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Lions Remain Untamed
Overcome rough first half for sixth straight victory
by Marcus Wright
10/6/08
Highlights
 South Philadelphia, PA - As the 2008 Varsity Football season heads into the second gear, everything seems to be turned up a notch. The buzz in the air is louder. The hits are bigger. And every down counts more. This hasn't been any truer for Cardinal O' Hara this season than this past Friday night, where one play turned around the entire game for the Lions, and helped them overcome an ugly first half to claim a 21-14 victory over Roman Catholic.
The Cahillites' defense could not have played any better in the first half. Sacking Lions star quarterback Tom Savage countless times, they were unrelenting and focused. They also accounted for the only score in the half, a 7 yard interception return for a touchdown by senior running back Kasseim Everett. Although the defense held O'Hara in check, the Roman offense was unable to get much of anything save for rushing yards from Everett (he finished the game with 119 yards rushing).
The Lions' fortunes turned on their first play from scrimmage in the second half. Savage hit senior wide receiver Billy Morgan on a screen to the left side that Morgan turned into a 71 yard touchdown. The tide of the entire game turned after that. O'Hara went on to notch another touchdown on an 18 yard touchdown from Savage to senior receiver Bob Royal. The Lions tacked on to this lead with a 13 yard fumble recovery for a touchdown off of a mishandled Roman punt attempt. The recovery was by senior Evan Higgins, who had a great game subbing for junior tailback Corey Brown, adding in 86 yards on the ground.
A late touchdown by Everett for Roman was not enough, and O'Hara held on for the 21-14 victory.
With the win, the Lions remain undefeated at 6-0 and look to plow on to an undefeated season. This will be tough, however, as they must first avoid any trap game syndrome next week against winless Archbishop Ryan, before finishing up with three tough games against St. Joe's Prep, Father Judge, and Lasalle.
MW's Analysis: This was my first time seeing O'Hara this year and I have to say that they are BIG. QB Tom Savage will be going to my alma mater of Rutgers next year (GO R-U!), hopefully he will save the program! I liked his resiliency...tough first half as Roman roughed him up, but he persevered and came through in the second half for the Lions. Royal and Morgan had some nice catches to help him out.
Evan Higgins had a great game subbing for Corey Brown. With subs like that, who needs starters? Well of course you still need starters, but...oh never mind. O'Hara's screen passes killed the Cahillites.
Kasseim Everett is the big weapon for Roman, and O'Hara kept him at bay even though he had over 100 yards on the ground. Roman's passing game could not get started at all; the O'Hara d'backs kept Roman's receivers in check the entire way. Kudo's to Roman's defense for playing very hard and keeping the team in the game.
There were some very big hits in this game. Overall this was a good, physical contest, and there was NO RAIN which made it a pleasure to watch. Funny moment of the evening: I drive into the parking lot and ask the guy next to me in a parked car if this was the right parking lot, and it turned out to be Beasley Reece of CBS 3! Thanks to him for doing our opening spot for the highlight video.
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