Honoring the St. Joseph's Preparatory School Varsity Football Team on winning their second consecutive PIAA AAAA State Championship, District XII AAAA City Championship and Philadelphia Catholic League Championship.

WHEREAS, On Friday, November 14, 2014 the St. Joseph's Prep Hawks defeated arch-rival La Salle College High School 46-13 to win the Philadelphia Catholic League (PCL) AAAA Championship; and

WHEREAS, On Saturday, November 22, 2014 the Hawks took down the Benjamin Franklin High School by a score of 47-22, giving St. Joe's Prep its second consecutive AAAA division City Championship; and

WHEREAS, St. Joe's Prep advanced to the AAAA State Championship game where they took on Pittsburgh powerhouse Pine-Richland High School at Hersheypark Stadium. After a first half that found the teams tied 14-14, St. Joe's exploded out to a big lead 42-21. After a fierce comeback from the Rams, Prep Senior Olamide Zaccheaus intercepted the final pass to secure a 49-41 victory. St. Joe's Prep became the first team to repeat as State Champions in 15 years; and

WHEREAS, St. Joe's Prep head coach Gabe Infante was named the Coach of the Year by CBS Philly and the Philadelphia Inquirer; and

WHEREAS, Three members of St. Joseph's Prep Varsity Football Team, John Reid, Jake Strain, and Jon Daniel Runyan, were honored as members of the Pennsylvania AAAA Football All-State Team selected by the Pennsylvania Football News; and

WHEREAS, Reid, the star cornerback and wide receiver, was also named the Inquirer Player of the Year. Eight members of the St. Joe's Prep team were named to the Inquirer All-Southeastern PA teams, including Reid, Offensive Lineman Jon Daniel Runyan, Defensive Lineman Jake Strain, and sophomore running back DeAndre Swift, who were all named to the first-team; and

WHEREAS, An astounding 22 St. Joe's Prep players were named to the Inquirer's “All-Catholic” teams, including Runyan, Strain, Swift, Ed Mooney, Mark Ehrlich, and Thomas Johnson who were all named to the first-team. In addition, two exceptionally special Prep players, John Reid and Joe DuMond, receive special recognition for being named to the first-team for both their offensive and defensive positions; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PHILADELPHIA, That Council does hereby honor and commend the Joseph's Preparatory School Hawks Varsity Football Team on winning their second consecutive PIAA AAAA State Championship, District XII AAAA City Championship and Philadelphia Catholic League Championship.

FURTHER RESOLVED, that an engrossed copy of this resolution be presented to Head-Coach Gabriel Infante and the members of the St. Joseph's Prep Football team as evidence of the sincere sentiments of this legislative body.

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