Football beats Catholic

By Adam Bagni
Collegian Staff
October 18, 2006

Bern, baby, Bern!

Bernie Cevis caught two long touchdown passes as the La Salle football team (2-4, 0-1) spoiled Catholic University’s (3-3, 1-1) Homecoming game with a 27-14 win Saturday at DuFour Field in Washington, D.C.

The junior wide receiver caught a total of four passes for 98 yards, helping the Explorers avenge their embarrassing 41-34 loss to the Division III Cardinals a year prior.

Cevis iced the game with a 23-yard touchdown grab from junior quarterback Joe Procopio, putting the Explorers up by two scores with only 2:14 remaining. On the crucial third-and-nine from the Catholic 23-yard line, Procopio slung a bullet out to Cevis on the sideline.

He made the catch, immediately cut inside, slipped by two Cardinal defenders, and barreled in for the final touchdown. The TD capped a 12-play, 70-yard drive that also featured a 22-yard catch from junior Tom Grossman in a second-and-20 situation.

The 6’4” Cevis used his clear height advantage multiple times during the game, including his first touchdown catch, a 44-yard strike on the first possession of the third quarter.

Senior Lou Russo had another solid game for the Explorers (a statement that’s almost becoming redundant), catching six balls for 55 yards.

Despite being sacked five times, Procopio turned in an impressive passing line, completing 14 of 20 passes for 238 yards and three touchdowns, with no interceptions. The quickly emerging quarterback is 30 of 49 for 432 yards and four touchdowns (with no interceptions) in the last two games, since returning from a week two knee injury against TCNJ.

Catholic quarterback Keith Ricca, who threw for 488 of a staggering 728 passing yards against the Explorers last year, looked extremely uncomfortable throughout the game. The sophomore (10 of 32, 157 yds, 0 TD, 2 INT) was constantly scrambling out of the pocket, trying to buy more time for receivers who were consistently stonewalled by La Salle’s defensive backs.

The Explorers are second in DI-AA in pass defense, giving up an average of only 112 yards per game. Freshman Stephant’e Kent had a stellar day on defense – he forced a fumble, recovered a fumble and broke up numerous pass attempts by the home team.

Ricca threw two interceptions in the contest: one to freshman Eric Frazier towards the end of the second quarter, and the other to 300-pound junior lineman Joseph Hamm. In an extremely bizarre play, Hamm caught a Ricca shovel pass that was thrown right to the numbers on the front of his uniform, and then rumbled an exhausting 33 yards to paydirt.

The Explorers will attempt to pick up their first MAAC win of the season when they square off against Iona on Saturday at Mazella Field in New Rochelle, N.Y. Kick off is at 1 p.m. from New Rochelle.

bagnia1@lasalle.edu