MISSION VIEJO, CA - The St. Joe’s Prep Hawks opened their season across the country to take part in the annual Honor Bowl. This 6 game event, run by The Honor Group, involves some of the top programs in the country and is played to commemorate those who have fallen in battle. The Hawks were the second game of the event and took on the Oaks Christian School Lions.
Coming into the game, the Hawks were the favorite, but had their hands full with the No. 1 tight end in the country for the class of 2017, Colby Parkinson, and the No. 2 quarterback in the country for the class of 2018, Matt Corral. The Prep started out on offense and came out firing on all cylinders. On the first play of the game, the new Georgia Bulldog, D’Andre Swift, caught a screen pass and took it 90-yards for a touchdown to put the Hawks on the board. The Lions countered on their first offensive possession after a couple of receptions by Parkinson to get them into the red zone. Next, a curl route by Mycah Pittman took the Lions in for a score to match the Hawks. However, the Georgia commit was just getting started on the day. Swift caught a slant from junior quarterback Marquez McCray and ran for an 80-yard TD on the third offensive play for the Hawks. The Prep defense held strong only allowing a field goal, while the offense put up two more touchdowns to go up 21-10 at the end of the first quarter.
The second quarter of play started with a long drive for the Hawks. Great blocking up front led the way for emerging running back Christian Waller to get the Hawks into the red zone. From there, QB Marquez McCray faked the handoff to Swift and scampered into the end zone to put the Hawks up 35-10. The Hawks brought a lot of pressure as the game went on making it difficult for QB Matt Corral to throw the ball. In addition to the constant pressure, Corral lost his main target, Colby Parkinson, to an ankle injury in the second quarter. At the end of the half, the Hawks led 35-10.
The second half of play began with a quick score for the Lions by RB Brandon LaBrie, but Prep RB Christian Waller answered to keep the Hawks lead. For the remainder of the half, The Prep, under the leadership of head coach Gabe Infante, was able to seal the game when D’Andre Swift found the end zone for his fourth time to put the Hawks up 49-17.
A view of Oaks Christian Thorson Stadium - photo courtesy of The Prep Football Facebook Page
“I thought the kids did a great job of sticking to the process and sticking to our game plan,” said Infante after the game. “In the end we just did a great job containing a very good offense.”
For each game of the Honor Bowl, an MVP award is given out as well as a leadership award. The MVP of the game was RB D’Andre Swift after a four TD game, and the leadership award for the Hawks went to senior linebacker, James Johnson.
Final Score: 49-17 Hawks
Stats Recap: QB McCray 13-21, 235 YDS, 1 TD; QB Corral 16-27, 331 YDS, 1TD; RB Swift 12 Carries 112-yards rushing, 2 touchdowns rushing, 3 receptions, 176-YDS, 2 receiving touchdowns; RB Waller 11 Carries, 110-yards rushing, 2 touchdowns rushing.
Looking Ahead: The Prep Hawks will be taking on reigning NJ State Champions Don Bosco Prep in their home opener this Saturday at 7:30PM. This will be the Hawks first game at their new home field, Quick Stadium (Widener, PA). If you can’t make it to the game make sure to check out the live radio broadcast here: www.blogtalkradio.com/WSJP