Fels tops Furness to win Public AAAA Silver title

It's not often a wideout runs his best pattern after the clock hits 0:00. But there Nijay Kelly was, zooming to the bench as if his pants were on fire.

He wasn't expecting to catch a pass. He wanted to capture the moment.

Samuel Fels High is the 2010 Public AAAA Silver football champion, and, if you offer him a decent chunk of change, Kelly might sell you his video of the postgame celebration. That is, unless he has already posted it on YouTube.

"Oh, yeah. I knew right what I was gonna do when game ended," he gushed. "I've been waiting for this all night."

Before a spirited crowd at 10th and Bigler streets in South Philly Thursday night, the visiting Panthers bested Horace Furness, 22-14, to claim the head-on, last-game battle between squads that entered with identical 5-0 division marks. (Both already owned the grouping's two playoff spots, but you wouldn't have known it from the intensity.)

Kelly, a 6-2, 180-pound junior, contributed four catches for 84 yards and a touchdown, along with a conversion snag that made it 16-14 with 4:39 remaining in the third quarter.

Two of his receptions deserved a sensational tag. Here's hoping someone got them on film, the way he nailed the unabashed, postgame joy.

Kelly's gym bag, sitting at the bench, contained his cell phone. And that baby has video capabilities. After he fetched the phone, one of Kelly's first moves was to grab quarterback Tyree "Bam" Rucker, draw him close, hold the phone up at arm's length, point it down toward the both of them and roar, "This is my man, Bam! We got it done today!"

Eventually, that is. In the first 17-plus minutes, the Panthers - a 5-year Pub member; 3-17 in league play the first 4 - lost three fumbles, and Rucker tossed an interception. Hardly a championship-caliber beginning.

"That was scary. Real scary. I ain't gonna lie to you," said Kelly, a basketball player in only his second year of organized football. "But I also kept thinking, 'We'll get through this.'

"Somehow, I knew it was going to come down to me making plays. And I wasn't nervous about being able to do the job. I kept saying, 'When the ball comes to me, I'll be ready.' I prepared for this all week."

Despite the despicable start, Fels trailed by only 6-0. Then, on a second-and-10 play, Kelly motored down the left sideline and, whoa, jumped way up there to outbattle two defenders for a 29-yard gain to the Furness 39. Four plays later, he gathered in a 27-yard touchdown pass.

Of his first catch, Kelly said: "Right before I go make plays, I look to see where the defensive guys are. When I saw how far away the safety was, and that the corner was inside, I knew they couldn't get a jump ball. I just took it."

In the third quarter, Kelly posted catches of eight and 20 yards on an 80-yard drive, capped by Rucker's 1-yard TD. He then jumped to reel in the conversion-play slant.

In all, Rucker finished 11-for-19 for 220 yards and two TDs; the last one was a 57-yarder to Jared Hines early in the fourth quarter.

"Bam won't give up on you," Kelly said. "Sometimes he might get mad and start girlin', but he'll come back to you. You have to let him know you'll make the plays. Guarantee it, really."

Fels' o-linemen in a spread, no-huddle offense were center Jamal Barksdale, guards Dezhuante White and Imeen Bass, and tackles Dontae Bacon and Morgan Willingham. Bacon enjoyed early success on defense, but down the stretch, the top Panther was linebacker John Counts.

Furness took over on its 26 with 4:12 left, looking to force overtime. It ran 14 plays and every one was a run or pass by Maurice Harris. Counts sacked him twice and applied outstanding pressure, limiting his passing on the possession to 3-for-9 for 45 yards.

The Falcons died at the 19. Soon, the Panthers were providing a full soaking for coach Bill Harrigan and spritzing water from plastic bottles on his assistants, including defensive coordinator Cliff Hubbard, the school's original head coach (2 years) and once the forever boss at Roxborough.

"I noticed their linemen weren't too quick," said Counts, who made five total stops behind the line. "If I slanted toward the edge, I knew I'd get to [Harris] fast. He had confidence in his speed, but I had confidence in mine.

"That was a helluva game. Close all the way through. I think I speak for everybody on our team when I say we deserved this one."

Misael Perez, Isaiah Jordan, Chris Miller, Terrance Lewis, Antuan Washington and White also made important fourth-quarter plays for Fels' defense. For Furness, star rusher Sharif Smith ran 30 times for 165 yards and TDs of 9 and 21 yards. Harris added 80 yards of rushing/passing.

But the thrills went to Fels.

"First time in the playoffs, plus division champ?" Kelly said. "You know I had to get all this on video."

The St. Joseph's Prep-Malvern Prep Thanksgiving football game will move this year to Plymouth-Whitemarsh High, according to Bill Avington, a spokesman for SJ Prep. The high cost of renting Villanova Stadium is behind the switch, Avington added. *