"It's a great feeling," said Mike DeFeo, a senior running back and cornerback. "I love this team. It's a family. We persevered against Washington, never quitting. We just stayed with it, and it paid off."
Skyler Mornhinweg, a junior quarterback and Stanford recruit, deservedly was tossed the game ball afterward by Infante. The 6-foot-3, 205-pounder completed 11 of 17 passes for 192 yards and three touchdowns. He also rushed for two scores.
"He's a great quarterback," DeFeo said. "When it was crunch time, he came up with the big plays. We're used to seeing that from him."
DeFeo also came through late. In the fourth quarter, with the Prep nursing a 30-25 advantage, he intercepted a Tony Smith pass along the sideline and returned it 51 yards for a clinching score.
"They were coming at me the whole game," DeFeo said. "On that one, I saw the play developing and just went after the ball. I was waiting on it."
Smith, a transfer from Father Judge, connected on 13 of 30 throws for 158 yards and a first-half touchdown.
In the first half, Mornhinweg and senior wideout Paul McGann combined for two scores, a 40-yarder on the third play of the Prep's first series and a 17-yarder, with McGann breaking a tackle at the 9-yard line, in the second quarter.
Mornhinweg's 5-yard run in the third quarter gave the Hawks an 18-6 lead. Washington rallied late in the quarter, with TD runs of 52 and 10 yards from tailback Hakeem Sillman, and went in front, 19-18.
After Mornhinweg's 1-yard sneak made it 24-19, English Peay returned the kickoff 89 yards to put Washington back ahead. The teams went a combined 1 for 10 on conversion attempts, with Nate Smith's kick after Sillman's second TD the only point.
The winning score was Mornhinweg's 10-yard pass to wideout Jim Hurley with 8 minutes, 40 seconds to play. On the five-play drive, the lanky quarterback gained 26 yards on three carries.
St. Joseph's Prep 6 6 6 18 – 36
George Washington 0 6 13 6 – 25
SJP: McGann 40 pass from Mornhinweg (kick blocked)
GW: N. Smith 3 pass from T. Smith (pass failed)
SJP: McGann 17 pass from Mornhinweg (kick blocked)
SJP: Mornhinweg 5 run (pass failed)
GW: Sillman 52 run (kick failed)
GW: Sillman 10 run (N. Smith kick)
SJP: Mornhinweg 1 run (pass failed)
GW: Peay 89 kickoff return (kick failed)
SJP: Hurley 10 pass from Mornhinweg (run failed)
SJP: DeFeo 51 interception return (kick failed)
Contact staff writer Rick O'Brien at 610-313-8019 or robrien@phillynews.com.
