Solecki answers bell for Explorers
WHITEMARSH» All week long, Danny Solecki held his head high, confident he would answer the bell when it rang.
And when it rang Saturday night, Solecki’s self-confidence turned out to be warranted.
Pressed into service following the injury to starter Isaiah Jones in last week’s loss at McDonogh, Maryland, the senior quarterback threw for 326 yards and four touchdowns as he and La Salle blew out Malvern Prep, 45-21, to push its season’s mark to 2-1.
But beyond the record, Solecki was thrilled he answered his crit-
ics, and more importantly lifted his teammates to the win.
“I was 100 percent confident all week,” Solecki said after the Explorers. “My teammates have been behind me all week. They felt I could do it, and I went out and did it.”
After stopping Malvern on the game’s initial series, the Explorers and Solecki went to work, takng the lead on a 9-play, 50-yard drive keyed by Solecki completions of 24 yards to Troy Holland and 15 yards to Brett Mallee before Manny Quiles bucked in from the 1-yard line to give the Explorers a 7-0 lead.
The Friars came storming back, using a 57-yard strike from Drew Gunther to Quincy Watson to tie it.
But the Explorers and Solecki weren’t done either, and the senior signal-caller found Holland again, this time from the 16 to put LaSalle up, 14-7, with 1:41 left in the first quarter.
“Nerves are normal,” Solecki said, “but I knew it was my turn to step up.
But Gunther wasn’t through either, and his 19yard pass to Keith Maguire enabled the Friars to tie the game again, this time at 14, with 8:26 left in the half.
“Their quarterback really hadn’t played before, but he was very impressive,” said
Friars head coach Joe Basiura. “His ability was something we hadn’t figured on when we were preparing for them.”
The Explorers answered that salvo with one of their own – a 24-yard pass – on fourth down — from Solecki to Liam Trainer that gave La Salle a 21-14 lead at halftime.
The second half, however, belonged to Solecki and the Explorers.
Passes of 55 yards to Octavious Carter and 29 yards to Holland keyed the opening drive of the second half, an 88-yard-on-five-plays excursion that ended with Quiles’ second 1-yard scoring plunge of the night before the half was two minutes old.
After Malvern’s next drive ended via an Austin Lemke interception, Solecki went right back to work, taking the Explorers 32 yards on five plays with Holland’s second TD grab of the game pushed the Explorers lead to 35-14.
His third touchdown pass of the night and second in the quarter came minutes later when he found Joey Burnham for a 12-yard score that put the contest out of reach.
Malvern responded with an eight-yard touchdown pass from Gunther to Tyler Leach, but by then the celebration was already on full boil.
For good measure, Dan Karrash blasted a 39-yard field goal with 6:32 left to
forge the final score.
But on this night, the hero was the Explorers new quarterback.
“We have a tough schedule ahead,” Solecki said, “but I’m confident.”
LA SALLE 45, MALVERN PREP 21 Malvern Prep 7 7 0 7 — 21 La Salle 14 7 21 3 — 45
First Quarter L – Manny Quiles 1 run (Dan Karrash kick) MP – Quincy Watson 57 pass from Drew Gunther (Garrett Reilly kick) L – Troy Holland 16 pass from Dan Solecki (Karrash kick) Second Quarter M – Keith Maguire 19 pass from Gunther (Reilly kick) L – Liam Trainer 24 pass from Solecki (Karrash kick) Third Quarter L – Quiles 1 run (Karrash kick) L – Holland 6 pass from Solecki (Karrash kick) L – Joey Burnham 12 pass from Solecki (Karrash kick) Fourth Quarter M – Tygee Leach 8 pass from Gunther (Reilly kick) L – Karrash 39 FG TEAM STATISTICS MALVERN LA SALLE First downs 9 8 Rushes-Yards 26-116 35-125 Passing yards 204 326 Total yards 329 451 Passing 10-24-1 Punts-Average 4-36.3 4-34.3 Fumbles-Lost 1-0 3-3 Penalties-Yards 4-45 4-35 INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS Rushing: MALVERN --- O’Shaan Allison 16-108; Quincy Watson 4-20; Garrett Reilly 1-8; Drew Gunther 5-(-20). LA SALLE —Manny Quiles 13-43, 2 TDs; Danny Solecki 8-19; Jalen DeVose 3-16; Octavious Carter 3-13; Jalen DeVose 3-16; Liam Tatlonghami 1-4; Brad Vespe 2-14.. Passing: MALVERN – Drew Gunther 10-23-1 int., 204 yds., 3 TDs; Riley Carlin 0-1-0.. LA SALLE — Danny Solecki 21-30-0 ints., 326 yds., 4 TDs. Receiving: MALVERN – Quincy Watson 2-63, 1 TD; Keith Maguire 3-45, 1 TD; Daniel Garrity 2-37; Ryan Iacone 1-28; O’Shaan Allison 1-23; Tygee Leach 1-8, 1 TD. LA SALLE – Troy Holland 7-128, 2 TDs; Brett Mallee 4-61; Octavious Carter 3-70; Marvin Harrison, Jr. 3-18; Liam Trainer 2-29, 1 TD; Joey Burnham 2-20, 1 TD. Interceptions: MALVERN – None. LA SALLE- Brett Mallee ..