Although the football rivalry between St. Joe’s Prep and La Salle College High is legendary and among the fiercest in the region, it is also one of the newest, writes Matt Breen for The Philadelphia Inquirer.
It dates back to 1976, when the schools’ administrations arranged to play on Thanksgiving. Back then, neither St. Joe’s Prep nor La Salle had a true rival. The former played Malvern Prep on Thanksgiving, and the latter faced Pennsylvania School for the Deaf. Both schools needed a big game, and that sparked a rivalry.
Great rivalries often share a common thread, and here, the Prep and La Salle were the only non-Diocesan schools in the Catholic League, viewed as distinct from schools with teams built through feeder parishes. Both schools also frequently drew students from overlapping areas.
For years, the rivalry was one-sided, with La Salle winning 14 of the first 17 games. It still became so popular that it was moved to La Salle University. Things changed in the early 1990s, when St. Joe’s Prep became one of the nation’s top programs, making the rivalry more real than ever.
Read more about the rivalry in The Philadelphia Inquirer.
