By Ed Farrell
Herald Assistant Sports Editor
West Catholic High has a proud Philly pedigree in basketball, so perhaps it’s only appropos head football coach Brian Fluck has an enduring, albeit enviable and enjoyable problem: His Burrs’ fast-break offense scores almost too quickly.
“If we get out on top of people early, make them play our game where we’re usually quicker, that plays into what we do best,” the 10th-year head coach related.
Which makes West Catholic’s 1 p.m. Saturday date with Wilmington at Hersheypark Stadium for the PIAA Class AA championship an interesting contrast.
For years, “Ham-mer, Ham-mer, Ham-mer” has been the Greyhounds fans’ bellweather as they’ve trumpeted a dominating defense. But perhaps Wilmington would be well served to sustain time-consuming drives — borrowing another basketball analogy — to play keepaway from the Burrs.
Thus far this season the Hounds’ wing-T offense has outscored (563-155) and outgained (5,076-2,416) opponents. And with a lone exception, its been Burrs’ beatdowns on a weekly basis. West has whacked 9 opponents for 50 or more points, reached the 60-point plateau on a handful of occasions and is averaging 45.4 points/game.
To illustrate West’s overwhelming offense, forget for a moment its trio of 1,000-yard rushers — Rob Hollomon, Curtis Drake and Raymond Maples — and instead focus on its lone loss (27-26) to LaSalle in Week 3. West would gain 485 total yards, but a pair of 1st-period turnovers put it in an early 14-0 hole. Though the Burrs rebounded to draw within a point with approximately 30 ticks to play, a potential game-winning 2-point PAT skipped off a receiver’s fingertips.
“The one thing LaSalle did very well was ball control; they had the ball a lot more than we did,” Fluck recalled. “If people can do that against us, of course it’ll be a tight game.”
Firepower for Fluck has not been a concern. Hollomon has 4.42 speed and is averaging 13.3 yards/carry with 35 rushing TDs. Some Philadelphia-area pundits have opined it seems as though Hollomon’s feet never touch the ground. Fluck related,
“He has very good vision, very good moves in the open field, and once he turns the corner and gets into the open field he has great acceleration. He’s always moving, shifting from side to side and trying to break the big one.”
But Hollomon is not West’s fastest athlete. That would be quarterback Curtis Drake (4.41), who has verballed to Penn State University, possibly as a wide-out. Drake has both rushed for 1,572 yards and passed for 1,292 this season — a Philly first for a prepster.
Drake orchestrates a multiple-I attack that also includes Maples (1,132 yards rushing), receivers Eric Young (33.8 yards/catch) and Quran Kent (21.9) and operates behind “ ... kind’ve an underated” line, according to Fluck, that averages 256 pounds. “They’re pretty good, pretty solid, and they’ve been together for a couple years.”
Placekicker Tim Carroll has connected for 82 PATs, setting a city standard.
The Burrs’ 4-3 defense may “have been on the field a lot more,” as Fluck related, owing to the offense’s prowess, but is yielding only 12.4 ppg. West has picked off 16 passes, led by Hollomon (5), Ray Manuel (4) and Hakeem Hayward (3).
Former Duke University and NBA standout Eugene Banks is a West alumnus. But the Burrs’ basketball background has given way to the gridiron since Fluck (’80) assumed his alma mater’s reins, particularly since 2001. The program has competed for the Philadelphia Catholic League championship 7 straight seasons, having won the last 3. The PCL only recently joined the PIAA. Archbishop Wood — which suffered a 28-17 setback to West — is playing Friday for the commonwealth’s AAA crown.
“I think (joining the PIAA) is great for the kids. Our season could’ve been done by now ... but this is something new for the kids, a new goal, a new way of thinking. Our kids love it, so I think it’s a good thing,” Fluck observed.
“This has been a tremendous year for this group — I don’t know if we’ll ever see this again; this is a once-in-a-lifetime,” acknowledged Fluck, whose club equalled the city’s single-season scholastic standard for wins (14).
“Pressure? We’ve talked about prssure all year, but I think pressure is something you put on yourself,” Fluck continued. “Our kids stay focused, but relaxed and they enjoy each others’ company, and that’s the way they take each game. ... I try to stay loose and I’ve found, the longer I’ve done this, that if I’m patient with the kids and don’t try to make them tense ... Sometimes coaches make (players) tense. We’re one of the top two 2-A teams left, one of the top eight left in the state, so our job is just to come out and play ball and have some fun.”
