PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — For the first time in school history, Roman Catholic High School in Philadelphia will be playing for the state football title.
Roman Catholic will take on Bishop McDevitt Friday night in the 5A championship game in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania.
Roman made it this far by beating West Chester’s Rustin High last week, 41-17. Head coach Rick Prete said his team is having an incredible ride.
“It’s been tremendous,” he said. “We have a great group of kids that are a pleasure to be around at all times, and I think it’s just a culmination of all their work that they’ve put in over the years. So it’s pretty cool to see.”
Roman Catholic is 11-4 on the season. Bishop McDevitt is 13-2 and playing for a state title for the third time in four seasons.
“Roman Catholic has a long lineage of really good football teams that a lot of people outside of Philadelphia don’t know about,” Prete added. “So for us to be able to be the first here and kind of put the school back on the map is a great opportunity.”
A couple of other local high school teams are a win away from a state title. Thursday night is the 4A title game, where Monsignor Bonner and Archbishop Prendergast Catholic High School will make its first-ever appearance in the state title game, taking on Lampeter-Strasburg in Mechanicsburg.
And on Saturday night, St. Joseph’s Prep will go for its third straight 6A title, taking on Central Catholic out of Pittsburgh. That game will also be held in Mechanicsburg.