St. Joe’s Prep safety Ryan McDonald plays with a newfound freedom—which makes the Hawks’ defense dangerous

Written by: Joseph Santoliquito on Wednesday, September 4th, 2024. Follow Joseph Santoliquito on Twitter.

Ryan McDonald is entering his second season as a starting strong safety for two-time defending PIAA Class 6A state champion St. Joe’s Prep. The 6-foot, 190-pound senior has added about 15 pounds since this time last year, yet for some reason he feels lighter on the field. He certainly did last Friday when the Hawks met St. John’s College (DC) at Delaware Stadium in Prep’s last scrimmage this summer. McDonald was flying all over the place.

It comes with the newfound freedom he’s discovered. A year of experience has considerably slowed down the high school varsity level, and the milli-second thought process that was involved before he moved in 2023 has been erased.

“It is liberating,” said McDonald, who carries a 3.2 GPA, has an offer from Maine and played sporadically as a sophomore before becoming a fulltime starter his junior year. “I am seeing things quicker, and far easily now than I did early last year. I can react quicker, and my explosiveness comes out a little more. I used to think, then react early last year, I’ll admit that.

“This is great. I can play fast. When you try and read everything as it unfolds, it slows you down. When you know what you’re doing, and I do now, you can play fast and react. Good things happen. You cannot afford to play slow, not at this level. There were times I definitely thought too much. There were times I second-guessed myself.”

Like in the Hawks’ second game of last season, against Lakeland (Fla.), McDonald bit on a trick play, leaving the backside of the Hawks’ secondary wide open. Prep won, 45-24, but McDonald came away far better from the mistake he made.

“As far as I could remember, I was never caught on a trick play again,” McDonald recalled. “I remember running towards the ball and left my spot wide open. I ran to the ball, instead of concerning myself with the back end.”

Prep’s defense will carry the load early this season. McDonald returns with Notre Dame-bound linebacker Anthony Sacca, who is now 6-3, 230, Penn State-bound linebacker Cam Smith, senior defensive tackle Shawn Stratz Jr., 6-4, 240-pound junior defensive end Alex Haskell and senior free safety Roman Colaberdino.

McDonald and the Hawks’ seniors inherit a wealth of success from previous Prep teams. There is St. Joe’s Prep—and then there is everyone else. It is the standard Gabe Infante built and what current head coach Tim Roken has successfully carried. The Hawks entered the season carrying a 13-game winning streak, which was snapped by Ohio power St. Edward, 35-21, in the season opener last Saturday, under a barrage of penalties, a blocked punt in the end zone and a kickoff breakdown.

The Hawks are looking to threepeat as state champions for the second time in school history, and to make their ninth-straight appearance in the state finals. The Hawks have been to 10 state finals in the last 11 years (2013, 2014, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2023). In beating North Allegheny, 45-23, in last year’s state final, the Hawks won their eighth state championship and fifth Class 6A state title in the last six years.

The reality facing the Hawks this season is that La Salle, with a boatload of talent, has closed what was a Grand Canyon-like gap between them, and defending PIAA Class 5A state champion Imhotep Charter, with Penn State-bound running back Jabree Wallace-Coleman and Ohio State-bound defensive end Zahir Mathis, has moved up to Class 6A this season.

“We are everyone’s Super Bowl, we know that and we like it,” McDonald said. “We have a responsibility to carry on winning for the guys who came before us, and for the guys coming behind us. We understand we will get everyone’s best shot. That is nothing new. We have to concern ourselves with who we are and being the best we can be. The other stuff does not matter to us. We will worry about La Salle and Imhotep when we play La Salle and Imhotep. This is my senior year. We cannot afford anything less than a state championship.

“I’m one of the captains. I’m one of the seniors and the seniors on this team only know one way to end our season.”

Roken has great trust in McDonald. He also sees great growth ahead.

“Ryan is someone who has always worked hard, the type who is the first in the weight room and one of the last ones off the field, and he gained great confidence,” Roken said. “Ryan has also gained a voice in our locker room. He will explain to the younger guys why we do the things we do, and he knows the expectations of the program growing up under his older brother. We have 30 seniors. Some will be getting their first chance as starters. Success, I believe, is harder to deal with than adversity. With success comes complacency. We cannot afford that. We know we are a target and it is why we have to be better every single week.

“We will rely on our seniors like Ryan to carry that message.”

McDonald has one college offer from Maine. That may grow substantially by December.

“I have to be the best that I can be,” he said. “If I do what I am supposed to do, everything will take care of itself. My goal is to win another state championship.”

Joseph Santoliquito is an award-winning sportswriter who has been covering high school football since 1992 and is the president of the Boxing Writers Association of America. He can be followed on Twitter @JSantoliquito. Follow EasternPAFootball.com on Twitter @EPAFootball.

Follow EasternPAFootball.com on Twitter @EPAFootball

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