The practice field is a parking lot. The team has no home stadium, instead borrowing area high school fields to play their games. Thee coach had quintuple heart bypass surgery in February. And it lost its starting fullback and leader to a broken leg.

The Lansdale Catholic football team has faced its share of adversity this season.

And that's just the way the Crusaders like it.

Lansdale Catholic, which faces Grove City at noon Saturday at Hersheypark Stadium for the PIAA Class AA championship, has been a nomad this season.

The private school in the suburbs of Philadelphia shared a stadium with nearby North Penn High School. But the field was destroyed midway through the season by heavy rains and heavy activity.

That left the Crusaders (13-1) without a home field and sent them on a tour of other nearby high school facilities to close out the regular season.

"We've had a lot of challenges," said Lansdale Catholic coach Jim Algeo.

In preparation for their games, the Crusaders used the blacktop of their high school parking lot as a practice field because it had lights, a dry surface and plenty of room – unless there was a school event being held. If that was the case, they headed to the school cafeteria, pushing tables and chairs aside.

"That's part of the modus operandi around here," Algeo said. "Our practice field is so slippery, you just can't get anything done sometimes. Then, with the daylight savings time, it gets dark around here at five, so we use the lights in the parking lot. We call it 'our turf.' It's just part of the process."

Algeo and his team will find the surroundings a bit plusher in Hershey Saturday. But the Crusaders don't mind. The circumstances of their season have inspired them to get to the state title game for the first time in school history.

"Sometimes, you have to do the best with what you have," Algeo said.

That's been the story of Algeo's 37-year coaching career at the school. On a routine checkup in February, he was told he needed immediate heart surgery. But he recovered in time to be on hand at the Big-33 game in July, when he was inducted into the Pennsylvania State Football Coaches Association Hall of Fame.

He began the season with high hopes for his team, which ended the 2003 season with six straight wins after starting 0-5.

His players didn't disappoint their longtime coach, losing only to Boyertown 28-16 Oct. 30. Since, the Crusaders have rolled off five straight wins, outscoring their opponents by an average of 32-8 in the process.

"It's been a very rewarding season," said Algeo, 67, who has a 251-146-15 career record at the school. "Their work ethic has got them here. That's the big thing. … And I think the good Lord blessed them with a lot of speed and quickness."

That's been Lansdale Catholic's forte all season. The Crusaders aren't very big - only seven players tip the scales at more than 200 pounds and only two more than 230 – but they make up for it with speed at nearly every position.

It all starts with 5-foot-11, 182-pound senior tailback R.C. Lagomarsino, who has rushed for 1,934 yards and 27 touchdowns this season. In the PIAA Eastern Final against Littletown, he rushed for 223 yards on 38 carries and two scores.

On defense, the Crusaders love to come after the quarterback, throwing various blitz packages, which can also disrupt the opponent's running game.

Lansdale Catholic surrendered just nine points per game this season. Against Littletown, the unit held standout running back Brett Stoops to just 15 yards.

Algeo admits to knowing very little about Grove City. He drove halfway across the state to exchange film with Eagles coach Jeff Bell Sunday and knows enough about Bell's team to realize the Crusaders have yet another challenge.

And that's just the way he likes it.

"You just don't know," Algeo said. "That's the neat thing about the playoffs. You know virtually nothing about the other team - you've never seen them play, other than on tape. You just show up and play and don't know what to expect. It's exciting."