By John Knebels • Posted April 3, 2025

Kevair Kennedy stood tall without a care in the world. Draped around his neck, a gold medallion shimmered. His smile stretched ear to ear. In his hands, he held a basketball.

“I’m so blessed to be able to play this sport,” said the Father Judge senior. “When I have a basketball in my hands, there is so much I can do, both for the present and the future.”

Minutes earlier, Kennedy had scored 29 points to go along with six rebounds, five assists, five steals, and 15-of-17 free-throw shooting while catapulting the Crusaders to a 71-60, PIAA Class 6A state championship victory over Roman Catholic March 29 at the Giant Center in Hershey, Pa.

Anytime Father Judge needed a momentum turner, Kennedy gladly obliged.

“Me being a leader on the team, I can’t get down,” said Kennedy. “If I get down, I keep my head up and every time I tell myself, ‘Next time.’ Somebody else might see me and it might trickle down.”

Competing in their first-ever state playoffs, the Crusaders pulled off an implausible feat of upending Roman Catholic three times in one season – once before the playoffs, then in the Philadelphia Catholic League championship, and then in the state final. It’s believed to be the first time the storied Roman Catholic program has ever dropped three contests to the same team in a single year.

“Even when the game was close at halftime, I knew it was good,” said Kennedy. “We were playing our type of game and it looked like they were uncomfortable.”

With Father Judge nailing 13 of 16 free throws in the fourth quarter and 30 of 33 for the game, Roman Catholic had to resort to making the most of an inside-outside approach. However, whenever the Cahillites closed the gap, Father Judge figured out an answer.

On the rare occasions when Roman contained Kennedy – relying on the trio of junior Sammy Jackson (17 points in 32 minutes), senior Shareef Jackson (15 points, 10 rebounds), and senior Sebastian Edwards (12 points, five rebounds, three assists) – Father Judge junior Derrick Morton-Rivera inherited the reins, finishing with 19 points.

Kennedy said last year’s inability to win a PCL title, nor make it to states, served as fuel as soon as the offseason began.

“We needed last year to happen,” said Kennedy. “We needed to feel that pain. That’s what drove us. The majority of this team was on that team, so everybody felt that pain.”

Compounding the disappointment, few basketball people outside of Father Judge truly believed the Crusaders could “win the big game” against the PCL’s perennial powerhouse.

“Over the summer, you hear ‘Roman Catholic, Roman Catholic, Roman Catholic,’” said Kennedy. “We came out on top three times. What more could you do?”

Father Judge coach and alum Chris Roantree understood the doubters. A basketball lifer, Roantree said he firmly believed his Crusaders possessed what it took to become a champion, but talking and doing needed to mesh.

“We were two of the top teams in the state all year,” said Roantree, “It was another great game tonight. We knew it was going to come down to the fourth quarter and making some free throws down the stretch.

“We felt like we were one of, if not the best, team in the area all year. The way we built in the offseason. We felt we would be really, really hard to beat.”

Roantree will miss the leadership and basketball prowess of Kennedy.

“He’s our engine,” said Roantree. “He came in as a freshman. A lot of people didn’t know who he was. ‘Too small. Couldn’t play.’

Lo and behold, he’s playing minutes as a freshman at the end of the year and every year, he took a step, then a step, then another step. To me, he’s the (PIAA) 6A Player of the Year.”

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Contact John Knebels at gmail.com or on ‘X’ @johnknebels.