5A State Semi-Final Team Preview: Roman Catholic Cahillites

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

Noah Stomsky | November 28, 2024

Roman Catholic vs West Chester Rustin
Where: West Chester Henderson
When: 7:00 PM Friday, Nov 29^th

Roman Catholic Cahillites (PFN 5A Rank 4)

Head Coach: Richard Prete

Roman Catholic has found themselves in the State Semi-Finals for the first time and they don’t want to spoil their chance at a State Championship. Roman has a record of 10-4 on the season, with losses coming from DeMatha Catholic (10-1), Bonner-Prendie (10-2), St. Joseph’s Prep (9-2), and La Salle (10-1). In those losses, they’ve been outscored 170-78. While they took punishment early in the season, they’ve dished it out over their last four playoff wins. In their last four games, they’ve beaten Father Judge (3-8) 56-7, Frankford (10-2) 42-12, East Stroudsburg South (10-3) 41-13, and Hollidaysburg (13-1) 48-14. In the four games, they’ve outscored their opponents 187-46.

Roman is a fast-paced offense with a lot of firepower. In only three years, QB Semaj Beals has broken the city passing record held by now Syracuse QB Kyle McCord. On the season, Beals is 232/393 for 3,701 yards and 45 touchdowns. His best passing game came against St. Johns College in their second game of the year. Beals threw for 465 yards on 23/31, adding six touchdowns on top of it. Throughout the playoff stretch, Beals has completed 54 passes on 82 attempts for 910 yards and 12 touchdowns. Beals is playing some of his best ball in these last four games.

Romans’ rushing game took a hit halfway through the season when Xavier Kingcade went down. In his six games, Kingcade rushed for 349 yards on 69 carries with three rushing touchdowns. Jeremiah Tabb – who split snaps with Kingcade earlier in the year – has taken over as RB1. On the year, he’s rushed for 529 yards off 105 carries and 6 rushing touchdowns. Roman’s rushing game has exploded over the last four playoff games, eclipsing 200 yards in 2 of the 4 games with 245, 182, 144, and 256 yards. Roman has already let it be known that they have a dangerous passing attack, adding on a great rushing game makes it trouble for opposing defenses.

Speaking of the passing game, no one on Roman catches the pass better than Rayshawn Scott. If you don’t know who he is, get to. On the season Scott has 65 catches for 1317 yards and 15 receiving touchdowns (2 rushing). While Rustin keeps their focus on Scott, don’t let Eyan Stead’s name go under the radar. 792 yards on 42 receptions and 9 touchdowns on the season makes him a very reliable WR2. If those two are covered, look for Eisa Nealy or Zamir Newsuan, who have combined for 62 catches for 823 yards and 13 touchdowns. Roman has a debate for the most explosive offense in the 5A playoff bracket. With their fast-paced style of running hurry-up offense after every snap, Rustin best stay on their toes and be well conditioned.

On defense, Walter Hudson leads the team in total tackles with 74 (43 solo), followed by Lazyarus Toombs with 63 (36 solo). While Toombs is second in total tackles, he’s made up for it leading the team with 5 sacks and 16 tackles for loss resulting in 71 yards of loss. Freddy DiNardo follows Toombs in sacks with 4.5 and Jojo Delecce follows tackles for loss with 11. Christian Palmer has been their best member in the secondary leading the team with 5 picks (1 touchdown), 11 pass deflections, and 1 fumble recovery for a touchdown. The team as a whole has allowed 1190 rushing yards on 450 rushes. Allowing ~2.6 yards per carry shows how well this D-Line and Linebacking core has been playing. The passing game has been hard to come by also. 2082 yards off 300 attempts completing only 141 passes. 6.94 yards per pass attempt followed by a 47% passing completion percentage, pick your poison on throwing or rushing, Roman’s prepared for both.

Can Roman get over the hump and punch their ticket into the state championship? Or will West Chester Rustin ruin Roman’s great season? It all comes down to Friday.

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