Rick O'Brien: O'Hara football's Brown commits to Ohio State

Cardinal O'Hara standout Corey Brown has orally committed to play for Ohio State, according to Lions coach Danny Algeo.

During the weekend, Brown made an unofficial visit to the school, where he watched the Buckeyes take on Southern Cal before a record crowd of 106,033.

"I was a little bit surprised that he did it this soon," Algeo said, "but he seems very happy with the decision. And, of course, that's the most important thing."

Brown, a 6-foot-1, 195-pound senior tailback and cornerback, also considered West Virginia, Pittsburgh, Rutgers, and Miami.

Said Algeo: "Corey told me on the phone, 'Coach, I wanted to get this over with, so that I could focus on academics and athletics in my last year of high school.' "

He can take the heat. While some of his La Salle High teammates struggled with early-morning workouts in August, Steve Szostak was prepared for the baking sun and humidity.

Szostak, a senior left guard and defensive end, worked 40 hours a week as part of the grounds crew at Blue Bell Country Club and Normandy Farm. His hours were 6 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.

"It's tough getting up every day at 5 a.m. and dealing with the heat all day," he said. "The good thing about it, besides getting paid, was that it made training camp easier for me."

Szostak helped lay the groundwork for Friday night's 28-7 nonleague victory over Malvern Prep on Plymouth Whitemarsh's soaked turf. The Explorers avenged back-to-back losses to the Friars, including last year's 47-21 drubbing at Quigley Field.

"The coaches reminded us a time or two about last season's game," Szostak said with a laugh. "Malvern had really buried us. We knew we had to make a statement this time."

The 6-2, 225-pounder, a third-year starter, is the third in his family to play football at La Salle. His brother, Rob, a 2004 graduate, was a defensive tackle. His father, Bob, a 1972 grad, was a guard and defensive tackle.

The Explorers, 2-0 and The Inquirer's top-ranked team in Southeastern Pennsylvania, rushed for 176 yards on 37 attempts vs. Malvern. Before leaving in the third quarter with a knee injury, junior tailback Jamal Abdur-Rahman carried 26 times for 152 yards and a pair of second-quarter touchdowns.

Szostak was joined up front by center Ryan Geiger, right guard Matt DiGiacomo, left tackle Steve Sinnott, right tackle Cameron Cappo, and tight end Steve Jones.

"We have a lot of weapons at the running back position," Szostak said. "And it's important, if we do want to have success passing the ball, that we establish the run."

In dropping their opener, the Friars notched their only score with a third-quarter, 1-yard touchdown plunge by junior fullback Bob Scaramuzza.

In addition to Szostak, La Salle's defense featured linemen DiGiacomo, Sinnott, Cappo, Kieran Trainer, and Matt McGinnis; linebackers Shane Brady, Connor Daly, and Anthony Cognetti; and backs Abdur-Rahman, Vince Migliarese, Kevin Forster, Patrick Resch, and Bill Thomas.

Szostak, who can bench-press 365 pounds and squat 475, attended a one-day camp at Penn and a four-day camp at Harvard. He is also considering Brown.

The 17-year-old from Upper Dublin, a former lacrosse player, has a 4.37 grade point average on a weighted scale. He takes Advanced Placement classes in English, calculus, and biology.

Unwelcome bye. No. 7 Abington (2-0) gets an early bye week. The Ghosts are off until they host fifth-ranked Neshaminy in a Suburban One League National Conference opener Sept. 25.

Abington coach Tim Sorber did not want it this way. He had expected his team to play Northeast in Week 3, but the Vikings opted out and scheduled another Suburban One member, Bensalem.

"If it was later in the season and we were banged up, it would be OK," Sorber said. "But in this case, with our inexperience along the offensive and defensive lines, the kids need game experience. So, ultimately, the bye hinders us."

Extra points. La Salle's Forster and Resch had interceptions against Malvern. Resch returned the ball from the Malvern 29-yard line to the 3. That set up fullback Tim Wade's second short TD run of the night. . . . Pennsbury's Eric Williams, a 6-3, 200-pound cornerback and wide receiver, has orally committed to Pittsburgh. He is projected to play safety for the Panthers. . . . In Saturday's 17-0 nonleague win over Archbishop Ryan, North Catholic's defensive leaders were inside linebacker David Williams (seven tackles, five solos) and outside linebacker Daniel Clark (six, three). Ryan's top defensive performers were linebacker Anthony Victor (eight tackles, four solo), linemen Fran Corbett (seven, five), linebacker Tony Vendetti (six, two), and lineman Chris McMonagle (five, two). Brian Murphy blocked a third-quarter punt, and Mike DeLeo made the recovery.