St. Joseph’s Prep starts fast, rolls past La Salle in PCL-6A final

PHILADELPHIA >> On the same field early in October, La Salle put an end to a nine-game losing streak to St. Joseph’s Prep.

Saturday afternoon, the Hawks quickly made sure the rematch would have a different outcome.

Prep grabbed a 7-0 lead on the game’s opening series, doubled their advantage by returning a fumble a touchdown while a blocked punt set up another score and less than nine minutes into the Philadelphia Catholic League Class 6A final at Franklin Field, the Hawks were up 21-0.

“The first game we didn’t really prepare that well as a team,” Prep sophomore running back Kahseim Phillips said. “We really didn’t prepare that well but we came back, we kept them on our mind in the back of our head. We took every day, a day at a time, a day at a time and then when the week came, we worked hard.”

The Hawks added two more touchdowns in the second quarter to build a 35-0 halftime time lead as they rolled into the District 12 title game with a 35-7 victory over the Explorers.

“It was definitely a statement game for us and the whole team – offense, defensive-wise,” Prep junior Josiah Trotter said. “We definitely could play so much better last game and that’s why we just came out ready to work this whole week.”

Phillips ran 11 times for 102 yards and two touchdowns, quarterback Dane Picariello threw for two more scores for Prep (8-2) while the Hawks’ defense held La Salle (9-2) to single digits for the first time since the Explorers lost to Prep in the 2019 PCL-6A final 52-7.

“All of a sudden it’s like bam, bam, bam and we give up 21 points pretty quick,” La Salle coach John Steinmetz said. Really good football team like this, it’s really hard to come back from. Like I said, it’s a little bit like they were going downhill.”

The Explorers topped the Hawks 28-21 Oct. 2 for their first win in the rivalry since 2015. But Saturday La Salle never generated much offensive momentum while a few miscues helped the Hawks hold a three-touchdown advantage after a quarter.

“Today things didn’t go our way,” La Salle senior running back Sam Brown said. “Offensively and defensively we made a lot of mistakes. But what I’ve been telling everybody that doesn’t define us as a team. We had a really good season and things just didn’t go our way today.”

Brown, a Rutgers commit, finished with 10 carries for 106 yards, most of that coming on his 85-yard touchdown run with 2:17 in the fourth quarter.

“It would have been great to win a state ‘chip but we didn’t accomplish that,” Brown said. “But overall my four years here, the guys that I played with, we had great seasons. I’ll miss it.”

The loss in the first meeting with the Explorers had St. Joe’s Prep, the three-time defending PIAA-6A champ, sitting at 2-2. But the Hawks have won six straight since and advance to face Northeast – which shutout Olney 30-0 in the Public League 6A final – for the District 12 crown Saturday at Northeast’s Charles Martin Memorial Stadium.

“Our o-line set the tone, our coaches called great calls,” Phillips said. “Everybody was locked in, we was all one person today. We all was locked in, we played together.”

James Heard’s 23-yard fumble return for a touchdown had Prep leading 14-0 at 4:12 in the opening period. After the Hawks forced a three-and-out, Owen Garwood blocked the punt to set up Phillips’ two-yard TD run at 3:02 to put Prep up 21.

On their next series, the Explorers drove to the Hawks’ 16 before quarterback Alan Paturzo was intercepted by Anthony Sacca on the first play of the second quarter.

“Key was just everyone do their job, execute the gameplan and just make sure everyone’s lined up and positioned,” said Trotter of the Prep defense. “Biggest thing for me was making sure I had the defense and everyone set up in the right play, making sure everyone was lined up.”

Phillips broke away for a 62-yard touchdown run at 8:31 while Trotter caught a four-yard TD pass from Picariello for a 35-0 lead with 4:51 left in the half.

La Salle found success with Ryan Moore as a wildcat QB and threatened to score in the final minute before the break but on 4^th-and-1 at the Prep 2 an errant snap resulted in a 35-yard loss.

“It was a combination of everything,” Steinmetz said. “We had two chances to score, didn’t. We had two chances to stop them and didn’t and we had two special teams issues.”

St. Joseph’s Prep grabbed an early 7-0 lead by driving 80 yards on eight plays,  Picariello capping the game’s opening possession by hitting David Washington on a slant over the middle for a seven-yard TD at 9:13 in the first quarter.

“It felt good cause we just needed to get our team going and get us rolling,” Phillips said. “And that’s all we talked about, putting our foot on they necks and keeping it for all four quarters.”

The Hawks’ defense made it 14-0 when Rocco Nicholl came off the right edge to force a fumble as he sacked Paturzo with Heard scooping up the ball for an 23-yard TD return at 4:12.

Special teams set up the Hawks’ third TD as Garwood came through the left side to block the punt, Kennan Nelson recovering it at the La Salle four. A Phillips two-yard touchdown run gave Prep a 21-0 lead.

Phillips scored a second time to put the Hawks up 28-0 and he found a seam through the line then sprinted away for a 62-yard touchdown run.

“My o-line cleared it up,” Phillips said. “My coach dialed it up perfectly, o-line cleared it up and I seen daylight and I took it.”

Picariello, who was 4-for-4 passing for 57 yards, collected his second touchdown throw as he hit an open Trotter in the end zone for a four-yard TD at 4:51 in the second quarter.

“This is the first week where they really said that I’d worked both so I got to come with that pass especially if they start biting on it,” Trotter said. “And then once he called it I knew it was going to already be a touchdown cause the corner was biting down.”