PFN’s Road Trippin’ With Davin: Week 7
Tagged under: District 12, District 2, News, pfn
Davin Ridall | October 9, 2026
We are back ladies and gentleman, had to take a week off of writing due to illness, but after a week of rest and recovery we are back up to full strength. This week we’ve got some more good matchups, as we will be making a trip near my hometown for our Friday matchup, and on Saturday we will be making our way back down near the Philadelphia area for a very high quality matchup.
Hazleton Cougars (1-5) vs Berwick Bulldogs (3-3)
Friday 10/9, 7:00 PM, Crispin Field
The first game of the weekend brings us to historical Crispin Field, the home of the Berwick Bulldogs. Berwick is basically right next to my hometown and it’s where I spent my elementary and middle school days. Berwick is also home to some football greats, most notably one of the greatest coaches to ever do it George Curry. Now the Bulldogs are under the leadership of George’s grandson, CJ Curry, who took over as head coach ahead of the 2024 season. He is currently in his fourth season as Berwick’s head coach, and so far he has a combined record of 21-19, however last season, he helped lead the Bulldogs to their first undefeated regular season 2013. Now the Bulldogs have taken a step back, currently sitting at 3-3 and getting ready to face the Hazleton Cougars who sit at 1-5. Last season when these two sides met, Berwick ran away with the game, winning by a final score of 48-6, Berwick running back Ty’mere Wilkerson ran for 291 yards and 4 touchdowns in that game. Wilkerson, arguably the biggest key to Berwick’s success in 2025, has since graduated, and the Bulldogs’ run game has definitely taken a step back in 2026, however it is still quite underrated. Hazleton has struggled in 2026, last week they were without starting quarterback JJ Lantigua, top running back Xavier Heck, and their leading receiver Jose Lopez, as they fell to 4A power Dallas 56-0. Despite the Cougars’ struggles in the past couple of seasons, the 56-0 loss was the first time that Hazleton had been shutout since 2024, however it still can’t be ignored that the Cougars finished the game with negative 18 total yards of offense. Hazleton also put the ball on the ground 12 times in that game, losing 4 of them. Safe to say that if Hazleton continues to play without these starters, the Cougars could be in major trouble. With all of that said, Berwick still likely has the upper hand in the matchup, injuries or not, however Hazleton has won 4 out of the last 6 matchups against the Bulldogs.
Cardinal O’Hara Lions (4-2) vs Roman Catholic Cahillites (3-2)
Saturday 10/10, 1:00 PM, Trojan Stadium
Saturday brings us down to Ambler, Pennsylvania, a little over 90 miles southeast from my hometown, and its the home of the Wissahickon Trojans. However that’s not who we are here to see in this game, instead it is a matchup between two Philadelphia Catholic League Red Division powers, the Cardinal O’Hara Lions, and the Roman Catholic Cahillites. Cardinal O’Hara has been a bit of a surprise this year, they finished 10-5 last year and came up just one game shy of the state title game, falling in the state semifinals to the eventual state champion Southern Lehigh Spartans. Six weeks into the season, and this team has looked strong, as they opened up the season with four straight wins over Audenried Charter, Conwell-Egan, Neumann Goretti, and West Catholic. They did lose two weeks ago to Delaware power Smryna by just two points, but following that game began league play. They opened up league play with a 28-7 loss to St. Joseph’s Prep, who isn’t as strong this year as they have been in years past, but still a power nonetheless. Now they face Roman Catholic, another 6A power, possibly one even stronger than St. Joseph’s Prep. Roman Catholic is fresh off of a 5A state title in 2025, beating Bishop McDevitt 28-6. This year they are competing in 6A, with the likes of St. Joseph’s Prep and La Salle College, both of which have taken a bit of a step back this year, so this has opened the door for the Cahillites to possibly take control of the Red Division. They opened up the year with two losses against California power St. John Bosco and New Jersey power Don Bosco Prep, but have since followed that up with wins over DeMatha Catholic, Springside Chestnut Hill Academy, and Bonner-Prendie, all very high quality opponents. Roman Catholic was victorious last season when these two teams met, winning 33-7, but keep your eyes on this matchup as things could get very interesting.
You can follow all of these games by following my twitter account @dridallmedia and for coverage of everything Pennsylvania high school football related, follow @PaFootballNews on twitter.
