Narrative
Liberty High School, located in the heart of Bethlehem, began playing football in 1920 as the original Bethlehem High School. The football program was put on the map in the early 1940s, going 27-6-5 during the career of the legendary Chuck Bednarik, whose “Concrete Charlie” persona would define football in the city for a generation, as Bethlehem High was a dominant program during the ‘40s and ‘50s. Bethlehem High School split in 1968, with the original building being used for students who lived in the city and dubbed Liberty High School, while the surrounding suburbs would send their kids to the newly built Freedom High School in Hanover Township. The split did not initially harm the Hurricane football program, who claimed a share of a mythical state title in 1970, led by future Chicago Bears defensive tackle Mike Hartenstine.
But Bethlehem proved to be a one football program town, and that football program was Bethlehem Catholic. With the rise of the War Hawks in the mid 1970s, Liberty faded as a power in the Valley, as most of the best football players in the city played for Bob Stem. The Hurricanes did have one off years - winning the first District 11 football playoff in 1984, and a very fluky D11 title in 1994 to earn a state playoff bid, despite a 7-4 record, but Liberty was largely a non-factor in Valley football for the better part of three decades.
Two coaching events sparked a seismic shift in Bethlehem, and Lehigh Valley football. The first was relatively under the radar at the time, when Liberty hired 30 year old Tim Mocnman to be their head football coach for the 2000 season. Moncman played linebacker and quarterback at Freedom in the late 1980s (and was a teammate of Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson) and then played linebacker and was a captain at Lafayette during one of the most successful eras of Leopard football. Moncman spent seven years as a college coach, first as a position coach at Albany and Lehigh, then as the defensive coordinator at Moravian, before being hired as the head coach at Southern Lehigh. Moncman guided the Spartans to their only ever state playoff appearance, then was hired at Liberty by athletic director Sam Senneca, not coincidentally Moncman’s high school coach at Freedom.
A little more than one year later, the Bob Stem was forced out at Bethlehem Catholic when the now Golden Hawks were refused as a member of the newly formed Lehigh Valley Conference, largely due to perceived recruiting practices. With Stem out, Bethlehem Catholic was a seemingly less trendy place for the best football players in Bethlehem to play. Liberty was also showing their commitment to football, with Moncman building a star studded coaching staff including Senneca, former Houston Oilers defensive back Bo Orlando, former Allentown Central Catholic head coach Bill DeNofa, and former Penn State quarterback Matt Senneca. Things really kicked into gear when freshman Dan Persa was named the starting quarterback in Moncman’s fourth year. Persa’s squad went 6-4 during his freshman campaign, then exploded for a 10-2 season and a trip to the D11 finals in 2004, then back-to-back state finals in his final two seasons. The 2007 squad barely missed a beat, going 10-2, but suffering a last second defeat in the D11 semifinals to Hazleton.
The 2008 iteration of the Hurricanes did not bring back a ton of starters, but those who returned were incredibly talented. Offensive and defensive tackle Levi Brown was the rare four year starter on the line, and the 6’3 310 pound monster had committed to Temple in the offseason. Safety Devin Street committed to Pitt shortly before camp started, and they were expecting to lean on him in the passing game as a senior. Linebacker Horvin Latimer was also entertaining Division I offers after a ten sack junior season.
The one major gamble of the 2007 season was starting sophomore Anthony Gonzalez at quarterback. They trusted the athletic but raw tenth grader to lead a veteran team, and hoped he would develop under the younger Senneca’s tutelage. He ended up with a very solid 1,204 yards passing a 557 yards rushing, and gave a sneak preview of things to come when he led an 11 play, 70 yard touchdown drive in the final minute and thirty seconds of their D11 finals loss, throwing a touchdown to Street with six seconds left, but the Hurricanes were stopped on the ensuing 2 point conversion when they went for the win. No doubt the bitter loss would fuel the team in 2008.
It was also a monumental year in PIAA football and would start the third “era”of the state playoffs. The first was the four team era from 1988-1993. Next came the advent of true district playoffs and a full bracketed system from 1994-2007. The 2008 season marked the arrival of the Philadelphia Catholic League. Machinations got underway in 2006, when PIAA President Brad Cashman noted that “it's not a matter of ‘if’ but ‘when’” and added his real goal was a “true” state champion. He also noted that while there were concerns around recruiting, he had been assured by the powers that be in the PCL that “all of that stuff has been cleaned up, and they’re just like any other schools.” After years of resistance, the Philadelphia Archdiocese had a bishop, Joseph McFadden, who was a star basketball player in the 1960s at St. Thomas More and former coach at West Catholic,and felt strongly that the PCL should give its athletes the opportunity to play for a state title. The diocese schools, with pressure from McFadden, voted to join in December of 2006, and independent members St. Joseph’s Prep and LaSalle ultimately also decided to join, over the objection of a number of coaches, most notably Prep basketball coach Speedy Morris. After a year of “adjustment’ to PIAA rules (most notably a reduction in regular season games in hoops, much to Morris’s consternation) the PCL was ready to compete for titles in the 2008-09 football season.
The preseason AP poll reflected an expectation of PCL excellence. St. Joseph’s Prep, who had won 55 consecutive conference games, was the preseason #3 team in the state and top ranked team in the east, thanks to a trio of 300 pound FBS recruits on the offensive line. Archbishop Ryan was slotted at 7th in the preseason, while Cardinal O’Hara was picked in the 9 spot with All State quarterback Tom Savage and track star running back Corey Brown, making the PCL the only league in the state with three teams ranked in the preseason top ten. The WPIAL had a pair of teams, but they held the top two slots. Top ranked Gateway was not only the preseason favorite but the #4 team in the United States according to the USA Today. The Gators had a pair of five star recruits and Ohio State commits in Dorian Bell and Corey Brown, plus a slew of other Division I talent. They would be challenged in the west by second ranked Penn Hills with a loaded defense featuring four star senior linebacker Dan Mason, top junior defensive back Cullen Christian, and a rising star junior on the defensive line, Aaron Donald. Liberty and Parkland, who were slated to meet in the regular season for the first time since 2005, were ranked 4th and 5th to start the year, while Liberty’s week 1 opponent North Penn was ranked 8th in the state and the District 1 favorite. District 3 favorite Bishop McDevitt rounded out the top ten.
Week one featured two monster crossover games between District 11 and the southeastern part of the state. St. Joseph’s Prep would open their inaugural PIAA season with a trip to Orefield to take on the returning state finalist Parkland Trojans. Meanwhile, the Liberty opened by hosting District 1 favorite North Penn, in a rematch of the 2005 Eastern Final.
The Knights opened with a six play, 65 yard touchdown drive, capped by an Andrew Stoll touchdown run. North Penn was expected to be one of the most physical teams in the state and certainly looked the part early. After Liberty was forced to punt, Devin Street missed a tackle in the secondary on Ronnie Akins, and the speedy running back was gone for a 40 yard Td and a 14-0 lead. Liberty couldn’t muster any offense the rest of the first half, and while North Penn’s drives stalled out before the red zone, they were able to turn to kicker Brandon McManus, who dunked a pair of field goals to give the Knights a 20-0 lead at the break.
At halftime, Tim Moncman gave a speech that assistant Sam Senneca would later say was the most important moment of the 2008 season. He challenged the Hurricanes to prove what they were made of in the second half, or get embarrassed on their home field. The second half started with promise, as Anthony Gonzalez scored a four yard touchdown to get the Hurricanes on the board. In the fourth quarter, Liberty embarked on a 12 play, 80 yard touchdown drive, with Gonzlaez flipping a screen pass to new tailback Brandon Brader for a TD, but it was too little too late. North Penn added another McManus field goal for a 23-15 win. Gonzalez rushed for 108 yards, but was just 9-19 passing, while Ronnie Akins ran for 112 yards - the only player who cracked the 100 yard mark against Hurricanes until the state final.
Meanwhile, in Orefield, Parkland blew a pair of leads to drop their opener to St. Joseph’s Prep. Parkland led 10-0 in the first half, and had a 13-10 fourth quarter lead. But the massive Prep line wore down the Trojans in the second half, as they pounded their way to a 20-13 victory. That put both Parkland and Liberty in the hole at 0-1, and the two Lehigh Valley powers were scheduled to meet in week 2.
Liberty and Parkland had not met in the regular season since 2005. While the game had all of the preseason hype in the Valley, it was not the expectation that a team would start the year 0-2, which would have been the Hurricanes first 0-2 start since 1999 or the Trojan’s first since 1989. Still, despite the records, there was a boatload of talent on the field, and much was made of Penn State quarterbacks coach Mike McQueary was in the stands to watch the two teams play. Parkland had to replace quarterback John Laub, but brought back All State wideout/safety Jaleel Clark and All State defensive lineman Clint Miller, and they also benefited from the Williams family moving to Orefield, and older son Andre was breaking into the Trojan backfield.
Liberty threw a series of haymakers in the first quarter. They opened the game with a long scoring drive, with Brandon Brader giving them a 6-0 lead. On Parkland’s opening drive, Jaleel Clark caught a pass over the middle and got crushed by junior free safety Jarrod West, and coughed the ball up. Anthony Gonzalez scooped up the loose ball and ran 37 yards for a touchdown and a 12-0 Hurricane lead. After a Parkland punt, Liberty drove for their third touchdown, and took an 18-0 lead after the first possession in the second quarter.
But Parkland punched back in the second quarter. The Wing-T started go get going, first with an 8 play, 81 yard touchdown drive, then a 9 play, 77 yard TD drive. And just before halftime, the Trojans kicked a 36 yard field goal to go into the break down 18-16. Then, the Trojans kick started the second half with a 10 play, 67 yard drive and a 27 yard Andre Williams touchdown run and the Trojans had come all the way back to take a 23-18 lead.
In the fourth quarter, Parkland was driving to end the game when Anthony Gonzalez took matters into his own hands, crunching running back Kevin Herod and stripping the football, recovered by Jarrod West at the 43. On the first play, Gonzalez took off for 18 yards on a quarterback draw. Three plays later, Gonzalez scrambled for 11 on third down to keep the Hurricane drive alive, then he hit Devin Street over the middle inside the ten to put the Hurricanes in business. Two plays later, Brader followed right tackle Levi Brown for a four yard touchdown, and the Hurricanes went up 26-23 with just 2:39 left. A Gonzalez interception on the last drive ended the game, and the Hurricanes avoided their first 0-2 start since 1999. Gonzalez ran for 118 yards, threw for 80, intercepted a pass, forced a fumble, and recovered two fumbles in the win. Afterwards, Moncman quipped, “if we ever cut the mistakes, we could be a damn good football team.”
The next three weeks were much easier, with the defense holding Allentown Central Catholic, William Allen, and Whitehall all under 140 yards of offense in blowout wins. Week six was a revenge opportunity, when the Hurricanes took on Bethlehem Catholic, who had beaten them the previous two seasons. The Golden Hawks scored a special teams TD and took advantage of a short field just before halftime to tie the score at 14, but Liberty exploded for 20 points in the third quarter and ran away with a 34-14 win. Street had a career day with 4 catches for 108 yards and two scores, while Gonzalez threw for 179 and two Tds and ran for 81 yards and a touchdown. Most impressively, Liberty held Becahi without a first down in the second half and limited the Hawks to 96 yards of offense for the game. The next three weeks were blowout wins over Northampton, Nazareth, and Easton to make the Hurricanes 9-0 headed into the Christmas City Classic with Freedom.
Freedom was in the middle of the best season in school history, sitting at 8-1 going into the final week of the regular season. The Patriots had already beaten Bethlehem Catholic, meaning the Liberty-Freedom game would decide the city title. Naturally, Freedom last won the city in 1987 - when they were captained by linebacker/quarterback Tim Moncman. The Patriots were led by tailback Eddie Mateo, who led the LVC in rushing, running behind future FCS All American and Philadelphia Eagles lineman Mike Coccia.
BASD Stadium was filled to capacity, with 12,500 fans in the building for the Saturday afternoon tilt. Levi Brown and the Liberty offensive line set the tone early, taking their first drive 85 yards in 12 plays, all on the ground, culminating with a 4 yard touchdown by Brandon Brader after 7 minutes and 16 seconds. After a Freedom punt, Brown and company went right back to work, moving the ball 63 yards on the ground, with Gonzalez scoring to give Liberty a 12-0 lead. However, Freedom stayed in the game and electrified the crowd by returning the ensuing kickoff for a touchdown to make it 12-7 at the break. Still, the Hurricanes rushed for 200 yards in the first half and were physically taking control of the game. Freedom had a brief moment of momentum when Yusef Reddick caught a 30 yard pass down into the red zone and Mateo scored to give the Patriots a lead. But Devin Street returned the ensuing kickoff to the Freedom 34, and Brader ripped off a 27 yard touchdown run three plays later. Reddick also suffered a torn MCL on his catch, and the All State receiver was lost for the season. Although Liberty did not score the rest of the game, they dominated time of possession and salted away a 20-14 rivalry win. Brader and Gonzalez combined for 282 yards on 44 carries, while the Liberty defense held Mateo to a season low 63 yards. The win clinched a city title, the LVC title, and earned the Hurricanes the #2 seed in the District 2/4/11 subregional behind undefeated Hazleton. However, it was also marred by ugly fan behavior, with a number of fights and arrests both during and after the game.
Liberty finished the regular season ranked #8 in the state, and was the highest ranked one loss team in the AP poll. North Penn was ranked second in the state, and owned wins over both Liberty and preseason eastern PA favorite St. Joseph’s Prep, and there was already hype building for a potential rematch with one or the other in the Eastern Final. However, the real hype machine was in the WPIAL, where Gateway had dominated the regular season and was ranked the #3 team in the country by the USA Today. It was considered Terry Smiths’ best group of Gators, complete on both sides of the ball (averaging 43 points per game on offense and giving up 8 on defense) with athletes everywhere. They capped their regular season with a win over #3 McKeesport in the premier regular season game in Western PA. Still, they’d have to navigate a minefield in the WPIAL, with #7 North Hills lurking as a possible semifinal opponent (or preseason #2 Penn Hills - on a 7 game winning streak after starting the year 1-3) then the McKeesport and #5 Bethel Park winner at Heinz Field.
Wilson West Lawn, ranked fourth, was the class of District 3 and heavily favored to make the state semi. #7 Erie McDowell and #9 State College lurked as a potential quarterfinal opponents for the WPIAL winner, while #10 Neshaminy was the challenger to North Penn in District 1. And of course, the PCL champ lurked. LaSalle and their cutting edge spread passing attack snapped St. Joseph’s Prep’s regular season PCL winning streak. However, the league cannibalized itself, with Judge beating LaSalle and Cardinal O’Hara, SJP beating Judge and O’Hara, and preseason top ten Archbishop Ryan finished 0-10.
Liberty would see their first familiar opponent in the subregional quarterfinal. The Parkland Trojans earned the #7 seed after a 7-3 regular season, with losses to SJP, Liberty, and Freedom. Stil, the Trojans were playing well down the stretch, particularly after a move to feature fullback Andre Williams as the primary ball carrier in the Wing-T. Williams ran for 879 yards and 14 TDs over the seasons final eight weeks. But Liberty, after playing a mistake riddle first game, was crisp and deadly in the rematch. The Hurricanes had three touchdown drives of greater than ten plays - an 11 play, 61 yard TD drive in the first quarter, a 12 play, 80 yard Td drive in the second, and a punishing 15 play, 80 yard drive in the third, punctuated by a 17 yard Td to Devin Street on a fourth and goal sluggo route by the future Pitt Panther. The Hurricane defense was suffocating, holding the Trojans to 95 yards of total offense and just six first downs. Star receiver Jaleel Clark did not have a catch in his final high school game, and Williams gained 50 of his 81 yards on two breakaway fourth quarter runs after Liberty’s starters had been removed from the game. Gonzalez ran for 97 yards, threw for 117 and accounted for all three Hurricane touchdowns (two passing, one rushing).
The win set up a date with the 10-1 Emmaus Green Hornets, who earned their first ever playoff win in quarterfinals. Emmaus had only lost to Parkland in the regular season, and came in with the best defense in the state, statistically, yielding 4.8 points per game. Once again, Liberty dominated with a power run game, with touchdown drives of 80, 81, 84, and 71 yards all but one of those drives taking at least ten plays. In the fourth quarter, Liberty burned 7 minutes and 18 seconds off of the clock with a 26-13 lead, essentially icing the game. Emmaus scored with 28 seconds left for a window dressing touchdown, but the Hurricanes were headed to their fourth D11 finals in the last five years. Gonzalez rushed for 207 yards, while Brader added 146, and both standouts went over 1,000 yards for the season in the game. Gonzalez also threw for 73 yards, completing passes to five different receivers as the Hurricanes outgained Emmaus 443-202.
The win set up the biggest day in Bethlehem high school football history. Up in Hazleton, Freedom torched the hosts, with Eddei Mateo ripping off 233 yards and scoring three touchdowns, upping his season totals to 1,558 and 24. For the first time, it was Freedoms’ first trip to the D11 finals, and it was the first time the two Bethlehem schools met for a championship since they split in 1968. Freedom, under third year head coach Jason Roeder, had built an identity as a ball hawking defense with the electricity of Mateo powering the offense. After the security concerns of their regular season match-up, all tailgating was banned and there was an increased security presence for the game, making for a bizarre feel for what should have been a celebratory day for BASD.
Freedom got off to a much better start this time around, with Mateo scoring a 35 yard touchdown on the opening drive. Both teams held serve the rest of the first half, until Liberty put together a drive in the waning minutes. The Hurricanes drove down to the Patriot 13, but Gonzalez threw an incompletion with two seconds left, bringing the field goal unit onto the field, Kicker Chris Bedoya hooked the attempt, but a Freedom player went flying into him, and the penalty gave Liberty one untimed down before halftime. Moncman opted to put his offense back out on the field, and Gonzalez scrambled for eight yard touchdown to tie the game at the half.
The game changed in the third quarter. Freedom used a big punt return and a series of short passes to push the ball down into the red zone. On second and goal from the 7, Mateo bounced the ball outside, and smelled the goalline. He stretched the ball out for the pylon as he got hit, but had it ripped out of his hands by linebacker Darryl Klotz, who fell on it at the one. From there, Gonzalez engineered a 99 yard drive, with the star quarterback rushing for 68 of those yards himself, and capping the drive with a three yard touchdown to take a 14-7 lead. After a Freedom punt, Gonzalez went back at it, marching the offense 88 yards, and gliding for a 36 yard touchdown. Freedom did cut things back to a one score game with a gadget play - Mateo scored on a 63 yard hook and lateral. But Gonzalez played the hero, icing things with a 43 yard touchdown run with just 2:01 remaining for the 28-14 final score. Gonzalez ran for 166 yards on 28 carries and scored four touchdowns. Brandon Brader chipped in 102 yards for good measure. Meanwhile, Mateo rushed for 80 yards in the first half, but was held to just 5 after the break, which is really what turned the game. The win was the third D11 title for Liberty in four years and punched another ticket to the state playoffs.
Setting the state field, North Penn throttled Downingtown West in the District 1 semi, 51-21, rushing for 415 yards in the win. Their opponent in the D1 Final/State Quarters was Neshaminy, who overcame a 14-0 deficit against Central League champ Garnet Valley. District 3 also had a pair of blowouts, with Wilson West Lawn holding Bishop McDevitt to 105 yards of offense in a 48-6 win and Cumberland Valley held Governor Mifflin under 100 yards of offense in a 44-0 win. In District 6/10, State College knocked off Erie McDowell 22-10 to earn another quarterfinal slot for the Little Lions.
All of those results paled in comparison to the two shockers of the weekend. In the WPIAL finals, Bethel Park rocked national high school football with a 10-6 win over heavily favored Gateway. In the lowest scoring WPIAL final since 1990, the Black Hawks forced five Gateway turnovers (three fumbles and two interceptions) with Gateway fumbling the opening kickoff and things devolving from there. Bethel Park intercepted a pass and returned it to the Gateway 34, then shocked the Gators with a reverse pass down to the 6. Big fullback Lyle Marsh then rumbled in for a touchdown. In the second quarter, a punt went over the Gateway punter’s head, and Bethel Park recovered at the Gateway 7. The ensuing field goal with 36 seconds left in the first half ended all of the scoring in the stunning 10-6 win. Bethel Park held the powerful Gateway offense to 107 of offense after the Gators averaged over 40 points per game during the season. Suddenly, the heavy favorite for the title was out of the tournament before the state quarterfinals.
Nearly as surprising was what happened in Philadelphia. LaSalle had prevailed over St. Joseph’s Prep in the PCL semis, then beat Father Judge for the first PCL title in the District 12 era and would play for the first Philadelphia City Title between the Catholic and Public League champions since 1979. The Crusaders were considered heavy favorites against Philadelphia Public League champions George Washington, particularly with their sophisticated passing attack and surgical junior quarterback Drew Loughery. But it was a cold, windy day at Northeast High, and the high school football media and public tremendously underestimated the Eagles defensive line, particularly junior tackle Shariff Floyd. George Washington’s defense. George Washington made eleven tackles for loss on the day, sacked Loughery six times, flummoxed Loughery into completing less than 30% of his passes, picked off three passes, and held LaSalle to 19 yards rushing on the day. The result was a 23-14 win and a tremendous statement by the Public League champs after media coverage mostly focused on how the PCL would immediately be dominant in 4A.
George Washington was making their second state playoff trip and first since 2004 - the first year of the PPL in the PIAA. This GW team was led by Floyd, a budding five star recruit and future first round NFL draft pick on the offensive and defensive line and the Eagles were massive up front. That showed early, as the GW defense successfully sold out to stop the Liberty rushing attack. Brader could not get anything going on designed runs, and GW used a spy to keep Gonzalez in the pocket. Gonzalez answered by throwing for 197 yards on 7-9 passing, with Devin Street having a career day with 132 yards and a 66 yard TD. Gonzalez set up Liberty’s first touchdown with an interception near midfield and Liberty forced five turnovers in the game. Still, the Hurricanes turned it over three times themselves, and Tim Moncman called the 30-13 win “the ugliest playoff game I’ve ever been involved in.”
In the western quarterfinals, Bethel Park continued their magical run with a 17-14 win over State College. Once again, the recipe was ball control, with Lyle Marsh rushing for 125 yards on 30 carries and a touchdown. In District 3, Wilson West Lawn forced eight Cumberland Valley turnovers in a 35-7 win for the Bulldogs, who had outscored their opponents 129-14 in the playoffs.
North Penn held up their end of the bargain for the week 1 rematch with a 28-0 shutout of Neshaminy in the District 1 finals. Ronnie Akins ran for 140 yars on 11 carries and scored three touchdowns while the defense forced four turnovers in the win. It was North Penn’s fourth District 1 title in the past seven years.
North Penn had dominated the season with one of the most prolific offensive attacks in the state. Akins had 1,716 yards of total offense (913 rushing and 803 receiving) and had scored 31 touchdowns, while fullback Tyler Smith rushed for 1,525 yards on the season. North Penn had raced out to a 20-0 lead in their opener, and the Philadelphia Inquirer noted in their preview that Liberty was ‘good, but they can’t match North Penn’s overall quickness and interior strength” and picked a two touchdown victory for the Knights.
Liberty imposed their will from the opening drive. The Hurricanes ran on eighteen consecutive plays, going eighty yards in a shade over nine minutes, with Gonzalez scoring a one yard touchdown. Ronnie Akins scored a second quarter TD to give North Penn a 7-6 lead, but Liberty finished the first half with an 11 play, 57 yard TD drive, ending when Gonzalez made something out of nothing on second and goal, spinning out of a sack, then backtracking 12 yards before lofting a pass to Devin Street, who leapt over two defenders for a touchdown and a 14-7 halftime lead. North Penn started the second half with three big plays, a 40 yard pass, a 24 yard pass, and a 4 yard Ronnie Akin touchdown to tie the game.
But Liberty got the play of the game from Gonzalez on the next drive to retake the lead. After moving near midfield, Gonzalez took a bad sack to set up a third and 20 from their own 36. The Hurricanes reached into the playbook for a delay drag route by tight end Horvin Latimer, more known for his blocking and work as a linebacker, but the senior captain was perfectly led by Gonzalez, and rumbled 32 yards for a first down at the North Penn 32. Brandon Brader scored an 18 yard touchdown three plays later to cap the 12 play, 80 yard touchdown drive. In the fourth quarter, Liberty salted away the game with an eight minute drive that was stopped at the North Penn 6. A Marc Olivo interception on the Knights last gasp drive ended the game.
Gonzalez ran for 84 yards and was a perfect 4-4 passing for 53 yards and a touchdown. Fullback Darryl Klotz, also much more of a defensive threat, gained 72 tough yards inside the tackle, as Liberty had a 57-35 advantage in plays run and dominated time of possession. The Hurricanes ran for 218 yards, and held the explosive North Penn offense to 89 rushing yards on 26 attempts and just 195 yards of total offense. The 14 game winning streak was the longest in school history, and the Hurricanes were making their third state title game appearance in four tries, a feat only eclipsed by CB West’s four straight finals trips. After the game, Moncman chalked up the win to their grown during the year, noting “we’re a much more mature team, particularly Anthony.”
Over in the Western Final, Bethel Park beat Wilson West Lawn in a classic, kicking a field goal in triple overtime to win 38-35. The Bulldog defense stymied the normally dominant Bethel Park running attack to 32 yards (including five sacks), but Erik Olsen threw for 288 yards and five touchdowns with wideout John Schademan setting school records with ten catches for 127 yards and three touchdowns. The teams went into overtime tied at 21 and traded touchdowns in the first two OTs. In the third overtime, Wilson West Lawn lined up to kick a 22 yard field goal, but ran a fake, which proved disastrous as Matthew Bliss picked off the errant pass. Bethel Park initially missed the winning field goal in the back half of the third overtime, but a running into the kicker penalty gave Patrick Lydon a second chance, and he knocked it true for the 38-25 win.
Bethel Park was not a typical state finalists. They were a physical, grind it out team, with a punishing defense. The highlight of the offense was definitely the rushing attack, with the bruising Marsh piling up piling up 1,308 yards and 19 TDs on the year, while speedy sophomore Bre’ Ford had 716 yards and eight touchdowns. But their strength was in their balance, with quarterback Erik Olsen throwing for 1,813 yards and 21 TDs, against just two interceptions, and Schademan had been one of the most productive receivers in the state, with 51 catches, 1,104 yards, and a state leading 15 touchdown catches. But despite their physical nature, the offensive line only had one player over 220 pounds (right tackle Andrew Pierson, a Davidson recruit, at 6’5 265). But they were significantly bigger on defense and destroyed opposing rushing attacks, led by Pierson, 290 pound nose tackle Adam Hokaj and thumping run stopper and All State pick Adam Lazenga at inside linebacker. Bethel Park head coach Jeff Metheny noted that during the week his “defensive coaches were staying up late, trying to figure out Gonzalez. I’ll tell you, those defensive coaches are miserable right now because I don’t think they’ve figured it out.”
Bethel Park got off to an excellent start. Liberty drove to the Black Hawks six on the opening drive, but Brader dropped a pass in the end zone, and the Hurricanes turned it over on downs. Bethel Park went 96 yards, starting when Olsen hit Schademan with a 36 yard pass to put the Black Hawks in business, and fullback Rock Vomer scored a 22 yard touchdown to give the WPIAL champs a 7-0 lead. Liberty answered with a one yard Gonzalez run, but Bethel Park put together a Liberty like drive, marching 72 yards in 12 plays, highlighted by a 30 yard throwback screen to Marsh and a rumbling 7 touchdown and running over Klotz at the goalline for a 14-7 lead. But Gonzalez played Superman again, ripping off a 35 yard touchdown run on a read option the following drive, but a missed extra point made kept it at 14-13. Liberty nearly took a halftime lead, pushing the ball to the Bethel Park 12, but Gonzalez threw a pick to Marsh in the end zone to end the threat and keep the Black Hawks up at the break.
In the third quarter, Gonzalez got things started with a 27 yard pass to Street, who fumbled at the five but recovered his own mistake for a touchdown. That held until the fourth quarter, when Lyle Marsh, not thought to be a speedster, went 55 yards on a trap play for the tying touchdown. Both teams had chances late, as Gonzalez was stuffed on a fourth and 4 from the Bethel Park 26 with 1:38 remaining, getting up ended a yard short of the first down. Bethel Park started to move the ball with the momentum from the stop, but Christian Rodriguez intercepted a pass at the Liberty 40 to force overtime.
Bethel Park won the coin toss and chose to play defense in the first 4A state title overtime. Liberty scored immediately, with Gonzalez running three times, and finishing with a one yard sneak for a touchdown. In Bethel Park’s half of OT, Marsh picked up five yards on first down, then was stuffed by Levi Brown on second and goal. On third down, Olsen dropped back to pass, looking for Shademan, who was blanketed by cornerback Jarrod West. He instead looked for tight end Brian Vukela, and threw a jump ball to the right of the end zone. But Gonzalez went leaping over Vukela, and made a one handed interception to win the state title for Liberty.
Gonzalez’s brilliant performance was one of the best in state finals history. He set a rushing record for quarterbacks, going off for 205 yards on 33 carries. He also threw for 97 yards and a touchdown, and had the game winning interception. The Hurricanes ran for 331 yards on the day, with Brader adding 107 on the ground. Lyle Marsh was as good as he’d been all playoffs, with 167 yards against Liberty, the most by any opposing back all season. But in the end, the Hurricanes celebrated their first state title in three trips to Hershey.
After the season, Gonzalez ran away with AP Player of the Year honors, becoming only the second junior to win the award in 4A (joining LeSean McCoy in 2004). It was one of the great all around years, as Gonzalez had over 3,100 yards of total offense, accounted for 36 touchdowns, and made 96 tackles and grabbed four interceptions on defense. He was also named to the SuperPrep All American team following the season. Gonzalez was joined on the AP All State first team by Levi Brown, the team’s heart and soul and leader of offensive and defensive lines. Devin Street, after setting ever Liberty single season receiving record, earned a second team All State nod at wideout. PA Football News had all three on their All State team, plus linebacker Horvin Latimer made the third team, with linebacker Darryl Klotz, defensive lineman Al Pujols, and offensive tackle Chris Rider getting honorable mention nods. Tim Moncman also earned the AP Coach of the Year honor, the first from District 11.
Gonzalez came back for his senior season and earned All State honors again, but a meniscus injury forced him to miss three games and limited him upon his return (though he still ran for 1,210 yards). He also led Liberty to a state final four in basketball (along with Jarrod West and future Detroit Pistons guard Darrun Hilliard). Gonzalez had scholarship offers from Alabama and Penn State to play safety, but was adamant about playing quarterback,and chose Pitt over Oregon and Florida State. Gonzalez was recruited to play QB by Dave Wannstedt, but was moved to safety after Wannstedt was fired following Gonzalez’s redshirt year. His versatility and coaching turnover was a hindrance early in his career, as he was jerked between H-Back, wildcat quarterback, and safety under Todd Graham before settling in at outside linebacker under Paul Chryst. He led the Panthers in tackles his final two seasons playing the Will spot, and earned All ACC honors as a senior. He signed an undrafted free agent deal with the Pittsburgh Steelers after college.
Devin Street had a much more linear path at Pitt, starting for three years and graduating the Panthers all time leader in catches and receiving yards. He was a fourth round pick of the Dallas Cowboys, and played for the Cowboys and Colts. Levi Brown also was an excellent college player, a captain and All MAC defensive tackle at Temple, then played a season with the Baltimore Ravens in the NFL. Finally, junior wideout/cornerback Jarrod West was Gonzalez’s favorite target the next season, leading the state with 15 touchdown catches and earning All State honors. He went to Syracuse, where he was an Academic All American and finished seventh in Orane history in receiving yards. He played a season with the New England Patriots after Syracuse. Four players making it to the NFL is the most of any big school state champion. In lower divisions, Horvin Latimer was a four year starter and all conference player at Duquesne. Brandon Brader was a 1,000 yard rusher at Lock Haven.
Tim Moncman only coached one more season at Liberty, leaving to tend to family needs, particularly with his handicapped son AJ starting school that fall. There were also persistent rumors of conflict with the Liberty administration. Moncman went 88-36 at Liberty, including a 62-9 run from 2004-2008, with four D11 finals appearances, three D11 titles, three state finals appearances, and the 2008 championship. Moncman came back to serve as close friend Bret Comp’s defensive coordinator at Wilson, then the staff at Parkland, where he was hired by Jim Morgans as the Trojans defensive coordinator in 2012. Moncman joining the Parkland staff kick started a run of six consecutive D11 titles, from 2012-2017, with Moncman as DC for the first four and head coach for the final two, as he replaced Morgans after the legend retired in 2015. Moncman has gone 30-10 in three years as the head coach at Parkland and is one of a handful of coaches to take three different schools to the state playoffs.
