La Salle surges past the Prep

Sean Coleman's future is in lacrosse. The La Salle High junior, ranked as one of the top midfielders in the country, will play that sport at Harvard beginning in 2014.

He also can make a big impact on the gridiron, as he showed Friday night in a Catholic League Class AAAA regular-season finale vs. archrival St. Joseph's Prep.

Coleman, following up his second-quarter interception with a 34-yard touchdown catch, helped the Explorers rally from a 17-point deficit to beat the stunned Hawks, 28-17, before an overflow crowd at Plymouth Whitemarsh.

"It's a whole different thing when you go out and play the Prep," the 5-foot-9, 160-pound wideout and safety said. "There's a different feeling about the game. The intensity is higher for a game like this."

With the win, La Salle, ranked No. 2 in Southeastern Pennsylvania by The Inquirer, improved to 8-1 overall and, with a 4-0 mark, clinched the regular-season division title. Drew Gordon's squad will open the playoffs against fourth-place Father Judge, a 42-14 winner Friday over Archbishop Ryan.

As the second-place finisher, the Prep (6-3, 2-2) will play third-place Roman Catholic (5-3, 2-2) in the other semifinal.

The Hawks jumped on the Explorers early and took a 17-0 advantage on Kyle Battin's 27-yard field goal with 8 minutes, 49 seconds remaining in the second quarter.

The Prep had turned a first-minute fumble recovery into a 4-yard TD run by Joe Lavalle and made it 14-0 on Skyler Mornhinweg's 39-yard pass to wideout Jawan McAllister early in the second quarter.

"They came out and punched us right in the mouth," La Salle quarterback Matt Magarity said. "Maybe we got caught up in the excitement of the game. We lost our heads. We got away from the fundamentals."

It was Coleman's interception, with 2:52 left before intermission, that turned the tide. With the ball at the Prep 7-yard line, he picked off an overthrown Mornhinweg pass across the middle and returned it 10 yards to the Prep 36.

Two plays later, Magarity (12-for-23 passing, 170 yards) found Coleman sprinting across the middle. A two-point conversion pass from Mike Piscopo to Chris Kane made it 17-8.

"The kid doesn't do anything wrong," Gordon said of Coleman. "He says the right things, does all the right things. And he's a humble kid."

Midway through the third quarter, after a penalty wiped out a 36-yard TD pass from Mornhinweg to Jim Hurley, Magarity's 50-yard jaunt set up Tim Wade's 30-yard, left-side burst for a TD.

Late in the third quarter, the Explorers went in front, 21-17, on a nine-play, 61-yard drive capped by Magarity's 32-yard TD pass over the middle to Casey Eidenshink.

La Salle sealed the come-from-behind victory with 1:40 left on Wade's 3-yard dart. by Colin Buckley's 22-yard grab near the sideline set up the score.

Mornhinweg converted 16 of 29 passes for 155 yards. The Penn State recruit ran 17 times for 74 yards.

St. Joseph's Prep   7 10 0 0 – 17

La Salle   0 8 7 13 – 28

SJP: Lavalle 4 run (Battin kick)

SJP: McAllister 39 pass from Mornhinweg (Battin kick)

SJP: FG Battin 27

LS: Coleman 34 pass from Magarity (Kane pass from Piscopo)

LS: Wade 30 run (Winslow kick)

LS: C. Eidenshink 32 pass from Magarity (pass failed)

LS: Wade 3 run (Winslow kick)