Cardinal O’Hara was trailing at halftime 17-10. But in the end it was the special teams that would lift the Lions over Roman Catholic Saturday night.
The Lion’s defense in the second half provided big sacks, blocked punts, a safety by Paul Eisenacher and an interception by Adam Dempsey early in the fourth quarter.
With the win Cardinal O’Hara improves their record to 4-0 with the 36-24 win over Roman Catholic.
Cardinal O’Hara head coach Danny Algeo said, “ This is a huge win for us. I think traditionally we’re a very good defensive team. But on special teams we just want to make sure they create good field position for us. They did a great job of that in the second half.”
This night included big offensive plays by both teams.
In the first quarter O’Hara’s quarterback Ryan Laughlin found a wide-open Damiere Shaw for a 79-yard score. Not to be out down by that play, he hit Tyler Gallen on a slant pass that went 92-yards for a score.
In between the O’Hara scoring, Roman Catholic’s running back Marcus Kelly scored on a 34-yard run. O’Hara led 14-7 after one quarter.
Roman Catholic went into halftime leading 17-14. Michael Keir connected with William Fuller for a 53-yard score strike. Kyle Haber finished off the scoring in the half with a 39-yard field goal.
O’Hara dominated the third quarter by outscoring Roman Catholic 15-0 in the quarter.
Big plays by Laughlin led the way. Laughlin scored on a one-yard run and found Brendan McLaughlin for a 34-yard touchdown pass.
The O’Hara defense added to the lead by getting a safety. They led 29-17.
Kier led his team to a touchdown to cut the O’Hara lead to 29-24 early in the fourth quarter.
With 1:30 left in the game Dempsey would ice the win with a 41-yard burst for the score. O’Hara won a hard fought game over Roman Catholic 36-24.
Laughlin finished the game with 275 yards passing.
Dempsey talked about his touchdown run, “The line blocked unbelievable today. But my goal is just to seek the end zone on every play.”
Cardinal O’Hara hosts Chester next week. Roman Catholic plays LaSalle.
