Lansdale, Pa., The St. Joe’s Prep Hawks used a very crisp, high tempo, no huddle offense and suffocating defense as they cruised to a 31-3 victory over the North Penn Knights in a non conference affair at Crawford stadium last night. St Joe’s controlled all three facets of the game (offense, defense and special teams) from beginning to end.
The Hawks scored three first quarter touchdowns (two by freshman) and it was apparent from the beginning that Coach Gabe Infante wanted to control the overall tempo of the game. He got his wish on the opening kickoff when Vince Moffet went 92 yards up the sideline and had a Prep 7-0 lead before people began to settle in their seats.
After a stalled Knight series the Hawks went on a seven play, 64 yard drive highlighted by junior quarterback Chris Martin’s completions of 2, 10, 5 and 25 yards, the latter a beautiful over the shoulder touchdown catch by freshman Cameron Chambers.
The defense got a touchdown of their own on North Penn’s third possession when Knight Quarterback Austin Shearer’s pass was deflected by Jim Mooney and picked off by freshman Joe DuMond and returned for a 22 yard score.
The Hawk defense for the most part attacked in numbers versus the Knights running attack. The push of the defensive line with Shane Williams, Paul Johnson, Mooney and DuMond gave the linebackers the ability to play more downhill and at a faster pace and gave North Penn’s Kyle Mayfield little room to maneuver on plays designed either off tackle or around the edge.
Prep increased their lead to 28-0 at the half going 35 yards on nine plays and Martin scoring from the one. That cushion gave North Penn coach Dick Beck an uphill climb they would not be able to overcome.
“We wanted to control the tempo of the game and the opening kick return obviously helped,” quipped Infante after the game. “These kids really pay attention to detail during practice and it makes it a lot easier to coach them. It’s a pleasure working with them.”
This could be the makings of a special team here for at least the next two years. Every skill player is an underclassman and all of them look as though they have been playing together for years. Beside the apparent athleticism of both offensive and defensive lines, the communication between the coaching staff and the team on the field (especially during audibles) will give this group an edge come playoff time.
They will need it once they compete in the very competitive PCL, AAAA where, LaSalle, Roman Catholic, Father Judge and Archbishop Ryan await.
North Penn falls to 1-2 (Suburban One Continental) and will visit Central Bucks East next week in their conference opener. The Prep stays undefeated at 3-0 and will have a by next week. This was their third straight road game.
Notes: Mayfield, who averaged well over 100 yards in the first two games, was held to 28 yards on 11 carries. The Prep spread the wealth among its ball carriers as Moffet, Martin and Olamide Zaccheaus ran for over 50 yards. Offensive lineman Connor Lawn (broken fibula) did not play for the Knights and left a huge void in their interior line. Chambers (6’3, 195 lbs) has the looks of being a major contributing offensive threat for the Prep for the next four years. Junior Jawan McAllister also made several impressive catches. The Knights finished playing a very difficult out of conference schedule versus three of the best PCL teams (LaSalle, Archbishop Wood and St Joe).
Scoring by Quarter
1st Quarter
SJP- Vince Moffett- 92 kick return- PAT- Kyle Battin- 11:48
SJP- Cameron Chambers- 25 yard pass from Chris Martin- PAT- Battin- 5:39
SJP- Joe Dumond- 22 Interception Return- PAT- Battin- :06
2nd Quarter
SJP- Martin- 1 Yard Run- PAT- Battin- 1:19
3rd Quarter
NP- Brandon Mandes- 27 Yard FG- 8:19
4th Quarter
SJP- Battin- 22 Yard FG- 4:49
