By Rick O’Brien, Philadelphia Inquirer
September 11, 2009
If Marple Newtown coach Ray Gionta had to hand out a most-improved-player award after Week 1, he said it would go to senior Vince Christiana.”He’s gotten bigger, stronger, and has a lot more confidence,” the coach said.
As an outside linebacker, Christiana, mostly a junior varsity player last season, notched six tackles as the host Tigers rolled to a 31-0 nonleague win over Archbishop Ryan.
In addition to Christiana, who doubles as a split end, Marple Newtown’s defense was headed by inside linebacker Carl Kasarsky, tackle Christian Whiteside, and end Billy Weaverling.
The wing-T offense was fueled by senior quarterback Kevin Johnson (5 for 8 passing, 85 yards, 1 TD) and junior running backs Ryan Duffy (15 carries for 115 yards) and Mario Dioguardi (9 for 63).
Next is tomorrow night’s Central League opener against host Springfield (Delaware County), which lost to Interboro, 27-7, in its opener. The Cougars’ spread offense is sparked by QB Wally Rutecki, tailback Matt Craig, and wideout Joe Devinney.
Said Gionta: “We can’t let any of those guys break loose for long gains. We can’t give up any home run-type plays.”