Father Judge Downs Lansdale Catholic In Defensive Showdown 15-6

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

Davin Ridall | September 6, 2026

OCEAN CITY – In this season’s edition of the battle of the Crusaders, the game only featured 21 total points scored. Ultimately it was the Crusaders of Father Judge who took down Lansdale Catholic 15-6.

Last season, the story was much different for this game, as the two teams combined for 57 points a year ago. This time around, offense was much harder to come to by. Father Judge and Lansdale Catholic both came up empty on their opening drives, however it didn’t take long for the two teams to start finding some points.

Father Judge’s second drive of the game spanned eight plays and reached Lansdale Catholic’s 6 yard line before finally coming to a stop. This forced Father Judge to settle for a 23 yard field goal from Kevin Schmanek. 

Not long after, Lansdale Catholic found an answer to Father Judge’s field goal on their second drive of the game. On the seventh play of the drive, Damian Grannum handed the ball off to John Cobbald who broke away from the defense and ran 53 yards to the end zone.

That first quarter touchdown run ended up being Lansdale Catholic’s only points for the entire game. “After the first couple drives we just started going out there and figuring stuff out,” Father Judge’s Matteo Gonzalez said after the game.

Father Judge didn’t score again until the end of the first half when a bad punt from Lansdale Catholic set them up at the 20 yard line with just 31 seconds left. The Crusaders didn’t have to move far to set themselves up for a second field goal from Schmanek, tying the game at 6 heading into halftime.

Shmanek went 2/3 on field goals in the first half and knocked through an extra point in the second half, racking up seven total points in the game. “It’s a real weapon to have a player like Schmanek because teams have to respect that we can score points as soon as we cross midfield,” Father Judge Head Coach Ryan Nase said.

The rushing attack is what got it done offensively for Father Judge in the second half, specifically the dynamic duo in quarterback Matteo Gonzalez and running back Robert Gormley. The two combined for 108 rushing yards, with most of them coming exclusively in the second half, including a 4 yard touchdown from Gonzalez in the third quarter.

“Our guys are really good up front, we have a kid going to LSU for a reason, but in the second half we were able to do a bit of a better job. I think we were better conditioned, and that helped us have success in the run game especially in the second half,” Coach Nase said.

Father Judge’s defense racked up five sacks and two interceptions in the game, as well as a safety in fourth quarter after a snap went over the head of Damian Grannum and out of the back of the end zone. Their two interceptions came from Robert Gormley and Xavier Diaz, with Diaz’s interception ending Lansdale Catholic’s final offensive drive, sealing the 15-6 win for Father Judge.

“The defense played well but the kicking game also saved us for the second week in a row, not just with the field goals but also flipping field position with our punts too,” Coach Nase said following the win. “We’re just taking things one week at a time, we’re happy to come out of here with a win, we’ll relax for a day or two, and then we’ll worry about next week.”

With the win, Father Judge improves to 2-0 for the first time since 2021, and they will face Conwell-Egan on the road next week. Lansdale Catholic falls to 0-2 with the loss, they will be on the road next week facing William Penn Charter.