PHILADELPHIA — It’s technically a new destination since the PIAA state football championships will be played at Chapman Field, at Cumberland Valley High School this year, as opposed to Hersheypark Stadium, in Hershey.
That doesn’t matter to St. Joseph’s Prep because every year the Hawks’ aim is the same destination, a date in December in the PIAA Class 6A state finals. That was the immediate goal after the final seconds elapsed on the Hawks’ 35-17 loss to Mt. Lebanon in last year’s state finals.
This version of the Hawks has been concentrated on getting back—and making it emphatic.
The penultimate step came in St. Joe Prep’s thorough 48-7 domination over a very good Garnet Valley team in the PIAA Class 6A state semifinals on a dreary, gray Saturday at Northeast High School in Philadelphia.
The Hawks (11-1) have now won 11-straight games since losing their season opener and will carry their winning streak into the state finals next Saturday night against Harrisburg, a 27-7 winner over previously undefeated State College in the other state semifinal.
St. Joe’s Prep played arguably its best game to date against two-time defending District 1 6A champion Garnet Valley (13-1).
The Hawks showed what they’re capable of doing when they’re not harming themselves with penalties.
By halftime, St. Joe’s Prep had outgained Garnet Valley by a staggering 348 yards of total offense to a mere 34 for the Jags. Hawks’ junior quarterback Samaj Jones had outgained the entire Garnet Valley offensive output on three carries for 35 yards in the first two quarters.
Each time Garnet Valley tried pushing its run-oriented offense up the field, the Hawks crashed down on the Jags for seven plays of negative yards. Garnet Valley did not get its first first down of the game, without the help of a penalty, until there was 4:15 left in the half.
By then, St. Joe’s Prep was up 41-0.
“I was so happy with the way these guys prepared, from the staff to the kids and the film that they watch, and the amount of time they prepared throughout the week,” Hawks’ coach Tim Roken said. “How hard they worked is incredible and the way we played today showed it.
“We still have to find a way to get better this week, because we’re going to be facing a really good Harrisburg team (next Saturday).”
Getting back to the state championship was the highest priority for Jones, who ran for one touchdown and threw for three more. Jones completed 6 of 10 passes for 155 yards, and touchdowns of 55, 38, and 7 yards, along with running for a 21-yard score on the Hawks’ initial drive.
St. Joe’s Prep scored on their first seven possessions. Garnet Valley was looking at a mercy rule with 1:48 left in the half.
“It’s always good to get back to the state championship, and this is what I’ve worked for. There is never a day when I didn’t wake up thinking about getting back that last play of the state championship game,” Jones said. “Sitting on the sideline with my head down, and anytime I didn’t want to work out this summer, I thought about how our seniors looked walking off that field the last time.”
For the few moments, the game was competitive, Prep worked off a short field thanks to its stifling defense. Hawks’ senior linebackers Cole Nilles and Josiah Trotter were living terrors. Everywhere the ball went, they went. The Jags had just 16 yards in total offense in the first quarter and were often placed in third-and-long situations.
Offensively, St. Joe’s Prep did what it wanted to. The Hawks scored on 65-, 65-, 43-, 60-, 38-, 30- and 55-yard drives. Their offensive front— tackles Joseph McMahon and Kevin Towns, guards George Reinhard and Lakeem Steele, center Julian “Pooh Bear” Cervantes, and floating tackle John Paul Schrieber made gaping holes for Hawks’ runners and gave Jones time to throw.
Defensively, Hawks’ senior Andrew Dumond, sophomore nose tackle Max Roy, and juniors Ivan Bailey-Green and Sean McNulty played disciplined up front, congesting the running lanes and leaving themselves in a good position to shut down the Jags’ vaunted running game. They knew committing upfield could potentially lead to gaps, so they stayed put and jammed the inside rushing lanes.
It wasn’t the ending Garnet Valley first-year coach Eric Van Wyk envisioned, but it was still a highly successful year for the Jaguars.
“Prep is an extremely well-coached team, they’re big and physical, I was very impressed by them,” Van Wyk said. “I thought we played extremely hard, we played physical, and I’m not going to say if there is anything we could have done differently.
“The outcome is the outcome and that doesn’t define this team. They did everything right. But I’m very proud of my guys, especially the seniors on this team, they’re an exceptional group of young men.”
Hardly any of the Hawks’ starters saw time in the second half.
Scoring Summary
Garnet Valley (13-1) 0 0 0 7-7
St. Joe’s Prep (11-1) 27 21 0 0-48
1st Quarter
SJP – Samaj Jones 21 run (Skyler Sholder kick), 10:27
SJP – Erik Sanchez 12 run (Sholder kick), 4:32
SJP – Khaseem Phillips 43 run (Sholder kick), 2:36
SJP – David Washington 55 pass from Jones (kick failed), 1:19
2nd Quarter
SJP – Brandon Rehmann 38 pass from Jones (Sholder kick), 9:12
SJP – Isaiah West 9 run (Sholder kick), 5:43
SJP – Michael DiTrolio 7 pass from Jones (Sholder kick), 1:48
4th Quarter
GV – Drew Van Horn 24 pass from Matt Mesaros (Tim Comers kick), 9:04
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. Follow EasternPAFootball.com on Twitter @EPAFootball.
