H.S. football: Lansdale Catholic flying high, but Crusaders wanting more

It wouldn't have taken long to count the number of folks that thought Lansdale Catholic would have such a huge turnaround from last season to this one.

Probably just the members of the football team, the coaches, and a few other optimists.

"Maybe the best thing for us was going 1-9 last year," LC head coach Dom D'Addona said. "We knew we had to change things and these kids are the ones that did it.

"They got in the weight room, believed in each other and never stopped working to get better."

Whatever the formula, and the one D'Addona described is a pretty good one. It's been working out quite well, thank you very much, for the Crusaders.

Lansdale Catholic, which scored seven points or fewer in six games in 2021 and only had 88 total points for the season, heads into its matchup Saturday with 2-3 Archbishop Ryan at 5-1 and in superb shape to secure a Philadelphia Catholic League Blue Division playoff spot.

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Not bad at all for a program that hasn't won more than six games in a season since 2015.

"I think we all saw this coming," said LC junior quarterback Cole Meehan, a Doylestown resident. "We were all waiting on this year because we knew we had the talent and the senior leadership that we needed.

"We just had to try and forget about last year and focus on what was in front of us."

The Crusaders only have eight seniors on the roster and all of them start.

"Coach Dom doesn't sugarcoat things," LC senior running back Efrain Quilles said. "He told us that if we wanted to have a good season we'd have to work hard to do it.

"And then we played really well in our first couple of games (the Crusaders outscored their first three opponents 139-32) and that helped our confidence really grow."

Things hit a snag in Week 4 as the Crusaders fell to state-ranked Neumann-Goretti 26-7 (a team they could likely face again in the playoffs), but ticked right back up a week later when LC blanked Conwell-Egan 10-0.

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"Egan is a really good team and that was a good win for us," LC senior two-way lineman Evan Lojewski said. "We know that we should have played better against Neumann and had to bounce back in our next game."

Lojewski, who had the lone touchdown against Conwell-Egan on a fumble return, had given up on football after seventh grade and only came back to it as a junior because his buddy, Meehan, talked him into it.

"I play basketball, but Cole kind of got me back into football and I'm glad he did," Lojewski said. "We have a great bunch of guys and it's been a lot of fun.

"It's all about the team and everyone trying to help each other get better. And, now, the kids at school are getting into it and happy to see us doing well and you can feel the excitement."

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Last week, the Crusaders started slowly before erupting for 34-straight points in what turned out to be a 34-2 rout of Archbishop Carroll. Quilles scored a rushing touchdown in that one while Meehan threw for a score and also ran one in.

"People love an underdog story and after the season we had last year that was us coming into this season," Meehan said. "But we knew that we had a lot of guys here who were tired of the losing and wanted to win. We've done pretty well so far, but there is a long way to go."

Quilles, who spent his freshman year at La Salle before transferring to LC, doesn't hesitate when asked what the Crusaders are looking to do.

"Our goal is always the same and that's to get to Hershey (for the PIAA state title game)," Quilles said. "We know it won't be easy, but that's what we're trying to do.

"There are a lot of good teams out there and we're a good team. It comes down to which team wants it more and I know we do."

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Drew Markol: dmarkol@theintell.com; @dmarkol

This article originally appeared on Bucks County Courier Times: Lansdale Catholic has rebounded from recent struggles and sits at 5-1.