Loyola Blakefield coach Brian Abbott is hoping for a Turkey Bowl victory.
Yesterday, I shared some items on Calvert Hall's rise as a football program. I have
a story coming out in The Catholic Review about the Turkey Bowl this week, but wanted to share some tidbits from both Loyola Blakefield and Calvert Hall's program as each prepares for the big game that takes place nine days from now. Until then, Calvert Hall is preparing for the MIAA A Conference championship.
That means plenty of scouting time for Loyola(4-5) and the Turkey Bowl is of the utmost importance for the Dons. Because of their schedule, Loyola players really haven't seen Calvert Hall games too much this season.
"This game's a huge deal to us," senior Deemer Class said. "This has always been the biggest game."
Loyola has lost the last two games after dominating the series for years. For some players, that means a ruined Thanksgiving.
"It kills me inside that I haven't won one yet," admits senior Jordan Horne. "The feeling is terrible. You get home and don't want to eat."
Classmate Jordan Floyd said it's time to turn the page and shock Calvert Hall.
"Great teams come through and win the Turkey Bowl," Floyd said.
November 15, 2011 10:53
By Matt Palmer
Donald Davis talks with his 2007 team. The Cardinals football program has come a long way since and has a chance to win its second consecutive MIAA A Conference title.
Donald Davis knows that if he sat his players down four years ago and told them they were going to shut out perennial national and state power DeMatha at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium on Sept. 10, 2011, they would have shot a look of disbelief.
But, times have changed. And when the Cardinals beat DeMatha 18-0 this past September, it was not a major surprise. Calvert Hall has quickly, especially since the 2009 season, become one of the state's best units.
"They love football and they love each other," Davis said. "For those kids to have enough wherewithal to come and trust us, says a lot. We weren't a place to be when they came here. Everybody was going to Gilman or Loyola Blakefield or leaving town and going to DeMatha or Good Counsel. These kids had a ton of other options. Their families looked at the education, the religious aspect… and some of them said 'We've got some opportunities at Calvert Hall.'"
Davis, a proud Calvert Hall graduate, is grateful those families listened.
Donald Davis has helped guide the Calvert Hall football program since 2007.
Calvert Hall went 8-4 two years ago, beating teams like Gilman and Loyola. Last year, the Cardinals completed their ascension by becoming Baltimore's top team, winning the Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association A Conference regular season championship and the Turkey Bowl over Loyola Blakefield.
Players like C.J. Williams, Brandon Neverdon, Garrett Keane, Emmanuel Holder, Trevor Williams look at the next two weeks - which includes the MIAA A conference championship game Nov. 18 against Gilman and the Turkey Bowl Nov. 24 against Loyola- and say bring it on.
They also say nothing would have been accomplished without Davis and his staff.
"I love that guy to death," C.J. Williams said of Davis. "He cares about his players. He loves them all. His players are on his mind all the time."
The love goes both ways. Davis said of Williams: "He's been monumental. He is a tremendous leader. He's not a "me first" type of guy. A lot of people would call him a throwback."
The running back takes pride in helping restore prestige in the Calvert Hall uniform, after a number of years of taking hardcore lumps. Williams said that if someone asked what it means to put on the red and gold now, he would say, "It's definitely a privilege. It's a true honor to put on that uniform. You've got to cherish it every little bit."
November 14, 2011 12:34
By Matt Palmer
I received a really nice item from Loyola Blakefield's Robert Robinson.
As students eyed clocks Dec. 22 to countdown to their Christmas vacation, members of the school's swim team completed a 100-mile relay during nearly 30 hours. They did so in honor of fellow Dons and freshmen Joseph Gorman and Matthew Costello. Gorman has had leukemia for more than two years and has recently undergone a bone marrow transplant, while Matthew was diagnosed with a malignant tumor in 2009.
Robinson said they raised more than $9,300. Proceeds will be donated to the Johns Hopkins Pediatric Oncology Center on behalf of the Gorman and Costello families.
The swim was originally conceived in 1997 as a means to raise funds to establish the school's Water Polo team, but has since morphed into a charitable endeavor with several local nonprofits as recipients of the funds raised.
Congrats to the young men over at Loyola Blakefield for this noble effort!
January 04, 2011 10:47
By Matt Palmer
The stats helper monkeys at WordPress.com mulled over how this blog for CatholicReview.org did in the last two months of 2010, when it was formed. Thanks for your readership. Here's a high level summary of its overall blog health:
The Blog-Health-o-Meter™ reads Fresher than ever.
Crunchy numbers
A Boeing 747-400 passenger jet can hold 416 passengers. This blog was viewed about 1,800 times in 2010. That's about 4 full 747s.
In 2010, there were 53 new posts, not bad for the first year! There were 39 pictures uploaded, taking up a total of 69mb. That's about 3 pictures per month.
The busiest day of the year was November 23rd with 180 views. The most popular post that day was Matthew Slattery update.
Where did they come from?
The top referring sites in 2010 were
catholicreview.org,
facebook.com,
newcatholicblogs.blogspot.com,
dscottmiller.com, and
Private networks.
Some visitors came searching, mostly for best and worst christmas songs, molly sinnott, catholic review dwayne thomas, best worst christmas songs, and len bias mother.
Attractions in 2010
These are the posts and pages that got the most views in 2010.
1
Matthew Slattery update November 2010
2
Meet Dwayne Thomas, Loyola Blakefield student December 2010
3
Best and Worst Christmas songs Part I: The Worst December 2010
4 comments
4
Young Adult Spotlight on Sean Comber November 2010
1 comment
5
The inspiring Kleintank story December 2010
1 comment
January 02, 2011 03:17
By Matt Palmer
In the Dec. 23 edition of The Catholic Review and on CatholicReview.org, you'll be able to read a story on Loyola Blakefield senior Dwayne Thomas. He's an inspiring, selfless young man.
Here's a two-minute video that introduces you to him and stayed tuned to CatholicReview.org for more.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3x61R_fcbqw&fs=1&hl=en_US]
December 18, 2010 03:19
By Matt Palmer
Sean Comber has become a vital part of shining the light on teens
Sean Comber is the man behind the lens. The 19-year-old St Pius X (Rodgers Forge) parishioner was everywhere at the Baltimore Youth Catholic Conference, taking photos and producing videos for celebrated films and galleries. Comber produced several promo films for BYCC to get teens excited about the conference in Ocean City.
The Loyola Blakefield graduate did all of this while attending Drexel University, where he is a sophomore.
Scott Miller, director of Youth and Young Adults Ministry for the Archdiocese of Baltimore, called the aspiring music producer and engineer a "photographer and videographer extraordinaire," this week in one of his blogs.
Comber answered some questions about his efforts.
Matt Palmer: The BYCC Man video was a bit hit, as were the others from BYCC. What went in to putting that together?
Sean Comber: We began talking and thinking about exactly what we needed and wanted out of the video around the time of late summer.
After that it was a matter of figuring out what to talk about and locations to work at. We ended up talking with the staff of the BYCC location hotel and worked out a day that we could go down and get access to a room to film. Through out the day we shot footage for three videos: the rules video and two promotional videos. Other footage and voiceover audio was shot and recorded at my studio in Towson.
Matt Palmer: How early did you and Nate (BYCC Man) Nockett go down to Ocean City to film? What were the biggest obstacles and what was the most fun?
Sean Comber: I along with Scott Miller, head of DYYAM, and Nate Nockett, BYCC Man took a day trip to Ocean City on 7th of September. We arrived somewhere around 9 a.m. and left around 2 p.m. Probably the most challenging aspect of the day was working around the fact that we were shooting in a foreign environment. We were not able to script out exactly what we wanted in the video. It was more a process of making a list of possible scenes that we wanted to incorporate into the videos and then figuring out how we would accomplish the shot once we were on location. That being said, probably one of the most fun parts of the day was interacting with people.
Although we were not down there at peak season, there were still a lot of people. It's not easy to walk across ocean highway and the boardwalk dressed as a superhero with a camera following you without going noticed.
Matt Palmer: Is filmmaking something you’re interested in?
Sean Comber: For me filmmaking is a hobby that I also do freelance. I enjoy making films and videos, however I do not see it as a career.
Matt Palmer: How did you start doing pictures and videos for the youth and young adult office?
Sean Comber: I received my first gig with the Archdiocese from Kristin Witte (now assistant director of campus ministry for Loyola University). We had talked at retreats such as Justice Action Week. After talking about many things we eventually landed on the subject of film and video. From there it was just a matter of time.
Matt Palmer: What other projects have you worked on for the archdiocese?
Sean Comber: I have produced Pilgrimage promos for 2010 and 2011, a Pilgrimage look back with photos that I took from the event in 2010, as well as a promotional piece for Justice Action Week in addition to my BYCC 2010 work.
Matt Palmer: What has been your favorite and why?
Sean Comber: Although BYCC was fun to film, I must say that the Justice Action Week Promo is my favorite. I got to have fun with this. We set up a sound stage at St William of York and spent a few solid days filming interviews in front of a green screen. It gave me a lot of footage in front of a changeable background that I was able to sift through to find exactly what I wanted.
Matt Palmer: Were you involved in youth ministry in high school and how did that affect you?
Sean Comber: I was very involved in youth ministry in high school. I went to all the conferences, retreats and events. Having been previously involved as a participant in the events that I have worked allows me to approach the project at an angle that appeals to the participant as well as some of the major factors of the event or retreat that I know from experience will be a major selling point.
Matt Palmer: Why do you continue to be involved in projects like this for the archdiocese?
Sean Comber: Aside from being able to work with a great group of people, it gives me a chance to revisit all the great events that I loved when I was in high school from a completely different point of view.
Matt Palmer: What would you like to try with these projects that you haven’t done yet?
Sean Comber: I am always thinking of how I can make the videos look more professional and be more appealing and engaging to the audience that it is intended for. I would very much like to incorporate more material that is from the point of view of actual participants.
Matt Palmer: What have you learned about teenagers through these projects?
Sean Comber: I have learned that the young church (middle and high school age) is as strong as ever. Every year we are getting more participants that are even more energetic than the previous year. It is inspiring and comforting.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bQti5NTw_Lw&fs=1&hl=en_US]
November 25, 2010 06:42
By Matt Palmer
Tomorrow, Calvert Hall and Loyola Blakefield will take the field of M&T Bank Stadium for the annual Turkey Bowl football game. It's the Navy-Army of the Baltimore high school football.
Adrian Amos (CR Staff/Owen Sweeney III)
If you want to get up to speed on some of the standouts from both schools, check out this piece on Calvert Hall's Adrian Amos. Also read my story on Loyola's Kevin McKeown.
You can listen to the game live on SFMSports.net, with the play-by-play from Graham Whaples and Mike Popovec. These guys do a top notch job. You can listen to the game also on FOX 1370 AM.
Be sure to read Paul McMullen's story on two men who mean so much to both schools.
Who do you expect to win?
November 24, 2010 07:28
By Matt Palmer