Tying Al Angelo
The single most significant moment of Ron Cohen's 30 years as George Washington football coach came in 2008 at the Liacouras Center, when his Eagles beat Northeast 41-34 in three overtimes to win the Public League AAAA championship. The win gave Cohen his 10th Public League title, tying the late Al Angelo — the Frankford legend — for the most Public League championships ever won by a single coach.
The 2008 championship game was, in the words of junior tight end James Fowler, "the second OT title-game final in city history — and it felt like it went 10 overtimes." The first overtime final in city history had been the 1990 Catholic League game between Archbishop Ryan and Archbishop Carroll. This was the football version of that.
It felt like it was 10. I thought we were going to lose. I thought we were going to win. I didn't know what was going to happen. I felt we were going to go all night.
Fowler himself was the hero. His mother Fiona was a firefighter with Haz-Mat 1 / Engine 60 in South Philadelphia, and he had dedicated the 2008 season to her. In the title game, he caught touchdown passes in each of the first two overtimes — a 5-yarder to open the first overtime (a fighting-through-double-coverage reception), and a 6-yarder on fourth down to close the second (an out route in the front-left corner with enough presence of mind to get one foot down inbounds). In the third overtime, quarterback Aaron Wilmer ran in a 1-yard sneak for the score, Lorenzo Adams picked off a Northeast pass intended for Tennessee-bound wideout Je'Ron Stokes, and Cohen had his 10th Public League championship.
"That Got Us Fired Up"
In the week leading up to the final, Cohen had gone public with his disgust that Northeast — the #3 seed — had been allowed not only to host the championship game but to occupy the home stands and the home sideline. His Eagles, the top seed, were the visiting team in their own city title game.
