Prep Charter hoists trophy, as planned

Nov 10, 2014 BY BRENT BAUM Daily News Staff Writer baumb@phillynews.com TWO YEARS ago, when his tenure started, Prep Charter coach David Hand's mission was for his team to hoist the Public League Class AA championship trophy. Barreling through a litany of momentum shifts, Prep Charter not only delivered on that mission, but also didn't shy away from sports tradition. The players surreptitiously doused a cooler of icy water on him before hoisting the Public League AA championship trophy after a 14-12 victory over Delaware Valley Charter at the South Philadelphia Supersite on Saturday night. "He came in last year and told us that we were going to get this thing rolling. All he has done is work hard and put us in the right position," said Huskies quarterback Vian Dolo. "We did it for him, the school, for South Philly, and it was a great win for us. " The 6-foot senior mentioned that the last time he won a championship was in eighth grade with the Southwest Jaguars. Dolo, who has helped lead the Huskies to an 9-0-1 record this season, describes himself as coming from humble beginnings, and having a special rapport with his family, which comes from Liberia in West Africa. "We came from a hard country and my mom told me to 'keep your head strong, stay in your books, put football second,' " Dolo said. "In return, my little brother inspires me every day, just to see his smile, looking at me, just pushing me more. " A 3.2 GPA student, Dolo has received offers from Millersville, Lock Haven and Richmond. He wants to major in either engineering or business, because his favorite subject is math. Dolo led the Huskies to a swift start by launching a laser to junior John Davis for a 79-yard touchdown. Prep Charter then recovered a botched punt by Del-Val. On the ensuing possession junior Quadir Strothers marched 10 yards for a score to give the Huskies a 14-0 lead with 3:30 left in the first quarter. On a windy, nippy night, Del-Val had a shift of momentum in the second half as Elijah McCants intercepted a Dolo pass that set up a 14-yard touchdown strike from junior Shayne Smith (6-for-16, 148 yards, two TDS) to junior Shaheed Brown with 10:57 left in the fourth quarter. A two-point conversion attempt failed. On the ensuing possession, Warriors senior Kyree McCoy pilfered the second interception from Dolo. Smith then connected with senior Nasir Bonner (two catches, 67 yards and a TD) on a curl route in the flat. Bonner displayed his arsenal of open-field moves with a swift cutback and juke move to the right sidelines before dashing 60 yards for a score. However, Bonner's spiking of the ball after scoring resulted in a 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalty, and the Warriors failed to convert on the two-point conversion to tie the game. Del-Val had to drive 95 yards on its final possession to have any hope, but Prep Charter's 6-4, 260-pound junior Karamo Dioubate recorded a sack to seal the victory. In a game that was a battle within the trenches, Prep Charter's pass rush was led by Dioubate (two sacks, six tackles, one pass batted down) and senior Rand Williams (two sacks, seven tackles). "I want to give it to the d-line, they played a [great] game," Dolo said. "Our defense plays relentless and once they get rolling, there is no way of stopping them. " Dolo credits the Huskies' nearly perfect season to the hard work his team put into the offseason and everyday in practice. "The team, the coaches gave up their summers, vacations to come out here and work," Dolo said. "We were sweating, crying, all day, everyday on the field, in the gym, and weight room just trying to get faster, stronger, unite and come together as a squad. " Prep Charter advances to the City AA title game Friday night (6 p.m.) at the South Philly Supersite against Ss. Neumann-Goretti, which defeated West Catholic, 26-14, on Saturday night. When Dolo discovered his next opponent, he expressed an instant jolt of excitement. Prep Charter wanted to play N-G during the regular season but a mutual agreement to schedule that matchup couldn't be reached. "I can't even put that into words," Dolo said. "Very exciting because they said they didn't want to play us and now they've got to answer that call. "We know they are going to punch back, but we've just got to come back and punch twice as hard."