This weekend, Saint Joseph’s Prep makes their debut in the PIAA state finals this Saturday night at Hersheypark Stadium.
Getting there, Prep knocked off LaSalle College ending their four-year run as District champs. They had one of the toughest schedules in Pennsylvania, playing teams like Don Bosco (NJ), Dallas Jesuit (TX), North Penn, Archbishop Wood, Malvern Prep and LaSalle College HS.
Last weekend Prep knocked off the District 1 champion Neshaminy Redskins, 37-21.
With the win, Prep plays Pittsburgh Central Catholic out of the WPIAL and some say this is a battle of Philadelphia vs. Pittsburgh. The Vikings are coming off an impressive 45-0 shutout over Lower Dauphin out of District 3.
The Hawks are a young team made up of sophomore and junior players.
“On the offensive side we only have three seniors and on defense two,” said head football coach Gabe Infante. “Each week it seems our sophomores and juniors are always playing against someone else’s senior group.”
Record: 11-3
Offense: Averaging 29.0 points scored
Defense: Averaging 20.5 points allowed
Schedule: Click here
Offensive line
Sr. OT Steve Robinson (6-4, 250); Jr. OG Mark Ehrlich (6-1, 235); So. C Ed Mooney (6-0, 230); Jr. OG Shane Davis (6-4, 305); Jr. OT Jon Runyan (6-4, 255)
“Our strength is at the tackle positions. They are athletic kids and move well. Our line does a good job of pass blocking and run blocking.”
Quarterback
Sr. Chris Martin (5-10, 185); Jr. Jack Clements (6-4, 200)
“I think quarterbacks are measured by wins and losses and he’s 21-4 in his career. He is a winner and knows how to lead our program. We are a quarterback driven system and he has a lot of responsibility on offense and does all those things really well. He’s a good passer and runner.”
The last two games Martin has passed for 478 yards and four touchdowns.
Stats: 139 of 219 for 2,013 yards and 24 touchdowns. He rushed for 455 yards on 90 carries and six touchdowns.
Running backs & Fullbacks
So. FB Shawn Harris (5-9, 195); Jr. FB Thomas Johnson (6-0, 190); Jr. FB Dillon DeIuliis (5-10, 195); Jr. RB Olamide Zaccheaus (5-8, 180); Sr. Vince Moffett (5-10, 185); Fr. RB D’Andre Swift (5-7, 176); Jr. RB John Reid (5-10, 180)
“We have three capable fullbacks and we can use any combination. Just like our receivers we like to spread the ball around with our running backs. Any one of those four guys could have been a 1,000-yard rusher. We rushed for around 3,000 yards as a team. We really have done it by committee. You have to give our kids credit for not being selfish and being team players. We try and keep them fresh and rotate them in. Who ever has the hot hand we use. The last couple of weeks it has been O. But Vince has given us key runs. They all bring different challenges to the other teams.”
Stats: Olamide Zaccheaus rushed for 119 carries for 855 yards and 12 touchdowns. D’Andre Swift 567 yards on 106 carries and three touchdowns. Vince Moffett 72 carries for 281 yards and three touchdowns.
Tight end & Wide Receivers
Sr. WR Jawan McAllister (5-10, 170); Jr. WR John Reid (5-10, 180); Fr. WR D’Andre Swift (5-7, 176); Sr. WR Vince Moffett (5-10, 185); Jr. WR Olamide Zaccheaus (5-8, 180); Jr. TE Jake Strain (6-3, 235); So. TE Joe DuMond (6-1, 230)
“Those five guys will see action Saturday night. We have two good tight ends. All those guys are very versatile. We like to spread the ball around to our skill guys. We have a lot of guys that create bad match ups for teams. It’s hard to defend all these guys.”
Stats: John Reid caught 37 passes for 615 yards and seven touchdowns. Jawan McAllister caught 32 passes for 485 yards and seven touchdowns. D’Andre Swift caught 32 passes for 416 yards and five touchdowns. Olamide Zaccheaus caught 29 passes for 387 yards and three touchdowns. Vince Moffett caught 20 passes for 243 yards and one touchdown.
Defensive line
Jr. DE Jake Strain (6-3, 235); So. DE Joe DuMond (6-1, 230); Sr. DT Steve Robinson (6-4, 250); Jr. DT Erich Hartman (6-1, 225)
“We move those four guys around through out the game. It really depends on the team we are facing on how we lineup these guys. We are big into matchups and we try and matchup personnel a lot. Jon Runyan, Alec Dirks, David DellaPorta, Shane Davis and Armen Ware could all see action this weekend. It’s important to have fresh guys in there.”
Linebackers
Sr. Ryan McNulty (6-2, 190); So. Shawn Harris (5-9, 195); So. Nick Vandevere (6-0, 195); Thomas Johnson (6-0, 190)
“Everything begins and ends with Ryan. He’s first team All-Catholic league. Those four guys are going to rotate in for us this weekend.”
Defensive backs
Sr. Vince Moffett (5-10, 185); Jr. Dillon DeIuliis (5-10, 195); Jr. John Reid (5-10, 180); Sr. Rob DiSanto (5-8, 165)
“Everyone knows about John and what he can do. I think the game plan people have each week is to attack Robby. No one wants to throw at John. I told Robby we should change his number to a bull’s eye. He knows they are going to throw at him every game. Vince has done a great job at safety. He’s a tough kid and always in the right place. Dillon has done a great job in run support. He’s made big plays for us this year and he’s physical.”
Stats: Rob DiSanto had five interceptions. Vince Moffett and John Reid each had four interceptions.
What are your keys on offense?
“We have to keep doing what we have been doing, stay balanced. In games like this, winning the line of scrimmage is important. We know they are very good up front on both the offensive and defensive side of the ball. We need to control the line of scrimmage. When you face a team like them we need balance. A team like that can make you one-dimensional very quickly. We need to find ways to keep them off balance. We have to distribute the ball to our playmakers. It’s more about players than plays. We need to protect the ball and not turn it over and minimize penalties and we have to be disciplined.”
What are your keys on defense?
“It starts and ends with the run game. We have to stop their tailback. Their tailback has been exceptional. Their offensive line plays extremely low and hard. The last couple of weeks we have been tested on the ground. I think playing some physical teams up front has prepared us for this game. But, we need to stop their running game. They have a great quarterback and he has committed to Florida State. They have good receivers. We can’t go to sleep on third downs. It’s going to come down to who can sustain drives. Who can force the other team off the field on third down? That is a critical down for both teams. They do a great job at running the quarterback boot. You can’t over commit with this team. We have to be very disciplined on the back side of the ball on third and short.”
One Response
Reminds me of when We/Beca beat Bewrick 7-3 in the Eastern Finals! The had a top 10 team in the nation.