St. Joe’s Prep romps past La Salle behind Kyle McCord’s big night

St. Joseph's Prep showcased its offensive firepower against La Salle and easily won the latest chapter in the long and intense football rivalry on Friday night at Widener.

The talented Hawks exploded for six first-half touchdowns, with one coming on the opening kickoff, while cruising to a 49-12 victory over the young Explorers in the Catholic League Red Division opener for both teams.

Prep sophomore quarterback Kyle McCord continued to impress while spreading the ball among a number of fleet receivers.

McCord, who already has scholarship offers from the likes of Michigan and Penn State, completed 11 of 15 passes for 234 yards and two scores as the Hawks raced to 42-6 halftime lead.

The Prep, ranked No. 1 in Southeastern Pennsylvania by The Inquirer, improved to 3-0; La Salle, which has bunch of underclassmen in its starting lineup, dropped to 1-4.

The Hawks defeated the Explorers for the fifth straight time and upped their advantage in the series to 52-36-5.

Marques Mason immediately put the Explorers on their heels when he fielded Jake Gandolfo's kickoff and sprinted 90 yards to the end zone.

The Hawks' other first-quarter tallies were McCord's 15-yard pass to Harrison, another promising sophomore being courted by a number of Division I programs, and Kolbe Burrell's 2-yard run.

Another McCord-to-Harrison connection, a 33-yarder early in the fourth quarter, upped the lead to 28-0.

Harrison made five catches for 125 yards in the first half, when the Prep totaled 293 yards. McCord found senior wideout Johnny Freeman three times for 95 yards before the break.

The only real first-half highlight for La Salle was a 10-play, 62-yard drive that was capped by Sean Daly's 8-yard TD pass to Kahlil Diarrah's and made it 35-6.

For the season, McCord has hit on 61 of 95 throws for 854 yards and eight scores.

The Prep's defensive charge was led by ends Nicholas Bikah and Nick Yagodich and tackles Andrew Bailey and Giambi Nesbitt. Bikah and linebacker Liam Johnson notched first-quarter sacks.

La Salle                 0   6    6   0  – 12

St. Joseph's Prep  21  21  0   7 – 49

SJP: Marques Mason 90 kickoff return (Michael Campbell kick)

SJP: Marvin Harrison 15 pass from Kyle McCord (Campbell kick)

SJP: Kolbe Burrell 2 run (Campbell kick)

SJP: Harrison 32 pass from McCord (Campbell kick)

SJP: Bryheem Barr 1 run (Campbell kick)

LS: Kahlil Diarrah 8 pass from Sean Daly (pass failed)

SJP: Burrell 23 run (Campbell kick)

LS: Daly 5 run (run failed)

SJP: Malik Cooper 7 run (Campbell kick)