High school football: Cardinal O’Hara off to a hot start; three District 1 6A teams remain unbeaten

Sammy Dantonka has heard the stories. He doesn’t remember them all.

Some still resonate with the Cardinal O’Hara outside linebacker, like the time his mother, Lawran Kuwornu, and grandmother, Helena Nyehn, crawled under a bridge near the Liberian capital city of Monrovia escaping crossfire in the late 1990s during the country’s Civil War.

His maternal grandfather was a Guinean engineer killed during the war, and his body was thrown into a river, never receiving a proper burial.

“My mom and grandmom are the strongest, most courageous people I know,” said Dantonka, a 6-foot-2 and 225-pound junior who was born in Liberia and came to the United States at age 8 in December 2017.

“How many people can say their mom and grandmom survived a war? They did. If they didn’t, I wouldn’t be here,” he said.

Now Dantonka is at the hub of O’Hara’s resurgence. The Lions are 4-0 for the first time since 2016, when O’Hara went 10-0 and won the Catholic League Blue Division championship, the school’s last title in football, under head coach B.J. Hogan, who was released from the program in 2022.

The Lions lost to eventual PIAA Class 4A state finalist Imhotep Charter, 36-6, in the District 12 championship. O’Hara has had three winning years over the last seven seasons. (The 2020 season was canceled because of the COVID-19 pandemic.)

Under coach Michael Ewing, the grandson of Hall of Fame O’Hara coach Bob Ewing, the Lions have gradually reached a competitive level. Ewing is in his third season, going 7-5 in 2023 and 6-6 last year.

The Lions have accomplished it with a strong defense led by Dantonka, posting two shutouts, and a ground game led by senior tailback Amahj Gowans, who has rushed for 677 yards. Two-way senior lineman Tristan Laing has steadied both sides of the ball, and junior Aaron Madeh has been a shutdown cornerback. Ewing has been impressed by 6-foot, 175-pound junior linebacker Dylan Miller in the middle.

His team has a chance to be undefeated when it visits unbeaten archrival and defending PIAA Class 4A state champion Bonner-Prendergast on Sept. 26 at 5 p.m.

To reach 5-0, the Lions will have to get by a very good Smyrna (Del.) team on Friday, and Bonner-Prendie (4-0) has a tough test at Haverford School.

“I’m really happy where we are, and Sammy has played a big role in that,” Ewing said. “If anyone came to one of our games, they would notice Sammy immediately. Teams run away from Sammy because he’s a playmaker.”

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Colleges have noticed. UConn offered a scholarship, Duke is interested, and Dantonka has a visit scheduled to Maryland. Dantonka, who carries a 3.8 grade-point average, recalls coming to America having to relearn English. He picked up football in eighth grade and had to be shown how to put on shoulder pads.

He never heard the word linebacker until he entered O’Hara. He said he has received considerable support from friends Christian Manness and Landon Waller, a junior on the O’Hara team and grandson of Temple Hall of Famer John Waller.

“I used to hold the football [vertically] like [the character Bobby Boucher] in The Waterboy,” Dantonka said. “I didn’t know anything. I didn’t know anything about my mom until I was around 10. That’s when she started telling me stories. My mom always credits God for saving her. … I didn’t watch football growing up. I do now. I love it. Coach Ewing was really patient with me, all the coaches, really, were patient with me.

“Earlier this year, I wanted to make highlight plays, instead of doing my job. Our defense fell apart a little. My teammates were there to pick me up. Coach Ewing told me if I did my job, the defense and the plays will come.”

It looks like everything is lining up for Dantonka and the Lions.

Three teams remain undefeated as the midway point in the season approaches in District 1 Class 6A. Coatesville, Pennridge, and Owen J. Roberts sit at 4-0.

Rich Kolka, who is in his 11th season as O.J. Roberts’ head coach, thought his team had a chance to begin 4-0. The Wildcats, who finished 9-3 last year, return a strong nucleus that includes 6-1, 185-pound junior receiver Matt Gregory, who is being recruited by Notre Dame and Penn State; 6-foot, 205-pound junior tailback Mekhi Graham, who is averaging 170 yards rushing a game; 6-5, 320-pound senior left tackle Angus Smith; a pair of 5-10, 200-pound linebackers, senior Jeremy Daubert and junior Lucas Shrum; and a first-year quarterback, 6-3, 205-pound senior Chris Flynn.

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Kolka and the Wildcats will find out just how good they are when they visit perennial Pioneer Athletic Conference powerhouse Perkiomen Valley (2-2) on Friday at 7 p.m. The Vikings lost to Coatesville and Springfield (Delco) but beat defending District 1 Class 6A champion Downingtown West and Governor Mifflin.

Perkiomen Valley has only one loss to a PAC-12 opponent since 2014 — to Spring-Ford in 2023. The last time O.J. Roberts beat Perkiomen Valley was on Nov. 5, 2010, a 32-7 Wildcats victory.

“I think our ability to run the ball has gotten us here,” said Kolka, whose team reached the District 1 quarters last year, losing to eventual district champion Downingtown West. “Coming into this season, we had some pieces and parts we had to replace, but we wanted to run the ball and play good, solid defense. I actually don’t think we have played our best football yet.”

Like O.J. Roberts and Coatesville, Pennridge has had an exceptional start. The Rams are 4-0 for the first time since the COVID-truncated 2020 season, when they lost to Souderton, 31-17, in the District 1 championship. Since then, Pennridge has gone 7-3 (in 2021, the last time the Rams made the district playoffs), 2-8, 3-7, and 4-7.

Pennridge, which sits atop District 1 Class 6A with 610 total points, will host the beast of the Suburban One League National Conference, North Penn, on Friday at 7 p.m. The last time Pennridge beat North Penn was on Oct. 19, 2012, when the Rams went 12-2 that season, reaching the district Class 4A semifinals, where they lost to Spring-Ford, 35-24.

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Rams coach Kyle Beller, who is in his third season, convinced Pennridge Hall of Famer and longtime coach Jeff Hollenbach to return as the team’s offensive coordinator, coaching his grandson, four-year starting senior quarterback Noah Keating, who has committed to Marist. Keating is the eye of a returning nucleus with 6-1, 220-pound senior running back/linebacker Ryan Rowe, a Princeton pledge; 5-11, 200-pound senior fullback/defensive lineman William Dougherty; and 6-1, 215-pound senior center/defensive end Ian Gallagher.

“We have been with this senior group for three years, and I thought we had a chance to start this well,” Beller said. “We have created our own breaks this year, and we’re learning how to win.

“We know North Penn is coming in, and it’s a program that has been a staple over the last 30 years in District 1. They are coming in after a loss, and we have our work cut out for us. We’re giving the kids the same message: Hit reset and prepare for North Penn like we prepare for every other team.”

Roman Catholic’s 5-8, 170-pound sophomore safety Sabir Dawson has made an immediate impact. A special-teams player last year, Dawson has had a turnover or caused a turnover in three of the Cahillites’ first four games.

In Roman’s 49-35 season-opening victory over Cardinal Newman (Fla.), Dawson had a 51-yard strip-sack scoop-and-score, and in the Cahillites’ 21-12 win against Springside Chestnut Hill, he scored on a 39-yard pick-six. In a 44-7 loss to Maryland powerhouse DeMatha, Dawson forced a fumble on the Stags’ first drive of the game.

“I just have a habit of being in the right place at the right time,” Dawson said. “I put a lot into film study. I try to get two hours in before every game, and my coaches place me in a good position to make plays. They also trust me to freelance to make plays. We have a big test next. We’re going to need to get ready for a passing game.”

Roman opens its Catholic League schedule against undefeated La Salle on Sept. 26 at 7 p.m.