Submitted by admin on Sun, 2006-11-19 08:00. ::
Saturday night, the Conshohocken Steelers left no doubt who the top team in the East was when they blitzed the Carolina Heat, 40-12, at A.A. Garthwaite Stadium to win their second straight Eastern Football Alliance (EFA) national semi-pro football championship.
Quarterback Jason Borusiewicz, playing despite a bruised shoulder that kept him out of the semifinals, threw three touchdowns and ran for a fourth to earn the game MVP honor. Borusiewicz was 12 of 17 for 201 yards.
As the clock wore down, Conshohocken coach Henry Racich - whose Steelers (14-1) are the first to win the EFA title in consecutive years - narrowly escaped being drenched by the traditional Gatorade cooler. Otherwise, his team didn't miss a beat.
"It feels like a weight's lifted, the pressure is off," Racich said. "I told these guys, if we play our kind of football, there's not a team in the East that can touch us.
The Steelers, who went 15-0 last year, opened their season with a loss and then reeled off 14 straight wins. Last week's 7-6 triumph over the host Connecticut Giants was the toughest challenge.
Saturday night's win was special because it came in front of a large crowd at the A-Field. After the game the team posed for 10 minutes of pictures in front of a large championship banner taped across the new press box that they built themselves as a present to the borough.
"Last week we didn't play our best game, but today we executed very well," said running back Bo Carroll, who contributed a 44-yard TD reception. "I didn't think it was going to be like that (a blowout)."
Conshohocken's pro-set offense was too much for the Heat. The Steelers piled up 365 yards of total offense and 21 first downs, overcoming three fumbles and 69 yards in penalties.
The defense was just as impressive as Jeff Morgan and Kurt Bridge had interceptions while Ray Jones and Corey Peiffer had fumble recoveries. As usually, Mike Carroll, Keith Sgrillo and Donovan Palmer wreaked havoc on the opposing offense and the Steeler secondary was particularly impressive - holding Carolina ace quarterback Bryan Pallone to one completion (10 yards) in eight attempts.
Conshohocken's offense, which struggled last week, had equal success on the ground and in the air. The Steelers churned out 164 yards rushing as Racich utilized the speed of Carroll (10 carries, 53 yards) and Phil Poole (three for 35). Poole also hauled in TD catches of 18 and 41 yards as the Steelers jumped out to a 19-0 lead and never looked back. Eric Smith and Callahan Bright also had TD runs.
"We've started slowly in the past and the object was to get a fast start on these guys and finish up what we started," said Poole, who last year played with a team in Mt. Airy. "We've got so many weapons, it's hard to stick us."
The Plymouth Whitemarsh graduate started with the team 12 years ago when it came out as a 180-pound club. Last year he threw the game-winning TD in the final seconds as the Steelers clipped the Virginia Ravens for their first EFA crown. He also spent hours the past week building the press box at a stadium where he played as a youth and watched his father coach for the Archbishop Kennedy High.
"Everything was clicking," Borusiewicz said. "Everybody had their mind in the right place. It was quiet in the locker room. Everyone had focus and it showed.
NOTES: Sgrillo wore the uniform, No. 34, of long-time Steeler Mo Lee in the first half before switching to his normal No. 92 in the second half. Lee is in the Army fighting in Iraq after spending the first half of the season on the team. "Mo Lee was one of the guys on my team when I came here for my first year six seasons ago," said Sgrillo. "He is my friend and now he is in Iraq fighting a wear. We've been e-mailing and I asked him if I could wear his uniform. He said things aren't too bad right now, but when he got there it was pretty rough. He's a true hero."
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