sDecember 8th games, Friday
Defending state champ underlined, Runner-Up italicized,
All games at Hershey Park Stadium.
2A Final; Dec 8th 1-PM
Southern Columbia D4 15-0 vs Wilmington D10 14-0
You know a team is good when they embarrass another good team, especially one as credentialed as the Dunmore program. Still, anytime you see the Bucks destroyed by a 56-19 score, it gets your attention. But then everything about Southern Columbia gets your attention, whether its their 49 unanswered points after falling behind 13-7 in the 1st quarter, total yardage stats of 568 yards (consider the opponent!), or knowing they are headed to their 16th (16th!) state championship game. Scary thinking this was a young team last year that got to the final and one that is still young in many key areas, including junior Qb Stone Hollenbach (6-3, 190) with a 63% rate, a 27/5 Td-Pick ratio and 2144 passing yards on the year, sophomore running back Gaige Garcie with 2144 rush yards or another sophomore that has PSU Coach Franklin’s interest in Julian Fleming (6-3, 185) with 1394 yards in receptions. That all came together last week when they overwhelmed Dunmore. Qb Hollenbach completed 8 of 13 for 140 yards with Gaige Garcia getting 238 yards on 12 carries for 4 scores. Holding the Bucks to 154 total yards of offense tells the story there.
The other half of the bracket had Wilmington and Washington locked in a high scoring game at Slippery Rock University where 5 Washington turnovers helped the Greyhounds eke out a 49-42 win, in part by converted 4 of those turnovers to touchdowns. Can’t throw 3 Interceptions, lose a fumble or muff a punt and expect to win at this level, not against this team. Washington dinged them for 404 total yards with their unstoppable back Nick Welsh (2085 total) getting 248 yards rushing, but it wasn’t enough. Qb Robert Pontius was the spark for the Hounds completing 4 of 5 passes for 72 yards and rushing for 108 more on 15 carries. Fullback Jack Patton had 102 yards on 16 carries. Wilmington historically is ground and pound behind a surprisingly large line for a Double-A, including Colton Richards 6-2 255, Jim Reed 6-0 215, Connor Vas-gal 6-0, 250 freshman, Zach Andrews 6-0, 260 and 3 year starter at center Matt Jamaison 5-10, 185. Like Southern, they are a historic powerhouse going 96-20 from 2004 to 2012 followed by a mini slump of 18-14 the next 3 years before bouncing back last year at 14-2. This is their 3rd trip to the final winning Silver in 1988 and Gold in 2008. They’re looking good but not as good as the Tigers from Southern Columbia who look overwhelming at this point with a few more weapons to have them favored here by 16.06 points.
5A Final; Dec 8th 7-PM
Archbishop Wood D11 11-2 vs Gateway D7 14-1
Manheim Central (13-1) brought a balanced and powerful attack to the game, gaining 142 yards on the ground and 184 on top but it wasn’t enough against a dynamic quarterback across the field and a freshman field goal kicker. This one looked like it might go to overtime with both teams trading scores, from a 14-14 tie at the half to a 28-28 tie with 30 second left in the game. The Barons sold out, denying anything on the ground, holding Gateway to 76 yards. Unfortunately for Central, they had no answer for Gateway’s aerial assault that rained down on them the entire game, totaling 486 yards from above. Qb Brady Walker completed 36 of 50 passes. That’s a 72% completion rate, something you might expect from the team over in Gibsonia. Central picked off 2 passes but 3 got through for scores to Courtney Jackson who totaled 264 yards in 15 receptions. Heck of a defensive effort keeping Gateway from scoring more, forcing them to go 18.1 yards to get a single point. But it wasn’t enough as freshman Jayson Jenkins trotted onto the field to kick a 23-yards field goal with 30 seconds left in the game. Freshman!
The other game saw Archbishop Wood in full control defeating Unionville (13-2) 49-28. The Indians fell behind early because of Wood’s dominant running game that grinded out 302 yards rushing. Nassir Peoples had a big chunk of that gaining 146 yards on 23 carries. The Mercy Rule kicked in midway through the 3rd quarter at 43-7 with Unionville scoring twice in the final 8 minutes of the game. But Wood was always in control, holding a solid Unionville team to 183 total yards of offense to secure their 9th straight win. The win put them against Gateway where they will go for their 2nd consecutive PIAA 5A title and 5th championship in the last 7 years, winning state titles in 2011 (14-1) defeating Bishop McDevitt 52-0, 2013 (13-2) defeating McDevitt again 22-10, 2014 (14-1) beating Central Valley 33-14 and last year (11-2) defeating Harrisburg 37-0. They won Silver runner-up medals in 2008 and 2012. Since 2008’s initial playoff appearance, they have 122 wins against 19 losses. Pretty special. The question for Wood or at least a major one is can they keep up with Gateway’s quickness, particularly in the passing game. And can they get to Brady Walker. For Gateway, we’ll find out if they can stand the hammer blows of Nasir Peoples (6-1, 190, 1571), Chris Blackstone (5-11, 215, 402) and Adrian Lambert (6-0, 205, 312 yds). Qb Jack Colyar can also get it there (6-2, 200, 1152, 52%) to receivers Kyle Pitts (6-6, 240, 20/371) at tight end and Ryan Loughlin (6-0, 170, 25/572). Who wants to get in front of Pitts, their physical O-Line (after first contact) or any of their backs? Football can be painful and Wood will bring a lot of it. But Gateway is no shrinking violet, having banged some heads on the way to Hershey, particularly in the post season. Last week’s struggle with Manheim Central’s big, physical and athletic line (Wood light?) may be a “tell” since they had some difficulty with them, allowing 5.6 ypc. MC goes 6-0, 240-270 but don’t have Nasir Peoples and company. Nor does Gateway have Woods recent and pronounced playoff experience at this level. Wood takes this one but the Gators show up and give battle, losing by 11.57 points.
