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Cardinal O’Hara Defeats Bonner In Nailbiter

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

| October 18, 2026

The Delaware County “Holy War” is one of the most anticipated rivalries and High School matches of the season. This year, the game between Monsignor Bonner and rival Cardinal O’Hara lived up to the hype. The Lions prevailed, taking down Bonner 21-14.

Here were my thoughts pregame

Bonner won the kick and elected to defer, handing the ball off to the Lions for the first drive of the game. The first half was completely altered by heavy amounts of rain, forcing both teams to shy away from their usual passing offenses. Isaac Day of Cardinal O’Hara ruled the first drive, wasting no time taking advantage of his rushes and finding the end zone. The extra point was botched, but the Lions led 6-0 with 7:37 remaining in the first quarter.

Bonner wouldn’t get anything rolling after the O’Hara score and punted it back to the Lions. O’Hara returned the favor just a few plays later and gave the ball right back to Bonner at the end of the first quarter.

Bonner kicked off the second quarter with multiple solid rushes. The Friar drive was kept alive by a pass interference call, giving Bonner new life on the 10-yard line. The Friars attempted two direct snaps to their running backs that got blown up immediately, and after another failed play, faced fourth down. On fourth down, the Friars attempted a rush right up the middle from Noel Campbell, the rush did not cross the goal line, and O’Hara took over.

Following the turnover on downs, Bonners’ defense finally got home. A few plays into the drive, Bonners’ pass rush closed in on Braylon Harris, backing him up into the end zone and forcing him to try and get rid of it. Harris’ arm didn’t go forward, and the play was ruled a fumble, recovered by the Friars for a touchdown. The XP was good, and Bonner led 7-6.

The very next drive, O’Hara fumbled again, once more recovered by the Friars. Bonner didn’t take advantage of the fumble recovery and punted it to O’Hara, who followed that up with a punt of their own, taking us to the second half with Bonner leading 7-6.

The rain slowed down in the second half and completely stopped for the entirety of the third quarter. Both teams punted with their first drives of the half, with O’Hara punting it away second and giving Bonner the ball back.

On the first play of the new Bonner offensive drive, Noel Campbell’s pass was intercepted by Dylan Miller. Miller’s INT placed O’Hara deep into Bonner territory. With 7:09 left on the clock, Harris launched deep for Simon Horta, who made a spectacular endzone grab, giving the Lions a 13-7 lead over Bonner.

Bonner’s offensive struggles continued, fumbling the ball on their next drive following the touchdown. O’Hara did not get any points from their defensive stop, but instead gave the ball right back to Bonner. Braylon Harris endzone shot into triple coverage was tipped and deflected, giving Bonner another chance offensively just before the end of the third quarter.

 

Coming out of the third quarter down by a score, Bonner pieced together a great drive. Bonners rushed on top of a big play by Noel Campbell and Tymir Morris; the Friars found themselves on the 1-yard line on 3rd down. Bonner attempted back-to-back quarterback sneaks that were both stuffed by the O’Hara defense, turning it over on downs and placing the Lions on the one-yard line on first down.

O’Hara couldn’t make it past their own 10-yard line and had to punt it to the Friars. The punt by Bower was good, but it was returnable for Musa Bradford. Bradford broke free and sprinted down the sideline for a big kick return for a touchdown, giving the Friars a 14-13 lead with 5:21 to go in the game.

Needing a score on the potential winning drive, the Lions wasted no time getting to work. Morris Donzo began the drive with a few rushes, and after a big completed pass, O’Hara was at midfield with plenty of time left.  With the rain slowing down and the ability to air it out, Braylon Harris fired and found Simon Horta for an unbelievable grab, just keeping the feet in bounds and giving O’Hara a first down. After a few Donzo rushes and facing the most important third down of the game, Braylon Harris used his legs and evaded multiple tackles to set O’Hara up well within striking distance. O’Hara finished off the drive with an Isaac Day rushing score and a Morris Donzo 2 pt conversion, putting O’Hara up 7 with 2:37 to go.

The rain picked back up on the potential last drive of the game, and Bonner quickly faced fourth down with the game on the line. Noel Campbell’s pass to the sideline was broken up, and O’Hara’s defense held on, winning them the football game.

After the game, I met with Simon Horta. Horta came up clutch for the Lions and kept them in the game all night long.

 

 
 
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