OREFIELD – St. Joe’s Head coach Gil Brooks never shies away from good competition. Last night the Hawks took on D-11 powerhouse Parkland, last year’s PIAA Class AAAA state playoff runner-up.
The Parkland Trojans were carrying a 23-game regular season winning steak. But on this night the Hawks came from a 10-0 deficit in the first half and rallied for the 20-13 win.
The Trojans got the first score of the game when Sean Keiper hit Mark Cecchini for a nine-yard strike. After a second quarter field goal by Guth the Trojans led 10-0.
But on this night the size of the Hawks offensive line wore down Parkland in the game. The Hawks came right back with their own 37-yard field goal by Kurt Skalamera and a one-yard touchdown run by Garrett Compton to tie the game up at ten right before halftime.
The momentum would switch back as Guth gave Parkland a 13-10 lead with his second field goal of the game.
Running back Mike Yeager of St. Joe’s Prep rushed for 120 yards including the go ahead touchdown by flipping into the end zone for the two-yard score. Coach Brooks said, “He is a special player for us”.
St Joe’s added a field goal with 4:07 to go into the game to give them a seven-point lead. The Hawks held on for a hard fought victory 20-13 on their PIAA debut.
The Hawks ran the ball 53 times for over 200 yards. Temple bound Mark Giubilato only had to throw the ball four times in the game. Asking Coach Brooks about his play calls, he said, “We did what we felt we had to do.”
