Crusaders vs Railsplitters

Where: Barfoot Bowl
When: 10 a.m. Thursday, Nov. 22
Last Year: Father judge, 28-0
Judge leads series, 28-3-1

By Tom Waring
Times Staff Writer

The Thanksgiving football game between the Father Judge Crusaders and Abraham Lincoln Railsplitters is shaping up as a pretty good one.
Father Judge (8-2) earned a bye in the Catholic League Red Division playoffs and will face Roman Catholic in Saturday’s semifinals.
Abraham Lincoln (10-1) has had a surprisingly good season, with the only loss against powerful George Washington in the Public League quarterfinals.
Judge has dominated the series. The Crusaders own a 28-3-1 advantage and haven’t lost to their Thanksgiving rival since 1989.
The Judge coaching staff has scouted Lincoln at three games and has come away impressed.
"They’ve had an outstanding football season," Judge head coach Tom Coyle said of the Railsplitters. "Their running back (Kevin Chilton) is very talented, and they play very well defensively."
Lincoln coach Gene Kelly knows his team is the underdog. Judge has better size and depth and has played a much tougher schedule.
Still, Kelly is happy to have two weeks to prepare for the game while Judge has its eye on a division championship.
"It should be pretty competitive," he said. "Our guys have confidence from always playing against bigger teams."
Judge blanked Lincoln, 28-0, last season. The star of the game was Andrew McHale, who ran for two touchdowns and caught a TD pass, all in the first half.
McHale has picked up this season where he left off in 2006. He’s a front-runner to be named Most Valuable Player of the Red Division. He’s run for 1,207 yards and 12 touchdowns. He even stepped in at quarterback for two games when Paul Volpe had an injured hand.
Chris Dowling has missed much of the season with a broken left ankle, but he’s healthy now and is a nice complement to McHale. They run behind an offensive line made up of center Anthony Marascio, guards Matt Schule and John Lavelle and tackles Dave Smith and Joe Gallelli.
Volpe has had a solid season, throwing for 1,006 yards and 11 touchdowns. His top target is Tom Ryan, who’s caught 30 passes for 569 yards and seven touchdowns.
Defensively, Judge has posted four shutouts and is allowing an average of just 7.5 points per game. The line features Jeff Brewer, Dan Keenan, Josh Carfagno and Ryan Langdon. Dowling, Joe Swallow and Jim DiLisio are the starting linebackers with Tim McCaffrey a key sub. The backfield consists of Ryan and Adam Nowak at safety and McHale and Ryan Fenningham at cornerback.
The Crusaders are hoping their strong play in the regular season continues on Thanksgiving.
"We’re playing great football," DiLisio said. "Offensively, we’re putting up points. Defensively, we have four shutouts and are very physical with teams."
The Judge players, especially the seniors, want to continue the Thanksgiving dominance of Lincoln. The Crusaders have won 17 in a row in the rivalry.
"It’s for bragging rights," Dowling said. "They’re right up the street, and we want to go out on top."
Lincoln should have an advantage because the game will be played at the Barfoot Bowl. Kickoff is 10 a.m.
"It was nice going undefeated on our field," Kelly said.
The Railsplitters opened the season with three victories before facing West Philadelphia at home. The Speedboys won, 20-18, but Lincoln was later awarded a forfeit victory when it was learned that West Philly used a couple of ineligible players.
Lincoln won five more in a row before running into Washington. The Railsplitters bounced back to beat Imhotep Charter last week.
The star of the team is Chilton, who has rushed for 1,344 yards and 20 touchdowns.
"That kid can run," Kelly said of Chilton, also a standout at linebacker and on special teams.
Lincoln isn’t a one-man show, however. When Chilton missed the game against University City, his teammates responded with a 12-8 victory.
"The team still won without our go-to guy," Kelly said.
The bend-but-don’t-break defense owns shutouts against Southern and Thomas Edison.
The unit is led by Rubens Codio, who has five interceptions, including three against Washington. Other standouts include middle linebacker Christian Burrell, defensive lineman Rasaan "Slippers" Hanner and safety Nyheem Walker.
"The defense is pretty good," Kelly said. "We’ve shut out a couple of teams."
The Railsplitters throw, but not all that much.
Senior Charles Boyd will start at quarterback. Junior Joe McCausland, who saw action in most of the games this season, should also get some time in the Judge game.
Calvin Philemond has shown an ability to run with the ball and catch passes.
The Railsplitters also have a couple of versatile players in center/punter Sharif Assad and defensive end/wide receiver/return man Joshua Truett. ••
Reporter Tom Waring can be reached at 215-354-3034 or twaring@phillynews.com