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Category: High School Sports

  • Father Judge overcomes early deficit to beat Archbishop Wood, earns spot in boys’ Catholic League final

    Father Judge overcomes early deficit to beat Archbishop Wood, earns spot in boys’ Catholic League final

    The reigning Catholic League champion has earned another shot at the title.

    On Wednesday, the Archbishop Wood boys’ basketball team took on Father Judge in the Catholic League semifinals at the Palestra. After trailing 19-3, Judge mounted a comeback for the ages. Led by Temple recruit Derrick Morton-Rivera’s 27 points, Judge won, 52-46.

    The Crusaders will face Neumann Goretti in the Catholic League final on Sunday at the Palestra. NG beat Bonner-Prendergast, 64-60, in the second PCL semifinal.

    West Philly ‘stayed the path’ to get back to the Public League final

    “Being confident in myself,” Morton-Rivera said. “Even if I miss shots or don’t get the shots that I want, I just keep believing in myself and keep trying to get shots or trying to make plays and look for my teammates.”

    Morton-Rivera, the program’s all-time leading scorer and son of former Neumann Goretti star D.J. Rivera, is happy to leave his own mark on the PCL.

    “It means a lot being able to leave a legacy, make a name for myself,” Morton-Rivera said. “A lot of people know me from being D.J.’s son — he went to Neumann Goretti and he was great. I’m glad I can make a name for myself at Judge.”

    Father Judge coach Chris Roantree spent eight years as an assistant at Wood under opposing coach John Mosco before rejoining his alma mater five years ago.

    “First for me and John,” Roantree said. “We have a great relationship, my best friend, coaching with them for nine years, but more importantly, he’s a friend. We went through a lot together, and somebody’s got to lose. That’s the hardest thing about it.”

    Last year, Roantree and Father Judge earned the program’s first PCL title in 27 years. Now they have a chance to go back-to-back for the first time in program history.

    Archbishop Wood’s Jaydn Jenkins (11) reaches for a rebound against several Father Judge players.

    “It would mean a lot because that’s what we talked about all season,” Morton-Rivera said. “Being the first class to come out of here with two championships. Nobody has ever done that before. That’s something that we definitely want to get.”

    Wood dominated the regular season with its 1-2 punch of Caleb Lundy and Brady MacAdams, who are first and second on the team in scoring, while 6-foot-11 Jaydn Jenkins roamed the paint on defense.

    Imhotep Charter looks to make history with its sixth straight Public League boys’ basketball title

    Jenkins blocked Morton-Rivera’s first two shots, helping to stifle Judge in the first quarter. MacAdams hit a corner three and contested a layup on back-to-back possessions to push Wood’s lead to 16-3 after the first quarter.

    “We’ve been here for the past two years,” Father Judge point guard Rocco Westfield said. “It’s not easy to come down here and play in this environment in front of 10,000 people. So we just really stuck together and really kept our mindset straight.”

    Morton-Rivera scored 12 of Judge’s next 22 points to tie the score at 25 at the half.

    In the third quarter, Judge forced the Vikings into taking outside shots, stopping Lundy’s dribble penetration and Wood’s offense while Morton-Rivera scored eight of the Crusaders’ first 10 points to open the half.

    MacAdams did his best to keep Wood close, but the Crusaders kept the lead for the majority of the second half.

  • In a Public League hoops debacle between E&S and Constitution, the adults squander a chance to be leaders

    In a Public League hoops debacle between E&S and Constitution, the adults squander a chance to be leaders

    Inside a half-empty John E. Glaser Arena on La Salle’s campus Tuesday night, Robert Moore lounged at the end of the Constitution boys’ basketball team’s bench, head back, arms folded, legs crossed, as if he had resigned himself to being powerless to stop the blowout before him. He wasn’t. He could have. He hadn’t.

    The second game of the Public League semifinals was a rout from the start, a 73-41 Imhotep Charter victory that was never close, was never in doubt, and never should have been played. Constitution was there only because its previous opponent, Carver Engineering & Science, had been forced to forfeit their quarterfinal matchup when an altercation marred the game’s final minutes. With his team down by 12 points, with 71 seconds left in regulation, a Constitution player had shoved an E&S player, sparking an on-court confrontation among athletes, coaches, and fans. E&S’s bench had emptied, which, according to Public League rules, disqualified E&S from the tournament, allowing Constitution to move on to face Imhotep.

    From that ugly set of circumstances, Moore, his team, and Constitution’s administration received a gift that they never should have accepted. Constitution was on its way to losing in the quarterfinals until one of its players committed the act that ignited the chaos. And even if the Public League was following the letter of the law by confirming that E&S had to forfeit — “Constitution did the right thing,” league president Jimmy Lynch said, “by not entering the floor during the incident” — Moore and Constitution still could have done the honorable thing and declined to play in the semis, too.

    E&S players left the bench to protect their teammates. Now their season is over.

    It would have sent a powerful message to Constitution’s players, and to the league as a whole, that certain principles are more important than playing a game. It would have turned this fiasco into a teachable moment, a cautionary tale that Constitution’s kids hadn’t earned the right to compete against Imhotep, against the Public League’s dominant program. It would have been a better resolution than the scene Tuesday night at La Salle, where security and city police officers stood poised at the corners of the court and the public-address announcer admonished spectators to stay off the floor and let the referees do their jobs.

    “We didn’t feel like it would be a great look for the league,” Moore said, “not having a team here to play in a semifinal game, [having] rented out an arena.”

    Sorry, it would have been an admirable stand for the Public League and its leaders to take. And while Moore deserves credit for facing some questions about the incident and Constitution’s and the league’s courses of action, his explanations sounded more like excuses for the failure to make the difficult but correct decision here. The price of renting Glaser, for instance, was already a sunk cost. That money was gone one way or another, so why not use that second semifinal game as a stage to show everyone what class and responsibility look like?

    “It’s really an administrative thing,” Moore said. “Honestly, after reviewing everything, we felt like the people who needed to be suspended were suspended.”

    Imhotep defeated Constitution, 73-41, in the Public League boys’ basketball semifinal on Tuesday.

    Yes, the Public League suspended two Constitution players for their roles in the melee, but that was the minimum discipline for an embarrassing situation that those young athletes had created and escalated. The incident happened last Thursday. By Friday afternoon, someone from Constitution, from the Public League, from District 12, or from the PIAA should have been on the phone, arranging a meeting, getting the right people in the same room or on a Zoom call to settle on a solution that didn’t let Constitution benefit from its own mistakes.

    Instead, Moore called coaches around the league, starting with Imhotep’s Andre Noble: “I said, ‘What do you want?’ He said, ‘I want to play a game. … I kind of left it up to the kids as well.” Except this wasn’t Noble’s call to make, and it certainly wasn’t the kids’. Of course an opposing coach wouldn’t want an important postseason game canceled. Of course teenagers would want such an incident to be wiped away with few consequences. And of course, E&S’s parents and players have been lobbying for absolution and justice for themselves, as if anyone comes out of a mess like this with clean hands.

    “To be fair, we’ve tried to take the high road, but we felt like we’ve been basically scapegoated as we were in the wrong with everything that happened,” Moore said. “In actuality, with all the facts the district had to deal with, it just wasn’t the case. …

    “There were a lot of moving parts, and we evaluated everything when we looked at it. Obviously the district and the PIAA had all of this information, so what you’re getting is — and I completely understand — parents who are unhappy about the situation. I completely understand that.

    “I’m a coach and an athletic director. I answer to a principal, who answers to an assistant superintendent. There are so many people above me.”

    Judge denies Carver E&S’ attempt to overturn ban from Public League playoffs

    From Congress to college sports, through virtually every institution in American society, there’s a deep and desperate need for someone in a position of authority to be a genuine leader, to stand up and stand firm and say, This is who we’re expected to be. This is the right thing for those we’re supposed to serve. This is what we’re supposed to do, and this is how and why we’re going to do it. Yet here was another example where no one put the greater good and a larger lesson above appearances and self-interest. Here was another occasion where no one bothered to be an adult.

    Moore and Constitution and the Public League had a chance, a real chance, to teach young people the value of accountability and the power of grace. They had an opportunity to be true educators, and they passed up that opportunity. They decided it was more important to play a game whose result was all but certain and would be quickly forgotten, and by the fourth quarter Tuesday night, Robert Moore was stretched out in his seat at the end of the bench, striking that posture that suggested he was content to have taken the easy way out. His team lost by 32 points. Hope it was worth it.

  • West Philly ‘stayed the path’ to get back to the Public League final

    West Philly ‘stayed the path’ to get back to the Public League final

    West Philadelphia High School has been in this situation before.

    The Speedboys cruised their way to the Public League championship during the 2022-23 season before suffering an 18-point loss to Imhotep Charter in the final. Now three years later, head coach Adrian Burke and his team are back in the title game, following a 68-47 win over Dobbins Technical High School in Tuesday’s semifinal.

    When Burke walked into the locker room at La Salle’s John Glaser Arena following the win, he was bombarded by his team, who dumped water on him to celebrate its championship appearance. Now, the Speedboys will look to knock off Imhotep, the defending champions, on Sunday.

    As for Burke, he feels a sense of pride for his team and coaches that West Philly got there.

    West Philadelphia poses for a photo after its 68-47 win against Dobbins on Tuesday.

    “It feels great,” Burke said. “You put in a lot of work with these kids, and you never know what’s going to happen. From day in to day out, but these kids, they stayed the path. They stayed straight. We just kept fighting. I tell them, ‘Continue working hard, good things will happen for you.’”

    Senior guard Khabir Washington led the Speedboys with 18 points and sophomore forward Isaiah Powell-Smith added 17.

    Imhotep Charter looks to make history with its sixth straight Public League boys’ basketball title

    The Speedboys have six seniors who were on the 2022-23 team and lost in the Public League championship. Now, they’ll get a second chance.

    “They’ve been playing hard,” Powell-Smith said. “They’ve been here since freshman year, but I feel like we should just give them another chance.”

    A game of runs

    Despite trailing, 32-25, at halftime, Washington and senior guard Xavier Howard helped propel West Philly through its rut. Though they let an early lead slip away, the Speedboys remained calm heading into the locker room.

    “Never get too high, never get too low,” Washington said. “Whether we [are] winning or we [are] down. Basketball is a game of runs, and as long as we make the final run, we always believe we’re going to be good.”

    Washington was the catalyst. He had four points in the first half, but drilled a three from deep as Howard knocked down another to power a 14-0 run.

    Dobbins didn’t score until the three-minute mark of the third quarter and had just 15 second-points as the Speedboys erupted.

    West Philadelphia’s Khabir Washington led the team with 18 points against Dobbins on Tuesday.

    “I said, ‘Look, we ain’t going to zone no more gimmicks. We going straight man-to-man. We’re going to put our will against their will, and let’s see what happens,’” Burke said. “That’s what happened.”

    Dobbins mounted a comeback behind three-pointers from guards Zahmir Green and Kyyir Roberts-Moore to cut the score to 42-39, but it wasn’t enough.

    Alexis and Kayla Eberz ‘work together’ to guide Archbishop Carroll back to the Palestra

    Powell-Smith’s eight fourth-quarter points helped put Dobbins away.

    “​​He had a rocky start,” Burke said. “Halfway through the season, he just bought into everything we were doing.
Everything changed.”

    ‘Make it worthwhile’

    As West Philly prepares to face Imhotep in another Pub final, Burke noted that many of the players from that team that lost to the Panthers in 2023 are no longer with the program. The seniors sticking with him throughout all four seasons meant a lot.

    “These guys stuck with me when other guys left,” Burke said. “They told me, ‘We’re going to work as hard as we possibly can and get back.’ I said, ‘We’re going to get back. We just gotta keep working hard.’”

    The team feels the same way about Burke, and they hope to return the favor on Sunday.

    “I was here my freshman year, it took a lot to get back to this place,” Washington said. “Guys left. Guys stayed. I’m just happy for my head coach. We get an opportunity to play [for] a championship, and we’re going to make it worthwhile this year.”

  • Imhotep Charter looks to make history with its sixth straight Public League boys’ basketball title

    Imhotep Charter looks to make history with its sixth straight Public League boys’ basketball title

    Last year, Zaahir Muhammad-Gray suffered a torn ACL in Imhotep Charter’s third game of the season and could not play during the Panthers’ run to a fifth-consecutive Public League boys’ basketball title.

    This season the 6-foot-7 junior forward helped lift the Panthers to their sixth consecutive Public League championship appearance with a 73-41 drubbing to Constitution High School at La Salle’s John Glaser Arena on Tuesday evening.

    Latief Lorenzano-White finished with a game-high 22 points for the Panthers, while Muhammad-Gray added 17, 11 of which came in the second half.

    Imhotep’s Latief Lorenzano-White finished with a game-high 22 points against Constitution on Tuesday.

    Muhammad-Gray has yet to be on a team who misses the Public League title game. But the forward says being sidelined in last year’s postseason makes this one sweeter.

    “I’ve been here before,” Muhammad-Gray said. “I’ve been here every year, so I’m kind of getting used to it now. Just sitting out the last year made me miss it even more.”

    Muhammad-Gray reclassified from the class of 2026 to the class of 2027 after tearing his ACL. He has scholarship offers from Temple, La Salle, Penn State, and Georgia Tech, among others. He’s considered the second-best junior prospect in the state.

    “[Muhammad-Gray is] a Division I basketball player,” said Imhotep coach Andre Noble. “He’s one of our team captains. That’s what we expected.”

    Judge denies Carver E&S’ attempt to overturn ban from Public League playoffs

    Imhotep’s other captain, Lorenzano-White, scored 16 of his 22 in the first half as Imhotep bowled over an outmatched Constitution team. The 6-foot-4 senior guard is committed to play at Drexel next season.

    “Today, I just was seeing the rim,” Lorenzano-White said. “We’ve been preaching it for the last couple of practices and games, to get to the rim and not settling for jump shots.”

    The Panthers led, 38-14, at halftime. Their lead ballooned to 35 with 3 minutes, 5 seconds to play in the fourth before Noble pulled his starters.

    The Panthers will face West Philadelphia in the Public League title game at 2:30 p.m. Sunday at Glaser Arena.

    Imhotep coach Andre Noble has the chance to make Public League history as the first coach to earn six consecutive Pub titles.

    Imhotep, seeking its sixth straight Public League title, will have a chance to make Public League history on Sunday.

    “No team’s ever done it,” Muhammad-Gray said of winning six straight Pub titles. “I would love to be the first team.”

    ‘Unfortunate for all parties’

    While Constitution lost to Imhotep in Tuesday’s semifinal, the game was accompanied by controversy that began last week during Constitution’s quarterfinal game against Carver Engineering and Science.

    Constitution trailed E&S, 61-49, with 1 minute, 11 seconds to play last Thursday when an altercation started. Spectators flooded the court, leading officials to suspend the game with 71 seconds remaining.

    The Public League disqualified E&S from the game because its entire bench came onto the floor during the skirmish, which is a violation of the league’s unsportsmanlike conduct policy and results in a full-team suspension of the following game.

    The quarterfinal was ruled a forfeit by E&S, allowing Constitution to advance to the semifinals to face Imhotep. However, an official’s report noted that a Constitution player instigated the altercation, and spectators from the Constitution bleachers came onto the floor.

    Rob Moore, Constitution’s head coach and athletic director, called the events at the quarterfinal an “unfortunate situation.”

    E&S players left the bench to protect their teammates. Now their season is over.

    “It’s just unfortunate for all parties involved,” Moore said. “Trying to get my guys ready to play and missing guys, obviously, against a team that every year is the cream of the league, cream of the state. … I’m proud of my guys for coming out and, through everything, coming out here and playing basketball.”

    Moore also disputed the referee report that suggested the spectators who came onto the floor were affiliated with Constitution. Moore said accessing the electronic ticketing system E&S uses for its home games revealed that only one male Constitution student bought a ticket for the quarterfinal.

    Constitution’s Jacob Mitchell drives for a lay up against Imhotep’s Latief Lorenzano-White on Tuesday.

    “We felt like we’ve been, basically, scapegoated as, we were just in the wrong with everything that happened,” Moore said. “In actuality, with all the facts that the district had to deal with, that just wasn’t the case.”

    The Generals played with 10 players available against Imhotep. Three Constitution players were suspended and were not in jerseys for the game.

    E&S attempted an emergency injunction from a Common Pleas Court judge on Tuesday in an effort to overturn its disqualification, but the team’s request was dismissed and the semifinal was played as scheduled.

  • Judge denies Carver E&S’ attempt to overturn ban from Public League playoffs

    Judge denies Carver E&S’ attempt to overturn ban from Public League playoffs

    Carver Engineering & Science’s buzzer-beating attempt to overturn a ban from the Public League boys’ basketball playoffs was swatted away on Tuesday as a common pleas court judge denied the team’s plea for an emergency injunction.

    The Engineers seemed to be on track to play Tuesday night in the Public League semifinals until last Thursday’s quarterfinal game was halted after opposing fans ran onto the court. E&S led Constitution by 12 points with 1 minute, 11 seconds remaining when the referee called off the game.

    A skirmish started when a Constitution player shoved an E&S player. The situation spiked when fans — the referee said they were from Constitution’s bleachers — stormed the court and moved toward E&S players. The reserves from E&S then left the bench and walked onto the court. There were no punches thrown by players from either team.

    E&S players left the bench to protect their teammates. Now their season is over.

    The Public League ruled that E&S, despite being 71 seconds from advancing, would forfeit the game since its entire bench entered the court, which league president Jimmy Lynch said is a violation of the league’s unsportsmanlike conduct policy. The league’s rules say that a team must forfeit once their “entire bench” enters the field of play.

    Constitution was awarded a 2-0 victory and a berth in the semifinals.

    E&S argued that its players only came onto the court after opposing fans did first and were there to make sure their teammates were safe. An appeal to the league fell short on Sunday night so they went Tuesday afternoon to City Hall to take its case in front of judge Christopher Hall, hours before Constitution played Imhotep Charter at La Salle.

    Carver Engineering and Science High School players and coaches wait outside courtroom 275 on Tuesday.

    The E&S players wore their uniforms to court and were joined by coaches and alumni. They asked for an injunction to stop Tuesday night’s semifinal and allow them to play Imhotep Charter later this week. A lawyer presented their case.

    “Finding a lawyer to argue this in 24 hours was extremely difficult,” said Miya Brown, a mother of an E&S player. “It was not an easy task. We didn’t even start off with all the proper information. We didn’t have the ref’s statement. They did. We didn’t have the full report. They did. We started off at a disadvantage. But the lawyer tried. The judge pretty much explained to the boys that while this is a harsh reality for us, that when you file an emergency injunction, it has to be that this decision causes irreparable harm and damage.”

    Carver Engineering and Science head boys’ basketball coach Dustin Hardy-Moore (left) talks with his players outside courtroom 275 on Tuesday.

    E&S will continue its season later this month in the PIAA District 12 tournament but its bid for the school’s first Public League title ended in City Hall Room 275.

    “It’s just a disservice,” Brown said. “Not just for this game but for the safety of the athletes. What are you teaching? What is the Philadelphia Public League representing when it comes to the safety of the student athletes? Our student athletes are still disappointed but we’ll continue to encourage them and continue to support them. We’re going to get them ready for states.”

  • Alexis and Kayla Eberz ‘work together’ to guide Archbishop Carroll back to the Palestra

    Alexis and Kayla Eberz ‘work together’ to guide Archbishop Carroll back to the Palestra

    The Eberz sisters know they can count on each other to pick another up.

    Alexis and Kayla Eberz, two of three sisters on the Archbishop Carroll girls’ basketball team, leaned on another to earn a 50-38 win over Archbishop Wood in a Catholic League girls’ basketball semifinal.

    The two combined for 36 of Carroll’s 50 points; sophomore Kayla scored 24 and senior Alexis added 12.

    “I definitely look up to Lex a lot,” Kayla Eberz said. “I’m so proud of everything she does, [and] I think we work together really well. So if one’s not doing so [we’re going to] pick the other one up.”

    Archbishop Carroll’s Kayla Eberz finished with a team-high 24 points against Archbishop Wood on Monday.

    Now, Carroll finds itself in a familiar position: the PCL final. This marks the Patriots’ third straight PCL final appearance.

    Last season, Carroll lost to Neumann Goretti, and in 2024, it lost to Wood. The Patriots haven’t won a PCL title since 2019.

    This time around, Carroll, which will face Cardinal O’Hara Sunday at the Palestra, believes it’s in a better spot to come out victorious.

    Megan Rullo’s 22 points powers Cardinal O’Hara to Catholic League final

    “I think our mindset [has changed],” Alexis Eberz said. “We haven’t gotten the outcome we wanted the past two times, but we are using that as motivation this year. … We’re a special team. Staying together, staying composed, having discipline — I think we got it.”

    Road to victory

    But the Patriots’ semifinal win at Finneran Pavilion — the future home of Alexis Eberz, a Villanova signee — did not come easy.

    The Vikings built a 10-point lead about six minutes into the game. Carroll responded with back-to-back three-pointers to cut its deficit and end the first quarter down by two points.

    Wood senior forward Colleen Besachio, a Rider signee, was the difference-maker for the Vikings, scoring a team high 15 points. Wood trailed, 21-20, at halftime.

    Archbishop Carroll’s Alexis Eberz drives to the basket against Archbishop Wood High’s Colleen Besachio in the third quarter on Monday.

    But once the Eberz sisters started to connect in the third quarter, the tempo shifted.

    Kayla started the run with a bucket that gave Carroll 31–28 lead, then followed it up with a massive block. On the Patriots’ next possession, Alexis found Kayla for a three-pointer, followed by a Kayla dish to Alexis for an easy layup to make it 36–28.

    “Basketball is a game of runs,” Kayla said. “They had their run at first; we had ours. And then we just had to stay on top of it.”

    E&S players left the bench to protect their teammates. Now their season is over.

    Carroll held an eight-point lead entering the final 10 minutes and extended that advantage to a comfortable 12 points by the final buzzer.

    “We just had to [take it one] possession at a time,” Carroll coach Renie Shields said. “When we dug in, took one possession defensively, and offensively got going, I felt more comfortable that we got into a swing of things.”

    Back to the Palestra

    Carroll has an 11-0 league record. The team is full of chemistry and experience.

    The Patriots hope that will help them write a new story and bring home a PCL crown on Sunday afternoon.

    “We’re all such good friends. It helps,” said senior forward Bridget Grant, who’s committed to Ursinus. “When one of us is down, another person picks [them up]. If someone takes a bad shot, you can let them know. That’s not us getting mad; it’s just trying to help the team. It really just shows how well we play with each other, that we all love each other.”

    Members of the Archbishop Carroll team celebrate after beating Archbishop Wood in the Catholic League girls’ basketball semifinals on Monday.
  • Megan Rullo’s 22 points powers Cardinal O’Hara to Catholic League final

    Megan Rullo’s 22 points powers Cardinal O’Hara to Catholic League final

    Cardinal O’Hara is heading back to the Catholic League girls’ basketball championship for the first time since 2022.

    In a rematch of last year’s semifinal, Cardinal O’Hara overwhelmed Neumann Goretti, 51-33, on Monday night. The Lions lost to the Saints last season, when they played without its two stars in senior guard Megan Rullo and junior forward Brezhae Davis.

    “Getting those two back on the court definitely helped,” said Cardinal O’Hara coach Chrissie Doogan said. “Neumann Goretti lost their guards from last year, but they’re a very talented team and play well together. … So it’s just a little bit of added incentive against the team that beat you last year to get back and take care of business.”

    Cardinal O’Hara’s Brigidanne Donohue (left) finished with 13 points against Neumann Goretti on Monday.

    Rullo led the Lions with 22 points, eight rebounds, and seven assists. Junior guard Brigidanne Donohue added 13 points, and Davis had 10.

    For Neumann Goretti (14-10), freshman guard Azzure O’Connor led the Saints with nine points. Junior guard Reginna Baker contributed seven points.

    Westtown girls’ and boys’ basketball teams secure a Friends Schools League title

    Cardinal O’Hara (20-3) will face Archbishop Carroll at the Palestra on Sunday for the PCL title. The Lions beat the Patriots, 55-30, in the 2022 final.

    “It means a lot,” said Rullo, who is committed to Drexel and will join her sister, Megan, there. “Last year was definitely a learning year, not being able to play. So there’s definitely a lot of wanting to get there. I’ve never played at the Palestra, and that’s definitely been a goal of mine. It’s everyone’s goal, so we’re super excited.”

    O’Hara dominates

    Cardinal O’Hara controlled the game.

    Sophomore Catie Doogan sank a three-pointer, followed by a pair of foul shots from Rullo, to give the Lions a 13-6 advantage at the end of the first quarter.

    The Lions continued to climb in the second quarter. Neumann Goretti gained some momentum close to halftime as senior Kamora Berry grabbed a defensive rebound, which led to a three-pointer from senior Zion Coston. But a Rullo layup as time expired sent Cardinal O’Hara into halftime with a 10-point lead.

    Neumann Goretti played consistent, high-pressure defense on Rullo, who repeatedly drew fouls as she drove to the rim. Rullo shook off the defense and kept her composure. She totaled 13 points from the free-throw line.

    Cardinal O’Hara’s Megan Rullo (center) gets fouled driving to the basket against Neumann-Goretti.

    “I like being a leader of this team, and I feel like staying composed is something that I have to do in order to lead this team to success,” Rullo said. “We talk about it all the time, just not getting frustrated and matching the intensity level, giving it back a little bit.”

    With seconds left in the third quarter, Donohue tossed in a basket to give the Lions a 40-27 lead. They then solidified their win in the fourth with a pair of foul shots from Rullo in the final minute that pushed the Saints’ deficit to 20 points.

    Heading to the Palestra

    Cardinal O’Hara lost to Archbishop Carroll, 51-28, on Jan. 13. With the stakes much higher, the Lions are looking forward to their chance at redemption.

    “We were embarrassed at Carroll a month ago, but they locked in and recommitted themselves … to the success of our program,” Doogan said. “They really locked in on the defensive end. And, honestly, they don’t care who gets the credit. We’re at our best when we have three or four kids all between eight and twelve points. On any given night, it could be all five of our stars.”

    Cardinal O’Hara’s Megan Rullo (right) celebrates tossing the basketball with her teammates after beating Neumann Goretti in the Catholic League girls’ basketball semifinals.

    Doogan and Cardinal O’Hara are especially excited for the opportunity to compete at Philadelphia’s most historic basketball arena.

    “These kids deserve a chance to play at the Palestra,” Doogan said. “It’s something that every Catholic League kid wants, and I put a little bit of pressure on myself to get them there. Carroll’s a really good team. They’re playing well, and it’s going to be a dog fight.”

  • E&S players left the bench to protect their teammates. Now their season is over.

    E&S players left the bench to protect their teammates. Now their season is over.

    The boys’ basketball players from Carver Engineering & Sciences who left the bench last week came onto the court after fans from Constitution’s stands rushed the court and surrounded their teammates, according to a report by one of the game’s officials that was submitted to the School District of Philadelphia.

    The referee said the altercation in Thursday’s Public League playoff game was started by a player from Constitution, who the ref said pushed the E&S player as the E&S player walked away.

    “Then I saw a crowd of people from the [Constitution] spectator area of the bleachers running towards those two players,” the referee wrote. “So, I gradually backed off because I didn’t know what was coming next.”

    What came next was the reserves from E&S leaving the bench. They “eased onto the court,” the ref said. And that was enough for E&S to be suspended from the league playoffs.

    The Engineers were ahead by 12 points with 1 minute, 11 seconds left when an altercation started by an opposing player was inflamed by opposing fans. And now that opposing team is taking E&S’ place on Tuesday against Imhotep Charter in the Public League semifinals at La Salle University.

    E&S hopes ‘unfair’ ruling is reversed after skirmish led to elimination from Public League hoops playoffs

    Representatives from E&S met Sunday night on Zoom with Jimmy Lynch, the Public League president. Lynch told them the ruling stood. League rules say that a team must forfeit once their “entire bench” enters the field of play.

    The PIAA told E&S that the decision stood with the school district. A school district spokeswoman said Monday that the decision would not be changed. Lynch could not be reached for comment.

    The representatives from E&S did not argue that their players left the bench but they were hoping that the rule could be applied with the context of the situation: the players came onto the court to protect their teammates once their teammates were surrounded by spectators. The E&S players did not throw a punch or look to fight, the parents said.

    “If our students engaged in the on-court incident we would’ve had penalties and suspensions,” said Miya Brown, a mother of an E&S player. “But because we avoided the confrontation, we have been disqualified from continuing on. All of this is so disgusting. It really is. The mission is supposed to be about student safety but they’re ignoring the safety part of this incident.”

    “If this brawl happened at the opposing team’s end of the bench and our student athletes ran to the other end of the bench, I could understand. If this happened on center court and our student athletes left the bench, I could understand. But this happened in front of our bench and the crowd is running toward our student athletes. There is no way you can make a just decision based on those facts. It got out of control.”

    E&S did not practice Monday but remained hopeful that something would change before tipoff of Tuesday’s semifinal. That seems unlikely.

    The Carver Engineering and Science boys’ basketball team after winning a tournament earlier this season.

    The Engineers were 20-4 this season before the forfeit became their fifth loss. They won a tournament in Northeastern Pa. and took Imhotep — the defending league champions — to overtime in January before losing. They wanted another shot.

    “That’s the matchup everyone wants to see,” said Dave McField, a father of an E&S player.

    The referee said he asked during the first quarter for security guards to be placed near the Constitution fans because “they were being unruly.” At halftime, he told E&S’ athletic director that he needed more security. He said a security guard stopped the game in the third quarter to warn the fans but the guard did not stay in the area.

    Public League boys’ basketball team disqualified from playoffs after skirmish

    “So when everything jumped off,” he wrote. “Those same unruly fans rushed the court.”

    The referee said he planned to eject the Constitution player from the game “because he started this chain of events” and “was the only player I saw push or hit any opponent.” The referee stood in the corner of the court as fans overtook the floor. E&S was 71 seconds left from reaching their first league semifinals in 20 years. Instead, their season was about to end.

    “I glanced at the [Constitution] bench area where I saw the head coach next to about five of his bench players,” the ref wrote. “At that time, I called the game and walked off.”

  • E&S hopes ‘unfair’ ruling is reversed after skirmish led to elimination from Public League hoops playoffs

    E&S hopes ‘unfair’ ruling is reversed after skirmish led to elimination from Public League hoops playoffs

    Miya Brown was in the crowd Thursday afternoon when a rush of fans stormed the court, surrounded the teenage basketball players, and put a stop to a Public League boys’ basketball playoff game.

    She watched her son — a senior captain at Carver Engineering & Science — leave the court and protect his sister, one of the team’s student managers.

    “It was terrifying,” Brown said.

    The incident started with a Constitution player going nose-to-nose with an E&S player during a stoppage with 1 minute, 11 seconds left in the fourth quarter. Host E&S was ahead, 61-49, and closing in on a trip to the league’s semifinals.

    The E&S player raised his hands and walked backward, attempting to de-escalate the situation. The Constitution player followed him before shoving him. By then, two players from Constitution had left the bench and walked onto the court. Fans soon ran onto the floor, and the E&S players left the bench to join their teammates.

    No punches were thrown by players from either side, and the situation eventually settled down. The game ended with 71 seconds left. So did the season for E&S.

    The Public League disqualified E&S from Tuesday’s semifinal since its entire bench went on the court, which league president James Lynch said is a violation of the league’s unsportsmanlike conduct policy.

    Constitution won the game on a forfeit and will play in the semis against Imhotep Charter. Representatives from E&S met Sunday night with Public League officials, who said they would not change the ruling.

    “A fair decision should have been made,” Brown said. “If you can’t determine that we were not at fault and we won’t proceed, then no one should proceed. This teaches teams that if you can’t compete, you cheat. That’s not the way to teach these student athletes.”

    The league’s rules say that a team will be suspended for the following game if its “entire team leaves their bench area and steps onto the field of play during an incident.” A player will be suspended, but not the team, if he leaves the bench.

    Lynch said “several” Constitution players will be suspended for Tuesday’s game. But E&S is challenging the ruling as it said the situation was no longer “a basketball game” once fans ran onto the court and caused an unruly scene.

    Public League boys’ basketball team disqualified from playoffs after skirmish

    “The kids didn’t come off the bench when it was just the kids going back and forth,” said Dave McField, a father of an E&S player. “When they saw the mob of fans coming at their teammates, that’s when they came onto the court out of fear to get their teammates to safety. None of the kids were in a fighting stance or throwing punches. They’re very good kids. We’ve never been in this type of situation.”

    The game was tense before the incident as players from both teams were issued technical fouls in the first quarter.

    “As far as officiating goes, that was the only attempt to get control of the game,” said Nande Hardy, a relative of E&S coach Dustin Hardy-Moore.

    The Carver Engineering and Science boys’ basketball team has a 20-5 record this season.

    Brown said the referees failed to “keep the temperature of the game at bay.” The final stoppage was a whistle for a foul on Constitution, and the referees did not step between the two players jostling on the court. The situation soon unraveled.

    “To look around and see the faces of the parents because they are worried about their kids on the court and the kids in the stands are worried about their safety,” Hardy said. “You have kids running on the court with hands in their jackets and grown adults running onto the court. We had no idea where this thing was going to go.”

    The teams met earlier this season, with E&S winning by five points. The players played together in the summer on the AAU circuit, and this was a game with big stakes: a chance to go to the Public League Final Four at La Salle University.

    “They worked so hard in the spring and the winter and then for it to end like this is a tragedy,” McField said. “It’s unfair, very unfair. At the least, if we don’t get to go, they shouldn’t get to go. All of the kids are kind of let down. They’re in a shock like, ‘Well, how do they get to go?’ I could see if the game was close. There were 71 seconds left in the game with a 12-point lead and we had the ball. How do they get to go?”

    The parents said they emailed Lynch about the ruling and hope it can be reversed before Tuesday. E&S, once a league power, has never won a Public League title, and this season was a return to relevance as the forfeit dropped its record to 20-5. E&S was eyeing a rematch with Imhotep, the perennial power that edged the Engineers last month in overtime.

    Mani Sajid takes ‘no off days.’ Now he’s etched his name in Plymouth Whitemarsh hoops history.

    “It was tough,” Brown said of the loss to Imhotep. “But we lined up, shook hands, said it was a damn good game, came back to the school, and worked on what we needed to do to continue to grow. That’s what we promote at Carver. No violence. We grow. We’ve lost plenty of games in the last four years, we’ve never tried to incite a fight or a riot or any unsportsmanlike behavior.”

    McField said an assistant coach from Constitution said his team didn’t want to play Tuesday as it felt the spot belonged to E&S. Now, E&S hopes the league feels the same.

    “We did absolutely nothing wrong,” Brown said. “And I say we as in students, coaches, and community. Our students stayed in the stands and our coaches instructed our kids to stay on the bench. But if you were in that audience and you saw the crowd of people swarm those kids, there’s no way that the decision that was made took into consideration that those student athletes feared for their safety.”

  • Westtown girls’ and boys’ basketball teams secure a Friends Schools League title

    Westtown girls’ and boys’ basketball teams secure a Friends Schools League title

    After the Westtown boys’ basketball team claimed its first Friends Schools League title since 2022 with a 64-54 win over Academy of the New Church on Friday night, the girls’ team joined the medal ceremony at the center court.

    The Westtown girls had their own hardware to show off for a championship photo op. The Moose hung on for a 53-46 win over Friends’ Central hours earlier in the FSL’s championship doubleheader at La Salle’s Glaser Arena.

    It was the sixth consecutive FSL title for the Westtown girls and the first time the teams had shared the court as champions since 2022.

    “I think the girls and the boys teams have a great bond at Westtown,” said guard Rowan Phillips. “It was good to see us win a championship because [the girls] have been doing this for a minute. So we’re just trying to catch up to them.”

    The Westtown boys and girls basketball teams pose with their championship medals. Westtown won both FSL titles in the same year for the first time since 2022.

    Westtown girls outlast Friends’ Central

    While the final score was closer than the Westtown coaching staff would have liked, the Moose scraped by No. 2 seed Friends’ Central behind Jordyn Palmer’s 19 points.

    “I don’t think there was a lot going well for us,” coach Fran Burbidge said. “But I thought we defended and made some really good things [happen] in the second half. … We kept battling.”

    The Phoenix held a 16-8 lead at the end of the first quarter, but the Moose outscored them, 19-6, in the second to take a five-point halftime lead.

    Friends’ Central whittled Westtown’s advantage to one in the fourth, but the Phoenix could not retake the lead.

    Westtown’s Jordyn Palmer — a basketball phenom and highly sought-after recruit — has untapped potential

    While Palmer’s performance did not match her 34-point output from last year’s title game, the 6-foot-2 forward took command in the final minutes.

    Palmer, a nationally ranked recruit in the class of 2027, scored four of the game’s final five points, including a layup to put the Moose up, 50-46, with less than a minute remaining.

    “I think it was at the three-minute mark, I talked with Jordan,” Burbidge said. “I said, ‘All right, things haven’t gone real well up to this point, but now’s your time. … You up for that?’ She said, ‘Yeah, I got it.’”

    Westtown’s Jordyn Palmer (right) lays up the basketball in the fourth quarter on Friday.

    Westtown’s Jada Lynch scored 12 and Atlee Vanesko, a senior guard who is the No. 74 prospect in ESPN’s rankings and is committed to Ohio State, added nine.

    Ryan Carter led Friends’ Central with 16 points, while Zya Small had 15. Like Palmer (No. 6), Carter (No. 12) and Small (No. 47) are in ESPN’s top 60 prospects for 2027.

    Westtown, which is ranked eighth nationally by Sports Illustrated, is the top seed in the PAISAA state tournament. The Moose will host the winner between Agnes Irwin and Episcopal Academy in the quarterfinals.

    Second-seeded Friends’ Central will play the winner of a first-round matchup between Germantown Academy and Penn Charter in the quarterfinals.

    Westtown boys beat Academy of the New Church

    Phillips’ 20-point performance led Westtown boys to be crowned FSL champions.

    The 6-6 sophomore guard transferred to Westtown after spending his freshman year at Archbishop Wood. The FSL title was the first high school championship of any kind for Phillips, who is a four-star prospect ranked 21st nationally in the class of 2028.

    “It feels great,” Phillips said. “It feels good to get one for the coaching staff and to see all the smiles on the guys’ faces for the first ’ship.”

    Marshall Bailey added 15 points for the Moose. Academy of the New Church’s Ryan Warren led all scorers with 22 points, but his outburst was not enough for the Lions to beat Westtown.

    Westtown School’s Rowan Phillips dunks in the fourth quarter past Academy of the New Church’s Antonio Lozada on Friday.

    Friday night’s title was far from the first for coach Seth Berger, who led Westtown to eight consecutive FSL titles from 2014 to 2022. But he noted that this season’s FSL championship was the first title for every player on his team and three of his assistant coaches.

    “I can’t tell you how ecstatic I am for them to experience what it is to be a Friends League champion,” Berger said. “This is such an incredibly tough league, and ANC is a fantastic, tough, and well-coached team. I’m super happy for everybody, and mostly for the first time champs.”

    Westtown is the top seed in the PAISAA state tournament and will host No. 16 seed Kiski School in the tournament’s opening round.

    Seventh-seeded Academy of the New Church will host No. 10 seed Penn Charter in the first round.