Cathedral Prep Routs Thomas Jefferson in PIAA Quarterfinals

By: HSSN Staff
Friday, November 24, 2017 | 11:30 PM

By Chris Harlan for TribLive.com

Against a roster Bill Cherpak dubbed the Erie all-stars, Thomas Jefferson had to be perfect.

The Jaguars weren’t, and Cathedral Prep pounced.

Prep quarterback Joe Mischler rushed for two touchdowns and threw another in Friday night’s 42-17 victory over WPIAL champion Thomas Jefferson in a PIAA Class 4A quarterfinal at Erie’s Veterans Stadium.

Billy Lucas also scored twice for Cathedral Prep (12-0), the defending state champion.

“When you play a team as talented and as good as they are, you can’t make mistakes,” Cherpak said. “… When you’re playing a caliber of team they are, you can’t give them anything, and we just made too many mistakes.”

Thomas Jefferson (11-2) led 3-0 after a 32-yard first-quarter field goal by AJ Meshanko, the first Pennsylvania team to take a lead against Cathedral Prep this season.

But Prep scored touchdowns on four of its next five possessions, helped by a TJ fumble, and led 28-10 at half. Mischler and Billy Lucas scored Prep’s first two touchdowns in a 3-minute span with a fumbled TJ kick return in between.

“If you turn the ball over against them or give them big plays, they feed off of that,” Cherpak said. “And they’re good. There’s a reason they’re the reigning state champion.”

This was the third year in a row that Prep, the District 10 champion, defeated TJ in the state playoffs. Prep won 30-13 last season and 28-21 in 2015.

Cathedral Prep hasn’t lost to a WPIAL team since West Allegheny won 36-21 in 2009. Entering Friday, the Ramblers had won six in a row against the WPIAL.

Mischler, an Ohio recruit, completed 13 of 22 attempts for 188 yards. He had first-half touchdown runs of 3 and 19 yards, and his 2-yard touchdown pass to Adam Malesiewski in the third gave Prep a 35-10 lead.

“He’s the difference, there’s no doubt,” Cherpak said of Mischler. “He’s such a good player. Without him, that’s a much, much different team. He’s really that good. When we had him tied up, he ran it. We had coverage, and he ran it. We tried to spy him, and that didn’t work. He’s just a really, really good quarterback.”

Thomas Jefferson trailed 21-10 as halftime neared when Mischler led Prep on an eight-play, 65-yard touchdown drive in 74 seconds. Mischler connected with Tyler Oedekovec for a 58-yard completion on first down and added a 13-yard scramble that let Matt Bauer score on a 1-yard run.

But Mischler isn’t Prep’s only D-I recruit.

Terry Roberts, a wide receiver and defensive back, committed to Iowa. Juice Scruggs is a Penn State-bound lineman. Bauer is a Notre Dame linebacker recruit.

“We’re not playing on a level field, but nobody wants to hear it, so I’m not even going to talk about it anymore,” Cherpak said. “It’s just not a level playing field, but that’s OK. I’m proud of the way we played.”

TJ’s only first-half touchdown was a 1-yard run by quarterback Shane Stump that cut Prep’s lead to 14-10 early in the second quarter. The Jaguars didn’t score again until Max Shaw added a 2-yard touchdown run in the fourth.

Justin Vigna led Thomas Jefferson with 90 yards on 21 carries but left in the third quarter with an arm injury.

TJ had a scoring chance late in the third, but the 13-play, 90-yard drive stalled at Prep’s 8-yard line after three consecutive incomplete passes. Prep took possession and responded with a 92-yard touchdown drive. The Ramblers led 35-10 when Mischler connected with Adam Malesiewski on a 2-yard touchdown.

“We had a chance to make it 28-17, and we missed that easy pass,” Cherpak said. “Mistakes you can’t make.”