Narrative
McKeesport last won a WPIAL title in 1938. Despite being the largest high school in the state in the 1950s and 1960s, the Tigers never could quite convert their population advantage to football glory. When the collapse of the American steel industry decimated McKeesport, the ensuing population drain also helped crush their athletic program. George Smith was hired in 1982 at one of the toughest places in the WPIAL to win. After a solid but not spectacular start to his career, Smith made a risky but ultimately incredible hire, when he brought in Jamie Eckles to run his offense in 1992.
Eckles was a proponent of the no-huddle wishbone, which he ran at Wisconsin-River Falls as a player for the legendary Mike Farley. Farley was a schematic mentor to Hall of Famers Barry Switzer, Ken Hatfield, and Fisher DeBerry, all of whom became much more famous running the wishbone in major college football. Eckles had the grand idea to bring the wishbone to McKeesport, but run it in a no huddle, high tempo offense. Much like today’s spread and RPO based offense, the wishbone was entirely read based, and allowed McKeesport to keep defenses on their heels and attack with a speed advantage. Since the installation of the offense, McKeesport went 25-7 and became one of the contenders in the WPIAL.
The Tigers were the District 7 favorite in 1994, and were the preseason #4 team in the state behind Chambersburg, CB West, and Cumberland Valley. Injuries in 1993 were a blessing in disguise, as McKeesport uncovered Jermaine Cromerdie, who took over as the starter in week 4 and rushed for over 800 yards. He would join Glenn Allen as one of the best big play halfback tandems in the state. But the star of the show was linebacker and offensive guard Brandon Short, a 6’4, 250 behemoth who ran a 4.5 and was a consensus top 20 recruit in teh country. Short made 85 tackles as a junior on his way to all state honors, and was a road grader in the McKeesport running game.
1994 was the first season of the modern state playoff, where the PIAA scrapped the four team format and converted the regions in to actual regions, with each district champion qualifying for postseason play. District 7 remained its own region, and the D7 winner played the D6/9/10 subregional winner. In the east, District 11 and District 1’s champions met in one quarter while District 3 and the D2/4 champ met in the other.
The early part of the season was a formality, with McKeesport outscoring their opponents 240-47 in the first seven weeks. Cromerdie established himself as one of the best running backs in Pennsylvania and junior quarterback Bill Isbir grew up quickly in running the wishbone. Defensively, Short was as good as advertised, and even jumped a level in his final year with the Tigers.
The first real challenge McKeesport would face was a week 8 match-up with Penn Hills. The Indians (who we’ll read about in next season’s installment of this series) had a loaded defense, with future major college players Demond Gibson, Ron Graham, and Mike White built to attack the McKeesport offense. The McKeesport defense struck first when Jermaine Cromerdie redeemed himself for an early fumble by returning an interception 70 yards for the game’s first touchdown. Penn Hills answered with a blocked punt in the second quarter, which set them up at the McKeesport 6 and a short touchdown drive. Isbir threw a 21 yard pass to Glenn Allen to give the Tigers a 14-7 lead at the break, despite out gaining Penn Hills 154-34. Penn Hills only gained 145 yards for the game, but 80 came on a 10 play touchdown drive that stretched between the third and fourth quarters. After trading punts, Isbir led McKeesport on a 13 play, 77 yard drive that ate 5:07 off of the clock, and Cromerdie took a pitch 22 yards to the house with just 55 seconds left to play for the Tigers to escape with a 21-14 win.
McKeesport went in to the WPIAL playoffs 10-0, their first undefeated regular season since the 1940s. They shutout Greensburg Salem in the first round, holding them to 35 yards of total offense. Cromerdie scored on a punt return and Isbir tacked on a 41 yard TD. The following week, McKeesport beat Connellsville in an instant classic with the play of the year. Tied 7-7 with less than five minutes left to play, McKeesport took over after a punt was downed at the 19. On second down, Isbir faked to the fullback, then rolled to Cromerdie’s side of the field. He was met by a linebacker, who wrapped and tried to spin the McKeesport quarterback down. As he was being rolled to the ground, Isbir flipped the ball outside to Cromerdie, who had nothing but grass in front of him and raced 79 yards for the game winning touchdown. It was Cromerdie’s only carry of the second half, and accounted for 79 of McKeesport’s 163 yards of offense for the entire game.
That set up a final with Upper St. Clair, making their sixth trip to Three Rivers Stadium in the last seven years. USC had been decimated by injuries at the quarterback position, and turned to freshman Mac McArdle, who had improbably guided the Panthers through two playoff games. McKeesport opened the game with a 42 yard touchdown run by halfback Glenn Allen and the Tigers looked poised to roll through Upper St. Clair like the rest of their schedule. However, after a shaky first quarter, McArdle woke up in the second quarter, going 6-6 on a touchdown drive to tie the game. As so often happened, Cromerdie responded with a big play, a 46 yard touchdown run, to put the Tigers back up 13-7. But in the final 58 seconds of the first half, McArdle ran a perfect two minute drill as the Panthers marched 71 yards and scored to take a 14-13 lead. The second half was a slugfest, with both teams failing to move the ball beyond the 30s. In the fourth quarter, Upper St. Clair felt the pressure of making something happen, and went for a 4th and 1 at the McKeesport 40 rather than try to pin the Tigers deep and play field position. It did not work when Brandon Short stuffed the USC ballcarrier behind the line of scrimmage. Three plays later, Jermaine Cromerdie took a pitch and went 61 yards to the house for the winning score, as McKeesport would go up and win 21-14. Cromerdie finished with 10 carries for 126 yards and the two long touchdown runs, as the Tigers ran for 313 yards in the game. It was the first WPIAL title for McKeesport since their 1938 victory and clinched a spot in the state semifinals.
Elsewhere that week, the initial PIAA quarterfinals were taking place. In the western half, Erie Central upset #9 Clearfield in an absolute molly-whopping, 48-6, to win the D10/6 subregional. In the east, #2 Downingtown knocked off CB West in a classic District 1 final, then throttled surprise D11 champ Liberty 41-14 thanks to 215 yards from superstar running back Aaron Harris. In District 3, #4 Cumberland Valley beat Gettysburg in their Distict final, then played an instant classic with #5 Williamsport, beating the District 4 champ 12-10, hanging on with an Askari Adams interception inside the ten in the game’s final minutes. Williamsport was the only team to beat Berwick in 1994, who would win the 3A state title.
McKeesport’s semi with Erie Central was supposed to be a cakewalk. After all, the D10 champion was just 8-4 on the season, and hadn’t played the schedule that McKeesport faced in the WPIAL. However, Central played disciplined, assignment defense and had excellent preparation for the wishbone. Both teams struggled to move the ball offensively, with McKeesport getting nothing going in the running game. Jermaine Cromerdie was limited to 12 yards on the day, but broke loose for the (extremely) rare Bill Isbir touchdown pass on a 38 yard strike in the final minute of the first half. The lead held until Erie Central returned a punt for a touchdown in the third quarter. But the snap went over the holder’s head, and Erie Central was unable to score a desperation two point attempted. Neither team would come close to scoring the rest of the way, and McKeesport headed to their first final after a 7-6 win. The defense had four interceptions, and Brandon Short played like an All American, with an interception and a strip and recovery of Erie Central’s running back deep in McKeesport territory in the fourth quarter.
Meanwhile. out east, Aaron Harris followed up his 215 yards in quarterfinals with a mere 191 yards and four touchdowns as Downingtown blew out Cumberland Valley, 28-7, in the other semi. The Whippets featured the most dynamic backfield in the state, with Harris entering the final with 1,709 yards and 30 touchdowns, while fellow running back Bryn Boggs had 1,188 yards and 14 TDs. Harris was slated to join Short at Penn State, while Boggs would commit to Wisconsin later in the year. Downingtown had been building for years, and certainly appeared ready for their time in the spotlight.
Downingtown was ready to go from the outset, as Harris beat Short to the corner and busted a 55 yard run on the opening drive which set up a Boggs touchdown and a 7-0 Downingtown lead. After the teams traded punts through the rest of the first quarter, Cromerdie busted a 51 yard run of his own, but McKeesport could only come away with a field goal. On the ensuing kickoff, sophomore Arlen Harris fumbled, which was recovered by McKeesport. Bill Isbir ripped off 24 yards down to the 2 on the next play, then Glenn Allen punched it in to give McKeesport a 10-7 lead at halftime.
At the end of the third quarter, the Downingtown offense seemed to make their move. On the strength of Harris runs and tendency breakers from quarterback Mike Domnick, Downingtown drove the ball to set up a first and goal from the McKeesport 2. Three times, Short met Harris at the line for no gain in the ultimate clash of blue chippers. On fourth down, Boggs appeared to cross the goal line, but a touchdown was not signaled and McKeesport’s defense held at the goal line. But Downingtown forced a quick three and out, and took over from the 31 and quickly marched down field and scored to go up 14-10. Cromerdie returned the kickoff out to the 33 and McKeesport took over with 6:46 left in the game.
Head coach George Smith reminded his offense of their drive to defeat Penn Hills back in week 8 and that they did not need to do anything outside of their scheme to push the ball down field. Over the next four minutes, Bill Isbir would execute one of the great drives in state final history, continuously making the right read and spreading the ball around to his playmakers as the Tigers chewed up yards and clock. Isbir kept for a 5 yard gain on 4th and 1 from the Downingtown 49, then pitched to Allen, who broke 31 yards on the next play to get the Tigers in the red zone. Three plays later, Isbir kept and scored from 11 yards out to put the Tigers up 17-14. The defense would hold, and McKeesport capped their magical season with a state title. Isbir finished with 95 yards, Cromerdie ran for 75, and Allen averaged over 10 yards per touch, as McKeesport cranked out 238 rushing yards and did not attempt a pass on the evening. The defense held Downingtown to 168 yards of offense (121 from Harris, 47 from the rest of the roster) and forced three turnovers. Two of those were fumbles caused by Short, in addition to his three iconic stops of Harris at the goal line.
Bill Isbir came away the hero of the state title game. Despite only attempting 60 passes in the entire 15 game season, Smith was effusive in his praise of his junior quarterback. He noted that while he did not throw for a ton of yards, he “pitched for over 2,000” (which he compared to any other team’s short passing game) and consistently made the right read in the no-huddle wishbone. Cromerdie finished the year with 1,339 yards and put himself on the radar as an explosive speed guy colleges needed to pay attention to.
But it was Brandon Short who dominated the postseason conversation. The Penn State signee was named AP Player of the Year, over the nation’s #1 recruit Dan Kendra of Bethlehem Catholic, in the closest vote in the history of the award (it was the first any only time there was a run-off election for the winner). Short was also named a Parade All American, and was rated by Tom Lemming as the #9 recruit in the class nationally. He was a unanimous first team All State selection, joined by Jermaine Cromerdie as a defensive back. Fellow linebacker/rush end Roger Wilson earned third team All State honors. McKeesport finished ranked #15 nationally by the USA Today.
Brandon Short’s best days in football were ahead of him. He started right away at Penn State, where he is one of the great linebackers in the history of Linebacker U. He earned first team All Big Ten honors in 1998 and 1999, and was a unanimous All American in 1999. He and teammate Lavar Arrington (see 1993 North Hills) were the first teammates ever named finalists for the Butkus Award as the nation’s top linebacker in the same season. Short was selected in the 4th round of the 2000 NFL Draft and played 7 seasons in the NFL for the New York Giants and Carolina Panthers. He started in the 2001 Super Bowl for the Giants. Following the NFL, he got his MBA from Columbia University and worked as an investment banker with Goldman Sachs. Isbir played defensive back at Clarion, then spent 15 years in the Secret Service. Wilson and Cromerdie both committed to play their college football at Kansas. Cromerdie would finish his career as a defensive back for the Jayhawks, while Wilson would transfer back home to IUP, where he set the Crimson Hawks single season sack record. George Smith coached at McKeesport for 31 seasons, compiling a 226-112-5 record with 2 WPIAL titles and a pair of state titles. He is one of five coaches with multiple state titles in 4A/6A. Smith initially retired in 2009, but returned to lead McKeesport from 2013-2015 before riding off into the sunset.
