PIAA Class 6A Semi-Final Preview: A Look At St. Joes Prep

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

Anthony Franklin | November 30, 2023

Central Bucks South vs St. Joes Prep, Saturday December 2, 1pm @ North Penn High School

How they got here (click to see 6A bracket):

https://pafootballnews.com/brackets/

The Hawks

The SJP Hawks last week hosted District 11 champion Nazareth Area HS where they dominated pretty much all 4 quarters enroute to an 59-21 convincing win to advance to their 4th straight semi-final appearance. Senior QB Samaj Jones (Cincinnati) threw for a season high 271 yards & 3 touchdowns in the win. Senior WR David Washington (Kentucky) led the receivers with 4 receptions and 139 yards to go with 2 touchdowns. Prep looks to return to the 6A championship game for the 8th consecutive season. They won their classification state titles in 2016, 2018, 2019, 2020 & 2022.

The Offense

The Hawks offense starts with Sr. QB Samaj Jones leading the unit. For his career he owns the city and catholic league records for total touchdowns (100) surpassing the previous record holder current Ohio State QB Kyle McCord (SJP 2020). He has a trio of receivers who are all capable of breaking a game open in Sr. David Washington (515 yards & 5 TDs), West Virginia commit Sr. Brandon Rehmann (358 yards & 6 TDs) & Cincinnati commit Sr. Elijah Jones (285 yards & 5 TDs). The rushing game is just as potent as they rotate a trio of rushers with Jr. Isaiah West (553 yards & 9 TDs), Sr, Erik Sanchez (482 yards & 6 TDs) & Towson commit Sr. Kahseim “Caddy” Phillips (439 yards & 2 TDs). The Hawks also utilize Samaj in the run game as he has 10 rushing scores this season and Sr. Taj Dyches has 5 rushing scores on the season as a change of pace back. Up front the Hawks have a revamped offensive line due to injury/ineligibility of OL Khalil Stewart as they now have C Lakeem Steele (Merrimack), T Kevin Towns, G Christian Leonard, G Paul Schrieber & T Shane Toolan.

The Defense:

The Hawks defensively are very physical, fast and aggressive and it starts upfront with the defensive line. Senior DE Sean McNulty leads the team in sacks (9), tackles for loss (24) and has 2 defensive touchdowns via an interception & fumble recovery. Jr. DL Maxwell Roy has 42 tackles on the season while also compiling 3 sacks and 14 tackles for losses. Jr. LB Cameron Smith leads the team in tackles (63) while also notching 4.5 sacks and an interception.  Sr. Nick McGlynn also is key to the linebacker corps as he has 42 tackles, 2 interceptions (Both returned for touchdowns), 1 fumble recovery & 4 sacks. The defensive backfield is led by All-American Sr. CB Omillio Agaard (Wisconsin) who has 31 tackles, 2 interceptions (1 returned for a TD) and 18 passes defended. Jr. S Anthony Sacca has 54 tackles, 1 fumble recovery for a touchdown while also notching 1 sack and 1 interception.

Special Teams:

Prep has a kicker who has been accurate and pinpoint this season in Delaware commit Sr. Skyler Sholder who leads the team in scoring this season with 67 points with 55 PAT’s and 4 field goals including a long of 36 yards. The special team’s unit has had a knack for blocking kicks with Sr. Erik Sanchez & Jr. Rameir Hardy both lead the team with 3 blocked punts.

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