Tom DeFelice

Tribute Page Tom DeFelice coached Edward Bok Tech's football team for 18 seasons (1993-2010), winning 129 games and three Public League classification championships. His teams won a record 43 consecutive PL regular season games. This story was written after the streak ended . . . By Ted Silary Streak? What streak? That was the mind-set maintained by coach Tom DeFelice through 9 years as Edward Bok Tech's football team kept plowing through Public League regular-season games that were played in various divisions through assorted alignments. "I never talked to the players about it. Never," he said. "I never wanted to put pressure on them." Forty-three up, in glorious fashion . . . One down, rather convincingly. Bok and its streak - the best in Pub history - parted company Saturday morning in a AA Division game at the South Philly Super Site. Imhotep Charter did the deed, 28-6, as Maurice Palmer turned 27 carries into 131 yards and four touchdowns. With only three starters on each side of the ball, and with his prominent 2-year starting quarterback Andre Frazier unavailable all season (not to mention the original backup, as well) due to injury, DeFelice knew the streak would be tough to sustain. "In a scrimmage," he said, "Gratz did a pretty good number on us. We're a learning team." As a former star quarterback at West Catholic and Temple, DeFelice knows the impact a polished passer can have on a game. He knew Imhotep's Christopher Lewis could be dangerous. He could only hope that the Panthers' rushing game would be average, at best. Didn't work out that way. Palmer was terrific. "They had that great combination going for them," DeFelice said. "The threat of the excellent passer and the rusher who . . . man, that kid had some great runs. "Like Charlie Guida [deceased former Bok coach] liked to say, 'We had our turn in the barrel.' That's how it goes. At some point your turn's over." Bok's touchdown came on Khalil Neal's 45-yard, third-quarter run; Imhotep already owned a 22-0 lead. Nine of Bok's 31 plays went for losses and the yardage total was an uncommonly low 132. In a deserted part of Bok's locker room, sitting on a bench with one leg propped up, DeFelice in time acknowledged feeling special about the lengthy run. "I'm proud of what Bok has accomplished," he said. "I have a great staff and those guys deserve the credit. Also, I have tremendous kids who want to work hard, and who know the value of self-discipline." SEASON BY SEASON Public League 1993: 5-0 1994: 3-2 1995: 3-2 1996: 3-2 1997: 1-4 1998: 4-1 1999: 5-0 2000: 4-1 2001: 3-2 2002: 5-0 2003: 5-0 2004: 6-0 2005: 4-0 2006: 5-0 2007: 8-0 2008: 5-0 2009: 4-0 2010: 4-2 Total: 77-16 --- Overall 1993: 7-2 1994: 6-3 1995: 4-5 1996: 4-6 1997: 4-6 1998: 6-3-1 1999: 9-1 2000: 7-3 2001: 4-5 2002: 7-2 2003: 7-2 2004: 7-3 2005: 9-1 2006: 9-2 2007: 11-1 2008: 10-1 2009: 10-1 2010: 8-3 Total: 129-50-1 -- PUBLIC LEAGUE TITLES 2008 AA 2009 AA 2010 AA -- 700 RUSHERS Luke Lassiter 1,321 '07 Shaquil Sammons 1,172 '10 Luke Lassiter 1,088 '06 Akeem Green 1,009 '02 Ray Tucker 993 '08 Cory Moultrie 890 '04 Michael Gales 764 '94 Khalil Neal 757 '09 Rodney McCarter 752 '00 Bruce Morton 738 '96 Tawan Miller 718 '93 600 PASSERS Andre Frazier 726 '09 Kareem Jeffreys 645 '00 Kareem Jeffreys 640 '99 William Gadson 617 '98 Marquise Brown 615 '10 William Gadson 614 '97 300 RECEIVERS Ramon Mills 558 '99 Ramon Mills 506 '00 Ramon Mills 336 97 Troy Martin 313 '08 This story was written in 2007 after Tom guided Bok to a two-OT win for the Public League AAA Division championship . . . By Ted Silary LUKE LASSITER'S heart was nearly in his throat. And if the beat had been any stronger, it would have registered on the Richter scale. Again and again one thought kept bouncing around in his mind . . . "I didn't win this 3 years to lose it in my senior year. " By "this," he meant the Division AAA title in Public League football and what happened yesterday before 500 spirited spectators at 29th and Chalmers was what happened in 2004, '05 and '06. Well, it was and it wasn't. Yes, Edward Bok Tech is again the champion and again will participate in roughly a month in the PIAA state playoffs as the District 12 representative. But this win against its major nemesis throughout the span, Ben Franklin, required the expenditure of much more effort and the overall circumstances were incredibly memorable. Not only were the Wildcats forced to rally from a 14-0 deficit merely to assure the game would go into overtime. They then triumphed, 30-28, in two extra sessions! "I've never been through something like that. Never," Lassiter said. "When it was over, I was just so happy. Tears were coming out of my eyes." He wasn't alone. As a desperation, off-balance pop-up conversion pass by Franklin's Tajidin McGough fell incomplete in a tangle of bodies at roughly the line of scrimmage, the Wildcats exploded in joy. Assorted Electrons could be spotted with hands on their helmets, their facemasks buried into the ground. "I don't feel too much sympathy for them. That's how it goes," Lassiter said. "But as I told my teammates, we have to give them big respect. They gave us everything. Just the fact that it went to double OT tells you that. " The 5-8, 160-pound Lassiter finished with 25 carries for 162 yards despite suffering a ding to his left knee in the first quarter. "It was hurting, but not that bad," he said. "I just had to keep telling myself to keep playing through it." He scored a touchdown, on an 8-yard run, with 1:25 left that rallied Bok into a 14-14 tie. On that conversion, he was stopped by Chris Sturgis and Jamel "Redz" Haggins. In the first OT, Franklin scored immediately on a 10-yard run by Sturgis (21-86) and the same guy added the two-pointer in surprisingly simple fashion. Darnell Goddard answered with a 1-yard sneak on third down and Lassiter made it 22-22. Second OT: Lassiter collected eight more points on a 3-yard burst - stretching the ball over the goal line - and another easy-as-pie untouched dash to the left corner. Franklin managed six-eighths of an answer in the form of a 1-yard, third-down sneak. Just before the conversion, with the noise reaching incredible levels and many Franklin fans pressed against police barricades at the back edge of the sideline, Bok coach Tom DeFelice and defensive coordinator Vince Trombetta, Franklin's head coach in an earlier lifetime, waved onto the field Temple recruit Ryan Murray, a 6-6, 330-pounder who to this point of the game had played only offense. McGough was unable to cleanly handle the snap. As McGough recovered, Murray was powering his way through the middle. From the ground, he grabbed McGough around his legs and forced the aforementioned pass that really had no chance. Lassiter was watching from the sideline. "Ryan did just what the coaches hoped he would," he said. "He's just so big. It's so hard to stop him." Afterward, the words came gushing out of DeFelice. "What a great day for the Public League!" he said. "Our kids were great and Franklin's were right there with them. True sportsmen. True warriors. "How about Luke? Wasn't he tremendous? I told our kids at halftime to remain calm, that I thought we could move the ball. Then Luke was great. He showed his character." Murray and guard Jamar Chase formed the left side of Bok's line and, like almost always, most of the plays went in that direction. The tying TD in regulation was a notable exception. Guard Anthony Rivers and tackle Leland Sledge made that ne possible, with help (as earlier) from center Jeff Smith. Along with the element of surprise. Franklin was sittin' pretty early, causing non-stop jubilation for a guy holding a sign that read, "The Bok Stops Here! Go Electrons!" Tyron Carlton caught a punt and zoomed 87 yards for a TD just 3:45 into the game and 5:14 before halftime Sturgis raced 33 yards for a score. Much of the yardage-gobbling on that 12-play, 95-yard drive was done by Duane "Bam" Burrell (9-63). But in the third quarter, Burrell and star lineman Lydell Boanes departed for Temple Hospital in the back of the same ambulance with what were feared to be broken left ankles. Bok's first score came with 4:06 left in that session on Goddard's 1-yard burrow. The drive had to cover just 35 yards after Kendall Johnson partially smothered a punt. Lassiter immediately took care of the first 34 yards. Though his play, of course, spoke volumes, this was not the first time yesterday that Lassiter represented Bok in fine fashion. His day began at 8:30 in his former elementary school - Fell, at 9th and Oregon. Lassiter, DeFelice and two other Fell grads, defensive mainstays Terry Lee and Khaleem Williams, made an assembly appearance to talk up Bok to seventh- and eighth-graders. "Coach did all the talking. I kept thinking about the game," Lassiter said, laughing. "It was nice to be part of that, though. I went to Fell from third to eighth grade. Good memories. I was talking to some of the kids afterward. I told them, 'I used to sit in the same seats you guys are in.' " Yesterday, Lassiter saw his seat as being hot. "I kept thinking how the game would be on my shoulders," he said. "If something goes wrong, you're thinking you're going to be the one to blame. "Everybody was telling me to just stay calm. At school. In our locker room. On the bus ride. On the field before we got started . . . " Afterward, he heard no such instruction. All guys wearing blue and white were too busy expressing unabashed joy. This story was written in 2004 as Tom and Bok prepared to become the first Public League team to participate in a PIAA playoff . . . By Ted Silary It wasn't the first time Joe "Pepe" DeSalis wolfed down a cheesesteak at Geno's. It was, however, the first time he did so with 50 friends and acquaintances, 40 of whom were decked out in game-day football uniforms. DeSalis is the 5-10, 170-pound senior quarterback for Edward Bok Tech, which Friday night will become the first Public League/District 12 football team to compete in a PIAA state playoff. The opponent and site: Great Valley High, in Malvern. The occasion: a Class AAA District 1-12 subregional semifinal. The way to prepare: with a practice under the lights. "They wanted us to go to Northeast High," coach Tom DeFelice said, referring to PL bigwigs. "I told them I didn't want to go there. Bok is a South Philly school and there are plenty of good facilities down here. "I happened to drive past here one day last week and a bulb went off. I'm always thinking. My wife, Grace, says I think too much. Anyway, Bok's a South Philly tradition. The cheesesteak places are a South Philly tradition. I figured this would be a great idea. No offense to Pat's, but we chose Geno's." Pause. "It just so happens that our quarterback's father works there." It was a wonderful 3 hours. At 4:30, the Wildcats boarded a bus at their clubhouse, at 11th and Bigler, for the short trek to Capitolo Playground, directly across from the bright lights and thousands of photos at Geno's. They practiced for close to 90 minutes in their impressive blue-and-white uniforms with the names on the back, then staged a hungry-man occupation of the tables lining the sidewalk along 9th Street. Cheese and ketchup were oozing like crazy. The last part of the evening was the bus ride back to deep South Philly. DeFelice, as always, was Mr. Energy during the workout. Trotting from spot to spot and yelling instructions and encouragement, always in duplicate. "Atta baby! Atta baby! . . . Get rid of it it faster! Get rid of it faster! . . . No mistakes! No mistakes! . . . Way to be! Way to be! . . . Good hustle! Good hustle!" At one point, a man walking past the playground looked at the Wildcats and commented, "That's a beautiful sight." When told the practice would be followed with Geno's cheesesteaks, the man quipped, "Breakfast of champions." A state championship is way too much to expect. And even Great Valley will likely be a tough-to-conquer foe. But the Wildcats, who opted out of the PL playoffs to follow this path, are nothing if not excited and hopeful. "This means a lot to the school. No one ever did this before," DeSalis said. "At first, we didn't even know something like this was possible. But when the coaches mentioned it to the captains and other seniors, and said we could compete in the Triple A category for a state championship, we all said, 'Yeah, let's go for it!' "A lot of people are confident around the school we can win. Just like we are." DeSalis lives near 10th and Porter. "I played all my peewee football games in this playground," he said. "So, I thought it was a great idea to have our practice here. And to know we'd be walking across the street to eat together. This is all so new to us. A practice at night. Then a game at night. It's cool to be part of it." Bok's offensive starters aside from DeSalis are center Chris Cotton, guards Rasheed Fleming and Gregory Thomas, tackles Joe Campagna and Bryant Whitney, tight end Sean Jessup, split end Nafis Edwards, flanker Maurice Goodwin, halfback Cory Moultrie and fullback Cossim Turner. The defensive lineup: Ends Turner and Jessup, tackles Dahson Exum and Shon Thompkins, nose guard Campagna, linebackers Thomas and Cortez McLaughlin, rotating cornerbacks Maurice Brockington, Amir Nuriddin and Maurice Goodwin, and safeties Moultrie and Edwards. The original noseguard, the highly productive Nick Perrone, is out with a broken leg. He's having surgery today, but was in attendance last night to offer support and add emotion. The assistants on hand were Frank "Roscoe" Natale, Lloyd Jenkins and Vince Trombetta. Along with the current principal, Al Sorchetti, and the man who will soon succeed him, Larry Melton. DeFelice, a star quarterback at West Catholic and Temple, is in his 36th year at Bok. He loves the school and it loves him back. "I'm happy for the teachers and coaches at Bok, especially the ones that were around when I came to the school," he said. "The school took a lot of abuse. The teams in every sport were Public League doormats. I was so charged up to help try and change it. "My dad always told me, 'Change is a process, not an event. ' Since the early '80s, there's been a lot of positive change at Bok. " DeFelice then mentioned he'd received a phone call from a former teacher-coach named Sara Tucker, who's long retired. "She's so charged up for us," he said. "The things she said brought tears to my eyes. Fact, they're bringing tears now . . . "Anyway, here we are, little, ol' Bok, the smallest Pub school with a football team all these years, and we're going to be the first to represent the city in a PIAA playoff. I feel great for our kids, our coaches, our teachers, our administrators and our fans. We're going into this game 100 percent confident that we'll do a good job." Raise a cheesesteak to that. Below are the players who earned Coaches' All-Public honors during Tom DeFelice's 18 seasons as the coach at Edward Bok Tech. Tawan Miller RB 1993 Nafis Edwards Rec. 2004 Ronald Kindle DL 1993 Cory Moultrie RB 2004 Daminon Owens LB 1993 Gregory Thomas L 2004 Albert Thomas QB 1993 Nick Perrone DL 2004 Tariq Ceasar L-DL 1993 Cortez McLaughlin LB 2004 Michael Gales RB 1993 Sean Jessup DL 2004 Mark Lowman DB 1994 Keith Williams RB 2005 Michael Gales RB 1994 Nick Perrone L 2005 Tariq Ceasar DL 1994 Shon Thompkins L 2005 Ronald Kindle LB 1994 Bryant Whitney L 2005 Donald Medley L 1994 Anthony Gales L 2005 Pondossa Butler DB 1994 Dahson Exum L 2005 Michael Gales RB-LB 1995 James Jones QB 2005 Terrence Woodstock Rec.-DE 1995 Dante Quarterman MP 2005 Jared Anderson L-LB 1995 Stephen Brantley L 2005 Rodrigus Williams L-DL 1995 Ryan Murray L 2006 Omar Sabir L-DL 1996 Maurice "Rookie" Goodwin WR 2006 Horace Stewart L-DL 1996 Anthony Brickle L 2006 Bruce Morton RB-LB 1996 Leland Sledge L 2006 Will Gadson QB 1996 Mike Nelson QB 2006 William Warfield L-DL 1997 Luke Lassiter RB 2006 Bruce Morton RB-LB 1997 Akeem Clarke L 2006 Eddie Turner RB-LB 1998 Jeremy Morris LB 2006 Charles Kennedy L-DL 1998 Daquon Johnson LB 2006 Will Gadson QB 1998 Ryan Murray L 2007 Nevelle Bonaparte Rec.-DE 1998 Luke Lassiter RB 2007 Tyron Ellerbe L-LB 1998 Ackeem Clarke L 2007 Charles Kennedy L-DL 1999 Leland Sledge L 2007 Ramon Mills Rec.-LB 1999 Anthony Rivers L 2007 Ralph Sheridan L-DL 1999 Terry Lee L 2007 Ed Brumskill Rec.-DB 1999 Daquon Johnson LB 2007 Rodney McCarter Rec.-DB 1999 Ray Tucker RB 2008 Rodney Ray RB-LB 1999 Brahkim Poole WR/DB 2008 Kyle Lark Rec.-DB 1999 Troy Martin WR/DB 2008 Ramon Mills Rec. 2000 Kevin Bryan FB/NG 2008 Ed Brumskill DB 2000 Ramar Bridges L 2008 Rodney McCarter RB 2000 Monteze Guions L 2008 Wayne Stith L 2000 Jasaan Thomas L/DT 2008 Nick DiPietro LB 2000 Naeem Nunnally LB 2009 Shawn Jeter LB 2000 Kevin Thompson NG 2009 Shawn Jeter L-LB 2001 Andre Frazier QB 2009 Akeem "Feathers" Green Rec.-DB 2001 Khalil Neal FB 2009 Will McCall RB-DB 2001 Josh Garnett L 2009 Tyrique Johnson L-DL 2001 Khasiem Sledge L 2009 Cedric Green RB 2002 Robert Quarterman DB 2009 Akeem "Feathers" Green RB 2002 Jacqual Dobbs E 2009 Marcelluas Barnes DL 2002 Khalil Neal LB 2010 Ethan Simmons LB 2002 Jihad Ward E 2010 Alex Montero DL 2002 Shaquil Sammons RB 2010 Vinny Trama LB 2002 Maurice T-Toe NG 2010 Aaron Hayes L 2003 Marqui Alfriend T 2010 Cedric Green LB 2003 Kenny Major RB 2003 Tommy Williams L 2003 Allen Major QB 2003 Navarre Archie DL 2003 -- Recaps of Wins in Public League Championship Games 2008 Class 2A At Southern Bok 32, Franklin 12 Andre Frazier accounted for the game's first three TDs, sandwiching two shorties around a 26-yard pass to Troy Martin. Ray Tucker added 138 yards and two scores on 15 carries and Brahkim Poole made two picks, raising his career total to 16. Chris Sherrod, Kevin Bryan and Gary Jackson recovered fumbles to set up TDs; Jasaan Thomas did likewise by blocking a punt. For Franklin, which played without star rusher Marquis White (broken foot), Shuron Briggs carried 22 times for 109 yards and one TD. 2009 Class 2A At Southern Bok 32, Imhotep 8 Andre Frazier passed 5-for-8 for 100 yards and one TD apiece to Jihad Ward and Gary Jackson, and added a score of his own. Faison Perry also posted a rushing TD while Robert Quarterman had an interception. Imhotep's Christopher Lewis passed 7-for-16 for 71 yards and the TD went to Dasir White on a 1-yard run. The Panthers' 18 rushes netted minus-11 yards. 2010 Class 2A At Gratz Bok 41, Imhotep 0 Shaquil Sammons ran 16 times for 154 yards and four TDs and was one of four Wildcats (also Jihad Ward, Michael Riley, John Richardson) to post interceptions. Riley, a freshman, returned his pick 15 yards for a score. For Imhotep, Jeraal Boone made five catches for 48 yards. This result was part of a 63-point turnaround. Imhotep had beaten Bok, 28-6, in September, ending the Wildcats' 43-game, nine-year Pub regular season winning streak. --