The La Salle College High School football team defeated nationally-ranked rival Saint Joseph’s Prep 35-34 in quadruple overtime on Saturday, October 12 at Upper Dublin High School.

The Wyndmoor-based Explorers are now 7-0 on the year. The marathon game ended on a trick-play two-point conversion from Joey O’Brien to Des Ortiz.

La Salle entered the game ranked No. 1 in the SBLive/SI Pennsylvania Top 25. St. Saint Joseph’s was No. 2. La Salle rolled to a 48-0 win at Cardinal O’Hara last week, and had early-season victories over Malvern Prep and Harrisburg.

The 6’4″ WR/DB O’Brien is the top-ranked junior in the state and plays alongside senior Syracuse commit Julian McFadden.

The Philadelphia Inquirer published a preview about the matchup on Saturday. According to the story, the rivalry dates back to 1915. 

“When you look at the history of the Catholic League, the history of these programs, the history of the games and the seasons over so many years, it’s a big deal to a lot of people,” said first-year La Salle coach Brett Gordon, who’s considered one of the all-time greats in the program’s history and is the son of the late Drew Gordon, who led the Explorers to a state title in 2009.

“I tell that to our players to hopefully give them a sense of pride and excitement that this is bigger than just the game. It’s bigger than just this team. There’s a lot of pride from a lot of people that are anxiously waiting to see what happens tomorrow night,” Gordon said.

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Photo: LSCHS