Minniti, Ryan cruise past Lansdale Catholic
Face flushed crimson, maroon towel draped and dripping over his head, Archbishop Ryan junior Mike Minniti sat on the bench with bags of ice under each armpit, simultaneously illustrating his impressive efforts and Saturday afternoon's unrelenting heat.
Face flushed crimson, maroon towel draped and dripping over his head, Archbishop Ryan junior Mike Minniti sat on the bench with bags of ice under each armpit, simultaneously illustrating his impressive efforts and Saturday afternoon's unrelenting heat.
The 5-foot-10, 170-pound Swiss Army knife of a player did a bit of everything to help the Raiders rough up visiting Lansdale Catholic, 35-0, at Bensalem High.
The game, originally scheduled for 1 p.m. at George Washington, was moved to 10 a.m. at Bensalem after the Office of Catholic Education asked the 17 archdiocesan high schools not to play between 11:30 a.m. and 4 p.m. Friday and Saturday because of excessive-heat warnings.
In-game repartee between officials - both wearing black pants - spoke to Saturday's conditions.
"Any cooler in the middle of the field?" quipped the head linesman. "Yeah, about zero degrees," the head referee retorted.
A quick glance at an iPhone weather app revealed it was 91 degrees in the third quarter.
By then, Minniti had already amassed most of his game-high 119 rushing yards on seven carries (17 yards per attempt).
An early injury to starting running back Jaye McNeil meant more work for Minniti, who typically plays receiver, defensive back, and special teams.
At halftime, Ryan (3-0) led, 28-0, and Minniti had gobbled up 111 yards on just four carries.
He finished with two rushing tallies, a pair of catches for 30 yards, and a pair of punt returns (for 23 total yards).
In the second quarter, however, Minniti could be seen - after a 76-yard touchdown run - on the bench, pads off, ice bags under his arms, trying everything possible to cool down.
"I got ice, cold towels, and kept hydrating and hydrating," he said. "Water on my neck to keep my body heat down because I kept overheating."
The trainer on the sideline held him out for the rest of the half. Minniti returned briefly in the second half to secure the victory.
Now he's ready to move on to the grudge match with Father Judge on Friday night at Northeast.
"It feels really good to be undefeated going into our rivalry week," he said. "We want to get in there, be physical, and keep the momentum going."
McNeil, a junior, finished with 78 yards and a touchdown on 11 carries after less than a full quarter of work. Jason Jefferson, also a junior, added 82 yards and a score on eight carries.
Mike Basilii led the Lancers (0-2) with 55 rushing yards.
Archbishop Ryan 7 21 0 7 - 35
Lansdale Catholic 0 0 0 0 - 0
R: Jaye McNeil 3 run (Ryan Stock kick)
R: Mike Minniti 11 run (Stock kick)
R: Minniti 76 run (Stock kick)
R: Billy Palmer 17 pass from Matt Romano (Stock kick)
R: Jason Jefferson 19 run (Stock kick)
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