A first for Roman Catholic and Bonner-Prendergast: State football semifinals await

Sometimes it takes patience to see success. When Jack Muldoon and Rick Prete took the helms of their respective football programs, they established new systems, finished on the losing end, and in the last couple of years they had winning seasons that came up empty-handed in the state playoffs.

Now the two coaches are breaking new ground at their high schools. For the first time in the history of each program, Bonner-Prendergast and Roman Catholic are heading to the PIAA state semifinals on Friday night. The Catholic League joined the PIAA in 2008.

Muldoon’s Friars (10-2) will face Southern Lehigh at Central Bucks West in Class 4A, while Prete’s Cahillites (10-4) will travel to West Chester Henderson to take on West Chester Rustin in the Class 5A. Both games are slated for 7 p.m.

“This means everything to me,” said Muldoon, who graduated from Monsignor Bonner in 1975 and became head coach in 2016 after being involved with the program for four years. “I work at the school, I’m director of alumni relations. I’m here every day. I have a lot of dear friends and alumni who have supported us. It means a lot to get here.”

The two Catholic League programs have had successful seasons over the years. There’s also a rich history between them and faithful alumni who back them. But the schools had to start from the bottom to get back to the top.

Prete, who was named Roman’s head coach in 2019, did not know much about the PCL. The Norristown native was the offensive coordinator and receivers coach at Imhotep Charter for two seasons, and before that he was an offensive coach at Malvern Prep for the 2014 and 2015 seasons. Prete served in the Army from 2002-14.

“As we started competing against Roman when I was at Malvern, I liked the dynamic, the diversity of the kids on the field, and they fit the criteria of what I was looking for to be able to go coach a program that needed to be uplifted,” Prete said. “That was just a personal challenge of mine that I wanted to take on.”

Prete replaced Jim Murphy, who led the Cahillites from 2000-07 and posted a 64-34 record (32-22 in the Catholic League). Murphy returned to Roman in 2015 and stepped down in 2018 after a 1-10 season.

When he arrived on Broad and Vine Streets, the first thing Prete did was learn about Roman’s previous success, like in 2007, when the team finished 12-2 and beat St. Joseph’s Prep for the Catholic League Red title.

» READ MORE: What to know about local football teams in the PIAA semifinals

Then he started to incorporate his plan.

“Coming from the military, the only thing I knew was repetition and repetition makes you better,” Prete said. “It was evident that we needed to do a lot more by implementing mandatory weight room, giving hard dates on when it starts, and if you miss you’re not going to be able to play here.

“You might not see overnight results, but my first-year team, they went from zero wins the year before to five wins, which is not something that we were happy about, but it just showed that a little bit more work with the same kids helps. Fast forward six years later, these guys that are seniors have been on this schedule for all four years of their high school career, so guys are developing.”

For the past two seasons, Prete has led the Cahillites to 9-3 records but didn’t do much damage in the postseason. Last year, they earned a state playoff appearance but were eliminated in the first round by Imhotep, which now competes in Class 6A.

Muldoon has had similar results. Since 2019, the Friars have finished their season in the win column, but for the last three years in a row, they lost in the state quarterfinals.

“We talked about it during the season,” Muldoon said of getting back to the playoffs. “It was a big win for us. It was a big win for the school to get to this point. Our goal is to go 1-0 each week and let’s try to play in December. We would love to represent our school in the state championship game. But it takes one day at a time.”

The two schools also share common ground: They can recruit players from other areas to play for their programs.

Enrollment at Catholic schools isn’t like it used to be. Fewer students are attending those schools from nearby neighborhoods, which means it’s up to the coaches to build relationships and a well-known reputation so others will join their programs.

“We have progressively gotten better,” Muldoon said. “We’re a destination point for kids now. We have a lot of college coaches, like James Franklin dropping in on his helicopter here, coaches from Oregon, Duke, and Syracuse, coming out. That opportunity for our kids, who want to play at that level, we can provide that.”

» READ MORE: Bonner-Prendie has lost in the state quarterfinals three years in a row. Senior Jalil Hall wants to change that.

Both teams have talented players who have written their names in the record books. Roman’s junior quarterback, Semaj Beals, set the city record for passing yards with 6,927, while senior receiver Rayshawn Scott also broke the city’s single-season receiving record with 1,317 yards.

Bonner-Prendie’s sophomore quarterback, Noel Campbell, set school records in completions (157), yards (2,395), and touchdowns (26) this season. Receivers Jalil Hall and Jeremiah Coleman have set school records as well.

The two coaches are ready to continue their success. Prete said whether Roman wins a state title or not, there’s always room for improvement.

“I’m still focused on where we can continue to grow and get better,” he said. “All the work that our kids put in and everything the school does to help us get to this point, I still see a ton of potential for us to be so much better. The mindset right now is — and I know it sounds kind of cliché — to continuously improve. They’re doing great things right now, and we have an opportunity to do something, but we just have to keep going.”