SPRINGFIELD, PA- The game went Cardinal O’Hara’s way from the opening kickoff as they hosted Bishop McDevitt in Friday night’s league opener.
After Bishop McDevitt fumbled the kickoff, O’Hara senior quarterback Tommy O’Hara punched in one of his two rushing touchdowns on the following drive to make it 6-0 Lions early in the first quarter.
O’Hara would go on to throw for another two touchdowns to help lead the Lions to a 35-14 victory over Catholic League foe Bishop McDevitt.
The Lions are now 4-0 overall and 1-0 in the Catholic League.
“It makes a statement to the rest of the Catholic League,” O’Hara said.
Lions QB Tommy O'Hara scored two rushing TD's vs. McDevitt - PSD Photo
With O’Hara commanding the offense, the Lions had no problem moving the ball through the air.
In the beginning of the second quarter, O’Hara tossed a 21-yard pass that was tipped off of junior defensive back Jaron Macon’s hands and caught by junior wide receiver Justin Santilla in the corner of the end zone for a touchdown.
The tandem later connected on a 33-yard pass to put the Lions up 21-7 with 7:14 remaining in the second quarter.
“Me and Tom grew up together since we were like seven or eight year’s old,” Santilla said. “We’ve been out here for the longest time. We just do it every day. We come out here every day in the summer, work on it, work on it, until it can’t be stopped.”
On the night, O’Hara went 6/8, threw for 68-yards and recorded two touchdowns. He also led the Lions in rushing with 110 yards on the ground on 12 attempts and two touchdowns. Santilla hauled in five catches for 69-yards and two touchdowns.
McDevitt answered early in the first quarter after O’Hara’s first touchdown of the night. Senior quarterback Max Bryson rolled out to his left and tossed a 17-yard pass to Macon to put the Lancers ahead 7-6 with 4:12 remaining in the first quarter.
The drive featured a heavy dosage of senior running back DiAvante Lloyd, who rushed for 63-yards on 13 carries.
While Lloyd did find holes and blow past the Lions for a few big gains, senior defensive lineman Des Holmes and company kept him bottled up for majority of the game.
The Lancers did not find O’Hara’s end zone again until Bryson threw a 13-yard touchdown pass to senior wide receiver Frank Illingworth with 9:03 left in the fourth quarter.
With a comfortable lead on the board, O’Hara’s head coach B.J. Hogan leaned on his running game in the second half to solidify the win.
The Lions rushed for 277-yards on the night featuring a committee of three running backs. Te’ron Johnson racked up 76-yards and a touchdown, while Nick Kutufaris and Myles Henderson picked up 35 and 66-yards.
“We got three backs that can really run very well,” O’Hara said. “They have their own little thing that they add. We have one guy who’s a little thicker, he’s tough, he can run. One guy is a little faster, and the one guy is just straight line speed.”
The Lions’ next matchup features another Catholic League rival Bonner-Prendergast, who is 1-2 this season.
Last season, the Lions lost to Bonner 20-0.
Hogan said he’s excited for next week’s matchup against Bonner, but preparation during the week will be key in beating a Catholic League opponent for the second consecutive week.
“We’re going to win this game Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday,” Hogan said. “It’s not going to be won on Friday night. Bonner does a great job. We got to get back to the basics on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.”