The PIAA state high school football championships run Thursday to Saturday, and two of the six champions have already been crowned.
Recap highlights from Bishop McDevitt vs. Roman Catholic.
Bishop McDevitt: Stone Saunders (19-of-26 attempts, 287 yards, two touchdowns)
Roman Catholic: Semaj Beals (13-of-33 attempts, 139 yards, one touchdown)
Bishop McDevitt: Nazir Jones-Davis (35 carries, 124 yards, one touchdown)
Roman Catholic: JoJo Delecce (20 carries, 100 yards)
Bishop McDevitt: Jontai Quick (6 receptions, 129 yards)
Roman Catholic: Rayshawn Scott (6 receptions, 74 yards, one touchdown)
Bishop McDevitt: Nazir Jones-Davis (7 solo, 4 assisted, 2 tackles for loss)
Roman Catholic: JoJo Delecce (5 solo, 7 assisted, 3 tackles for loss)
Bishop McDevitt: Akeelyn Smith and Dominic Diaz-Ellis (1)
Roman Catholic: Louis Gaddy (1)
First downs: 19
Rushing: 44 carries, 138 yards
Total offensive yards: 425
Turnovers forced: 2
Penalties: 9-77 yards
Possession time: 30:34
Third down conversions: 6/15
First downs: 21
Rushing: 36 attempts, 161 yards
Total offensive yards: 352
Turnovers forced: 1
Possession time: 17:26
Penalties: 5-42 yards
Third down conversions: 5-16
Aidan Grella gets his second chance and walks the Crusaders off in style. Grella nailed a 22-yard field goal in overtime to lift the Crusaders to their first state title in Class 5A and their first title overall since 2022.
Bishop McDevitt won the toss again, and deferred for the second time. Roman Catholic will get the first attempt at overtime.
Jontai Quick intercepted Semaj Beals to set the Crusaders up in Cahillite territory. Bishop McDevitt ran down the clock and attempted to walk off with a 43-yard field goal, but Aidan Grella’s kick fell short of the crossbar.
Saunders completed two big passes − 42 yards to Jontai Quick and 20 yards to Gage Ruth − to set the Crusaders up on the Cahillites’ 10-yard line. A pair of pass attempts don’t break the goal line, so Aidan Grella steps up and nails a 20-yard kick.
Louis Gaddy flipped the entire game on its head. Gaddy picked off a pass from Bishop McDevitt’s Stone Saunders and broke into open field. No one caught up to him, and Gaddy completed a 75-yard pick-six to put the Cahillites in the lead for the first time since their opening drive.
Roman Catholic edges back into a one-possession deficit. Semaj Beals seals a 31-yard pass to a waiting Rayshawn Scott in the back left corner of the end zone. Beals is up to 139 passing yards on 13-of-31 attempts, and Scott leads all Cahillite receivers with 74 yards.
The Cahillites put up two unanswered touchdowns before the Crusaders extended their lead back up to 11 points. Stone Saunders still leads passing with 171 yards and two touchdowns, plus his one rushing touchdown late in the third quarter.
Two plays, 33 yards and a near-immediate response from Bishop McDevitt. Saunders takes the ball into the end zone himself after he set up the play with a 32-yard pass to Jontai Quick.
The Cahillites aren’t done yet. Rayshawn Scott faked a punt and completed a short pass to C.J. Miller, who carried it 52 yards for a touchdown.
The Cahillites scored for the first time since their first drive. Tayden Mines fumbled on the two-yard line after a 13-yard run, but Dom Ramos fell on the ball in the end zone to get the Cahillites their first touchdown of the game. The ensuing kick was good.
What a way to break a record. Stone Saunders completed a 30-yard pass to Dominic Diaz-Ellis on the Crusaders’ first drive of the second half.
Saunders, with his pass to Diaz-Ellis, broke the PIAA state record for most career passing yards. The record was previously held by Steelton-Highspire’s Alex Erby in 2023 with 13,562 yards. Saunders needed 131 yards headed into Friday night, and now he’s the state’s all-time leading passer.
The second quarter was all Bishop McDevitt. Roman Catholic’s four drives since its field goal have ended in three punts and an interception. Bishop McDevitt, meanwhile, hasn’t punted yet. It’s drives have all ended in a turnover on downs or a touchdown, aside from its fifth drive that was cut short by the clock.
Bishop McDevitt’s Stone Saunders leads in passing with 108 yards on 8-of-12 pass attempts. Nazir Jones-Davis commands the run game with 75 net yards on 16 carries. JoJo Delecce leads Roman Catholic in rushing with 41 yards on eight carries. McDevitt’s Dominic Diaz-Ellis has 41 receiving yards, a touchdown and an interception on defense.
Nazir Jones-Davis rushes up the middle for a five-yard gain and his first touchdown of the night. Jones-Davis’ run puts him up to 51 net rushing yards on the night − better than every other rusher tonight.
After getting stopped on the two-yard line on their previous drive, the Crusaders make a redemption play. Quarterback Stone Saunders rocketed a 41-yard pass to Dominic Diaz-Ellis on the first play of the drive. Follow-up kick by Aidan Grella hits the mark.
Roman Catholic received an early miracle after Bishop McDevitt is called for pass interference on a fourth-down conversion attempt. The Cahillites get stopped short of a touchdown and missed their original field goal attempt, but the Crusaders are hit with an offsides penalty. A second field goal attempt hits its mark.
Bishop McDevitt won the coin toss and deferred to the second half. Roman Catholic opens the game as the receiving team.
Compared to the Class 4A state finals last night, Bishop McDevitt and Roman Catholic kick off in much more hospitable conditions. The temperature at Chapman Stadium reads at 29 degrees without a wind chill, and 21 degrees when it’s factored in. Wind is blowing seven miles per hour out of the west, meaning the Crusaders and the Cahillites have free reign to run their games how they want.
PIAA state football championships:Lampeter-Strasburg falls to Bonner-Prendergast in 4A
THURSDAY
Class 1A: Bishop Guilfoyle 41, Port Allegany 22
Class 4A: Bonner Prendergast 40, Lampeter-Strasburg 14
FRIDAY
Class 2A: 4-1 Troy vs. 9-1 Central Clarion, 1 p.m.
Class 5A: 12-1 Roman Catholic vs. 3-1 Bishop McDevitt, 7 p.m.
SATURDAY
Class 3A: 11-1 Northwestern Lehigh vs. 7-1 Avonworth, 1 p.m.
Class 6A: 12-1 St. Joseph’s Prep vs. 7-1 Central Catholic, 7 p.m.
Championship game tickets can be bought on the PIAA website.
Chapman Stadium at Cumberland Valley High School
All six games will be shown on PCN.
