DREXEL HILL — Mick Johnson stood there stoically as everyone else around him was whooping it up. He hugged his teammates, like everyone else, and was happy in the moment Friday night.
But where everyone else was celebrating Bonner-Prendie’s 38-30 upset over Roman Catholic in the Catholic League Red Division opener for both teams, Johnson, who carried the bulk of the load for the Friars, stood there projecting a measured tone.
Why?
“Honestly, because I expected it, so it was no great surprise to me we won,” said Johnson, who rushed for a game-high 148 yards on 24 carries and scored a career-best four touchdowns on three four-yard runs and a 55-yard run. “I think this was expected. I don’t think we should have come out here doubting anything. We were capable of everything we did tonight. We knew they were more pass oriented on defense, so we knew we could run against them.”
Bonner’s offensive front of tackles Caleb Tesema and Julius Johnson, guards Chaz Ingram and Mar’Qui Harris and center CJ Chisholm opened up holes and gave Johnson the edge.
The Friars (5-0) remained undefeated by scoring on five of their first nine drives in the first half. In a whacky, twisting game, Bonner-Prendie won this game despite four first-half turnovers, three interceptions and a lost fumble on its opening possession.
“This was an exciting game and Roman was the team that wanted us up (in the Catholic League Red Division),” said Friars’ coach Jack Muldoon, who has done a nice job building the Bonner-Prendie program into statewide Class 4A contenders. “Mick works unbelievable hard and is highly respected. Mick expects to succeed and accomplish things in every game. We could have played better, but this was like old-school football.
“I’m glad we fought hard and happy for the school that we managed to come through with a ‘W.’ This was a measuring stick for us. We turned the ball over four times in the first half—and that’s ridiculous. But at the end of the day, we won. We led from beginning to end. It’s a credit to these kids. They deserved to celebrate.”
Bonner-Prendie finished with 405 yards of total offense, with 264 on the ground and 141 through the air. The Friars picked up 18 first downs, and despite their offensive dominance, they still had to scratch it out in the end.
The Friars’ defense did a decent job against Roman’s dangerous junior quarterback Semaj Beals, who did not have a great play, yet still played well enough to give Roman a shot in the end.
Beals finished 18 for 39 for 222 yards, with an interception, a TD pass and two rushing touchdowns.
“We didn’t execute how we were supposed to execute, that’s what happened,” Beals said. “It wasn’t anything they did. We didn’t execute. I have a lot of things to do better. I have to lead better, and pick my teammates up. We need to get in the film room and get in the weightroom.”
Cahillites’ coach Rick Prete, who has made Roman a competitive program again, saw his team hang in, despite numerous costly penalties and costly mistakes, like a blocked punt at the Roman five on its first possession of the second half. Johnson wound up scoring the third of his four-yard TD runs off the miscue.
“We have to get healthy, we need to coach better, we have to be better, and we’re down some pretty significant players,” Prete said. “Credit to Bonner. We just have to get our guys back. We were awful on special teams and it is something that kind of came back and got us. This is the second game where we have been playing out of our own territory on defense.
“It becomes hard when you are trying to stop teams when they’re sitting on your 10-yard line, your five-yard line. We’ll learn from this and get back to work.”
Scoring Summary
Roman Catholic (4-2) 0 14 8 8-30
Bonner-Prendie (5-0) 7 22 7 2-38
1st Quarter
BP – Saleem Fink 6 run (Isaih Smith kick), 1:07
2nd Quarter
RC – Zamir Newsuan 25 pass from Semaj Beals (kick failed), 11:42
BP – Mick Johnson 4 run (Johnson run), 7:50
BP – Johnson 4 run (Smith kick), 4:13
RC – Keyshawn Scott 8 pass from Beals (Scott from Beals), 1:52
BP – Johnson 55 run (Smith kick), :43
3rd Quarter
BP – Johnson 4 run (Smith kick), 10:34
RC – Beals 5 run (Newsuan from Beals), 6:48
4th Quarter
BP – Safety (Fumble in end zone), 6:18
RC – Beals 1 run (Beals run), 2:38
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.
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