MECHANICSBURG, Pa. — Reaching the PIAA championship game is nothing new for Bishop McDevitt. The Crusaders are back in the finals for the third time in four years.
But McDevitt has only won it all once over that span, bringing home the Class 4A gold in 2022 with a win over Aliquippa.
Now in the title game for the first time as a Class 5A team, the Crusaders will try to capture the crown Friday night against Philadelphia powerhouse Roman Catholic.
The Crusaders and the Cahillites will tee it up at 7 p.m. from Cumberland Valley High School's Chapman Field. The game will be televised on the Pennsylvania Cable Network.
Here's a preview of the matchup.
Bishop McDevitt (12-2) vs. Roman Catholic (11-4)
ABOUT BISHOP McDEVITT: The Crusaders fought their way to the final with a 28-14 victory over Pine-Richland last weekend at Altoona High School, riding an impressive performance from running back Nazir Jones-Davis, who rushed for 229 yards and a touchdown.
The McDevitt defense was also stellar, forcing a pair of fumbles and an interception in the first half to hold the Rams scoreless while the Crusaders took command.
McDevitt led 21-0 at halftime and put the game out of reach in the fourth quarter when quarterback Stone Saunders hit Jontai Quick for a 68-yard touchdown.
Saunders, who completed 5 of 8 passes for 133 yards and three scores, needs just 131 yards to become the state's all-time career passing leader. He's gunning for the record of 13,562 set by Steelton-Highspire's Alex Erby, who finished a brilliant four-year career with the Rollers last season.
Saunders is already the first quarterback in Pennsylvania history to pass for more than 3,000 yards in four straight seasons. This year, he's completed 208 of 322 passes for 3,290 yards and 46 touchdowns.
The University of Kentucky recruit has 13,431 career passing yards, and already holds the state record for career passing touchdowns with 202.
And yet, last week's victory proves McDevitt has many more weapons than just its quarterback. The Crusaders leaned heavily on their defense and their ground game to subdue Pine-Richland, which came in averaging 314.6 yards and 35.6 points per game.
While the Rams were able to move the ball -- they had 371 yards in all -- McDevitt managed to keep them out of the end zone until the game was well in hand.
Quarterback Aaron Strader threw for 198 yards and a pair of touchdowns and added a team-high 73 yards on the ground for Pine-Richland.
Jones-Davis' 4-yard TD run opened the scoring for McDevitt, while Quick finished with 117 yards on three catches. Dominic Diaz-Ellis turned his only catch of the game into an 8-yard score for the Crusaders, who won their fifth straight.
McDevitt's only losses this season came to Mid-Penn Commonwealth Conference rivals Harrisburg (35-33 in overtime on Aug. 31) and State College (58-55 on Oct. 25). Both the Cougars and the Little Lions are Class 6A teams.
The Crusaders made back-to-back trips to the PIAA Class 4A finals in 2021 and 2022, falling to Aliquippa 34-27 in the 2021 final and avenging that defeat a year later with a 41-18 triumph over the Quips.
The Crusaders went 13-1 last season, bowing out with a 26-23 overtime loss to eventual state runner-up Dallas in the state semifinals. Dallas fell to Aliquippa 60-14 in the title game a week later.
McDevitt's other state championship came back in 1995, when the Crusaders defeated Burrell 29-0 in the Class 2A title game.
ABOUT ROMAN CATHOLIC: The District 12 champions advanced to the state finals for the first time with a 41-17 rout of West Chester Rustin in the state semifinals last weekend.
Junior quarterback Semaj Beals threw for 309 yards and four touchdowns to lead the Cahillites, who racked up 552 yards of offense against the Golden Knights.
Running backs JoJo Delecce (15 carries, 117 yards) and Jeremiah Tabb (10-66) both found the end zone on the ground for Roman, which won its fifth straight.
The Cahillites have lost four games this season, but those defeats came to Maryland powerhouse DeMatha (49-12 on Sept. 20), PIAA Class 4A finalist Bonner-Prendergast (38-30 on Sept. 27), Class 6A PIAA finalist St. Joseph's Prep (48-20 on Oct. 19), and District 12 Class 6A finalist La Salle College (35-16 on Oct. 26).
But Roman has turned it on in the postseason, outscoring its five playoff opponents 228-63.
Beals, a junior who has already set the Philadelphia high school career passing record in just three seasons, eclipsed the 4,000-yard passing milestone with last week's effort against Rustin. He has completed 256 of 429 passes for 4,010 yards and 48 touchdowns this year.
His top target is Rayshawn Scott, a 5-9, 180-pound speedster who has 68 catches for 1,326 yards and 15 touchdowns. Junior Eyan Stead has 47 catches for 888 yards and 11 scores, including two last week against Rustin.
Sophomore Eisa Nealy and senior Zamir Newsuan have combined for 68 catches, 927 yards, and 14 TDs, and must be accounted for as well.
Tabb, who took over as the primary running back when Xavier Kingcade was lost to injury midway through the season, has 595 yards and seven touchdowns since then.
The Cahillites have leaned more on their ground game in the postseason, eclipsing 200 rushing yards in three of their last five games.
Roman's defense allows just 88 rushing yards 141.5 passing yards per game.