Game Review: St. Joe's Prep vs. Father Judge

Friday night was supposed to be a clash of the titans in the Philadelphia Catholic League as St. Joseph’s Prep and Father Judge met at Northeast High School both coming in with 4-0 records. It looked like we had a blowout on our hands early and then the tides turned in the third quarter.

In a game that featured Boston College offensive tackle commitment Seth Betancourt and Stanford quarterback commitment Skyler Mornhinweg, it was sophomore running back Desmon Peoples that stole the show for St. Joe’s Prep on the night, leading the Prep to a 28-21 win over Father Judge.

Peoples made his presence known quickly in the game, taking the first play from scrimmage to the house for an 80-yard touchdown run to put the Prep up 7-0 early. About ten minutes later quarterback Skyler Mornhinweg hit wide receiver Bobby D’Orazio for a four-yard touchdown pass which made it 14-0.

Peoples hit again for another score from 35 yards out in the third quarter, putting his team up 21-0 which was the score at halftime. At that point the sophomore running back had piled up 202 yards and two scores on only 12 carries, averaging just under 17 per haul. The third quarter started no different as Skyler Mornhinweg scampered in from 43 yards out to give St. Joe’s a commanding 28-0 lead 2:30 minutes into the second half.

Then…things got interesting as they say. Father Judge quarterback Tony Smith had been plagued all day by poor receiver play, but he finally hooked up for a touchdown to his running back Curtis Wortham on a 13-yard screen pass, a great play call given that Prep had been bringing pressure off the edges all night. Skyler Mornhinweg got the ball back and simply tried to make too much happen on the ensuing kickoff, throwing an ill-advised pass into the flats that was intercepted at the eight yard line and run in for a score by Connor Reilly to cut the lead to 14 points.

In the fourth quarter, Mornhinweg threw another interception which was returned 72 yards into Prep territory and quarterback Tony Smith made them pay with a three-yard touchdown pass to Kevin Leneghan. At this point, we had a barn-burner on our hands. Judge kicked off, forced a punt and took over at their own 31-yard line with 1:29 left and their own destiny in the hands of quarterback Tony Smith. Unfortunately, Smith could not catch the passes he was throwing and a pass that would have converted a first down for Judge slipped through one of his receivers hands for the sixth dropped pass of the game and Prep came out in the Victory Formation.

Game notes:

Father Judge Quarterback Tony Smith didn’t put up jaw-dropping numbers, but he completed 12 of 28 passes for 73 yards and two touchdowns. It should be noted that his receivers dropped seven passes in the game and that’s being generous to his receivers. He also ran for 32 yards.

St. Joe’s Prep Quarterback Skyler Mornhinweg had a rough night throwing the ball, completing only 4 of 14 passes for 51 yards, one touchdown and four interceptions. He did however run for 88 yards and a touchdown. Mornhinweg just had an off game and this is not a normal result from him.

St. Joe’s Prep running back Spencer Reid, the son of Philadelphia Eagles Head Coach Andy Reid, finished with 54 yards on 11 carries. Reid has worked hard in the weight room in the offseason and looked very impressive physically.

St. Joe’s Prep running back Desmon Peoples finished the game with 22 carries for 275 yards and two touchdowns. He showed that he can be extremely elusive and has breakaway speed, however he obviously got worn out toward the end of the game. We didn’t take down his return yardage, but he easily had over 300 yards total in the game. Despite his lack of size, Peoples is certainly a player to watch in the future.

Boston College commitment Seth Betancourt simply looks massive. He was a force at left tackle all game and was blowing people off the ball at the line of scrimmage. He is a big, powerful lineman with a nasty streak that will fit in very well in Chestnut Hill.