Nearly 20 people witnessed an assault in the Cheltenham High football team’s locker room last fall, according to an external investigation commissioned by the school district.
No one tried to stop it, “and several participated freely in it,” Superintendent Brian Scriven told the Cheltenham community in an e-mailed message Thursday. “Several students also filmed the assault.”
The assault — which happened Sept. 3 — ultimately resulted in the cancellation of the team’s season in October and led to the hazing investigation, for which Scriven released the results Thursday night. His message did not include additional details about the assault.
Though a pattern of hazing was “not fully substantiated,” Scriven wrote, other troubling findings include: inadequate student supervision in the locker room, “a failure to prioritize student safety by the coaching staff and/or adult volunteers,” no anti-bullying or anti-hazing education for team members, and “a toxic and negative culture within the current football program.”
The team’s head coach, according to a 2025 Cheltenham news release, had been Terence Tolbert, a business teacher at the school and a former semi-professional football player. When reached Thursday, Tolbert declined to comment.
Cheltenham’s football program will be rebuilt eventually, Scriven said, and the district will adopt investigators’ recommendations, including identifying, hiring, and training a “new coaching staff with strong commitment to leading student-athletes in a positive and responsible manner,” and strengthening team supervision.
But, Scriven said, fielding a team in 2026 is not a given for the district.
The superintendent alluded to “a general lack of credibility on the part of many of those interviewed during the investigatory process” and said parent, student, and staff cooperation going forward is crucial.
“Those students who were not involved in this situation are especially important to rebuilding the culture of our program,” Scriven said. “If all of these conditions are met, the district will stand up a football team for the 2026 season.”
It is not yet clear whether the students involved could face punishment or criminal charges. Multiple students have ongoing Title IX and disciplinary matters, which could affect their eligibility to play football. Cheltenham Township police and the Montgomery County District Attorney’s Office are both still investigating the incident, according to the district’s message Thursday.
Staff writer Robert Moran contributed to this article.
John Linehan and Kobe Bryant used to talk. A lot. This would not have been unusual for other AAU teammates, but these two were fierce high school rivals.
Linehan was a scrappy point guard for Chester. Bryant was a relentless shooting guard for Lower Merion. Both were competitive, almost to a fault, and in the days leading up to big games, they’d get chippy.
The week before the 1996 PIAA Class AAAA District 1 title game, for example, the players talked every day on bulky landline phones, with Bryant often calling Linehan at his home in Chester.
“I just said, ‘You know, John, I haven’t won a championship yet, and you have,’” Bryant told The Inquirer in 1996.
Linehan knew what his friend was doing. The future NBA star did the same thing a few weeks later, on March 19, a day before the teams met again in the state semifinal.
“He was trying to get me to trash talk,” Linehan said. “I think he needed a little edge. I didn’t want to give him too much. I was like, ‘Man, you crazy.’”
The late Kobe Bryant, a former Lower Merion basketball star, announcing he will go directly into the NBA draft out of high school.
Lower Merion wasn’t a basketball school when Bryant arrived in the fallof 1992. It paled in comparison to the local powerhouses like Simon Gratz, Coatesville, and Chester.
But Bryant changed that. Even in his freshman year, a season in which the Aces went 4-20, he brought a new standard, working out before class and introducing a level of toughness that was foreign to his teammates.
Bythe mid-1990s, Lower Merion was among the best high school teams in the Philadelphia area. Its players were more confident, celebrating after big shots, and talking loud on the court.
The Aces didn’t play as many games against Coatesville, a rising power led by Rip Hamilton. They couldn’t consistently measure themselves against Gratz, which didn’t participate in the PIAA playoffs untilthe 2004-05 season.
But they could against Chester. And so, a decades-long rivalry was born.
From 1996 through the mid-2010s, Chester and Lower Merion put on some of the greatest high school basketball games in the area. They’d often sell out venues like the Palestra and Villanova’s Pavilion. Some fans would even scalp tickets.
Their communities were almost diametrically opposed. Chester was predominantly Black; Lower Merion was predominantly white. Chester was plaguedby poverty; Lower Merion was considered affluent.
Chester, with its Biddy League, had a legacy of basketball greatness, and a steady pipeline of talent. Lower Merion had nothing comparable. But these differences melted away on the court.
And while the rivalry is not what it once was, it lives on today.
“The pride and the intensity and the history will never fade,” said Lower Merion coach Gregg Downer. “I mean, if we played them tomorrow night, that would be an intense game.”
The Bryant-Linehan era
When Downer was named head coach in 1990, he already was well-aware of Chester’s tradition. He’d played youth basketball growing up in Media and had heard about the stars who’d come out of the Biddy League.
It was obvious that his team would have to go through the Clippers to win any sort of accolade. But it wasn’t until Bryant’s arrival that Downer’s aspirations became a real possibility.
The shooting guard, who was the son of former 76er Joe “Jelly Bean” Bryant, was mature for his age. He’d demand more, mentally and physically, of older teammates. Doug Young, a former Lower Merion forward, remembered seeing Bryant leaving the locker room at 7 o’clock one September morning in 1993.
He’d been at the high school gym since 5 a.m., working out by himself. To the Lower Merion basketball team, this was a “crazy” concept, so Young and his cohorts decided to join him.
In the District 1 championship game against Chester, Kobe Bryant goes to the hoop over the Clippers’ John Linehan.
They arrived the next day at 5:06 a.m. The players knocked on the door. Bryant didn’t answer.
“He wouldn’t open it,” said Young, who graduated in 1995. “You’re either there or you’re not. We were six minutes late.”
His teammates waited outside until 6:30 a.m., when the school opened. They made sure to show up before 5 a.m. from that day on.
Downer was wired the same way. The coach — and his NBA-bound pupil — would push the team in practice. Losses were particularly tough. The players would go through endless sprints and rebounding drills that sent them running to the trash can.
It wasn’t fun. But over time, the method created a newfound tenacity.
“No one walked into high school saying, ‘Oh, yeah, I want to win a state championship,’” Young said. “But [Kobe] knew what that was. He was like, ‘I don’t know any other way. If we’re not going to win a championship, what the heck are we playing for?’”
Chester was always going to be an obstacle, so Downer tried to play into the battle. He’d use analogies for the tough, hard-nosed team, comparing it to an animal stalking its prey.
The coach began to screen movies to underscore this point. Together, in a Lower Merion classroom, Downer’s players watched Jaws and other tales of survival, like The Edge, a 1997 thriller about a plane that crashes in the Alaskan wilderness.
“This bear is stalking them, and the couple is saying, ’What are we going to do about this bear?’” Downer said. “And one of them says, ‘The only thing we can do is kill the bear.’
“And I remember being like, ‘We can do this.’ But the only solution is to — not to be overly graphic — but to kill them.”
(The bear in this analogy was Chester.)
He added: “We tried everything humanly possible to get through to this team.”
The first few games were ugly. In 1995, Lower Merion met the Clippers in the District 1 championship, only to lose by 27 points. But they came back with a renewed focus the following year, in 1995-96, going 25-3 in the regular season to earn a district final rematch against Chester.
The Aces showed up at the arena with “27″ printed on their warmup shirts. Bryant, armed with fresh bulletin board material from Linehan, dropped 34 points against the Clippers en route to a 60-53 Aces win.
The shooting guard scored 39 points later that month — with a broken nose — in a 77-69 state semifinal win over Chester. Lower Merion went on to beat Erie Cathedral Prep, 48-43, to win its first state championship since 1943.
Kobe Bryant celebrates after defeating Chester at the Palestra in 1996 to advance to the state final.
To Linehan, the difference Bryant made was obvious. He joked that he’d “never heard of Lower Merion” before his friend arrived. But once he did, Chester realized it would have to go to great lengths to prepare for the phenom.
Ahead of a big game against Lower Merion in the mid-1990s, the coaching staff reached out to Clippers alumnus Zain Shaw. He played at West Virginia and in Europe and possessed some of the same characteristics as Bryant — a tall frame and an athletic build with strong ballhandling skills.
The Clippers invited Shaw to practice, where he played the role of Bryant (to the best of his ability).
“Kobe was so special, we had to bring in a pro to help us prepare,” said Linehan, who later starred at Providence.
But there was another impact the future Lakers star had, one that had nothing to do with his own prowess. Linehan noticed that Bryant’s Lower Merion teammates started to take on some of his qualities. Suddenly, they were playing brash, confident basketball.
“We didn’t have reason to believe, until Kobe got there, that we belonged on the court with Chester,” Young said. “The fear was real. Teams were afraid of Chester because they’d run you out of the building.
“The idea of Lower Merion being on the court in a meaningful game against [them] was such a crazy thought. But then, you started to believe.”
The buzzer-beater heard ’round Chester
Bryant never got over the rivalry, even after he embarked on his Hall of Fame NBA career in 1996. Sometimes, he’d call the coaching staff before big games against Chester, leaving expletive-laden voicemails to use as motivation.
The Lakers shooting guard also created an incentive structure for his former team.
“You couldn’t get a pair of Nike sneakers unless you qualified for the playoffs,” Young said. “If you don’t earn it, you don’t get it.”
He became especially involved in 2005-06. After a lull in the early 2000s, Chester and Lower Merion found themselves neck-and-neck again. The Aces were led by the duo of Ryan Brooks and Garrett Williamson, and the Clippers boasted a deep roster, headlined by Darrin Govens. All of them eventually played in the Big 5.
(Chester was so stacked that it brought a 1,000-point scorer off the bench in Noel Wilmore.)
Students from the class of 2005 show their support as Chester and Lower Merion play in the state final.
The rivals met in the state championship on March 19, 2005. Despite strong performances from Williamson and Brooks, the Clippers pulled away in the second half thanks to a dominant third quarter from Govens. Chester won, 74-61.
The teams reconvened the following season with their competitive spark fully reignited. They faced each other three times that year. Chester took Round 1, a one-point regular-season victory on Dec. 27.
Round 2 was in the district final on March 3. Before the game, in front of a packed crowd at the Pavilion, Chester sophomore Karon Burton walked up to the layup line.
Lower Merion’s student section caught his ear with a chant about coach Fred Pickett’s stout stature.
The dig didn’t intimidate Burton. If anything, it fueled him. He grew up playing street ball in Chester and always loved trash talk.
Instead of cowering, like the crowd hoped, the sophomore delivered an unforgettable outing. The game went into overtime, and was tied at 80 with only a few seconds remaining.During a timeout, assistant coach Keith Taylor pulled Burton aside.
“He was like, ‘Hey, listen,’” Burton said. “They’re going to double Darrin. If you get that ball, do your thing.’”
Taylor’s words proved prescient. As Lower Merion’s defenders swarmed Govens, the Clippers inbounded the ball to Burton.
He took a pull-up jumper from beyond the arc and drilled it for an 83-80 win. The Chester fans stormed the court. Burton, who later joined Wilmore in the 1,000-point club, said he felt like a celebrity in his hometown.
“It was like watching a buzzer-beater in the NBA,” he said. “I just ran to my teammates, they picked me up. It was a crazy feeling.
“I’m a big Kobe fan, too. Kobe’s my favorite player ever. So when I came and I hit the game-winner on that team …”
Round 3 took place a few weeks later, in a state semifinal rematch at the Palestra on March 22. Bryant called Lower Merion’s coaches before the game.
“I don’t remember specifically what he said, but I’m sure there were a lot of [expletives] dropped,” said Young. “Like, ‘Don’t call me back if you don’t beat those [expletives].’ That was a line we heard from him a couple times.”
This one didn’t go Chester’s way. After trailing the Clippers, 47-37, at the end of the third quarter, the Aces came roaring back in the fourth and put up 33 points to eke out a 70-65 win.
The celebration in the locker room was cathartic. Water sprayed into the air. Players sat atop each other’s shoulders and turned the showers into a slip ‘n slide. Bryant called in, again, as other members of the 1996 team filtered through.
Darrin Govens scored his 1,000th point for Chester against Lower Merion in the state championship in 2005.
This was not how Govens wanted to end his high school career. And a few months later, when he arrived at St. Joseph’s on a basketball scholarship, he saw a familiar foe.
It was Williamson, his new Hawks teammate.
“We were sitting on the opposite side of the bench,” Govens said. “I didn’t want to sit next to him; he didn’t want to sit next to me. We’d kind of avoid each other and just head nod.
“Even in running drills, it was a competition. He looked to the left. I looked to the right. We tried to beat each other in sprints. But then we realized, ‘All right bro, we’re teammates now.’”
‘Hero status’
Chester had always rallied around its high school basketball team. Linehan said it was akin to playing for the Sixers. The teenagers were treated like professional athletes — especially those who had been a part of big wins.
The Clippers’ public address announcer, James Howard, called this “hero status.”
“All of a sudden, your money’s no good,” he said. “Barbers take care of you, make sure your hair looks nice before games. Free food. Little kids look up to you and ask for your autograph. That’s how it is.”
In Chester, there were plenty of heroes to draw from. There was Linehan, but also Jameer Nelson, who met a young Burton in the late 1990s. Nelson, a friend of Burton’s cousin, gave the aspiring basketball player a gift before he left for St. Joe’s: his MVP medal from the Chester summer league.
“He was one of the biggest guys in our city,” Burton said, “so it’s definitely something that I’ll always remember.”
By the early 2010s, when the rivalry was reignited for a third time, Lower Merion had built more of a basketball tradition. Aces guard Justin McFadden said he’d get stopped in Wawa before big games against the Clippers.
Chester celebrates its win over Lower Merion for the state championship in 2012.
“It became a community thing,” he said. “People would be asking, ‘What do you guys think about Chester? Do you think we can get it done?’”
In 2012, the schools met in the state championship for the first time since 2005. Junior forward and future NBA starter Rondae Hollis-Jefferson put up a double-double to lead the Clippers to a resounding 59-33 win over the Aces. It was their second straight title and their 58th straight victory.
A year later, after going 17-0 in the Central League, the Aces met the Clippers in the state final again. Chester had won 78 straight games against in-state opponents. Snapping that streak would be daunting, but Downer had a plethora of motivational tactics at his disposal.
Just as they had in the 1990s, The Aces again spent pockets of the season watching Jaws, The Edge, as well as an addition: Al Pacino’s “Inch by Inch” speech in Any Given Sunday.
“He would have that fired up on YouTube, ready to go,” McFadden said. “Looking back, [your reaction] is a chuckle, but in the moment, it worked. We knew that this was the hill that needed to be climbed.
“And every time they played that speech, we got goose bumps. We were ready to fire.”
Chester got out to an early lead, but Lower Merion rallied behind a 22-point, 11-rebound performance from B.J. Johnson, who later starred at La Salle. The Aces snapped the streak and won their seventh state title with a 63-47 victory.
Lower Merion’s Jaquan Johnson goes to the net as Diamonte Reason guards him in the Chester-Lower Merion state championship game in 2013.
The Clippers then were coached by Larry Yarbray. Pickett, who was diagnosed with cancer in2010, was in declining health. Just before he died in 2014, Downer decided to say goodbye.
He and his former assistant coach Jeremy Treatman drove out to Pickett’s home in Chester. They went to his bedside.
“And we talked,” Downer said. “And we held hands. It was a really touching moment for me. This is a man that carried Chester on his back. That tried to carry Lower Merion on his back. And I knew it was the last time I was going to see Fred.
“We walked out the door, and we told each other that we loved each other. And I never thought he would say that to me, or vice versa. But it was just kind of like, ‘You know what? We’ve had some amazing battles, and there’s a lot of respect there.’”
Keeping the tradition alive
In recent years, the Chester-Lower Merion rivalry has diminished.
There was a brief period when the teams were in different classifications. Both programs have lost players to private schools that can recruit, and the addition of the Philadelphia Catholic League to the PIAA has made the state playoffs more competitive.
One place the Aces and Clippers could meet is in the district tournament, where they reunited in 2024. But they haven’t played each other since. And Howard says the contests don’t have the same feel.
“Both teams have lost D-I talent,” he said. “It’s not as high-flying, above the rim, as it was in the past. But still a great game. Sold out at Lower Merion, and at Chester, same thing.”
The history will always be there, though, and Burton is doing his best to keep it alive. His 8-year-old son, Karon Burton Jr., is playing in the Biddy League. His father is his coach.
Sometimes, they go on YouTube and watch old Clippers games. Junior’s favorite, of course, is the 2006 district final.
Burton believes that his son has a promising future, but isn’t sure of where he’ll go to high school yet. He doesn’t want Karon Jr. to feel obligated to follow his father’s path.
But if it worked out that way, what a story that would be.
“I’d love to be the first father and son to have 1,000 points,” Burton said. “With the same name? That would be crazy.”
Since the PIAA basketball championships were canceled because of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, District 12 boys’ basketball teams, comprised of the Catholic and Public Leagues, have won 11 state titles and appeared in 20 of the 30 state finals. No other district across the state has come close to matching that.
District 12 is the only area to ever four-peat in the state championships, doing it twice: once in 2022 (Class 6A Roman Catholic, 5A Imhotep Charter, 4A Neumann Goretti, and 3A Devon Prep), and again last year, when the Catholic League became the first league to win four state titles in one season (6A Father Judge, 5A Neumann Goretti, 4A Devon Prep, and 3A West Catholic).
It shows the dominance the Philadelphia area has on high school basketball.
This season should be no different, even though there are stark differences for several marquee programs. Roman Catholic and West Catholic have new coaches. Imhotep will be competing for the second straight year as a Class 6A school, while two-time defending state champion Devon Prep and two-time defending Inter-Ac League champ Penn Charter have seen most of their impact players graduate.
Some prominent players have changed schools. Former Imhotep guard RJ Smith, who’s committed to La Salle, is now at Roman Catholic. Academy of the New Church’s Marquis Newson is now at Neumann Goretti, and Germantown Friends’ all-time leading scorer Jordan Dill now calls Imhotep home.
In the Catholic League, Judge will be challenged by Roman, Archbishop Wood, Neumann Goretti, and a sleeper, Bonner-Prendergast, while Imhotep appears to be the clear favorite to win another Public League title. Academy of the New Church has enough back to three-peat in the Friends Schools League, with a challenge coming from Westtown, while Coatesville, Central Bucks East, Penn Wood, Garnet Valley, and Plymouth Whitemarsh look strong in District 1 Class 6A, and Penncrest, Springfield (Delco), Holy Ghost Prep, and Upper Dublin battle for supremacy in District 1 Class 5A.
Here are some of the area’s top boys’ basketball teams to watch during the 2025-26 season.
Academy of the New Church
The Lions went 15-9 overall and 6-2 in the Friends Schools League last year. ANC returns 6-foot-7 senior forwards Ryan Warren and Cam Smith, 6-4 senior guard Dior Carter, and 6-foot senior point guard Bryce Rollerson. With a senior-laden team, the Lions are looking for their first Pennsylvania Independent School Athletic Association (PAISAA) state championship since they repeated as PAISAA winners in 2009. The Lions were knocked out of last year’s PAISAA semifinals by eventual champion Phelps School.
Archbishop Wood
The Vikings had a rare down year last season, finishing 11-13 overall and 5-8 in the Catholic League. Under coach John Mosco, Wood has been a perennial Catholic League contender. It looks like the Vikings are back, buoyed by a core group of 6-3 senior guard Brady MacAdams, 6-4 junior guard Caleb Lundy, and 6-11 junior center Jaydn Jenkins, who is on the radar of major college programs. The addition of Dylan Powell, an athletic 6-2 sophomore guard, makes the Vikings even stronger.
Brady MacAdams will look to be one of the leaders this season for Archbishop Wood.
Bonner-Prendergast
The Friars are small and fast, possibly the fastest team in the Catholic League, the deepest league in the state. They finished 18-11 overall and 7-6 in the PCL last season, including a buzzer-beating victory over league champion Father Judge. Bonner-Prendie is a guard-oriented team, centered on juniors Korey Francis — who recently received a scholarship offer to La Salle — Kam Jackson, and Jakeem Carroll. Size inside will be provided by 6-7 senior Aydin Scott. The Friars reached last year’s Class 5A state quarterfinals, where they were upset by Upper Moreland in overtime.
Coatesville
The Red Raiders feature 6-6 sophomore Colton Hiller, who is rated as the top sophomore in the state by 247 Sports. Hiller will be joined by 6-7 senior forwards Larry Brown and Jonas Chester and junior guards Jahmaad Williams and Chris Allegra. Coatesville went 24-7 last season and is looking to three-peat as Ches-Mont champion, beating its opponents by an average of 25 points in the league tournament last year. The Red Raiders lost in the District 1 6A semifinals to eventual champ Conestoga and reached the state quarterfinals, where they lost to eventual state finalist Roman Catholic. Coatesville is a favorite in District 1 and last won district and state titles (under the Class 4A system) in 2001, when current Coatesville coach John Allen was the star of the team.
The Crusaders experienced their best season in program history last year, going 24-7 overall and 10-3 in the Catholic League, winning the PIAA 6A state championship for the first time, and the first Catholic League title since 1998. Judge returns three prominent players from that team: Temple-bound Derrick Morton-Rivera, Merrimack-bound Rocco Westfield, and Iona-bound Max Moshinski. The Crusaders have size, though they are untested, in 6-6 sophomore Rezon Harris, a transfer from Imhotep; 7-foot junior Jamal Hamidu, a transfer from New York; and 6-7 junior Jeremiah Adedeji, who played sparingly last year for Judge.
The Panthers could be the best team in the city. They finished 26-6 last year and reached the PIAA Class 6A state semifinals, where they lost to Judge, breaking a 35-game state playoff winning streak. The Panthers’ legendary coach Andre Noble has won 10 PIAA state and 12 Public League championships. The Panthers are the five-time defending Public League champions, only the second school to win five straight titles since the legendary Gene Banks and West Philly’s five-peat (1974-78). Imhotep is looking to break that mark this season as a Class 6A school. Everything will revolve around 6-7 junior forward Zaahir Muhammad-Gray, who missed last season with a knee injury. He will be joined by Drexel-bound 6-5 senior Latief Lorenzano-White, 6-4 junior guard Kevin Benson III, 6-foot sophomore point guard Ian Smith, and 6-1 senior guard Dill.
Malvern Prep
The Friars return a strong nucleus that includes junior forward Nick Harken, junior point guard Marvin Reed, and 6-10 sophomore center Logan Chwastyk for a team that went 17-10 overall and 5-5 in the Inter-Ac, which has been ruled by two-time defending league champion Penn Charter. The Quakers lost most key players to graduation, leaving Malvern, under coach Paul Romanczuk, an open invitation to challenge for the Inter-Ac crown this season.
The defending PIAA Class 5A state champion enters this season with vengeance, after going 18-11 (7-6 PCL) and being ousted in the Catholic League quarterfinals last season by Father Judge. Coach Carl Arrigale, who holds the all-time mark of 12 Catholic League titles and nine state titles, returns a loaded team with four starters back from Neumann Goretti’s first PIAA Class 5A state title team: Stephon “Munchie” Ashley-Wright, DeShawn Yates, Kody Colson, and 6-6 East Stroudsburg-bound Alassan N’Diaye. Add in exciting, above-the-rim 6-5 junior guard Newson, and the Saints could arguably be the best team in the city.
Penncrest
Why are the Lions on this list? They had eventual state champion Neumann Goretti down, 63-58, with 31 seconds left in last season’s state quarterfinals before Yates saved the Saints. Penncrest finished 23-4 last season and has one of the best coaches in the area, Mike Doyle, plus everyone back from a team that is a favorite in District 1 Class 5A. Everything will go through Carnegie Mellon-bound 6-7 senior star Mikey Mita, complemented by seniors Sean Benson, Will Stanton, Ryan McKee, and Connor Cahill, who scored 19 points in last year’s state quarterfinals.
The Cahillites reached the Catholic League and state finals last season, losing both times to Father Judge. Brad Wanamaker takes over for Chris McNesby after Roman went 25-6. Roman will be led by VCU-bound Sammy Jackson, the son of former Temple star Marc Jackson, along with Smith, the former Imhotep point guard, and seniors Semaj Robinson, Bryce Presley, and Al Jalil-Bey Moore. Roman won consecutive Catholic League titles in 2023 and 2024 and last won a state title in 2022. This senior-loaded team wants to leave its mark.
Over the past two years, the area has produced some of the best girls’ basketball talent in the nation. This season will be no different.
Other than Westtown School, which competes in the non-Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association-affiliated Friends Schools League, no team is dominant. In the Catholic League, the deepest, most talented league in the state, defending champion Neumann Goretti, will face challenges from Archbishop Carroll and a young, maturing Cardinal O’Hara team. In District 1, defending PIAA Class 6A champion Perkiomen Valley was hit hard by graduation, leaving the door open this season to Suburban One League powers Upper Dublin and Central Bucks East, along with Ches-Mont League stalwart Downingtown East.
In the Public League, rivals Universal Audenried Charter and Imhotep Charter will again be contenders. The Friends Schools League features two teams, Westtown and Friends Central, with national-level talent.
Here are some of the area’s top girls’ basketball teams to watch this season.
Archbishop Carroll
The Patriots finished 20-10 last season and return a loaded team that has been to the Philadelphia Catholic League championship the last two years. The last time Carroll won the PCL was 2019. Carroll is one of the best shooting teams in the area, with a nucleus led by Villanova-bound senior guard Alexis Eberz and her sophomore twin sisters. Kelsey Eberz is recovering from a season-ending knee injury suffered in December 2024, and Kayla Eberz is arguably one of the best players in the PCL. Carroll, which also features 6-foot senior Bridget Grant and junior guard Abbie McFillin, last won the PIAA Class 6A championship in 2023, and reached the state semifinals last year, losing to eventual state champion Perkiomen Valley.
Archbishop Carroll’s Abby McFillin shoots against Archbishop Wood in the Catholic League semifinals on Feb. 17.
Audenried
The Rockets will look to move forward without generational star Shayla Smith, now at Penn State after becoming the all-time scoring leader in the city, finishing with 2,690 points. Audenried ended last season 23-8, one game away from making history as the first girls’ Public League team to reach and win a state final. The three-time defending Public League champion Rockets were stopped by eventual PIAA Class 4A champion Neumann Goretti in the state semifinal. They return one of the nation’s top players in 6-foot-3 junior forward Nasiaah Russell, along with seniors Heaven Reese, Aniyah Cheesboro, and Raven Robinson.
Cardinal O’Hara
The traditional Catholic League powerhouse went 17-9 last season and reached the Catholic League semifinals along with the PIAA Class 6A state quarterfinals. The Lions are a young, evolving team centered on Drexel-bound Megan Rullo, a 5-8 point guard. Junior guards Brigidanne Donohue and Leah Hudak give the Lions depth and outside shooting, while 5-11 junior Carly Wakefield is an athletic inside presence. The Lions will be looking for the maturation of 6-3 freshman forward Olivia Craft, along with 6-1 sophomore guard Catie Doogan. Expect the Lions to be more dangerous in February.
2027 PG Brigidanne Donohue of Cardinal Ohara had it going against Nationally ranked Rutgers Prep which helped lead to a monster win‼️🔥 pic.twitter.com/1YvC7xFdx6
The Patriots have four of five starters from last season’s team that went 22-8 overall, won the Suburban One League Colonial Division, and reached the District 1 Class 6A semifinals, where they lost to eventual state champion Perkiomen Valley. Seniors Jess Lockwood, Natalie Berndt, and Emma Penecale, and junior point guardHaley Moran lead CB East, which lost to O’Hara in the first round of the PIAA 6A playoffs.
Downingtown East
This is a team that coach Darren Domsohn has been cultivating for the last few years. The Cougars went 24-6 last season and return every significant player from a team that reached the District 1 6A quarterfinals and the second round of the state playoffs. With a core group consisting of seniors in UTEP-bound Charlotte Aldridge, point guard Chloe Hunold, sharpshooter Grace Hodges, and talented 5-9 junior guard Kendall Chiavelli, the Cougars may be good enough to play into March.
The Phoenix are one of the best teams in the state, led by two national-level juniors in Zya Small, a 6-1 guard/forward, and Ryan Carter, a gifted 5-11 guard who transferred from Archbishop Wood after averaging 17 points last season. The problem Friends’ Central faces is that it also happens to be in the same Friends Schools League as Westtown, the best team in the state and among the top teams in the country. The Phoenix finished 21-9 last season and reached the Pennsylvania Independent Schools Athletic Association (PAISAA) state championship, where they lost to rival Westtown.
A closer look at the Friends Central girls’ basketball team this preseason shows that ESPN’s #10 is a master at work . Carter’s contributions on every trip down the court are unparalleled. She’s undoubtedly the biggest addition any program has made for the upcoming season. Having… pic.twitter.com/JhS5D7MuqO
The Panthers went 23-7 overall before losing in the state semifinals, 65-46, to eventual PIAA Class 3A champion Loyalsock. Like Audenried, they, too, are aiming for history this season as the first girls’ Public League team to reach and win a state championship. They have some talent to do it in 5-11 senior twins Geren and Crystal Hawthorne and 5-7 sophomore guard Taylor Linton. Imhotep has been to the Public League finals the last 13 years — the last 10 under coach David Hargrove — with its last league title coming in 2022.
Neumann Goretti
The Saints are the defending Catholic League and PIAA Class 4A champions. They went 26-3 last season and will be moving forward without two generational players in four-year starters Carryn Easley (Fordham) and Amya Scott (Delaware State). Neumann Goretti does have a talented group back for coach Andrea Peterson, who has won six state titles and three Catholic League championships in 11 years. In 5-8 junior guard Reginna Baker, Peterson has one of the best players in the PCL, back with senior guards Kamora Berry and Zion Coston. The Saints also feature 6-foot sophomore forward Chrisette King, and 5-7 freshman guard Azzure O’Connor, the daughter of former Simon Gratz star Marvin O’Connor.
Neumann Goretti’s Kamora Berry shoots during the ’ Catholic League semifinal against Cardinal O’Hara on Feb. 17, 2025.
Upper Dublin
The Cardinals are one of the more dynamic teams to watch in District 1 6A. They finished 24-6 overall last season, reaching the district semifinals, before they were ousted in the opening round of the state playoffs. Upper Dublin is led by 5-4 Fairleigh Dickinson-bound Megan Ngo, La Salle-bound Emilia Coleman, and stellar 5-9 junior guard Tamia Clark. The Cardinals are among the favorites in District 1 and may arguably be the fastest team in the area.
Westtown School
The Moose are the area’s most dominant team, going 27-4 last year and winners of five straight Friends Schools League titles and four straight PAISAA championships. They are riding a five-year winning streak in the Friends Schools League. It is a fun, star-studded team led by Jordyn Palmer, a 6-1 junior guard, 6-foot Ohio State-bound point guard Atlee Vanesko, and 6-foot junior guard Jada Lynch. Inside help comes from a pair of 6-2 forwards, Lara Csaplár-Nagy, a junior, and senior Venessa Kaukenas.
South Jersey’s Frank Cairone, an 18-year-old pitching prospect with the Milwaukee Brewers, remains hospitalized after a serious car accident Friday night in Gloucester County.
According to the Franklin Township police, the Delsea Regional High graduate and a 20-year-old female passenger were injured following a vehicle crash at 10:15 p.m. Police said the crash happened when an 18-year-old female driver from Millville was traveling east at the intersection of Williamstown and Fries Mill Roads in Franklin and failed to stop at a stop sign. The car struck Cairone’s vehicle, which was traveling south.
Cairone was flown to Atlantic City Medical Center and remained hospitalized as of Tuesday. No information has been given about his condition or when he would be released. The female passenger, who suffered injuries to her lower extremities, was driven to Cooper University Hospital in Camden.
The Brewers have released a statement about pitching prospect Frank Cairone, who ranks 26th on @MLBPipeline’s list of Milwaukee’s top prospects. pic.twitter.com/1VJqTaKXWo
The driver of the other car was also taken to Cooper University Hospital with lower extremity injuries. According to police, she is expected to be charged with reckless driving and disregarding a stop sign. Alcohol and drugs did not play a role in the crash, police said.
Brewers president of baseball operations Matt Arnold said Monday that Cairone was “progressing positively. The reports we’ve gotten are good.”
The 6-foot-3 pitcher was selected 68th overall in the MLB draft in July and was considered one of the top lefties available. He withdrew a commitment to Coastal Carolina to sign with Milwaukee and spent part of the summer and fall at the Brewers’ facility in Arizona in hopes of making his professional debut this year.
With Delsea last season, Cairone was clocked throwing as high as 94 mph and kept an 88- to 90-mph pace in later innings. He struck out 94 batters in 44 innings and helped the Crusaders to an NJSIAA Group 3 quarterfinal appearance.
After overcoming a 16-6 deficit late in the fourth quarter Saturday night, the Chicago Bears beat the Green Bay Packers, in overtime, 22-16, thanks to a 46-yard touchdown reception from Philly native DJ Moore.
Three plays after the Bears stopped Green Bay on its drive in overtime, quarterback Caleb Williams found Moore, an Imhotep Charter graduate, off a play-action post route to score the walk-off touchdown, his sixth touchdown reception of the season.
“I just had to run, run like I did in practice and connect like we did at practice,” Moore said of his winning reception. ”It was really a practice rep but we did it in a game. Like I said, it was just amazing that we did it against the Packers.”
The victory moved Chicago to the NFC’s No. 2 seed and put the Bears in the driver’s seat to win the NFC North for the first time since 2018. The Bears haven’t made the playoffs since 2020.
Moore is the Bears’ leading receiver this year with 664 yards and is tied for the team lead in touchdowns with Rome Odunze.
Eagles cornerback Quinyon Mitchell tackles the Bears’ DJ Moore on Nov. 28.
Now in his eighth season in the NFL after a standout career at Maryland, Moore has scored three of his touchdowns in the last two games. This is his third year in Chicago after getting traded from the Carolina Panthers after the 2022 season and he has led the team in receiving each of the last three years.
After Saturday’s game, Moore wore a cheese grater hat, a reference to the Packers’ cheesehead hats that fans are known for wearing.
Bears WR DJ Moore pulling out the cheese grater hat is perfect. 😂
Moore and the Bears face the San Francisco 49ers next week and end the regular season by hosting the Detroit Lions. Chicago controls its destiny to win the division and clinch a playoff spot.
When Kevair Kennedy saw Ernest Shelton enter his name in the transfer portal after spending two years at Division II Gannon University in Erie, Pa., the Merrimack College pledge texted his former Father Judge teammate about joining him in Massachusetts.
“I was just telling him, if me and him team up again, we could cause so much damage,” said Kennedy, now a 6-foot-2 freshman point guard. “He’s familiar with my game, I’m familiar with his game. He knows that I like to drive, he like to shoot, so we got a good one-two punch. I also was reminding him about all the good times that we had at Father Judge, and he bought into it.”
That he did. Shelton, a 6-5 junior shooting guard who led Gannon with 17.4 points last season, didn’t have any Division I scholarship offers in high school. But after proving himself in the PSAC, Shelton wanted to move up a level.
His name and background — being a Father Judge product coached by Chris Roantree — stood out to Merrimack head coach Joe Gallo, who heavily recruits the Philadelphia area and has built a relationship with Roantree. So with the push of a former teammate and the familiar ties to his hometown, Shelton landed with the Warriors, where he and Kennedy are the team’s leading scorers, averaging 14.6 and 15.2 points, respectively, for the 6-7 team.
The two have quickly emerged as impact players, and their addition to the program, which lost its top scorer last season in former West Catholic standout Adam “Budd” Clark, now at Seton Hall, has filled a large void.
“I knew Kev would probably have to carry a big load with us losing Budd, and we’re a pretty point guard heavy program,” Gallo said. “We always have a great guard, so I knew he’d have the opportunity to do it. He’s definitely exceeded expectations, and Ern the same thing. You never know when a player goes from Division II and transfers up a level if it’s going to translate. But they both hit the floor running right from the summer.”
Here’s a glimpse of their contributions so far: Shelton tied the single-season program record with 9 three-pointers against Boston on Nov. 15, where he finished with a career-high 33 points and was named MAAC Player of the Week. Kennedy also had his first career double-double (16 points, 11 rebounds) against the Terriers. He’s been selected as Rookie of the Week twice.
A familiar face played a major part in their success. Shelton and Kennedy met while playing AAU together on Philly Triple Threat. Shelton spent his first two years of high school at Bishop McDevitt in Wyncote, before it closed down at the end of the 2020-21 academic year.
He considered going to Archbishop Wood, where Roantree was a longtime assistant under John Mosco. But once Roantree landed the head job at Father Judge, Shelton decided to follow his coach there. He was reconnected with Kennedy, then a freshman who saw minutes. He later became a stater on the varsity team.
The team took some bumps in those first two years as the program underwent a rebuild under a new coach. The Crusaders finished 4-9 in the Catholic League in 2021-22. They were 6-7 in 2022-23. But last season Father Judge made school history, earning a Catholic League and state championship.
Kennedy played a large role in that achievement.
Coach Chris Roantree of Father Judge raises the trophy after his team defeated Roman Catholic in the Catholic League championship. Kevair Kennedy is on the left.
“I feel like I grew a lot in leadership there,” Kennedy said. ”Somebody had to be the leader, be the voice, and get us going on days when they didn’t feel like it. I feel like [Roantree] trusting me at an early age helped me with my accountability, not just hold others accountable, but hold myself accountable too.”
Kennedy, who held one other scholarship offer from Wagner, had the chance to play at the Plaestra as a college player when Merrimack competed in the Cathedral Classic from Nov. 28 to Nov. 30. It wasn’t the same as playing in front of 10,000 fans for the Catholic League championship, but it was “a special moment” as the current Father Judge staff and team attended some of the games.
The Warriors were riding a four-game winning streak before falling to Vermont on Dec. 14, thanks in part because of Shelton and Kennedy. The two would consider themselves to be more reserved, but on the court, they always seem to know where each other are.
“It’s a lot more eye contact then words,” Gallo said. “Kev gets Ern a lot of unscripted three-point shots in transition, where we don’t even have to call a play, because [Kennedy] knows where [Shelton] is.”
They aren’t the only Philly-area players on the team, either. Graduate student Jaylen Stinson is a former Archbishop Wood guard, senior forward Brandon Legris attended Perkiomen School, and next year, Rocco Westfield, a senior at Father Judge, intends to play for Merrimack.
Gallo likes to recruit the area because of the the high-level competition in the Catholic League, and earlier in the season, when Merrimack faced Auburn and Florida, Kennedy and Shelton looked unfazed.
“They’ve just been Philadelphia battle tested,” Gallo said. “Neither one of them blink at any of the competition we played against. I think that’s just going to continue to pay dividends.”
So would Shelton and Kennedy say their time at Father Judge is helping them now?
“For sure, definitely,” Shelton said. “It means a lot to have someone that you grew up with in college.”
Kennedy added: “Having him here, it made me break through the ice even easier than it would have been if he wasn’t here. It was easier for me to get out of my shell, knowing that if I don’t know anybody at least I have Ern.”
Four of the six defending PIAA state champions from last season were part of the Philadelphia Catholic League, which included West Catholic (Class 3A), Devon Prep (4A), Neumann Goretti (5A), and Father Judge (6A).
Those schools are still filled with basketball talent this season, and more public-school programs, like Imhotep Charter, Coatesville, and Plymouth-Whitemarsh, also have returning premier players who could be in contention for a PIAA Class 6A state title.
Here are some of the area’s top boys’ basketball players to watch during the 2025-26 season.
Chwastyk, the No. 2 ranked sophomore in the state, is a big defensive presence, and has great court awareness. He possesses unlimited growth coming off a great summer. He knows where to be on the court and how to set up his teammates. He needs to get stronger, but that will come in time as his body matures. He will be a factor in the Inter-Ac League this season.
At 6-4, 196 pounds, Francis is a strong downhill guard who is fast and physical. He plays through contact and can score driving the lane or with a mid-range jump shot. He has received scholarship offers from St. Joseph’s, Albany, Temple, Florida Gulf Coast, Hofstra, and East Carolina. In the Friars’ first two games this season, he is averaging 22 points and could arguably be the best guard in the Catholic League. He was a first-team all-Catholic selection as a sophomore, receiving a vote from every team in the league.
2027 PG Korey Francis of Bonner just caught a BODY at the RareFootage Tipoff‼️🔥 pic.twitter.com/drGxxDvYtv
Graham averaged 16 points, seven rebounds, three assists, and three steals as a sophomore. He can dribble-drive, pull up from the mid-range, and hit three-pointers consistently. He is a scoring threat that can tilt a defense. He actually started at Haverford School as an eighth-grader, which is permitted in the Inter-Ac League. He makes everyone around him better, and is receiving mid-major interest.
Considered one of the best players nationally and locally, Hiller played for the Team USA U16 team in the June FIBA AmeriCup tournament, won by Team USA against Puerto Rico. He finished with a team-high 23 points. In the first three games this season against District 1 Class 4A champion Bishop Shanahan, Catholic League contender St. Joe’s Prep, and traditional Central League powerhouse Lower Merion, Hiller is averaging 27 points.
He can score from anywhere, and has already received offers from Alabama, BYU, Louisville, Kansas State, and Maryland, but not yet Duke, his dream school. Hiller is rated by numerous recruiting services as the No. 3 sophomore in the country.
Colton Hiller is considered as one of the best players in the class of 2028.
Sammy Jackson
Roman Catholic, 6-7 senior guard
A Virginia Commonwealth pledge, Sammy is the son of former Roman Catholic and Temple star Marc Jackson. Sammy can score on all three levels, and averaged 16 points, seven rebounds, and six assists as a junior. He is a matchup problem as a guard, and is primarily a facilitator, which may change this season, considering Roman now has Imhotep Charter transfer point guard RJ Smith, who’s committed to La Salle.
Jaydn Jenkins
Archbishop Wood, 6-10 junior center
Jenkins has received offers from Georgia, Mississippi State, Oklahoma State, West Virginia, and Old Dominion. Pittsburgh and Penn State have shown interest. Jenkins has added some weight, moving up to about 210 pounds. He can control the glass, block shots, and rebound. He’s coming off a sophomore season where he averaged 8 points, eight rebounds, and 4.5 blocks, shooting 52%. This season, he is projected to average a double-double.
Johnston, who’s heading to Marquette, is a dynamic player who has added an inch and 10 pounds since last season. He is a 1,000-point career scorer. His best attribute is his length, and possessing good vision as a passer. He can be selfless to a fault, and can score a triple-double at any time.
A Drexel pledge, Lorenzano-White is averaging 10 points, six rebounds, and two blocks so far this season. He can get to the rim, and is a shutdown defender, who is usually assigned by Imhotep coach Andre Noble to cover the opposing team’s best player.
Imhotep’s Latief Lorenzano-White (right) drives to the basket past Father Judge’s Rocco Westfield on Feb. 28.
Owen Kelly
Springside-Chestnut Hill Academy, 6-5 senior wing
Kelly, who will play at Lafayette next year, is a lefty shooter who can score on all three levels. He averaged 18 points and nine rebounds as a junior. He is coming off an elbow injury over the summer, and his length and wingspan make him a stout defender, one of the best in the Inter-Ac League.
Derrick Morton-Rivera
Father Judge, 6-3 senior guard
Morton-Rivera is committed to Temple, and he’s considered one of the better shooters, if not the best shooter, in the area. He averaged 17.7 points last season, reaching the 1,000-point career plateau, and led the Crusaders to their first PIAA Class 6A state championship in school history and first Catholic League title since 1998. He can shoot over defenses or score driving to the basket.
Muhammad-Gray lost his sophomore year in the second game of last season to a torn ACL. He has come back this season at 220 pounds, almost 30 pounds heavier than he was last year, and is making up for lost time. He’s averaging a team-high 15 points, eight rebounds, and 3.5 assists so far this season.
He is a strong rim protector, and what makes him unique is his constant energy. Colleges backed off due to the injury, but interest is starting to grow again.
2027 F Zaahir Muhammad-Gray ‘ZMG’ (@_ZMG10) should be receiving a lot of attention this season. Shot the lights out, got to the rim against a seven footer at will, and was only slowed up because Imhotep was working on their offense.
Newson is an electric, above-the-rim finisher with the ability to dominate games. He joins the Saints this season, transferring in from Academy of the New Church, where he helped lead the team to a Friends’ League championship.
This is his third school in three years, after originally playing as a freshman at Sanford School in Delaware. He has received offers from Arizona State, Virginia Tech, St. Joes, and Penn State.
Rowan Phillips
Westtown, 6-6 sophomore guard
A transfer from Archbishop Wood, Phillips came off the bench and was among the Vikings’ leaders in scoring, averaging 19 points in 25 minutes of action. He is a three-level scorer, up there with Hiller in his ability to knock down shots from anywhere on the court.
Sajid, a Towson pledge, averaged 19 points last season, and is an exceptional shooter, with an explosive first step. Though listed at 6-4, his length and wingspan enable him to play more like he is 6-7. He can get shots off anywhere on the court, and against taller players. A natural scorer, his three-point shot is becoming more consistent.
Smith transferred into Roman this season. He carries a poised, steady hand that comes from experience starting as a freshman at Imhotep. He has an uncanny ability to play much larger than his size. He’s quick on his feet, and will handle the point for the Cahillites this season. Because of the transfer, Smith will not be eligible to play in the PIAA state playoffs.
RJ Smith (center) transferred from Imhotep into Roman Catholic this season.
High school basketball has begun already, with several stellar players and teams back in action.
This season, the area has two national-level girls’ basketball players, a pair of sisters who could be the best in the Philadelphia Catholic League, the nation’s No. 1 player in another sport, and a player who suffered a torn ACL two years ago and is now dunking the ball in practice.
Here are some of the area’s top girls’ basketball players to watch out for in the 2025-26 season.
Reginna Baker
Neumann Goretti, 5-foot-7 junior guard
Baker returns as the leading scorer for the defending Catholic League and PIAA Class 4A state champions. She averaged 15 points as a sophomore and will now be the face of the Saints, after Catholic League MVP Carryn Easley and Amya Scott graduated.
She has improved as a two-way player, and received scholarship offers from eight Division I schools. She will likely become a 1,000-point scorer as a junior and earn strong consideration for PCL MVP, alongside Archbishop Carroll’s Alexis and Kayla Eberz.
Carter showed great courage playing in the PIAA Class 5A state championship before going down with an injury. She scored 23 points in Archbishop Wood’s 45-37 loss to South Fayette. This will be Carter’s third school in three years — she played her freshman year at Penn Charter — and she is high on the list of every major college program in the country. She can score from anywhere on the court, and will run the point for Vinny Simpson’s Friends’ Central team this season.
ESPN #12 2027 PG Ryan Carter of FCHS is the BEST thing since sliced bread. Carter made some plays against Germantown Academy that are nearly impossible seem effortless‼️🔥 pic.twitter.com/xXjrKE1hl0
The daughter of Ben Davis, the former major leaguer who was the No. 2 overall pick in the 1995 MLB Draft, Riley Davis is the No. 1 lacrosse player in the country and is committed to Penn State for lacrosse. It is the reason why many schools backed off recruiting her for basketball. She is very athletic and a matchup problem. She has a height advantage over other guards, while being too fast for a center to stay with. She enters this season as one of the top scoring threats in the Inter-Ac League.
Penn State commit Riley Davis of Notre Dame, ranked as the top lacrosse player in the country, scored 15 points against Imhotep Charter, helping to secure a victory at home. pic.twitter.com/4rFbUYSiNP
Like her parents, Alexis Eberz is planning to attend Villanova. The oldest daughter of former Villanova stars Eric Eberz and Michele Thornton, Alexis may be the best player in the Catholic League and is a strong candidate for PCL MVP.
One of her major challengers for that title lives under the same roof, her younger sister Kayla. Alexis is one of the most potent three-point shooters in the area and has become more aggressive driving to the lane. She won a state championship as a freshman and is looking to finish a great high school career with the triple crown of a Catholic League championship, a District 12 title, and a PIAA Class 6A crown.
Kayla Eberz can handle the ball, shoot from a distance, rebound, defend, and at times dominate games. Only a sophomore, Kayla is receiving interest from numerous programs across the country, including Villanova, Michigan, and Marquette. What makes her unique is that she can defend anyone on the court, from point guards to centers. By the time she is a senior, Eberz projects to be one of the best players in the PCL and one of the most sought-after recruits in the country. She is among the best in Pennsylvania right now.
Eberz sisters (from left) Kelsey, Alexis, and Kayla last December.
Jada Lynch
Westtown, 5-11 junior guard
Lynch is the spitting image of her mother, former U.S. Open champion and tennis Hall of Famer Kim Clijsters, but the basketball gene came from her father, Brian Lynch, who played for Villanova. Jada plays for the Belgium under-18 national team. She shoots well and can shoot beyond the college three-point stripe. She is versatile, deceptively quick, can rebound, and has the competitive gene from her parents. She is getting attention from Power 4 schools.
Palmer is the best player in Pennsylvania and one of the best players in the country. She’s been playing high school varsity basketball since she was in eighth grade. She will be able to go to any top-10 program in the country. She simply dominates games with her ballhandling, shooting, rebounding, high basketball IQ, and with the energy she brings.
She can finish left- or right-handed, and has added a more consistent perimeter game. She’s also a team player, making it a point to get her teammates involved. She plays with poise despite the constant attention she has had on her since she was a freshman.
Jordyn Palmer (left) of Westtown shoots over Nasiaah Russell of Universal Audenried Charter during a game on Nov. 30, 2024.
Nasiaah Russell
Audenried, 6-3 junior center/power forward
This should be Russell’s breakout year. With the graduation of Philadelphia’s all-time leading scorer Shayla Smith, who is now at Penn State, it will be up to Russell to lead the defending Public League champions. Russell has grown an inch and gotten stronger since last season, now able to dunk. A dominant shot blocker, Russell averaged nine points, seven rebounds, and two blocks as a sophomore. She has made a complete recovery from tearing an ACL in her right knee as a freshman in December 2023.
Small is an athletic 6-2 forward who can do everything. Her strength is her defense and creating turnovers. She started at Scranton High as a freshman and arrived at Friends’ Central as a sophomore, displaying her athletic versatility to play multiple positions, block shots, rebound, and alter shots.
She is considered one of the best players in the state, and is now teamed with one of the country’s best players in Carter.
Atlee Vanesko
Westtown, 6-foot senior combo guard
Vanesko is bound for Ohio State. She is a three-year captain at Westtown, the premier program in the area. She can shoot, and at 6-foot, she is not afraid to rebound and defend. She is a pass-first guard. She can also knock down an open three.
MECHANICSBURG, PA — Eyan Stead Jr. blamed himself. The Roman Catholic 5-foot-10, 180-pound senior two-way star carried it with him for months. It bothered him to the point where he lost sleep over the pass that glanced off his hands in last year’s state championship that would have been a touchdown.
Stead also knew something else. He would get another chance. Fortunately, on Friday night, he did, against the same team, in the same stadium, in the same game.
This time, Stead made it right, and was a big part in making Roman Catholic football history, catching a game-high nine passes for 102 yards and a touchdown in leading the Cahillites to their first PIAA state football championship, beating District 3 champion Bishop McDevitt, 28-6, in the Class 5A championship at Cumberland Valley High School.
Late in last year’s state championship, won by McDevitt, 34-31, in overtime, Stead was wide open down the middle of the field when Roman quarterback Semaj Beals unfurled a bomb. It looked like Stead would run right under it when it bounced off his hands.
“Every day, every day after that game last year I thought about it,” admitted Stead, who’s bound for Temple. “I beat myself up over it. That stayed with me for two months after that game. I had to make it right. I started to stack days and prepare. I lost sleep over that play. I lost weight. I didn’t eat for two weeks. I didn’t start letting it go until late January. I put it on me. I let my team down, and it bothered me.
“I believe in second chances. I believe in third chances, and when this chance came to play McDevitt again, in this game, I wasn’t going to let anyone down this time.”
The state championship was the culmination of what Cahillites’ head coach Rick Prete had been building since he was named head coach in 2019. He built the program up from scratch, taking considerable time to take players to summer seven-on-seven camps, vanning them to various skills camps, and gradually building the talent of the program.
Q3, 1:16 — Cahillites cook in no-huddle, then @Maj_QB1 throws a 1-yard dart to Eyan Stead in the end zone.
“I have to process all of this,” Prete admitted. “It feels great being the first to do this. We’re going to celebrate on Saturday, and I may not feel one bump on the turnpike on the way home. I want to make sure I tip my cap to [McDevitt] coach [Jeff] Weachter and his team. I learned a lot from him.”
Prete’s supreme find was Beals, who is heading to Akron and has thrown for over 12,000 yards as a four-year starter.
Beals completed 18 of 26 for 231 yards and three touchdowns, getting Roman out to a big first-half lead before McDevitt scored.
“I was on a mission, we were on a mission, and we were all motivated from what we went through losing last year,” Beals said. “I know Eyan went through. I know he blamed himself for the drop, but we were all to blame. And we all took it on ourselves this offseason to get back here and do something we felt we should have done last year — win the state championship. It feels great making history as the first Roman team to ever win a state title in football, but this is a brotherhood, and it’s something we all did together. No one was going to stop us this year.”
Roman had the game won at halftime, holding a 21-0 lead. The Cahillites scored on three of their first five possessions, outgaining McDevitt, 197 to 120. The separation should have been more, with Roman only converting one of McDevitt’s three first-half turnovers into points.
Beals scored on Roman’s first drive with a seven-yard run. Beals found Hanif Sheed on a short, seven-yard touchdown pass early in the second quarter for a 14-0 advantage. The score was created by a fumble recovery by Roman’s Julian Enoch at the McDevitt 33.
Roman squandered a second-quarter interception by junior linebacker Walter Hudson, who brought the ball back to the McDevitt 22. But a fumble, which was recovered, pushed the Cahillites back to the 24, followed by an illegal shift flag that put the Cahillites in a fourth-and-13 at the McDevitt 25.
Defensively, Hudson came spearing through to stop a McDevitt fourth-and-one at the Roman 46, which the Cahillites turned into a 40-yard touchdown pass from Beals to Ash Roberts to take a 21-0 lead with 1 minute, 53 seconds left in the first half. Hudson led all defenders with 11 tackles, which included four tackles for losses.
“We had to stop the run, and we knew our defensive backs would stop their pass game,” Hudson said. “On the fourth-down play, I knew what they would do by watching film. I ran through the A-gap and I stopped it. On the interception, I dropped back in my zone, and I knew the ball would come to me. I tried to score, but everything started giving up. We didn’t do last year, and were determined this year to finish the job.”
It was Stead who tacked on the last score, when Beals hit him with a short 1-yard pass with 1:16 left in the third quarter.
“Eyan beat himself up over last year, but we made sure he knew we would not have been in that position without him,” Prete said. “He made sure. Eyan, he will always be our guy, and I keep saying it, he’s the best player in the state. He showed it tonight. I’ve been pounding that table for two years now how good Eyan Stead is. There is not a better football player in Pennsylvania than Eyan Stead.”
