By Peter Spiewak
MaxPreps.com
St. Joseph's win over Roman Catholic Saturday night marked the 55th straight Philadelphia Catholic League Red Division regular season win for the Gil Brooks and the Hawks.
St. Joe's pounded the Cahillites 36-7.
This meeting was highly anticipated. St. Joseph's boasted an undefeated division record coming into the game, and Roman Catholic had only suffered one loss, which came at the hands of Father Judge. With a win, Roman would have finished first and earned a bye in the first round of the Catholic League playoffs.
But it is the Hawks who clinch first place, and a first-round bye. The Hawks completed their division schedule undefeated, and they did so easily. Since league play started, St. Joseph's has not given up more than seven points to any team. Over that span of eight games, the Hawks have given up an average of just over five points per game.
But it wasn't just the defense that gave St. Joseph's the win Saturday night. Roman Catholic struggled to even get the ball to mid-field thanks to the spectacular special teams play of the Hawks, especially kicker Tim Edgar. Winning the battle of field position was the key for the Hawks.
Senior Jim McGoldrick's long kickoff returns put Roman Catholic in difficult situations all day, and the Cahillities could not withstand the pressure.
Running back Jamir Livingston proved once again why he is considered one of the best skill position players in the Philadelphia-area. The crowd enthusiastically chanted his name, as he juked and danced by defenders throughout most of the game.
St. Joseph's running game was not dependent solely on Livingston, however. Fullback Mike McCarthy scored a pair of rushing touchdowns.
The Hawks won't be satisfied with their undefeated regular season. After last year's disappointing loss in the PCL Red championship to arch-rival LaSalle, St. Joseph's will look to avenge their loss and take the championship back.
Brooks and the Hawks rebounded from two early out-of-conference losses to North Penn of Lansdale and Don Bosco Prep, N.J., to win seven straight and the run the table in the PCL Red Divison.
Roman Catholic finishes the regular season with a 5-2 league record. The Cahillites look to bounce back against North Catholic in the first round of the Red Divison playoffs. If they can get past North Catholic, Father Judge will be waiting for them in the semifinals.
St. Joseph's is MaxPreps' third-ranked team in Pennsylvania. The Hawks will start a Thanksgiving Day rivalry with Malvern Prep this season. The game will take place at Villanova University.
