Mornhinweg faces finale as Prep QB

As a freshman and sophomore, Skyler Mornhinweg remembers listening to upperclassmen telling him how lucky he was to have a few years left of high school football.

Monday, as the sun had set and the Center City skyline lit beautifully against the night sky, Mornhinweg listened as St. Joseph's Prep football coach Gabe Infante ended his passionate post-practice speech with a reminder.

This was the seniors' last practice in full pads.

"Now it's like it's over. It's kind of hitting home right now," Mornhinweg, a senior quarterback, said after the practice.

On Thursday morning, Mornhinweg will wrap up his Prep career when he leads the Hawks against Malvern Prep at Plymouth Whitemarsh in the annual Thanksgiving matchup.

The shaggy-haired Mornhinweg is an elusive quarterback, as he scores with his legs as well as with his right arm. This season, he has thrown for 18 touchdowns and rushed for six.

He once compared himself to Steve Young, the quarterback his father, Marty Mornhinweg, coached for four seasons in San Francisco.

But Skyler Mornhinweg said his greatest attribute is his confidence.

"The confidence in my team and the confidence to perform," the 6-foot-3, 215-pounder said. "Every play, every down."

As a sophomore, Mornhinweg was named the starting quarterback, and as a junior, he became a team captain. He has played all four years as a defensive back.

With him under center, the Hawks have made three straight trips to the Catholic League playoffs but have failed to win a title.

They've also yet to win on Thanksgiving, losing to the Friars by one point in each of the last two seasons. Mornhinweg said Thursday's game is a shot at redemption.

"These are a bunch of great guys, and we've worked our tails off," Mornhinweg said. "It's good that we have a chance to go out with a win."

In July, the quarterback made an oral commitment to Penn State.

He had committed, as a freshman, to Stanford, but after coach Jim Harbaugh moved on to the NFL, Mornhinweg had second thoughts and backed out.

Now, after the recent sexual allegations against former Penn State defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky and the removal of head coach Joe Paterno, might Mornhinweg be looking to make his third oral commitment?

He was noncommittal, and has yet to rescind his commitment to Penn State.

"What happens happens. You know what you're getting into and you know things change. So just deal with it and move on," Mornhinweg said.

"I don't really look into it that much. I'm just playing the game."

With his father the Eagles offensive coordinator, Skyler Mornhinweg said that his dad stays extremely busy during the season but that they still take time to talk about football.

The family lives near the stadium complex in South Philadelphia, and that allows Mornhinweg to receive medical help at the Eagles facility.

Before being hired by the Eagles in 2003, Marty Mornhinweg spent two seasons as head coach of the Detroit Lions. In two seasons, he compiled a 5-27 record.

As a third grader in suburban Detroit, Skyler Mornhinweg said, his parents did a good job of protecting him from any criticism that his father faced at the time.

"Just making sure I didn't look into it too much," Mornhinweg said. "My dad's just doing his job."

On Thursday, his college choice won't matter much. Neither will being the son of an NFL coach.

Instead, it will be one more chance to play high school football. It's what those upperclassmen were talking about.

"I didn't think it would go by that quick," Mornhinweg said.