St. Joe’s Prep’s Khyan Billups rushes for a touchdown. Photo: Owen McCue/EasternPAFootball)
PHILADELPHIA — The look is usually derisive. It is an opening, quick down-your-nose glance that says “Little man, you are not getting by me today.”
Yet, season-after-season, game-after-game, state championship-after-state championship, St. Joseph Prep’s smallish defensive line continues to defy logic.
It has been a part of the Hawks’ defensive scheme for years, an evil concoction of stunts and twists that Hawks’ defensive coordinator Shawn Stratz devises and unleashes on very suspecting opponents.
Still, it works.
Just as it did to perfection on Saturday, when the Hawks shutout a very dynamic Imhotep Charter team, 42-0, for the PIAA District 12 Class 6A championship at Northeast High School in the first meeting between the two area behemoths.
St. Joe’s Prep (8-2) advances to the PIAA Class 6A quarterfinals, where it will meet District 11 champion Parkland next Friday night, while Imhotep (10-2) saw a very successful season end.
The Panthers’ season came crashing to a halt on the work done by Prep’s senior defensive tackle Shawn Stratz Jr., junior defensive tackle Colton Anderson, and defensive ends Jayson Nitz, Chaes Witmayer and Alex Haskell. They quintet stymied the Imhotep offense and sophomore quarterback Joey McLeish and roadblocked potent, Penn State-bound tailback Jabree Wallace-Coleman to a season-low 13 yards rushing on seven carries. For the game, Imhotep had minus-2 yards rushing.
Chiseled down into becoming a one-dimensional offense, the Panthers’ passing attack became a feast for the relentless Prep defensive front. Stratz and Anderson may have been giving up about three inches and around 25 to 30 pounds to Imhotep’s interior offensive line.
“We try to take advantage of speed and taking gaps,” said Stratz Jr., generously listed at 5-foot-10, 220-pounds, the son of the Hawks’ defensive coordinator. “Some kids have a full head on me. We stunt around a lot. It creates confusion. We game planned them. They didn’t see a team that twists as much as we do. We treat every team the same. Holding teams down is our expectation every game.”
If it was not Stratz Jr. penetrating into the Imhotep backfield, it was Anderson. If it was not Anderson blowing up blocks and hauling down Wallace-Coleman, it was Stratz Jr.
“We worked on being quick off the ball, playing to our strengths, because we know we’re not the biggest defensive line,” said Anderson, a junior. “We are quick, and that is what we focused on this week. We play with trust and love and that helps us. We work together with the stunts.”
And much to Stratz Sr.’s credit and the Hawks’ defense, they have had to do this without stellar Ohio State-bound defensive tackle Max Roy, who was lost prior to the season with an injury.
Offensively, the Hawks’ sophomore quarterback Charlie Foulke continues to improve. He completed 12 of 19 passes for 179 yards and three first-half touchdown passes to Rameir Hardy, Jett Harrison, and Gavin McConnell.
The defense remained stout and as the mercy rule went into effect with 2:53 left in the third quarter, all that was left for the Hawks was to sustain the shutout of a team that was averaging 38.3 points a game entering the District 12 title contest.
“I won’t lie, that game was not our standard here, we do not to this to win Public League championships, we do this to win state titles and not lose 42-0 to St. Joe’s Prep,” Panthers’ coach Devon Johnson said. “That is not a great season. They took away our run and made us one dimensional. Offensively, they made plays on third down. There were a couple of times when we should have gotten off the field. They won the field position battle, like they always do.
“We had a lot of calls not go our way early on. Hats off to St. Joe’s Prep. If you want to be the best, you have to be able to beat them. We do leave two very special players in Jabree and Zaire (Mathis). I made sure to thank our seniors. They won a state championship (at Class 5A last season). They have been through the ups and downs. I love those guys. I thank them. I know they will do great things at the next level.”
Mathis, the 6-7 defensive end bound for Ohio State, was one of the last Imhotep players to leave the locker room on Saturday.
“We could not stop their explosive plays, that’s what got us,” said Mathis, who logged one of the handful of shining performances for the Panthers, blocking three passes and causing chaos for the Hawks up front. “My time here has been great, something I will always remember. I am excited about my next step, but I’m sad the way this ended. It is hard, because I have been here four years and I was on a state championship team. It’s hard. We will need to move on as a program and be stronger.”
Right now, no team in the state may be as strong as St. Joe’s Prep.
It was the Hawks’ defense that set the tone the entire game, and it was defense that ended it, when Notre Dame-bound linebacker Anthony Sacca closed the game with a 91-yard pick six.
He was chugging down the field possibly hoping someone would tackle him.
“I was trying my best to score, I really was, but I was getting tired,” said Sacca laughing.
Sacca had a ringside seat on what put the Hawks over the top, other than his sterling play, which led to eight tackles and included the touchdown interception return.
“We knew coming in our defensive line had to stop Jabree and force them to throw the football,” Sacca said. “That’s what we did. We have an undersized defensive line, but we close gaps and we tried to put Jabree in a telephone booth and play from there. As a team, I think right now we’re doing a good job of getting better each week. I started the game I think weighing around 240. I think might be around 220 after that touchdown return (laughs).”
Scoring Summary
St. Joe’s Prep (8-2) 7 14 14 7-42
Imhotep Charter (10-2) – 0 0 0 0-0
1st Quarter
SJP – Rameir Hardy 35 pass from Charlie Foulke (Leo Ricci kick), 4:43
2nd Quarter
SJP – Jett Harrison 13 pass from Foulke (Ricci kick), 7:00
SJP – Gavin McConnell 8 pass from Foulke (Ricci kick), :26
3rd Quarter
SJP – Khyan Billups 6 run (Ricci kick), 6:44
SJP – Billups 27 run (Ricci kick), 2:53
4th Quarter
SJP – Anthony Sacca 91 INT return (Ricci kick), 4:55
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