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Total Team Effort Leads Cardinal O’Hara to Rout of Neumann-Goretti

 
Tagged under: District 12, Gameday Hub, News, pfn

| September 12, 2026

SPRINGFIELD: When you are a program with a rich, storied history like Cardinal O’Hara, you are held to a high standard, and expectations are always high. Through the first two games of the season, the Lions have shown they should be held to high standards by outscoring their first two opponents, 82-7. On Friday night, the Lions continued their dominant start to the season with a total team effort resulting in a 53-0 mauling of the visiting Neumann-Goretti Saints at Lions Stadium

“Defense played lights out; offense, we were clicking early. Total team game. We played up our standard, and that’s what we’ve been preaching all week: playing to our standard and good things will happen, and that’s what happened tonight.” Lions Head Coach Mike Ewing said.

What made the night even more special was that all three aspects of the game contributed for the Lions.

The Lions set the tone right from the start, forcing the Saints to a three-and-out to start things off, and that’s when the Lions Special Teams flexed their muscles with Simon Horta returning the Saints punt for a 38-yard touchdown. Horta’s sister Ceci started the night off with a beautiful rendition of the National Anthem on the 25th anniversary of the September 11 attacks.  Horta was quick to give credit to his teammates for the touchdown, saying, “Without the team, that punt return doesn’t happen. Defense three-and-out to start the game; without the defense, I don’t know where we will be at.” He added, “We do punt team a lot in practice; without that I don’t know where we would be.”

 

On the next drive, the Lions defense quickly forced a turnover on downs, giving the Lions possession on their own 46. With the offensive line consisting of Chris Whittington, Davonte Ferrigan, Dante Jones, Musa Bangura, Jayden King-Gant, Stephen Thomas, and Jake Steigerwalt, the Lions needed seven plays to find the end zone, with Issac Day powering his way in from a yard out, making it 13-0 with 4:12 left in the first.

Following another three-and-out, the Lions again went on the offensive, marching 67-yards on six plays, including a 33-yard pass from Braylon Harris to Jackson Mitros that put the Lions on the Saints’ 5. On the next play, Morris Donzo extended the Lions’ lead to 19-0 with his 5-yard touchdown run.

In the second quarter, the Lions continued to roll. On the first drive of the quarter, they drove 63 yards on eight plays, with Harris capping the drive using his legs for a 20-yard touchdown.

Lions needed only three plays on their next drive to extend their lead, with Donzo busting through the Saints’ defense and racing 47 yards for the touchdown, making it 33-0. Donzo finished the game with 84 yards on just 5 carries.

The Lions’ next scoring drive needed four plays before Day found the end zone from 3 yards out, making it 39-0 at halftime. Day finished the game with 62 yards on 12 carries.

For the first half, the Lions defense held the Saints offense to negative 19 yards. For the game, the Saints offense finished with 51 yards of total offense. When asked about the Lions defensive effort, Wake Forrest commit Sammy Dantonka said, “It’s a team effort. Coaches have been preaching team, team. Everybody do their job; everyone did their job; everyone got to the quarterback; everyone stopped the run; it’s just a team game. We play as a team.”

In the third quarter, the Lions only ran five plays; one of them was a 78-yard pick-up by Myles Hlywak that gave the Lions the ball on the Saints’ 4 to end the third quarter. On the first play of the fourth quarter, Hlywak finished what he started with a four-yard touchdown run.

Charles Goldsborough capped the scoring with an 8-yard touchdown run.

Next week, the Lions (3-0) will put their undefeated record on the line when they host fellow unbeaten West Catholic (3-0) in a Philadelphia Catholic League crossover battle scheduled for 7 pm next Friday. The Saints (0-3) will look to get Head Coach Byron Barnes his first career win when they open Catholic League Blue Division play by hosting Archbishop Carroll at the South Philly Supersite next Saturday at 4 pm.

 
 
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