The Saints have only played one non-league game, losing to Penn Charter, 21-0, despite senior Shawn Battle’s 87 total yards and noteworthy defensive performances by senior Samuel Hobbs (11 combined tackles), senior Yasir Williams (interception) and junior Khari Reid (interception).  

As the Saints prepare to open at Lansdale Catholic on September 17 (at Wissahickon), Neumann-Goretti senior guard Jose Rivera doesn’t mind the pressure.

“We keep it in the back of our minds, but every season we wipe our slate clean,” said Rivera. “We want new goals and new records, and just to be better than the year before. Our coach shows us that, win or lose, we have ourselves as a team and as a family. And we’ll just learn from the experience and get better.

“We have been recognized as one of the best teams for a while now, but this doesn’t add pressure to us. We’re used to walking with a target on our back, and this just makes us work harder not to beat ourselves. If we win, there are still things to correct. If we lose, it’s because we didn’t do something right among ourselves. We’ve never succumbed to any ‘pressure’; we’ve always broken barriers and shown our talents, skill, and great work ethic as a unit.” 

Bonner-Prendergast came within a touchdown of snaring the division crown last year, but a 26-20 loss to Neumann-Goretti placed the Friars in second place. They eventually lost a heartbreaking 14-7 decision to Bishop Shanahan in the PIAA playoffs.

The Friars opened with a 12-0 shutout over neighborhood rival Upper Darby before being edged, 14-12, by Haverford School. They will host Archbishop Carroll on September 16.

“Since the Catholic League season officially starts up this week, the team is real focused and locked in as usual,” said two-way junior Austin Cannon. “We are a real good team and have each other’s backs. I know each player on the team is getting more excited and hyped up, knowing we can be Catholic League champions.

“We are gonna have to be ready one game at a time and stay mentally ready throughout the rest of the season. We have three goals this year and it is to be PCL champs, then city league champs, and win a state championship.”

Early standouts on defense include junior Isaiah Session (7 solo tackles, 4 assists, 3 sacks), senior Nick Smith (7-3-10), sophomore Mick Johnson (7-1-4), junior Zac Coneys (6-2-3), and junior Wykil Fowler (8-5-0).

Senior Colin Majors leads a dominant backfield that has already amassed 673 yards on the ground. Majors (315 yards, four total touchdowns) gouged Upper Merion for 156 yards. Junior teammate Tayshaun Thenor added 106 yards and two touchdowns; junior Sam Cooper rushed for 76 yards and two scores.

Junior Gavin Pond has been credited with 11 solo tackles and seven sacks. Senior Luke Trunell (seven solos, three sacks) and sophomore Sincere Fairey (eight, two) are right behind him. 

“What we want to do as a team is to ‘buy in’ and play for each other, and to also compete,” said Majors. “Our head coach, Jack Techtman, and the coaching staff have made a game plan for us. We as a team just need to execute in order for us to be successful in the PCL Blue Division.”

Sophomore quarterback Tommy Gontz was perfect in the opener, finishing 8-for-8 for 117 yards and two touchdowns. He completed 16 of 29 for 251 yards and a score versus Judge. Senior Rich Paczewski, sophomore Damien Morgan, and senior Aidan Clancy have combined for 13 catches for 223 yards and two touchdowns.

Against Frankford, junior end Nick Rogers was a force with three solo tackles, one assist, one sack, a fumble recovery, and a blocked punt returned for a touchdown as the Raiders held Frankford to only 97 yards in overall defense.

“We are a young team with a lot of versatile players,” said Ryan coach Bill Murphy. “We are excited about our kids and what we are building here. Our younger guys are going to gain a lot of experience this year and get reps that will benefit them for them in the long run.

“I feel like our seniors have done a good job of making the young guys feel at home and part of our family. Guys like McDermott Murphy, (senior) Jack Ruskowski, Richie Paczewski, and (senior) Sean Roemhild aren’t just good players and captains for us. They have also gone above and beyond in the off-season, growing our culture.”

In a loss to Episcopal Academy, sophomore Khalil Epps caught five passes for 58 yards while senior Gavin LeSage added six for 42.

On defense, sophomore Kobena Okyne has been involved in 20 tackles and a sack. Senior Edmund Wisseh (nine solos, six assists, two sacks), senior John Shelton (eight solos, five assists), and Hakim Allah (three sacks) have shined.

O’Hara opens Saturday at West Catholic.

“I feel like our team is continuing to mesh together and I’m excited for them to start league play,” said Ewing. “Our captains (seniors John Shelton, Gavin LeSage, CJ Stolzer, and Edmund Wisseh) are leading a very young team and are doing a great job leading by example, showing the underclassmen how to be great teammates.” 

Senior wide receiver/safety Xavier Tran shares his coach’s enthusiasm.

“I feel that as a team, we have built a lot more confidence in ourselves while also learning a lot as a whole unit,” said Tran. “We plan to use what we learned and practiced and bring it to the PCL. 

Led by junior Semaj Williams (17 combined tackles, two sacks) and sophomore Jaden Meekins (11, two), six different Burrs have contributed multiple sacks. They’ll look to do it again when they host Cardinal O’Hara on September 17.

“When we look to schedule non-conference games, we want to compete at the highest level,” said West coach Brian Wood. “Because West Catholic is classified as (Class) 2A, many schools will not play us. We appreciate the schools giving us that opportunity to get better. 

“We as a coaching staff feel very confident that we will have a better season than last year. Senior leadership has really changed the mindset of this team, and we feel this will make us better during the later stages of the season.”

At Lansdale Catholic, an uncommon 1-6 finish from last season is becoming a distant memory. The Crusaders have already tripled their success from a year ago. Three victories by a composite score of 139 to 32 have LC looking like a PCL contender when it hosts Neumann-Goretti on September 16.

“When you play non-league games, we take the approach that you are preparing for your league opener,” said Lansdale Catholic coach Dom D’Addona. “As we open for the league, we believe we have as good a chance as anyone in our division to be successful.”

The Crusaders have already scored a whopping 13 rushing touchdowns. Junior quarterback Cole Meehan has completed 31 of 39 passes for 498 yards and seven touchdowns.

Sophomore Jacahi Streeter is a double threat, as displayed by gaining 171 rushing yards and three touchdowns against Boys Latin in Ocean City, NJ, and catching four passes for 154 yards against New Hope-Solebury. 

Defensively, the Crusaders have only surrendered 292 yards of offense and only 89 on 44 rushes.

Junior James Wright notched an interception. The Patriots visit Bonner-Prendergast on September 16.

“We feel battle tested and ready for what's coming next,” said coach Kyle Detweiler. “There’s definitely a different energy when league play starts, and you certainly feel it when you are grinding through the league schedule week in and week out.

“The storied history of the Philadelphia Catholic League has a lot to do with that, but the reality is there are so many really great choices for private schools in our area. We compete with each other to try and enroll the same types of kids and a lot of times our kids know or are friends with kids at these other schools and so the fight for bragging rights adds to that energy.”

Detweiler described the loss to EEAC as “brutally tough,” but is encouraged by how the defense has steadily improved.

“Our defensive line has had some truly outstanding performances thus far,” he said. “Offensively, we are still trying to find our footing and find an identity. That's not an answer anyone wants to have after the season is underway, but injuries early on and a quarterback carousel derailed a lot of the plans we had out the gate. We're relying on our defense to keep us afloat while we shuffle the deck around offensively and figure out how to manufacture points.”