2024 PIAA Class 2A Championship Preview: Troy (15-0) vs. Central Clarion (14-0)

Class 2A Friday 1 p.m.

(D-4) Troy (15-0) vs. (D-9) Central Clarion (14-0)

This is the only game where two undefeated teams will be playing each other this week. It’s also the second game in championship week where two will play to win the program’s first state football championship. There have been many firsts for both programs this season. Until this season, neither Troy nor Central Clarion ever won a state playoff game, going a combined 0-3. The last two years Central Clarion ran into buzzsaw Westinghouse and Troy had not been to the state playoffs in over a decade. Troy arrived at the state finals by beating District 2 champion Riverside, 35-14, a drop in point production for the Trojans, who scored more than 60 points in four of their last six games, including a 69-28 drubbing of the perennial powerhouse and seven-time defending state champion Southern Columbia in the District 4 semifinals. Troy entered the state semifinals averaging 308.4 yards a game and 10.5 yards per carry. The Riverside defense held the Trojans to 126 yards rushing on 32 carries. But the Vikings could not stop Troy’s Lincoln Chimics, who opened the game with a 91-yard kickoff return for a touchdown and later had an interception. Central Clarion got here by blowing through South Park, 55-0, on 6-foot, senior quarterback Jase Ferguson’s seven touchdowns. He finished with 172 yards rushing on 15 carries and first-half TD runs of 5, 5, 28, 3, and 10 yards for the Wildcats to mercy-rule South Park by halftime. This could potentially be the most intriguing game of the week. Can Central Clarion hold Chmics in check, and can Troy contain the very explosive Ferguson?