Bottled up: Yeedee Thaenrat managed a 69-yard TD run for Judge, but for most of the night was swarmed by the St. Joseph’s Prep defense. MARIA POUCHNIKOVA / TIMES PHOTO
By all accounts, Father Judge was hanging in there with one of the state’s best teams.
The scoreboard at Plymouth-Whitemarsh High School for Friday night’s Catholic League Class AAAA semifinal indicated a 13-point advantage for mighty St. Joseph’s Prep, but considering how good the Hawks are, getting to halftime down by two touchdowns felt like a win in and of itself.
But then, less than a minute before the half, the Hawks reminded everyone in attendance why they’re the reigning AAAA state champions, flawlessly executing a double reverse/flea flicker that resulted in a 67-yard touchdown from quarterback Jack Clements to sophomore running back De’Andre Swift that broke Judge’s backs. Then, Swift poured salt in the wound by returning the second half kickoff 93 yards for a touchdown, putting the Prep up 28–0 and allowing the Hawks to book their date with La Salle in the highly-anticipated Class AAAA title game on Friday night (7 p.m. at Northeast).
For a team where 6-foot-6, 285-pound offensive lineman and Michigan recruit Jon Daniel Runyan (son of former Eagles O-lineman Jon Runyan) kicks extra points — he converted five of six PATs against Judge — the result wasn’t much of a surprise. For Judge to have won — or even been in — this game, the Crusaders knew they would have to play perfect football, something that just didn’t happen on this night.
“They’re the reigning state champions,” Judge head coach Mike McKay said. “Obviously, they’re an outstanding football team. Defensively, they caught us with that trick play before halftime when we’re only down 13–0, and that was a crushing blow. Then to run the kick back, you suddenly find yourself in major catch-up mode.”
Judge junior standout running back/safety Yeedee Thaenrat rushed for a 69-yard touchdown immediately following Swift’s second score, cutting the score to 28–7, but it was as close as the Crusaders would get the rest of the way. Most of Thaenrat’s 101 yards (on 12 carries) came on that one play, as the Prep did a commendable job bottling up Judge’s explosive star. Thaenrat and two teammates also sat out the first quarter as punishment for a rules infraction earlier in the week, but it’s hard to imagine Thaenrat would have been able to save the team even if he had played a full 48 minutes. The Prep is just that good.
Clements completed 6 of his 12 passes for 162 yards and two scores, while the Hawks used many of their high-flying athletes to rack up 192 yards rushing on the Judge defense. Judge senior QB Zack Carroll completed 10 of 17 passes, but for just 47 yards and no scores, as he was terrorized all night by a relentless Prep front seven.
“Everyone talks about all the skill guys they have, and those guys are outstanding rotating in the backfield and in spread formations,” McKay said. “But both sides of their line, as well as their linebackers, are very, very fast. They’re just as athletic and speedy through the entire lineup. That’s the hardest part … they have no weaknesses.”
The Prep warmed up for its perfect run through the Class AAAA division by scheduling nationally-revered non-league, out-of-state opponents: Mt. Carmel in Chicago, St. Ignatius of Ohio and Don Bosco Prep and Saint Joseph Regional High School, both of New Jersey. Though the Hawks went just 1–3 in those games, pushing themselves to the limit against some of the country’s best programs had them more than ready for the Catholic League.
Which brings us to the inevitable, annual question every time the Prep or La Salle captures yet another division (and state) title: what does a team like Judge have to do to get over the proverbial hump and on to that level?
“I just revert back to what I said when I got hired two years ago,” McKay said. “We just have to keep working at it, building the program’s numbers up and building confidence in the players that we can compete with those three teams (the Prep, La Salle and Roman) if we keep working at it. We believe we can.
“We have some outstanding players here, we’re just not as deep. We’re also very young. Neither are excuses, it’s just the reality. All we can do is keep planning and working on ways to get better so that when these games come around, we can compete and take advantage of the things we do well.”
McKay said the 2014 season, his second at Judge, has been “a learning experience” on and off the field. On the field, the Crusaders were young after graduating 26 seniors, having just about half that number back this season. Many of the Judge players saw their first varsity action in 2014.
Off the field, the program was rocked when promising freshman running back Quadir Gibson was charged with murder stemming from his role in a late-September shooting that left a 15-year-old female innocent bystander dead and a 19-year-old male critically wounded near Albert Einstein Medical Center.
“I’m a perfectionist by nature, so I’m driven no matter what,” McKay said. “I’ve been coaching a long time, and each day I try to sell to the kids that they can win within the program by having great days of preparation leading up to game day. We’re still working through that. Some weeks, we had great practices; others, we didn’t. Our staff keeps that grind going to show the kind of effort it’s going to take on game day to beat these top programs.”
Although Judge is eliminated from postseason play, the Crusaders still have two games left on the schedule. First up is a Monday night game at Malvern Prep, followed by the annual Thanksgiving showdown with Lincoln, a rivalry Judge has owned for decades. Win both, and McKay’s squad will finish with a 6–6 record.
“We’re committed to 2014 as a group, and we’ll finish this out with that same commitment,” McKay said. “Our goal is to be fully committed every day until it’s over, to go 2–0 and send our seniors out on a positive note and have some momentum heading into the offseason.” ••
