Davis Breaks School Single Season Passing Record Imhotep Reaches 3rd Straight State Championship
Tagged under: District 12, Gameday Hub, News, pfn
Willie McGonigle | December 2, 2023
COATESVILLE: In his third season as starting Quarterback, there isn’t much that Mikal Davis Jr hasn’t done. He already owns the Imhotep single-game passing record. On Friday night, with less-than-ideal weather conditions for throwing, Davis made more school history throwing for 324 yards on 20 of 24 and 3 touchdowns as the District 12 Champion Imhotep Charter Panthers easily dispatched the District 1 Champion Strath Haven Panthers 42-14 at a wet Coatesville Memorial Stadium to reach the 5A State Championship for the third consecutive season.
“It’s great playing for a program like this; I love it here; I love the guys I play next to. It’s a blessing going to state championships for the third year in a row but for the past two years we failed to get the job done but this third year we’ve been looking to get the job done.” Davis said about getting the opportunity to play for a state championship for the third year in a row.”
Davis, the Army West Point commit, currently has 2,226 yards passing for this season, breaking the previous single-season held by Nasir Boykin, who threw for 2,168 in Imhotep’s 2015 state championship season.
With Zafir Stewart, Nyeem Powell, Anthony Richardson, Nick Williams, Brian Moore, and David Johnson paving the way, Imhotep outgained Strath Haven 494-206. At the same time, Davis could set up in the pocket and not have to worry about a rush.
When asked about the guys in the trenches, Davis couldn’t help but smile and say, “I love my offensive line; I talked to them every day.” He said he would get them a “little treat” this week.
Right from the start, the high-powered Imhotep offense, which entered the game averaging over 40 points per game, flexed its muscle, taking the opening 65 yards on ten plays before Georgia commit Jabree Wallace-Coleman raced his way into the endzone from four yards out.
On their ensuing drive, Strath Haven appeared to have tied things up when Jake Kitchin connected with AJ Glavicic for what would have been a 59-yard touchdown, but Strath Haven was called for illegal man downfield, and their drive stalled, forcing them to punt.
On their second drive of the game, Imhotep again marched down the field at will, going 73 yards on nine plays, with Coleman capping the drive with his second touchdown of the day, this one from 5 yards out.
In the second quarter, Davis and Freshman WR Kareem Abdul Haqq took over, connecting for three touchdowns in the quarter. Including a pair from 25 yards out that extended Imhotep’s lead to 27-0 before Strath Haven’s Jake Kitchin found the speedster James Fisher for a 61-yard touchdown to cut the Imhotep lead down to 27-7, only to have Davis and Haqq connect for a 5-yard touchdown making it 34-7 at halftime.
Wallace-Coleman put the mercy rule into effect with his third touchdown of the day, this one from four yards.
Kitchin added a 1-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter for the Panthers.
Imhotep will now look to win their second state championship in school history when they battle Peters Township next Friday night at Cumberland Valley.
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