PHILADELPHIA - Saturday night for the Hawks of St. Joe’s Prep was not just another game. They were playing for a shot to go to the State Championship for the third time in four years. The final step before the trip to chocolate world would not be an easy one as they took on a talented North Penn Knights squad.

          The 35-25 victory for St. Joe’s Prep was not an easy one. The Hawks faced one of their toughest opponents of the year this past Saturday at Northeast High School as they came out and struggled to produce the big plays on offense that we have seen all year. The Prep started with a methodical drive down the field, but were turned the ball over when they were unable to convert on a 4th and 7 in North Penn territory. The Hawks defense came out and limited the run game and forced North Penn’s QB Reece Udinski into overthrowing a pass that was picked off by Richard Carr. This interception gave The Prep the spark they needed. RB D’Andre Swift was able to get the Hawks on the board shortly after with a 28-yard burst up the middle to give them a 7-0 lead with 3:00 left in the 1st Quarter.

(Prep Senior D'Andre Swift, a Georgia commit, sets Hawk history with 4,000 rushing yards throughout his career)

     The teams traded possessions once more and then North Penn answered with a score of their own after a big run by Anthony Andrews set them up in the red zone. However, it didn’t take long for the Hawks to respond. On the ensuing kickoff, captain Terrance Greene showed his explosiveness and found the back of the end zone to give The Prep a 14-7 lead with 10:36 left in the 2nd Quarter. The Knights of North Penn drove all the way down to the red zone once again, but this time the Hawks were able to force a turnover. The Prep’s ballhawk Carr, recorded his second interception of the game and allowed the Hawks to go into half with a 14-7 lead.

          At the half, head coach Gabe Infante’s message to his team was that the first four minutes of the second half were the most important to win. DeJuan Dandridge stepped up to the challenge. He was able to get the Hawks third interception of the game, but it did not yield an immediate success. The offense for The Prep once again had a long methodical drive that stalled out near the end, and they gave the ball back to North Penn. The Knights tied the game with 5:00 left in the 3rd after a quick drive. Once again, the Hawks were unable to get anything going, and North Penn gained all the momentum after Carr’s punt was blocked to set up a field goal by Kelly Mcnamara to give the Knights a 17-14 lead heading into the final quarter of play.

          As the final 12minutes of play were put on the scoreboard, everyone on the home side put four fingers in the air- a tradition the Hawks have done for many years past. They were not used to trailing, and it didn’t take long for them to take back the lead. Swift was able to find the end zone on a run to the outside set up by excellent blocking with 11:07 left in the game to give The Prep a 21-17 lead.  

     With 9:37 left, the Knights were faced with a critical 4th and 1. Instead of punting and pinning the Hawks deep, they decided to keep the offense on the field. The Prep was able to get take the ball back with a four-point lead.

     The offensive game plan continued to be run through the heroics of Swift. On his way to the end zone for his 3rd TD of the game, Swift became the first runner in Prep history to eclipse 4,000 rushing yards throughout his career. The Prep took an 11-point lead with a 7:48 left in the game. However, the game was far from being over.

     North Penn answered quickly on offense with a long screen pass and a successful 2-point conversion to make it just a 3-point game with 6:27 left. On the next drive, The Hawks were barely able to move the ball into North Penn territory until they were faced with a fourth down. Infante once again kept the offense out there, but the slant pass intended for Swift fell incomplete. This gave the Knights excellent field position with a chance to take the lead. The Knights had a steady attack, but when QB Reece Udinski was forced to scramble he fumbled the ball and Dandridge was able to scoop it up and giving the Hawks back the ball with time dwindling. Swift was able to find the end zone once more with under a minute to play to secure a trip to Hershey to play in the PIAA 6A State Championship.

     After the game, the Hawks shared a similar comment. Each player excited to get back to Hershey, but more importantly, to have one more week to play with their brothers.