O’Hara shuts down Carroll, seeks more offense

in the PIAA Tournament to a matchup with Public League 4A champ Imhotep Charter. That game will be played at 6 p.m. Friday at Benjamin L. Johnston Memorial Stadium, the Germantown High Super Site in Philadelphia.

O’Hara was leading, 2-0, after a safety in the final minute of the opening quarter, and Caponi turned in one of the biggest plays of the game when he sacked Carroll sophomore quarterback Nick Lamey at the Lions’ 21 midway through the second quarter. One play later, a 12-play Patriots drive came to a halt.

It took O’Hara 10 plays and four minutes to drive 74 yards for the only touchdown of the game. The key play of the march was a 32-yard completion from running back Quasir Cottman to Chris Kirby, putting the ball at the Carroll 27. O’Hara covered those 27 yards in five running plays, with Cottman going the final eight yards to the end zone.

“We knew it would be tougher against them this time,” Cottman said. “Our offensive line had to do a really good job, and they did.”

Ryan Culp, Joe Kelly, Louis Perri, and Cole Gehret were among the Lions who punched holes in the Carroll defense and protected quarterback Luke Sprague during the chilly night.

On the other side of the ball, the O’Hara defense gave up only 69 yards rushing on 29 attempts by Carroll (5-6). After his big play late in the first

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ERIC HARTLINE – FOR DIGITAL FIRST MEDIA ACardinal O’Hara’s Joe Kelly (66) celebrates a safety in the first quarter of a District 12 Class 4A semifinal game against Archbishop Carroll Saturday at O’Hara.