AS FATHER Judge High tight end/linebacker Jim Galasso posed for a postgame photo, senior defensive lineman Eric Drains stopped over to congratulate his teammate, and also laud Galasso's photogenic features.
Well, not exactly.
"That's the best picture I've ever seen in my life," said the grinning Drains, a 6-3, 275-pound senior.
Galasso, a 6-2, 215-pound senior tight end, gave the camera a stern look with his blood-caked nose on display, as members of Roman Catholic's football team exited the background in defeat.
Surely, Drains was referring to the several shades of sanguine sticking to the bridge of Galasso's nose, which was emblematic of the defensive struggle that Judge won, 10-7, on a blustery Saturday at Charles Martin Memorial Field.
"Just had to capitalize on opportunities," Galasso said of his touchdown return. "It kind of just rolled into my hands and I just took off."
Connor Foley's 36-yard field goal with 1:33 left to play proved to be the game winner.
Matt Cunningham's blocked punt in a scoreless third quarter was scooped by Galasso, who ran it in for the Crusaders' only touchdown.
The win earned Judge (6-3 overall, 2-2 Catholic AAAA) third place and sets up a semifinal playoff rematch next weekend against second-place La Salle, which overcame a 16-0 deficit to nip Judge, 17-16, back in Week 6.
Fourth-place Roman (3-6, 1-3) will face regular-season champ St. Joseph's Prep (6-2, 3-1).
Galasso, 18, said he eclipsed 100 tackles this season with more than eight on Saturday. A tackle in Week 3 in a 37-0, win at Northeast opened the gash on his nose.
"Just getting after it, man," he said. "It's just a cut that hasn't had time to heal. It just opens up every week. We've tried everything."
Galasso transferred from Holy Spirit (N.J.) as a junior, but the La Salle-Judge rivalry isn't exactly new. He said he grew up in the area before moving to Wildwood for high school.
"Yeah, that's who we wanted in the first round, La Salle," Galasso said.
Cunningham, a 5-10, 200-pound senior who plays tight end and defensive end, also touched on the Week 6 letdown.
"We had them," Cunningham said, who also had a sack Saturday. "I think we wore down toward the end. It wasn't physically, but more mentally."
Galasso, who is still waiting to learn of his college football prospects, said his leadership style is to "keep everybody up."
He will be tasked with that role once more when the teams meet again.
"We're trying to win a championship," he said. "That's what we all want to do and we don't want to settle for anything less. We're not just happy with being in the playoffs; we want to go win it all."
Expect plenty more blood from his nose next week, but don't expect Galasso to mind. "I don't know, man, you have to love the game," he said. "You pretty much just have to love to do it."
