PHILADELPHIA, Pennsylvania - Strong Safety Mario Palmieri (Exeter, PA/ Wyoming Area) led all defenders with a stellar performance in the Annual Blue & Gold Spring Game on Sunday, May 1st. Palmieri recorded six tackles, two assists, one forced fumble, one recovered fumble, one sack, and two interceptions for the Gold Team, which came back to win 26-20 in the fourth quarter. Both offenses started off slowly as both defenses forced turnovers in the first quarter. LB Geoffrey Nagle (Marlton, NJ/ Bishop Eustace Prep) picked off a deflected pass by QB Michael Jump (Toms River, NJ/ Toms River South) to set the tempo in the early going.
The Gold Team was paced by Palmieri, who excelled in all phases of the game on defense. Cornerbacks Randy Carpenter (Philadelphia, PA/ Martin Luther King), Sar Lebbie and Jason Miller turned in solid performances but Taylour Lauri (Larksville, PA/ Wyoming Valley West) and Palmieri stole the show in the secondary with some tremendous hits in the open field. Lawrence Nikola (Colts Neck, NJ/ Suffield Academy, CT), new to the secondary, turned in a good performance with five tackles and one assist. Junior Nick DePinto (Cream Ridge, NJ/ New Egypt) led all linebackers with seven solo tackles, one assist and one sack. Senior MLB Chris Twardy (Southampton, NJ/ Lenape) recorded five tackles and three assists and Senior OLB Nick Sipics (Whitehall, PA/ Allentown Central Catholic) had seven solo tackles and two assists.
Bob Merkh (Egg Harbor Twp, NJ/ holy Spirit) led all defensive linemen with five solo tackles and two sacks, while teammates Nate Moss (Philadelphia, PA/ LaSalle College HS) and James Salerno (W. Harrison, NY/ Iona Prep) both recorded four tackles. Sophomore JJ Luney (Tampa, FL/ Gaither) provided pressure throughout the day and continues to improve with each outing.
The QB dual heated up as returning starter Michael Jump (Toms River, NJ/ Toms River South) (Gold Team) fought to hold off Dwayne Lodge (Neptune, NJ/ Neptune) (Blue Team) throughout the day. Jump finished the day completing 28-of-40 for 314 yards passing with two touchdowns and two interceptions. Lodge completed 17-of-38 for 224 yards passing with two touchdowns and one interception. Lodge added 80 yards rushing on 18 carries and stirred images of '04 MAAC Offensive Player-of-the-Year Vernard Abrams (Philadelphia, PA/ Cardinal Dougherty). The running backs continued to shine as they have all spring, led by junior all-purpose back Kevin Sullivan (Nanuet, NY/ St. Joe's-Montvale). Sullivan rushed only 6 times for 19 yards but added another 116 yards receiving on a game high 8 catches. Junior Josh Brumfield (Chester Springs, PA/ Owen J. Roberts) carried the ball 8 times for 38 yards and a touchdown, displaying the great vision he is known for. Senior Steven Adelman (Tuscon, AZ/ PIMA Jr. College) carried the ball 8 times for 52 yards and had two crowd-pleasing runs of 21 and 22 yards, both for touchdowns.
Wide outs Greg Vacarro (West Essex, NJ/ West Essex) and John Zabel (Ellicot City, MD/ Mt. Hebron) battled all afternoon to outshine each other as Zabel caught six passes for 116 yards and two touchdowns, and Vacarro recorded six catches for 74 yards and one touchdown. Newcomer Bernie Cevis (Port Deposit, MD/ Hartford Tech) gave a peak at his tremendous potential catching four passes for 54 yards while demonstrating some good running ability after the catch. Slot receiver Lou Russo (Marlton, NJ/ Cherokee) was relatively quiet after being held to three catches for 36 yards, although he demonstrated why he is the best blocking receiver on the team throughout the day. Sophomore Mike Steffen (Dover, NJ/ Dover) caught seven passes for 54 yards and one touchdown and sophomore Chris Garzone (Philadelphia, PA/ LaSalle College HS) had three catches for 46 yards.
The Blue & Gold Game wraps up spring ball for the Explorers. The team will report to Pre-Season Camp in early August and will open their season at Wagner College on September 3rd. La Salle will play their home opener on September 10th when they host the 2004 Defending Mid-Major National Champions, Monmouth University.
