WHITEMARSH TWP: Heading into Saturday Nights Non League showdown with New York power St Anthony St Joseph Prep’s Head Coach Gil Brooks knew that his Hawks who enter the game ranked 1st in the Easternpafootball.com Big school Poll would be in for battle. When you add the remains of Tropical Strom Hanna in the mix you had the recipe for a terrific game.
After both team trade Punt the first three series of the game the Friars would get on the boarded first when QB Thomas Schreiber showed his athletic ability by flipping in the end zone from 10 yards out. The extra point attempted would be no good. The run would cap a 6 play 36 yard drive.
From there the Hawks would turn to their defense to keep the high power triple option attack of the Friars off the scoreboard. The Hawks defense responded led by Sr. LB Mike Pereira who was a force all night for the Hawks defense racking up several tackles. “ Coaches really got us prepare and I knew I had to stop dive and that’s what I did and when they didn’t run it I just reacted.” Is how Pereira would describe his night.
After missed field goal of 32 yards in the first half left the Hawks in a 6-0 halftime deficit. One of Coach Brooks half time adjustments one of which was adding a play that wasn’t in the game plan for week. That play made the difference. Has on the first play of the fourth quarter Sr. RB Garrett Compton would power his through from a yard out. The run would cap a four play 42 yard drive which was highlighted by a 21 yard Mark Giubilato pass to Anthony Johnson for a 21 yard gain and a 11 yard run by Compton which put the Hawks down to the 1 yard line. The catch was Johnson first in his varsity career. Kurt Skalamera would add the extra point giving the Hawks the 7-6 lead. “It was huge, it changed the whole momentum” how Compton would describe the importance of the drive.
Sr. Dan Levine would seal the victory for the Hawks with his sack of Schreiber on a fourth and 3 from the Hawks 32 line.
Up next for the Hawks is a rematch with the North Penn Knights who clipped the Hawks 17-7 last season. Kickoff is set for Friday night at Crawford Stadium in Lansdale
