O'Hara Athletics

Cardinal O'Hara High School

Boys Varsity Football - Lions


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News (2)

Lions Almost Complete Comeback


Posted on 11/11/2024

O'Hara traveled to Monsignor Bonner last Friday, November 8th, to face the Friars in the PCL 4A Final. Despite a strong second half comeback, the Lions fell 28-21 to their cross-town rival. After a rocky first half, the Lions went into halftime down by three scores. When the Lions returned to the field for the third quarter, they came back a brand new team. O'Hara silenced the crowd in the third with a long tone-setting drive that got the Lions on the board for seven. After getting in the end zone for their first score of the night, the O'Hara defense turned up the intensity. Before halftime, O'Hara's defense struggled to get off the field without giving up points. Halftime adjustments proved to be exactly what the Lions defense needed, as they came out of the locker room a completely different unit. The Lions defense took the field as a unit that was totally in sync from the front seven all the way to the DBs. Despite outscoring the Friars 21-7 in the second half, the first half hole that O'Hara dug themselves into, proved to be large to climb out of. While the result wasn't what the team wanted, they showed tons of heart as they played until the very last whistle. Next year, O'Hara will return multiple key pieces of their roster that includes Quarterback, John Welde. On the defensive side of the ball, Defensive Linemen Hakim Allah and Cornerback Aaron Madeh will look to continue to frustrate opposing offenses. While O'Hara will return many athletes next season, the loss of graduating players like Khalil Epps and Nate Kutufaris will certainly be felt. A QBs best friend is a reliable Left Tackle to protect his blindside. Big Nate Kutufaris has been protecting Welde's blindside at an extremely high level for three seasons. After graduating from O'Hara, Kutufaris will continue to protect QBs from danger, only this time he'll be doing it in Durham, North Carolina. Kutufaris will be a Blue Devil as he is playing college football for Duke University. Aside from a strong offense line to protect him, a QBs other best friend is a dynamic weapon on the outside to break the game open. A QB can only be so good if he doesn't have receivers to get open for him, but luckily for Welde, Khalil Epps was almost always open. Epps was a two-way star for the Lions at both WR and CB, while also being a return specialist. Many of O'Hara's seniors finished their high school football careers with strong seasons. The Lions can hold their heads high after leaving everything they had on the field last Friday night. The football program at O'Hara has a bright future because the Lions always stay ready for what's ahead. 

Lions To Face Crusaders In Regular Season Finale


Updated on 10/22/2024

The Lions of Cardinal O'Hara will close out their regular season on October 25th against the Crusaders of Father Judge. 2024 marked the first year of play for the Lions in the red division of the Philadelphia Catholic League. The Catholic League's red division consists of many of the best high school football teams in Pennslyvania, including powerhouses like St. Joe's Prep, La Salle College High School, and Roman Catholic. In 2023, O'Hara had one of their best seasons in recent memory, going 5-2 in PCL play, and finishing 7-5 overall. The Lions set a new standard within their program last year, a standard they looked to carry into 2024. The man in charge of that turn around, Coach Mike Ewing, was awarded the Catholic League Coach of the Year in 2023. Before league play began in 2024, O'Hara started the season strong winning four of their first five. O'Hara got their first win of the season with a quality performance against Archbishop Wood, beating the Vikings 31-19. After beating the Vikings at home, the Lions went on the road and pulled out a gritty performance in the pouring rain against Archbishop Ryan. The following two weeks for the Lions consisted of back-to-back dominating performances against Chichester and St. Andrew's College of Canada. During Catholic League play, O'Hara has had tough fought match ups against some of the giants within PA. On Friday, October 25th, O'Hara will attempt to get their season back on track with a win against Father Judge High School. Both teams come into the game looking for their first win of Catholic League play. After the regular season concludes, O'Hara will host a playoff game on November 1st. O'Hara's first round match up will be a rematch against either Archbishop Wood or Archbishop Ryan. Both teams will be come into the playoffs hoping to vindicate their early season loss, but the Lions are hungry and won't back down from the challenge. The arrival of cold weather just means that the most entertaining football is yet to come. O'Hara is ready to pounce on the opportunities that they have left as they prepare for the most important part of the season.

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