All games are at Hershey Park Stadium, East rep on top.
Class AAAAAA Final, Dec 10th Saturday 8 PM
St. Joseph’s Prep 13-0, Philadelphia Catholic-League Red Division, #15 USA-Today
vs
Pittsburgh Central Catholic 14-1, WPIAL Class 6A, Northern Seven
Here’s the Commonwealth’s premier Private School State Final….the PSSF, featuring St. Joseph’s Prep and Pittsburgh Central Catholic, with the East and West runner ups Wilson and North Penn meeting in the preliminary. That actually looks pretty good! You know the Knights want to keep it going the way their game ended and Wilson has to be anxious to atone for last week’s embarrassment to Central Catholic.
Ok back to reality; Central Catholic is coming off a 63-21 pounding of Wilson were they used 4 scoring plays of plus 50 yards to put the Bulldogs away early, racing out to a 21-0 1st quarter lead. They rushed for 318 yards with 505 total yards. That’s pretty much been the story all year, no competition, winning their games by an average score of 49-16. Looking at the best teams played, teams like North Allegheny, Williamsport, Pine Richland (regular season only) and Wilson last week, they are still blowing people away by an average score of 57-23. The one loss talked about in previous write ups was to St. Johns College (8-4) 35-14 in the opener. SJC’s losses were to IMG (11-0, USA-Today #3), Gonzaga (8-3, 2nd in Washington Catholic League) and DeMatha (12-0, WCL Champ, USA Today # 6) twice in tight games. Regardless, Central Catholic is loaded everywhere and are particularly threatening this year with a legitimate passing attack. Junior Troy Fisher (6-4, 205) has thrown for 1825 yards at a 58% rate while rushing for 577 yards. Senior JJ Younger is quick as a cat at 5-8 165 with 1698 rush yards supported by David Marshal (5-9, 200, Sr) with 426 yards and David Adams (6-2, 230, Sr) with 178 yards. Except for Younger’s 190 yards in receptions, the backs aren’t a threat there. But Justice Evans and Evan Frazier are with 1096 and 366 yards respectively. The lines mentioned in previous weeks are mammoth, and mostly senior veterans.
About St. Joseph’s, there are similarities to Central Catholic with their veteran line, explosive running back with multiple, talented receivers and a highly veteran team with 17 starters back from last year. Central returned 13. Their average score is 38-16 compared to 49-16 for the Vikings. Last week saw them beat North Penn 35-25 in the Eastern Final with a 4th quarter explosion, outscoring the Knights 21-8 with D’Andre Swift blistering them for 170 yards, all in the 4th quarter. Impressive stuff knowing the score was 17-14 North Penn at the end of the previous quarter. Swift ended the game with 32 carries for 274 yards and 4 Tds. The Hawk D harassed North Penn quarterback Reece Udinski unending, forcing 4 turnovers, with special teams coming through big time for a 2nd quarter 82-yd kickoff return for 6 by Terrance Green, and other returns resulting in excellent field position.
You won’t likely see them getting to Fisher the way they got to Udinski, not with Central’s line so he should have time to find his receivers. And that could spell trouble with the other option of JJ Younger breaking one and a threat out of the backfield receiving, combined with Fisher’s run ability. Fisher is their edge. But no more than underrated Hawk receivers against a secondary perceived to be vulnerable, if McCray can connect and D’Andre Swift. Looking at schedule difficulty; St. Joe’s has strong postseason wins against LaSalle, Parkland, North Penn and a stronger regular season schedule while Central has overwhelming playoff wins against good stuff from Williamsport and Wilson and a weaker regular season slate. Some would argue a weaker postseason slate. The great thing about this one is these are clearly the two best teams in the state….and they appear to be evenly matched. Parkland’s comeback last year losing 21-18 made that one seem tight. But the one that really comes to mind is the 2014 final where the Hawks edged Pine Richland 49-41 in one of the most exciting finals since Liberty and Bethel Park in 2008 where Liberty won 28-21 in overtime, or, 8 years before that where Cathedral Prep edged Central Bucks West 41-35.
Class AAA Final, Dec 10th Saturday 3:30
Middletown 14-0 ,Mid Penn Conference-Capital Division
vs
Beaver Falls 13-1,WPIAL Class 3A-Beaver Valley Division
This game is about old school football, the way it used to be played between two small towns with none of the private school rhetoric. Just rock solid in your face football with no thought of how big the opponent’s school is. Yes!
Middletown has been dormant the last 15 years with only 5 winning seasons but have come off a 7-4 season where they showed good statistical improvement over the preceding year. So with 16 starters back it is no surprise they are vastly improved. This is the second year running backs Jaelen Thompson (5-11, 185, Sr) and Brady Fox (5-9, 195, Jr) have back-to-back +1000-yard seasons, 1598 for Thompson and 1436 for Fox this season. On top of this they have strong quarterbacking with senior veteran Chase Snavely (2120/23 Tds) protected by a substantial veteran line where all are returning starters except one. Snavely’s favorite target is Tyreer Mills with 22 catches for 722 yards. This is their first time in a state final but they bring a powerful, veteran team to the event that is highly productive at 42ppg. The defense is stingy at 11ppg. When I lived in Middletown going to Penn State no one knew why the mascot was named the Blue Raiders….and still don’t!?
Beaver Falls: The Tigers discovered Martinsburg Central out of District-6 plays some serious football, forcing them to score late to pull out a 14-7 victory. So here they are like Middletown and Steel Valley in their first ever finals appearance. Heady stuff! They are something like Imhotep in that they run a lot of bodies at you with 4 backs topping the 400-yard mark, led by Malik Shepherd’s 1018 yards, followed by Darrell Carter with 865 and Torian Leak at 608. All can catch with 28 receptions for 481 yards between them. As mentioned in last week’s write up (below) they are massive along both lines with people like Donovan Jeter 6-5 255, Matt Gandy 6-5 305 and Rayquan Crowder 6-4 315 plugging things up or opening holes. Compared to many of the offenses you see at this level, their’s is modest, averaging 29ppg. With a 13-1 record, a D allowing but 15ppg, and last week’s game as evidence, that has not been as issue.
Class AA Final, Dec 10th Saturday 11 AM
Southern Columbia 15-0, Heartland Athletic Conference-Division II
vs
Steel Valley 14-0, WPIAL Class 2A-Three Rivers Division
Steel Valley and the town of Munhall have a strong football tradition but like Harrisburg, Middletown and Beaver Falls are in rarified air at this level. Munhall is 2-3 miles downriver (west bank) from Pittsburgh on the Monogahela, in the heart of the WPIAL. Everything out that way is football centric. And if last week’s score result against another powerful program means anything, Southern Columbia is in for a serious encounter. Steel Valley destroyed the Greyhounds 49-13. And like West Allegheny being routed by Harrisburg last week, that just doesn’t happen. The Ironmen are wildly talented with strong quarterbacking in Ryan Harper and a dynamic runner in DeWayne Murray and receiver Paris Ford. Harper has thrown for `978 yards and 33 touchdowns with a 62% completion rate, completing 98 of 158. Murray has been close to unstoppable with 2008 yards rushing. The receiving corps is talented and deep featuring Ford with Najhier West and ZaiQuan Henderson.
Southern Columbia: Southern comes into another state title game after a close call 31-27 win against Ligonier Valley. LV bent but kept it together despite Southern getting 368 yards rushing. They are led by two outstanding backs, freshman Gage Garcia with 1942 yards and 31 scores and Hunter Thomas with 1469 yards and 23 touchdowns. Quarterback Stone Hollenbach has a 62% completion rate for 2022 yards and 23 touchdowns throwing to essentially two receivers who get most of the work, Cam Young and Julius Fleming. It is a big offense, like Steel Valley’s at 47ppg with a defense a little softer than many playoff teams at 17ppg. But 15-0 speaks for itself despite their extreme youth.
For Steel Valley, we’ll see if big game jitters get to them but they are definitely battle tested against WPIAL quality, especially in the postseason where they’ve outscored opponents 241 to 55! But talk about Southern Comfort! The other side of the field sees the Tigers in their 15th state title game and 2nd in a row. After beating Aliquippa 49-14 in last year’s AA final, they are on a 31 game winning streak. With all the offensive talent on the field, it should be a high scoring, exciting game. The last possession just may decide this one!
Class AAAAAA Final, Dec 10th Saturday 8 PM
St. Joseph’s Prep 13-0, Philadelphia Catholic-League Red Division, #15 USA-Today
vs
Pittsburgh Central Catholic 14-1, WPIAL Class 6A, Northern Seven
Here’s the Commonwealth’s premier Private School State Final….the PSSF, featuring St. Joseph’s Prep and Pittsburgh Central Catholic, with the East and West runner ups Wilson and North Penn meeting in the preliminary. That actually looks pretty good! You know the Knights want to keep it going the way their game ended and Wilson has to be anxious to atone for last week’s embarrassment to Central Catholic.
Ok back to reality; Central Catholic is coming off a 63-21 pounding of Wilson were they used 4 scoring plays of plus 50 yards to put the Bulldogs away early, racing out to a 21-0 1st quarter lead. They rushed for 318 yards with 505 total yards. That’s pretty much been the story all year, no competition, winning their games by an average score of 49-16. Looking at the best teams played, teams like North Allegheny, Williamsport, Pine Richland (regular season only) and Wilson last week, they are still blowing people away by an average score of 57-23. The one loss talked about in previous write ups was to St. Johns College (8-4) 35-14 in the opener. SJC’s losses were to IMG (11-0, USA-Today #3), Gonzaga (8-3, 2nd in Washington Catholic League) and DeMatha (12-0, WCL Champ, USA Today # 6) twice in tight games. Regardless, Central Catholic is loaded everywhere and are particularly threatening this year with a legitimate passing attack. Junior Troy Fisher (6-4, 205) has thrown for 1825 yards at a 58% rate while rushing for 577 yards. Senior JJ Younger is quick as a cat at 5-8 165 with 1698 rush yards supported by David Marshal (5-9, 200, Sr) with 426 yards and David Adams (6-2, 230, Sr) with 178 yards. Except for Younger’s 190 yards in receptions, the backs aren’t a threat there. But Justice Evans and Evan Frazier are with 1096 and 366 yards respectively. The lines mentioned in previous weeks are mammoth, and mostly senior veterans.
About St. Joseph’s, there are similarities to Central Catholic with their veteran line, explosive running back with multiple, talented receivers and a highly veteran team with 17 starters back from last year. Central returned 13. Their average score is 38-16 compared to 49-16 for the Vikings. Last week saw them beat North Penn 35-25 in the Eastern Final with a 4th quarter explosion, outscoring the Knights 21-8 with D’Andre Swift blistering them for 170 yards, all in the 4th quarter. Impressive stuff knowing the score was 17-14 North Penn at the end of the previous quarter. Swift ended the game with 32 carries for 274 yards and 4 Tds. The Hawk D harassed North Penn quarterback Reece Udinski unending, forcing 4 turnovers, with special teams coming through big time for a 2nd quarter 82-yd kickoff return for 6 by Terrance Green, and other returns resulting in excellent field position.
You won’t likely see them getting to Fisher the way they got to Udinski, not with Central’s line so he should have time to find his receivers. And that could spell trouble with the other option of JJ Younger breaking one and a threat out of the backfield receiving, combined with Fisher’s run ability. Fisher is their edge. But no more than underrated Hawk receivers against a secondary perceived to be vulnerable, if McCray can connect and D’Andre Swift. Looking at schedule difficulty; St. Joe’s has strong postseason wins against LaSalle, Parkland, North Penn and a stronger regular season schedule while Central has overwhelming playoff wins against good stuff from Williamsport and Wilson and a weaker regular season slate. Some would argue a weaker postseason slate. The great thing about this one is these are clearly the two best teams in the state….and they appear to be evenly matched. Parkland’s comeback last year losing 21-18 made that one seem tight. But the one that really comes to mind is the 2014 final where the Hawks edged Pine Richland 49-41 in one of the most exciting finals since Liberty and Bethel Park in 2008 where Liberty won 28-21 in overtime, or, 8 years before that where Cathedral Prep edged Central Bucks West 41-35.
Class AAA Final, Dec 10th Saturday 3:30
Middletown 14-0 ,Mid Penn Conference-Capital Division
vs
Beaver Falls 13-1,WPIAL Class 3A-Beaver Valley Division
This game is about old school football, the way it used to be played between two small towns with none of the private school rhetoric. Just rock solid in your face football with no thought of how big the opponent’s school is. Yes!
Middletown has been dormant the last 15 years with only 5 winning seasons but have come off a 7-4 season where they showed good statistical improvement over the preceding year. So with 16 starters back it is no surprise they are vastly improved. This is the second year running backs Jaelen Thompson (5-11, 185, Sr) and Brady Fox (5-9, 195, Jr) have back-to-back +1000-yard seasons, 1598 for Thompson and 1436 for Fox this season. On top of this they have strong quarterbacking with senior veteran Chase Snavely (2120/23 Tds) protected by a substantial veteran line where all are returning starters except one. Snavely’s favorite target is Tyreer Mills with 22 catches for 722 yards. This is their first time in a state final but they bring a powerful, veteran team to the event that is highly productive at 42ppg. The defense is stingy at 11ppg. When I lived in Middletown going to Penn State no one knew why the mascot was named the Blue Raiders….and still don’t!?
Beaver Falls: The Tigers discovered Martinsburg Central out of District-6 plays some serious football, forcing them to score late to pull out a 14-7 victory. So here they are like Middletown and Steel Valley in their first ever finals appearance. Heady stuff! They are something like Imhotep in that they run a lot of bodies at you with 4 backs topping the 400-yard mark, led by Malik Shepherd’s 1018 yards, followed by Darrell Carter with 865 and Torian Leak at 608. All can catch with 28 receptions for 481 yards between them. As mentioned in last week’s write up (below) they are massive along both lines with people like Donovan Jeter 6-5 255, Matt Gandy 6-5 305 and Rayquan Crowder 6-4 315 plugging things up or opening holes. Compared to many of the offenses you see at this level, their’s is modest, averaging 29ppg. With a 13-1 record, a D allowing but 15ppg, and last week’s game as evidence, that has not been as issue.
Class AA Final, Dec 10th Saturday 11 AM
Southern Columbia 15-0, Heartland Athletic Conference-Division II
vs
Steel Valley 14-0, WPIAL Class 2A-Three Rivers Division
Steel Valley and the town of Munhall have a strong football tradition but like Harrisburg, Middletown and Beaver Falls are in rarified air at this level. Munhall is 2-3 miles downriver (west bank) from Pittsburgh on the Monogahela, in the heart of the WPIAL. Everything out that way is football centric. And if last week’s score result against another powerful program means anything, Southern Columbia is in for a serious encounter. Steel Valley destroyed the Greyhounds 49-13. And like West Allegheny being routed by Harrisburg last week, that just doesn’t happen. The Ironmen are wildly talented with strong quarterbacking in Ryan Harper and a dynamic runner in DeWayne Murray and receiver Paris Ford. Harper has thrown for `978 yards and 33 touchdowns with a 62% completion rate, completing 98 of 158. Murray has been close to unstoppable with 2008 yards rushing. The receiving corps is talented and deep featuring Ford with Najhier West and ZaiQuan Henderson.
Southern Columbia: Southern comes into another state title game after a close call 31-27 win against Ligonier Valley. LV bent but kept it together despite Southern getting 368 yards rushing. They are led by two outstanding backs, freshman Gage Garcia with 1942 yards and 31 scores and Hunter Thomas with 1469 yards and 23 touchdowns. Quarterback Stone Hollenbach has a 62% completion rate for 2022 yards and 23 touchdowns throwing to essentially two receivers who get most of the work, Cam Young and Julius Fleming. It is a big offense, like Steel Valley’s at 47ppg with a defense a little softer than many playoff teams at 17ppg. But 15-0 speaks for itself despite their extreme youth.
For Steel Valley, we’ll see if big game jitters get to them but they are definitely battle tested against WPIAL quality, especially in the postseason where they’ve outscored opponents 241 to 55! But talk about Southern Comfort! The other side of the field sees the Tigers in their 15th state title game and 2nd in a row. After beating Aliquippa 49-14 in last year’s AA final, they are on a 31 game winning streak. With all the offensive talent on the field, it should be a high scoring, exciting game. The last possession just may decide this one!
