Roman Catholic Gets the Job Done Against Cardinal O’Hara 24-7

Tagged under: District 12, Gameday Hub, News, pfn

Davin Ridall | October 11, 2026

AMBLER – It may not have been the prettiest win for the Cahillites, but nevertheless it was in fact a win. Roman Catholic got their fourth straight overall win, and their second straight win in Philadelphia Catholic League play, taking down Cardinal O’Hara 24-7.

This game marked the second straight week that Roman Catholic was locked in a low scoring slugfest with a 4A power. Last week, the Cahillites got a 14-6 victory over Bonner-Prendie, who is ranked number 6 in the state, and this week they matched up against Cardinal O’Hara, who has also been hanging around the top 10 rankings this season.

“I want to give a lot of credit to O’Hara and Bonner for the the last two weeks, two really good opponents, and really good for what they do,” Roman Catholic head coach Rick Prete said about the low scoring games the past two weeks. “When it’s time to get after it, or to focus up and make a play, our kids will do it.”

Cardinal O’Hara came into the game on a two game losing streak, suffering losses to Smyrna and St. Joseph’s Prep, so the Lions were really looking to shift momentum in their favor. It seemed like they might have done that early in the game, as on the game’s opening kickoff, Simon Horta took off running and found an opening.

Horta ran down the sideline and nearly broke free for a touchdown, however Haamir Lowry just got enough of Horta’s legs to bring him down, saving what likely would have been a touchdown on the game’s opening play. This turned out to be huge, as Roman Catholic’s defense did not allow the Lions to move the ball at all. In fact, Cardinal O’Hara’s opening drive finished with a net total of negative 16 yards thanks to two big sacks from the Cahillites defense.

“They’re a big physical group, they’re smart like all of our guys, they pay attention to detail,” coach Prete said about the defense. “It’s a really sound group, a group that has great chemistry with each other, it’s a fun group to coach.”

While Roman Catholic’s defense did a great job holding the Lions’ offense in check, Cardinal O’Hara’s defense made a ton of big plays that kept the Cahillites off of the scoreboard through the first quarter. Cardinal O’Hara’s forced four total turnovers in the first quarter, including a turnover on downs on Roman Catholic’s opening possession.

After a second three and out from Cardinal O’Hara’s offense, they punted the ball back to Roman Catholic, however Eisa Neally could not field the punt cleanly allowing Rahnir Clark to jump on top of the football. Despite taking over at Roman Catholic’s 29 yard line, the Cahillites’ didn’t allow a single yard of offense, forcing a turnover on downs. In fact, through the first two drives of the game, Cardinal O’Hara was sitting at negative 17 yards of total offense.

Cardinal O’Hara’s defense came away with two more takeaways, including an interception from Simon Horta on the very next play. The interception led to another three and out, giving the Cahillites the ball right back, but on just second play of that drive, quarterback Jahmil Hawkins coughed up the football on a failed exchange to the running back, allowing Ameen Jackson to recover it.

“I think it was our approach,” coach Prete said about the team’s offensive struggles. “We just need to collectively do better organizationally. Obviously that starts with me, what we are emphasizing and what we do, but we have to score more points, we have got to sustain drives.”

Roman Catholic finally broke through in the second quarter, as a 6 play 57 yard drive was capped off with a 6 yard touchdown run from Trey Montgomery. The Cahillites still only threw for 28 yards on the drive, as they largely benefitted from a pass interference call that gave their offense a much needed boost on a third and long situation.

Cardinal O’Hara’s defense came away with yet another takeaway a few drives later, after Roman Catholic’s Jayden Alford misplayed a punt, allowing the Lions to take over near midfield. Once again though, Roman Catholic held the Lions’ offense completely in check, forcing yet another three and out, their third of the first half.

Taking over at their own 13 inside of the first half’s final two minutes, Roman Catholic was able to beat the clock and capitalize once again, driving 77 yards in just 7 plays, reaching Cardinal O’Hara’s 10 yard line with just 2 seconds left. This allowed a 27 yard field goal from Eli Pollack to extend the lead up to 10-0 at halftime.

The ground game took over for Roman Catholic on the opening drive of the second half, driving 62 yards almost exclusively on run plays. They capped off the 10 play drive with Trey Montgomery’s second touchdown of the afternoon, a 12 yard score that boosted the Cahillites’ lead up to 17-0.

“I think as we’re going on to midseason, we’re starting to figure out who we are and what we want to do,” coach Prete said about Roman Catholic’s rushing attack. “Today was a step in the right direction as far as finding a little bit of an identity offensively, and it starts with getting behind the offensive line and running the ball with Trey and Haniff [Sheed] and so many other guys that we have.”

The Lions could only break through once in the entire game, and it came late in the third quarter. Following a nice run from quarterback Braylon Harris to get Cardinal O’Hara close to midfield, Harris had to leave the game for a play with an injury. So in stepped backup quarterback Myles Hlywak, and on his only snap of the game, he delivered a beautifully placed ball down the sideline to Simon Horta for a 55 yard touchdown.

Cardinal O’Hara’s touchdown cut the lead down to 17-7 late in the third quarter, and that’s where the score stayed for most of the fourth quarter, as both offenses continued to stall. Roman Catholic did find the scoreboard one more time late in the fourth, as Hawkins connected with Jayden Alford who was able to beat Aaron Madeh down the sideline for a 38 yard touchdown, sealing the 24-7 victory.

Roman Catholic with the victory, snatches their fourth straight win and improves to 4-2 on the season, next week they’ll have a road matchup against La Salle College. Cardinal O’Hara loses their third consecutive game and falls to 4-3 on the year, next week they will be back at home welcoming in Bonner-Prendie.