Different eras, same result: Calvert Hall kickers prevail in Turkey Bowl

When two generations of successful Calvert Hall field-goal units mingled at an alumni function earlier this week, there were some lively conversations about a shared gridiron experience 53 years apart.

As much or more than anyone watching the 102nd Turkey Bowl, Phil Popovec, Bruce Wills and Phil Marsigila knew what Calvert Hall senior kicker Dylan Manna, senior long snapper Mason Notaro and junior holder Dane Grunder were going through when that trio trotted onto the turf field on Thanksgiving morning.

”I know that feeling,” said Wills, the long snapper on perhaps the most memorable single play in the long and storied football series between the Cardinals and Loyola Blakefield that began in 1920 and was played every fall for a century until interrupted for a year by the COVID pandemic. “It was a job that had to be done.”

In 1969, at Memorial Stadium in the 50th meeting between the arch-rivals, Wills delivered the ball to holder Popovec, the starting quarterback who said that he had to reach up to snag the high snap before setting the ball down on 25-yard line in a 14-14 deadlock.

”Was I worried? — no question,” said Popovec, who attended the game at Johnny Unitas Stadium “Just like I was worried 53 years ago.”

However, Marsigila showed no signs of anxiety, booming the ball through the uprights to nail a clutch 42-yard field goal as time expired and Calvert Hall fans rushed the field to celebrate the unlikely 17-14 victory.

Manna appeared to be just as calm.

Even though Marsiglia did not watch Manna deliver a slightly less dramatic 33-yard strike with 1:31 remaining in regulation in this year’s tussle, the Baltimore pharmacist said that he was getting updates about the game while vacationing in Delaware.

Manna, who drilled two field goals in a furious rally to overtake McDonogh, 27-24, during the MIAA A Conference regular season, said that he was well prepared for the big moment.

”It was the last play I was ever going to play, and I was ready to hit it,” Manna said. “It was a good operation — a good snap and hold. I wanted to prove I could make it. I knew right away it was good.”

The ball left Manna’s foot and tumbled over the middle of the crossbar to put the Cardinals on top, 17-14.

Although Notaro admitted to being nervous before the snap, he said that repetitions in practice helped him to do his job.

“We were more hungry this year,” he said, alluding to last year’s 41-35 Loyola victory over the A Conference champs. “And after losing the (A Conference) championship (to Archbishop Spalding), we wanted it even more.”

Grunder said that Notaro’s snap was “great” and that Manna took care of the rest.

”We had been practicing that all week and Dylan made the magic, that’s his department,” Grunder added. “I was absolutely sure he would make it and that he would bounce back from missing one (in the first half). That’s the kind of guy he is.”

Calvert Hall coach Josh Ward said that he had no qualms about calling Manna’s number.

”I saw it in his eyes that he wanted the opportunity — and I trusted him,” Ward said. “We practice that (a similar scenario) every day. We put a lot of passion into our special teams.”

Still, there would be more than a few nervous moments for Cardinal fans while the Dons gamely fought their way back down the field to reach the Calvert Hall 16-yard line with 11 seconds remaining.

That’s when Calvert Hall senior linebacker Duncan Kammar and his mates tackled Loyola sophomore running back Kendrick Worthington for a loss on fourth down to end the threat and sew up only the second time in series history that the game ended with a 17-14 score.

If anything, the ending solidified the notion for the Cardinals that from one generation to another, from Marsiglia to Manna, how the simplicity and precision needed to complete a successful snap, hold and kick can make or break a season.

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