Explorers' gambit simply backfired

La Salle wasn't going to let up. With less than two minutes to go in the first half, the Explorers, holding an 11-point lead over St. Joseph's Prep, decided not to run out the clock at midfield.

The decision would prove pivotal in a game that saw the Prep rally for a 24-17 win.

Inside the Hawks' 49-yard line, La Salle quarterback Drew Loughery dropped back and found his star wide receiver, Sam Feleccia, at the 40. But Feleccia juggled the ball. It hit off defensive back Dan Sweeney and fell into the hands of Hawks teammate Stephen O'Hara.

O'Hara dashed down the sideline for 49 yards, setting up the Prep. Three plays later, Skyler Mornhinweg hit Desmon Peoples for an 11-yard touchdown. The Hawks had cut the lead to five points with 13 seconds left in the half.

"I think that was the beginning of the end of us," La Salle coach Drew Gordon said. "We didn't do anything in the second half at all."

Mornhinweg said the play gave the Prep great momentum heading into the locker room. And the Hawks outscored La Salle, 12-0, in the second half to come away with the 24-17 victory.

Afterward, Loughery could think only about that play before halftime.

"That was a big momentum changer," Loughery said. "At that point, I think we had the game in hand."

Loughery had played well in the half before the pick, throwing for 104 yards on 9-of-19 passing. But after the interception, he completed 6 of 14 for 86 yards.

Gordon said he didn't want to blame the loss on one miscue - La Salle made so many in the second half that it didn't matter. But sophomore Mornhinweg, leader of yet another comeback, said he knew when it all started: O'Hara's interception.

"That was probably the biggest play of the game," Mornhinweg said. "That was awesome."