Session’s timely fumble return keys Bonner-Prendie’s win over Conwell-Egan

UPPER DARBY — Isaiah Session learned his lesson from two weeks ago.

That day, he was the second Bonner-Prendergast man in the backfield when David Washington blocked a Roman Catholic punt. On that day, Sessions made the sure-handed play, falling on the ball inside the red zone.

Friday, Session wanted more. So when Conwell-Egan faked a punt in the third quarter with up back Donte Morris sweeping right, Session was lurking. And when Answer Sale punched the ball out, Session pounced.

Session’s 21-yard fumble return on Conwell-Egan’s opening drive of the second half was all the scoreboard cushion Bonner-Prendergast needed on the way to a 36-22 Catholic League Blue Division win.

“I was going to recover it and I just fell on it,” Session said of the Roman game. “I didn’t score that time. This time I had to score. I got it and I just scooped and scored it.”

The linebacker’s play came at a tenuous moment. Bonner-Prendergast (3-1, 1-0 PCL Blue) had scored with 51 seconds left in the first half to carry the momentum and a 22-6 advantage into the break, having deferred the coin toss to give its stellar defense the first crack at the Eagles. But Conwell-Egan stuffed Bonner on the opening series of the second half, thanks to a big first-down tackle for loss by Gavin Pond.

Had the Eagles (3-1, 0-1), then down two scores, managed to generate momentum behind the running of Morris on that series, the game could’ve tipped in their favor. Instead, Session stretched Bonner’s edge to 29-6, enough to weather a ragged final 20 minutes.

Part of the reason the second half was so uneven came moments after Session’s score. Ronald Jones returned the ensuing kickoff 30 yards to midfield but was hit hard and bent his leg awkwardly. He required an ambulance to take him off the field in an air cast, halting the game for more than 20 minutes and causing a palpable drop in level for both sides when play resumed.

“It’s terrible,” Morris said. “Ron’s a big player. He’s a good friend of mine, and it hurts to see him go down.”

The only thing that restarted the Friars’ momentum was Mason Peterson. The running back has proven to be a 30-carry workhorse this season. But Friday, he took the more economical route, exploding for touchdowns of 70, 68 and 71 yards. He toted 16 times for 240 yards.

All three scores were variations of the same play, more or less. Whether he was taking an inside handoff in the second quarter as the second man through behind a faked jet sweep, or in the fourth quarter getting a direct snap behind a single-wing look in an old-meets-new concept, they all ended with Conwell-Egan defenders fruitlessly chasing the green-clad No. 21 down the field.

“Mason is just a great back,” Session said. “Every time he touches the ball, you feel like it’s going to be in the end zone.”

It’s a good thing Peterson was so great, since Bonner-Prendie managed just 23 yards of non-Peterson offense after halftime. He started the game with a little razzle-dazzle, tossing 13 yards to QB Shane Mulholland on the first play from scrimmage. Mulholland would hit Patrick Awo for a 36-yard completion on the next play, then capped the march with a one-yard plunge into the end zone for a 7-0 lead less than four minutes in.

“It opens up the offense, it opens up the run play,” Peterson said. “With me running, it opens up the pass because they play on me and it opens up for other people.”

Mulholland was just 4-for-11 for 83 yards on the day, three of the hookups with Awo for 70 yards. That left most of the work for Peterson. He broke a 70-yarder at 7:13 of the second quarter to put Bonner up 14-0, then dashed 68 yards to paydirt on third and 5, with Bonner’s two-minute offense sputtering, just before the halftime whistle.

Conwell-Egan had its issues moving the ball with players other than their feature back, too. The only problem was that Morris also alternated at quarterback out of necessity. He and Stephen Tryon combined to go 5-for-19 passing for just 36 yards, unable to even credibly feign a threat.

Morris was so explosive, though, that he made the Eagles’ Wing-T workable. He broke a 15-yard score in the second quarter on a QB keeper to get CE on the board, then took a handoff off the edge 28 yards to score with 4:31 left in the third.  He carried 16 times for 105 yards, one of 10 Eagles ball-carriers.

The Eagles made things interesting, even though Bonner-Prendergast effectively sealed the game with Elijah Beaty’s interception of Tyron with 5:31 to play before Peterson’s third TD.

Conwell-Egan wasn’t done, Sam Cooper capping a long drive with 42 seconds left to make it 36-20, before Cooper then recovered the onside kick at the 31. But Washington sacked Morris with three seconds to play on fourth down to end any thoughts of a miraculous comeback.

“I take away that we have heart,” Morris said. “We never stopped. There was 40 seconds left, we recovered an onside kick and the kid (Cooper) ran full speed to recover the ball. I know we have heart. So I know we’re not going to be losing a lot of games like that.”

For Session and a Bonner defense that prides itself on stinginess, though, it’s another job done.

“We’ve just got to keep hitting them