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Roman Catholic Gets Going in 2nd Half Survives Chestnut Hill Academy Upset Bid

Tagged under: District 12, Gameday Hub, News, Non-PIAA, pfn

| September 6, 2025

CHESTER: After opening the season with a battle-tested road game against the North Carolina powerhouse Providence Day, followed by a trip to Florida last week to battle Cardinal Newman, the Roman Catholic Cahillites finally played a game on Pennsylvania soil. The top-ranked team in 5A by PFN Cahillites went 1-1 on their trips. On Friday night, they were tested once again, this time by Chestnut Hill Academy. The Cahillites battled to a scoreless tie in the first half before the Cahillites pulled away in the 2nd half, walking away from Widener University Hirschmann Field with a 21-12 victory over the tough Blue Devils.

“That’s a good football team over there.” Cahillite head coach Rick Prete said of the Blue Devils, adding, “They have playmakers in different areas, so they are able to put a lot pressure on you, but our defense had moments where they bent but didn’t break, so that was good to see.”

After winning the toss and electing to receive, the Blue Devils came out fired up, marching right down the field on the Cahillites’ defense, reaching their 3-yard line before a combination of a bad snap and a QB sack forced the Blue Devils into a to goal situation from the Cahillite 47, forcing them to punt.

After forcing a Cahillite punt on their first drive, the Blue Devils once again reached Cahillite territory before having to settle for yet another punt. The Blue Devils defense also forced and recovered a Cahillite fumble on their second drive of the game, but once again couldn’t come away with points.

The Cahillites did appear to have taken the lead in the second quarter when Samaj Beals connected with Eisa Nealy on a swing pass for a 71-yard touchdown, only to have it be wiped out by a holding penalty. Charlie McFadden ended another Cahillite drive in the second quarter when he intercepted Beals. And putting an end to what was a sloppy opening of 24 minutes of play that saw the Blue Devils have a total of eight plays that went for nearly negative 100 yards, while the Cahillites had their two turnovers.

After both teams traded turnovers on downs to start the second half, the Cahillites’ offense finally showed signs of life, piecing together an 80-yard drive that was capped by Trey Montgomery’s 1-yard touchdown run. After the game, Montgomery wanted to express his affection to the guys up front who opened holes for him and allowed him to score, saying, “I love my offensive line; they open holes for me every time I run it.”

On their next possession, the Cahillites extended their lead, relying on their Akron commit Beals, who shook off an uncharacteristic first half to bounce back in the second half, completing his last 12 passes on his way to an 18 of 27 passing for 178 yards and a touchdown performance. His touchdown pass gave the Cahillites the 14-0 lead by connecting with Jayden Alford for the score.

The feisty Blue Devils weren’t about without a fight, and it was the two-headed monster in their backfield, QB Liam Zelman (Holy Cross commit) and RB Will Howard, who led them down the field for their first score, an 11-yard run by Zelman. Zelman finished the game with 136 yards on 13 carries, while Howard finished with 124 yards. The Blue Devils missed their extra point attempt, keeping it 14-6.

With his team nursing an 8-point lead, Sabir Dawson knew exactly what his team needed, and for the second week in a row, he delivered a defensive touchdown, intercepting Zelman and returning it 39 yards to put the Cahillites up 21-6.

“We were in zone, my coach told me if they pass get to my zone, saw the pass got to my zone, saw the ball and had to pick it off,” Dawson said about his interception.


The Blue Devils made things interesting with 2:19 left in the game, reaching into their bag of tricks with Zelman throwing a lateral to Joe Markey, who then found a wide-open Braylon Harris for a 25-yard touchdown. The extra point again was no good for the Blue Devils, and the Cahillites recovered the ensuing onside kick, sealing the 21-12 victory.

Next week, the Cahillites (2-1) return to Widener University when they host Maryland powerhouse DeMatha Catholic, who will look to make it 3 victories in a row over Philadelphia teams when they battle. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 pm. The Blue Devils (1-1) will look to get back into the win column when they travel to Abraham Lincoln for a 3 pm kickoff.

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