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Bonner-Prendergast Grinds Out State Title Win: “Eventually They’re Gonna Quit”

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Bonner Prendergast athletes pose with the PIAA 4A State Championship Trophy.

Mechanicsburg, Pa. — The Bonner Prendergast Friars captured their first football state championship in school history on Thursday, December 5, riding their defense and ground game in a throwback of a matchup in the bitter cold.

Senior running back Mick Johnson, the cog in Bonner’s 40-14 win over the Lampeter-Strasburg Pioneers, rushed for 112 yards and four touchdowns on 24 carries despite the inhospitable wind, keeping the ball on the ground in the face of a bitter crosswind.

“This is probably the coldest I’ve ever played in,” Johnson said after the game. “But as soon as I started getting moving and stuff, I got warm.”

Despite his excellent statistical performance, Johnson still had to deal with plenty of adversity. He lost control of the football at the Pioneers’ 1-yard line in the first quarter, missing out on a touchdown by mere inches. Teammate Saleem Frink was there to scoop up the loose ball and extend for the touchdown, which helped take the sting out of the missed opportunity, and Johnson said he turned the page immediately in order to focus on the task at hand.

“I just had to forget about that play coming into the next drive,” Johnson said. “Just happy to get points on the board for my team, and that we scored first.”

“Eventually, They’re Gonna Quit”

Although the Friars grabbed a 14 point first quarter lead, Lampeter-Strasburg stormed back to tie it, appearing to take control of the game as Bonner’s offense bogged down. The Pioneers held possession with under three minutes to go in the half and a chance to take the lead. Friars’ senior defensive back Jeremiah Coleman wasn’t about to let that happen, picking off an errant throw down the sideline and giving Bonner the ball at midfield.

WVU commit Jalil Hall snagged a 40-yard catch-and-run to move the ball inside the five, and Johnson punched in his second touchdown of the night two plays later, giving the Friars the lead. Johnson described how he kept his teammates settled down through the turbulent middle frames.

“We just knew that we had to stay poised, stay calm, keep playing our game and not let those touchdowns discourage us,” Johnson said. “I told them we’ve gotta finish this. We’ve gotta come out, we’ve gotta keep playing hard, and eventually they’re gonna quit.”

Brett Johnson With the Dagger

Fellow senior Brett Johnson provided the knockout blow just 31 seconds later, intercepting a Pioneers’ pass and returning it 61 yards for the score, bleeding the rest of the clock out and sending Lampeter-Strasburg to the break in stunned silence.

“It was unreal. It was amazing. Give us some momentum, great blocks ahead of me,” Johnson said of his game-altering play. “I can just thank my DB’s. They locked him up, gave me the opportunity to get the interception. Just good work all around, great team effort… I just wanted to do it for my teammates. Everyone here has been working since January. In the weight room, hitting, every practice.”

Mick Johnson went on to add two more rushing touchdowns in the second half, while the Pioneers didn’t score again. Lampeter-Strasburg drove to the Friars’ 5-yard line in the waning minutes, and it was Johnson who snuffed their chances out, picking up a four yard tackle for loss with three seconds to go.

Playing in his last ever high school game, Johnson described the feeling of four years of hard work coming to fruition in the form of a state title.

“I actually wasn’t thinking about that [being my last game]. I was thinking about… those guys over there. Those young guys, my fellow seniors. I just wanted everybody to experience this together. I know that they worked super hard for this. They’ve been super humble. I knew we had to come out here and show something,” Johnson said. “It’s a relieving feeling. There have been a lot of times that I felt like the work wasn’t gonna pay off. I was just happy to see that we came out here and it did pay off.”

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