D’Andre Swift remembers his 7-TD outburst for the Prep — but he’ll never forget losing to La Salle a year earlier

Ask D’Andre Swift about the seven-touchdown game he authored in high school and you might feel the elusiveness he wielded in his career-best 175-yard performance for the Eagles against the Minnesota Vikings in Week 2.

Humility, according to those who know him, seems the name of his game, so it shouldn’t surprise that he wouldn’t go into specifics regarding his own exploits.

Ask him about the one loss his St. Joseph’s Prep squad suffered against rival La Salle, however, and you might get a glimpse into what has made him so successful.

“Yeah, yeah,” the Mount Airy native said, acknowledging that he remembered the game. “On the last play, they had a one-handed catch over the middle. I [was] like, ‘Man.’ ”

Swift’s eyes grew wide, his head bowed slightly, and his shoulders drooped a smidge, as if he had just replayed the scene in his mind.

That was Monday after the Eagles running back visited the Lonnie Young Recreation Center and surprised the Imhotep Charter football team a few days after his home debut.

It was also a few days after Swift joked, “Every time we played La Salle,” when reporters asked postgame when he last had such a prolific rushing performance.

More specifically, Swift ventilated La Salle’s defense for nearly 300 rushing yards and seven touchdowns in one game as a senior in 2016. Ironically, however, the one loss to his rivals stands out more in his mind.

“For sure, for sure,” Swift said. “That was probably the worst game I’ve had, actually. I think I probably had 12 rushes for 19 yards. Yeah, they had a plan that game, and they ended up winning on the last play. That’s the one that sticks out, for sure.”

Chris Ferguson got a kick out of Swift’s postgame one-liner about La Salle to reporters.

“It was awesome,” said Ferguson, who threw the game-winning touchdown pass in 2015 when La Salle upset the Prep in the Catholic League championship game.

In fact, one of his high school teammates texted Ferguson a link to Swift’s interview and added a snappy line of his own.

“He said, ‘except the 2015 PCL championship game,’ ” Ferguson said.

» READ MORE: D’Andre Swift’s touchdown celebration is a Philly thing. Of course it is.

Ferguson, who later played college football at Maine and then Liberty University, remembers just about everything from that Saturday afternoon in Novemberat Plymouth Whitemarsh High School.

The Hawks had already handled the Explorers in the lone regular-season matchup, and the sequel looked bleak after Ferguson threw an interception that was returned 95 yards for a touchdown to end the half.

Little in Ferguson’s football life had come easy, though, so responding to adversity wasn’t new.

He grew up the 10th of 11 children in Fort Washington and his high school career included a season behind a Division I quarterback at Upper Dublin and multiple seasons behind future Vanderbilt QB Kyle Shurmur at La Salle. (Coincidentally, Ferguson also spent a year at Liberty behind starting QB Malik Willis, who was drafted by the Tennessee Titans in 2020.)

Then with 49 seconds left and the Explorers trailing, 28-23, Ferguson threw a 24-yard touchdown pass to fellow senior Nick Rinella, who made a spectacular, one-handed catch. La Salle uploaded the video to YouTube and labeled it: “The Catch.”

“I jumped up and I literally just put my hand up not really even with the intention to catch it, but maybe to just get a hand on it,” Rinella said in a phone interview. “And it stuck! I was like, ‘Oh, [bleep].’ ”

» READ MORE: Philly native D’Andre Swift saves the Eagles — and Jalen Hurts — upon his return home

Rinella, who later became an all-conference defensive back at St. Francis (Pa.), momentarily lost the ball, tipped it to himself as three defenders closed, and then fell to the turf with the ball pressed to his face mask and helmet.

Asked why the loss stands out more than his seven-touchdown performance, Swift didn’t take long to answer.

“Because when you don’t get the result you want, you kind of just want to think about why,” he said. “What could you have done better? What could you have done to change the outcome? I think that’s what it is.”

Rinella and Ferguson, both now 25, talked proudly about beating the Prep that season, but each also made a point to share admiration and respect for Swift.

Ferguson, who now works in finance and is a private quarterback trainer in Maine, said he was “juiced up” when Swift got traded to the Eagles.

» READ MORE: Eagles-Vikings report card: D’Andre Swift and the O-line pave the way to victory

“You realize that once you get out of high school that those guys [at the Prep] aren’t much different than us,” Ferguson said. “Our high schools are similar. We’ve had similar experiences. The rivalry is strong in high school, but it feels good [now] like you’ve been part of the path along [Swift’s] journey …”

Ferguson also joked that Swift likely used the defeat as motivation for his senior year. That’s when Swift rushed 19 times for 275 yards against La Salle, with a 7-yard scoring reception mixed in. The Hawks hammered the Explorers, 63-35, at Plymouth Whitemarsh.

Rinella, who played with Swift on the Philly’s Finest seven-on-seven squad, said he is happy to see Swift play back home.

“He’s always been a humble kid,” said Rinella, who also works in finance. “He’s been that dude from a young age. Everyone kind of knew he was destined for this, so to see him achieve everything that he has is really cool. It’s good to see someone with that type of talent who worked hard to get there …”

Maybe that’s truly what has set Swift apart for years. By all accounts, his hard work — even back in high school — seems to have kept pace with, if not exceeded, his immense talent. His father, Darren Swift, has run a successful speed and strength training academy in North Philly for years.

“Our high schools are similar. We’ve had similar experiences. The rivalry is strong in high school, but it feels good [now] like you’ve been part of the path along [D’Andre Swift’s] journey.”

Perhaps the plight of the perfectionist — never being satisfied, even in the face of seven-touchdown games — has also served Swift well.

For example, last Monday, one of the high school players at Imhotep asked Swift what it was like when he got drafted by the Detroit Lions in 2020. Swift said it was an emotional moment and added that he knew that he was going to cry.

Later, a reporter asked how much time had passed between hearing his name on draft night and his next workout session.

“Couple hours,” Swift said. “The next morning. Went home, changed clothes, and got back to it. That’s just how I am. I feel like there’s always something I can get better at, always something I can work on. I just love the process.”