District 12 6A Championship Game Preview
Tagged under: District 12, Gameday Hub, News, Playoffs
Anthony Franklin | November 17, 2023
The District 12 6A championship game aka the City Title game will take place Saturday at 4pm at the Northeast Supersite. The 6A Catholic League Champions St. Joes Prep (10-1) will battle Abraham Lincoln (7-5) for the right to claim the City Championship as well as a berth into the PIAA Quarterfinals next weekend.
St. Joes Prep: The Hawks last week routed rival La Salle College HS 35-7 en route to their 8th consecutive 6A CL Championship. Sr. RB Erik Sanchez was the workhorse on offense running for 105 yards & scoring 2 TDs for the Prep. Sr. QB Samaj Jones (Cincinnati) threw for 188 yards & 1 TD with Sr. WR David Washington (Kentucky) taking in 5 receptions for 101 yards & 1 TD for the Hawks. Samaj would also tote a score on the ground for his team while Sr. RB Kahseim Phillips finished out the scoring. This Hawks team is very deep at the skill positions and have 3 WR’s who are committed to Power 5 schools. Their backfield is loaded as well with Erik Sanchez, Taj Dyches, Kahseim Phillips & Isaiah West all capable of putting 100+ yards on the ground. Defensively they’re led by a physical front along the defensive line that includes Sr. Sean McNutty (42 tackles, 7 sacks & 2 defensive touchdowns), Jr. DL Maxwell Roy (39 tackles, 1.5 sacks), & Sr. LB Nick McGlynn (2 pick-six, 39 tackles, 1 fumble recovery & 3 sacks). The secondary is dangerous as well led by Wisconsin commit Sr. CB Omillio Agard (27 tackles, 2 TDs including one returned for a score, and a forced fumble), Jr S Anthony Sacca (42 tackles, 1 interception, 1 fumble recovered for a TD & 7 TFL).
The Hawks offense averages over 39 points per game and the defense is very stingy giving up only 9 points per game. In fact, the defense has been the strength of this team as only one opponent has scored more than 20 points on them.
Lincoln: The RailSplitters are no strangers to playing in big games this season. In fact, they opened the season against District 1 playoff team Downingtown West and took them to the wire before falling by 5 points. They’d follow that performance with narrow defeats to Roman Catholic (In the D12 5A finals this weekend), Springside Chestnut Hill Academy, and Imhotep (In the D12 finals this weekend). Their 7 wins this season were all wins in which they won by at least 30 points. Their offense this season was led by Sr. QB Gabe Smalley (2900+ passing yards & 30 TD passes), Sr. WR Roling Davis & Sr. WR Nathaniel Rivera. Defensively Sr. LB Andre Gordon has been a rock steady leader for the team while Jr. CB Zyyion Bredell leads the team in interceptions followed by Sr. Nayshawn Corley. Lincoln averages just over 35 points per game while the defense gives up on average roughly 16 points per game.
Outlook: Lincoln will go to battle with a backup QB as Gabe is ineligible due to PIAA transfer rules. This will alter their game plan against a dominant SJP defense. They’ll rely a little more on the running game and have to use their athletes like Zyyion & Roling in space with maybe some wildcat formations to have a chance to find success offensively.
For SJP they’ll stick to what’s worked all season use the running game to set up the passing game. They have 11 players who have at least 1 reception on the season and also have 11 players who have at least one rushing attempt on the season which shows how balanced and diversified this team is.
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