North Penn and St. Joseph’s Prep are without question two of the best teams in Southeastern Pennsylvania, and the clash between these two muscle programs could determine which is the best team in the area when they meet Saturday night at Plymouth-Whitemarsh High School at 7 p.m.
Both teams are 2-0.
North Penn hammered defending PIAA Class AAAA state champion Liberty in its season opener, 42-10, and the Knights followed that up with a comfortable 28-7 victory over Lansdale Catholic.
St. Joe’s has been equally impressive, getting by Western Pennsylvania power McKeesport, 27-26, on sophomore quarterback Skyler Mornhinweg's late-fourth-quarter heroics, and 40-28 over St. Peter’s (N.J.) — when Mornhinweg guided the Hawks to 26 unanswered second-half points and rallied them from a 28-14 halftime deficit.
Both teams had myriad questions at the start of the season. Both teams have had a number of them successfully answered. But Saturday’s clash could signify which team is the best in the area, based on the caliber of opponent each team has played.
"North Penn is always a good team, and we’re preparing hard for them; they’re quick up front, but we’re quick, too," Mornhinweg said. "Our guys up front are really doing a good job. Everyone is. We have some explosive running backs, and I’ve always felt comfortable with this team. We’re playing with each other’s strengths."
Mornhinweg, who starts at free safety and at quarterback, has thrown for two touchdowns and scored twice.
"I think we’ve taken on two extremely tough opponents in interesting situations, and they’ve been big games," Hawks coach Gil Brooks said. "We got behind and beat McKeesport, which is the fastest team I’ve ever seen. We played and beat St. Peter’s at Rutgers, and St. Peter’s was the biggest high school team I’ve ever seen.
"We’re not getting any breaks with North Penn; absolutely no breaks. They’re very fast, crafty; they have great technique. It’s another big challenge, and I have great respect for (North Penn) coach (Dick) Beck. We’re beat up a little bit after playing two physical teams, and coming off a Sunday on game. We’re still feeling the bangs and bruises."
But Brooks has been exceptionally pleased by the play of Mornhinweg, the son of Philadelphia Eagles’ offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg.
"Sky just has that 'it' factor, that special something that makes the kid a winner," Brooks said. "He’ll make a mistake and he doesn’t come off the field with his head down; because he starts both ways for us, he goes right back out and makes plays."
Mornhinweg and the Hawks will certainly find out how good they are after Saturday.
"We’ve shown an ability to respond," Brooks said. "We had a great camp. We worked extremely hard in camp and we talked about getting through those days, we’d have an advantage. We’ve shown the ability to hang in there. We’ve responded well to adversity."
O’hara star Corey Brown commits to Ohio State
Corey Brown was planning on revisiting Ohio State. It looks as if the 6-foot-1, 180-pound Cardinal O’Hara senior running back/defensive back won’t be going back to Columbus any time soon — well, at least not until next June, when Brown will stay there permanently.
That’s because Brown gave coach Jim Tressel an oral commitment that he’s going to be a Buckeye.
"When I went up there, the campus was nice, and the game was great, between Ohio State and USC," Brown said. "There were 106,000 people there and I got to down on the sideline and everything. I told coach Tressel the next morning I wanted to come to Ohio State. He was happy and he called me a few nights later and told me how they’d like to use me."
Tressel told Brown he can pick his position, but Brown could see playing time as a freshman. He chose Ohio State over West Virginia, Pittsburgh, Rutgers and Miami.
"No one has called since I made my commitment," Brown said, "so there is no way I’ll change my mind. I am happy to get it over with, and now I can focus on school and my senior year. I don’t have to worry about this and that, all the colleges in the back of my mind."
O’Hara is off to a 2-0 start and Brown has scored five touchdowns in two games. He’s also rushed close to 300 yards. The Lions will have North Catholic this week, followed by Monsignor Bonner, so there is a chance O’Hara could start the season very well.
O’Hara faces defending Philadelphia Catholic League Class AAAA champion LaSalle on Nov. 7, and powerhouse St. Joseph’s Prep on Oct. 24.
"I want to win a Catholic League championship before I graduate, and then a state title," Brown said. "I’m happy. It’s about time I got my choice over with, now I can relax and just play."
Joseph Santoliquito covers high schools for the Philadelphia Daily News and is a contributor to MaxPreps.com. He can be contacted at JSantoliquito@yahoo.com.
