Hoffman has caught on with LaSalle
Connor Hoffman considers himself a receiver who can help his football team maintain possession.
Connor Hoffman considers himself a receiver who can help his football team maintain possession.
Twice that didn't happen Saturday night.
Wait, that wasn't a bad thing. When the ball left Hoffman's hands, it wasn't headed to the ground as a fumble. It was being flipped to a ref. After he'd scored six points.
Hoffman, a 6-2, 200-pound senior wideout, made five catches for 121 yards and two touchdowns as LaSalle bested Cardinal O'Hara, 31-21, in a Catholic AAAA semifinal at Plymouth-Whitemarsh.
He posted the Explorers' first TD on a 19-yarder as the second quarter opened, and their last, a 74-yarder making it 28-14, 8 minutes, 7 seconds into the third session.
Take a guess on which one provided more enjoyment.
"On the long one," Hoffman said, "I saw a hole and took advantage of it. It's like a dream to see a hole that big. You don't have to do anything, except run. I ran as fast as I could. Running after the catch is my favorite part of playing receiver."
Hoffman got his snagging start with the Rhawnhurst AA, as a tight end. He briefly played quarterback, turned up his nose at that position, then returned to the good-hands crew.
His first favorite QB was his dad, Mike.
"From Day One, we always had catches," he said.
Did Dad gun the ball as well as LaSalle's Drew Loughery?
"He used to," Hoffman said, smiling. "Don't know about anymore."
Hoffman, who began making splashes 2 years ago, holds LaSalle's one-game receiving mark with 154 yards. His career totals show 102 catches for 1,382 yards and 12 scores.
This stuff just doesn't happen, by the way. It takes work.
"All summer we were working out in Upper Dublin," Hoffman said. "We'd usually go three times a week for an hour to an hour-and-a-half each time. It would always be me, Drew and Sam , and then Steve and Jamal would come a lot, too.
"We have a great bond. We're always together in school. We get our motivation from what happened last year against Washington . Plus, this is our last year together. We want to take advantage of it."
Abdur-Rahman, returning from injury, carried 29 times for 141 yards and one TD. Loughery also ran 1 yard for a score while Mike Bennett added seven points on four PAT and a 38-yard field goal. LaSalle forced three turnovers in the fourth quarter: Vinny Migliarese made two interceptions and Shane Brady recovered a fumble.
For O'Hara, Dan O'Hara ran for two scores and Corey Brown, an Ohio State commit, caught a 28-yard TD pass from Ryan Laughlin.
Hoffman, who lives in Abington, is talking mostly with Lafayette and West Chester. He was preceded at LaSalle by a brother, Shane.
"When he was playing and I was in the eighth grade, I could see how much LaSalle passed," Connor said. "I didn't come here for that, though. I just love the school."
