Keeping the Catholic League red and blue

Sports Columnist
John Knebels

A topic of conversation that seems to come up regularly among Catholic League football fans is the idea of determining a sole Catholic League football champion.
It becomes a common debate every time there is a very strong championship football team from the smaller-enrollment Blue Division. Would they be strong enough to beat the representative from the larger-enrollment Red Division?
I classify myself as a traditionalist. Back in the days when the Catholic League didn’t have to concern itself with enrollment, there was something very special about being the “Northern Division” or “Southern Division” champion. Sort of like professional sports — the NFC and the AFC in football, the National League and the American League in baseball.
I’ll always miss that “North-South” terminology, not to mention the term “champion,” since Catholic League football now has two champions. Today, if someone asks who was the Catholic League football champion in 2006, the answer would be, “LaSalle won the Red, and West won the Blue.” Not exactly poetry. Ask what team was Catholic League football champion in 1984, the answer is “Father Judge.” Very definitive.
But that was a different time. While the Northern Division teams dominated most of the landscape, there was at least a chance of a Southern Division team pulling an upset in the championship. Now? Not a chance.
Take, for instance, this year. The Blue Division’s Archbishop Wood has played sensational football. The Vikings haven’t allowed a single point in four division games while scoring 142. Can’t get much more dominating than that.
However, no offense to their opponents, but there is no way the Vikings would have done that against any four teams from the Red Division. In fact, back on Sept. 15, the Vikings lost a spirited 28-25 decision to the Red Division’s Archbishop Ryan. In four Red Division games, Ryan has lost all four while being outscored 140-29.
In other words, if Wood isn’t able to defeat Ryan, it stands to reason it wouldn’t have much of a chance against the Red Division champion, no matter who that will be.
That’s why you never hear a complaint from the Blue Division coaches and athletic directors. The Blue and Red have cemented themselves as separate entities. They have started their own rivalries; they are content.
At least Catholic League football has some individuality. In the other sports, there’s a crossover. In the second round of the playoffs, the second-seeded team from the Blue takes on the top-seeded team from the Red, and vice versa. The two finalists then meet to determine one champion; thus, there really is no “division champ.”
We have “regular-season” champs, but I can’t recall the last time I witnessed a real celebration for that. As soon as the regular season is over, there is talk of league — not division — championships. There’s something disturbing about that. In our zeal to determine one winner, we have lost the opportunity to celebrate a very worthwhile accomplishment.
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Some final thoughts about last week’s column concerning the life and death of Holy Ghost Prep swimming coach Joe Boback through the words of Catholic Standard & Times readers:
“Thank you for your beautiful, and so accurate, article about Joe. He was feisty, but truly a one-of-a-kind human being. These last four years as a Holy Ghost swim mom and knowing Joe have changed my life. I know the diagnosis was painful and unbearable for him to hear, and Pat and his daughters endured his frustration, but I was also inspired by his courage, and the entire Holy Ghost community . . . parents, team and faculty will miss him. I will miss him dearly. He was a great friend to me. I feel he is now in Heaven with his whistle and he’s lining up the angels for their first swim meet. It is truly remarkable that a man who had no sons starts a swim program at an all-boys school with no pool, and then runs the program successfully for 16 years. Thank you again for writing the article. Swimming often gets pushed aside for other “more recognized” sports. JoeBo would have been proud to have made the Catholic Standard & Times.
God Bless you in all you do!”
Maureen Pody, Langhorne
“I am in shock. I just sat down to read the Catholic Standard and came across your article on Joe Boback. I almost fell off of my chair. I saw Joe a few summers ago (seven to be exact) in the Acme on Route 9. He looked great — he had just bought a summer home in Wildwood. Joe was, as you said, a great guy. From the day he walked into the office at HGP, I knew there was something good about him. Joe was a mentor, a teacher and a friend, he was the complete package. Your article, as always, described Joe to a tee.
Barbara Rilling, Trevose