Archbishop Ryan’s record-breaking QB and receiver share a special chemistry

To see Archbishop Ryan quarterback Frankie Mawson and wide receiver Damien Morgan on the football field, you might assume their brains are tuned to the same frequency.

Perhaps they are.

After all, Mawson and Morgan were born on the same day and at the same hospital about 16 years ago.

“But not in the same room,” Morgan joked before a recent practice.

“We joke around sometimes saying we got switched up when we were born.”

Last week, the two juniors used the chemistry they’ve been building for years to rewrite a few record books.

Mawson set a Catholic League record for passing yardage in a game, while Morgan set a single-game school record for receiving yardage.

Although Ryan lost Friday to host Archbishop Wood, 37-34, Mawson and Morgan had helped the Raiders nearly overcome a 31-0 deficit in the second half.

“We came all the way back, kept our heads up, and kept fighting all game, and that’s really the only reason I [set the record],” Mawson said, “because as a team we had so much momentum.”

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Ryan had trailed, 24-0, at intermission before the Vikings scored again on the first play from scrimmage in the third quarter.

On its next possession, Ryan marched downfield, sparked by a desperate Mawson scramble that gave his teammates confidence.

“He broke out of the pocket because it was collapsing and ran it for about 25 yards,” Morgan said. “He got up and was hyped and everybody on the sidelines got excited.”

The Raiders later scored four touchdowns in a span of 15 plays, Mawson said.

He finished with 447 yards on 29-for-39 passing with four touchdowns, plus a rushing touchdown.

St. Joseph’s Prep senior Samaj Jones previously owned the PCL record with 420 passing yards, set last season.

Morgan finished with 12 catches for a 195 yards and a score. Nick Ferdinand (2006) and Mike Palmer (2011) had shared the school’s single-game receiving record at 190 yards.

Mawson and Morgan certainly don’t mind sharing the spotlight. They have been playing together for years in seven-on-seven competitions.

That’s when their mothers, Shannon Morgan and Suzann Gegeckas, first met and swapped stories about giving birth on the same day at St. Mary’s Hospital.

Now, defenses are in danger when their sons swap glances on the football field.

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“We kind of give each other that look,” said Mawson, who played at Archbishop Wood last season. “Our chemistry helps because we know where each other are going to be if a play doesn’t go as planned.”

“Sometimes if a play’s unraveling, I just know that he knows where I’m going,” Morgan said. “And I know where he’s going to throw it.”

Perhaps somewhat surprisingly, the boys, though they are close friends, say they don’t have much in common off the field.

“When we were younger, everybody used to say we looked alike because we had the same exact haircut,” Morgan said.

Mawson added: “I guess you could say we both just like playing football.”