Prep defensive coordinator Shawn Stratz & d-tackle Max Roy
LANSDALE — He does the nasty work no one else likes doing. Max Roy doesn’t mind. He likes hitting. He likes running over people. He likes running through them. He likes being as disruptive as he can. And when you’re incredibly athletic, like the 6-foot-3, 280-pound St. Joseph’s Prep junior defensive tackle, that leads to a lot of chaos in the middle of the field.
It’s exactly what the rock of the Prep defense did on Saturday, setting the stage for an easy Hawks’ 49-0 victory over Central Bucks South in the PIAA Class 6A eastern finals.
Winners of 12-straight games, the Hawks (12-1) will now face North Allegheny to repeat as state champions in the PIAA Class 6A state championship next Saturday at Cumberland Valley High School at 7 p.m.
The victory marked the Hawks’ third shutout of the season and second in the last three games. This blanking came against a CB South team that was averaging 33.5 points a game.
Unfortunately, the Titans (13-2) ran into Roy, who no one on a football field would want to run into.
“Ever since I was a kid that’s what I enjoyed most, hitting, causing as much chaos as possible,” said Roy, 16, who is getting major looks from the nation’s top college programs. “I would say it’s something coach (Hawks’ defensive coordinator Shawn) Stratz channels. He always lets me play to my best potential, and it is a tough job. It is not a glory position. I know that.
“I take pride in that, causing the chaos.”
Roy, a two-year starter who is an all-Catholic in football, wrestling, and a competitive shot putter, has known nothing but winning at Prep. He won a state title as a sophomore starter and is a leading reason why the Hawks may repeat this year.
“Without a doubt, Max is an enforcer inside, and he does whatever we ask him to do, and that’s a lot,” Stratz said. “Max starts it up for us. He has 10 times as many techniques to use, and he in turns makes our second level better, which in turn makes the third level better, and it makes our whole defense better.
“Max is the total package for us. We always put our top defensive lineman at three techniques, no matter their size, but Max happens to be a massive human being. He will smash you in the face, get us in stunts, get us in stems, he does it all. On top of that, he’s such a great, great kid. He’s going to be very successful at the next level, too.”
The game was over in the first 11 seconds. That’s how long it took Prep’s Brandon Rehmann to go 80 yards with the opening kickoff for a touchdown.
From there, St. Joe’s Prep scored on its next five possessions—with three touchdowns called back due to penalties.
By halftime, the Hawks had amassed 301 yards of total offense on 19 plays, averaging a whopping 15.8 yards a play to CB South’s 116 yards of total offense on 27 plays, averaging a respectable 4.2 yards a play.
Eight different Prep players got touches over the first 24 minutes, with five different players scoring for the Hawks. Rehmann was brilliant, scoring twice. His 47-yard TD reception from Samaj Jones with 2:50 left in the half out the game into the mercy rule. He had two catches for 73 yards by halftime, and Samaj Jones had completed five of six for 92 yards.
“This is where we want to go, and now it’s about finishing the mission that we started back in January,” Hawks’ coach Tim Roken said. “Our first-team defense has been unbelievable. Coach Stratz does an unbelievable job of getting these guys prepared. I never came across a coach who watches as much film as he does. We extended as much as we can keeping these players together as long as possible. Now it’s about finishing.”
Scoring Summary
St. Joe’s Prep (12-1) 20 22 0 7-49
Central Bucks South (13-2) 0 0 0 0-0
1st Quarter
SJP – Brandon Rehmann 80 kickoff return (kick failed), 11:49
SJP – Taj Dyches 12 run (Skyler Sholder kick), 6:05
SJP – Samaj Jones 3 run (Sholder kick), 2:42
2nd Quarter
SJP – Kahseim Phillips 74 run (Sholder kick), 9:09
SJP – Rehmann 47 pass from Jones (Phillips run), 2:50
SJP – Elijah Jones 17 pass from Samaj Jones (Sholder kick), :23
4th Quarter
SJP – Syair Grimes 7 pass from Tre Henning (Ryan Miller kick), 7:38
Joseph Santoliquito is a hall-of-fame, 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. Follow EasternPAFootball.com on Twitter @EPAFootball.
