Kelly leads Roman’s run over Roxborough
Marcus Kelly has already proven he can run the football.
Marcus Kelly has already proved he can run the football.
Now the question becomes, how well can he run his mouth?
Kelly, a 5-9, 155-pound junior, is already a talented rusher for Roman Catholic High and Thursday he produced 102 yards and one touchdown on 13 carries as the visiting Cahillites thumped Roxborough, 49-6, thus expanding their edge in the series to 28-9-2 on Thanksgiving and overall.
His next assignment: Make little brother a teammate.
Dimetri Kelly is also a ballcarrying whiz and last Friday night, at Villanova Stadium, he helped Immaculate Heart of Mary, of Andorra, thrash St. Joseph's/Mother of Divine Providence, 38-7, for the Philly-area CYO championship.
Marcus thinks the decision for his brother, who actually attends St. Raymond, in Mt. Airy (IHM is a combo squad), will come down to Roman or La Salle.
Also headlining for IMH were John Chaney, grandson of the former Temple basketball coach, and AJ Frazier, a cousin of former Roman star Nick Moody, now a starting safety for Florida State.
"My brother would probably have to do a year of special teams, or maybe playing JV," Marcus said. "But I am going to tell him that, together, we could be very, very, very dominant. I do want what he feels is best for him. I think he'd be very comfortable at Roman because he already knows most of my friends.
"We're close, but we go at it on a lot of things. Like who had more TDs. Or who had more yards. We go to all of each other's games. He'll get mad at me for getting tackled. I'll get mad at him for fumbling."
Yes, Marcus attended the CYO final.
"It was a great night!" he gushed. Pause. "Except for seeing my brother get tackled in the open field by No. 21. That one got me real mad."
When asked to compare the brothers' running styles, Marcus noted, "Yeah, we're kind of a similar . . . but not really."
He added, "I move my arms more when I carry. Dimetri has a longer stride. He's already just a little bit taller than I am. Maybe a half-inch."
The boys' father, Darryl, was a football-baseball headliner at Martin Luther King (class of 1983).
"My dad, that's my biggest fan," Marcus said. "He tapes the games. Gives us the best advice. He's always saying how we have to get into the weight room and make ourselves stronger."
The only Cahillite with two TDs was Dan Pellicciotti, and they came on passes from soph Michael Keir. Anthony Johnson, Dennis Regan, Corey Bronson and Michael Sturgis posted rushing scores.
Rasheed Bailey tallied for Roxborough on a 16-yard pass from Nick Butts. The Indians have dropped this series' last 18 meetings while being outscored, 637-159.
"We knew we'd run all over them. Our blocking's too good," Marcus Kelly said. "After I came out, I had fun watching the seniors getting their last chances.
"Thanksgiving football's a lot of fun. I never got to play Thanksgiving football in pound ball. I always used to say, 'I can't wait to get to high school so I can play on Thanksgiving.' "
Next year, the experience might be shared with lil' bro.
