2021 Fall Team Preview: Bishop McDevitt High School

We continue our 2021 fall team preview’s here today by looking at one of the most talented teams in the entire state, the Bishop McDevitt Crusaders. The Crusaders are coming off an undefeated 6-0 2020 season that saw them go 5-0 in the Mid-Penn Conference. Unfortunately, despite being undefeated, the Crusaders were not able to compete for a state championship as they were not included in the playoffs. That being said, in 2021, they should be one of the premier teams in the state and should be competing for an AAAA state championship. A big reason for that is that they have one of the most talented rosters in the state, as shown by our class rankings. Over the 2022, 2023, and 2024 classes, we have 11 different Crusaders ranked, with 10 of them being ranked in the top-100 players in their respective classes as well. <strong>2022 No.14 - WR [player_tooltip player_id="27593" first="Mario" last="Easterly"] </strong> If you’ve been following our preseason All-State teams, you should be familiar with Easterly. The Old Dominion commit is the only player to be ranked both on the offensive and defensive sides of the ball. He was named to both our second-team offense at wide receiver and second-team defense at defensive back. Overall, Easterly is one of the premier athletes in the state regardless of class. Overall, we have him ranked as the 14th best prospect in the 2022 class and the No.1 ranked athlete. <strong>2022 No.45 - WR [player_tooltip player_id="27597" first="Kamil" last="Foster"]</strong> There’s a lot to like about Foster as a player, he has good size at 6-foot-0 and 190-pounds, he shows great speed and acceleration, strong and consistent hands plus much more. After a solid sophomore season with 19 receptions and 326-yards in 11 games, Foster became a bigger part of the Crusaders offense last season in their limited amount of games. Over their six games, Foster had 35 receptions for 498-yards and six touchdowns. The production on the field matches his development quite well and it will be interesting to see if he can continue to take another step forward this fall. He’s been receiving quite a bit of interest from FCS programs. <strong>2023 No.3 - RB [player_tooltip player_id="27732" first="Marquese" last="Williams"]</strong> Williams was a preseason second-team All-State selection at running back this offseason. Williams played in just three games last season but made an impact in those three games with 53 carries for 248-yards and three touchdowns. That was after posting a 1,000+ yard season as a freshman in 2019 with 155 carries for 1,019-yards and 15 touchdowns. He’s nearly the complete package as a running back and is going to be an exciting player to watch this upcoming season. He’ll one day be playing under the national spotlight with a Power Five football program. <strong>2023 No.5 - OL [player_tooltip player_id="27745" first="Gabriel" last="Arena"]</strong> Another preseason All-State team selection, Arena has a tremendously high ceiling and is a top-five talent in the 2023 class. Our top offensive lineman in the class, Arena has the size you look for, the strength, the footwork, he has it all. Anyone who watches Arena’s case has to love what they see and it’s easy to project where he could be in a few years based on where he already is in his development. If he continues on this trajectory, he could have an argument as the top player in the state in the class of 2023. <strong>2023 No.41 LB [player_tooltip player_id="66047" first="Kade" last="Werner"]</strong> The next 2023 prospect up for Bishop McDevitt, is linebacker [player_tooltip player_id="66047" first="Kade" last="Werner"]. Wener ranks as our 8th ranked linebacker in the class and is a fun player to watch. What he doesn’t necessarily have in terms of his skillset, size, etc, he makes up for by playing with a ton of energy and with a high motor. He’s a whistle to whistle type player and will be a solid player at the next level no matter where he ends up. <strong>2023 No. 73 RB [player_tooltip player_id="140027" first="Cyncir" last="Bowers"]</strong> Alongside Williams, Bowers gives McDevitt one of the most talented, if not the most talented backfields in the entire state. Bowers, has great speed and elusiveness, allowing him to easily find and hit holes before accelerating downfield past opposing defenders. Bowers appeared in three games last season for McDevitt, totaling 226-yards and two touchdowns on 24 carries. Like with Williams, expect more of Bowers this upcoming season as long as he can stay healthy and on the field. <strong>2023 No. 86 WR [player_tooltip player_id="140018" first="Jeffrey" last="Penn"]</strong> What immediately stands out about Penn is his size, at 6-foot-3 and 180-pounds, he has the ideal build of a wide receiver. There’s not a ton of tape on him just yet for us to break down but based on what we’ve seen so far, we feel like we can project him to be quite the talent going forward. He could be in for a breakout season this year for McDevitt. <strong>2023 No. 97 LB [player_tooltip player_id="92679" first="Riley" last="Robell"]</strong> Robell is an interesting prospect to discuss because while he is a terrific football player and could have a future at the next level on the gridiron. He is also a fantastic wrestler and could very well go that route in college. Either way, with Robell, you’re talking about a great athlete with size and strength but also agility and flexibility. It would be really interesting to see what he could do with football full-time and while that future may be bright, his future on the wrestling mats may be much brighter. <strong>2023 No.101 OL [player_tooltip player_id="27750" first="Kameron" last="Zaengle"]</strong> Our final 2023 ranked prospect for Bishop McDevitt is offensive lineman [player_tooltip player_id="27750" first="Kameron" last="Zaengle"]. Zaengle plays center and defensive end for the Crusaders. At the center, he shows solid quickness to the point of attack and is strong at getting leverage against opposing defenders. When not engaged with an opposing offensive lineman, his eyes are always moving, and keeps his head on a swivel. <strong>2024 No.24 DB [player_tooltip player_id="127244" first="Jaire" last="Rawlison"]</strong> Only a sophomore, Rawlison still has a ton of development to come but the early results for him are looking good and there’s a lot to like about his game. Already with solid size at 5-foot-10 and 170-pounds, Rawlison will be a player to keep a close eye on going forward. <strong>2024 No.36 DB [player_tooltip player_id="91629" first="Ty" last="Kephart"]</strong> Our final player is another 2024 defensive back in [player_tooltip player_id="91629" first="Ty" last="Kephart"]. He has good size at 5-foot-10 and 175-pounds. As a freshman last season, Kephart looked comfortable and natural in the Bishop McDevitt secondary. He showed a lot of promise in his skillset from reading the quarterback’s eyes to taking the right routes and breaking up passes just to name a few aspects. Alongside Rawlison, Kephart will help form what will be a formidable secondary for the next few seasons for the Crusaders. Additionally, one name that we do not have on here but is a name you will likely hear about quite often in the near future and the next few years is 2025 quarterback [player_tooltip player_id="154352" first="Stone" last="Saunders"]. Despite just entering his freshman year of high school this fall, Saunders already has an offer from Michigan and likely has many more coming in the near future.