General McLane 35, Cathedral Prep 31 – PHOTO GALLERY (11/13/26)

Tagged under: District 10, Game Photos-Videos, Gameday Hub, pfn, Playoffs

Carl Fonticella | November 14, 2026

On a freezing night at Fairview High School, General McLane defeated Cathedral Prep 35-31 in dramatic fashion to claim their 5th District 10 Class 4A Championship in school history (and 2nd in 3 years) and have advanced to the First Round of the PIAA Class 4A State Playoffs. 

Down 31-28 and facing a 4th and 10 on the Cathedral Prep 10 yard line with 25 seconds on the clock, GM head coach Marshall McCormick decided to roll the dice and elected to go for it. Instead of attempting a game-tying field goal to try and send it to overtime, he sent the offense back on the field, and senior WR Donny Burke came down with a pass from senior QB Josh Caro despite being in double coverage.

While many fans could question this decision (especially if the pass fell incomplete), General McLane had seen their last 2 seasons end by way of special teams – specifically field goals. In back to back seasons, blocked kicks were the Lancers’ kryptonite. In the first round of the 2024 PIAA playoffs against Clearfield, a blocked go-ahead FG attempt with 15 seconds left ended GM’s season in heart-breaking fashion, and in last season’s D10 championship game against Oil City, the Oilers blocked yet another go-ahead FG attempt to spoil the party.

The Lancers had already experienced trouble with snaps in the game on special teams, with Caro needing to fall on the ball twice when asked to do quick punts. Cathedral Prep took advantage of the 2nd bad snap, with Da’Zarie Carson scoring just 2 plays after to extend Prep’s lead to 31-21 on the first play of the 4th quarter.

That Carson TD was the 24th unanswered point for the Ramblers after the Lancers came out of the gates hot. Caro started things off with a 23-yard TD rush before Carson responded, but then Caro threw a 5-yard TD pass to Luke Murosky and RB Charlie Bennett would score from 3 yards out to make it 21-7 before the Ramblers scoring streak.

In fact, the biggest play of the night might not have even been a scoring play, a big 4th down conversion, etc. With 4:50 left in the game and General McLane driving, Prep’s Zion Clark made a break on a Caro pass and very nearly came down with an interception. However, his drop meant the Lancers could continue their drive – and the drive ended withe Burke’s incredible catch.

Now, the Lancers can look ahead to next week’s PIAA playoff game and hope to not only win the school’s first state playoff game since their magical state title run of 2006, but also to enact revenge. They will face the same opponent as they did in 2024; the Clearfield Bison. The Bison ended General McLane’s season in 2024 but now, the Lancers have the chance to continue their undefeated season.