Ramblers win third straight PIAA football championship.

The conventional wisdom was that this year's Cathedral Prep football team wouldn't be able to match the success of its immediate predecessors.

Prep, after all, had graduated the stellar senior class that helped power it to three straight state championship games and back-to-back titles the past two seasons. When Prep got off to a 1-2 start this year, it seemed the doubters might have a point.

But the kids on the field kept their eyes on the prize. The coaches on the sidelines kept looking for the right combinations even as injuries mounted.

"As seniors, we wanted to write our own story and not go off the past two years," running back Billy Lucas told sportswriter Tom Reisenweber last week. "We want to bring another state championship to the school and the city. A lot of people didn't think we'd be here, but we put in a lot of work."

The Ramblers, led by Lucas' record-setting performance, finished that work on Thursday night. Prep dominated Philadelphia's Imhotep Charter 38-7 in Hershey, sealing its third consecutive Class 4A state championship.

A look at Lucas' statistics helps tell the story that he and his teammates wanted to write. Running behind an impressive offensive line, Lucas carried 40 times for 286 years and three touchdowns — setting Class 4A championship game records for carries and yards.

In its storied high school football history, Erie has never seen anything like Prep's remarkable run. Neither has District 10.

Prep became the first team in district history to win three straight state championships. The Ramblers now have five state titles overall, also a District 10 record.

And Thursday's victory extended Prep's playoff winning streak to 13. That's one of the longest in PIAA history.

It's hard to imagine a high school football team playing any better than the Ramblers did Thursday night. That this year's squad exceeded expectations adds luster to that performance.

For Prep's players and coaches, a season that ended in victory was colored by loss. Head coach Mike Mischler's father, Dr. Forrest Mischler, died Oct. 20 at age 79. Thursday's was Prep's first PIAA final without him in attendance.

The team dedicated the season to Jeff Bomba, an assistant coach and former Prep player who was just 36 when he died in January. That gave this year's title another layer of meaning.

Imhotep beat the Ramblers in the 2015 Class 3A title game before losing to them the next three years. After Thursday's game, Imhotep head coach Nick Lincoln was already talking about next year.

"Maybe we'll be blessed enough to play Cathedral Prep for a fifth time next year," he told Philly.com.

We can't speak for Imhotep's chances. But we certainly wouldn't bet against Prep.