PIAA Class 2A preview: Tigers Looking for Back-to-Back State Titles

Steel Valley Preview

Class AA Eastern Champions:

Southern Columbia will be playing in their state record 15th state championship game when they take on undefeated Steel Valley this weekend in Hershey. Jim Roth’s squads have played in over half of the possible state finals since the game’s implementation in 1988 which is just remarkable to even try and comprehend. “The tradition of this program is something that the past players have established for our present players to live up to. The younger guys on our team have really stepped it up throughout the entire season. We also have strong leadership in the veterans that have helped from the beginning of the year,” Roth said. On Saturday afternoon they will be looking to extend their already state record of seven golds by winning their eighth. The Tigers will have an arduous task at hand as they will take on their toughest opponent since a matchup with Clairton in the PIAA Class A State Championship in 2011. This year, they will try to go back-to-back in Class AA with an unfamiliar opponent in Steel Valley as the Ironmen won the WPIAL Championship for the first time in nearly three decades and are playing in their first ever state final. Like in any year, at any level, a team will only go as far as the offensive and defensive line will take them. The Tigers line play has certainly elevated since the playoffs began on both sides of the ball in the trenches. “It’s crucial for us to be able to win the battle up front. We need to be more physical than our opponent just like last year. We won the line battle in the state championship game last year and we are confident again this year,” said lineman Troy Donlan. Steel Valley is the first team in WPIAL history to make a state championship appearance by putting every one of their opponents into the Mercy Rule along the way.

Road to Hershey:

After many doubters thought that the callow Tigers wouldn’t be able to repeat after graduating a senior-laden championship squad from 2015, this year’s team hasn’t seemed to miss a beat. The Tigers went undefeated in the regular season for the fifth straight season and won Division II in the Heartland Conference. They then marched through the District IV playoffs by winning gold for the 24th time in the last 26 seasons. Their prey in the final was the South Williamsport Mounties as the Tiger defense feasted in a 49-0 shutout. After beating Schuylkill Haven the following week 20-5, SCA topped Ligonier Valley 31-27 in last Friday’s windy Eastern Final to move to 15-0. This week, the Tigers will need to conquer the Ironmen without leading rusher Gaige Garcia who injured his ankle last week and will require surgery. The veteran coaching staff at Southern Columbia has dealt with injuries of this magnitude in the past and are still confident to win. “This isn’t the first time this has happened to us. A number of times we’ve been able to overcome setbacks and win the game. I think our players are in a good frame of mind,” said Roth. The Tigers won the 2003 state title over Bishop Carroll without then freshman star Henry Hynoski.

Winning Streak:

The Tigers currently have won 31 consecutive games which is just one victory shy of tying a school record. “Winning is obviously our top priority, but that just adds to the emotions. I’m very confident in our younger players to break that record next year in week one if we can beat Steel Valley,” said Tiger senior captain Hunter Thomas. A win over the Ironmen would tie the current record of 32 wins which was set from 1993-1995. They have already won 51 consecutive regular season games heading into next season which is the longest streak in school history.

Record Breaking Offense:

Two weeks ago, Gaige Garcia broke the school record for most rushing yards by a freshman. Ironically, he also broke the state record at the same time because it had been held for more than three decades by former Tiger legend Jerry Marks. Garcia rushed for 1,938 yards during his rookie campaign in a black and gold uniform. Sophomore quarterback Stone Hollenbach has amassed over 2,000 yards passing. He is just the second SCA quarterback to ever hit the milestone and is 125 yards from breaking Matt Kaskie’s record which was established 16 years ago. “The line has provided me with great protection all season. All of the credit goes to them. In addition, it certainly helps to have the type of athletes that I’ve been fortunate enough to have the opportunity to throw to,” Hollenbach said. The quarterback is 11 completions from tying Brad Fegley’s single-season record of 111 which was set in the 2011 season. Freshman playmaker Julian Fleming is just one receiving touchdown away from tying the school record of 14 for a single season. That would also actually tie the record for most in a career which is shared by Andy Helwig and Steve Toczylousky. By next season’s end, barring any injury, Fleming has a good shot at owning all of the career receiving records before even entering his junior season.

Offensive Key:

Speaking of a career, Hunter Thomas has etched his name near the top of the SCA record books for running backs. More importantly, he is focused to make sure that the entire team gives it everything that they have against Steel Valley in the season finale. “We have a coaching staff that has been to this game more than any other in PA. They know what it takes as do the players remaining from last year’s run,” he said. Thomas currently has rushed for 3,755 yards in his illustrious career as a Tiger. He will finish 5^th all-time on the school’s historic rushing list. He is also just one catch shy of tying former teammate Blake Marks for the most receptions by a running back in a career. Finally, with 33 rushing yards on Saturday he will reach 1,500 yards for the season. It will be the first time in the program’s history that a duo will reach the milestone in the same season with Garcia reaching it earlier in the district playoffs. He will need to elevate his game to an even higher level to help in Garcia’s absence which he has done at different points throughout his career.

Record Breaking Defense:

A young linebacker is set to break a school record on the defensive side of the football. Freshman Cal Haladay has 143 tackles which is just five shy of breaking the single-season record set in 1998 by Eric Steffen. Another freshman, Teagan Wilk, is second on the team with 112 tackles which is good for 8th on the list. This season is just the fifth time that two Tigers have hit the 100-tackle mark in the same season. Third on the team is Anthony Scicchitano with 87 and Thomas Manley has 82. If either of those junior linebackers are able to get to 100, it would mark the first time in the school’s history that a trio has reached the century mark for tackles in the same season. Cam Young has 17 career interceptions which is already the school record. He has picked off eight of them this year which is good enough for fourth in a season and the exact same as he had last year.

Defensive Key:

When taking on a team with lots of athleticism on the edges, textbook tackling is visibly the key. It sounds obvious, but the Tigers can’t allow the Ironmen to break tackles to extend plays into bigger chunks of yardage. “They have some playmakers for sure. We have to contain them and keep them in our grasp. Tackling will be a major key and everyone needs to focus on breaking down to make plays on defense,” said Cal Haladay. The Southern defense has made it a point of emphasis to rattle the opposing quarterback early on in the playoff games. “They don’t have the biggest offensive line and we want to make the quarterback uncomfortable. The defense is going to try and put him on his back as often as possible,” said Andrew Bell. With the speed at the skill positions, including Paris Ford who has committed to play for the Pitt Panthers next fall, the Tigers want to limit the big play potential. “They rely on big plays. We want to stop them to try and hinder their offense and stop momentum. We plan on playing smothering defense in a way that they have not seen this year,” said defensive back Sydney Damgaard. Steel Valley senior DeWayne Murray and junior Najheir West are the leading rushers and combined for five scores in last week’s win over Wilmington. The 757 points scored by the Ironmen are the fourth-most in history by a WPIAL team and it averages out to over 54 points per game for Andy Mills’ defense to try and contain.

Meet the Tigers

OFFENSE:

QB: Stone Hollenbach (So)

RB: Hunter Thomas (Sr)

RB: Thomas Manley (Jr)

FB: Nic Fetterman (Sr)

WR: Julian Fleming (Fr)

WR: Cam Young (Sr)

TE: Garrett Henry (Sr)

OL: Connor Fulmer (Jr)

OL: Andrew Bell (Jr)

OL: Troy Donlan (So)

OL: John Stabinski (So)

OL: Oak Six (So)

K: Elijah Hoffman (Jr)

DEFENSE:

DL: Tyler Bendas (Jr)

DL: Jeffrey Cox (Jr)

DL: Andrew Bell (Jr)

DL: Troy Donlan (So)

LB: Cal Haladay (Fr)

LB: Anthony Scicchitano (Jr)

LB: Thomas Manley (Jr)

LB: Drew Michaels (Sr)

DB: Cam Young (Sr)

DB: Sydney Damgaard (Sr)

DB: Teagan Wilk (Fr)

P: Garrett Henry (Sr)