St. Joe’s Prep Squeaks by La Salle, 21-13, to Advance to the D12 6A Championship.

Tagged under: District 12, Gameday Hub, News, Playoffs

Will Ryan | November 11, 2022

Samaj Jones takes a knee to secure a victory. Image from Bob Long Sports.

St. Joe’s Prep has been rolling all year. In all but one of their first 8 matchups, they had scored 30 or more points. The Hawks steam rolled the Explorers in their first matchup, and with Caddy Phillips, Prep’s starting Running Back, back in the lineup, the expectation was that this matchup would be more of the same domination for Prep. That was not the case.

The scene was Cardinal O’Hara High School in Springfield, PA. With the temperature in the low 60s, it was the perfect night for football. The atmosphere was tremendous as well, as both schools brought nice crowds!

Prep started off the game with a bang. Caddy Phillips ripped off a 59-yard touchdown run on just the third play of the game. La Salle got the football, but was unsuccessful moving the ball, as was the theme of the first half. La Salle had great field position many times but had 2 rushing yards in the whole first half. Stevie Davis entering the game had 3 100+ yard games but 4 games with less than 50 yards. When La Salle is one dimensional, as was their play calling for most of the night, they can be stopped. Davis in the first half, through no fault of his own, had 1 rushing yard on 7 attempts.

In the early parts of the second quarter, after a couple really nice stands by John Steinmetz and Joe Leitner’s defense, La Salle got their best opportunity to cash in. Darold DeNgohe got his 5th special teams block of the season, this time on a punt. Darold DeNghoe, La Salle’s 279lb Defensive Tackle, had done it all for the Explorers this season, and he was going to do it all again in his final high school game. James Madison got a really special player in Darold, and he could make an instant impact for the Dukes next season. After a couple St. Joe’s Prep penalties, which plagued the Hawks all night, La Salle was at the Prep 34. John McSorley, La Salle’s QB, hit Nole Henry for a big 25-yard gain. After star linebacker, Cole Niles, stood up Sean McFadden’s HB dive, McSorely rolled right and hit Henry at the 1-yard line, who then turned and dove for the pylon to tie the game up.

Samaj Jones was tremendous running the football all game. Led by Jones and Phillips, the Hawks very methodically brought the ball down the field and ended up sneaking the ball with Samaj Jones at the goal line for a touchdown. Prep led 14-7 going into halftime.

The first half was a costly one injury wise for the Explorers. On a chaotic play early in the half, Samaj Jones aired out a pass about 50 yards in the air while Brendan O’Conner was delivering really good pressure. Del Jackson and David Washington went up for the ball in the back of the endzone, and the ball fell harmlessly to the ground. Jackson though, La Salle’s starting corner, went down with a knee injury and did not return.

The second half started poorly for the Explorers and well for the Hawks. The Hawks extended their lead to 21-7, but La Salle responded, aided by Prep penalties, with a John McSorley touchdown.

La Salle’s defense stood strong in the 4th quarter and gave the offense a chance at around midfield halfway through the 4th quarter. La Salle went with 2 QB draws, and a screen pass. They gained 1 yard on their most important drive of the season. They would not get another opportunity to possess the ball. Prep won 21-13.

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