2024 PIAA Class 4A Title Game Preview: The Bonner-Prendie Friars

Tagged under: District 12, News, pfn, Playoffs

Anthony Franklin | December 4, 2024

Bonner-Prendie V Lampeter-Strasburg
PIAA Class 4A Title Game
Thursday, 7 pm

Bonner-Prendie
PIAA District 12: Class AAAA
League: Philadelphia Catholic League Red Division
Head Coach: Jack Mauldoon

Overview:

Bonner enters the state title game riding a 5-game winning streak. They will enter this game as a first-time participant in their school history. A program with great history and tradition this game means everything to what’s referred to as the school on the hill. Head Coach Jack Mauldoon is in his 5th season at the helm and has transformed the Friars from a team into a budding program. Senior DE/WR Jalil is the leader of the crew who will be headed to West Virginia University next season while Sophomore QB Noel Campbell has fully taken the reigns over as the leader of the offense setting numerous records for not only the Friars but also county records. With a 11-2 record a win against Lampeter-Strasburg would give the Friars a school record for wins in a single season (12).

How they got to the Title Game:

Bonner reached the title game this season on the strength of a dynamic offense that is battle tested. They played in their first season in the tough Catholic League Red Division where they had to play La Salle, Roman Catholic & St. Joes Prep while also playing another 3A program in Cardinal O’Hara and a 5A program Father Judge. They finished league play with an 3-2 record including upsetting Roman Catholic. In the CL 3A title game they upended O’Hara for the second time this season and dominated in the District 12 title game against West Philadelphia. Under brutal weather conditions they traveled for a neutral site game against Pope John Paul and dominated with a double-digit win. They currently are on a 5-game winning streak and last week put together their most impressive offensive showing to date this season. The 55 points they scored were the most in program history since the Catholic League joined the PIAA. Bonner would rush for over 400 yards in the big win over District 11 champion Southern Lehigh as they ran away with the victory. Sr. RB Mick Johnson rushed 12 times for 147 yards & 4 scores while his backfield mate Jr. RB Saleem Frink carried 10 times for 184 yards and 2 scores of his own. Sophomore QB Noel Campbell threw for 128 yards and a touchdown in the win with Sr. WR Jalil Hall racking up 5 receptions for 104 yards and a touchdown. The Friars also notched 2 interceptions in the game with Sr. DB Jeremiah Coleman & Jr. LB Amir Williams.

2024 Schedule:

17-Aug @ Allentown Central Catholic (4-7) Scrimmage
23-Aug @ Smyrna (DE) Scrimmage
30-Aug vs. Archbishop Ryan (7-4)  W, 42-14
7-Sep @ Archbishop Wood (2-8)    W, 62-14
20-Sep vs. Haverford School (5-3)  W, 39-14
27-Sep vs. Roman Catholic (11-4)  W, 38-30
4-Oct @ Father Judge (3-8)            W, 41-14
11-Oct vs. La Salle College (10-1)     L, 13-35
18-Oct @ Cardinal O’Hara (6-6)     W, 28-10
25-Oct @ St. Joseph’s Prep (10-2)  L, 14-49
1-Nov vs. Archbishop Wood (2-8)  W, 49-14
8-Nov vs. Cardinal O’Hara (6-6)    W, 28-21
16-Nov @ West Philadelphia (7-5)  W, 50-14
22-Nov vs. Pope John Paul II (12-2) W, 35-7
29-Nov vs. Southern Lehigh (12-3) W, 55-26
5-Dec vs. Lampeter-Strasburg (14-0)

Key players/Stats:

So QB Noel Campbell 2523 passing yards with 27 touchdown passes.

Sr RB Mick Johnson 1205 rushing yards with 25 rushing touchdowns.

Jr RB Saleem Frink 915 rushing yards with 10 touchdowns.

Sr WR Jeremiah Coleman 853 receiving yards with 8 touchdowns.

Sr WR Jalil Hall 926 receiving yards with 12 touchdown receptions. 1 rushing touchdown & 1 fumble recovered for a score. Also notched 4.5 sacks on defense.

Jr. DE Chibuzo Amobi 60 tackles 7.5 sacks & 21 tackles for loss

Sr. DT Khalil Hall 65 tackles, 5 sacks and 20 tackles for loss

Sr. DB Robert Nettles-Carter 41 tackles, 3 interceptions

Jr. DB Dylan Spriddle 24 tackles, 2 interceptions

Offensive keys to winning:  

Sophomore QB Noel Campbell has grown significantly from his freshman season as a passer and will be key to the offense sustaining drives as well as remaining balanced. Bonner has a dynamic running game with Mick and Saleem and the offense must be balanced to keep Lampeter-Strausburg on their toes. Jalil and Jeremiah are great tall receivers, so they’ll need to get separation and use their height to win contested throws at a decent rate.

Defensive Keys to winning:

Simply put the Bonners must apply steady pressure on L-S offensive line and rattle the quarterback. They’ll also need to continue to win the turnover battle by forcing turnovers as they’ve done this season as they have 17 forced turnovers on the season defensively. Outside of SJ Prep, Roman and LaSalle this will be the most explosive offense they’ve seen this season and while battle tested it ultimately comes down to them winning upfront on the defensive line to slow down the highly rated offense of L-S.

Starting Lineup:

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