PIAA football playoffs: 30 years in 30 days — Clairton claims 3rd straight title in ’11

By: HSSN Staff
Sunday, November 11, 2018 | 4:57 PM

The PIAA had been hosting state playoffs in all but one fall high school sport since 1976. Soccer, volleyball, tennis, golf, cross country and field hockey all crowned state champions once the district playoffs concluded.

The lone exception to the fall state playoff slate was high school football.

It wasn’t until 1988 when PIAA officials finally pulled the trigger on the idea of having a yearly state football playoff.

From George Novak and Woodland Hills losing in a mud pit to Bob Palko and West Allegheny finding the third time really was the charm to Neil Walker and Pine-Richland competing in a heartbreaking overtime loss in a snowstorm and to Tyler Boyd and the golden Bears of Clairton winning four straight state championships.

There have been a lot of thrills and heartbreak in three decades of state championship football. Leading up to the 2018 state finals, the TribLIVE High School Sports Network will look back at how WPIAL teams have fared in the PIAA championships with 30 years in 30 days.

The Year: 2011

The Site: Hersheypark Stadium in Hershey

The Champs: Central Dauphin, Archbishop Wood, Lancaster Catholic and Clairton

The Headline: The beat goes on as Clairton wins third straight state crown

The Lowdown: Three WPIAL champions in 2011 didn’t make it to Chocolatetown as their goal of playing in the PIAA football championship game fell just short in the state semifinals.

North Allegheny, Montour and Aliquippa all lost close games, ending a 16-year run of WPIAL teams sending at least two teams to the four-game state finals.

The lone exception was of course, Clairton.

The Bears had won two straight PIAA championships and were looking to become only the fourth school at the time to come away with three straight golden footballs.

Clairton was facing District 4 powerhouse Southern Columbia, a team that had played in a dozen state championship games heading into the 2011 finals and had won a record six titles and also had a record six runner-up trophies.

The Bears hit on a couple of big passes and used a trick play that didn’t go as planned but still worked for a near score.

Clairton quarterback Capri Thompson connected with Terrish Webb on touchdown passes of 88 and 65 yards.

Yet, late in the first half, Clairton led Southern Columbia by only two points until Tyler Boyd became a factor.

The future Pitt and Cincinnati Bengals star caught a backward pass and was looking to throw downfield on a trick play, but when the play didn’t develop, Boyd tucked the football and ran 55 yards to the Tigers 1-yard line.

Reuben Kelley scored on the next play to make it 21-12 Bears at the half.

Southern Columbia scored on the final play of the third quarter to cut the Clairton lead to two again.

That is when Boyd made big plays put the game away for the Bears. The junior scored on long touchdown runs of 78 and 68 yards to seal the deal on the state three-peat, 35-19.

The victory was historic on several fronts for Clairton.

The Bears became the first WPIAL football team to win a third straight PIAA championship.

The victory was also the 47th in a row, which broke the WPIAL winning streak mark of 46 straight by Braddock in the mid to late 1950’s.

As we now know, when it came to winning streaks and claiming championships, the golden Bears were not done.

Elsewhere that weekend before Christmas in 2011, a pair of District 3 teams won gold as Central Dauphin and Lancaster Catholic won close games, while Archbishop Wood won the most lopsided game in state finals history as they crushed Bishop McDevitt, 52-0, for the first of five PIAA crowns.

Don Rebel is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Don at drebel@tribweb.com or via Twitter @TheDonRebel.

Tags: Clairton