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Bonner set to take on Crestwood in 4A State Quarterfinals

Tagged under: District 12, District 2, pfn, Playoffs

| November 25, 2022


PHILADELPHIA — The Monsignor Bonner Friars are one of two Delco Football programs still alive in the PIAA state tournaments along with Garnet Valley, and they’ll take on Crestwood at 1:00 on Saturday at Northeast High School in the 4A State Quarterfinals.

It has been a nearly perfect season for the Friars, who sit at 11-1 with their only loss being to an undefeated Haverford School team. 

After securing the PCL Blue division title, Bonner started off their playoff run with a 27-21 win over Archbishop Ryan in the District 12 tournament. After taking care of Bartram 53-8, they earned the right for a Delco on Delco matchup against Interboro.

That matchup wasn’t always easy for Bonner, as they trailed 21-7 in the first half after three Abu Kamara touchdowns for Interboro. The Friars were able to make it a seven point game going into the half, and ended up scoring 26 unanswered points to leave with a 33-21 win.

That win earned them a trip to the 4A State Quarterfinals, where they will take on the Crestwood Comets of District 2. Crestwood is located in Mountain Top, PA, and is not too far from Scranton.

Crestwood (12-1) opened up their playoff run with a 61-7 thrashing of Nanticoke before continuing to rack up points in a 56-14 win over Berwick. Their offense came back down to earth in their last game against Valley View where they had to grind out a 12-7 win.

Let’s take a deeper look at each of these teams and see what makes them so successful.

Monsignor Bonner Friars:

Head Coach Jack Muldoon’s team is led on offense by QB Justin Shepherd, who did not open the season as the starter, but was able to earn the job fully after he threw for five touchdowns in Week 3 against Archbishop Carroll. On the season, Shepherd has thrown for 1,135 yards and 19 touchdowns. 

His top targets are Jalil Hall, who has 515 yards and 11 touchdowns, as well as Zac Coneys, who has 347 yards and nine touchdowns. It was a circus touchdown catch from Coneys as time was running out in the first half that helped spark the comeback against Interboro last week.

The team still keeps the ball on the ground a lot, with Avery Hankey leading the way. Hankey has ran for 1,133 yards on the year, and he as well has 11 touchdowns. His late touchdown in the fourth quarter last week helped officially seal the deal for the Friars.

PCL Blue MVP Isaiah Session is a big part of this team both offensively and defensively. Offensively, he has ran for 344 yards and a team-high 12 touchdowns. Three of those touchdowns came just last week against Interboro. Defensively, Session leads the team with 70 total tackles and also has chipped in 4.5 sacks. Those 4.5 sacks are second only to Mylacchi Williams, who has 11.

Crestwood Comets:

Head Coach Ryan Arcangeli and his team are one of the rare programs that feature a freshman starting quarterback in Jaden Shedlock. Shedlock has thrown for 390 yards and two touchdowns in 12 games, but he has also ran for 1,024 and 15 touchdowns as well. Safe to say the Comets are a very run heavy team.

The bulk of the carries for this Crestwood team go to Noah Schultz, who has ran for 2,291 yards and 35 touchdowns on just 222 carries. That’s good for 10.3 yards per carry and 176.2 yards per game. He is also second on the team with 137 receiving yards.

In their playoff victory over Berwick, Schultz ran for 251 yards and five touchdowns.

Schultz and Shedlock are the two main forces for their Crestwood team, with Brendon Dennis adding in 403 yards on the ground as well. Expect a lot of running the ball this weekend. 

Defensively, Cole Kakalecik has been a one-man wrecking crew for the Comets. Kakalecik has an impressive 90 tackles on the season, but what is more impressive is that no one else on this team has more than 59. That just shows how dominant he has been.

Magnus Bibla leads the team with 11 sacks, which is seven more than Kakalecik for second place. Nick Miscavage has five interceptions on the year, which is wildly impressive when many high school teams are very run heavy.

The winner of this matchup will take on the winner of Bishop McDevitt and Manheim Central next weekend.

Follow PA Football News on Twitter @PaFootballNews

 
 
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