2023 PIAA Class 2A Championship Preview: Westinghouse (13-0) @ Southern Columbia (14-1)

Chapman Field at Cumberland Valley will again be at the eye of the Pennsylvania high school football world this weekend when the state’s top 12 high school teams meet for PIAA state championships.

This is a rematch of last year’s 2A championship, won by Southern Columbia 37-22 over Westinghouse. Nothing has really changed, it seems, about either of these two teams. They should know each other by now. Legendary coach Jim Roth and his Tigers play for their 14th overall state title, seventh-straight Class 2A title, and eighth 2A title in the last nine years. Southern Columbia will do what they normally do, pound away with their Wing-T offense with detailed precision. To get here, the Tigers slammed Dunmore in the state semifinals, 39-7, behind three touchdowns and 188 yards rushing by fullback Garrett Garcia. The Tigers plowed Dunmore for 325 yards rushing.

Westinghouse is no longer new to this stage. Last year, the Bulldogs made history as the first City League District 8 team to reach the finals in 25 years (since Perry Traditional Academy did it as a Class 3A in the 4A system in 1997). This year, they made history as the first City League District 8 team to reach the finals in consecutive years. They achieved that by derailing Beaver Falls, 28-8, in the state semifinals, holding the WPIAL champions to 60 yards of total offense in the second half. Dual-threat quarterback Khalil Green rushed for one score and threw for another in the semis.