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FOOTBALL: Say What?? Roman Catholic Upset Victory over La Salle Heard from Here to Denmark

By John Knebels ( photos/video by Patty Morgan), 10/14/21, 4:45PM EDT

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By John Knebels

Photos: Patty Morgan

 

Those who thought Roman Catholic’s football team had a realistic shot at defeating La Salle last Saturday, raise your hand.

Stand by. A lie detector is heading your way.

After confirmation that the visiting Cahillites had upended the previously undefeated Explorers, 27-20, there was an understandable sense of disbelief. It wasn’t directed at Roman Catholic, which fields a fine squad and has displayed promising flashes throughout the fall.

But for the first time in six seasons, La Salle had just defeated the kings of the Philadelphia Catholic League, St. Joseph’s Prep, the previous week.

“You have to be a real football person to understand where we are,” said Roman Catholic coach Rick Prete. “We purposely scheduled to play against great competition. To get to a different level, to compete with some of the best teams in the state, you have to challenge yourself.” 

The Cahillites (3-4 overall, 1-1 Catholic League Red Division) seized command early with leads of 7-0 and 14-7, but late in the second quarter, LaSalle (6-1, 1-1) tied the game at 14-14. As the third quarter began, odds suggested that the Explorers would command momentum, but behind a mostly meticulous offense led by sophomore running back/cornerback Tyseer Denmark (three rushing touchdowns, one receiving touchdown of 67 yards, seven receptions, 235 yards of total offense) and sophomore quarterback John Ingram (career-high 233 yards passing, one touchdown), and a fiery defense, the Cahillites were tied at 20-20 heading into the most important 12 minutes of their football lives.

Midway through the fourth, La Salle was driving and faced a fourth-and-two inside the Roman 40. A power-on-power rush won by Roman’s defense – particularly Denmark, who from his post at cornerback attacked the backfield and made the definitive stop – completely altered the momentum.

“We know the level of program that La Salle is,” said Prete. “You have to play great defense to beat them, or you don’t have a chance. That and minimize mistakes.

“We didn’t play an error-free game by any means, but some mistakes that we had made in past games, we didn’t make against La Salle. As the game continued, our confidence grew. We believed that we would win.”

On a third-and-goal from the one with two minutes remaining in regulation, Denmark plowed home behind a dominant offensive line for his 16th touchdown of the season with a minimum of three games remaining.

Roman Catholic Sophomore RB/WR Tyseer Denmark takes us thru His last touchdown and the excitement of this shocking victory. (video/Patty Morgan for PSD)

Interestingly, the Cahillites did not react as though they had clinched the win as one might expect from a young team on the precipice of a major upset. Earlier at the end of the first half, La Salle had needed less than two minutes to find the end zone, and Roman Catholic was determined to learn its lesson.

“When you see a team acting like they have been there before,” said Prete, “that’s the kind of maturity that you want to see.”

Roman secured the decision when junior defensive end Jamieal Lyons used his entire 6-foot, 5-inch frame to reach up and intercept a pass near midfield.

Ballgame.

 

Roman Catholic's Tyseer Denmark poses with his family after a stunning  27-20  victory over La Salle. Denmark scored four touchdowns, sealing the Cahillites win. (Photo/Patty Morgan for PSD)

Roman Catholic vs. La Salle College Highschool 10/9 (gameday highlights taken by Patty Morgan)

“It was a very emotional moment for the team,” said junior linebacker Santino DeSimone. “I don’t think anyone was expecting us to win, and that makes sense. I think the emotions came from the fact that we hadn’t beaten La Salle since 2007, so that really had us going, and also because of how La Salle is one of, if not the, best teams in the state.

“Honestly, though, when we scored the first touchdown of the game and our defense started to shut them down, everybody just started to feel that we had this.”

So as contests versus Father Judge (Saturday) and St. Joseph’s (October 22) beckon, what now?

“We need to keep working and not let this get to our heads,” said DeSimone. “It was an outstanding win, but we need to keep our composure and keep working harder. Our schedule gets harder and harder form this point on, so letting up now wouldn’t be good.”  

(John Knebels can be reached at Jknebels@gmail.com or on Twitter @johnknebels.)