Football Friday: Bonner & Prendie’s Session has tackled defensive responsibility with gusto

UPPER DARBY — Bonner & Prendergast junior Isaiah Session may be the most talented player on his team. He is certainly one of the best tacklers in the Catholic League Blue Division.

The middle linebacker has led by example, the MVP of an outstanding Friars defense that has posted three shutouts and is allowing 10 points per game during a memorable 2022 campaign.

Session has played above and beyond his 5-10, 170-pound frame. He resembles a cornerback or safety, and teams will often underestimate how good he is in the center of the defense.

“I can tell when they don’t want to pay attention to me,” Session said. “When they send me on a blitz, I know I’m not as big as the linemen and if they don’t want to block me, I’m just going to go right through them.”

Bonner coach Jack Muldoon once envisioned a bright future at running back for Session. While he has scored eight rushing touchdowns, Session has evolved into a terrific linebacker that the Friars cannot afford to keep off the field.

“I knew when we got him as a freshman he was a good football player, but I never knew he could be this talented,” Muldoon said. “You look at him and he isn’t the biggest kid, and it doesn’t make sense sometimes. He’s just a hard-working kid who makes tackles.”

Bonner (10-1), the Catholic League Blue and District 12 champion, will meet District 1 titlist Interboro (10-2) in the first round of the PIAA Class 4A tournament Saturday at Ridley’s Phil Marion Field. The battle of Delco heavyweights gets under way at 1 o’clock.

The Friars have won 10 consecutive games since a season-opening, 14-12 loss at The Haverford School, which went undefeated this year. The Bucs are winners of eight in a row.

“We’re pumped especially since last year when we got knocked out in the first round,” Session said. “We sort of have a chip on our shoulder, to make it past the first round so that we’re not here for nothing.”

Session transitioned to linebacker prior to his sophomore year. He produced a team-high 56 tackles and earned All-Catholic League second team honors. This season he leads the Friars in tackles (70), tackles for loss (30) and fumble recoveries (three), according to Catholic League statistician Ed “Huck” Palmer.

“When we moved him up (to varsity) last year, we moved him to linebacker and he just started tackling everything in sight,” Muldoon said. “I’m hoping next year we can get him the ball a little bit more, but he’s had a great season for us on defense.”

Session will be tasked with making sure Abu Kamara doesn’t dominate. The senior running back broke Delaware County’s single-season rushing record in the District 1 final, scoring five touchdowns (four rushing) and running for 257 yards in the Bucs’ 38-14 rout of Pope John Paul II last week.

“We’ve just got to wrap up because we can see that he breaks through arm tackles,” Session said.

The Friars possess good size, strength and athleticism across the board. Lead running back Avery Hankey is 15 yards shy of 1,000 for the season. Quarterback Justin Sheppherd has passed for 1,084 yards and 18 TDs. Defensive end Mylacchi Williams (11 sacks, 27 TFLs) is unstoppable one-on-one.

Kamara also set the county record for most touchdowns in a season (39). In addition, he is a ball-hawking defense back (nine interceptions). While Kamara is clearly the Bucs’ major weapon, fullback/linebacker Theo Demopoulos, wide receiver Dom Gunter and third-year starting quarterback Julian Bulovas are big assets. The Bucs also have good size on both lines, led by center and tackle Matt Galanaugh.

“Their whole team is tough, they’ve got a bunch of kids who play every play, and they’ve got a special kid there in Kamara,” Muldoon said. “When he gets out and starts galloping, he’s gone.”

Bonner & Prendergast is back in the PIAA Class 4A tournament for a third straight year. The Bucs are in the state playoffs for the first time in 10 years.

In Friday’s playoff games:

District 1 Class 6A
No. 12 Downingtown East at No. 1 Garnet Valley, 7

The Cougars (9-3) are playing with house money after back-to-back wins against Ches-Mont League teams that had beaten them during the regular season.

First it was mighty Coatesville, the fifth seed in the tournament. East trailed 15-0 late in the second quarter, only to score 31 unanswered points. In last week’s 34-9 trouncing of Downingtown East, the Cougars avenged a two-point loss to the Whippets two weeks prior.

Bo Horvath has rushed for 530 yards and eight touchdowns in the first two rounds of the playoffs. East is in the semifinal round of a District 1 tournament for the first time since 2014.

The Jaguars (11-0) edged No. 8 Spring-Ford in overtime thriller last Friday. Jack Westburg’s 10-yard scoring run gave the Jags a 33-30 win. Garnet Valley has qualified for the District 1 Class 6A semifinal round in seven of the eight years that the 6A classification has existed. (In the pandemic-shortened 2020 season, Central League schools did not participate in the PIAA postseason.)

GV hasn’t dropped a game at Moe DeFrank Stadium since Nov. 19, 2019, a loss to Coatesville in the district semifinals.

The winner plays either No. 2 Perkiomen Valley or 11th-seeded Central Bucks West for the championship.

Class 5A
No. 3 Rustin at No. 2 Strath Haven, 7

It was only a matter of time before we had a rematch of the epic 2021 final between these two schools. Quarterback Sam Milligan’s two-point conversion run in double overtime sent the Haven faithful into a frenzy last year, clinching the program’s 12th District 1 championship. An argument could be made that the Golden Knights (10-1) and the Panthers (12-0) are better this season than they were a year ago.

Fans of old-school, run-heavy offenses are in luck.  Haven’s patented Wing-T offense has produced 4,380 yards on 538 carries (8.1 ypc). The leading man is senior Anthony Crawford, who set the program’s single-season rushing record in last Saturday’s 36-19 win over No. 7 Springfield. Crawford is the second-leading rusher in Delco with 1,896 yards and 26 TDs. Bob Fooskas has 1,053 yards and 13 scores while Milligan, who this week announced his verbal commitment to Bucknell, has 622 yards and 10 TDs.

Rustin advanced to the semifinals with a 31-7 rout of No. 6 Kennett. Antonio Santangelo (141 yards) paced a ground assault that produced 408 yards on 48 carries. Daimon Jacobs amassed 121 yards and two TD while Chase Hatton added 87 yards.

The winner plays either No. 1 Upper Dublin or fourth-seeded Plymouth Whitemarsh for the championship.