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By Josh Verlin 

The hair-raising, nausea-inducing, panic-causing fourth quarter was all in the past by the time Khamai Orange was ready to reflect on Delco Christian’s first district title win since 2019. All of that melted away the instant the clock hit zero, the Knights erasing two years of February frustrations to the tone of the buzzer horn. 

“This (was) our main focus,” the Knights’ senior guard said. “The BAL championship trophy is nice, but we wanted a banner.”

Delco Christian’s 61-59 win over Dock Mennonite in the District 1 2A championship game on Saturday was a measure of revenge. Dock beat Delco in that spot each of the last two seasons, Orange and his classmates in danger of graduating without a district title to their name. 

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Chester Charter Scholars Academy captured its fourth consecutive District 1 Class A championship with a 50-33 victory over The Christian Academy Saturday afternoon at Harriton High.

Josiah Hutson led the Sabers with 23 points. Maurice Barnes added 21 points.

Cam Harrop-Wilson tallied 18 of his 30 points in the fourth quarter for the Crusaders.

In a District 1 Class 5A playback:

Penncrest 54, Springfield 37 >> The Lions advance to the PIAA tournament for the first time since 2020. Mikey Mita poured in 18 points and grabbed 12 rebounds for the Lions, who held the Cougars to 18 points in the final three quarters. Theo Gladue added 16 points.

Chris Dolan scored 12 points for Springfield. TJ Valletti chipped in 11.

Kylie Mulholland scored 21 points, grabbed seven rebounds and came away with five steals as No. 2 Garnet Valley defeated 10th-seeded Haverford, 54-44, in a District 1 Class 6A tournament quarterfinal Saturday afternoon.

The Jaguars (25-1) host No. 3 Upper Dublin in the semifinal round Wednesday. UD was a 46-42 winner over sixth-seeded Cheltenham.

GV shot 22-of-26 from the free-throw line, including 13-of-17 in the fourth quarter, against the Fords. Haylie Adamski accumulated 17 points, eight rebounds, three blocks, two assists and two steals. Addie Adamski added nine points and three assists, while Savannah Saunders finished with five points and four steals.

Rian Dotsey paced Haverford with 17 points. Megan Kelly and Grace Maloney contributed nine points each. The Fords, who already clinched a state tournament berth, meet Cheltenham in playbacks Wednesday.

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By Matthew DeGeorge

Michael Pereira’s mom told him there would be nights like Friday, though in a more hopeful tone than The Shirelles ever imagined.

When Pereira and Mani Sajid, now both juniors, started playing together at Plymouth Whitemarsh, Pereira’s family made a quick read on what their connection could be. Pereira now stands 6-9, Sajid 6-5, though one operates in the lane and the other on the perimeter. Each would space off the other ideally, with Pereira’s rebounding and Sajid’s shooting packing the potential for a potent pairing.

Friday was one example of how devastating it can look.

Sajid scored 27 points, and Pereira tallied 20 points and 11 rebounds as the Colonials blitzed Garnet Valley in the first half, building a lead it wouldn’t relinquish in a 72-58 win in the quarterfinals of the District 1 Class 6A Tournament.

By halftime, the fifth-seeded Colonials led by 14 points, an edge that would stretch to 23 and never be in single digits again the rest of the way, despite No. 4 Garnet Valley playing them even in the third and fourth quarters.

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By Matt Smith

After a few significant senior departures, Radnor entered the 2024-25 season looking for sophomores and juniors to step up and fill the void.

Sophomore forward Bree Simpson remembers what it felt like to be a freshman, sitting on the bench, watching and learning. She hoped that by her second year, she would take on a bigger role.

She has delivered.

“I think last year coming on the team as a freshman I felt like I wasn’t really a big part of the team because I didn’t play that much on varsity,” Simpson said. “I think this year has been a lot different. I’ve definitely stepped into my role, and I feel like I’ve been a big part of the team. We had four seniors graduate last year, three of them were starters, and one was the five position. So, I knew coming in that I would have to fill those shoes, which were definitely big shoes to fill.”

Simpson shined in No. 2 Radnor’s 40-32 victory over sixth-seeded Villa Maria in Friday’s District 1 Class 5A semifinal. She was dominant in the paint, finishing with a game-high 16 points on near-perfect shooting after missing her first two attempts. She also pulled down nine rebounds.

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By Josh Verlin + Rich Flanagan

It’s time for the Catholic League championships. Back on a Sunday afternoon for the first time since 1998, the PCL title games have moved from the evening to the afternoon, but that shouldn’t change anything about the atmosphere inside the Palestra for one of the city’s annual highlights on the sports calendar. 

They’re a couple of matchups filled with intrigue — Father Judge going for its first title since the last time it was a Sunday championship, Roman Catholic going for a 3-point; Neumann-Goretti aiming to break a 10-year spell against a Carrol squad that came oh-so-close a year ago before losing in double overtime.

Here’s a look at each game on Sunday:

Girls’ Championship
1) Neumann-Goretti vs. 3) Archbishop Carroll
Previous Matchup: Neumann-Goretti, 52-43 (Jan. 18 @ Neumann-Goretti)

Head Coaches
NG: Andrea Peterson (11th year, one championship)
AC: Renie Shields (9th year, one championship)

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