By Joseph Santoliquito
That Monday in mid-February, Carl Arrigale gathered his team around him on the court named after him, under the nine PIAA state titles and 12 Catholic League championship banners he brought to Neumann-Goretti, and proceeded to break one of his personal tenets: He reminded his team that he had won a few games here and there.
The legendary Neumann-Goretti coach never likes to talk about his success. This time, though, coming off a Catholic League playoff quarterfinal loss to eventual league champion Father Judge, in which the Saints had an NBA number dropped on them, he felt it necessary.
He spoke about a reset. He reminded his team that they might not even qualify for the state playoffs, before any thought of a state championship went dancing in their heads.
It was a hard, emphatic message late in the season. It was a message that had to be said—and had to be absorbed.