St. Joseph's Prep has new football home
St. Joseph's Prep, which came in as No. 1 in the Inquirer's preseason Southeastern Pennsylvania football rankings, is moving to a new home.
St. Joseph's Prep, which came in as No. 1 in the Inquirer's preseason Southeastern Pennsylvania football rankings, is moving to a new home.
After playing for the last 25 years at Plymouth Whitemarsh, the Hawks have switched to Widener University's Quick Stadium. Their first of four games there this season will be Sept. 10 against North Jersey powerhouse Don Bosco Prep.
Prep coach Gabe Infante said the change was made for financial reasons.
"Fiscally, it didn't make sense for us anymore," he said. "We were losing money on our home games. At some point, you have to stop the bleeding."
Infante said the cost the Prep incurred for playing a game at PW, which varied depending upon the opponent, could be $4,500 or more.
According to PW athletic director Charlie Forster, the school district charges an up-front fee of $2,500 for use of its facility. In addition, the host team must pay for the cost of custodians, security staff, Whitemarsh Township police officers, etc.
For the Prep, which receives the gate revenue, one of the issues was that money made from concession-stand sales went to PW.
"The only incentive for us was to make some money off the concession stand, which went to our general athletic fund," Forster said.
PW was a convenient site, with tailgating permitted, for many of the Prep's supporters. The trek on I-95 or the Blue Route to Widener for Friday night games will no doubt cause traffic headaches.
"We were definitely hoping to keep them," Forster said. "I will refer to them as 'good neighbors.' We're sorry to see them go."
The Prep joins West Catholic in playing its home games at Widener. West coach Brian Fluck said Widener charges a flat fee of $2,500, and West is allowed to run its own concession stand.
The Hawks will open their season next Friday in California. They will take on Oaks Christian at Mission Viejo High as part of the three-day, five-game Honor Bowl.
The Prep's archrival, La Salle, continues to use PW as its home site. The Explorers will host the Hawks in a Catholic League Red Division showdown there on Oct. 22.
Strong bloodlines. Episcopal Academy's James Bagnell, a junior two-way lineman, is the grandson of Francis "Reds" Bagnell, an all-American halfback at Penn and third-place finisher in the Heisman Trophy balloting in 1950.
Bagnell is a 6-foot-7, 315-pounder who plays guard on offense and rotates at nose guard and tackle on defense. He has drawn recruiting interest from Boston College, Duke, Northwestern, and Wake Forest, among others.
Bagnell, a second-team preseason all-area choice on offense, has been clocked at 5.5 seconds in the 40-yard dash.
Bagnell and the Churchmen open their season at 7 p.m. Friday against visiting Wyoming Seminary.
EA has another familiar name on its roster. Junior defensive lineman Milton Mamula (6-2, 205) is the son of former Eagles defensive end Mike Mamula.
La Salle-North Penn. Reece Udinski completed 12 of 20 passes for 205 yards and four touchdowns in No. 7-ranked North Penn's 33-24 win Friday night over No. 6 La Salle. He also carried nine times for 38 yards. . . . In addition to his 12-yard TD catch in the first quarter, the Knights' Justis Henley broke up three passes at cornerback. . . . La Salle's Tre McNeill and Liam Trainer had an interception and fumble recovery, respectively, in the fourth quarter. . . . North Penn rushed 32 times for 209 yards. . . . The Explorers' Syaire Madden (33 carries for 196 yards and two TDs) broke three tackles on his 10-yard, first-quarter scoring run. Teammate and wideout Troy Holland made seven catches for 104 yards. . . . The Knights won their first opener since beating District 11's Liberty in 2009. La Salle had won 11 straight openers, with its last defeat coming against Plymouth Whitemarsh in 2004.
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