Bonner-Prendergast captures first state championship with a win over Lampeter-Strasburg
Friars senior running back Mick Johnson scored four touchdowns to give coach Jack Muldoon's squad the class 4A football state title.
After dispatching Lampeter-Strasburg, 40-14, in the PIAA Class 4A state championship Thursday night at Cumberland Valley High School in Mechanicsburg, Bonner-Prendergast reigns supreme.
A critical sequence just before halftime helped the Friars rebound from losing an early 14-0 edge and helped coach Jack Muldoon’s team claim the first state title in school history.
The Friars (12-2, 4-1 Philadelphia Catholic League), representing District 12, scored the game’s first two touchdowns in the first quarter before District 3’s Lampeter-Strasburg (14-1, 8-0 Lancaster-Lebanon 4) countered with consecutive scores in the second frame.
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With less than three minutes left in the half, Bonner-Prendie senior defensive back Jeremiah Coleman nabbed an interception near midfield.
Two plays later, sophomore quarterback Noel Campbell hit senior receiver Jalil Hall for 40 yards to set up senior running back Mick Johnson’s 4-yard rushing touchdown on the next play. Campbell finished 13-for-21 for 162 yards and no interceptions and added 27 yards rushing.
As the Pioneers mounted a final first-half, Bonner-Prendie senior linebacker Brett Johnson intercepted Lampeter-Strasburg senior quarterback Caileb Howse and returned it for a touchdown, giving the Friars a 27-14 lead at intermission.
Lampeter-Strasburg never recovered. Howse threw three interceptions in the first half and finished only 1-for-6, with a 28-yard touchdown completion and rushed for 91 yards.
Johnson, who finished with 111 yards rushing, added touchdown runs in the third and fourth quarters. Also a receiver, Coleman had six catches for 67 yards, and Hall finished with four catches for 65.
Muldoon took over the program in 2016 after three seasons as an assistant and recruiting coordinator.
The Friars went 8-25 in his first three seasons as Muldoon focused on building a strong freshman and junior varsity team.
Hall, who is committed to West Virginia, played on the Friars’ freshman team on his way to stardom.