THANKFUL RIVALS
DESPITE SCHEDULING WOES, CHI & SUN VALLEY SET TO MEET 51ST TIME
Sun Valley football coach Greg “Bubba” Bernhardt and Chichester coach Ryan Smith hold their team helmets during a breakfast in advance of the 51st Thanksgiving game matchup between the teams.
A look at Thanksgiving Day football in Delaware County in years past.
30 Years Ago
Bill Bair throws touchdown passes to Tom Lafferty and Bob Kuberski as Ridley defeats Interboro, 14-7, to extend its winning streak to 18 games … Andre Bannister runs for a pair of TDs in Chichester’s 21-0 win over Sun Valley … Greg Lingo tosses a 17-yard touchdown pass to Dan Smith on the first possession and Upper Darby holds off Haverford, 7-0 … Scott Williams runs 44 yards with a fumble for the first TD and Chas Whalen has a pair of scoring runs in the second half to help Marple Newtown get by Conestoga, 24-0 … Brian Warren throws a 57-yard touchdown pass to Gerald Hardy and Kevin Nodis kicks the extra point that gives St. James a 7-6 win over Chester.
40 Years Ago
Chris Kozak runs for one touchdown and throws to Harry Broomall for another to help coach Sam Dermigny’s St. James Bulldogs defeat Chester, 14-6 … Bo Rotoloni runs 14 yards for the first TD, but Marple Newtown drops a 14-7 decision to Conestoga … Paul Phelan runs for a pair of scores and Pat Van Horn throws two touchdown passes in Malvern Prep’s 34-6 win over Cardinal O’Hara (Mike Gallen 51-yard scoring run) … Jim McMaster gains 158 yards rushing and scores a pair of TDs as Chichester beats Sun Valley (Rick Bressi 85-yard kickoff return touchdown), 3414 … Bob Castell tosses two TD passes – one for 54 yards – as well as a conversion pass to Todd Feldman in Haverford’s 14-13 win over Upper Darby (Mike Romano two scoring passes) … Matt Grossi kicks a 35-yard field goal in the first half and runs for a touchdown in the second half as Ridley tops Interboro, 17-0 … Wayne Kennedy gains 142 yards rushing and scores a pair of TDs as Sharon Hill beats Collingdale, 28-0 … Graham Desmond runs for two touchdowns in Nether Providence’s 19-12 win over Darby Township (Vincent Clark 76-yard scoring run).
50 Years Ago
Frank McKone runs for a pair of touchdowns to help Collingdale knock Sharon Hill out of first place in Section Three by earning a 23-7 decision … Ernie McGuire has a pair of scoring runs in the first half and Bill Smerigan runs for three TDs in the second half of Chichester’s 33-14 win over Sun Valley … Bob Young scores on a 55-yard run as Yeadon defeats Clifton Heights, 14-0 … Roger Mason scores the winning touchdown with five minutes to play as Springfield gets by Marple Newtown, 12-6 … Steve Joachim throws three TD passes – two to Val Erdmanis – and Erdmanis scores on a 75-yard kickoff return as Haverford beats Upper Darby, 42-7, to clinch first place in the Central League … Sophomore John Stefanik throws three touchdown passes – two to Rich McKeown – and McKeown runs 40 yards to score in Lansdowne-Aldan’s 38-20 win over Swarthmore … John Hornibrook hurls three TD passes – two to Rich Jensen – and runs for two scores to pace Ridley past Interboro, 39-6 … Ron Talbot scores on runs of 36 and 42 yards in St. James’ 27-0 win over Cardinal O’Hara … John Cappelletti has a pair of scoring runs for Monsignor Bonner, but Archbishop Carroll (D.C.) hands the Friars their first loss, 27-14.
20 Years Ago
Steve Varrassee throws touchdown passes to Bobby DiSands and Chris Owens, and DiSands adds a scoring run as Interboro defeats Ridley, 21-2, to complete an undefeated season (12-0) … George Caroulis tosses a TD pass to Jason Edwards and runs for another score in Upper Darby’s 23-7 win over Haverford … Jameer Rasheed has a scoring run and throws a TD pass to Clifton Smith, but Chester drops a 14-13 decision to Trenton … Brian Fairchild runs for three touchdowns and Ray Withelder catches a scoring pass from Jim Starkey and finishes the season with a county record 1,237 receiving yards as Sun Valley beats Chichester, 42-0.
10 Years Ago
Al Payne Jr. runs for a pair of touchdowns, throws a scoring pass, and runs 51 yards with a fumble for a TD, and Jabree Clayton scores on a 44-yard run and 45-yard punt return as Chester clobbers Simon Gratz, 48-6 … Sean Quarterman tosses a touchdown pass to John Wichmann and Eric Petransky and Tim Ferry add TD runs in Monsignor Bonner’s 21-7 win over Archbishop Carroll … Nick Morrell gains 209 yards on 30 carries and scores three touchdowns as Sun Valley stops Chichester (Markeyse Carter 90-yard kickoff return for a TD and Zach Zgleszewski 90-yard scoring pass from Mousaab Abdulla), 39-20 … Kvonne Nottingham runs for a pair of touchdowns and Rodney McCulley throws a 55-yard scoring pass to Christian Custis in Penn Wood’s 21-6 win over William Penn … Pat Mills catches a TD pass from Andrew Pidgeon and Jake Cahill returns an intercepted pass 57 yards for a touchdown as Ridley gets all of its points in the fourth quarter and defeats Interboro (Jim McMenamin
13-yard scoring pass to Sean Krautzel), 147, in John Waller’s final game as the Green Raiders’ head coach … Dale Blees tosses two TD passes to Chris Green in Upper Darby’s
17-10 win over Haverford (Liam McGrath 65yard scoring pass to Chip Scherer).