O'Hara hangs on to defeat Conwell-Egan, 16-13
Cardinal O'Hara played exceptionally well on defense in the first half, holding Conwell-Egan to 83 total yards and three first downs and forcing three second-quarter turnovers in the Catholic League Blue Division showdown.
Cardinal O'Hara played exceptionally well on defense in the first half, holding Conwell-Egan to 83 total yards and three first downs and forcing three second-quarter turnovers in the Catholic League Blue Division showdown.
"We were just real amped up," junior inside linebacker Stefan Borcky said. "Everyone was handling their assignments and executing the things we had practiced all week."
Despite their dominance and a pair of scores in the opening 24 minutes, the visiting Lions needed a missed extra-point kick and late safety to escape the Eagles, 16-13, Friday night at Harry S Truman.
With O'Hara nursing a 14-7 advantage, Conwell-Egan quarterback Kendall Jones escaped for a 34-yard touchdown with 2 minutes, 38 seconds remaining. But the conversion boot, possibly slightly deflected by Cameron Blair, missed to the left.
Coach B.J. Hogan's squad stayed perfect with the taut victory, improving to 7-0 and 4-0 in the Blue Division. Had they won, the Eagles (5-2, 3-1) would have have been the odds-on favorite to claim top honors.
After fumbling the ball away at the Conwell-Egan 6-yard line on their first possession, the Lions regained possession and went in front on Tommy O'Hara's 16-yard toss to wideout Justin Santilla on a fade route.
Two plays earlier, O'Hara, who completed 9 of 20 passes for 137 yards, found Jamir Redd for a 28-yard gain.
The Eagles fumbled the ball away three times in the second frame. After the first miscue, junior halfback Nick Kutafaris found a right-side seam and darted 48 yards to make it 14-0.
Conwell-Egan reached the O'Hara 14 late in the second quarter but fumbled again. This time, strong safety Jack Gibson was there to make the recovery.
On the Eagles' first second-half possession, Patrick Garwo cut the deficit in half - and capped a nine-play, 75-yard series - on a 2-yard run around right end.
The Lions defense was spearheaded up front by tackles Stephon Brown and Colin Hickey, ends Montez Spearman and Tyric Gould, and linebackers Borcky, Redd and Cameron Blair.
Conwell-Egan took over at its own 5 with 46 seconds to go. But Gould's sack of Jones in the end zone resulted in a clinching safety.
Cardinal O'Hara 7 7 0 2 - 16
Conwell-Egan 0 0 7 6 - 13
CO: Justin Santilla 16 pass from Tommy O'Hara (Kevin Calamita kick)
CO: Nick Kutufaris 48 run (Calamita kick)
CE: Patrick Garwo 2 (Jack Barreras kick)
CE: Kendall Jones 34 run (kick failed)
CO: Safety
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