Father Judge defeats Roman Catholic in Philadelphia Catholic League boys championship

PHILADELPHIA - From the Public League to the Catholic League, it was a battle for the ages! 

Father Judge took on Roman Catholic with an ending that felt like this year's Super Bowl. 

What we know:

Roman Catholic was going for a three-peat and its 35th championship, while Father Judge had not won since 1998, when its coach was a player on the team.

At the Cathedral of basketball, the trash talk overpowered the prayers.

"This game means everything to us, everything! Why do they think they can play us? Do they know who we are?" said Brady Helm of Roman Catholic.

"We are bringing it back to Solly Avenue for the first time in 25 years. Let's go, let's go, let's go!" cheered the Judge kids.

It's the Holy Grail of Catholic high schools, no matter what parish you're from—the Catholic League championship. 

The matchup pitted two all-boys schools with so much tradition and so many faithful fans.

"It's exciting. You see the kids bought in, and it's nice to have that back at Father Judge. It gives the kids something to remember forever," said Brian Patrick King, president of Father Judge High School.

"A lot of history, a lot of tradition for our alumni, for our students, for our families. This means everything, and we're just excited for a great game!" said John Prendergast, president of Roman Catholic High School.

And they saw a great game indeed! After overcoming a 10-point deficit, the Crusaders of Father Judge slayed the mighty Cahillites of Roman, 41 to 34.

What they're saying:

A crushing defeat for Roman, but Coach Chris McNesby was gracious in the defeat.

"It's a great basketball game. So happy for them. They're a great program. Chris Roantree does a great job. Great for the league. Tough one for our guys. Played hard, competed, but great atmosphere for high school basketball," said McNesby.

"We just made history today. It means a lot to us. Everybody is happy. We did it for the alumni, our family, we did it for each other... yes!" said Kevair Kennedy of Father Judge.

"It's the best group of guys you could ever have as a team. I'm just so proud of all of them," said the coach.

"We believed in each other through the ups and downs. After some losses that we took, we didn't stop trusting each other. We kept trusting each other, and this is the result," said Nazir Tyler of Father Judge.

It was a full-circle moment for Coach Jim Roantree and Assistant Coach Jim Reeves, who both played on the last winning Judge team 27 years ago.

"They doubted us in '98, they doubted us in '25, and we're cutting the nets down again. It's a beautiful thing," said Jim Reeves, Father Judge coach.

Roman Catholic obviously put on a brave effort and fought right up until the end, but as some of the Crusaders told Kolodziej, they felt like they were the Eagles stopping the Kansas City Chiefs from a three-peat.