The script goes like this: Standout player is injured and lost for the season. Team steps up its game and upsets opponents in the NJSIAA tournament. Film at 11.

When Camden Catholic's 6-foot-5 Tyler DeLecce suffered a season-ending knee injury against Washington Township on Jan. 31, it appeared to signal the demise of the Irish. After all, DeLecce was the Irish's top scorer and a leader on last year's amazing playoff run.

But instead of slipping, Camden Catholic has used the injury as a rallying cry.

Just like last season.

A year ago, Camden Catholic's Anthony "A.J." Jeune was severely injured in a car accident, but the Irish - with emotional chants of "A.J." filling the gym whenever the team needed an inspirational lift - somehow reached the sectional final.

A rerun is taking place. Camden Catholic is 10-2 since DeLecce's injury, including yesterday's surprising 53-47 playoff win over a Paul VI team that had won 25 straight - and had defeated the Irish twice in the regular season.

The Irish won yesterday's Holy War with two sophomores leading the way. They won with a starting lineup composed of three sophomores, a junior, and just one senior. They won with their leading scorer sitting on the bench in street clothes, mindful he will have knee surgery down the road.

"Of all the teams I've coached, this one has improved the most at the end of the season," said Camden Catholic coach/miracle worker Jim Crawford, owner of a 606-202 record in 30 seasons at the school. "They're young, but they're eager."

And playing with poise beyond their years.

Tim Crawford (the coach's nephew) and Gerry Wixted, a pair of 6-6 sophomores, combined for 32 points and 23 rebounds yesterday. Anthony D'Orazio, a sophomore who has replaced DeLecce in the starting lineup, contributed three points during a game-sealing 12-2 run in the final minutes.

The three sophomores - and veterans Jahseer Bronson (junior) and Mike McElhatton (senior) - have the Irish on the verge of winning an improbable sectional title.

The sophomores started emerging around the time DeLecce suffered his torn anterior cruciate ligament against Washington Township. At halftime of that game, Jim Crawford stood in front of his players and didn't mince words.

"We've been through this drill before," he told them.

He was referring to Jeune's situation.

"They knew exactly what I was talking about," Crawford said after yesterday's emotional victory. "They knew they had to step up, and they believed in themselves."

The sophs looked like seniors yesterday and helped prevent Paul VI from becoming the second team to defeat the Irish three times in one season during Crawford's remarkable tenure.

Maybe Camden Catholic, which will face a strong inside team when it plays Holy Spirit in Tuesday's delicious-looking South Jersey Non-Public A final, was hungrier. Maybe it was because of the payback factor.

Or maybe three sophomores forgot to act their age.