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Roman Catholic crushes Springfield-Delco in PIAA 5A Semi-finals

Tagged under: District 1, District 12, Game Photos-Videos, pfn, Playoffs

| November 29, 2025

Semaj Beals throws for 5 touchdowns in double-digit win

The Roman Catholic Cahillites dominated Springfield-Delco Saturday afternoon, taking down the Cougars 48-20 and advancing to yet another PIAA State Championship.

Here were my thoughts pre-game.

Springfield Delco won the toss and elected to defer, giving Roman Catholic the ball to start the game. Roman Catholic got themselves rolling early, playing at a very high pace and completing passes at an efficient rate, landing them down inside the 15-yard line. Beals and his Cahillites found themselves facing fourth down early, but they were able to convert for a huge first down. Right after the first down conversion, Beals hit his open receiver, Eyan Stead, on the screen pass. Stead leaped his way into the endzone to put Roman on the board first and give them the 7-0 lead.

The Cougars took the Roman Catholic kickoff 40 yards, putting them in fantastic field position for their first drive of the game. Springfield-Delco began driving early, sticking to what they do best with the run game of Luke Valerio and Tanner Coll. Springfield quickly turned it right back over to the Cahillites as Hopkins’ pass was picked off by Eyan Stead. Steads’ Interception return put Roman over the 50-yard line for their second drive of the game.

Semaj Beals wasted no time after the interception, launching one deep on the first play of the drive for Ash Roberts, who made the catch and ran it in for a 48-yard Roman Catholic touchdown. The Cahillites now led 14-0 over Springfield-Delco.

The Cougars could not get anything going on their next offensive drive and had to punt it right back to the Cahillites.

Roman Catholic continued their offensive dominance after the Springfield punt with yet another huge catch and score. Semaj Beals launched another deep bomb downfield for Ash Roberts, completing a 41-yard pass and score, putting Roman Catholic up 21-0 over Springfield-Delco.

Springfield-Delco continued with the run game throughout the rest of the 1st quarter, and it was very successful.  Tanner Coll and Luke Valerio both pitched in on massive first downs, bringing the Cougars over midfield heading into the second quarter. John Hopkins pitched it off to Luke Valerio on the first play of the quarter. Valerio found open space and raced toward the pylon, diving in and hitting the marker for a Cougars touchdown. Springfield-Delco still trailed, but now by 14, with the score 21-7 in favor of Roman Catholic.

Both teams punted on their next drives, and Roman Catholic would take over, still up 21-7.

Roman Catholic kick-started their drive with a huge rush from RB, Trey Montgomery, bringing them over the 50 and into Cougar territory. Shortly after the huge rush, Semaj Beals found an open receiver in Maajid Williams over the middle of the field. Williams took a few more steps before diving into the endzone for another Cahillite score. Roman put themselves up 28-7 with 6:53 left in the half.

The Cougars had to punt it away once more on their next offensive possession, giving Roman Catholic the ball on their own 10-yard line with 3 minutes left in the first half.

Semaj Beals and his offense got off to a hot start from their own 10, finding themselves in Springfield territory thanks to a huge reception from Eisa Nealy. The Cahillites stuck with the air once more, with Hanif Sheed hauling in a screen pass from Beals for yet another Roman Catholic touchdown, this time a 20-yard catch and run. The Cahillites led 35-14 after the Sheed score with 1:02 left in the half.

Springfield-Delco ran out the remainder of the clock in the half, taking us to the halftime break.

Roman Catholic found themselves dominating on the offensive side of the ball, with Semaj Beals throwing for 265 yards and 5 touchdowns in the first half. The Cahillites showed off their talents in the first half and gave Springfield-Delco tons to think about during the break.

Here were my thoughts at the halftime break.

Coming out of the halftime break, Springfield-Delco received the opening kickoff. The Cougars stuck to the run game and ended up in the red zone early. Hopkins took the snap and aired it out; his pass was intercepted at the 10-yard line by Haamir Lowry. The Cahillite defense held strong and forced a turnover.

The first play on offense for Roman Catholic after the INT was a turnover. Semaj Beals was intercepted, and the Cougars had the ball at the 1-yard line. Springfield was able to capitalize on the INT, punching it home with Luke Valerio for his second score of the game. Springfield still trailed, but now by a score of 35-14.

Roman Catholic always has an answer. The Cahillites used the run game in the third quarter, handing it off to Tre Montgomery and Hanif Sheed, who both had quality runs to put Roman inside the 20. Beals did not throw a pass in the third quarter and instead tossed it to Eyan Stead. Stead made a few nice moves before reaching the endzone for another Roman Catholic touchdown. The Cahillites led 42-14 with 3 minutes left in the third quarter.

Springfield-Delco could not get anything rolling on the offensive side of the ball, and Hopkins was intercepted for the third time. Justin Gaskin picked off Hopkins and returned it all the way back for a Cahillite touchdown. Springfield had to punt it away after the pick 6, and Roman Catholic was right back on offense, up 48-14.

Roman Catholic emptied out the bench heading into the fourth quarter, and Jahmil Hawkins took over at QB. There was three consecutive turnovers to start the fourth quarter, with Hawkins being intercepted, Springfield-Delco fumbling and Roman Catholic fumbling.

The remainder of the game was used for chewing up clock, but the Cougars did find the endzone on the last drive of the game, making the score 48-20 in favor of the Cahillites.

Roman Catholic will now advance to the PIAA 5A State Championship and will face Bishop McDevitt. The Cahillites showed true dominance this afternoon in an action-packed victory.

After the game, I got to talk with Akron commit QB Semaj Beals. Beals was truly spectacular and was a true leader during Romans’ double-digit semi-final victory.

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