St. Joe’s Prep Handed First Loss of the Season
Both St. Joe’s Prep and Don Bosco Prep (NJ) came into their game Saturday with very different teams than they had last year. However, the result of the game was similar. The Iron Men had control of the entire game, winning 55-21.
At practice before the game last Thursday, the players and head coach Gabe Infante were working extremely hard to prepare for the game against this perennial powerhouse. St. Joe’s knew coming in that they were playing a very good team that would be tough to beat. The strategy coming in for the Hawks was to try to run the game at their own pace.
“We need to make them play the game at our speed,” said Infante, but he and his players had trouble with that from the start. The Iron men scored early and often, going up by more than twenty points at the half.
Media booth view from the St. Joe's vs. Don Bosco game Saturday - PSD Photo
Despite losing by thirty-five, the Hawks have plenty of positives to take out of the game. Junior captain, D’Andre Swift, showcased his remarkable talent, breaking a few lengthy runs, and returning a kick off for a touchdown, all against a team that is ranked very highly nationally. Also, they were greatly tested on both sides of the ball against a team that plays a different style of football than anyone in the area. The Hawks hope that playing competition like this will get their team ready to face in-state teams.
Up next for St. Joe’s is St. Ignatius (OH). This is the Hawks’ first home game of the season, and they are playing a team that they lost to by only one point last season, 28-27. The team looks to use some of their experience from the Don Bosco game to come out sharp in all facets of the game, and get their second win of the season before heading into a by week.
In the meantime, the Prep will continue to play a difficult out of conference schedule in order to prepare themselves for the start of league play on October 17th against the LaSalle Explorers.