Playoff Preview: The Rematch- St. Joe’s Prep vs La Salle D12 Round 2
Tagged under: District 12, Gameday Hub, News, Playoffs
Noah Stomsky | November 7, 2024
La Salle v. St. Joe’s Prep
Where: Wissahickon High School
When: 1:00 PM Saturday, Nov. 9th
Last Meeting: October 5th, 2024: La Salle 35 St. Joe’s Prep 34 (4 OT)
La Salle Explorers (PFN 6A Rank 1)
Coach: Brett Gordon
La Salle. In coach Brett Gordon’s first season as the head coach, not only has he brought La Salle their first Catholic League championship since 2021, but their first undefeated season since 1996, and their first undefeated season in the PIAA.
The Offense is led by QB Gavin Sidwar. The 2026 QB who completed 199 of his 281 passes for 2,487 yards and 29 touchdowns holds offers from Virginia Tech, Syracuse, Maryland, Rutgers, and more. The first time Sidwar and the Explorers faced off against Prep, Sidwar went 27-48 with 266 yards, 4 touchdowns, and 1 pick. However, they were without Syracuse commit, WR Julian McFadden. McFadden made a name for himself in his junior year totaling 53 receptions for 916 total yards and 13 touchdowns. He started the season off hot with 62 yards and two touchdowns in his first game, 97 yards off four catches and a touchdown in his second game, but soon got hurt in the third one.
With McFadden’s availability questionable for Saturday, Sidwar looks to 4-Star ATH Joey O’Brien to have another big night. The 6’3 receiver has 903 yards off 62 catches and 10 touchdowns. O’Brien who plays on both sides of the ball helped out with the statement win over St. Joes Prep last time they played with 9 receptions for 83 yards and a touchdown. On top of that he finished his night off with the game-winning 2-point attempt pass.
Don’t let O’Brien overshadow Track Star John-Patrick Oates, Nick Swanson, and James Dolan. The three WRs stepped up when McFadden went down earlier in the season. Oates with 504 yards and 5 touchdowns on 43 receptions, Swanson adds on with 244 yards on 16 catches, tallying 3 touchdowns, and Dolan with 169 yards and 2 touchdowns on 17 catches.
The backfield is flipped between Joshua Simmons and another Track Star Desmond Ortiz. Ortiz finished off the regular season with 403 rushing yards on 85 carries, 226 receiving yards on 20 catches, and 7 total touchdowns. Simmons finished off with 290 rushing yards on 74 carries, 183 receiving yards on 14 receptions, and 7 total touchdowns. Having not one, but two good running backs on your team helps keep the other fresh without losing firepower on offense.
It could be argued that their defense is even better than their offense. With the acquisition of long-time Upper Dublin assistant coach Dave Sowers after spending a season at Hatboro-Horsham. Only allowing 10.6 points per game with 106 points allowed on the season Sowers has brought back the “La Salle Way” to the team.
The linebacking core of Jack Leuthe and Dylan Clair leads the defense signaling everything before it happens. Clair leads the team with 68 total tackles and 6 sacks. 40 of his tackles are solo tackles. Leuthe leads the team with 2 interceptions, one of which was brought back for a touchdown.
The line-up front is led by Gavin Muller, Jemal Williams, Hayden McDonald, and Joseph Morrisey. Allowing only 641 rushing yards on the season off of 250 carries, the D-Line allows only ~2.5 yards per rush. It’s tough to get an offensive plan going without a run game.
While they control the ground, Justin Hawkins, O’Brien, Trey Hopkins, and Dolan control the air. La Salle’s secondary has only allowed a ~50% passer completion rate completing 132 out of 261 passes. On top of that, they’ve only let up 1,335 passing yards and 10 total INT’s.
La Salle has proven that they’re up for the challenge. However, they were one play away from losing their previous game against St. Joes Prep. Can La Salle handle business fast enough to prevent the game from coming down to the final play, or will we be in for another overtime game-winner?
St. Joe’s Prep Hawks (PFN 6A Rank 2)
Coach: Tim Roken
The Prep. For the first time since 2021, SJP not only lost their first conference game, didn’t win the Catholic League, but lost to a Pennsylvania team. A last-second decision stands between winning and having the one loss on their record, vs not winning the Catholic League.
Prep has given Sophomore Charlie Foulke IV the lead of the offense. He won the starting QB position between him and Tre Henning to open the season against St. Edwards High School in Lakewood, Ohio. While he started the season shaky going 17-42 for 239 yards and 2 touchdowns, he has heated up throughout the season finishing off completing 110-192 passes for 1573 yards and 19 touchdowns. Not too bad for a first-year sophomore starter. When he last faced La Salle, Foulke went 21-42 for 207 yards with 4 touchdowns and 3 interceptions. Can he clean up his mistakes?
The rushing game for Prep started off between Senior Ohio-State commit Isaiah West and Junior Khyan Billups. The duo combined for at least 100 yards rushing in their first four out of five games. West suffered a knee injury early into the La Salle game last time the two met up which has sidelined him for the rest of the season. West finished off his season totaling 389 yards on 55 carries for 7 rushing touchdowns and 1 receiving. With West of the side, Senior Will Vokolos has been able to shine putting up 230 rushing yards off 25 carries and 5 touchdowns. Billups has also made it known that he still is valuable on the Prep offense. He ended the season with 457 yards on 84 touches and 6 touchdowns.
Most high school football fans know where now Arizona Cardinal Marvin Harrison Jr. went to high school (Spoiler, it was Prep). But most don’t know about his brother, Jett Harrison. The freshman has made an immediate impact at Prep leading the team in catches and yards for 29 catches, 572 yards, and 6 touchdowns. But don’t let Harrison take away credit from the other stars at WR. Alijah Turner finished off the year with the second most yards and catches at 321 yards and 28 catches for 3 touchdowns. Seniors Jamir Rowe and Rameir Hardy have also made an impact in the passing game combining for 368 yards off 30 catches and 9 touchdowns.
The Defense took a hit early this season losing Ohio-State commit D-Linemen Maxwell Roy. With the absence of Roy, Notre Dame Commit Anthony Sacca and Penn State Commit Cam Smith both showed why their some of the top athletes in the state. Sacca finished off the season with 47 tackles (27 solo), 3.5 sacks, 9 TFL, 5 pass deflections, and 1 forced fumble. Smith finished the season 2 tackles short of Sacca with 45 tackles (32 solo), 5 sacks, and 13 TFL. 3-Star Junior Alex Haskell has also had a chance to make a name for himself since Roy went down. Finishing off the season with 22 tackles (18 solo), 14 TFL, 4 sacks, and 1 forced fumble, he has picked up multiple offers throughout the year. The linebacker core and D-Line have made an impression this season against the run allowing 246 rushing yards on 166 rushes.
The secondary has had a down year this season. The secondary has allowed 135 completions on 249 attempts for 1826 yards. But Simaj Hill and Masiia Acrey have been bright spots. The two have combined for 42 tackles, 3 picks (1 Pick six), and 23 pass breakups. Prep has 5 INTs this season (Hill, Acrey, Roman Colaberdino, and Brandon Lockley) with 4 of them coming in their last five games. While it was a down year overall, they started to heat up coming towards the end of the year.
Prep’s unsung hero of the season has been without a doubt P/K Leo Ricci. Ricci finished off the year with 20 punts for 754 yards averaging 37.7 yards per punt. But when it comes to making field goals, no one does it better. Going 38-38 on PATs and 5-5 on FGs (42, 27, 23, 37, 41) he has been perfect.
Prep has made its way to the State Championship eight years running and looks to threepeat for the second time in 7 years. The only thing that stops them is themselves. Can Prep fix their issues and not make the same mistakes from last time against La Salle?
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