La Salle recreated a version of the ‘Philly Special’ to beat St. Joe’s Prep. Here’s how it happened.

Joey O’Brien had a feeling that St. Joseph’s Prep’s defense wouldn’t bite.

So before the huddle broke during Saturday night’s thrilling 35-34 finish between the Catholic League rivals, O’Brien alerted his La Salle teammate, junior Desmond Ortiz.

It was overtime No. 4 and the crowd at Upper Dublin High, estimated around 15,000, was already abuzz. O’Brien, a wide receiver and defensive back, had just caught a 10-yard touchdown pass, pulling the Explorers within a point.

First-year coach Brett Gordon, who once starred on the field for La Salle, knew his team was ready to seize glory, so he reached into his bag of tricks for the two-point conversion.

What he found, however ...

“Worst play call in history probably,” Gordon said ahead of practice on Monday, “and I mean that with all sincerity.”

The famed “Philly Special” was on. The Explorers intended on O’Brien receiving a handoff from junior quarterback Gavin Sidwar on an end around, with O’Brien then throwing it back to Sidwar in the end zone.

The original, of course, was executed to perfection by Trey Burton and Nick Foles, helping the Eagles beat the Patriots in Super Bowl LII in 2018. This time, though, the Hawks were in zone defense, which Gordon acknowledged that La Salle (7-0, 2-0) had seen most of the game.

As O’Brien suspected, the Hawks (3-2, 1-1) flocked toward Sidwar, forcing improvisation.

The 6-foot-4 O’Brien stepped up in the pocket as the running back Ortiz’s eyes grew wide.

“He was coming closer to the line of scrimmage,” Ortiz said, “so the linebackers kind of bit on Joey and left me and my teammates open in the end zone.”

Ortiz, hands waving as if he were guiding a plane toward a runway, was alone for a moment. He said they had confidence in the play because it worked to perfection each week during practice, although it never ended quite this way.

“I saw Dez,” O’Brien said, “and I said, ‘Why not?’”

The outstretched paw of 6-foot-4 senior linebacker Anthony Sacca, who’s committed to Notre Dame, was almost why not.

» READ MORE: La Salle tops rival St. Joe’s Prep in 4OT thriller that was ‘what high school football should be all about’

“When he tipped the pass,” O’Brien added, “my heart dropped.

“It was kind of slow-motion.”

Not for Ortiz.

“It all kind of happened so fast for me,” he said. “I didn’t even think. I knew I could get there. I didn’t think too much. I just dove for the ball and I caught it clean with both hands under the ball.”

The victory was the Explorers’ first against the Hawks since winning the Catholic League title in 2021.

» READ MORE: Bonner-Prendie’s Mick Johnson, ‘a stone-cold football player,’ emerges with a huge game

Since then, the Hawks had outscored La Salle, 173-44, winning all five matchups.

“It’s a crazy rivalry,” O’Brien said. “We don’t like them. They don’t like us. It’s just bad blood between us, and it was good to beat them finally.”

O’Brien started both ways as a sophomore and has expanded his role this season. In fact, he rarely leaves the field, playing a role during punts, kickoffs, and kick returns.

Ortiz was mainly a backup last year but handles the lion’s share of carries at running back this season.

Still, to Gordon, a 1998 graduate who later starred at quarterback for Villanova, the job isn’t finished.

The Explorers visit undefeated Bonner-Prendergast (5-0, 2-0) on Friday night in another Red Division matchup.

» READ MORE: How Mia Cairone overcame having her verbal scholarship taken away amid House v. NCAA settlement

“We had a very open conversation about [Bonner-Prendie], who we have a lot of respect for,” he said. “They have our attention. The way we’ve gotten through the first seven weeks, we’re going to need the same level of intensity and due diligence. It’ll be a short week and we better be ready to play.”

The future also looks bright for La Salle.

“The kids have done a great job buying into a new way of doing things,” Gordon said. “We certainly have a blend of juniors, seniors, and sophomores that we are excited about, so I think overall I like the way we’re trending, but we have to make sure that we keep our foot on the gas, we don’t lose sight of how we got here, and we continue to work hard each and every week.”