Judge gets win; Quinones looking for prize
FOR THE GUY who wears No. 2 for Father Judge High's football team, "Running is all that matters," long was his version of The Golden Raul.
FOR THE GUY who wears No. 2 for Father Judge High's football team, "Running is all that matters," long was his version of The Golden Raul.
But, hey, as some kids ease toward manhood, they (hopefully) find maturity and realize they can gain satisfaction from dedicating themselves to other endeavors, and even show prowess.
Say hello to Raul Quinones, a 5-11, 180-pound senior.
Totin' the football is still his favorite activity, and that's what he'll do in college (Bryant, Towson and William & Mary are among the interested). But now he is also quite the defensive force, at outside linebacker, and that job might, ultimately, fatten his wallet.
Saturday at Abraham Lincoln High, Quinones returned a third-quarter interception 52 yards for a TD as Judge rolled to a 45-14, non-league win over Penn Charter.
Later, he had fun talking about it . . . Seems there's a bit of a contest taking place.
"We have this thing between the defensive backs and the linebackers about which group is going to get more pick-sixes," he said, using the modern slang for interception touchdowns. "The d-backs think they've got us. They think they catch better than us. So that one was good for the linebackers."
The competition stands at 1-1; defensive back Connor Donohoe turned the pick-six trick in the opener vs. Northeast.
"I'm not sure what the prize is going to be at the end," Quinones said. "We have to talk about that. I'm thinking money. Yeah, they'll have to put some up. If not that, then take us out for a meal or buy us something nice."
Quinones' score wound up being rather easy. "As soon as the quarterback dropped back, I saw exactly where the ball would be going," he said. "Wasn't too much to it. I flashed over there, caught it and said, 'I've gotta get to the end zone.' The field was pretty open.
"I feel like I'm playing pretty good on defense. The coaches give me freedom over there. Usually I play more toward the sideline, but today I was mostly stacked up behind the weak-side defensive end because we were more concerned with run support."
He smiled. "The coaches were sending me in," he added. "It's fun to get in there before the offense is even off the ball. You get to take shots."
Though no TDs resulted, Quinones rushed for 94 yards on 15 carries. Last year he led Judge in rushing with 939 yards and 11 TDs, and now he shares the load with Matt Smalley, his classmate and fellow track star.
At times, the two are out there together and Quinones finds himself at fullback. In this game, Smalley exploded for 201 yards and three scores on just 13 carries while Rob Daniels passed 9-for-14 for 128 yards and a TD to John Landis.
PC's highlights were its long TDs: a 90-yarder by Daryl Worley, usually a wideout, on the game's first play, and a 69-yarder by Eric Neefe (16-111).
Blocking. Tackling. Fun, productive jobs now, but still Nos. 2 and 3 in his heart.
"I'll always love running the ball the best," Quinones said.
