PIAA Football Championship Recaps

By: Bruce Markey
Friday, December 16, 2011 | 11:07 PM

The Clairton Bears went home Friday afternoon with ANOTHER PIAA championship, the third consecutive. But the Bears were the lone representative for the 2011 championships. It's only the second time in state playoff history and the first in over twenty years with only one WPIAL team on the field at Hersheypark Stadium. 

Here are the recaps from the other championship games, including a first time win for Central Dauphin and a familiar feeling for Lancaster Catholic. 

QUAD A:  Central Dauphin Rams 14 – North Penn Knights 7

They may have had the shortest trip but got the greatest reward as Central Dauphin claimed their first PIAA Quad-A football championship with the win over North Penn in the weekend finale at Hersheypark Stadium. Drew Scales ran for 109 yards on 10 carries, he also hooked up with Brandon LaVia for a 74 yard bomb in the second quarter. That connection is now the longest touchdown pass in a Quad-A title game.

The conditions may have played a part in the slow going in the opening half, a moderate snow starting falling just before kickoff and covered the field, causing some slippery conditions until the players adjusted in the second half.

Central Dauphin had a chance to open the game up in the third quarter, having a short field at the North Penn 30 but the Rams committed back to back false starts and could not convert a fourth and eight at the 28. North Penn took momentum from the stop and marched 72 yards in nine plays, including big gainers by James Fielder and Dan Gervitz. Fielder was able to score on a 5 yard run early in the fourth to knot the game at 7.

But Central Dauphin would not be denied the gold football. Scales returned the kickoff to the Knights 43, Adam Hollinger broke off a huge run of 36 yards, setting the Rams up at the two. Zayd Issah scored two plays later off right tackle to give the Rams back the lead.

North Penn got a kickoff return of their own as Gervitz took it 36 yards to his own 41. But the drive stalled out and Coach Dick Beck elected to punt the ball to the Rams with 6:57 to play. But the Knights never got the ball back. Central Dauphin took over at the 21 and ripped off three first downs with two gigantic plays included. The first came on a fourth and one at the Rams 45. Coach Glen McNamee called timeout and elected to go for it, LaVia ran a tap and go, he gained six yards and moved the sticks, North Penn had used all of their timeouts, Scales put the clincher with a 23 yard run and the Rams ran out the clock to start the celebration.

The Rams posted 265 yards on the ground with Hollinger adding 79 and Issah 58 all touch yards. McNamee said it was a true team effort, and symbolic of how the District 3 champions season had gone. The Rams had to defeat both Wilson and North Allegheny to get to the title game. Scales said he dreamed about this moment, winning a state title on this field, the junior ended up with 307 all-purpose yards on the night. Scales thanked the large number of fans the supported the Rams on the road to a state title. Central Dauphin has won 14 straight games, the only loss was in Week 2 to Class AAA finalist Bishop McDevitt, the Rams end 15-1.

North Penn ends the season at  13-3. The Rams defense shut down quarterback Corey Ernst, who had thrown for over two thousand yards and 25 touchdowns this season. Ernst was just 7 of 15 for 62 yards. Gervitz was the leading rusher at 8 carries for 52 yards. Central Dauphin had 339 yards to North Penn’s 193, the Rams also won the time of pessession battle 26:10 to 21:50, the Knights failed to convert in key situations, going 3 of 10 on third down and 0-2 on fourth down.

Score by Quarters:
North Penn Knights 0 0 0 7 – 7
Central Dauphin Rams  0 7 0 7 – 14

Scoring Summary: 
2nd Quarter:
CD:  Drew Scales 74 pass from Brandon LaVia(Evan Brandes kick)  7:25

4th Quarter:
NP:  James Fielder 5 run(Brandon Mendes kick) 10:09
CD:  Zayd Issah 2 run(Brandes kick)  8:08
 

CLASS AAA: Archbishop Wood Vikings 52 – Bishop McDevitt Crusaders 0

Archbishop Wood claimed their first PIAA Class AAA Championship with a 52-0 win over Bishop McDevitt. The 52 points was the most scored in the Class AAA title game since Thomas Jefferson scored 56 in a 2004 win over Manheim Central and the fifth highest point total in any classification.

After beating defending AAA champion Allentown Central Catholic 70-14 last week, the Vikings continued the offensive show, posting 345 yards on the ground. Brandon Peoples ran for 171 yards on 16 carries with 3 touchdowns, he’s committed to Rutgers. Temple recruit Desmon Peoples added 151 yards on 18 carries and 2 scores and 2 interceptions.

The Vikings scored on their first possession, taking an advantage of a short field. Brandon Peoples scored on a 30 yard run. Bishop McDevitt drove down to the 23 but Desmon Peoples stopped that drive with an interception. After the teams exchanged drives, Desmon Peoples broke a 54 yard run for a touchdown, with a crushing block thrown by cousin Brandon, he also had his second interception on the first play of the second quarter and finished the next drive with a 1 yard touchdown run and a 21-0 lead.

The District 12 champions continued keeping the throttle down as West Virginia recruit Nate Smith caught a 19 yard touchdown pass from Joe Monaghan and Nick Visco added a 41 yard field goal with 1:06 left in the half and a 31-0 lead.

Bishop McDevitt quarterback Alec Werner was pressured all night, he tossed three picks in the first three quarters and was hit at least fifteen times while throwing the football, the third pick ended in a Pick 6 as Andrew Guckin stepped in front of the pass and went untouched 75 yards to kick the mercy rule in effect. Werner was 21 of 48 for 329 yards. His main target was Brian Lemelle with 11 catches for 127 yards, Shawn Seif had 8 catches for 90 yards. The Crusaders top player, senior Noah Spence led with 8 tackles, both Penn State head coach Tom Bradley and Ohio State coaches Urban Meyer and Luke Fickle were in the box.

Brandon Peoples put an exclamation point on the win with 67 yard touchdown late in the third and a 6 yard touchdown midway thru the fourth.

Score by Quarters:
Archbishop Wood Vikings 14 17 14 7 – 52
Bishop McDevitt Crusaders 0 0 0 0 – 0

1st Quarter:
AW: Brandon Peoples 30 run(Nick Visco kick) 8:31
AW: Desmon Peoples 54 run(Visco kick) 1:53
2nd Quarter:
AW: D. Peoples 1 run(Visco kick) 8:40
AW: Nate Smith 19 pass from Joe Nonaghan(Visco kick) 4:53
AW: Visco 41 FG 1:06
3rd Quarter:
AW: Andrew Guckin 75 int return(Visco kick)
AW: B. Peoples 67 run(Visco kick) 1:59

4th Quarter:
AW: B. Peoples 6 run(Visco kick) 5:32
 

 CLASS AA: Lancaster Catholic Crusaders 17 – Tyrone Golden Eagles 7 

District 3 champion Lancaster Catholic won their second PIAA Class AA title in three years with a 17-7 victory of Tyrone in Hershey on Saturday. The Crusaders claimed the 2009 championship with a win over Greensburg Central Catholic in the snow. Roman Clay carried 25 times for 154 yards and a touchdown to lead the Crusaders to a perfect 16-0 season.

Lancaster Catholic opened the scoring late in the first, taking advantage of a short field after a fumbled punt snap. Clay carried six times on the drive and finished with a 2 yard run. The Crusaders had a golden opportunity in the second, driving to the five yard line, but Andrew Dzurik was intercepted by William Mills at the 3.

That turnover set off a flurry of turnovers. Tyrone was able to drive out to the 27, but Steve Franco was picked by Isaih Taltoan, the next play Dzurik tossed a pick to Corey Snyder, but Franco was picked again by Sean Titus. Lancaster Catholic was forced to punt, Tyrone got great field position after a face mask penalty gave the Eagles the ball at the Crusaders 40. Franco connected with Nicholas Patton to the 13 with 34 seconds left in the half, but Franco was hit by Anthony Juliano and fumbled, Adam DePietro recovered and Lancaster Catholic to run out the clock.

The Crusaders opened the third quarter with a 15 play drive, they did have a Brandon Hollister touchdown negated by a holding penalty, the Crusaders settled for a 20 yard Satchel Ziffer field goal. Tyrone answered with a 7 play drive, helped by a defensive pass interference call. Christian Getz scored on a four yard run to cut the lead to 10-7.

Lancaster Catholic finished the quarter with a drive down to the 15 yard line, but Hollister was stopped on fourth down , giving Tyrone the ball with 10:03 left. The Golden Eagles used Getz to get out of the hole, along with three Steve Franco completions to get to the LCHS 25, but Franco could not connect on three consecutive passes and turned the ball over on downs.

It was all Clay on their final drive, carrying five times to take the ball down to the 30, a late hit moved the sticks to the 15. Coach Bruce Harbach rolled the dice as Dzurick connected with a wide open Sean Titus for a touchdown and sealed the win. Harbach said getting here was an accomplishment, but that the Crusaders checked off the final box on their season list.

Tyrone was able to get to Lancaster Catholic’s 27 yard line, but Franco was sacked on second down and threw two incomplete passes to end any threat.

Lancaster Catholic will not be able to defend their PIAA title, they are slated to move up to Class AAA next season, but Clay does return for the Crusaders. Nicknamed “the Freezer”, Clay finished his season with 1,899 yards and 32 touchdowns. Miami, Rutgers and Maryland have shown interest in Clay. Dzurik survived a shaky start to go 11 of 17 for 121 yards.

The District 6 champion Golden Eagles end the season 14-2, Franco ends his senior season with 2,576 yards and 30 touchdowns, he finished just 8 of 23 for 101 yards. Getz ran for 88 yards on 17 carries.

Score by Quarters:
Tyrone Golden Eagles  0  0 7 0 – 7
Lancaster Catholic Crusaders  7 0 3 7 – 17

Scoring Summary:
1st Quarter:
LC:  Roman Clay 2 run(Satchel Ziffer kick)  1:22

3rd Quarter: 
LC:  Ziffer 20 FG  5:45
T:  Christian Getz 4 run(James Dorminy kick)  3:11

4th Quarter:
LC:  Sean Titus 15 pass from Andrew Dzurik(Ziffer kick)  1:36