History is ready: St. Joe’s Prep and Imhotep Charter finally meet on the gridiron in the PIAA playoffs

Albie Crosby and Gabe Infante once shared a slogan for their former high school football programs: “If not the Tep, then the Prep; if not the Prep, then the Tep.”

They’re referring to Imhotep Charter and St. Joseph’s Prep, two powerhouse programs in the Public and Catholic Leagues, respectively. Crosby, who has been leading Neumann Goretti for eight seasons, was the Panthers’ head coach from 2012 to 2016. He finished with a 53-6 record and made two state title appearances. He built Imhotep into a top-notch program after it began in 2005 under Marc Wilson.

Early on, St. Joe’s Prep established itself as a winning program. Infante, now the special teams coordinator at Duke, was named the Hawks’ coach in 2010 and spent nine seasons in the position. But he also was part of the staff under Gil Brooks, who led the team for 18 seasons and won 162 games and five Catholic League championships. (The PCL didn’t join the PIAA until the 2008 season.)

When Crosby and Infante were leading their programs, they formed a friendship. They organized a scrimmage each summer at Tall Pines Day Camp in South Jersey. It wasn’t an official game, but everybody knew it would be played like one.

The programs had several athletes who are now in the NFL, including D.J. Moore (Imhotep, Chicago Bears), John Reid (St. Joe’s Prep, Minnesota Vikings), Olamide Zaccheaus (St. Joe’s Prep, Washington Commanders), Jon Runyan (St. Joe’s Prep, New York Giants), Yasir Durant (Imhotep, Kansas City Chiefs), and D’Andre Swift (St. Joe’s Prep, Bears).

“It was a lot of talent on the field,” Crosby said. “We played to make each other better. There wasn’t playing for dislike. It was, ‘Let’s play extremely hard to make each other better so that we’re both holding a trophy at the end.’ We wanted to be good for Philly — for the Public League and for the Catholic League. So we played each other, and then after the scrimmage, we all ate together.”

Times have changed. The teams stopped holding a scrimmage after Crosby left the program, but both continued to win, and now, for the first time, St. Joe’s Prep will face Imhotep in a regulation game. The programs will clash at Northeast High School on Saturday at noon for the District 12 championship and to continue a run for a state title in the PIAA Class 6A playoffs.

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It’s been a long-awaited matchup between these two powerhouses, which each claimed a state crown last season. Some would say there’s a divide between these schools. But coaches would counter that “the gap is closing,” despite whatever advantages one program may have over the other.

“It takes a lot of hard work to get to a certain level,” said Bonner-Prendergast coach Jack Muldoon, who was an assistant at the Prep from 2001 to 2012 and whose squad will compete in the first round of the PIAA Class 4A playoffs on Saturday against West Philadelphia. “It’s like running a Division III college program — you’re responsible for a lot of coaching. But coaching in this area, you take a lot of pride because it’s great high school football.

“There’s a competitive relationship between these teams — and, of course, some bragging rights.”

Sixth-year coach Tim Roken has led the Hawks to a 7-2 record and notably knocked off La Salle College High School last weekend. Tep coach Devon Johnson, who’s been part of the program since 2015, has his team at 10-1 after a 28-26 victory over Abraham Lincoln.

The Panthers moved this year from Class 5A to 6A, the largest classification in the state. And while Roken said “every team has a one-year life expectancy” because of roster changes year to year, St. Joe’s Prep and Imhotep remain as talented as ever.

“Coach Johnson does a really great job with their program over there,” Roken said. “He built those guys a ton of confidence and has had a lot of success over his tenure there. I’m looking forward to another great matchup this weekend.”

The Panthers are led by Ohio State pledge Zahir Mathis, who’s ranked by 247Sports as the No. 16 edge rusher in the nation, and Penn State recruit Jabree Wallace-Coleman, a running back. Linebacker Cameron Smith (Penn State), running back Isaiah West (Ohio State), and linebacker Anthony Sacca (Notre Dame) are among the top contributors for the Hawks.

“It just speaks to the talent level of both programs and success over the years,” Roken said of the roster. “We’re very appreciative to get to where we have as a staff and as a program. To be able to do that over the last decade, it speaks volumes to the time and effort that goes into it.”

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Part of the reason the programs started scrimmaging in the first place was because they wanted competitive practice scenarios before the season started. Both teams scheduled national games, but Crosby said they were harder to find. Now, that’s not so much the case.

“It was a tense scrimmage,” Crosby said. “We both wanted to win the scrimmage for pride. We would coach so hard on both varsity and junior varsity. Then we would break bread and just come together as one. We would talk afterward about the things that we did good and the things we need to work on. It was a brotherhood — a football brotherhood.”

And Saturday is a reminder of that.

“Both programs have a mutual respect for each other,” Crosby said. “I think one is trying to establish if they are the big dog, and the other is trying to establish that we are the big dog. Both are very dominant in their element, so it’s going to be extremely exciting to see.”