La Salle rallies past Imhotep Charter in defensive battle
PHILADELPHIA >> Following a somewhat disappointing 2018 season, La Salle starting quarterback Jack Machita said the team has a new motto for the 2019 football season.
“We’ve been saying ‘back on top’, that is the goal this year, to get back to where this program has been in the past,” he said.
On Saturday, in the team’s opening game of the season, the Explorers came back from a 12-3 halftime deficit to beat Imhotep, 15-12, and take their first step toward getting back to the top.
“At halftime there wasn’t anybody with their head down or complaining, It was everyone talking about what they were going to do to come back,” La Salle head coach John Steinmetz said. “I thought coming back showed we were in pretty good form.”
The two teams played each other in last season’s opener as well, with Imhotep topping La Salle, 34-10. This year it was a much different story as both defenses held the opposing team to fewer than 200 yards of total offense.
After a scoreless first quarter, Imhotep struck first on a 10-yard run by quarterback Jalen Sutton-Christian.
With the Imhotep leading, 6-3, with less than a minute remaining in the half, La Salle took over at their own 40.
Looking to get into scoring range, La Salle attempted a hook and lateral. The initial pass from Machita found its intended target, Rob Tatum, but Tatum’s lateral was off the mark, and Imhotep’s Shafeek Smith scooped the ball up and ran it 47 yards the other way for a touchdown.
“Even after that play we felt comfortable,” Steinmetz said. “They know stuff like that is going to happen, it’s about what you do to respond to it. They did a great job of hanging in there.”
The running game, which managed just 53 yards in the first half, eventually wore down the Imhotep front seven.
La Salle leading rusher Sam Brown had 33 of his 50 yards in the second half, including a third-quarter touchdown to make it 12-9.
“That second half I think we wore them down a bit,” Steinmatz said. “We got the ball to Sam and Jalen (De Vose) and just wanted to play downhill and I think that worked.”
On the other side of the ball, The La Salle defense kept Imhotep in check.
Sutton-Christian’s second-quarter touchdown was the only one for the Panther offense, as they were held to 124 total yards and eight first downs.
“A lot of people wrote us off this year,” La Salle defensive lineman Ryan Savage said. “I hear some people saying we didn’t have a chance tonight, they (Imhotep) were going to score 40 on us, but we just stuck to our game plan, made our reads and executed.”
A 15-yard fourth-quarter touchdown pass from Machita to fullback Timothy Mehlmann gave the Explorers their first lead of the game with 4:55 left.
Then, with 1:42 on the clock and Imhotep looking to go ahead or force overtime, it was Savage that clinched the win for his team by bringing Sutton-Christian down in the backfield on a fourth-down pass attempt.
“I knew it was going to be a pass so I had a pass rush in my head,” Savage said. “I went jab step left, swim move over on the right. I saw him step up, I dove and just luckily got his foot.”
La Salle travels to North Penn (1-0) on Friday, Aug. 30 at 7 p.m.
La Salle 15, Imhotep 12
La Salle (1-0, 0-0) 0 3 6 6 — 15
Imhotep (0-1, 0-0) 0 12 0 0 — 12
Scoring
First Quarter
None
Second Quarter
I — 10 yard run by Jalen Sutton-Christian; 11:11
L — 36 yard field goal by Jake Gandolfo; 1:01
I — 47 yard fumble return by Shafeek Smith; 00:01
Third Quarter
L — 12 yard run by Sam Brown; 1:43
Fourth Quarter
L — 15 yard pass from Jack Machita to Timothy Mehlmann; 4:55
Team Statistics
L I
First Downs 12 8
Rushing yards 118 59
Passing yards 62 65
Total yards 180 124
Passing 9-15 5-9
Penalties 2-25 15-110
Fumbles-Lost 2-1 5-0
Punts-Avg 4-38 6-27.8
Individual Statistics
RUSHING
L: Sam Brown 12-50 1 TD; Jack Machita 10-36; Jalen De Vose 6-23; Gavin Daly 2-5; Timothy Mehlmann 1-4.
I: Jalen Sutton-Christian 11-(-8); Saint McLeod 21-64; D’Shaun Seal 2-5; Maurice Beverly 2-(-1); Will Robinson 1-(-1).
PASSING
L: Jack Machita 9-15 62 Yards 1 TD
I: Jalen Sutton-Christian 5-9 65 Yards.
RECEIVING
L: Sam Brown 1-(-5); Jalen De Vose 3-21; Liam Kennedy 1-9; Rob Tatum 3-22; Timothy Mehlmann 1-15 1 TD.
I: D’Shaun Seals 2-61; Rahim Stewart 1-(-9); Saint McLeod 2-13.
