Bonner and O’Hara prepare to fight for the Class 4A Catholic League title

Cardinal O’Hara jumped out to a 35-point lead Friday night and then cruised to a 44-23 victory over Archbishop Ryan in the Class 4A Catholic League semifinals.

With the win, O’Hara will advance to visit neighboring Bonner & Prendergast for the Catholic League 4A title next Friday at 5 p.m. The winner of this tournament advances to the District 12 title against Public League opposition.

Lions cornerback John Weld started things off by hitting Khalil Epps for a 41-yard pass on the first play from scrimmage. Sidique Kamara ran from eight yards out to complete the drive and give the Lions a 7-0 lead.

Amaj Gowans scored on a 10-yard run late in the first quarter, then Welde connected with John Brown for a touchdown pass with 7:10 left in the second quarter. O’Hara entered the locker room with a 21-0 halftime lead.

Epps quickly added to that with an 80-yard touchdown run to start the second half. Then on the ensuing kick, Aaron Made recovered the ball and O’Hara took over again. Welde hit Epps to take the ball to the 1-yard line, and Gowans capped it with a rush for a 35-0 lead early in the third quarter.

Ryan finally got points on the board with a 72-yard drive, but Gowans was soon passing men en route to a 15-yard score for a 41-7 advantage.

Bonner and Prendergast 49, arch. Wood 14 >> Bonner & Prendy quarterback Noel Campbell threw four touchdown passes and passed for 200 yards as the Friars won their Class 4A semifinal game over the Vikings.

Campbell threw touchdown passes to Jalil Hall, Jeremiah Coleman, Brady Muldoon and Rob Ford.

“We started early,” Bonner & Prendie coach Jack Muldoon said. “Nolan had a great night…special teams and our defense played very well.”

Mike Johnson had a 48-yard touchdown run for the Friars (8-2) and Salim Frank added a six-yard score. Defensive tackle Khalil Holley, cornerback C.J. Abobi and cornerback Brett Johnson all had outstanding games.

Marple Newtown 20, Pottsgrove 0 >> Brett Wolski got the Tigers started with a 47-yard touchdown run late in the first quarter in a close Class 5A District 1 first-round game.

The score remained the same until the fourth quarter, when Jack Dean intercepted a pass at the Marple 44 and returned it to the Pottsgrove 4. That ended Louis DiLuzio’s three-yard scoring run. With less than three minutes left, Brian Box sealed the win with an 11-yard touchdown run, setting up the ninth-ranked Tigers to face No. 1 Springfield in the quarterfinals next Friday.