Eagles bounced: Despite 196 yards and two scores from Quadir Cobbs (right), Washington lost to Franklin, 36–19, in the Public AAAA semifinals. MICHELLE ALTON / FOR THE TIMES
In Public League Class AAAA football, it’s safe to say there’s been a changing of the guard.
Just ask Ron Cohen. For the first time since 2005, the legendary George Washington head coach will not be preparing for this weekend’s league title game.
That privilege will belong to Simon Gratz and Ben Franklin, the latter of which continued its storybook, undefeated season by dispatching Cohen and the Eagles, 36–19, in Saturday night’s semifinal contest at the Gratz Super Site in North Philadelphia.
Cohen and company had come so close to defeating the Electrons on Oct. 9, a 20–14 home defeat in double overtime that Washington thought it had won; however, Franklin opportunistically jumped offsides, forcing a re-kick on the made field goal and blocking kicker Chris Schlegel’s second attempt before winning the game in the next overtime. On that day, the Eagles already began talking about a possible rematch.
It came on Saturday, and through 24 minutes, Washington held a 7–6 lead on the strength of a Tavious Morgan 12-yard touchdown catch from quarterback Damir Mitchell. But then, in the second half, Franklin did what Franklin does best:
Pass, pass, pass.
Quarterback Kevin Caldwell tossed three of his four touchdown passes in the second half, ultimately overwhelming Washington’s stout defense en route to the 36–19 victory. In the process, Caldwell broke the single-season Public League touchdown pass mark, ending this day with 32 of them (Frankford’s Tim DiGiorgio had thrown 30 of them back in 2012). Franklin will play Gratz for the AAAA Public League title on Saturday at 4 p.m. at Northeast.
“They played well, just a very good football team with an offense predicated on 7-on-7, big-play offense,” Cohen said of his opponent. “They throw the ball up there. The quarterback is good, and he was hot. Not only that, but his receivers are athletic, good ballplayers. The coaches prepared them well for this, and they really spread the defense out and let their receivers go get the ball.”
From 2006–13, Cohen and the Eagles played for the Public League title, winning four and losing four. For the first time since a 21–6 semifinal loss to Northeast in 2005, Washington will not be playing for the ultimate prize; in fact, it’s the first time since 2010 that Washington and Frankford will not be battling in the championship round.
“There is a change in what’s happening,” Cohen acknowledged. “Gratz has an excellent coach who has done a great job with that program, and they’ve always been up there in AAA. And when University City closed, Franklin got a boost with a lot of transfers. They have some young coaches who like to spread the ball out and they love to score.
“The key thing here is that there is a lot of respect between the players and coaches of Washington and Franklin. Their head coach (David Carter) is a good friend of mine, and in the past he’s rubbed up against me saying he wanted to absorb some of our mojo. They respect George Washington, and they beat a good football team.”
Following the loss to Franklin (9–0), the Eagles (6–5) were eliminated from postseason play, but that doesn’t mean their season is finished. Cohen just added a Thursday game at Central to the schedule, which will hopefully keep Washington sharp heading into its annual Thanksgiving tilt with Archbishop Ryan. The Raiders defeated Bonner-Prendie on Saturday to advance to the Catholic League Class AAA title game against Archbishop Wood, so Cohen knows his team’s work is far from over.
“Hey, we’re looking forward to it,” Cohen said. “We have an opportunity to play another team in our league this week, and obviously Ryan is an excellent football team. This team made me proud, and I feel bad for the kids that they’re not in the championship game, because they worked hard and thought they could win this game. They have nothing to put their heads down about. Life goes on, and we’ll prepare for Central and Ryan.”
Despite the elimination, Cohen was happy to have a few more weeks to spend with his players, namely the seniors who got the program back on track after an embarrassing loss in the 2013 league title game. Players like Shawn Henderson and Bruce Smalley and Quadir Cobbs, the latter of whom came on like a bat out of hell in the second half of the season, going from bench player to Washington’s leading rusher with 812 yards and eight TDs. Cobbs went from a kid who admitted he used to hang out at the gas station after school to an established player now on the radar of collegiate scouts.
Cohen also has enjoyed his time spent with Shareef Miller, one of the top defensive end prospects in the country who transferred to Washington from Frankford for his senior year. Miller blossomed under Cohen, who has sent his fair share of players to top-notch college programs, and Miller will be no exception (Purdue University was one of many Division I programs still pushing hard for Miller’s services as of this writing). In the past several months, Cohen has gotten to know Miller and his family, and even consoled Miller’s mother recently when he learned that one of her nieces was shot and killed.
“A lot of people don’t understand that, as a coach, when you get involved with a player, it’s not just X’s and O’s,” Cohen said. “You get involved with the families and do anything you can to help. Shareef, he listens well and he comes up big on defense in the biggest games. I’m real proud of him.”
And even though the Eagles players are bummed about the loss to Franklin, Cohen has no doubt his unselfish guys will still give him their full commitment and effort for these final two games.
“We have a lot more team players than we did the last couple of years,” he said. “They know it’s ultimately about each other, not just the wins and losses. They made me real proud to coach them, and having some more games to prepare for helps heal from the loss. We’re not taking these final two games lightly. I’m not, and I hope the kids won’t, either.” ••
