Swift runs St. Joseph’s Prep past North Penn in PIAA 6A semifinals

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PHILADELPHIA >> This one lived up to — and maybe exceeded — a season’s worth of hype and anticipation.

St. Joseph’s Prep and North Penn packed 48 minutes of hard-hitting football and suspense into a back-and-forth contest at a cold and windy Charles Martin Memorial Stadium Saturday night, but in the end, it was D’Andre Swift who ran his team to Hershey.

Swift rushed for 266 yards on 32 carries, scoring four touchdowns, to lead the Hawks to a thrilling 35-25 victory over the Knights in the PIAA-6A Semifinals.

Bob Raines--Digital First Media North Penn's Dan Drop tries to cling to the shirt tail of Prep's D'Andre Swift Saturday night.
North Penn’s Dan Drop tries to cling to the shirt tail of Prep’s D’Andre Swift during their PIAA Class 6A semifinal on Saturday, Dec. 3, 2016. (Bob Raines/Digital First Media)

“It’s good to be going back to Hershey with my brothers, yes, sir,” said Swift, the fourth-ranked prospect in the nation, headed to Georgia next season. “I had to put the team on my back a little bit. It was good. We had to make a couple of adjustments at halftime but we came out and did what we had to do.”

The victory sends St. Joe’s to a state final showdown with Pittsburgh Central Catholic, a 63-21 winner over Wilson, as the Hawks go for their third state title in four years.

The Knights certainly made the Hawks work for it.

After North Penn blocked a punt to set up a 29-yard, go-ahead field goal by Kelly Macnamara, making it 17-14, St. Joe’s (13-0) scored on its next two possessions.

The first drive took just four plays.

Swift broke free for 26, pulled down from behind by Dan Drop, who got a hand-full of Swift’s undershirt, or else he was gone. On the next play, though, Swift did take it all the way in, racing for a 27-yard score that pushed St. Joe’s back in front, 21-17.

On its ensuing possession, North Penn picked up a first down and looked for another. On 4th-and-1 at the NP 40, St. Joe’s Ricky Goodson broke through the Knights’ line and tackled Ricky Johns for a loss of one, turning possession over to the Hawks.

Five plays later, Swift – demonstrating the kind of game-breaking ability that has drawn comparisons to other PCL greats such as Marvin Harrison – ran right, then cut it back through a gaping hole to score from 12 yards out and extend the Hawk advantage to 28-17 with 7:48 to go.

Said Swift of his epic fourth quarter – 13 carries for 174 yards and three scores: “To get my number called, it’s a blessing to be trusted like that. It was great to pick up those first downs and eventually bust one.”

North Penn came battling back.

The Knights needed just 1:21 to make it a one-possession game again, with quarterback Reece Udinski hitting Nick Dillon on a screen pass for a 37-yard touchdown. Johns caught the two-point conversion to make it 28-25.

Bob Raines--Digital First Media North Penn's Ricky Johns tries to turn up field past Prep's Ricky Goodson and Dejuan Dandridge Saturday.
North Penn’s Ricky Johns tries to turn up field past Prep’s Ricky Goodson and Dejuan Dandridge during their PIAA Class 6A semifinal on Saturday, Dec. 3, 2016. (Bob Raines/Digital First Media)

With 4:04 to play, Johns broke up a fourth-down pass intended for Swift, and North Penn had life, taking over at its own 40.

“Ricky making that play on fourth down on the deflection – that’s a big-time play,” Knights coach Dick Beck said of Johns, who will play for West Virginia next year. “That’s a game changer.”

Udinski (19-of-36, 273 yds, 3 TD, 3 Int) directed the Knights to a pair of first downs, but on 1st-and-10 at the St. Joe 39, the senior scrambled and the ball was jarred loose from his grasp, giving the Hawks the ball at their own 24.

A 58-yard run by Swift set up his fourth touchdown, a one-yarder, to cap the scoring.

“He’s one of the best I’ve ever seen — ever — with the ball in his hands,” Beck said of Swift. “He’s really special.”

North Penn (14-1) overcame a 14-7 halftime deficit to take the lead late in the third quarter. The Knights gave the Hawks their toughest test of the season, the 10-point difference the tightest St. Joe’s had faced. The 25 points North Penn scored were the second most given up by the Hawks all fall.

“This team will be special in my heart forever,” Beck said of his squad.

Swift’s first touchdown run of 29 yards opened the scoring before the Knights tied things up at seven with a 14-yard strike from Udinski to Johns. On a night where things changed in a hurry, Terrance Greene took the ensuing kickoff back for a score, providing the Hawks a 14-7 edge at halftime.

North Penn tied it again with a 30-yard TD pass from Udinski to Justis Henley, setting up quite a finish at packed Northeast High.

In addition to Swift’s production, St. Joe’s managed 145 yards through the air. The Hawks did not have a single turnover and took it away from North Penn four times.

“It’s feels amazing but I don’t think it’s sunk in yet,” Hawks quarterback Marquez McCray said of the victory. “It finally broke for us.”

Kev Hunter

Kevin Hunter
Kev Hunter is a sports reporter for Montco Media. He has been a staff writer for The Reporter Newspaper in Lansdale since 2000. Prior to that, he covered sports for The Day Newspaper in New London, Conn. He began his writing career at The Courier-Post in South Jersey, along with covering prep football in Pa. for The Philadelphia Inquirer.

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