2024 PIAA Class 3A Championship Preview: Avonworth (12-3) vs. Northwestern Lehigh (15-0)

Each year brings a new level of uniqueness when the Pennsylvania high school football community converges on Chapman Field at Cumberland Valley High School the first week of December for the PIAA state championships.

This year is no different.

Last year, four state champions returned to defend their titles. This year, there is only one, two-time defending Class 6A state champion St. Joseph’s Prep, which is looking to threepeat.

For the first time ever, there will be three Philadelphia Catholic League teams in the state finals: St Joe’s Prep (6A), Roman Catholic (5A) and Bonner Prendergast (4A). Last year, there were three programs that reached the state finals for the first time in school history. This year, that number has doubled to six, which includes District 9 1A champion Port Allegany, District 4 2A champion Troy, District 9 2A champion Central Clarion, District 3 4A champion Lampeter-Strasburg, District 12 4A titlist Bonner Prendergast and District 12 5A champion Roman Catholic.

Last year, eight of the 12 teams involved in the state championships were undefeated. This year, that’s been cut to five: Port Allegany (14-0),

Troy (15-0), Central Clarion (14-0), Northwestern Lehigh (15-0) and Lampeter-Strasburg (14-0). Of the 12 teams competing in the states this weekend, eight have never won a state title, and that includes three games that will crown a first-time state champion: Class 2A Troy-Central Clarion, 3A Avonworth-Northwestern Lehigh and the 4A game between Lampeter-Strasburg and Bonner Prendergast, along with 5A Roman Catholic and 1A Port Allegany.

Until this season, neither of the Class 2A finalists, Troy and Central Clarion, along with Roman Catholic and Lampeter-Strasburg, ever won a state playoff game.

While at Class 6A, nothing it seems impedes Philadelphia heavyweight St. Joseph’s Prep. The Hawks were considered a young team entering this season and have grown considerably as the year has progressed. St. Joe’s Prep will be making its ninth-straight championship appearance, going for its second threepeat in program history, sixth state title in seven years, and its ninth state title overall in the last 12 years. The Hawks top the list of large school state champions (8—two at 4A and six as a 6A) since the PIAA instituted the state high school playoff system in 1988. Since the 6A system was incorporated in 2016, St. Joe’s Prep has been involved in every Class 6A state championship.

Of the 12 teams playing in the state championship this weekend, for the first time in PIAA state championship history, District 12 leads all areas with three teams from the same league (Bonner-Prendergast, Roman Catholic and St. Joe’s Prep), followed by two teams each from District 7 (Avonworth, Pittsburgh Central Catholic), District 9 (Port Allegany, Central Clarion) and District 3 (Lampeter-Strasburg, Bishop McDevitt), and one each from District 4 (Troy), District 6 (Bishop Guilfoyle) and District 11 (Northwestern Lehigh).

Joseph Santoliquito is a hall of fame, award-winning sportswriter who has been covering high school football since 1992 and is the president of the Boxing Writers Association of America. He can be followed on Twitter @JSantoliquito [twitter.com]. Follow EasternPAFootball.com on Twitter @EPAFootball [twitter.com].

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Class 3A Saturday 1 p.m. at Cumberland Valley HS

(D-7) Avonworth (12-3) vs. (D-11) Northwestern Lehigh (15-0)

Northwestern Lehigh reached the state finals for the first time in program history last year, having its perfect season scratched out by a 38-7 loss to Belle Vernon. Tigers’ senior tailback Eli Zimmerman knows the feeling of what it was like walking off that field last December and it is a feeling he does not want to relive. Over the last two years, no team playing in state championship week has had a better record than Northwestern Lehigh, which is 30-1 in that span. Prior to that, the Tigers lost to Neumann-Goretti, 38-6, in the 2022 state quarterfinals. Since then, it has been mirroring regular seasons of 15-0. Only this time, the Tigers, buoyed by Zimmerman, are looking to close this season with the first state football championship in school history. In fact, no Northwestern Lehigh fall team has lost. Both the boys’ and girls’ soccer teams won their respective PIAA Class 2A state soccer championships with a combined 56-0 record. The Tigers are 15-0, bringing the school’s team record to 71-0, thanks to Zimmerman rushing for a single-game school record of 346 yards in the Tigers’ 31-14 state semifinal victory over previously undefeated District 4 champion Danville. This will be Avonworth’s second trip to the finals. The Antelopes’ first trip was not a pleasant one, steamrolled by Southern Columbia, 74-7, in the 2019 2A championship. Avonworth got here by beating District 6 champion Penn Cambria, 16-6, in the state semifinals. Avonworth brothers Luca and Nico Neal are problems are any defense. But can the Avonworth defense stop Zimmerman, who has rushed for 2,557 yards this season, which No. 25 in the nation?