Thoughts on this one? Any chance that Prep has a few surprises in store (perhaps an early return of Maxwell Roy)? While I may be a little biased, I still think that all roads to championship glory lead through the Prep. While La Salle has closed the gap tremendously, I think the Prep D is stronger and they still have more depth at the skill positions. Obviously, the X factor is the QB experience differential, which was on full display in Round 1. Has Foulke matured enough to limit panic/mistakes? Do Sidwar and O’Brien tip the scales back to La Salle and exploit Prep’s vulnerability to the pass? No matter the outcome, hats off to Gordon for the incredible turnaround from last year. Let’s hope for an equally exciting heavyweight bout in round 2.
Prep-LaSalle | Round 2
- Thread starter scs13
- Start date
The first game is history. I think, as I said before, this is a totally different La Salle team than in the past. And St. Joe is.....well......St. Joe. This matchup seems to be a must for years to come. Should be a great one but in my opinion, St. Joe learned a valuable lesson.......take the points........ and should win this one.
The Prep must think they should have won the last game by more than a TD since they had the ball deep in LaSalle territory a couple of times in the first half and, of course, failed to do the obvious thing at the end of regulation.
Getting Roy back would be great, though it would be too much to expect him to be 100%. Hardy didn't play against LaSalle because of injury last time; he's looked very good the last couple of games. Not having West--maybe the best running back in the state when healthy--is a blow. Very good chance the end of the LaSalle game would have been different if West hadn't been injured. I know Simaj Hill (db) was injured in the last rs game. Will he be back? And what about McFadden for LaSalle?
I'm hoping we're not talking too much about the refs after the game. The PI call just before the half in the Roman-LaSalle game may have been a game-changer. It seemed to be called by an official twenty yards away and looked like a really bad call. Much like the really bad call against Sacca for PI in the championship game against LaSalle two years ago.
Finally, why did LaSalle choose to have the game at Wiss? Here you have the most high-profile hs game in many years in the Philly area and they decide to have it in one of the smaller venues. My bet is that if they had it at Franklin Field they might get 10,000 people.
Not many tickets to be had at Wissahickon. Franklin Field would have been the call. I think 10,000 would be on the short end.
Bob Long Sports usually broadcasts all La Salle games and can be found on YouTube. Not sure if there are restrictions for playoff games, though. Bob and his crew do an excellent job.
Last year you were saying one of SJP's unfair advantages was that they didn't have off years because they have a steady stream of talented recruits, but now you're saying that in one year they've gone from a team that very easily beat NA to a team that would have lost to that same NA team--and the PCC team that NA beat in the playoffs.
the great irony will be that once these guys kick the PCL out of the PIAA they will all of a sudden be flush with teams that "could've done it if they had the chance"
Yes, there is a proposal that maybe heading to the legislature. I don't know if it's an important enough issue to most of our elected officials to look at the proposal. The issue nets to get addressed, especially in light of the ease in which the Prep won games against the public schools on their way to the last two state titles. I do know the powers to be up in District 11 have had enough. I also know many coaches in District One have also had enough. CB South said all the right things about the Prep to the reporters, but the coaches and parents weren't happy about the unfair advantages Prep has. St Joes Prep is the singular team most football folks have an issue with, but if LaSalle comes out of District 12, and wins states, then they will also be on the radar.
i can’t say for certain how last years NA team would compare to SJP or lasalle this year. I need to see them on tv some more
OK here it is. Time for predictions. Again, it will be a close game but I think St. Joe's takes it 24-20. I wonder what Vegas would put the line at?
The number of total points looks about right to me. I also think the Prep is more likely to win. Key #1 is the number of turnovers. The Prep has to keep the number even or commit no more than one more than LaSalle. (Of course it also matters when and where a turnover happens: a fumble at midfield in the last minute of the half doesn't matter much.) Key #2 is penalties--not so much the number of penalties as the amount of yardage lost. In most recent years the Prep has won, usually by a lot, even though they were penalized more. That won't happen this year.
The Prep offense, including Foulkes, looked much improved against Roman and Bonner, and the team seemed more disciplined when it came to penalties. That's the main reason I'm going with SJP.
Bob Long will be streaming the game FOR FREE on YouTube (boblongsports), to be played on Saturday, November 9, 2024 at 1 PM at Wissahickon High School. Here is the link:
Go La Salle!!
Go La Salle!!
so I'm not allowed to say a team from the past could possibly beat a team today?
your point is you don't like to admit your team has MANY unfair advantages, and it takes a lot of luck and timing for a team to beat them for a state title
Good one tulla.
I was thinking the LS-SJP game will turn on the understated field position angle won or lost by special teams. Admittedly I'm a Special Teams freak as that was so emphasized by coaches and Coach Paterno who I admired.
1. THEY HAVE ATHLETES FROM ALL 50 STATES AND CANADA
2. THEY GET GOOD SOUTHEASTERN PA FOOD INSTEAD OF WESTERN PA SLOP
3. NOT HAVING THEIR OWN STADIUM PREPARES THEIR ATHLETES TO PLAY ON THE ROAD
4. THE CHILDREN OF FORMER NFL PLAYERS GET TO CROSS TRAIN WITH THE CREW TEAM
Last edited:
Bob Long does a great job streaming the game on YouTube. Check it out; the price is right, and this is certainly the game of the weekend in Pennsylvania.
He does do a great job, but if any game were to be televised this year…
ok you win
they won more state titles within the past 10 years than literally all but one school in all of PA because they just "work harder" than everybody else
happy now?
yeah good point, who decides what game should be televised state wide? i haven't had any desire to watch a single game they broadcasted this year
That is unfortunate.
To state the obvious: if there's no strong 6A team in western, central, or northeastern PA, it's not because of anything SJP does or any advantages it has.
Just wondering if anyone has thoughts about the game itself.
Being as objective as I can be, I thought the Prep was the better team and should have won by a somewhat wider margin: 10 or 14 points There was the field goal attempt that got held up in the wind, the TD that got called back, and the dropped pass by Hardy. One of LaSalle's two TDs was scored on a tipped pass. I don't think they had a long drive all day. The Prep linemen did better than the LaSalle linemen but not by all that much. As I think I said earlier in the week, if the turnovers were even, the Prep would win and clearly Foulke made some big plays and avoided major mistakes. Despite all that, if LaSalle had recovered that fumble with less than three minutes left, we might be looking at a different outcome.
I expect the teams to be about evenly matched again next year. Beyond that, who knows. An awful lot is changing.
One suggestion for LaSalle: try to toughen up the non-league schedule. Calvert Hall, Haverford, and Episcopal don't do much to get the team ready for a game like today's. SJP's non-league schedule was weaker and thinner than usual this year--somebody must have cancelled on them in week three--but still stronger than LaSalle's. I'm dubious Roman can be competitive with either next year.
Being as objective as I can be, I thought the Prep was the better team and should have won by a somewhat wider margin: 10 or 14 points There was the field goal attempt that got held up in the wind, the TD that got called back, and the dropped pass by Hardy. One of LaSalle's two TDs was scored on a tipped pass. I don't think they had a long drive all day. The Prep linemen did better than the LaSalle linemen but not by all that much. As I think I said earlier in the week, if the turnovers were even, the Prep would win and clearly Foulke made some big plays and avoided major mistakes. Despite all that, if LaSalle had recovered that fumble with less than three minutes left, we might be looking at a different outcome.
I expect the teams to be about evenly matched again next year. Beyond that, who knows. An awful lot is changing.
One suggestion for LaSalle: try to toughen up the non-league schedule. Calvert Hall, Haverford, and Episcopal don't do much to get the team ready for a game like today's. SJP's non-league schedule was weaker and thinner than usual this year--somebody must have cancelled on them in week three--but still stronger than LaSalle's. I'm dubious Roman can be competitive with either next year.
In my view, Prep has consistently been the stronger of the two teams, and frankly, they should have won the first game. For La Salle to truly turn the tide, they will need to establish a more balanced rushing attack. Relying primarily on the passing game, particularly against St. Joe's Prep, makes it easier for the opposition to prepare defensively. While La Salle effectively utilized a quick passing attack, their wide receivers struggled to gain significant separation throughout the game. I would have liked to see more opportunities for Joey, similar to the first game.
The return of Hardy was a significant boost for St. Joe's Prep—he made several key catches, though his drop late in the game would have put it out of reach had he held onto the ball. Foulke also extended plays with his legs more effectively in this matchup.
Lastly, this game deserved to be played at a larger venue. The atmosphere was fantastic, with what appeared to be over 7,000 spectators in attendance. The stands were overcrowded, and the gates were full, highlighting the demand for a bigger location to accommodate the crowd.
The return of Hardy was a significant boost for St. Joe's Prep—he made several key catches, though his drop late in the game would have put it out of reach had he held onto the ball. Foulke also extended plays with his legs more effectively in this matchup.
Lastly, this game deserved to be played at a larger venue. The atmosphere was fantastic, with what appeared to be over 7,000 spectators in attendance. The stands were overcrowded, and the gates were full, highlighting the demand for a bigger location to accommodate the crowd.
Prep was the better team - both games. Hardy definitely put much more pressure on a depleted LaSalle secondary. Aside from Joey O'Brien, they don't have true secondary players back there and it rears it's ugly head against teams like the Prep.
O'Brien was mostly doubled teamed in the first game, but this game they had 3 guys on him at times. They needed Oates, Swanson and/or Dolan to step up and they couldn't get separation. Julian McFadden was supposed to have a huge role and he got knocked out on the 2nd or 3rd play of the game. That killed their offensive game plan.
Incredible job by Brett Gordon going 10-1 with that team. He coached around a lot of deficits and roster limitations. Plenty of kids played positions they never played before due to the lack of the depth. I won't get into the prev. staffs lack of recruiting efforts, but they are evident.
Lastly, LaSalle couldn't run the ball on anyone this year. To win and compete against teams like Prep when they can play coverage and dare you to run it and you can't, spells trouble. And I think it only adds to the job Gordon did with this team. Five new starters on the line. Maybe 1 could start for Prep? In the secondary, only Joey O'Brien could start at Prep. Prep has better Rb's. O'Brien would start at WR there but who else? Prep is just better. It was still a great two games and good for Philly football.
Putting 12k people in Franklin Field still feels like a big empty bowl and LS didn't want that. Word is they tried to rent CB South/West and they were denied.
Very sloppy 3rd qtr for La Salle. Bad, bad penalties and the turnover. St. Joe was more disciplined and organized throughout!
from the bob long broadcast it seemed like the messiah kid was solo on 6 quite a bit. he might have been the best player on the field yesterday. didnt see any triple teams, but did see #4 dolan for lasalle catch a bunch a big 2nd and 3rd down balls at the sticks. and the secondary looked like they had 12 and 8 back, who was injured to call them depleted? weird to talk about a bunch of kids like this after they went 10-1 and played the way they did yesterday.
Anyone know the reason games like this can't be played at Villanova? A crowd of 12,000 would look and feel like a big crowd and there's parking and public transportation nearby. It might also help Villanova with local recruiting, though I'm not sure how much they're interested in that.
They tried for the first game for a Friday night. It’s pricey but LS was willing to pay. Nova declined and said they couldn’t get the stadium cleaned up in time for their Sat home game.
you don't get it, though i think you are just pretending to not get it
it takes a very good public school team and a "weak" SJP team to win a state title these days,
SJP's "weak" teams are still good enough to make the state title game, which probably makes them better than most teams have ever had in their school history
if Imhotep beats them that won't change my mind, because they have many advantages too
Similar threads
