Back with
a vengeance

Joe Mason
For the Times

Rus Slawter remembers his first start very well.
Unfortunately for him, it isn’t such a great memory.
Slawter, now a junior quarterback for the Archbishop Ryan High School football team, almost guided his Raiders to a win over Pennsbury during the team’s 2006 opener. But with four minutes showing on the clock, he threw an interception and the Falcons went on to win the game.
This year’s opener was redemption time.
And Slawter, with plenty of help from his teammates, passed the test with flying colors.
Slawter completed half of his 18 passing attempts for 97 yards and a touchdown as the Raiders downed Pennsbury, 26-14, on Aug. 31 in the teams’ season openers.
"I thought about last year a lot," Slawter said. "I kind of blew it, it was my first game and that interception killed us. This year, yeah, it’s a lot different. Winning here is great, and a great way to start the season."
The Raiders dominated the Falcons throughout the game.
Ryan rushed for 228 yards, a significant chunk of the more than 330 yards of total offense in the victory.
More impressive, Ryan limited host Pennsbury, last year’s District 1 Class AAAA champion, to 14 points, all of which came before intermission.
And as the game went on, the Raiders’ defense got stronger, holding the Falcons to just one first down in the final stanza.
"We played well," said Ryan coach Glen Galeone, whose team failed to make the playoffs last season for just the second time in 17 years. "I thought, offensively, we have some good skill guys, but we did some other things well, too.
"And defensively, we made plays," he added. "This was a very good win. I’m happy with what we did tonight."
Slawter was just as happy.
But not at all surprised.
Last year the Raiders showed flashes of brilliance.
They only won four games, but they did defeat Catholic League Red Division champs La Salle, Catholic League Blue Division champs Archbishop Wood, and Public League finalist George Washington during the year.
This year, the Raiders returned a strong nucleus of players. They also returned with some lessons from last year’s disappointing season.
"I knew we were going to be good this year . . . I think we all knew we were going to be good," Slawter said. "Maybe not be good, but we knew we could be good. Tonight, I think we showed a lot of other people that we can be good."
While Slawter was happy with his performance, he was quick to hand out praise to teammates who helped make it possible.
"The offensive line (Anthony Corso, Tim Ott, Robert Kelly, Kevin MacDonald and Steve Verrall) really was the reason we did so well offensively," Slawter said. "And when you have receivers like we do, you have a chance for big plays. We have a lot of good receivers and a lot of good running backs."
Also starring for the Raiders were Matt Vizza, who scampered 71 yards for a touchdown on the second play of the game, Nick Ferdinand, who grabbed four balls for 57 yards, and Bill Keebler, who caught a pair of touchdowns, one from Slawter and another from running back Jim Weitzel on a gadget play.
Things don’t get easier for the Raiders. They have dates with Chestnut Hill Academy and Archbishop Wood before beginning their journey in the Catholic League Red Division.
But the win over Pennsbury can certainly give the team momentum.
"They’re a great team, they’re always a really tough game the first game of the year," Slawter said. "Last year was fun, just to be in this kind of atmosphere, playing a great team. But beating them like we did tonight, it’s just so much better." ••
Joe Mason can be reached at joemason70@hotmail.com