Roman Catholic Crushes Bishop McDevitt in 5A Final, Avenges 2024 Loss

MECHANICSBURG, Pa.— Philadelphia Roman Catholic crushed Bishop McDevitt 28-6 on Friday, Dec. 5 in the PIAA 5A state championship game, avenging their 2024 title loss in a rematch with the Crusaders. The win marks the Cahillites’ first-ever football state title.

Akron commit Semaj Beals uncorked a deep shot on the Cahillites’ first play from scrimmage, connecting with Temple commit Ash Roberts for a 50-yard gain. Beals finished the drive with his legs, rolling right on a bootleg and turning upfield for a seven-yard touchdown. Roman Catholic swarmed to the football on the ensuing drive, backing the Crusaders well behind the chains with consecutive tackles for loss on the way to a punt.

Defense to Offense

The Cahillites marched downfield on a 13-play drive in response but ran out of steam after an intentional grounding penalty pushed them into third-and-32. Fellow Temple commit Eyan Stead Jr. forced a fumble two plays later to regain possession in Bishop McDevitt territory, and Beals found running back Hanif Sheed for a 7-yard touchdown and a 14-0 lead.

Roman Catholic linebacker Walter Hudson intercepted a pass on the next play and returned it 39 yards to the Crusaders’ 22-yard line, but a fourth down incompletion prevented them from adding to the lead. Hudson continued to stand out on the next defensive drive, smashing through McDevitt’s offensive line on fourth-and-1 to stonewall a run play and get the ball back.

Beals and Roberts made it 21-0 with 1:55 to play in the half, syncing up for a 40-yard deep shot touchdown. The Cahillites nearly piled on further when Stead returned a blocked kick to the McDevitt 15-yard line, but he was pushed out of bounds as time expired.

Stead continued to star in the third quarter, picking up 41 yards on a third-and-18 catch-and-run to get the Cahillites out of the shadow of their own goal. Beals broke two tackles on a scramble up the middle but went down at the 1-yard line, and he went to Stead for the touchdown on the following play.

McDevitt scored on a 24-yard pass from Sebastian Williams to Gage Ruth with 1:12 to play, breaking up the shutout after tackling the Cahillites punter to gain a short field.