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Aug 02, 2023

St. Joseph’s Prep football takes on powerhouse IMG Academy. Here’s what to watch for

Football season in late August usually means St. Joseph’s Prep sharpening its knives against national competition before carving Catholic League opponents for the rest of the season. Saturday, the

Football season in late August usually means St. Joseph’s Prep sharpening its knives against national competition before carving Catholic League opponents for the rest of the season.

Saturday, the defending PIAA Class 6A champion Hawks, ranked No. 10 in the country by MaxPreps, meet No. 4-ranked powerhouse IMG Academy of Bradenton, Fla., at 7 p.m. at Ocean City High School.

» READ MORE: St. Joseph’s Prep’s Tim Roken shares what coaching a top-notch football program looks like

Here’s what to watch for:

SJP senior Samaj Jones, 6-foot-1 and 205 pounds, last year threw for 2,263 yards and 28 touchdowns. The Cincinnati commit added 641 yards and 13 touchdowns on the ground. SJP coach Tim Roken recently praised Jones’s maturity, which he will need against an IMG defense stocked with 4- and 5-star talent.

IMG senior Jayden Bradford, at 6 feet and 185 pounds, is committed to Liberty. Bradford also considered offers from Penn State, South Carolina, Syracuse, and Illinois. As a junior, he completed 78% of his passes and threw 19 touchdowns, with no interceptions.

» READ MORE: St. Joseph’s Prep quarterback Samaj Jones received a wake-up call at the right time

IMG Academy is led by senior cornerback Ellis Robinson IV, a 6-foot-1, 185-pound 5-star recruit committed to Georgia.

IMG senior David Stone is a 6-4, 270-pound 5-star defensive lineman who, according to 247 Sports, is still mulling offers from Florida, Miami, Michigan State, Oklahoma, and Oregon.

IMG senior Jordan Seaton is a 6-5, 287-pound offensive lineman and a 4-star recruit being sought by Alabama, Florida, Oklahoma, and South Carolina, according to 247 Sports.

IMG junior Nathaniel Owusu-Boateng is a 6-2, 205-pound linebacker and a 4-star prospect with offers from Auburn, Florida, Florida State, LSU, and Maryland.

SJP senior Omillio Agard is a 5-10, 165-pound cornerback committed to Wisconsin.

SJP senior Elijah Jones is a 5-foot-11, 175-pound receiver who is committed to Cincinnati. Jones caught 12 passes for more than 400 yards and five touchdowns last season.

SJP senior Brandon Rehmann is a 6-foot-1, 180-pound receiver who is committed to West Virginia. He caught 24 passes for 466 yards and six touchdowns last season.

SJP senior David Washington Jr. is a 6-foot, 185-pounder who led the Hawks in receptions (42) and receiving yardage (576) last season. The Kentucky commit finished tied for most receiving touchdowns with six.

IMG has produced more than 50 Under Armour All-Americans and 140 Division I commits since its inception in 2013. The Ascenders’ program has also had more than 20 players on NFL training camp opening rosters, according to the Sarasota Herald-Tribune.

The program has a record of 86-7 and hasn’t lost more than one game in a season.

SJP has played for a title in the PIAA’s largest classification for eight straight seasons (Class 4A and Class 6A).

Since Roken took over at the Prep in 2019, the Hawks are 7-4 against out-of-state competition. Last season, the Prep’s only loss came against St. Thomas Aquinas (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.)

Last year, the Hawks routed Harrisburg, 42-7, to clinch their seventh crown overall and fourth in the last five years.

The Hawks also own the most Catholic League football titles (22), including four in a row from 2016 to 2019 before La Salle ended the streak in 2021.

D’Andre Swift, Olamide Zaccheaus, Jon Runyan Jr., and John Reid are among the most recent SJP alumni to play in the NFL.