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St. Joseph’s Prep Can’t Overcome Second Quarter In Loss

Tagged under: Beyond The Keystone, District 12, Gameday Hub, News, pfn

| August 31, 2024

Lakewood – St. Joseph’s Prep couldn’t overcome second-quarter miscues in a 35-21 loss against St. Edward at First Federal Stadium in Lakewood.

In a battle of defending state champions, the Buckeye came out on top thanks to a second-quarter blitz that won the game.

According to Cleveland.com, St. Edward became the first school in almost 30 years to win three consecutive OHSSA Division 1 state championships.

The Ohio Division 1 is equivalent to Pennsylvania’s Class 6A.

Speaking of 6A, St. Joseph’s Prep isn’t too shabby. The Hawks have advanced to the state championship in 6A yearly since the PIAA went to six classifications in 2016. The Philadelphia Catholic school has won state titles in 2013, 14, 16, 18, 19, 20, 22, and 23.

Before 2008, District 12 schools did not compete in the PIAA state playoffs.

Though the two schools played to a scoreless draw in the opening stanza, things quickly went awry for St. Joseph’s Prep.

“It’s about consistency and playing four quarters,” said St. Joe’s Prep head coach Tim Roken. “They’re an outstanding program. They’ve had a ton of success here. I have a ton of respect for their coach and how he runs that program. His players play hard for him and are disciplined; we saw that on film, and you saw that again today. We’ve been here before as a program. It’s about correcting the mistakes and ensuring we’re playing four quarters. Also, we want to continue to trust and love one another. Nothing changes for our goals and what we want to accomplish at the end of the year.”

After the Eagles had forced a punt and taken over at their 20-yard line after the Hawks had driven into their territory, it only took a 5-yard infraction and a 75-yard touchdown run by Brandon White to get the ball rolling for St. Edward.

“Again, it comes back to consistency,” Roken said. “It’s about focus. We can’t live in the lows, and we can’t live in the highs. We have to be able to cut that off and reset the page – and go back to work every play. But again, my hats off to them and their program.”

On the ensuing kickoff, a block in the back penalty started St. Joe’s at their 6-yard line. Three plays later, Nate Gregory recovered a blocked punt for a touchdown.

The Hawks then fumbled the subsequent kickoff at their 31-yard line, on which Thomas Csanyi threw a 4-yard touchdown pass to Mason Sak.

On the successive offensive snap for St. Joe’s, Bradley Eaton intercepted a batted ball and returned to the Hawks 35-yard line.

That turnover led to Csanyi tossing a 15-yard touchdown to White for his second score of the game and a 28-0 lead for the Eagles.

Brandon White led St. Edward with 105 yards on 18 carries while catching two passes for 18 yards and scoring twice.

Taking over with 1:49 to play in the half, the Hawks went on their best drive of the first half, marching 70 yards in seven plays, with Ohio State recruit Isaiah West scoring on an 18-yard pass from Charles Foulke with 59 seconds to play in the half.

However, the scoring wasn’t over as Eaton, an Illinois recruit, returned the resulting kickoff 93 yards for a touchdown.

St. Edward led 35-7 at halftime.

“When going into games we do good in the first half”,” said St. Edward running back Brandon White. “The one thing our coaches are always telling us is to finish all four quarters. We knew coming into this game that they and had talent, and we had talent. But I think we just executed better. My tackle told what he was going to do, he told me how to handle that play. I found a lane, and had to make the most of that opportunity on that run.”

St. Joseph’s Prep got their feet under them in the second half and played much better football – outscoring the Eagles 14-0 and out gaining them 155 to 63 in total offense.

Nearly all of the Eagles’ yards came on their initial third-quarter drive. They took the football and ate up 6:04 of the game clock, gaining 44 of their 63 yards in 13 plays before turning the ball over on downs at the Hawks’ 36-yard line.

St. Joe’s Prep kept fighting and scored a pair of fourth touchdowns to close the gap.

Starting with their third drive of the second half, St. Joe’s drove 60 yards in seven plays and scored on Khyan Billups’ 8-yard touchdown run. Billups had a 34-yard gain on the drive and finished the day with a team-high 52 yards on only five carries.

After forcing their second straight 3-and-out, the Hawks drove 46 yards in five plays and scored on Alijah Turner’s 7-yard pass from Foulke with 5:03 to play.

St. Joe’s would get the ball back one final time and drove the Eagle’s 26-yard line thanks to a 51-yard completion from Foulke to Turner, but on 4th-and-13, Foulke’s pass was broken up in the end zone, giving the St. Edward possession and the victory.

“It’s encouraging to see them fight,” Roken concluded. “That’s what we preach; at halftime, the result is the result, but that’s why you play four quarters. You have to go out and produce. We lacked production in all three game phases but fought and gave ourselves an opportunity. Now we must deal with the result just like anybody, return to work and fix things.”

Charles Foulke passed for 238 yards and two touchdowns for St. Joe’s, while Alijah Turner caught five balls for 82 yards to lead the Hawks.

St. Joseph’s Prep will look to get back to their winning ways when they travel to New York to play Erasmus Hall next Saturday, September 7th. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 pm.

Game Highlights

St. Edward 35 St. Joseph’s 21

Score by Quarters

St. Joseph’s Prep – 07 0 0 14 – 21

St. Edward – 0 35 0 0 – 35

Scoring Summary

Second Quarter

SE – Brandon White 75 yd run, (Kellen Moyer pat), 7:51 – 1-75

SE – Nate Gregory recovered blocked punt in end zone, (Moyer pat), 6:06

SE – Mason Sak 4 yd pass from Thomas Csanyi, (Moyer pat), 4:57 – 4-31

SE – White 15 yd pass from Csanyi, (Moyer pat), 1:53 – 5-35

SJP – Isaiah West 18 yd pass from Charles Foulke, (Leo Colaberdino pat), 0:59 – 7-70

SE – Bradley Eaton 93 yd kickoff return, (Moyer pat), 0:45

Fourth Quarter

SJP – Khyan Billups 8 yd run, (Colaberdino pat), 8:03 – 7-60

SJP – Alijah Turner 7 yd pass from Foulke, (Colaberdino pat), 5:03 – 5-46

Individual Stats

Rushing: SJP – West 13-40, Khyan Billups 5-52, Foulke 3-(-3), William Vokolos 1-4, Team 2-(-6). Totals: 24-87. SE – White 18-105, Tyrese Buchanan 6-15, Gregory 1-4, Csanyi 4-(-15), Zach Hackleman 2-(-6), Team 1-0. Totals: 32-103.

Receiving: SJP – West 3-32, Jett Harrison 4-56, Jamir Rowe 1-14, Rameir Hardy 4-54, Alijah Turner 5-82. SE – White 2-18, Joe Saffold 4-57, Sak 2-28, Luke Hess 1-11, Hackleman 1-33.

Passing: SJP – Foulke 17-for-42 238 yards, 2 TD, 1 INT. SE – Csanyi 10-for-21, 147 yards, 2 TD.

Interceptions: SE – Eaton.

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