St. Joseph's Prep (Philadelphia) vs. La Salle College (Wyndmoor, Pa.)
John Reid, St. Joseph's Prep
Photos by Ken Inness
The Philadelphia Catholic League Class 4A championship will be decided Friday night and, not surprisingly, the winner will be either St. Joseph's Prep or La Salle. One of the two programs has won the title every season since the league's current playoff format began in 2008. This year has been a tale of two seasons for St. Joseph's Prep. After starting off ranked in most preseason national polls, the Hawks stumbled to three losses in their first four games. But SJP (6-3) picked itself off the mat to win its next four games, including a 35-31 over La Salle on Oct. 10. Penn State-committed athlete
John Reid is the team's top playmaker with 627 total offensive yards and 10 touchdowns. La Salle boasts an 8-2 record against one of the top schedules of any team in the Northeast. Aside from SJP, the Explorers' only other loss was against New Jersey power Bergen Catholic (Oradell). Senior quarterback
Kyle Shurmur, a Vanderbilt recruit and son of Philadelphia Eagles offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur, has thrown for 2,411 yards and 28 touchdowns.
Follow live scoring of this game on Qwixcore
Just the facts: This will be the 19th edition of this rivalry in the past 11 seasons. St. Joseph's Prep has beaten La Salle three times in a row and owns a 10-8 edge overall since 2004. … SJP is trying to win its 17th Catholic League championship. La Salle is shooting for its 15th.
Mitch Stephens: La Salle 21, St. Joseph's Prep 20
Kevin Askeland: La Salle 28, St. Joseph's Prep 14
Jamie DeMoney: La Salle 28, St. Joseph's Prep 21
Stephen Spiewak: St. Joseph's Prep 24, La Salle 21
Leland Gordon: St. Joseph's Prep 31, La Salle 25
Colin Ward-Henninger: St. Joseph's Prep 20, La Salle 17
