D12 6a Semifinal Preview: St. Joe’s Prep Looks to Keep Rolling vs. La Salle

Tagged under: District 12, News, Playoffs

Will Ryan | November 8, 2022

The La Salle defense, pictured, will need to have the game of their lives Friday night. Picture is from La Salle.

Franklin Field has played home to the last three matchups between St. Joe’s Prep (7-1) and La Salle College High School (5-5). This occasion will be different. 7pm on Friday Night at Historic Franklin Field was the original time and setting for this rivalry matchup. But thanks to the impending rain on Friday, the game and site have changed. Thursday Night Football, minus Amazon Prime, will be coming to you from Cardinal O’Hara High School at 7:15.

St. Joe’s Prep is the heavy favorite in this matchup. They handled La Salle in their previous meeting this year, 40-11. The Hawks simply dominated in every facet of the game. Taj Dyches carried the ball 16 times for a season high 143 yards and 3 touchdowns. Samaj Jones ran the ball 5 times for 106 yards. Jones ran for 1 touchdown and threw for another.

La Salle will have a really hard time stopping the high-powered offense that is St. Joe’s Prep. While Dyches had a breakout game vs. the Explorers, Head Coach John Steinmetz will still have to account for players like Khaseem Phillips, David Washington, Brandon Rehmann, Elijah Jones, and others.

Prep’s prowess does not stop on that side of the football. They do the little things right. Skyler Sholder has made 25 of his 27 XPs and is 80% on FGs this year. Defensively, Omillio Agard and Anthony Sacca lead a young but uber-talented defense.

La Salle has not had the season they were expecting. Injuries are the main reason for that. Stevie Davis, the Explorers’ star running back has missed 3 games this year, including their matchup against Prep. Davis, a Penn lacrosse commit, has over 600 yards this season on 5.9 YPC. He is healthy and coming off of back-to-back 100-yard games.

There has also been major instability at the quarterback position for the Explorers. Gavin Sidwar and Gavin Damon came into the season in a quarterback competition. Sidwar, a freshman, won the job after a 4-touchdown debut against North Penn. Sidwar then broke his collarbone, and Damon took the reins. Damon, in the first matchup between the Hawks and Explorers, suffered a concussion and has yet to get another start. The Explorers then experimented with senior QB Timmy Smith, and senior WR Nole Henry as a wildcat QB. Offensive Coordinator Vernard Abrams and Head Coach John Steinmetz eventually settled on John McSorley. McSorley started the season as a backup running back, but had some experience at QB, albeit not at the varsity level. McSorley has steadied the ship and has thrown 5 touchdowns in his three starts, winning two of them.

McSorley has been really steady for the Explorers at the helm of Vernard Abrams’s offense, but the Explorers will need to be willing to throw the ball more than they have over the past 3 weeks. John McSorley has attempted just 33 passes in his 3 games as QB1. If La Salle does not show a willingness to throw the football early and often, the mighty Hawks defense will be able to sit on the run and shut down Stevie Davis just like Malvern Prep and Bishop McDevitt did.

The Explorers defense also has some really solid pieces. Senior LB Sean McFadden flies around the field and can play just about anywhere. Look for him to be lined up outside of DE Sam Ross or DE Brendan O’Connor, but he is equally effective coming down from the “second line”. Darold Denghoe, a James Madison commit DT, has been terrorizing backfields all season. If lineman like Sam Ross and Keiran Campbell are winning their matchups up front, Denghoe could find himself in 1v1 situations. Kelby Hampton is another La Salle defender who has had a really tremendous year. Hampton is La Salle’s #1 Cornerback and has done a really nice job against the likes of Tyseer Denmark and Nymier Appling. He will certainly have his hands full against Prep’s deep WR core, but he is undoubtably up to the challenge.

While, as mentioned above, St. Joe’s Prep is definitely the heavy favorite in this District 12 6a Semifinal, this rivalry game is always a fun one!

Follow my twitter page @will_ryan14 for updates and ticket information as it becomes available.

The game will be streamed on Bob Long Sports. I will be doing color commentary for the game, so if you cannot make it down to Franklin Field on Friday night, tune in! Link to Stream

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