The Lions amassed most of that first-half yardage on the ground. Quarterback Craig Haywood ran for 84 of his 124 yards in that half, using seven of his eight carries on the day. One of those first-half carries resulted in a 64-yard touchdown.
Also in the first half, all-Catholic tailback Anthony Haygood had two touchdowns and 15 carries for 63 yards. He sat out the second half to rest his sore right knee.
When the teams headed to the locker rooms, O'Hara was ahead by 21-0, and in control on both sides of the line of scrimmage.
"Our game plan was to control the ball and control the clock," O'Hara coach George Stratts said. "But our defense set the tone for the game."
Led by senior all-Catholic linebackers Corey Cannon and Rich Prazenica, O'Hara's defense had five sacks and forced four first-half turnovers: three fumbles and one interception.
The turnovers proved to be Bonner's main undoing. Forced to punt on their first possession, the Friars fumbled the snap on their own 14. Three plays later, Haygood plowed in from a yard out for his first score.
"We actually worked this week on not having turnovers, and maybe we worked too hard," Coyne said.
For O'Hara, the decision to use Haywood on more running plays seems to have opened up the Lions' offense.
"He adds another dimension to the offense, because you have to account for him, too," Stratts said.
Haywood, however, wasn't interested in talking up the new wrinkle to his game.
"I don't take credit for that touchdown," the 5-foot-10, 170-pound senior said of his 64-yard touchdown run. "That was the offensive line all the way. They gave me a hole, and I used it."
O'Hara will face St. Joseph's Prep in the semifinals (the game time is not set). The Prep trounced O'Hara on Oct. 26 by 38-17.
Monsignor Bonner 0 0 0 8 - 8
Cardinal O'Hara7 14 0 10 - 31
CO: Haygood 1 run (D'Angelo kick)
CO: Haywood 64 run (D'Angelo kick)
CO: Haygood 2 run (D'Angelo kick)
CO: D'Angelo 23 FG
MB: McNichol 5 pass from Zagursky (McNichol pass from Zagursky)
CO: Signora 5 run (D'Angelo kick)
