Lansdale Catholic finishes strong with victory over Cardinal O’Hara

LOWER GWYNEDD >> Lansdale Catholic sent its seniors out in style, with youngsters like Yeboa Cobbold providing a dynamic glimpse of LC’s future.

“He’s a big, multi-purpose player for us,” Crusaders coach Dom D’Addona said of the freshman, who filled many roles Saturday night. “We can snap him the ball, throw him the ball, he can return, plays defense. It’s gonna be a pleasure coaching him the next three years, that’s for sure.”

Cobbold threw a 13-yard touchdown pass on a halfback pass play and also dashed 83 yards for another score, helping to lead the way to a commanding 47-18 victory over Cardinal O’Hara in a Philadelphia Catholic League Blue Division game at chilly Wissahickon.

“We did it for the seniors,” said Cobbold, who had 102 yards rushing, 94 yards receiving, and nearly added a pick six on defense. “It’s a big win for us.”

The Crusaders capped a tremendous season at 7-3 overall, including a 4-3 mark in the PCL Blue. LC narrowly missed the postseason but enjoyed quite a turnaround from an 0-9 finish in 2021 and set the table for what should be a promising 2023.

“Big momentum going into next year,” D’Addona said. “We’re gonna have a great offseason and hopefully we make the playoffs.”

The Crusader offense rolled all evening, scoring on three straight possessions in the first half and on four consecutive series in the second half.

Senior Efrain Quiles was a pounding force, gaining 47 yards on six carries and bolting for a 13-yard TD that capped the scoring.

Senior Josh Brown was a solid presence on the offensive line, and on defense, crashed into the Lion backfield more than once and had a tackle for a loss. He also nearly scored a TD as a runner.

Senior Matt Daly had a pair of catches for 20 yards and senior Gio Zito had a 13-yard touchdown reception, one of seven times the Crusaders reached the end zone.

“The kids were determined to finish 7-3 and they practiced that way and came out and performed that way,” D’Addona said. “It was an attitude game for us. We wanted to go out there and establish what we can do, what we’ve been doing. We wanted to send the seniors out on a high note and that’s what we did.”

Cobbold’s TD pass to Jack Trzeciak opened the scoring at 6-0. Trzeciak, a sophomore, grabbed three balls – two for scores – for 29 yards.

“We were just getting our guys the ball,” Cobbold said of the attack.

Jacahi Streeter capped a sensational sophomore season, sprinting for a 23-yard score that made it 13-0 in the second quarter. Streeter rushed for 137 yards and two touchdowns in the victory.

Just moments later, Cobbold found a lane and broke free for an 83-yard TD and a 20-0 LC cushion.

“Props to the offensive line,” Cobbold said. “We even had our quarterback (Cole Meehan) out there blocking. We all did our assignments tonight, all did what we were supposed to do.”

Both quarterbacks played well for their respective squads: Meehan completed 11 of 18 passes for 176 yards, two touchdowns and an interception, and John Welde hit 16 of 31 targets for 213 yards and three touchdowns.

Welde hit Thomas Dugan on a 15-yard scoring strike and connected with Jeremiah Coleman for a 35-yard score to trim the margin to 20-12 at the break.

But the third quarter was all LC.

Streeter burst in from five yards out, Meehan hit sophomore Jack Trzeciak for a 13-yard score, and later Meehan hooked up with Zito for his 13-yard touchdown and a 40-12 LC lead.

The Lions (1-9 overall, 1-6 PCL Blue) scored once more, with Welde hitting Gavin LeSage from 18 yards out, and then Quiles powered in for LC to produce the final flicker of the scoreboard.

Lansdale Catholic 47, Cardinal O’Hara 18

O’Hara 0 12 0 6 – 18

LC 6 14 20 7 – 47

First Quarter

LC – Jack Trzeciak 13 pass from Yeboa Cobbold (kick failed), 3:22.

Second Quarter

LC – Jacahi Streeter 23 run (Logan Jeffrey kick), 11:51.

LC – Cobbold 83 run (Jeffrey kick), 8:36.

CO – Thomas Dugan 15 pass from John Welde (kick failed), 7:25.

CO – Jeremiah Coleman 35 pass from Welde (pass failed), :00.

Third Quarter

LC – Streeter 5 run (Jeffrey kick), 10:47.

LC – Trzeciak 13 pass from Cole Meehan (Jeffrey kick), 5:35.

LC – Gio Zito 13 pass from Meehan (Jeffrey kick), :32.

Fourth Quarter

CO – Gavin LeSage 18 pass from Welde (pass failed), 11:38.

LC – Quiles 13 run (Jeffrey kick), 9:59.

CO                   LC

First Downs            18               24

Rushes-yards         14-64          37-359

Passing (c-a-i)        16-31-0       11-18-1

Passing yards         213             189

Total yards               277             548

Punts                       5                1

Fumbles-lost            3-2              0-0

Penalties-yards        6-46            13-135

Rushing

CO: John Shelton III 10-52; DaShawn Foster 3-(-6); Jay Borrelli 1-18.

LC: Jacahi Streeter 19-137, 2 TD; Efrain Quiles 6-47, TD; Cole Meehan 3-36; Yeboa Cobbold 3-102, TD; James Jenkins 3-31; Josh Brown 2-9.

Passing

CO: Welde 16-31-213-3-0.

LC: Meehan 11-18-176-2-1; Cobbold 1-1-13-1-0.

Receiving

CO: Ethan Schulcz 2-19; Matt Hippert 1-6; Gavin LeSage 2-23, TD; Shelton III 1-8; Logan Maloney 3-33; Khalil Epps 2-13; Jeremiah Coleman 4-52, TD; Thomas Dugan 1-59, TD.

LC: Streeter 2-29; Jack Trzeciak 3-29, 2 TD; Gio Zito 1-13, TD; Matt Daly 2-20; Quiles 1-4; Cobbold 3-94.

Interceptions

CO: Khalil Epps.