Lions in each of the past three years in the regular season, and have won 13 of 15 games against them. They can make it 14 of 16. Bonner is halfway there to making it four straight season sweeps, as the Friars defeated O'Hara 53-42 in a very competitive rivalry game.
The early moments of the first quarter started off well for the green and white. They jumped out to leads of 5-2 and 9-4. However O'Hara was able to storm back and take a 14-11 lead late in the half. In the last seconds of the half, Joe McGinn drove to the basket and was fouled. He knocked down both free throws, cutting O'Hara's lead to 14-13 after one quarter. The second quarter was all Bonner. Key buckets by Jamal Melvin and Dan Vanderslice propelled the Friars to an early 7-0 run. At halftime, Bonner held a 27-21 lead.
Bonner continued to outplay the Lions in the third stanza. O'Hara started to inch back late in the quarter, but a key three pointer by Melvin ended any momentum the Lions gained. Bonner had a 38-30 lead at the end of three quarters of play. In the fourth, things got a little nerve racking for the Friars. Bonner's offense froze early in the last quarter of play. They couldn't buy a bucket. Meanwhile, one team's misfortune is the others opportunity. O'Hara took advantage of the missed chances by Bonner, and cut the lead to 38-35. Bonner was able to get off their scoring drought midway through the quarter, and took a 45-36 lead. Once again, O'Hara inched back, cutting the lead down to three. But Bonner was just too much. Strong defense from Vanderslice and Francis helped seal the win. Clutch free throw shooting helped as well, as Bonner was 13/16 from the line. McGinn hit four foul shots with under twenty seconds left in the game to clinch the victory. Jamal Melvin was 6 of 13 from the field, but was clutch when he had to be. O'Hara was just unable to stop the very quick and skilled point guard. He finished with a game high 17 points. Keefer Francis also had a big game, scoring 10 points, while blocking three shots. McGinn finished with 11 points, and Vanderslice finished with 7. For O'Hara, Anthony Bertolino, Dan Kearney, and Ryan Howarth each had 10 points in the loss.
With the win, Bonner improves to 5-9 overall, and 2-5 in the Catholic League. O'Hara meanwhile falls to 5-9 overall, and 1-5 in league play. Bonner looks to build off of this huge win against the neighborhood rival Lions into the second half of the season, and get back into the playoff mix. The quest begins Sunday against St. Joe's Prep. Prep beat Bonner earlier in the year 60-38, but the Friars are determined to earn a much better result. Tip off is set for 2:30 at the Prep.

Notes: Personally, I think the schedule-makers should just give Bonner two home games against O'Hara. Bonner's student rooters took over O'Hara's gym, and gave the feel of the game being played in the comfort of Bonner's gym. Things turned intense, when the surprisingly many O'Hara fans got up to try and make it a student section war midway through the second quarter. At half time, some O'Hara kids started dancing in front of Bonner's section, prompting some of the Bonner students to have a "dance-off" on the court. It was a very entertaining night for the many spectators watching, as they saw not only a tremendous game, but also a boisterous and entertaining Bonner crowd. On second thought, keep the one game at O'Hara. It's much more fun having the rival school's gym to ourselves (smile).

Elsewhere in the PCL Red Division: Father Judge beat Archbishop Ryan 42-40. LaSalle got by North Catholic 59-54. Roman Catholic held St. Joe's Prep to only 26 points, as the Cahillites won 39-26.
In the Blue Division: Neumann-Goretti dismantled Lansdale Catholic 82-41. The nationally ranked Saints stay undefeated in PCL play. Defending state champions Archbishop Carroll knocked off Conwell-Egan 53-29. Archbishop Wood beat Bishop McDevitt 70-48. Cardinal Dougherty defeated West Catholic 59-57.

Bonner Swimming Breezes by Lansdale; Prendie Slips

Jay McDevitt was victorious in the 200m and 500m freestyle, recording times of 1:54 and 5:09 respectively, as the Friar swim team defeated Lansdale Catholic 93-76. Christian Baxter won the 100m freestyle with a time of 54.15. The relay team of McDevitt, Baxter, brother Brian Baxter, and John Villare won the 200m freestyle relay with a time of 1:38. With the win, Bonner improves to 6-1 on the year.

Megan Callahan claimed first place in the 500m freestyle with a time of 6:23, but it was not enough as the Prendie swim team lost a close one to the Crusaders 77-74. Siena Oropolla won the 100m freestyle in 1:11, but it was not enough, as Prendie loses their fifth meet in a row.

Bonner Can't Continue Momentum, Falls To LaSalle

The Friars hoops squad had a big monkey off their back heading into Sunday's game versus LaSalle. They had just picked up their first Catholic League win of the year against North on Friday, and looked to ride that win into LaSalle's gym. It didn't go as planned. Keefer Francis scored 15 points for Bonner, but it was not enough, as the Explorers defeated the green and white 57-43. LaSalle hit 15 of their 21 free throw attempts, while Bonner hit only 4 of their 11. LaSalle's Eddie Mitchell led all scorers with 18 points, and Troy Hockaday had 14 of his own to propel LaSalle to victory. Bonner had three scorers in double digits. These include Francis, senior Jamal Melvin, who had 10 points, and junior Scott Slade, who pitched in 13. LaSalle improves to 10-3 (5-1). With the loss, Bonner falls to 4-8 (1-5). Up next for Bonner is a critical match-up versus arch-rival Cardinal O'Hara. O'Hara is 5-6 on the year, and 1-4 in the league. They'll come into the Bonner game either 2-4 or 1-5 on Friday, because they play North Monday night. This neighborhood rivalry game will be a great victory for the winner, as they'll be a step ahead on the other in the battle for positioning in the standings. The loser will be a step behind. The game will be played at O'Hara's gym on Friday, Januaray 22nd. Tip off is set for 7:30.

Notes: Two years ago in a game between Bonner and O'Hara, Bonner fans took over the whole gym. It was pretty much a home game for Bonner. Let's try and do the same thing this year and take over the whole place.

Elsewhere in the Catholic League: Roman Catholic dismantled North Catholic 81-53. St. Joe's Prep defeated Father Judge in a very low scoring game, 33-19. O'Hara travels to North Catholic Monday night at 7:30.

Prendie Falls to Undefeated Springfield (Delco)

The Prendie hoops team was 17 of 21 from the free throw line, and Jess Rotella tallied a team high 10 points, but it was not enough, as the Pandas fell to Springfield 35-30. Senior Jenna Gassew chipped in seven points, six of which came in the second quarter. Springfield's Maddy McKnight had a game high 11 points to lead the Cougars. With the loss, the Pandas fall to 10-3 on the year. Meanwhile Springfield remains undefeated, improving their record to to 14-0 on the year. Prendie returns to Catholic League play this Friday night, January 22nd, against Archbishop Ryan. The Ragdolls, Ryan's girls team nickname, are 9-3 on the year and are coming off a 45-39 loss to Eastern High School. Tip off is set for 7:30 Friday night at Archbishop Ryan.

Bonner Basketball Earns First League Victory

It took them five tries, but Bonner finally earned their first Catholic League win on Friday night with a 58-52 at the hands of visiting North Catholic. Senior point guard Jamal Melvin had a team high 14 points to lead Bonner past the Falcons. The small, but quick Melvin also had seven assists. Keefer Francis and Scott Slade also led the way to victory, scoring 12 and 11 points each respectively. North Catholic's Jaleel Mack led all scorers with 23 points. He nailed five from beyond the arc in the losing effort. Bonner had the lead at the end of each quarter, including the most important one, the fourth. With the win, Bonner improves to 4-8 overall, 1-4 in the Catholic League. The Falcons meanwhile fall to 4-7 (2-3). The green and white will have off Saturday before a big match up with LaSalle. The Explorers dismantled O'Hara Friday night 63-37. Bonner looks to ride this momentum into the game and get back into the playoff mix. Tip off is set for 2:30 pm at LaSalle.

Elsewhere in the Catholic League: St. Joe's Prep nipped Archbishop Ryan 41-38. Father Judge upset Roman Catholic 46-45. In the Blue Division, Carroll cruised by West Catholic 75-44. Conwell-Egan beat Archbishop Wood 49-41. Cardinal Dougherty defeated Lansdale Catholic by thirteen, winning by a score of 58-45.

Swimming: Bonner's swim team has been on a roll lately, winning their first four meets. It continued the other night with a 90-70 win over rival O'Hara. Jay McDevitt won three events, which included the 400 meter freestyle. They lost to LaSalle though yesterday, 51-40. LaSalle has won the PCL the last twenty-odd years, so its nothing to hang their heads about. Bonner still is at the top of the league with a 4-1 record.

Prendie Hoops Keep Rolling; Cruises Past Little Flower

Jess Rotella led Prendie with 11 points and 10 rebounds as the Pandas crushed Little Flower 51-21. Lindsay Cras, Sara Smith, and Jenna Gassew each had 8 points in the winning effort. Chelsea Kada scored just about half of Little Flower's points, netting 10 in the loss. Prendie continues their winning ways with the victory, improving to 11-2 on the year, and 6-1 in the Catholic League. The Pandas are back in action Saturday night in a non-league match up at Springfield (Delco).

Bonner Hoops Struggles Continue

The 2009-10 basketball season has not been a good start for head coach Tom Meakim and the rest of the Bonner squad. Coming into Wednesday night's game, the Friars were 3-7 overall, including losing five straight. That streak continued, as the green and white fell by three to Perkiomen Valley 45-42. Senior forward Keefer Francis had a team high 11 points for Bonner in the losing effort. Ryan Davis had a game high 17 points, and Andrew Kenney chipped in 14 points of his own for the Vikings. Bonner looks to rebound this coming weekend as they return to Catholic League play. North Catholic comes to Bonner's gym Friday night at 7:30. Barring a meeting in the playoffs, and an Archdiocesan ruling to keep North open, this will be the last time Bonner will take on North Catholic at home. They'll meet again later in the year at North. The Falcons are 4-6 on the season, and 2-2 in PCL play. On Sunday, the Friars travel to LaSalle for a 2:30 meeting with the Explorers. They are 8-3 overall, and 3-1 in PCL play. Bonner looks to pick up their first two Catholic League victories. Come out and support the basketball team.

Cantando's Goal Not Enough As Bonner Ice Hockey Falls

The Bonner hockey team had a much better showing the second time around against O'Hara, but that effort still wasn't enough, as the Friars fell to the Lions, giving O'Hara the season sweep.
The early moments on were interesting, and very physical. The two teams, and schools, aren't exactly friends, and it showed in the early moments of the first period. Both clubs totaled for 62 penalty minutes in the first. A skirmish broke out between four Bonner and O'Hara players, two from each side. All four players received 10 minute game misconduct penalties, and five minute major penalties for fighting. Each of them were ejected from the game. O'Hara did gain a 2 minute power play after a Bonner player was called for cross-checking on the same play, which happened less than three minutes into the game. The game did not turn into "Friday Night Fights" as it looked like it was going to, as they did get the game started up again after a five minute delay to sort out penalties. O'Hara drew first blood on a goal from senior Ricky DeRosa. Less than a minute later, Steve Falcone scored to give the blue and red a 2-0 lead. Ex-Bonner player Mike Marconi added two for O'Hara in the first, including one in which he deked a Bonner player and the goalie, to give the boys from Springfield a 4-0 lead after one period of play.
The second period was not much better for the Friars. Jeff Beck scored three minutes into the stanza. Falcone recorded his second of the night three minutes later. But finally, Bonner had something to cheer about. Dylan DiPhillipo was able to sneak the puck past O'Hara goalie Jeff Holland's right pad to put the Friars on the board. However, the Bonner momentum was quickly taken away. After what should have been an elbowing penalty at center ice, Marconi completed the hat trick off an assist from Falcone. This prompted a Friar fan to say "the refs look good in red and blue." Falcone recorded his second of the night on the power play two minutes later. With eight seconds left, Bonner's senior captain Rob Cantando took a pass from the point and blasted it from the blue line by Holland for a power play goal, and his seventh goal of the year.
Nothing went Bonner's way on the night, and it continued in the third period. O'Hara kept jamming at the puck by the crease, and it was able to slip past goalie Steve Gallo. However, he recovered and stuck his glove hand out to keep the puck from going over the line. But the referee closest to the net called it a goal, and it just added insult to injury (I had a great view of the puck. It was on the red line). The puck must completely clear the red line in order to count as a goal, and it did not. The referees had a short conference, but the goal stood. Getting credit for that goal was Jeff Beck for his second of the night. Bryan Reed tallied for O'Hara three minutes later, and Falcone recorded another for a hat trick shortly after. The guy who started the scoring ended it, as DeRosa scored to put the game away with four minutes left.
Although the score was tilted entirely to one side, Bonner goalie Steve Gallo played well, stopping 32 shots, and made some very tough saves. Holland stopped 13 of 15 shots faced his way. Bonner was completely outmatched by a very talented and fast O'Hara team. With the loss, Bonner falls to 6-5-1 overall, but they remain in first place in the PCL Blue at 6-1, two points ahead of Roman Catholic and Archbishop Wood. Up next for the Friars is a date with the Ridley Raiders on Friday. Bonner defeated Ridley in a Christmas tournament a couple weeks back. The rematch is set for Friday, January 15th, at 8:15, and will be played at Ice Works in Aston.

Notes: Apparently the Bonner crowd thought the game was canceled or moved to another night. I arrived at about 7:15, and for about thirty minutes, was the only Bonner student there, and received a nice greeting from the O'Hara fans. Very nice. Also, Spiderman and a gorilla showed up to the game. Must have given the Lions an edge.

For the basketball fans, Bonner takes on Perkiomen Valley at Perkiomen Valley tonight, Wednesday, at 7:30. They'll return to Catholic League action on Friday night against North Catholic. That game will be in the Bonner gym, and also take place at 7:30.

Prendie Defeats Egan in Close Game

The Prendie Pandas defeated Conwell-Egan Tuesday night by a score of 38-35. Junior Jessica Rotella had a team high for the Prendie. Prendie improves to 9-2 on the year. They'll take on Little Flower this Friday night at home in the Prendie gym.

Rough Weekend for Bonner Hoops

The Bonner basketball team had a tough weekend, losing both games to Roman Catholic and Father Judge. On Friday night, Bonner took on perennial basketball power Roman, losing 70-61. Jamal Melvin had a team high 20 points, with Scott Slade pitching in an additional 18. Roman's Rakeem Brookins led all scorers with 24 points. The Cahillites were 14-16 from the free throw line in the 4th quarter, which sealed the win for Roman. Bonner also took on the Father Judge Crusaders on Sunday. The Friars fell 57-51. Bonner falls to 3-6 on the year, 0-4 in the Catholic League. Bonner will take on Perkiomen Valley this Wednesday, January 13th, in a non-league affair. The game will take place at Perkiomen Valley.