Saturday morning thoughts ... Villanova, Liberty and more

FROM KEITH GROLLER

No excuses not to get out and see a game somewhere.

First of all, our Morning Call "Calling All Sports" radio show, heard 9-11 this morning, will be busy today. Listen on AM 1470, the Fox. or online at fox1470.com

We'll have writers Steve Miller, Mark Wogenrich and Nick Fierro, plus Lafayette coach Frank Tavani, on the show.

We'll also have trivia -- a new Rita's prize package to give out -- and our first National Football Foundation Lehigh Valley Chapter high school player of the week.

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Now, looking back on last night, I was very impressed with Liberty.

I didn't expect the Hurricanes to be as good as they were. I don't know how good Northampton is. The Konkrete Kids have a lot of returners. But I didn't expect Liberty to dominate the game as it did and flash so many different offensive weapons. (MIchael Harris, seen running away to a touchdown below, is one of those weapons).

This is a different Hurricanes team. Their biggest star is defensive end Dante Holmes. Coaches tend to exaggerate a bit, but Northampton coach Bob Steckel was sincere when he called Holmes one of the best

players he has ever seen.


Dave Brown, Liberty's first-year coach, is a low-key guy. He seems to set a businesslike tone and that's what the 'Canes are all about - taking care of business.

"It's just not going to be as easy as it was," Brown said. "The more people see us and the more film they have, the more prepared they are going to be for us. So we really have to work on sustained drives and not making mistakes. We showed the ability to drive the ball down the field tonight and that was great to see.

"We're starting seven juniors and we weren't sure where we were going to be. I think it's safe to say we're a little bit ahead of where we expected to be. With our offensive kids, you're talking about excellent students as well as great athletes and they have been able to pick things up in a hurry."

I know Central, Easton, Parkland, Whitehall and probably even Freedom are ranked ahead of Liberty in the minds of most. But these Hurricanes are going to be a handful and a return to the District 11 playoffs is quite likely.

Elsewhere in the LVC, things went pretty much as expected. I am sure Allen fans are happy that their team was quite competitive against Bethlehem Catholic. That close score may say more about the Golden Hawks than the Canaries.

But Dieruff fans can't be satisfied with yet another lopsided, non-competitive loss. Easton was impressive in rallying past Nazareth, although Chuck Dibilio had another terrific night for the Blue Eagles.

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Emmaus High and Villanova grad Rich Spugnardi is promising a lot of 'Nova alums to be at Goodman Stadium today for the Wildcats game against Lehigh. He said to look for the big "V" in the parking lot where a first-class tailgate will be going on.

He says it's a rare chance for alums in this area to get to see Villanova in a road game and the game has been promoted heavily on the alumni network.

Spugnardi has remained close to the program. He was a part of coach Andy Talley's first recruiting class back in 1985 and has nothing but nice things to say about Talley. He was in Chattanooga when Villanova won the national championship last December.

"That program has come a long way," Spugnardi said. "I couldn't be more proud of what Coach Talley and the whole program has accomplished."

Spugnardi expects Villanova to win today, although he expects it to be a competitive game.

I agree.

I talked to Spugnardi before the news broke that the Big East would like Villanova to consider joining its league and jump from basically the I-AA level to I-A.

They are going to be studying the situation, and there's lots of financial issues to consider. A lot of money would have to be invested.

It's all part of the ever-changing landscape of college football.

Until last year, I thought one Philly school should make a big move. I thought Temple should go from I-A to I-AA and join Villanova in the Colonial Athletic Association. After a bowl appearance, the Owls are probably not considering that at all, but if one move is to be made in Philly college football, that's the one that should happen.

I'll be tweeting and blogging later from Lehigh. See you later.

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