April 21, 2007

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AMBLER, PA - A seven yard Jason Harper touchdown run with 29 seconds remaining propelled White, coached by Offensive Coordinator George DeLeone, to a 17-14 win over Cherry, under the leadership of Defensive Coordinator Mark D'Onofrio, in the annual Cherry & White intrasquad football game. Sophomore signal caller Vaughn Charlton completed 19 of 30 passes for 212 yards and a score to help the White to victory under sunny skies at the Ambler (Pa.) Sports Complex.

Redshirt senior Domerio Hamilton was Charlton's favorite target, catching five passes for 82 yards. He was complemented by redshirt junior Travis Shelton, who grabbed five aerials totaling 67 yards for the White in a game that featurted two blocked field goals among several big plays. 

"The guys played hard," said head coach Al Golden. "It was a fun environment. A lot of Temple fans came out today and the players embraced that and performed. We got a good number of reps. It was nice to get out here in hot weather after practicing in what felt like `Green Bay' over the past couple of weeks. The guys got to push themselves a little bit. It was a good workout for us."

White opened the scoring with a 40-yard Jake Brownell field goal to cap a 13 play, 47-yard drive to begin the game. While the Cherry squad struggled to move the ball in the early stages, punting on its first two possessions, White extended its lead on yet another steadily engineered drive by Charlton. The Landenberg, Pa. native connected with sophomore tight end Steve Maneri on a two-yard scoring aeriel to provide a 10-0 advantage with just 0:54 remaining before halftime.

On the first play from scrimmage after intermission, Cherry posted its first points with the help of a little trickery. Junior wide receiver Bruce Francis accepted the ball from Adam DiMichele and found sophomore wide receiver Dy'Onne Crudup downfield to produce a 70-yard scoring play.

After the touchdown, White responded with yet another sustained drive. Unfortunately for the DeLeone-led squad, a Harper fumble at the two-yard line would go out of bounds in the end zone, resulting in a touchback. Six plays later, however, a Dominique Harris interception would give them the ball back, first and 10 at the Cherry 11-yard line, after a 36-yard return.

Facing the potential for a mounting deficit in the early stages of the fourth quarter, the Cherry defense held and forced a 32-yard Brownell field goal attempt. The chance was blocked, resulting in a touchback and breathing fresh life into the D'Onofrio-led club. It responded by traveling 80 yards on 12 plays to take its first lead of the contest, 14-10, on a six yard scoring toss from DiMichele to junior tight end Kevin Armstrong with 8:49 to go in regulation.

Cherry soon found itself in position to extend its lead, when Even Cooper recovered a fumble a the White 25-yard line. Three plays and two timeouts later, however, a Garrett Clawson 36-yard field goal was blocked by linebacker Omar McDonnaugh-Hales, giving White the ball back at the Cherry 43 with 1:25 remaining after a seven-yard Harris return.

With the game clock dwindling, Charlton led the White into the red zone once more. This time, Harper held on and hit pay dirt on a seven yard scamper to produce the finish product, a 17-14 White victory.

The game featured 12 minute quarters and a running clock, except for the final two minutes of each half. There were no kickoffs in the contest and punts were spotted at the place of the catch. Possessions began at the 30-yard line to begin the halves and after scores.

At halftime of the scrimmage, the team announced its annual spring award winners. Redshirt junior defensive end Leyon Azubuike was the recipient of the annual Mark Bresani Award for spirit and enthusiasm. Reshirt freshman offensive lineman Kevin Bennage captured the annual Gavin White Jr. Local 215 award. The most improved offensive player was Armstong, while sophomores Anthony Ferla and Andre Neblett shared most improved defensive player accolades.

"We still have 29 (pre-season) practices to go before Navy," said Golden. "We are, obviously, bigger, faster and tougher. We are in better condition than we were when we got our butts kicked by Navy 42-6. We have 132 days to get that corrected and that's the only challenge in front of these guys right now."