Dynamic duo lifts SCH

DYLAN PARSONS was on his hands and knees seconds before he began pounding the rain-soaked turf at Germantown Academy with closed fists.

Not exactly the ideal position for the 6-1, 175-pound wide receiver during the fourth quarter of Saturday's Inter-Ac thriller.

The Springside Chestnut Hill Academy senior had just "dropped" a critical touchdown pass on fourth down with the Blue Devils trailing the host Patriots by seven.

"I was thinking that I have to make the next play and try to pick my team up because that was obviously a big play if I caught that," Parsons said. "I hate letting my teammates down. I always want to be the one making that big play."

Minutes later, Parsons scored on an improbable, 90-yard catch-and-run thrown by senior quarterback Paul Dooley, who eluded several defenders in his own end zone before tossing history.

After a delay-of-game penalty backed them up, the duo connected again for the eventual game-winning conversion with 2:31 remaining.

Not only did the sequence give the Blue Devils a 35-34 victory, it also made Parsons the league's all-time leader in career receiving yardage (John Decker last set the mark of 1,515 for Haverford School in 2004).

After a six-catch, 166-yard performance, Parsons now owns 1,526 career receiving yards. Also, his two touchdown receptions make 19 for his career, which broke Joe Price's record of 18 for Malvern Prep in 2008. Pretty good considering Parsons didn't start playing receiver until his junior season at SCH (8-1, 3-1).

"My whole life, I'd never played it," Parsons said. "I only played running back and quarterback my whole life."

Those two positions were spoken for on Saturday, big time.

Sophomore back Syaire Madden had rushed for 164 yards on 24 carries before a lower-leg injury knocked him out on the final play of the third quarter.

Dooley, who has binged on TDs and yards the last 2 weeks, finished with five total touchdowns - two in the air and three on the ground. He also finished with 393 total yards (210 by air, 183 by land).

In his last two games, Dooley owns 10 scores (four passing, six rushing) and 656 total yards (404 passing, 252 rushing). He also earned plaudits from Parsons, his best friend.

"Mostly it's because of Paul," Parsons joked of his new receiving record. "He makes things a lot easier. You can put up a lot of yards with that guy."

Well, hard work had something to do with it, too.

After head coach Rick Knox told Parsons the team needed help at receiver last season, Parsons immediately told his dad when he got home.

Soon after, John Parsons, a standout gridder at Father Judge (1977), bought his son a pass-catching machine that's essentially a pitching machine that shoots footballs.

"He spent countless hours, showing me how to catch, running routes for hours in the grass at our house," said Parsons, a Warminster resident. "He showed me different ways to catch, throwing the ball behind me, over my head, making me go after it. Every night I would go lift weights with him and then go shoot footballs."

Perhaps adjusting to inaccurate balls parallels with altering routes when Dooley scrambles to extend plays.

"It's an instinct," Parsons said. "It's just natural; I don't know how to explain it."

On the crucial touchdown against GA (3-6-1, 1-3): "I saw him scrambling so I started making my way toward him trying to make eye contact because he always does. When we make eye contact, I know it's coming. I just caught it and nobody could catch me."

"We always see the same thing every play," Parsons continued. "We know the reads, we study film all the time, all day, all week, so we're really prepared going into the game. And, it really helps that we're best friends in school."

It's deep and it's real. For Halloween, Parsons came dressed as Batman, while Dooley, his superhero counterpart, was Superman.

Who knows if the dynamic duo will join forces in college? With his recent exploits, suitors should start clamoring even more for Dooley. Parsons has talked to Lehigh and Bucknell about preferred walk-on status.

The 3.3-GPA student has his eyes on business, and considering he set a receiving record in just two seasons, he already has a plan for success on the field.

"Well, I've seen adversity in high school football coming in," Parsons said. "And, I think I'll take it head on like I've done everything else so far. I'm going to work as hard as I can and hopefully win a starting spot."

Germantown Academy was led by freshman Isaiah Jones, who started at QB for the injured Kyle McCloskey. Jones finished with 189 rushing yards and three touchdowns and 121 more yards and a score in the air. Junior James McAfee (2 catches, 76 yards) had the other GA score. Senior running back/linebacker Ryan Calhoun rushed for 122 yards and a score for the Patriots, while sophomore Patrick McGettigan added two sacks. For the Blue Devils, Sameir Madden recovered a late fumble deep in SCH territory to end the game. The fumble was caused by sophomore linebacker Michael Spirito.