St. John’s won’t have it easy when it comes to the 2016 football season but it’s never easy when playing in the Washington Catholic Athletic Conference. The Cadets will have a tough out conference schedule as one of their games will be against IMG Academy.
During the 2015 season, St. John’s finished with a 7-4 record. They had big wins over teams such as Good Counsel and Gonzaga, which earn them a postseason bid. In the WCAC playoffs, the Cadets lost to the defending champions DeMatha Catholic High School.
At the end of the season, head coach Joe Patterson was fired and replaced by assistant coach Joe Casamento. Casamento will be put to the test this upcoming season when his team takes on IMG.
IMG was 9-0 during the 2015 campaign. They were ranked No. 4 in the country by USA Today and No. 7 in the MaxPreps Xcellent 25. This team is no joke as they outscored their opponents 339-145.
Their coaching staff has a combined 28 years of NCAA and NFL experience. Football director Steve Walsh was a quarterback in the NFL for 11 years. He played for the Dallas Cowboys, Chicago Bears, and New Orleans Saints. Defensive coordinator Donnie Abraham was a defensive back at East Tennessee University before playing nine years in the NFL with teams like the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and the New York Jets.
IMG’s entire roster is being recruited by FBS schools. The 2015 team contained 13 four-star and five five-star prospects. Six of the top 100 seniors in the country were on IMG. Notable seniors was quarterback Shea Patterson, defensive lineman Rashaun Smith, and center Cesar Ruiz.
The last time these two teams faced each other was on August 29, 2014 when St. John’s blew out IMG Academy 35-2. St. John’s running back Omar Garcia was for 116 yards, quarterback Talik Mann threw for 72 yards, and Scotty Washington recorded 51 receiving yards.
When St. John’s plays this football powerhouse, they will not have the likes of Terrell Hall and Aaron Hansford. However, the Cadets will have four-star quarterback Kasim Hill ,who is transferring from Gilman.
The game is scheduled to take play on Sep. 17, 2016 at IMG Academy.
Inside The Locker Room 