La Salle Explorers - photo courtesy of @LaSalle_Sports
St. Joseph's Prep Hawks - PSD Photo
CATHOLIC LEAGUE GAME OF THE WEEK
Who: La Salle vs. St. Joseph’s Prep
When: 8 PM Friday, October 20
Where: Widener University
Records: La Salle 6-1, 4-0; St. Joseph’s Prep 6-0, 4-0
Most Recent Performance: La Salle stopped Roman Catholic, 42-7; St. Joe’s Prep did likewise by the same score against Father Judge.
Importance: The two perennial champs have owned the Catholic League big-school divisions. Since 2007, La Salle has won six championships and the Prep has snared three. Overall, La Salle has captured 11 league titles to the Prep’s 10. The Prep would wrap up the division with a win because of tiebreakers; La Salle would need to beat both the Prep and Archbishop Wood to secure the title.
All-Time Record: St. Joseph’s Prep leads, 49-36-5.
La Salle Notes: Five straight victories have garnered a ridiculous 208-41 scoring imbalance . . . Just like the Prep, defense has allowed 20 points in four league games . . . Senior quarterback Danny Solecki continues to impress since taking over the starting spot five weeks ago. Solecki has completed 85 of 125 for 1,078 yards and 13 touchdowns . . . Solecki utilizes an effect running game manned by junior Manny Quiles (287 yards rushing, seven touchdowns) and Octavious Carter (453 yards from scrimmage, five TDs); his primary pass catchers are junior Brett Mallee (26 for 381 yards, four total touchdowns) and senior Troy Holland (28 for 353, six touchdowns).
Prep Notes: The Hawks have won 20 consecutive games over two seasons and are the defending state champions in pursuit of their fourth state title in five years, but that won’t happen if they lose to La Salle . . . Despite outscoring the opposition by 206-48 and, just like La Salle, allowing only 20 points in four league games, the Hawks don’t have any eye-popping offensive numbers. Overall, junior quarterback Marquez McCray has completed an efficient 47 of 81 passes for 540 yards and four touchdowns, and he has added 222 yards on the ground . . . Junior Marques Mason (52 for 270 yards, five touchdowns) and sophomore Kolbe Burrell (49 for 282, five TDs) have mirrored each other’s production . . . Senior receiver Brandon Sanders has caught 14 passes for 153 yards and three scores . . . Seven different players have contributed to the team’s nine interceptions.
EXPLORER CHAT: “I feel if we pay attention to detail on every aspect of the field, offense, defense, and special teams, we can get the job done,” said senior linebacker/tight end Liam Trainer. “We are very hungry, especially after coming off of two losses last year. Letting up 63 points in the first game last year was completely unacceptable. It is used as motivation for our defense. We know there will be adversity at points in the game. That's a given.
“Prep is a very good football team and will take the game over if we make stupid mistakes. More importantly is how we handle that adversity in the game. Coach's motto this week had been handling adversity and getting up after we are knocked down. This is a game we look forward to every year, and this year I think we can get the job done. We are very fortunate to have a rivalry game as such. Not a lot of schools across America have opportunities like this. The rivalry is what makes this game so special to the players and staff on both teams.”
La Salle Explorers - PSD Photo by Zamani Feelings
La Salle Explorers - PSD photo by Zamani Feelings
“The mood of our team has been getting more energetic week after week leading up to this game,” said senior middle linebacker Austin Lemke. “We had an extremely energetic two weeks of practice prior to this week and things were going smoothly. Everyone knows the rivalry might be the biggest in PA and is very excited for Friday night. It makes it even more exciting for us to play being ranked second in the area behind St. Joe’s, and we want to make a statement.
“You can tell the mood of our team was fully focused once the Roman game ended. Everyone knew what week it was and what it will take to win. We have a very serious approach to this game and will push ourselves more than ever during this week of practice. We have preached to every man on the team to watch film because it will only benefit us.
“This rivalry is great. Every year we look forward to getting to play the Prep, and it seems a lot of other people get excited for the game as well. The crowds the rivalry brings in for a game is crazy and it is great to get to play in a game like that. Year after year, it seems to always be a good game no matter the players a certain team has due to the fact it is a huge rivalry and both teams look forward to the game from the beginning of the season.
“Being ranked the first and second teams in the area brings more hype to the game this year and seems to fire a lot of people with a lot of talk behind the game. It is always great to play against St. Joe’s and I can't wait to see what this Friday night brings. In order to win I believe we need to control the game up front with our offensive and defensive line. They are a big team up front like they are every year, and if our offensive line can get a push, then our offense should be rolling. As an offense we also have to not have penalties or turnovers because in a huge game like this they can be game changers. We have the weapons to put up big numbers as seen in almost every game this season.
“As a defense I believe we just can't give up big plays. Since the beginning of our season, most touchdowns we have given up have been off of a big play, and if we can avoid that we should be in good shape. We also need to stay true to our jobs on every play and trust the other guys on the field to do their job. As a team we also need to not get too caught up in the hype. The crowd will be screaming and we just need to keep our poise and discipline.
“It is exciting to get to play in a game like this, but at the end of the day it is just high school kids doing what they loved to do since being kids, and we have preached that. We just need to keep our composure and focus on the goal to achieve what we want to. Getting caught up in the hype can lead to mistakes that lead to turnovers or touchdowns given up. We just need to settle down and realize it is just another football game and if everyone stays true to their job, we will be in good shape.”
La Salle Explorers - PSD photo by Zamani Feelings
La Salle Explorers - PSD photo by Zamani Feelings
La Salle Explorers - PSD photo by Zamani Feelings
“We feel that this game is very important to us,” said senior safety and quarterback Isaiah Jones. “Last year we lost both games against them and allowed them to put up too many points against us, especially in the first matchup. We respect them as a team and understand that they are in the way of our goal: a state championship. And to know that they haven’t lost a game since we beat them my sophomore season in 2015, it feels right that we hand them a loss come Friday. It’s not going to be easy. We need to come together as a team and make sure that we are giving our all in every drill. They are a good team, but we want to let everyone know they aren’t the only good team in Southeastern PA.”
“Overall, we've had a lot of success so far this season and are very confident in what we've been doing,” said senior center Brendan O’Brien. “We know how important this game is. We’re taking it very seriously this week. There's a lot of really amazing tradition that goes into this rivalry. It's something that I really love being a part of. This game always has a lot riding on it, and to know the tradition of all the LaSalle vs. St. Joe's games in the past, it's amazing to be a part of it and continue the tradition.
“I think that we are confident in what we're able to do. We need to have a very solid, focused week of practice, watch lots of film and continue to improve on the little things each day. I think that if we play our game and control the ball on offense, play strong defense, and have solid special teams play, this will be a very good game. We know how good of a team St. Joe's is and we're not going to take them lightly.”
“Our game is going to be our biggest game yet this year,” said senior wide receiver Troy Holland. “Not only is our game against Prep our rivalry game but Prep is also ranked number seven in the country or something like that, so you know it is going to be a tough matchup. I think that if we just stay focused this week and continue to watch film and prepare, we'll come out victorious on Friday.”
HAWK CHAT: “We have the same approach to this game as the rest of them,” said senior linebacker/fullback/tight end Phil O’Connor. “We have to get to work and stay locked in during practice all week. The biggest thing for us this week is to not buy into the hype and distractions. We need to just play our brand of football and focus on getting better as a team.”
“Obviously, we’re excited and we’re ready to take the next step together as a team,” said senior safety Dawson DeIuliis. “They are a great team and always present us with a tough challenge. We just have to focus on getting better each day and play our game.”
“The general mood of the team is that this game is the most important one, only because it’s the next one,” said senior wide receiver Brandon Sanders. “We pride ourselves on never taking any opportunity for granted. We are going to prepare the same way that we have been preparing all season. This game has a lot of history. Two good teams going at it makes for a good matchup. La Salle is a very good team. We have tons of respect for them, so it should be a great game. To win, we believe we just need to do what we’ve been doing all season.”
“Everyone’s been looking forward to this game since the last time we got to play them,” said senior linebacker Bradley Cobaugh. “We have a long week of practice to prepare and everyone is on board and locked in to get the job done. This game is known for being absolutely electric, and we all can’t wait to be back in that atmosphere.
“I think it’s more of a tradition than a rivalry. We both have great programs. Winning programs. When two teams that always seem to be successful face off, it’s no wonder that people get as hyped up for the game as they do.
“From a defensive standpoint, in order to win this game we have to keep our offense on the field. We’ve done a great job of getting teams off the field. We have to play to our strengths and give our offense as many opportunities to score as possible.”
St. Joseph's Prep Hawks - PSD Photo by Zamani Feelings
St. Joseph's Prep Hawks - PSD Photo by Zamani Feelings
St. Joseph's Prep Hawks - PSD Photo
St. Joseph's Prep Hawks - PSD Photo by Zamani Feelings
“The mood of the team is that it’s the most important game because it’s the next game, and just take it day by day, rep by rep,” said senior quarterback Marquez McCray. “Were not worried about the rivalry. It’s just another team in the Catholic League. We specifically have to play Prep football. Run power and stop them on third down.”
Prediction: If this battle isn’t within a touchdown inside the final minutes, it will be a supreme disappointment. One gets the impression that these two squads could play 10 times and both teams would win five. But this comes down to one game, and both teams truly believe they’re going to be victorious. The Prep hasn’t lost since 2015. The Hawks have to lose sometime, don’t they? On offense, La Salle has done pretty much whatever it wants, but the Explorers have not faced an opportunistic defense like the Prep, nor has the Prep played against an offense this explosive. Enough filibustering. The Explorers survive a 23-20 thriller.
(John Knebels can be reached at Jknebels@gmail.com or on Twitter @johnknebels.)