PIAA football playoffs: 30 years in 30 days — South Fayette golden in ’14

By: HSSN Staff
Friday, November 9, 2018 | 5:27 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: 2014

The Site: Hersheypark Stadium in Hershey

The Champs: St. Joseph’s Prep, Archbishop Wood, South Fayette and Bishop Guilfoyle

The Headline: South Fayette golden while three other district teams settle for silver

The Lowdown: The year 2015 marked the eighth and final time the WPIAL would send all of its champions to the PIAA finals in the four-classification era. Once again, the district was left with plenty of silver linings.

South Fayette was able to repeat as Class AA state champion, but it was runner-up silver for Pine-Richland (Class AAAA), Central Valley (AAA) and Clairton (A).

A year after winning the program’s first PIAA title with a win over Imhotep Charter, South Fayette was matched up against the District 2 Dunmore Bucks. So Lions coach Joe Rossi turned to his Hunter to bag another championship trophy.

With a reputation for a pass-happy offense and led by the state’s all-time leading passer in Brett Brumbaugh, South Fayette leaned heavily on the ground game and running back Hunter Hayes.

Hayes rushed for 262 yards and put the Lions in the lead for good in the third quarter with a record 95-yard touchdown run as South Fayette beat Dunmore, 28-16.

• Eleven years earlier, Pine-Richland lost an epic state championship game to Manhein Central in the 2003 Class AAA finals.

That pain came back for long-time Rams fans in the Class AAAA title game in 2014, as one of the great comebacks just fell short.

Pine-Richland trailed District 12 power St. Joe’s Prep, 42-21, with just over nine minutes left in the fourth quarter when the vaunt Rams offense went wild.

Quarterback Ben DiNucci led the comeback by throwing for 167 of his 383 yards in the fourth quarter with four touchdowns, including a 31-yard scoring pass to D’Ondre Gastion with 2 minutes left.

The Rams went for 2 and the lead instead of kicking for a tie. The 2-point pass failed, and the Hawks repeated as champs by adding one more touchdown to make the final score, 49-41.

• In the Class AAA finals, Jarrett McClenton rushed for 230 yards and scored four touchdowns as District 12 champ Archbishop Wood rolled past Central Valley, 33-14.

The Vikings outgained the Warriors on the ground 364-71.

It didn’t help the Central Valley cause that star Jordan Whitehead missed part of the game with an injury. He rushed for only 34 yards and caught two passes for 64 yards.

Warriors quarterback Johnny George was 9 of 18 passing for 210 yards and a touchdown. The other Central Valley score came on a Brandon Wilson 48-yard interception return.

• Clairton entered the Class A finals with a 4-1 record in PIAA championship games. There would be no “one for the thumb” though after a heartbreaking one-point loss to Bishop Guilfoyle.

After a scoreless first quarter, the Bears and Marauders combined for 25 points in the second as Bishop Guilfoyle took a 13-12 lead to the locker room.

Aaron Mathews caught a scoring pass from Ryan Williams and threw a 61-yard touchdown to Lamont Wade.

After the Marauders extended their lead in the third quarter, Clairton pulled to with a point on a 64-yard run by Wade. But Clairton missed all three 2-point conversions and trailed 19-18.

Clairton thought it had the win, but an 8-yard pass from Williams to James Hines was ruled out of the back of the end zone with 47 seconds left.

A couple of Bears players let their emotions get the best of them, and after one player threw his helmet at a Bishop Guilfoyle player, the officials let the clock run out and the PIAA decided to forgo the traditional postgame handshake as the Marauders celebrated what would be the first of three straight state titles.

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

Tags: Central Valley, Clairton, Pine-Richland, South Fayette