PIAA 5A State Semi Finals Preview

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Nicholas Mastripolito | November 28, 2025

The Who: Springfield-Delco at Roman Catholic

The What: PIAA 5A State Semifinals

Where: Marple Newtown HS, 120 Media Line Road, Newtown Square, PA

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About the Cahillites: 

Roman Catholic enters the semifinals at 10-3 featuring a high scoring offense that’s averaging 39 point per game led by Sr QB Semaj Beals (Akron) who has 2862 yards and 40 touchdowns. Semaj also has 3 rushing scores this year. The top receiving targets are seniors who both recently committed to Temple with Ash Roberts (815 yards and 14 touchdowns) and Eyan Stead (811 yard and 12 touchdowns). Sophomore RB Tre Montgomery leads the team in rushing with 523 yards and 6 touchdowns. On offense Roman runs a lot of tempo with Semaj making quick pre-snap reads which puts a lot of pressure on defenses to keep up with a quick paced offense. Roman upfront is led by a sturdy group paced by Sr Khalif McNear (Temple). Defensively Sr LB Walter Hudson leads the team in tackles (93) and tackles for loss (17). Sophomore DB Sabine Dawson is a ballhawk with 3 interceptions on the season and is second in tackles with 53. Stony Brook commit Justis Gaskin has 50 tackles mixed in between 2 interceptions. Eyan also stars on defense as he has 30 tackles, 2 interceptions, 2 forced fumbles, 1 fumble recovery and 2 sacks.

About the Cougars:  

Springfield-Delco comes into their game against Roman Catholic 14-0 and is looking for their first-ever appearance in a state championship game. Offensively, the Cougars are led by their two thousand-yard rushers, Luke Valerio and Tanner Coll, who will both be big problems for the Roman Catholic defense. Sophomore QB John Hopkins is at the Helm for the Cougars, and he has been nothing but impressive this season, throwing for over 1k yards and 14 touchdowns in the air. Hopkins is also able to use his legs very effectively, finding the endzone 7 times on the ground. When Springfield airs it out, it’s usually to Tanner Coll or Mike Neville. Coll has 23 receptions with 352 yards and 3 receiving touchdowns. Neville also has 23 receptions for 299 yards and 4 touchdowns. The Cougars need to be perfect against the Cahillites, and it’s definitely something they are capable of doing. Defensively, Sebastian Simone is the leading tackler. Simone finds himself all over the field while making plays at a high rate. TJ Valetti is third on the team in tackles, but he really excels in deflecting and picking off passes. Maddox Moleski is another star in the secondary, deflecting 12 passes and intercepting 12 passes.

PFN staff writer Anthony Franklin contributed to this preview

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