Dave Fegley

Southern Columbia (15-0) vs. Wilmington (13-1)

HERSHEY – Southern Columbia (15-0) will play in their 17th state championship game and go for a record nine state championships. The Tigers will face Wilmington out of District 10, a 27-6 winner over Steel Valley. The Tigers beat Wilmington 48-0 in last year’s Class 2A title game. 

The offense is the highest scoring in the state. Division 1 recruit Julian Fleming has been offered by virtually every school in the country. He has caught 72 passes for 1,495 yards and 22 touchdowns as he continues to move up the record books. The Garcia brothers have each gone over 1,000 rushing and have combined for 56 rushing touchdowns. Stone Hollenbach, who missed five games with a broken wrist, has completed 63% of his passes for 1,611 yards and 26 touchdowns to just four interceptions. Gaige Garcia’s 2,122 total offensive yards lead the team as he has also been a threat in the receiving game with six touchdowns. Preston Zachman caught four touchdown passes as well.

The starting defense gave up an average of less than a touchdown per game. The two leading tackles are Cal Haladay (120) and Max Tillett. The duo has also combined for 12 sacks. There are seven players with at least two interceptions. Fleming, who leads with four, has returned three of them for touchdowns. Lear Quinton has been very productive on the D-line with 63 tackles and five sacks. Wade Kerstetter, who has been playing different roles this season, is third on the team with 71 tackles.

Dunkelberger is just two PAT’s short of 100 on the season. He has converted on nearly 90% of his attempts. He has not had to even attempt a field goal. Fleming averages 40 yards per punt and has pinned most of them inside the 20. The combo of Gaige Garcia and Fleming in the return game has forced teams to kick away from them for the majority of the season as both are capable of taking it the distance at any point.

QB – Stone Hollenbach (Sr)

RB – Gaige Garcia (Jr)

RB – Gavin Garcia (Fr)

FB – Ty Roadarmel (Jr)

WR – Julian Fleming (Jr)

WR – Preston Zachman (Jr)

TE – Cam Haladay (Jr)

TE – Wade Kerstetter (So)

OL – Oak Six (Sr)

OL – John Stabinski (Sr)

OL – Troy Donlan (Sr)

OL – Seth Pletcher (Sr)

OL – Ross Wertman (Sr)

OL – Jacob Herr (Jr)

DL – Lear Quinton (Jr)

DL – Cole Schankweiler (Jr)

DL – Robert Williams (Sr)

DL – Payton Pursel (Sr)

LB – Cal Haladay (Jr)

LB – Max Tillett (Jr)

LB – Preston Zachman (Jr)

LB – Nate Crowl (Jr)

DB – Julian Fleming (Jr)

DB – Shane Miller (Sr)

DB – Jake Davis (So)

DB – Cade Linn

K – Ethan Dunkelberger (Sr)

P – Julian Fleming (Jr)

RET – Gaige Garcia (Jr)

RET – Julian Fleming (Jr)

A look out West.

Last weekend, Wilmington shut down a pretty good Steel Valley team out of District 7. Steel Valley’s running duo of Todd Hill and Kam Williams came into that game with 3,741 yards rushing between them.

The Greyhounds defense allowed 11 total yards and only two first downs last weekend shutting down Steel Valley’s running attack. 

Can they shut down another high-octane offense like Southern Columbia has? Its going to be a tall task for the Wilmington defense to slow down the Tigers’ offense. We will find out Friday afternoon.

A look at some key players on Wilmington. 

Wilmington’s Quarterback Robert Pontius completed 70 of 119 passes for 1,234 yards and 14 touchdowns and six interceptions.

Running Back Cameron Marett rushed for 1,728 yards on 197 carries and 19 touchdowns. He caught 21 passes for 296 yards and five scores. Ethan Susen rushed for 897 yards and 14 touchdowns. 

Wide Receiver Junior McConahy caught 20 passes for 420 yards and three scores. Ethan Susen caught 14 passes for 207 yards and a score. 

Jimmy and the Championship Factory

As I sat in my tree stand a couple of weeks ago, less than 24 hours removed from Southern Columbia wrapping up another undefeated state championship winning season, something really hit me. Don’t get worried, it wasn’t a bullet or an arrow, but rather a sense of guilt. Sitting high in a tree as the bitter air blew, I felt bitter with myself. I wasn’t as excited after the 2017 version of the Tigers won the state championship as I felt I should have been. I didn’t know why at first, but then as some time passed, I started to really reflect my thought process. As a man who has seen every single Southern Columbia football game since the start of the 1998 season, nearly 300 consecutive, I have seen the program from different perspectives. I have played the roles of fan, player, announcer, and writer over the past 20 years with the program. I came to the conclusion that I have had the privilege of being a small part of a program that has not just been successful, but rather unmatched. What has transpired in my lifetime with this Tiger Dynasty has been nothing short of miraculous. What this program has accomplished is something that no other program has been able to match. This coaching staff and annual group of players has become a traditional example of defying the odds. Who would have ever thought back when the Tigers were losing games on a consistent basis that in a couple of decades everything would change. The areas of Elysburg, Catawissa, and Numidia have now been the homes of champions that have come through the program dating all the way back to when the Ronald Reagan administration graced the halls of the White House.

I should have been beaming with joy for longer than I was on that Friday afternoon in Hershey, but my mind tricked me into thinking that this program did what they were expected to do rather than my mind telling me that this sustained success doesn’t take place anywhere else in the Keystone State. Learn from me, live more in the moment because the future is unknown. Although I’m starting to contradict that thought even as I write this. This is because this football program, that reps the black and gold colors, continuously has the vision each and every year that the future is already written. Each August, the vision is a trip to Hershey, and the Tigers understand that it’s a long journey that has many obstacles along the way. The Tiger football culture is as confident as any sporting program in the country at any level. This program doesn’t settle for the sky being the limit. These coaches and gridiron boys realize that there are footprints on the moon. They have a vision that they will be in Hershey for the final weekend of the high school football season each year, and there isn’t anything that anyone else is going to do to take that dream away from them.

Hershey’s Chocolate Factory is going to soon need to start considering to name a candy bar after Southern Columbia. After all, the Tigers have been playing on high school football’s biggest stage right across the road from their Chocolate World for over half of the game’s existence. This was the 30th year of the PIAA having State Championship games, and somehow Jim Roth’s teams have found ways to make it to the main event for 16 of those years. “I think sometimes people used to take it for granted. We had that successful run of making it quite a few years in a row, and then I think people started to just assume it was a sure thing. After not being there after 2006 until 2011, people started to better appreciate how competitive and skilled teams were across the state. Obviously as a coaching staff you set Hershey as the overall goal each year, but it takes a full program effort to achieve it and it is extremely difficult,” said Southern Columbia head coach Jim Roth. Earlier this month when the Tigers dismantled Wilmington in the final, they were awarded with the school’s 8th State Championship golden trophy. No other school in Pennsylvania has more than six and Southern Columbia has been in the final more than double the amount of times as any other school. It has gotten to the point where fans may want to consider buying timeshares in Hershey for mid-December in the future. “I think as a staff when we present our scouting report each week, we always try to impress upon the players what each week’s opponent does well. We also find ways to help the players improve on what we did wrong in the previous game,” defensive coordinator Andy Mills said. “As a staff, we try to approach things week by week and make the players focus on that. We continue to talk to the kids about trying to block out all the noise from outside. Each coach focuses on their positions during the practices, and we try to make the players accountable and not become complacent.”

After winning the 2015 Class 2A State Championship, the 2016 Tigers seemed content with just getting to the final game again after losing the majority of their starters from the prior season. This year, they made it known from the beginning that they weren’t settling for anything less than gold. “It really hasn’t fully set in yet. Once I have time to really reflect after high school, I’m sure it will mean a lot more to me and everyone involved. There is no better way to close out your career than with a state championship. This team was full of guys that didn’t care about getting the headlines or accolades. It didn’t matter who scored the touchdown or made the tackle because each player knew their role on each play and tried executing as best as they could. That is what makes a champion, when you put the team in front of your individual self,” senior captain Anthony Scicchitano said. They didn’t just win another state championship, they did it in a way that even the haters couldn’t find a way to be negative about. Simply put, they left the field for 16 straight weeks with everyone in the stadium knowing that the opponent was inferior. Sure some games were closer than others, but there wasn’t a point in any game late in the fourth quarter, regardless of the score, that any SCA player actually thought that they were going to lose. “Our mentality was to go out and just play the game. The entire coaching staff would always have us fully prepared for the game each and every week. We had a real special bond as a team and we were able to lean on each other at different times in games. We had trust in one another on the field,” center Troy Donlan said. Here is a quick summary of their climb to the sweetest place on Earth…

SCHEDULE:

Week 1: Shamokin Area
With all due respect, the Indians proved to be nothing more than a light practice for the Tigers. SCA came out clicking on all cylinders with their starters scoring 42 first half points, including three passing touchdowns to Julian Fleming, on their wat to a 55-7 road victory in the opener.

Week 2: Bloomsburg
The Panthers couldn’t find a way to score on Southern Columbia’s stingy defense. Behind the help of a defense that limited Bloomsburg to less than a yard per play in the first half, the Tigers went on to win 49-0 on the road. Cal Haladay recorded a game-high 10 tackles in the win.

Week 3: Mount Carmel Area
The first game ever on SCA’s new turf provided entertainment. After shooting themselves in the foot with dropped passes early, the Tigers needed a late defensive touchdown thanks to a forced fumble by Max Tillett that was recovered in the end zone by Connor Fulmer. Elijah Hoffman added three field goals to help clinch a 29-7 win over the much improved Red Tornadoes.

Week 4: Hughesville
Jim Roth won his 400th career game as the Tigers shut out the Spartans in Mercy Rule fashion 57-0. He became the youngest coach to ever reach the milestone in Pennsylvania and just the third coach to ever reach the feat. Defensive Coordinator Andy Mills was also honored for being with Roth for all of the victories.

Week 5: Lewisburg
In a 56-21 road victory at Susquehanna University, sophomore Julian Fleming broke the school’s career receiving yardage record. Gaige Garcia scored four touchdowns in a game that he faced off against his uncle that coached the Green Dragons.

Week 6: Milton
SCA’s offense was unstoppable as the team totaled nearly 600 yards of offense. They nearly broke a school record for points in a game during the 75-28 victory. The point total was the third highest in school history. Stone Hollenbach threw a pair of TD passes during the onslaught.

Week 7: Montoursville
The Tigers defense held the Warriors to 1.3 yards per carry in a 42-7 Mercy Rule victory. Behind the dominant effort from the offensive line, Garcia and Fleming each reached the end zone on three different occasions.

Week 8: Danville
A game to decide the PHAC Division III Champion, and it was the Tigers winning convincingly 41-10 over the Ironmen to clinch the division. Wide receiver Preston Zachman caught his first career touchdown pass during Southern’s final home regular season game.

Week 9: Central Columbia
There was some talk earlier in the week that the Blue Jays had a team strong enough to compete with the Tigers. SCA put that to rest by shutting out Central 42-0 giving the Tigers their 60th straight regular season win dating back to 2011. Julian Fleming caught six passes for 111 yards.

Week 10: Selinsgrove
The Tigers toughest opponent would come in the final game of the regular season. The Seals, who were state quarterfinalists in Class 4A, gave the Tigers fits through the air, but Southern’s run defense held Selinsgrove to negative 1-yard rushing. Cal Haladay highlighted the win with a late 97-yard interception return for a touchdown in the 49-28 regular season finale.

Week 11: North Penn-Mansfield
The Panthers weren’t strong enough up front to compete with SoCo’s line play as the Tigers won 63-26. Anthony Scicchitano became the only Tiger all season to score an offensive and defensive touchdown in the same game as he caught one and returned another via an interception.

Week 12: Central Columbia
In a rematch from the month prior, the results were the same. SCA won in Mercy Rule fashion by a score of 59-14. Gaige Garcia, Stone Hollenbach, Jeffrey Cox, Tristan Heim, and Ty Roadarmel all scored on the ground in the District IV AA Semi-Final victory.

Week 13: Mount Carmel Area
The Tigers won their 25th district crown in the last 27 years by beating their rival 49-14. The Red Tornadoes couldn’t muster together much offense and Garcia posted 307 yards of total offense and four scores in the first ever postseason matchup between the two schools.

Week 14: Neumann-Goretti
Andy Mills’ defense posted a first half shutout in the Tigers 45-12 triumphant victory against the talented Saints. SCA held a pair of Division 1 bound running backs to less than 25 yards rushing each. Neumann-Goretti’s highly recruited roster had guys with offers from Alabama, Georgia, Oregon, LSU, and West Virginia. With a Tigers defense not phased, the Saints had a net of negative 29 yards rushing in the state quarterfinal battle.

Week 15: Dunmore
Against a Bucks defense that only gave up 91 points all season, the Tigers offense could have potentially reached that amount in the game alone. Pulling the starters for the second half of the Class 2A Eastern Final, the Tigers cruised to a 56-19 win. Penn State head coach James Franklin was in attendance to see his top recruit in Julian Fleming and the sophomore had over 100 yards receiving with fellow sophomore star Gaige Garcia needing just 11 carries for 234 yards and four scores behind the line play.

Week 16: Wilmington
SoCo won the state gold by beating the best team that the west had to offer. The Tigers shut out the Greyhounds 48-0 to win the state championship. Stone Hollenbach threw for three first half touchdowns and the defense put a stamp on their record breaking season. Max Tillett led the defense with 14 tackles and entire defense held the Greyhounds to less than 100 yards of total offense. The margin of victory was the third largest in state championship game history. It was school’s second state title in Class 2A after winning their first six in Class A.

Statistical Leaders:
Obviously in order to win a state championship, it takes a TEAM effort from the starters down through the junior varsity subs as well as the weekly preparation from the coaching staff. However, with the amount of success that the Tigers had this season, some of the statistical numbers are worth sharing. “We tried to outhustle and outwork every team that we played. If one person wasn’t doing their job or giving their best effort, they were going to hear about it from either a coach or a teammate. We weren’t settling for anything less than the gold this year, and I think everyone on the team would agree with that,” said senior captain Connor Fulmer. Here are the top five in some well-known categories (passing & kicking only has one main person or else your team is in a difficult situation):

Rushing Yards:
Gaige Garcia (2,292); Jeffrey Cox (664); Tristan Heim (467); Ty Roadarmel (374); Nate Crowl (339)

Rushing Touchdowns:
Gaige Garcia (37); Tristan Heim (8); Jeffrey Cox (7); Stone Hollenbach (7); Three Others (4)

Receiving Yards:
Julian Fleming (1,462); Gaige Garcia (446); Preston Zachman (348); Anthony Scicchitano (70); Tristan Heim (55)

Receptions:
Julian Fleming (69); Gaige Garcia (31); Preston Zachman (22); Anthony Scicchitano (5); Tristan Heim (5)

Tackles:
Cal Haladay (109); Max Tillett (106); Anthony Scicchitano (63); Tyler Bendas (61); Brett Szuler (60)

Sacks:
Tyler Bendas (8); Cal Haladay (8); Max Tillett (7.5); Preston Zachman (7); Lear Quinton (4.5)

Interceptions:
Julian Fleming (4); Cal Haladay (3); Blake Day (2); Cade Linn (2); Four Others (1)

By the Numbers (obviously need to have 8):

815 – The number of points that SCA scored this season which broke the old school mark by 60 points. The Tigers averaged nearly 51 points per game. The total amount was the third most points ever scored by a team in Pennsylvania high school football history.

412 – The number of wins that head coach Jim Roth now has with Southern Columbia. He is one of just three coaches to reach the 400-win plateau in Pennsylvania and he was the quickest to get there. In over three decades of coaching the Tigers, he has never had a losing season.

194 – The number of points that Southern Columbia scored in their four championship games this season. Those opponents were Danville (Conference), Mount Carmel (District), Dunmore (Eastern), and Wilmington (State).

61 – The number of consecutive regular season games that the Tigers have won. The current streak started with a road victory at Selinsgrove in the final game of the 2011 regular season. SCA could break the state record in less than two seasons if the successful run continues.

58 – The number of rushing yards that SoCo’s defense allowed per game this season. That broke the old record by nine yards per game (2003 team allowed just 67.1 yards). Obviously the starters deserve the bulk of the credit, but give the reserves a tip of the cap as well.

13 – The number of games that the Tigers won via the Mercy Rule. Yes, over 80% of Southern Columbia’s games this year had the Tigers leading by at least 35 points at one point or another in the second half of each game.

8 – The number of State Championships that Southern Columbia has won. Berwick has the second most in the state with six, but the Bulldogs haven’t played in the final since 1997. As for public schools, this record could stand for a long, long time.

3 – The number of teams that scored any points on the historic Tiger defense in the first half during the regular season. It’s a rewarding feeling to go into halftime 70% of the time seeing a goose egg on the opposing team’s side of the scoreboard and the parking lot emptying.

THE TIGERS:

Gauging the Record Books:
When Henry Hynoski exited the state championship game for the final time back in 2006, nobody thought that the four-time state champion would ever leave the top of the Tigers rushing record list. The retired Super Bowl champion fullback with the New York Giants, finished his high school career with 7,165 yards rushing. Gaige Garcia is on pace to potentially do the unthinkable. The sophomore will enter his junior season with 4,230 rushing yards which is already good enough for fourth on SoCo’s all-time list. Known as “The Goliath”, he will need to average 1,468 yards over his final two seasons as a Tiger to take over the top spot. Given the fact that he rushed for 1,938 yards as a freshman and 2,292 yards this season, barring any injury, we may have a new rushing leader at a school with Pennsylvania’s most historic rushing numbers of all-time by 2019. “The numbers that I have put up have shown how great the teams are that I have been on. The coaches are a huge part in the success. Being able to run the ball for Coach Roth and Southern is an honor in itself. Now that I have a chance at breaking the school record, it’s a pretty amazing feeling,” Garcia said. “Having my name next to some of the greatest running backs is an honor, but the records don’t compare to winning a state championship. That is the ultimate accomplishment.”

Hidden Jewel:
It’s scary to think that Julian Fleming wasn’t even sure that he wanted to focus on football entering high school. As a phenomenal basketball player, he focused his attention on the hardwood more than the gridiron during the spring and summer entering his first year. “I don’t really remember exactly, but basketball was always my favorite sport. My freshman year I thought about focusing on it more until Michigan offered me. I have just been living a dream since, and the biggest thing is that I have really focused on improving myself as both a player and as a person,” Fleming said. After finally deciding to focus his attention to continue his football career, it didn’t take long for him to take over games in his rookie season. The sophomore has already shattered every possible school receiving record. The highly touted recruit has totaled 105 receptions for 2,418 yards and 33 touchdowns in his career thus far. One of the most respected national recruiting services has Fleming rated as the top receiver in the country for the class of 2020. He has already received many offers from top-tier schools across the country and the offers continue to pile up. “We have never had a player in this program get this type of national attention. There have been some great players to come through the system that have gotten Division 1 scholarship offers, but what Julian does on the field is just incredible. He is about as talented as you can be at his age and he has done an outstanding job of staying focused through it all,” said Roth.

Stone Cold:
Often overlooked because of how dominant Garcia and Fleming have been, the quarterback has done his job and then some. Stone Hollenbach has broken every single-season passing record and heading into his senior season should have all of the career records when it is all said and done. “You know it is really awesome when you think about it. Not just winning the state championship, but just to be able to wear a Tigers uniform knowing how rich the program’s history is. It is full of lots of success and all kinds of championships. As for the records, football is a team game. Without the blocking of my line and the skill players doing most of the work, we wouldn’t have the opportunity to win championships,” Hollenbach said. After breaking the single-season passing yardage and touchdown marks last season, he finished off the record book by breaking Brad Fegley’s record for completions in a season that was set in 2011. Nick Becker currently holds the career records, but Hollenbach needs just one passing touchdown, 31 completions, and 201 yards to take over each of the career marks. This year he was 140 for 219 with 2,510 yards and 30 touchdowns compared to five interceptions. In two years as the Tigers signal-caller, he has a total of 4,666 yards passing on 250 completions. He also has taken care of the football for the most part by totaling 54 touchdown passes compared to 11 interceptions.

Kicking Away History:
If you are chosen to be the kicker for Southern Columbia, you have to make sure to have plenty of ice in your freezer come Saturday mornings with the workload of extra points, potential field goals, and kickoffs that need to be done. “Let’s just say that our refrigerator had to work overtime this season for me to keep icing down. The best part was seeing all of our hard work pay off to win the state championship after losing it last year,” kicker Elijah Hoffman said. Hoffman was the leading goal scorer on the Tigers soccer team, but he was even more valuable to the school on Friday evenings. The senior annihilated not just the school record, but rather the state record, for the most points in a season by a kicker. His valuable right foot totaled 143 points over the course of the season. He was nearly perfect by converting on 104 of 106 extra points and also nailed 13 of 15 field goal attempts. He leaves the Tigers program with the second most career PAT’s going 194 for 202 and as the all-time leader in field goals where he converted on 15 of 17 attempts in his two-year stint.

The Other Guys:
Sometimes there just isn’t enough time or room to always give the other guys the recognition that they deserve. With the highlight reel displays that some of the well-known Tigers have put up, it is often forgotten of the little things that other guys do in order to contribute to a successful season. A pair of Southern Columbia running backs definitely didn’t lack recognition because of a lack of production. The backfield combination of halfback Tristan Heim and fullback Jeffrey Cox both did what they were asked to do knowing that Garcia was the vocal point. No the two senior backs didn’t post any 200-yard rushing performances, make highlight reel catches, or receive any awards, but what they did more importantly was help bring home state gold. “We knew that Gaige was the main guy that teams were keying on each week. The rest of just tried to do our best when we had our number called. I know my mentality was to run as hard as I could every time that I got the ball. Most of the time I was called on as a blocker, so I needed to do my job. I just wanted to go all-out because I knew this was the last year that I would be playing football,” said Cox. The senior duo of Cox and Heim combined to rush for 1,131 yards and 15 scores. In addition, when called upon, sophomores Ty Roadarmel and Nate Crowl also provided a lift as reserves that were able to fill in at times when they were needed. “Jeff and I did what we were supposed to do, when we were supposed to do it. We had a job to do and that’s what we did. It didn’t matter if it was blocking, catching, or running. Ty and Nate did the same, and they did a good job when it was their chance too. They will both be successful through the rest of their careers,” Heim said.

Up-Above The Rest:
No matter the level of football, the success all starts up-front. If you don’t have an intelligent, disciplined, strong, and physical offensive line, success most likely won’t be coming your way. “We never settled for anything and always expected more out of ourselves. Being physical is key on every snap, and when you’re more physical than the guy across from you it will give you the advantage,” said lineman Oak Six. The Tigers made it a point to use their taught techniques to get the job done. Southern Columbia scored a monstrous total of 815 points during the 2017 campaign. That total broke the old record of 755 points which was set by the 2006 state champion Tigers. The offensive beef consisted of Six and Connor Fulmer at the tackles, Andrew Bell and John Stabinski at the guards, Troy Donlan at center, and Anthony Scicchitano and AJ Goodlunas were the tight ends. “It is extremely important that the line communicates and works together. That helps make sure that everyone is blocked properly so that the play is a success,” said Stabinski. The line helped to pave the way for a total of 4,690 yards rushing. Combine that with the passing success, and the offensive production came to 7,200 total yards on the season. The player that was the most thankful for being on the field was Goodlunas. He missed both his sophomore and junior seasons with separate ACL tears. “It was hard on me at times. At one point in my recovery stage last year I really didn’t even want to come out this year. Thankfully I have some good friends that helped me through the process, and they helped me see the bright side of it all. My mentality this season was to go out there and just give it my all on the field,” said Goodlunas.

Fierce Front Four:
If there was one knock on last year’s defensive line, it was the fact that they didn’t always get pressure on the other team’s quarterback. This season, the front four made it a point of emphasis to make sure to change that. “We used last year as motivation for this season. Not just the defensive line, but I think everyone was determined and worked extra hard to reach our goal of getting to the quarterback. When the other team’s quarterback looked scared, it gave our defense even more momentum. The defense played with confidence all season, and it was a lot of fun trying to make plays,” said senior Tyler Bendas. With the success of the offensive line, the defensive line play appeared to be even better. The duo of Bendas and Lear Quinton at the defensive ends, and the interior play of Andrew Bell and Cavern Gosciminski at the tackles, provided opposing quarterbacks and runners wretchedness all season long. “Our mentality on the defensive line this year was to create chaos against our opponent. We wanted to do it on the offense’s blocking and passing schemes to make them one dimensional,” Gosciminski said. The defensive front was a main reason for the Tigers being able to tally 52 sacks and 49 hurries on the season. They also helped to take pressure off of an inexperienced secondary with new starters filling in. “When the defensive backs were doing their job of covering the receivers, that gave us more time to get to quarterbacks. When the defensive line didn’t get pressure, the linebackers came through on blitzes to put pressure on the other team. The success came from a combination of our speed and strength,” said Quinton.

Backing It Up:
The line-backing quadruplets of Cal Haladay, Anthony Scicchitano, Max Tillett, and Preston Zachman were the heart and soul of the record breaking defense at their linebacker positions. The defense gave up only 58.1 rushing yards per game for the season, breaking the old mark of 67.1 set by another state championship team more than a decade ago. Haladay and Scicchitano were the two leading tacklers returning from last year’s state runner-up squad and they combined to anchor the inside of the defense. “All four of us linebackers got to the ball really quick. We watched a lot of film and that helped in reading where we thought the play was going. We were all confident and knew that we could stop the other team on each play. I felt the four of us worked together really well, and we built off of each other’s success and knew our roles,” Haladay said. His 260 career tackles are already good enough for sixth all-time, and he needs just 61 more over the course of the next two seasons to break the school record. The outside linebackers were the sophomore tandem of Tillett and Zachman. “We had great leadership all around from the senior class. They all tried to get the best out of each of us, and I think that they got it. We came out motivated and pumped up each game to get the job done and that helped a lot in reaching our goal. We made sure to wrap up on our tackles to bring down the players and not allow them to break free and we were physical,” Tillett said. In 2017, Haladay and Tillett became the seventh pair of SCA teammates to have over 100 tackles in the same season. In total, these four steadfast hitters combined for 336 tackles, 26 sacks, five interceptions, and plenty of forced holding calls on the opposing offensive lines that they faced. “I think for this defense we took a big step forward in the mental part of the game this year. Obviously the improved play of our linebackers was a key. It also helped that we were able to make teams a bit more predictable by putting them in down and distance situations that favored us,” said Mills.

Second Chance for Secondary:
Brett Szuler decided to give football a second chance. The senior cornerback decided to give up football to focus on other sports after junior high. Thankfully, he made the decision to put on the pads for his final high school year. “That was the best decision that I have ever made. If I didn’t decide to come out, I would be regretting it forever. It took some time to get back in the rhythm since I hadn’t played football in a while. As the season continued, I felt more confident in not just my abilities, but in the entire secondary,” said Szuler. The undersized cover guy was fifth on the team in tackles, and he also led the team with nine pass breakups. Another Tiger senior that was provided a second chance was safety Blake Day. As a junior, his season ended as quickly as it began. “After getting injured in the first game last year, I knew coming in this year that I couldn’t take anything for granted. I tried to play every play like it was my last because nothing is certain in life. We had a stretch in the regular season where we struggled in pass coverage for a few games, but I think that helped us in the end. It got us more focused and determined to prove ourselves in the playoffs,” Day said. Early in last season’s opening game, Day tore his ACL causing him to miss the rest of the season. Through a strenuous rehab, he worked his way back into the starting lineup to compile a stat line that included 32 tackles, two interceptions, and two fumble recoveries. Another SCA safety, who played when the Tigers had two safety defensive formations, was Cade Linn. Like his teammate Day, the sophomore missed all of last season with an injury, but he bounced back to have 40 tackles and two interceptions this season as a sophomore.

Working Overtime:
One consistency in the Southern Columbia football program, year in and year out, is the ability for the coaching staff to establish lineups that keep players fresh and free of injury throughout the regular season. To accomplish this, not too often are players counted on to be two-way starters. However, four Tigers this season were given the opportunity to start on both sides of the ball, and they all proved that they belonged. Anthony Scicchitano (linebacker/tight end), Julian Fleming (wide receiver/cornerback), Andrew Bell (offensive/defensive line), and Preston Zachman (linebacker/wide receiver) were the four men responsible for being on the field as two-way starters and they all made an impact on both sides of the ball. “We try to keep our guys fresh so that they are as healthy as possible for the playoffs. It is also nice to not have many guys going both ways because that means that there are more guys stepping up to prove that they belong on the field. Each year though we have at least a couple of guys that are on the field on both offense and defense. This year those guys had strong seasons on both sides of the ball for us,” said Roth. The players that go both ways like it because they are able to make an impact in different phases of the game. It is also a way to make up for mistakes on either side of the ball or to just be able to play as much as possible. “It was great to get the opportunity to help the team on both offense and defense. If we made a mistake on one side of the ball, we were able to go right back out there and try to make up for it on the other side of the ball. Everyone on this team wanted to do their part to help win,” Zachman said.

Seniors Surpass Success:
With the rich history of the Tiger Dynasty, this senior class ranks up there with any when it comes to winning football games. In fact, this class has the best winning percentage of any class in the history of the program and that includes the incredible four-year span from 2003-2006 when Henry Hynoski and Josh Marks were mainstays during a run that included a record of 58-3 over their four consecutive state championship winning seasons. This year’s senior class, which has spanned for a three-year career, has compiled a record of 47-1 which ranks as the highest winning percentage ever at nearly 98%. “I can’t say enough about these guys. We set out on a mission and we completed it with perfection this year. Going back and seeing that this senior class only had one loss in our careers is really remarkable. You look at how many great teams have come through this program and that makes it even more meaningful. It would have been nice to win another title last year, but you can’t always get what you want. However, this year we got exactly what we wanted to close out our careers,” said senior captain Andrew Bell. The only loss that this senior class was ever a part of was in last season’s state final. The awards that they have conquered as a team include two state championships, three eastern championships, three district championships, and three conference championships. Coach Roth was able to sum up nicely what the legacy of this senior class will be. “I couldn’t be happier for these seniors. We had strong leadership starting with our five captains in Bell, Schiccitano, Fulmer, Bendas, and Cox. We had other seniors step up at different times in leadership roles as well. To win a state championship, all the pieces need to fit and sometimes it takes some adjusting,” Roth said. “This senior group found a way to get the job done as leaders and that is something that they can forever be thanked for doing. They played at a high-level for the entire season, and they get to leave the program on top with a state championship.”

As you enjoy the remainder of the holiday season with family and friends, whether you are Southern Columbia’s biggest fan or biggest critic, take a second to reflect on what has been accomplished. A program that got a late start compared to others around the state in the 1960’s, that struggled mightily to win games in the 1970’s, has now become the modeled success story across the state. Think about this next stat. Over the past 30 years, the Tigers have won at least one championship in 29 of those years. If you total the championships up, Southern Columbia has won on average more than two championships each season. That’s a stat that sounds faker than Santa Claus, but it’s realer than gold, and gold is exactly what this football program sets out for each season. If you are looking for a New Year’s resolution that can make your 2018 go better than your 2017, make it one full of positivity. With that being said, I am positive that this football program has golden plans for years to come. I am also positive that those plans will go more smoothly than a Griswold family Christmas, and if you look at the past 30 years, I think everyone has that same thought. It is just up to you if you are willing to admit it or not. Happy New Year!

Tigers finish off perfect season for state gold

Last season, Southern Columbia walked off of the field at Hershey Park Stadium with their tears of defeat soaking into the turf in Chocolate Town, suffering a lopsided defeat in the PIAA Class 2A State Championship. Just 363 days later, the Tigers returned to that same field and this time left absolutely no doubt of what they were trying to accomplish. “These guys, especially the senior class, took that loss personally. This team is a true example of a team not settling for anything less than what they wanted. I’m very proud of the way that they reached it and it feels great to win another one,” said Tigers coach Jim Roth.

Behind a defense that stepped up to the plate and delivered for all 16 weeks, the Tigers celebrated a 48-0 Mercy Rule victory to beat previously unbeaten Wilmington. The win to cap off a perfect season, brings home a state record 8th State Championship to Southern Columbia. “We worked so hard for this and weren’t going to let it slip through our grasp. This team was on a mission since the end of last year and the final outcome, it was well worth it,” said senior Tyler Bendas. The Greyhounds marched through the western part of the state, but they just simply couldn’t compete with a Tiger squad that was on a golden mission. “This Southern team was certainly in a class of their own this season. Our guys didn’t face anything of that caliber, so it is a credit to their program,” Wilmington coach Terry Verrelli said.

The Tigers won the opening coin toss, and they put the trust into their defense to make a play, and they did just that. “The goal this year from the beginning of the season was to make sure nobody had success running the football on us. I think it’s safe to say that we accomplished that goal and our defense was just lights out and the scoreboard shows it,” two-way lineman Andrew Bell stated. Wilmington got a long pass play to Colton Marett on the game’s opening drive and he looked like he was going to score. Julian Fleming, never giving up on the play, caught up to Marett and punched the ball out after a 47-yard gain. After two bounces on the turf, Southern’s other cornerback Brett Szuler was there to scoop up the ball to give it to the Tigers dangerous offense.

Fleming, who started out the 2016 State Championship game by fumbling the opening kickoff, made another huge play by pulling in an 11-yard touchdown pass from Stone Hollenbach to give the Tigers an early 7-0 lead. “I was definitely disappointed with the outcome last year. I fumbled on the opening kickoff and then gave up a big pass early on, so it was definitely rewarding to make a positive impact early in this game. I mean it’s just a team that had a dream and we achieved it,” Fleming said. Southern made the score 10-0 on the final play of the first quarter thanks to the reliable right foot of Elijah Hoffman when he converted on a 31-yard field goal.

In the second quarter, the heart of the Tigers defense really started to put it in gear. A linebacking core that is as fast as any in defensive coordinator Andy Mills’ 30+ year tenure. “We had great leadership this year from the seniors, and the rest of us just came out and did our jobs. We played hard every play and made sure to win each battle,” said Max Tillett who finished with a game high 12 tackles and was nearly decapitating heads in the process. The quadruplets of Cal Haladay, Anthony Scicchitano, Preston Zachman, and Tillett combined for 11 tackles (five for loss) and three sacks in the quarter to propel the defense. “They had a good group of running backs coming in. We just made sure to stay disciplined and carry out our assignments. As linebackers, I thought the four of us played really well together all season long and we just all played with confidence every down,” said the Tigers leading tackler for the season Cal Haladay.

Southern Columbia went up 17-0 with 4:36 remaining in the half on a 14-play drive. Zachman caught a seven yard pass for the score. “Our line did a great job of giving the receivers time to get open and then once we found openings, Stone was very accurate in the passing game for us,” Zachman said. After the teams traded punts, the Tigers got help from their special teams when Hoffman kicked a punt that was downed by Szuler at the one yard line. The defense did the job again, forcing a three-and-out and a punt out of the Greyhounds end-zone. “This defense has delivered for us all season long. Wilmington came in with a very strong running attack and balance, but I have to give credit to our guys for being physical and flying to the football,” Roth said.

After a nice Fleming return on the line drive punt, the Tigers set up shop at the 15-yard line. Then, the next play was a good summary of SCA’s season. The two Tigers that will be the candidates for the Class 2A Player of the Year, Garcia & Fleming, combined for a touchdown. Garcia caught a pass around the five with three Greyhounds draped on him. The bull kept his legs churning and showed the will to get into the end zone. Fleming helped make sure of it with a final push across pay dirt. The touchdown put the Tigers up 24-0 right before the half and the SCA fans, that outnumbered the Wilmington fans three to one, showered the team with applause heading to the locker room. “This community just shows unbelievable support. The coaching staff makes everyone better, and I know that they have helped me make incredible jumps as a player and others would say the same thing. There’s just nothing like being a Tiger,” Hollenbach said.

On the first offensive play of the second half, Garcia ripped off a 57-yard touchdown run to put the Tigers up 31-0. That was the point in the game when reality started to settle in for this workhorse. “Last year was just devastating having to watch from the sidelines. I remember crying bad after the game. Now I just feel so good for this team. I just really can’t even describe how happy I actually am,” said Garcia. The sophomore had to watch last year’s state final defeat from the bench after breaking his ankle the week prior.

Hoffman kicked a 21-yard field goal on the next possession and then the fat lady started to make her way out of her taste testing adventures across the street at Chocolate World. Another three-and-out by the Tigers record-setting defense, and Jeff Cox put the game into the Mercy Rule, 41-0, on a one-yard plunge at the 2:17 mark of the third quarter. “As the game went on, we just seemed to get more motivated. I just tried to run as hard as I could each play because I knew how hard the offensive line was working to open up holes,” said Cox

Cox added the game’s final touchdown in the middle of the fourth quarter on a four yard carry and the defense was able to keep the shutout to put a final stamp on the 48-0 shellacking. “We were just really persistent. Our coaching staff did a great job in game-planning for this one and I think we executed as well as we could,” Connor Fulmer said. Wilimington who made a living all season long on running the football, ran into a juggernaut. “They just shut us down. What had worked for us all season to get to this point just simply didn’t work against Southern’s defense,” said Verelli. The Tigers held the Greyhounds to less yards rushing than they had carries. In total, Wilmington ran the ball 32 times for just 31 yards.

To put the season into perspective, this Wilmington squad wasn’t a slouch by any means. They pretty much marched right through the entire western part of the state up until last week. It was just the dominance of Southern Columbia that made it look so effortless. In fact, the stadium vibe for what seemed to be the entire second half seemed to be one filled with boredom with the Tigers just continuing to dominate in every facet until the clock struck zero. The 48-point margin of victory was the third largest in PIAA State Championship game history and the largest in the Class AA field.

As the Tigers received their state championship trophy, and celebrated with photos and hugs from fans, the emotions started to set in for the seniors of Southern Columbia. “Lacing up the shoes and strapping up the helmet one last time, and then being able to win a state championship in a blowout fashion, there’s just really no other better way to end your career. This team is like a family and I won’t ever forget a single one of them, all of the players and coaches, we just had a special bond and it ended great,” said an emotional Scicchitano in his final game as a captain leader.

Southern Columbia ends the 2017 campaign on top for the eighth time, and they certainly through their name in the discussion for arguably the best Tiger team of all-time. After going 16-0, this year’s team set a new record for the most points score in a season, the least amount of rushing yards per game allowed in a season, and they scored more special teams points than any school in the history of PA. “It’s really a privilege to see the work that all the players put in each season, and when you end with a win in the final week it makes it that much more rewarding,” Roth said. Regardless of who you think is the best team, there is one thing that is for certain as a Tiger: Eight is Great, and more than any other school in the state.

Stay tuned for later on in the week on a final recap article on the 2017 State Championship season for the Tigers.

Southern Columbia Tigers: Class 2A Eastern Champions
District IV & Heartland Conference Division III
Record: 15-0

Wilmington Preview 

Jim Roth’s Tigers are headed back to Hershey for the 16th time and looking to win an 8th state championship for Southern Columbia. “We have had a successful run, and the guys have set the bar at the highest level. It’s nice to win league and district championships, but the players of the past and present know that winning a state championship is the final goal we set each year as a program,” said Roth. In fact, Southern Football doesn’t even give out their District IV gold medals until after the season. Other sports programs throw a celebration after winning districts, but when you win 25 of the last 27, it seems like just another day in the office for the football team. The job on Friday afternoon will primarily sit at the hands of the Tigers run defense based on Wilmington’s offensive style. “Right now we are really confident in our defense being able to stop them. We need to do what we have been doing all year in shutting down their running game,” defensive end Tyler Bendas stated. The Tigers will take on the Greyhounds out of District X at 1:00 on Friday.

The Road to Hershey
Southern Columbia has rolled through the regular season winning another PHAC Championship and extended their regular season winning streak to 61-straight since 2011. During the regular season, the Tigers only punted a total of 10 times, the starting defense only gave up six total touchdowns, and the offense averaged over 33 points per game in the first half alone. In the postseason, SCA has somehow made it look even easier. They have gone on to run through their opponents in the playoffs. They haven’t just won in the post-season, they have dominated every team in their path. “There have been plenty of different players that stepped up for us at different points this season. We are on a mission that won’t be complete unless we capture the gold,” Julian Fleming said.

The Tigers Mercy Ruled their way through the District IV Class AA field with wins over North Penn-Mansfield (63-26), Central Columbia (59-14), and Mount Carmel Area (49-14). Then, in their state quarterfinal matchup, many thought that Neumann-Goretti would give the Tigers all that they could handle with the amount of transfers that the Saints had come in from all around Pennsylvania as well as bordering states. “All week we compared that game to the 2015 West Catholic game and how fearless and resilient our team was then. We knew it wouldn’t be easy, but as the game got going our confidence increased,” senior safety Blake Day said. Southern proved that all they needed to handle in that win was the cold weather and an unsportsmanlike player ejection from the opposition in a convincing 45-12 victory.

Last Friday, in the PIAA Class 2A Eastern Final, the Lackawanna League thought that the Dunmore Bucks had a defense capable of stopping the Tigers offense given the fact that they had only given up 91 points all season. That thought turned out to be about as bad as when Decca Records decided to decline signing The Beatles back in 1962. “Once we got things rolling, I felt like our whole team played with a ton of confidence. Dunmore had a lot of success this season, but our guys just executed against a quality team,” Roth said. Not only did the Tigers score, but they did it effortlessly. Southern scored more points in the first half than Dunmore gave up to its 10-regular season opponents combined, and the Tigers cruises to a 56-19 win.

Record Breakers
Julian Fleming: This sophomore star has already shattered the records in the Southern Columbia receiving book. He holds the career and single-season records for receiving yards, touchdowns, and receptions. On the season, he has 63 receptions for 1,389 yards and 19 touchdowns. His stats would be even better if not for an injury causing him to miss time to start the playoffs. He is currently ranked as the No. 1 receiver in the country for the Class of 2020.

Gaige Garcia: At a school that has the most historic running back statistics of any school in Pennsylvania, this guy has a shot at breaking all of the records when it’s all said and done which include the likes of Henry Hynoski, Ricco Rosini, & Jerry Marks. The sophomore has rushed for 2,137 yards and 36 scores on the season and is averaging better than a first down each touch at 11.6 yards per carry. His best performance came last week when he needed just 14 carries to go 236 yards and score 4 TD’s.

Stone Hollenbach: The quarterback is at his glory with having the opportunity to throw the pigskin to a 5-Star recruit like Fleming and other weapons. The junior has thrown for 2,366 yards and 27 touchdowns to five interceptions resetting the yards and touchdown records that he established last season. He now has every record by passing Brad Fegley (2011 season) for the most completions in a single-season two weeks ago.

Elijah Hoffman: If this senior kicker isn’t named to the all-state team, then there won’t ever be one at the position for the school. Playing both soccer and football, Hoffman has broken the state record for the most points ever in a season by a kicker. He has been near perfect by making 98/100 extra points and converting 11/13 field goals.

Cal Haladay: Sometimes the Tigers defense gets overlooked because of the offensive statistics. However, this defense is as dangerous as any against the run. The statistical leader is Cal Haladay who became the first Tiger ever to have 250+ combined tackles in his first two seasons. The sophomore currently leads the team with 100 tackles so far in 2017 after breaking the school record with 151 last season. He also has seven sacks and three interceptions, two of which have been returned for touchdowns.

Who to watch on Offense
In order for the Tigers to keep rolling on offense, it will be important for the tackles to take away the pressure off the edge. Offensive tackles Connor Fulmer and Oak Six will go up against a Greyhounds defense that has forced 28 turnovers on the season. If Fulmer and Six are able to hold off the pressure, the Tigers receivers could have a field day. “It’s been real fun especially when you have a passing and running game like we have. They both balance each other out really well and we haven’t really had an offensive letdown yet this season,” said Hollenbach.

Who to watch on Defense
Coach Roth was quick to say in the preseason that his linebackers may be the fastest that the Tigers have ever had as a unit. Three of those guys are sophomores, and the other is a senior captain. Anthony Scicchitano, one of four two-way starters, will be playing in his final high school football game on Friday afternoon and will play a crucial role in stopping the Greyhounds offense. Defensive Coordinator Andy Mills will call a variety of formations, and Scicchitano will find himself in the middle of them all.

Key on Offense
Balance will be important, and a variety of Tigers have stepped up to help out in the passing game. Assuming that Fleming will be double or triple covered, other players will need to get open in the passing game for Hollenbach. Preston Zachman, Garcia, and Scicchitano have each had receiving touchdowns during the playoff run. If Southern Columbia is able to spread the ball around early to eliminate defensive shifts, the Tigers will be able to use play-action to get receivers open down field.

Key on Defense
Right now, Southern is on pace to break a school record for rushing yards allowed per game. The Greyhounds have proven all season long that they can score points at a high level. That showed more than ever last Friday in their 49-42 Western Final victory over Washington. “We’re just going to go out there and keep doing what we have been doing. We need to keep contain and our zones. The main thing is to not let their runners get outside,” said Haladay. Wilmington has rushed for 4,170 yards at 7.8 yards per carry as a team. The Greyhounds have scored 42.1 points per game and have two 1,000 yard rushers.

Meet the Tigers
OFFENSE:
QB: Stone Hollenbach (Jr)
RB: Gaige Garcia (So)
RB: Tristan Heim (Sr)
FB: Jeffrey Cox (Sr)
WR: Julian Fleming (So)
WR: Preston Zachman (So)
TE: Anthony Scicchitano (Sr)
TE: AJ Goodlunas (Sr)
OL: Connor Fulmer (Sr)
OL: Andrew Bell (Sr)
OL: Troy Donlan (Jr)
OL: John Stabinski (Jr)
OL: Oak Six (Jr)
K: Elijah Hoffman (Sr)

DEFENSE:
DE: Tyler Bendas (Sr)
DE: Lear Quinton (So)
DT: Andrew Bell (Sr)
DT: Cavern Gosciminski (Sr)
OLB: Max Tillett (So)
MLB: Anthony Scicchitano (Sr)
MLB: Cal Haladay (So)
OLB: Preston Zachman (So)
CB: Julian Fleming (So)
CB: Brett Szuler (Sr)
S: Blake Day (Sr)
S: Cade Linn (So)
P: Elijah Hoffman (Sr)

Prediction
If not for a late touchdown run in the 2015 State Championship game by Hunter Thomas, I would have had the Southern Columbia over Aliquippa score correct to the exact point. Last year, I didn’t like the Tigers chances with the depth and speed of Steel Valley, but I was dead wrong in thinking it would be closer than a blowout loss. This year I already have some t-shirt ideas in mind to help pay for the Tigers rings. Number 8 is coming to Southern Columbia, final score: Southern Columbia 45-21.

Southern Columbia wins yet another Eastern Championship

The first week of deer season didn’t end well for the Bucks, but then again the ending hasn’t been good for anybody that has faced off against the Tigers all season. “Our guys came out and took care of business against a quality football team with a deep tradition. The players are happy, but not satisfied because the ultimate goal is winning in week sixteen,” said Southern Columbia coach Jim Roth. His Tigers added to their already state-record by winning a remarkable 16th Eastern Championship, and SCA will take on Wilmington next Friday for the PIAA Class 2A State Championship.

The game between the Tigers and Bucks marked the first time in United States history that two football coaches competed with each having more than 400 career victories. Jack Henzes, in his 51st season, has won 435 games. Jim Roth, in his 34th year, has 411 victories. The two are the winningest active coaches in the state and trail the late George Curry (455 wins) for the most in state history. If things continue on the path that they are going, Roth should be able to shatter the record.

Dunmore couldn’t have dreamt of a better start to the game and their legendary coach Jack Henzes was confident at the time. “Our guys came out with a lot of energy and were able to make those big plays on both offense and defense early,” Henzes said. On the Tigers first play from scrimmage, quarterback Stone Hollenbach fumbled and it was recovered at the 15-yard line by Michael Muracco of Dunmore. The next play, Gavin Darcy threw a touchdown pass to Steve Borgia to put the Bucks up 6-0 just 17 seconds into the game after a blocked extra point.

Southern answered back with a 20-yard run by Hollenbach to put the Tigers in front 7-6. Then, on the next possession, Dunmore retook the lead when Billy Donvito scored on a 16-yard run that he broke a handful of tackle attempts on to go up 13-7. From that point forward, Southern took care of business and left no doubt. “We have leaders on this team that all find ways to contribute. The seniors try to set good examples and our underclassmen have confidence. Even though we fell behind early, it was still our game,” said SCA lineman Connor Fulmer.

With Penn State coach James Franklin in attendance on the Southern Columbia sideline, his top recruiting target, Julian Fleming, made a big play to set up a Tigers go-ahead touchdown that they wouldn’t relinquish. “Knowing he was there was a little added motivation to show him what I have to offer, but in the end I just tried approaching it like any other game,” Fleming said after another 100+ yard receiving performance. The sophomore star pulled in a 46-yard pass between two defenders and broke free to the 7-yard line. On the next play the other sophomore star for the Tigers, Gaige Garcia, finished off the job with a touchdown run. From that point forward it was all Tigers.

After Elijah Hoffman’s extra point, Southern took a 14-13 lead. The PAT set a new Tigers record for the most extra points ever by a SCA kicker in a season. The previous mark was 91 set by Tyler Keiser in 2015. Hoffman now has 98 extra points. Tack on his 11 field goals, and his 131 points are the most in a season ever by any kicker in Pennsylvania history. “He’s a great weapon for us and he has been dependable all season long,” said Roth.

After the Tigers defense forced a 3-and-out, the offense went right back to work. Ty Roadarmel, who got his first career start because of an injury to Tristan Heim, sparked the drive with a 36-yard run and then Fleming caught a 29-yard touchdown pass from Hollenbach to make the score 21-13 at the end of the first quarter. Those 21 points that the Tigers scored were more points than Dunmore had given up in any game all season. “We knew coming in that Dunmore had only given up about a touchdown on average each game. For us to score more points in one quarter than any other team did all year against them in an entire game was impressive,” said Roadarmel.

After another stop by the the Tigers defense, Jeff Cox scored on the next drive to make the score 28-13 after a 22-yard run. “Our offensive line had a little trouble early on, but as the game wore on they just got better. We have guys that open up running lanes and they do what they need to do in order to help us win,” Cox said. On the next drive, the Tigers got a turnover from their defense. Blake Day intercepted a Darcy pass, and from that point forward Garcia put on a show.

He scored on the next play on a 39-yard run to make the score 35-13. The carry also put Garcia over the 2,000 yard rushing mark on the season. “Gaige is a powerful runner and is very tough to bring down. You need to make a good play to bring him down one-on-one and that doesn’t happen too often,” said Fulmer. The Tigers defense didn’t allow the Bucks to pick up a first down in the second quarter, and they only gained nine yards total. With a three touchdown lead, SCA went into the locker room with all of the momentum.

Garcia added two long touchdowns to start the second half to put the game into the Mercy Rule at 49-13. “We are on a mission right now and the whole team is coming together to make it happen. After halftime, we wanted to put the game away and we did just that,” Garcia said. His first one came on a 73-yard run when he got a pancake block by lineman Andrew Bell. The next one, a 60-yard run, put him over 4,000 yards rushing for his career. The sophomore became the 5th Tiger to ever reach that milestone. “It’s great to see Gaige playing his best football right now. He is really a heckuva football player and showed why in this game,” Roth said.

In the final quarter each team added a touchdown. Roadarmel scored on a five yard run for Southern. Frank Damiano broke off a 64-yard run for the Bucks when the starting fullback took advantage of the Tigers playing with their backups. The SoCo defense deserved rest and it was given to the starters after they completely shut down the Bucks offensive from the midway point of the opening quarter until they were taken out to a standing ovation from the crowd. “They picked up some early momentum, but then we started to make some plays. I felt that our defense played a good game when taking away the opening couple of minutes,” Max Tillett said after the Tigers 56-19 victory. “As the game wore on, I felt we just kept getting better and started to wear them down,” said the sophomore linebacker.

The 56 points that Southern scored gives them 767 for the season, breaking the old school mark of 755 set in 2006. To make the offensive performance sound even more impressive, take the fact that the Bucks only gave up a total of 91-points in 14 games entering Friday’s showdown. Then the Tigers came along and scored more than half of that in basically two quarters of work. “Their talent just took over and they are a complete football team. They are great in every phase of the game and we hope they win the state championship next week and bring it back to the east,” said Henzes.

Dunmore ends their outstanding season at 14-1 as the District 2 and Lackawanna League champions. “I’m proud of what this senior class has accomplished. They won the district title every year that they played and made Dunmore proud. Unfortunately, we just ran into a better football team in the Tigers,” Henzes said. Southern Columbia moves to 15-0 and will take on Wilmington for a State Championship. They outlasted Washington in the Western Championship by a high-score affair of 49-42. The game will be played at 1:00 on Friday at Hershey Park Stadium.

The Grey Hounds are looking to win the school’s second state championship. The Tigers on the other hand are looking to add an eighth golden trophy to their display case. No other school in PA has ever won more than six besides the Tigers. Southern Columbia is making their third straight trip to the state final, winning in 2015, and they are on a mission after last year’s lopsided result. “The motivation I have to win this game is indescribable. Last year at this time I knew my season was over, but this year we have one goal and that’s to get our fingers measured after next Friday,” said Garcia who missed the finale last year due to an injury suffered the week prior. The Tigers lost to Steel Valley, but this year something just seems different…and it has that golden feel to it.

SCA: 21-14-14-7 = 56
DUN: 13-0-0-6 = 19

SOUTHERN COLUMBIA (15-0)
RUSHING:
Gaige Garcia 11-234, 4 TD’s; Ty Roadarmel 7-78, TD; Jeffrey Cox 8-64, TD; Stone Hollenbach 2-30, TD; Nate Crowl 2-22; Cade Linn 2-8; Wade Kerstetter 2-1
PASSING:
Stone Hollenbach 8-13-0, 130 yds, TD
RECEIVING:
Julian Fleming 5-106, TD; Anthony Scicchitano 1-14; Preston Zachman 1-8; Gaige Garcia 1-2
1st DOWNS: 20
PENALTIES: 6-40

DUNMORE (14-1)
RUSHING:
Frank Damiano 6-76, TD; Billy Donvito 13-45, TD; Cristian Buckley 6-12; Gavin Darcy 1-3; Sean Pietruszkiewicz 1-1; Alex Reese 1-1
PASSING:
Gavin Darcy 3-12-1, 52 yds, TD
RECEIVING:
Steve Borgia 2-25, TD; Frank Damiano 1-27
1st DOWNS: 6
PENALTIES: 5-30

Southern Columbia stays undefeated

Public vs Private School Sports Debate

Southern Columbia might be the worst enemy of every other public school in the PIAA. The Tigers just keep taking down these all-star teams and that is why the team in Black & Gold is the leader in winning success across the state since the early 1990’s. Every year a new charter or prep school seems to emerge out of nowhere because of the ability to recruit from anywhere they please. Amazingly, every year the Tigers seem to be right in the thick of things despite the fact that like every other public school, the players on the field are the ones that live in your school district.

As for the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association, they have a major problem on their hands and it continuously gets worse. They say that their mission statement is to, “serve its member schools and registered officials by establishing policies and adopting contest rules that will emphasize the educational values of interscholastic athletics, promote safe and sportsmanlike competition, and provide uniform standards for all interscholastic levels of competition.” Clearly the PIAA isn’t living up to their uniform standards and their mission statement sounds more like an oxymoron than it does a reality. However, Jim Roth’s Tigers just keep defying the odds and knocking off the recruited teams that are created from the ability of non-boundary schools to go out and recruit whoever they want from wherever they want.

Neumann-Goretti is one of those schools that, unlike Southern, can go out and recruit players from wherever they desire. With that being said, don’t blame the Saints for this because they are doing nothing illegal in the way the PIAA is setup. This is not just a football problem, but rather a problem in all high school sports. Last season, Neumann-Goretti started the season 0-6 and finished 0-9 having to forfeit their final three games without having enough players to field an 11-man roster by the season’s end. At that point the program was ready to terminate.

If any public school in the state went out and recruited 23 players to come to play at their school, it would probably result in the equivalency of a life sentence in prison, but that is what the Saints did. Southern has had a handful of players move into the area over the past couple of school years due to job placement or the parents just wanting to get back to the area of where they grew up just like what happens at other public schools naturally across the state. Each of those moves, despite the beliefs of some jealous critics, turned out to be perfectly legitimate after the district hearings. You would have thought that the SCA School District committed a felony based on the outburst of complaints of some of the players families happening to move into a small town in Central PA over the last decade.

However, at the same time you have players going to other private schools from out of the state, moving four times in a high school career to four different schools, or even some star athletes basically vacationing at a coach’s house for that particular sports season. In those cases, the PIAA doesn’t even seem to bat an eye. Essentially what this is implying is that it is more frowned upon for a student-athlete to move from one public school district to another because of a parent’s job placement in comparison to another student-athlete commuting back and forth from New Jersey or New York for a three month span to play a sport. Just think about how stupid this next fictitious scenario sounds, although sadly it is one that could be applied in the current system…

“Okay board of directors we have two hearings today. First up is Jimmy from a public school.

Unfortunately Jimmy, you can’t play football for Southern Columbia, even though your family moved to Elysburg last Spring because of your mother’s job at Geisinger and your father’s job at Knoebels. Too many people will complain and it’s not worth our time to deal with it. You need to sit out this school year from sports unless you play soccer or cross country because we heard you were a good football player in junior high. Maybe we will change our mind next year. Have a nice day Jimmy.

Next up is Scotty from a private school. Hey Scotty, why don’t you go play your freshman year in Massachusetts to get a feel for Boston sports, then come back to Pennsylvania for your sophomore sporting seasons. In that sophomore year, you could play football for Erie Cathedral Prep, then basketball for Archbishop Wood, and baseball for Vincentian Academy. Heck, don’t even worry about learning the mascot names because you will only be in each school for three months and hopefully will come out with three state golden medals. Then in your junior year, go to Florida to get a scholarship offer from an SEC or ACC school and come back to Pennsylvania to hunt for championships your senior year at a prep school of your choice.

This meeting session has adjourned.”

Now, nine months later the Saints marched in to the state quarterfinals, with basically a completely remodeled team, undefeated with Division I commits headed to Oregon, West Virginia, Temple, & Maine and also players drawing interest from SEC powerhouses like Alabama, LSU, & Georgia. In fact, their program was rebuilt to the point that nearly 70% of the players were new, and some of them were playing for their third different high school as well as a nationally recruited player that moved in from Delaware just before the season began. Again, Neumann-Goretti didn’t do anything to cheat, they just simply took advantage of the lunacy that is allowed by the PIAA to basically bring in free agents. If you think football is unfair with the private schools, take a look at basketball. It is just absurd and unimaginable that year in and year out nothing is done to change this issue.

Other states in the country separate what is called the boundary schools (public) and the non-boundary schools (private) into two separate playoff systems. Then they have their public school state champions and their private school state champions. Then, maybe a system could go in place to have an overall tournament of state champions by putting the state champs of each division into a bracket. When the PIAA switched to six classifications two years ago, the educated sports fan thought it was to make four public classes and two private classes, but in reality it has given more private schools state championships with all six classes. Another idea if the PIAA is set on not separating the mess, then why not force these non-boundary schools to include in their enrollment each school that they have a student recruited from. In most cases, this would make your non-boundary schools have a huge enrollment and they would mostly make up your 5A and 6A schools in the current system. Just a thought, and at this point, a thought is better than the current system that is in place. Maybe it is time to have Donald Trump start a Twitter campaign over this as he is starting to slack in his controversial posts…

PIAA Class 2A Eastern Semi-Final clash of unbeaten teams

Southern Columbia, winners of seven state titles and 15 eastern crowns, is the school that everyone uses as their litmus test for success. No matter what the roster looks like, each and every year the Tigers seem to be Hershey-contenders, which is why the school has just about every Pennsylvania championship record possible. Now the boys from the small communities of Elysburg, Catawissa, & Numidia are one win away from playing in their 16th state title appearance since 1994 after beating Neumann-Goretti convincingly 45-12.

Just like in the state quarter-finals a year ago, the Tigers returned the opening kickoff for a touchdown. Gaige Garcia returned the kick 82 yards to put SCA up 7-0 just 10 seconds into the game. “It was huge. The team got pumped up and it punched them in the mouth right away. That was something our coaches were stressing to us,” Garcia said. The Tigers then forced a 3-and-out on the Saints opening possession thanks to a Max Tillett sack.

SCA got great field position after a bad punt and a nice return by Garcia to the 24. Four plays later, quarterback Stone Hollenbach kept it himself from a yard out to give the Tigers a 14-0 lead less than four minutes into the game. Just two plays before the score, the quarterback took a hard hit from a linebacker, but he was expecting it to be a physical matchup on the gridiron coming in. “We knew it was going to be a physical battle. They had some hard hitters and we have hard hitters as well. That is what football is all about,” said Hollenbach.

After the teams traded possessions with defensive stops, Neumann-Goretti had their best field position to score and went for it on 4th and 18 from the Tigers 26-yard line. They completed a pass, but came up a yard short for the first down with less than a minute left in the opening quarter. “I give our defense a ton of credit for making big plays at different times throughout the game. Obviously on paper they have some big time players, but our guys didn’t seem to shy away one bit,” Southern coach Jim Roth said. The Saints didn’t even attempt an extra point all season, so a field goal attempt was certainly out of the question on that drive.

At the start of the second quarter, Hollenbach found Julian Fleming open on a streak pattern down the sideline for a 58-yard touchdown pass to extend the lead to 21-0. “We knew coming in that we had to play physical and win the line of scrimmage. Executing our blocks would set up some scoring chances for us, and their guys seemed to get tired. They definitely had some big guys on the line,” said Tiger center Troy Donlan. It was the mix of the pass and run that kept the Saints guessing and frustrated them as the game wore on.

Then on the Saints opening play of the next drive, their quarterback Charles Britt fumbled on a sneak and Blake Day recovered it for the Tigers. Five plays later, Neumann-Goretti got the ball back when Garcia coughed it up to Kharon Lloyd on a hard hit from behind by Jalen Hollerway. Unfortunately for Neumann-Goretti, that drive ended quickly on a punt forced by the SoCo defense. “They definitely had some playmakers, but I think there were times that they became frustrated especially when they didn’t convert in the first half,” Roth said. The Tigers defense caused havoc in the backfield all night and tallied seven sacks and an additional seven hurries.

After an interception thrown from Hollenbach to freshman Tysheem Johnson with 3:52 left in the first half, the Saints couldn’t get anything going again on offense with the pressure of the Tigers defense. “The game plan coming in was to beat them down for all four quarters and I think we did that for the most part,” two-way lineman Andrew Bell stated. The Tigers ran their two minute drill and set up a 33-yard field goal attempt by their all-state caliber kicker Elijah Hoffman. The senior converted and the Tigers went into the half with a 24-0 halftime lead and their crowd applauding them with loud cheers.

In the third quarter, the Saints started to mount a comeback. They drove down the field behind their massive offensive line that averaged out to be 6’4” and 295 pounds. Their first score of the game came on an eight yard keeper from Britt behind his left guard, Justin Johnson, who will be heading way out west to play for the Ducks next fall in Eugene, OR. After a failed two point conversion, the Tigers still maintained a three score lead. Hollenbach fumbled on Southern’s opening possession of the second half on a designed run, and the Saints drove right down the field again. Tre’Sean Bouie caught a three yard touchdown pass, and after another failed two point conversion attempt, the Tigers lead was cut in half to 24-12 heading into the final quarter.

The teams traded punts and fumbles on the next four possessions and the next score came with 6:14 left in the game. That score was a play that symbolized the entire night. Garcia scored on an eight yard run. The sophomore, who hasn’t officially received any Division I offers yet, now officially will finish the season with more rushing yards and rushing touchdowns than the Saints duo of Lennie Brown (headed to West Virginia) and Chris Wells (offers from Boston College & Virginia) combined to total in 2017. He also more than doubled them in production on Friday night. “Give those guys on the other side credit. We just simply ran into a better football team,” said Neumann-Goretti coach Al Crosby.

On the TD run, that essentially put the game out of reach at 31-12, senior captain Anthony Scicchitano delivered a textbook block to drive the Saints top recruit, Christian Barmore, into the ground. The 6’6” and 305 pound defensive end that has been offered a scholarship from Nick Saban’s top-ranked Crimson Tide, wasn’t happy that a much smaller blocker pancaked him. “I didn’t say a single word to that kid. All that happened was as I drove him down the line and when he was about to fall, he grabbed me and then eventually came after me. He just kind of got up and just went Saint-shit crazy after me,” said Scicchitano. Then from there, Barmore just couldn’t control his emotions. He ran after Scicchitano, cursed out another player, made contact with an official, chucked his helmet, and the Alabama recruit was ejected from the game.

Garcia made his mark on defense on the next possession as well. Filling in for an injured Preston Zachman, Garcia sacked Britt on fourth down to give his offense the ball back deep in the Saints territory. He would score his third touchdown of the game on the next drive from four yards out to make the score 38-12. Then, the Tigers defense that played lights out with the exception of two long pass plays, got a touchdown from cornerback Brett Szuler. “You just have to be disciplined in the secondary. They are going to make some big plays throughout the course of the game. They seemed to be picking on me since their receivers had a big height advantage, but I was able to jump that one route and take it all the way back,” said Szuler. The pick six went 58 yards and made the final score 45-12 in favor of the public school located in Columbia County which ended the Philadelphia All-Stars season.

Neumann-Goretti graduates nine offensive starters and eight defensive starters. However, coach Crosby, who won a state title at Imhotep Charter back in 2014, thinks the program has made a turn. “Before our staff got here last Spring, there was a chance that it was going to be shut down with the lack of interest. Now we have built something to hopefully continue to improve on,” said the first year coach of the Saints. Also, the Neumann-Goretti coaching staff deserves credit for being respectful despite a frustrating loss.

The victors will await the winner of Saturday afternoon’s game between Dunmore and Ligonier Valley which is being played at Hershey Park Stadium. “No matter which team we play, we need to make sure to take better care of the ball and limit our penalties next week,” said Roth. Without an official announcement, there is a buzz going around that the Tigers will take on the winner next Saturday at the same venue in Chocolate Town. An official announcement will be made after the game’s conclusion.

SCA: 14-10-0-21 = 45
NG: 0-0-12-0 = 12

SOUTHERN COLUMBIA (14-0)
RUSHING:
Gaige Garcia 18-87, 2 TD’s; Stone Hollenbach 7-43, TD; Jeffrey Cox 9-39; Tristan Heim 5-26; Nate Crowl 1-1
PASSING:
Stone Hollenbach 6-12-1, 114 yds, TD
RECEIVING:
Julian Fleming 3-86, TD; Brett Szuler 1-19; Gaige Garcia 2-9
1st DOWNS: 16
PENALTIES: 10-85

NEUMANN-GORETTI (13-1)
RUSHING:
Leddie Brown 11-19; Chris Wells 8-21; Charles Britt 4-17, TD
PASSING:
Charles Britt 11-23-1, 189 yds, TD
RECEIVING:
Jaron Macon 3-41; Dymir Cave 2-53; Tre’Sean Bouie 2-35, TD; Lennie Brown 2-37; Yusuf Proctor 2-23
1st DOWNS: 6
PENALTIES: 12-83

2nd half dominance gives Southern Columbia the win

It’s not too often that the two most historic teams in a state match up at any point during a sports season. Not only did fans get to watch the Southern Columbia Tigers take on the Mount Carmel Red Tornadoes, but they got to see it with a lot on the line. The winner would go home with a District IV Gold medal, and the loser would go home in disappointment. The Tigers celebrated the victory, and the Tornadoes saw their season come to and end, but not without a fight.

Southern Columbia beat Mount Carmel Area in Mercy Rule fashion by a score of 49-14, and it was a second half knockout that gave the Tigers their 25th district gold in the last 27 years. The state’s top ranked Tigers trailed 7-3 after the first quarter, and led just 14-7 at the half. “You have to give Mount Carmel credit for the way they came out. They controlled the line of scrimmage for most of the first half,” said Southern coach Jim Roth.

After the the Tigers defense forced a three-and-out on the game’s opening possession, Southern Columbia’s all-state caliber kicker, Elijah Hoffman, started off the game’s scoring with a 21-yard field goal on a drive that ate up over seven minutes of clock. Mount Carmel answered right back with a touchdown to give them a 7-3 lead after John Ayres ran it in from 12 yards out. The score was set up by a 58-yard screen pass to Shane Weidner. “I think we played with a lot of heart in the first half,” Mount Carmel coach John Darrah said.

Trailing entering the second quarter, the Tigers relied on the right foot of Hoffman again to add points to the scoreboard. The senior kicked a career-long 41-yard field goal to make the score 7-6. “He is certainly a nice weapon to have and he has had an outstanding season,” said Roth. After five straight possessions of trading punts, the Tigers took their first lead of the game with 1:28 left in the first half.

Gaige Garcia, who was bottled up for most of the first half, scored on a 28-yard run to make the score 12-7. The Tigers elected to go for two and it paid off when Anthony Scicchitano caught the conversion pass from Stone Hollenbach giving SCA a 14-7 lead. “It is really good to have Anthony as a weapon for us from his tight-end position. He does a good job at getting open and he’s also a tremendous blocker,” said Hollenbach. That touchdown-two point conversion combination gave the Tigers momentum that they would ultimately hold onto for the rest of the game.

The Tigers got the ball back with 19 seconds to go in the half inside their own 20 yard-line. Instead of electing to take a knee, Roth took a gamble of trying to add points on the board, and it was almost a disaster. Hollenbach was intercepted on the final play of the half by Weidner, but luckily for the Tigers, he was knocked out of bounds inside the 10 before he could reach the goal-line. From that point forward, things got a little chippy, and Garcia took the game over.

Heading up to the locker room, the Red Tornadoes were given a personal foul penalty when one of their players shoved Southern’s star receiver Julian Fleming. That gave the Tigers great field position to start the third quarter and Garcia scored on a 36-yard run on the second play to extend the lead to 21-7. “A little bit of everything started to work in the second half. I knew the game was close so I had to do the best I could when I got the ball,” Garcia said. His linemen also started to get better positions in opening holes for the backs.

The Tigers got the ball back on the next play when Weidner fumbled the ensuing kickoff. However, the sophomore made up for it when he intercepted Hollenbach for the second time just three plays later. “The third quarter went pretty quickly especially with the turnovers. I thought we still had a chance, but then we needed to start throwing the ball and that got us in trouble,” Darrah said. Fleming gave the Tigers the ball back again when he intercepted Tom Reisinger and returned it near midfield.

Garcia scored on the next play on a 49-yard pass from Hollenbach while shaking off four Mount Carmel tackle attempts to give the Tigers a bigger 28-7 advantage. Around that time, some Mount Carmel fans started to chant some things that the Tiger players used as motivation and took personally. Two chants in particular were directed at the Tigers top two-offensive weapons, Garcia and Fleming. They chanted, “He’s on steroids” directed at Garcia and “Where’s your daddy” directed at Fleming.

Although Garcia thought that the response was a motivator for his team, he wasn’t shy in sticking up for one of his best friends. “That definitely did help motivate us, but the stuff said about Julian and his dad isn’t right and my heart goes out to him for that,” Garcia said. On the next drive, Fleming made a miraculous one-handed interception, his second of the quarter. The interception was probably the most incredible interception in the program’s history. However, he fumbled it on the return giving the ball right back to the Red Tornadoes.

Toward the end of the quarter Preston Zachman intercepted Reisinger giving the Tigers a chance to add to their lead. “The plan was to stop the run first and force them into 3rd and long or passing situations. Once they came out in some more spread formations we knew we had to establish pressure and try to force some turnovers,” SCA’s Tyler Bendas stated. In total, the third quarter had six turnovers.

The Tigers put together another long drive, and with 7:51 remaining in the game, Tristan Heim scored from a yard out making the score 35-7. Then SCA forced a three-and-out on MCA’s next drive. The Tigers had a chance to officially bury the Red Tornadoes, and they did just that. Garcia picked up 68 yards on a run and then scored from three yards out to put the District IV Championship game into the Mercy Rule at 42-7.

Each team would add a score in the final five minutes. Weidner scored on a long 71-yard carry and Nate Crowl scored on a 42-yard scamper making the final score 49-14 giving the Tigers their 25th district gold in the last 27 years. However, if you know anything about the success of Southern Football, you know that the Tigers aren’t satisfied with just that. “It is nice to win a district title, but there’s no reward in moving forward unless you win your last game,” Southern coach Jim Roth said and no man would know that any better. His program has won more state titles than any other in PA history.

Although he struggled to complete passes throughout the game, Hollenbach set a school record for the most completions in a season. The previous record was set in 2011 by Brad Fegley. Hollenbach also broke his own record of touchdown passes in a season on his one to Garcia. Hoffman tied the school record held by BJ Snyder in career field goals made. Mount Carmel linebacker Manus McCracken finished his career in the top 10 of their all-time tackles list and Rosalino Mangiapane is near the top of every kicking category.

As far as stats go, Garcia who has had an outstanding career throughout the two years he has worn the black and gold, may have had his best game ever against the Tornadoes by totaling over 300 yards of offense. “That was the strongest I have ever seen him,” said his head coach. The runs didn’t come easy as Garcia was hit in the backfield for most of the opening half. “We started to wear them down in the second half, but we weren’t happy without execution blocking in the first half,” said SCA lineman Andrew Bell.

The Red Tornadoes finish their season as the district silver medalists and the Tigers will await the winner of today’s Neumann Goretti vs Schuylkill Haven meeting. The date and location of that game will be determined later on this weekend.

SCA: 3-11-14-21 = 49
MCA: 7-0-0-7 = 14

SOUTHERN COLUMBIA (13-0)
RUSHING:
Gaige Garcia 19-248, 3 TD’s; Jeffrey Cox 8-35; Tristan Heim 7-57, TD; Stone Hollenbach 4-(-5); Nate Crowl 2-48, TD; Ty Roadarmel 2-15; Cade Linn 1-0
PASSING:
Stone Hollenbach 5-14-2, 124 yds, TD
RECEIVING:
Gaige Garcia 2-59, TD; Julian Fleming 2-47; Anthony Scicchitano 1-18
1st DOWNS: 19
PENALTIES: 5-45

MOUNT CARMEL AREA (8-5)
RUSHING:
Shane Weidner 7-104, TD; John Ayres 9-22, TD; Tom Reisinger 10-13; CJ Reichard 2-5
PASSING:
Tom Reisinger 8-21-3, 123 yds
RECEIVING:
Jack Chapman 3-37; Shane Weidner 2-55; CJ Reichard 2-27; John Ayres
1st DOWNS: 11
PENALTIES: 6-60

Garcia carries Tigers over Blue Jays

Give Central Columbia credit. The Blue Jays won more games this season than any of their other teams have won this century. They went 9-3, which topped the 8-3 record that their 2004 team posted. Unfortunately for the Blue Jays, they aren’t the only Columbia in the county. There is a team by name of Southern Columbia that is less than 20 miles away that happens to better.

Many people throughout the area thought that this Blue Jays squad may have finally been the team to crack through and take down the Tigers. However, SCA put a closure to that chatter. Over the last four weeks, Southern Columbia has beaten Central Columbia twice by a combined total of 101-14 which includes the 59-14 victory on Friday night that puts the Tigers back in the District IV AA Championship game. “That was definitely one of our better games. Execution wise, I was happy with our performance on both sides of the ball,” Southern coach Jim Roth said.

Tiger running back Gaige Garcia outdid the entire Blue Jays team in the first half. Central Columbia finished the opening half with just 96 yards of offense. Garcia had 223 yards himself. “The line was really paving the way. That opened up the option for us to either run or pass and we had success with both,” said Garcia. Southern finished the opening half with 376 yards of offense which led to a 38-7 halftime lead.

Southern Columbia knew they needed to improve in their pass coverage which has struggled over the last two weeks since Julian Fleming got injured. “I think we definitely did a better job tonight then we had the last two weeks. Julian takes away their number one receiver, and with him being hurt we had to step our game up. It’s nice to have him back healthy again,” said Tiger corner Brett Szuler. “We just need to execute on our assignments from here on out and we will do that. We also got good pressure from our pass rushers to force some quicker throws.”

Garcia opened up the first quarter with two 39 yard touchdowns. His first touchdown came via the run and his second came from his quarterback Stone Hollenbach. “Gaige looked as good as he has all year. His acceleration, his moves, and his power all showed up. He’s playing his best football right now,” said Roth. Hollenbach would add a 10-yard rushing touchdown to make the score 21-0 late in the opening quarter. Less than a minute later, Cal Haladay intercepted a pass and then Garcia scored again on the following play from 33 yards out to basically book the Blue Jays funeral.

With the Tigers in command 28-0 entering the second, they decided to get some reps in for their star receiver Fleming after getting injured and missing last week. He caught a 46-yard pass which set up a five yard run by Garcia for his fourth touchdown of the evening to make the score 35-0 after Elijah Hoffman’s extra point. “I felt like I did a good job of reading the holes and got off to a great start. I was pretty confident going into the game and was pleased with the effort out of everyone on the team,” said Garcia

Central finally got on the board on the next drive. Jack Schechterly scored on a two yard run on the Blue Jays only drive of the evening that resulted in multiple first downs. Then, with less than two minutes to go in the half, Hoffman kicked a 34-yard field goal to make the score 38-7. The senior kicker broke the school record for the most total points scored in a season by a kicker. Tyler Keiser set the record just two years ago.

The second half started with the Tigers defense making another stop. Cade Linn intercepted a pass and returned it to the 12-yard line. Two plays later, Tristan Heim scored from six yards out to put the District IV AA Semi-Final matchup into the Mercy Rule at 45-7. “We just came out and put them away early. It was good to get some of our key guys out of the game early. That was we avoid any potential injuries heading into the rest of the playoffs,” Linn said.

The rest of the scoring in the game came on a short run by Jeff Cox to make the score 52-7. Then, Tiger reserve Payton Pursel intercepted a pass and returned it 37 yards to extend the lead. Central scored in the fourth quarter on a 13-yard pass from Trae Devlin to Matt Fulton making the score 59-14. The Blue Jays end their season with a record of 9-3, after starting the year 7-0. “We know where we are at as a program. The players moved in the right direction this year. Now moving forward we need to figure out a way to get over the next step, and obviously that is going to involve finding a way to compete with Southern. They are an outstanding football program,” said Central coach Scott Dennis.

Southern Columbia will take their 12-0 record into next Friday night’s District IV AA Championship game. Their opponent will be the Mount Carmel Area Red Tornadoes who also happen to be their biggest rival. “It is obviously going to be a big game. This is the first time we will match up with them in the postseason. I’m sure there will be a huge crowd on hand. Only one team can advance and that is going to bring the best out of everyone on both sides,” Roth said.

The Red Tornadoes ended their regular season by only defeating a struggling Shamokin squad by a touchdown. However, they then upset the 3-seed South Williamsport to open the playoffs and then dismantled Line Mountain to advance to the final. “We just have to come out and play our hardest in stopping their run. I hope it’s not as cold next week either,” said defensive lineman Cavern Gosciminski. The Tigers won the regular season contest 29-7 back in week three. SCA will host the championship as the 1-seed and all fans are asked to wear all black next week.

SCA: 28-10-14-7 = 59
CC: 0-7-0-7 = 14

SOUTHERN COLUMBIA (12-0)
RUSHING:
Gaige Garcia 11-176, 3 TD’s; Jeffrey Cox 11-66, TD; Tristan Heim 5-28, TD; Stone Hollenbach 3-4, TD; Ty Roadarmel 4-61, TD; Cade Linn 1-5; Nate Crowl 2-9
PASSING:
Stone Hollenbach 9-15-0, 177 yds, TD
RECEIVING:
Gaige Garcia 3-72, TD; Julian Fleming 2-55; Preston Zachman 2-20; Brett Szuler 1-18; Tristan Heim 1-12
1st DOWNS: 24
PENALTIES: 3-20

CENTRAL COLUMBIA (9-3)
RUSHING:
Isaac Gensemer 8-32; Andrew Fritz 6-17; Justin Thivierge 5-9; Ky Seesholtz 1-2; Jack Schechterly 1-2, TD; Trae Devlin 3-(-21)
PASSING:
Devlin 12-27-3, 159 yds, TD
Matt Fulton 5-68, TD; Zachary Smith 2-18; Jared Verse 1-35; Isaac Gensemer 1-16; Jack Schechterly 1-11; Ky Seesholtz 1-1; Eli Morrison 1-0
1st DOWNS: 8
PENALTIES: 4-20

SCA wins in Fleming’s absence

Nobody in the stadium deep-down believed that North Penn-Mansfield could upset top-seeded Southern Columbia. However, give the Panthers credit for coming out and competing for the better part of the first half. “I am proud of the way our guys came out with confidence. We were excited to play against the top team in the state. This was a game for our kids to see what an elite football program looks like and hopefully we can build off of this experience heading into next year,” said North Penn-Mansfield coach Tom Dickinson. The Tigers ended up winning the game in Mercy Rule fashion 63-26, but it wasn’t the prettiest victory in recent memory.

Leading by a touchdown with 7:29 left in the first half, the Tigers got a touchdown from an unlikely candidate on the defensive side of the ball. After the Panthers intercepted a pass, they were trailing the state’s No. 1 ranked team just 28-20 with a chance to tie the game. “We had a blitz called on the play. Cal Haladay and I were blitzing and we got pressure on their quarterback,” said SCA’s Anthony Scicchitano. Scicchitano, a senior captain, intercepted that pass which initially bounced off of a teammate’s helmet and took it in from four yards out to give his Tigers a 35-20 lead that provided the lift for his team to steamroll to the finish. “I saw the ball bounce off of Lear Quinton’s helmet. I was lucky to be in the right place at the right time and I just caught it and took it into the end zone,” said the linebacker.

Southern was playing without their all-state receiver Julian Fleming who was resting with an injury from a week ago. In his absence, fellow sophomore and fellow returning all-stater Gaige Garcia did his part in helping the offense roll, but others stepped up as well. Tristan Heim, Preston Zachman, and Scicchitano were the three that provided the biggest lift for Jim Roth’s offense besides Garcia. “We knew that other guys were going to need to step up in Julian’s absence. I think this gave some other guys more confidence heading into the rest of the playoffs. We did a good job of mixing it up and getting other players more touches,” Roth said.

Heim started off the scoring on a one yard touchdown to put SCA up 7-0. “Other teams key on Gaige coming out of the backfield. I just try to help out to take the pressure off of him a little bit. The line blocked well for the backs and we had success rushing the football,” Heim said. That touchdown came after the Panthers punter muffed a snap, and Tyler Bendas tackled him inside the 10, giving the Tigers a short field to work with. The Panthers scored on their next drive on a nine yard pass from Brent Burleigh to Dylan Wesneski. The extra point was blocked.

The Tigers went up 14-6 on their next drive. Scicchitano caught his first career touchdown pass on a 14-yard strike from Stone Hollenbach. “With Julian being out, I figured the ball was going to spread around more. Stone and I were working in practice on some routes earlier in the week. It was nice to catch my first touchdown pass because our tight end’s don’t get many targets in our offensive system,” Scicchitano said. Garcia put the Tigers up 21-6 on a five yard run after the Tigers forced a three-and-out. Then, the Panthers needed just one play for Brendan Hill to catch a 78-yard touchdown out of the backfield to make the score 21-12 after another failed conversion.

Southern scored early in the second quarter when Zachman caught a 34-yard touchdown pass. “It was a fun game. I just wanted to go out there and do my thing to help the team. With Julian out, I knew I would be counted on more, and I think our offense played real well,” Zachman said. NP-Mansfield didn’t quit however. They scored on the next drive on a 48-yard pass from Burleigh to Wesneski again. The Panthers threw for the two-point conversion to make the score 28-20. “We simply have to play better than that in our pass defense. Hopefully Julian’s injury isn’t anything long term. That will fix some of it real quick,” said Roth in regards to the pass coverage. The Tigers have given up nearly 600 yards passing and six touchdowns in the last two weeks in the air.

The Tigers were driving on their next drive to go up two scores again, but Hollenbach was intercepted in the end zone by Austin Frost. The Panthers were pinned deep after a sack from Haladay. Then, Scicchitano’s interception came on the next play to put the Tigers in front 35-20. “We had some opportunities to tie the game in the first half, but their guys made some plays to keep them in front,” said Dickinson. Garcia tacked on a one yard touchdown just before half to put SCA up 42-20.

Heim officially put the game out of reach on the Tigers first drive of the second half. He caught a 23-yard pass on a 3rd and long and finished off the drive with a nine yard run. “We talked at halftime of what we needed to change. We then came back and approached the second half like it was a new game,” Heim said. Southern put together the 13-play, 78 yard drive, and it took up over half of the third quarter. Later on in the quarter, Garcia put the game into the Mercy Rule with a 26-yard touchdown run making the score 56-20. In the final quarter, Ty Roadarmel added a five yard score for the Tigers, and Garrett David scored a four yard touchdown for the Panthers to make the final score 63-26.

North Penn-Mansfield finished their season at 6-5. Southern is now 11-0 and will host Central Columbia next Friday in the District IV AA Semi-Finals. The Tigers handled the Blue Jays easily three weeks ago. “We have some things that we need to fix this week in practice. The goal is to get better each week and we will,” Zachman said. On the other side of the bracket, Mount Carmel Area will host Line Mountain after both of those schools pulled off first round upsets.

SCA: 21-21-14-7 = 63
NPM: 12-8-0-6 = 26

SOUTHERN COLUMBIA (11-0)
RUSHING:
Gaige Garcia 15-181, 3 TD’s; Tristan Heim 5-33, 2 TD’s; Jeffrey Cox 6-37; Stone Hollenbach 5-19; Ty Roadarmel 4-61, TD; Preston Zachman 2-12; Cade Linn 2-10; Nate Crowl 1-7
PASSING:
Stone Hollenbach 11-16-1, 129 yds, 2 TD’s
RECEIVING:
Preston Zachman 5-68, TD; Tristan Heim 2-26; Gaige Garcia 3-21; Anthony Scicchitano 1-14, TD
1st DOWNS: 26
PENALTIES: 6-55

NORTH PENN-MANSFIELD (6-5)
RUSHING:
Garrett David 5-46, TD; Kipp Hillson 7-30; Isaac Way 3-15; Brendan Hill 9-8; Judson Wise 1-1; Austin Frost 1-(-2); Dylan Wesneski 1-(-5); Naseer Burzak 1-(-6); Hunter May 1-(-15); Brent Burleigh 4-(-23)
PASSING:
Brent Burleigh 17-27-1, 211 yds, 3 TD’s
RECEIVING:
Dylan Wesneski 10-101, 2 TD’s; Nick Kasper 4-30; Brendan Hill 1-78, TD; Naseer Burzak 1-2; Kipp Hillson 1-0
1st DOWNS: 14
PENALTIES: 3-26

Tigers and Seals provide fans with excitement and worry

Friday nights matchup between the Tigers and Seals at Harold L. Bolig Field in Selinsgrove was the definition of one helluva football game. Arguably the two best teams in the area, it was Southern Columbia proving once again that they are unquestionably the best team in the entire Heartland Conference. The Tigers, who started their unbelievable streak with their first victory on this same field back in 2011, won their 61st straight regular season game. This one however, was filled with just about everything possible that can take place on the gridiron.

SCA won the regular season finale 49-28, but the fat lady was cut off from singing until late in the fourth quarter and many events were the cause for her delay. During the battle, the two teams made some history. One school career record was set, three single-season school records were broken, four receivers went over 100 yards, two touchdowns went for over 95 yards, two star players went down with injuries, touchdowns were scored in all three phases of the game, nearly 20 penalties were committed, and plenty of other things happened. “This was a crazy game that included a little bit of everything. We are glad that we won, but it wasn’t easy. It’s a good test to actually play a full game to work on our in game conditioning,” said Tiger running back Gaige Garcia who had a career high 25 carries in the victory.

Southern won eight of their first nine games this year via the Mercy Rule, and this game was shaping up to be another blowout early on. The Tigers went up 24-0 with 7:58 left in the first half, and their offensive and defensive lines were dominating the line of scrimmage. “We knew coming in that this game was going to be important as to which line could win the battles up front. It was a fun game to be in,” Tiger lineman Connor Fulmer said. The Tigers defense held the Seals to just 17 total rushing yards, and Fulmer helped out with two sacks.

Garcia scored on a one yard run, and Elijah Hoffman kicked a 30-yard field goal to put SCA up 10-0 after the first quarter. “It is important to get points on the board any way that we can. We obviously get in the end zone a lot, but in tight games like tonight I am happy to help out by making those field goals,” said Hoffman. Garcia scored on a two yard run early in the 2nd quarter, and then quarterback Stone Hollenbach scored on a one yard sneak to make the score 24-0 with 7:58 left in the first half.

The Seals got on the board on their next drive, and it was a sight that excited everyone in the Selinsgrove stands. Ricky Cope, who had been out since week three with a broken collarbone, made an early return from injury. His first catch resulted in an 84-yard touchdown from District IV’s all-time leading passer Logan Leiby. “We are certainly glad to get Ricky back. He can make a big play any time he touches the ball and will be a big help heading into the playoffs,” said the Seals quarterback. “Southern’s the best team in the state, so even though we lost, we can take some positives out of this game heading into the playoffs next week.”

After forcing a 3-and-out, the Seals cut deeper into the Tigers lead to make it 24-14 when Leiby connected with Josh Nylund for a touchdown pass of 62 yards at the 3:19 mark of the 2nd quarter. With just twelve seconds left, Hoffman extended the Tigers lead to 27-14 at what appeared to be the halftime score after making a 32-yard FG. However, Nylund returned the ensuing kickoff 96 yards as time expired in the first half to make the score 27-21 and provided Selinsgrove with the momentum heading into the break. “We got ourselves into a big hole in the first half. I’m proud of the kids for fighting back, but just to be in the game against Southern you need to play a perfect game and make big plays along the way,” said Seals coach Derek Hicks.

Surprisingly, no scoring took place in the third quarter. “This was just the second time that our starters played deep into the second half with the other one being early against Mount Carmel. We made some mistakes, but give Selinsgrove credit for capitalizing on some opportunities to stay in the game. They had a chance to take the lead to start the second half,” Southern coach Jim Roth said. The Tigers are the top ranked team in the state in Class AA.

Hollenbach scored on another one yard keeper early in the fourth quarter, and his helmet fell off in the process. Having to sit out a play, the Tigers had receiver Preston Zachman play quarterback on the two point conversion attempt and he kept it himself to extend the Tigers lead to 35-21. The Tigers went up 42-21 on their next drive when Garcia scored his third rushing touchdown of the game from 21 yards out. “It was a physical game, and it was the type of game that you want to be a part of,” Garcia said.

Unfortunately for the Tigers, their superstar sophomore receiver and corner Julian Fleming went out on that Garcia touchdown drive with an undisclosed injury. “I’m hoping that he will be fine. He’s a competitor and a huge part of our success, but we have other guys that can produce for us as well on both sides of the ball. This was a good measuring stick for both teams before heading into the playoffs,” said Hollenbach who finished with 238 yards passing. The junior quarterback also competed a career high 15 passes. Selinsgrove also lost a key player of their own when leading tackler Clayton Sheesley left earlier in the fourth quarter with an apparent knee injury.

Selinsgrove made the score 42-28 when Leiby threw a 12-yard touchdown pass to Jarrett Inch with 3:57 remaining. The Seals then recovered an onside kick on the next kickoff after the ball bounced off of a Tiger player’s chest, and they drove down to the Tigers 14 yard-line trying to make it a one score game with over two minutes remaining. The Seals were having their way of passing all over the Tigers secondary during Fleming’s absence. “It definitely shows when Fleming is out of the game for them. That was when we started to have a lot of our passing success,” said Hicks. Then, the play of the game took place to finally secure the Tigers victory.

Southern sophomore linebacker Cal Haladay intercepted a pass and returned it for the second longest defensive touchdown in school history. The returning all-state performer from last year had an interception earlier in the game, but fumbled that one giving it back to the Seals. “I wanted to make another play because I was mad I fumbled my first interception. I read the quarterback and made a break on the ball. Once I caught it I just ran straight forward until I knew I scored,” Haladay said about his 97-yard interception return to make the final score 49-28. “I was in man coverage on the play, so I knew where I needed to be once the ball was thrown. I was happy to intercept it, but then I just ran for my life.”

As far as the individual statistical performances, both teams filled the stat lines. Selinsgrove’s trio of Cope (6 for 124 yards), Inch (10 for 104 yards), and Nylund (4 for 101 yards) all went over the century mark in the receiving category. Leiby, who broke the school record for touchdown passes in a season that was held by Corey Briggs at 30 back in 2009, threw his 31st on his strike to Inch. “We knew that we would have our hands full with their passing game. Leiby has had a tremendous career for them and he hurt us even more once Julian went out of the game early in the fourth quarter,” Roth said. The senior added 377 yards to his career passing total to pile on to his already District IV career record. He topped the 3,000 yard mark for the year, now unofficially sitting at 3,003 yards in 2017.

On the Tigers side, Fleming set the school career record for receptions. Colby Snyder had the record at 78 which he set in 2007. The heavily sought after Division 1 recruit now has 87 catches in less than two years of work. This milestone now gives Fleming every notable career receiving record possible. The scary part is he did it all without even reaching the halfway point of his illisutrious high school career. The sophomore also set the school record for most receptions in a game by catching 11 passes for 152 yards. “I knew it was the most catches that I had in a game, but I didn’t know it was the record. I also didn’t know that I was near breaking the school record for the most catches in a career. The main record is the win and loss column for our team. If we win that is all that matters and our goal is to win every game,” said Fleming. He also went over the 1,000 yard receiving mark on the season, and over 2,000 yards for his career to add on to his records. In the special teams department, Hoffman, who now has 7 field goals on the season, set the record for the most single-season field goals in SCA history. He has converted on 7 of 9 attempts, and he also has made all but two of his extra points.

The Seals, who finished the regular season 8-2, will play host to Jersey Shore next week to start the District IV Class AAAA Playoffs. “The guys are motivated to win the district after getting knocked off last year in the final. We have a lot of seniors that will lead the guys to give their best effort,” said Hicks. The Tigers will be the top seed in the District IV Class AA Playoffs thanks to another perfect regular season. They will host North Penn-Mansfield. “Our guys know what the ultimate goal is and it starts next week,” said Roth. If you are a Southern fan, you know that the Tigers have a goal of winning districts, but that ultimate goal is set to take place in mid-December,. It is that goal, that has been reach seven times and came one win away eight others, that makes SCA the most successful program in the history of PIAA State Championship football.

SCA: 10-17-0-21 = 49
SEL: 0-14-0-14 = 28

SOUTHERN COLUMBIA (10-0)
RUSHING:
Gaige Garcia 25-166, 3 TD’s; Jeffrey Cox 5-33; Tristan Heim 3-17; Stone Hollenbach 6-7, 2 TD’s; Cade Linn 2-2
PASSING:
Stone Hollenbach 15-22-0, 238 yds
RECEIVING:
Julian Fleming 11-152; Gaige Garcia 2-38; Preston Zachman 2-23; Jeffrey Cox 1-13; Tristan Heim 1-12
1st DOWNS: 25
PENALTIES: 5-49

SELINSGROVE (8-2)
RUSHING:
Logan Leiby 10-14; Joe Kahn 7-3.

PASSING:
Leiby 26-40-3, 377 yds, 3 TD’s

RECEIVING:
Jarrett Inch 10-104, TD; Ricky Cope 6-124, TD; Joshua Nylund 4-101, TD; Thomas Kerstetter 3-16; Kody Showers 2-27; Joe Kahn 1-5

1st DOWNS: 17

PENALTIES: 10-72
Selinsgrove stats provided by Damien Scoblink (PE)

Tigers defense too much for Blue Jays

A lot has taken place since the last time Central Columbia has beaten Southern Columbia in football. Bill Clinton was just starting his second term in office as the POTUS, the first iPhone was still a decade away from being released, the Twin Towers were still standing in NYC, Seinfeld was still airing new episodes, and the Houston Texans weren’t even an NFL franchise yet. Oh, and nobody on either the Tigers or Blue Jays roster was born yet. All of those facts are still the same after SCA’s 42-0 Mercy Rule victory on the road in Blue Jay Stadium. “Central is having a successful season. This was just their second loss, but our guys came out and took care of business from the start on both sides of the ball. Once again I was real pleased with the play of our defense,” said Tiger coach Jim Roth.

Central is the only school that Southern has played for every single season since the Tigers program came into existence 55 years ago. Now, the Tigers have won 20 straight in the rivalry. Even more impressive, this victory moved SCA’s regular season winning streak to 60 consecutive victories dating back to 2011. “We just try to come out and dominate each week. The mentality remains the same. We practice hard, watch film, and come out to try and execute the game plan,” Southern senior running back Tristan Heim said.

The Tigers (9-0) proved from the beginning of the game that they were simply on another level than the Blue Jays (7-2). Some people thought a few weeks ago that Central may have a fighter’s chance of staying competitive throughout the game, but the Tigers put that theory to rest from the game’s opening series. Southern scored two touchdowns in each of the first three quarters and Central’s offense couldn’t get anything going against the Tigers stingy defense. The Blue Jays finished the game with less than 100 yards of total offense.

Central, who celebrated their senior night before kickoff, was forced into a three-and-out on their first drive thanks to a sack by Tiger linebacker Anthony Scicchitano. SCA’s offense put together a six-play drive that finished with Gaige Garcia, who is second in the area for rushing yards, scoring on a four yard run. After another three-and-out, Garcia scored on a carry of eight yards to make the score 14-0 after the first quarter. “I knew coming in that Central’s running back was leading the area in rushing, so I wanted to use that as some motivation to help drive me. It’s good to have that kind of competition to motivate you,” Garcia said after the win.

Central’s rushing leader is Issac Gensemer, who was about 100 yards ahead of Garcia on the season heading into the matchup. However, Garcia has been much more productive in terms of yards per carry, and that is not taking anything away from Gensemer who has been the leader of the Blue Jays all year. “We have a variety of different playmakers on this team, so our guys may not get as many opportunities as the featured players on other teams. We like to keep things balanced out to keep the other teams guessing,” said Roth. Garcia averages twice as many yards per carry at a staggering 14.2 yards compared to Gensemer’s 7.1 per clip.

The Tigers defense came up with another three-and-out to start the second quarter which was set up by a sack from Lear Quinton. Garcia scored his third touchdown of the evening on a 22-yard pass from Stone Hollenbach. After another forced punt, SCA would score again. This time it was Julian Fleming doing the majority of the work. He caught a first down pass that deflected straight into the air off a Blue Jay’s helmet, that appeared to be nearly intercepted, to start the drive. Hollenbach then threw a jump ball to him that he jumped over two defenders to bring down to move the chains. Fleming would then score on a diving 38-yard sensational touchdown grab from Hollenbach that came on a 4th-and-20 to make the score 28-0.

Fleming and Garcia, who are both just sophomores coming off of all-state freshmen seasons, are headed to Notre Dame this weekend on official recruiting visits to watch the Fighting Irish take on the USC Trojans. “It’s going to be exciting. This is a big step for me just to get an invite to a major D1 program like this. Julian has obviously gotten a lot of high level offers already, so I’m excited to go on my first visit,” said Garcia who went over 1,000 yards rushing on the season. He is also now just the second Tiger to ever rush for more than 1,000 yards in both his freshman and sophomore campaigns. Jerry Marks is the other Tiger to accomplish that feat.

Central’s best drive of the game came just before halftime as they attempted a 33-yard field goal on the final play of the half. Quinton however ruined that scoring chance by blocking the kick to give the Tigers even more momentum as they ran into the locker room up 28-0. “I just shot through an open gap. I felt somebody try to block me from the side, but I was able to get a piece of the ball with part of my arm,” Quinton said.

The Tigers defense held the Blue Jays to just that one drive crossing midfield in the first half. “We knew that their quarterback liked to get outside to extend plays, so we made sure to try and contain him. They had a good running game coming in, so we wanted to shut that down and limit any big play opportunity that they could have potentially had,” said Quinton. With the way the defense has played this year, Southern has now won all but one of their games in Mercy Rule fashion.

Garcia score his fourth touchdown, a five yard run, with 10:23 left in the third quarter to put the game officially into the Mercy Rule at 35-0. “We were expecting them to change their fronts on defense and we made some minor adjustments at halftime to account for it. It’s all about doing your job and they had some good players upfront that we had to block,” said Tiger lineman John Stabinski. The final touchdown, to make the score 42-0 after Elijah Hoffman’s final PAT, came on an eight yard run compliments of Heim. “Blocking is important because obviously teams focus on Gaige, so I try to do my best with blocking as do the other backs. Then when I get a carry I just try to run hard and follow the holes that the linemen work to make,” Heim said.

Southern will face their toughest test of the regular season in the finale next week as they will face off against Selinsgrove and their prolific passing attack. “With how well our defense has played this year, it allows our offense to get great field position. We prepare each week and make adjustments if we need to. We want to go out and have success each play,” said Stabinski. The Tigers starting defense has dominated all year by allowing just three total touchdowns all season long. The Seals will come in with just one loss on the year. If the Tigers win, they will be guaranteed the top seed in Class AA for districts. Central will take on their arch rival in Bloomsburg with both teams fighting for higher playoff seeding as well.

SCA: 14-14-14-0 = 42
CC: 0-0-0-0 = 0

SOUTHERN COLUMBIA (9-0)
RUSHING:
Gaige Garcia 14-82, 3 TD’s; Jeffrey Cox 5-55; Tristan Heim 3-15; TD; Stone Hollenbach 4-22; Ty Roadarmel 2-10; Payton Pursel 2-7; Nate Crowl 2-6; Cade Linn 1-4
PASSING:
Stone Hollenbach 11-14-0, 157 yds, 2 TD’s
RECEIVING:
Julian Fleming 6-109, TD; Gaige Garcia 4-36, TD; Anthony Scicchitano 1-12
1st DOWNS: 20
PENALTIES: 5-47

CENTRAL COLUMBIA (7-2)
RUSHING:
Isaac Gensemer 10-27; Jack Schechterly 3-15; Ky Seesholtz 2-8; Blaise Williams 1-1; Troy Johnson 1-0; Trae Devlin 3-(-7); Cole Sweitzer 2-(-8)
PASSING:
Trae Devlin 4-13-0, 41 yds; Dylan Harris 1-4-0, 5 yds
RECEIVING:
Zander Bradley 3-29; Jared Verse 1-12; Cole Sweitzer 1-5.
1st DOWNS: 7
PENALTIES: 3-30

Tigers beat Ironmen on Senior Night

Friday the 13th comes around about once a year and is considered to be the most unlucky and frightening day on the calendar. Unfortunately for Danville, their bad luck meant that they had to take on the state’s top ranked team in Southern Columbia who has an offense that is as scary as any across the state and a defense that is just as scary. “Playing Southern Columbia is the litmus test to gauge where your team is at. They are the top team. I thought we played gutsy, especially in the first half. We just gave up some big plays which you can’t do against a team of their caliber,” Danville coach Jim Keiser said. The Tigers won in convincing fashion by a score of 41-10 on their senior night on Jim Roth Field at Tiger Stadium. Southern has now won 59 consecutive regular season games.

The victory gave Southern Columbia the Heartland Conference Division 3 Championship. However, with the amount of success the Tiger Football Dynasty has produced over three straight decades, it is considered just another normal victory. “Everybody has the same goal on this team. When you play football at Southern Columbia, winning a division or district championship isn’t as meaningful as it may be for other sports or other schools,” said SCA senior captain Anthony Scicchitano. “Tiger football is about getting down to Hershey and winning a state championship.”

Danville took an early 3-0 lead off the foot of Jared Mowery who made a 34-yard field goal. That came thanks to an interception by Ken Cooper who was the first person to intercept a pass from SCA quarterback Stone Hollenbach all season. “I mean you never want to throw an interception, but I guess now it takes any extra pressure off of me. It’s been talked about more the past couple of weeks that I didn’t throw any interceptions, but now I have one and will move on,” said Hollenbach who now has 19 touchdown passes to just the one interception.

Former Tiger quarterback Brad Fegley set the state record in 2011 by becoming the only quarterback in Pennsylvania high school football history to lead a team to a state title appearance without throwing a pick all season. “Unfortunately the interception I threw got tipped at the line or else it had a chance to be a touchdown. It’s obviously nearly impossible to go a whole year without throwing an interception like he did,” said Hollenbach with a chuckle. The junior, who has played with confidence all season, threw for 192 yards and a pair of scores on the evening.

His first touchdown pass went to Julian Fleming on the first play of the drive after the Tigers trailed for the first time all year. It was a quick pass that Fleming caught and did the rest himself by going 60 yards into the end zone to put Southern in front 7-3. “With the skills that Julian has, you just need to get the ball in his hands and he can score from anywhere on the field,” Southern coach Jim Roth said. Fleming intercepted a pass on the next drive to set up a 24-yard field goal by Elijah Hoffman to give the Tigers a 10-3 lead after the first quarter.

Fleming, who had extra motivation after Danville’s student section made the moronic move of publicly calling him out on Twitter the night before, set up the next score as well. He caught a 39-yard pass from Hollenbach that lead to Hoffman kicking his second field goal. The 35-yard kick put SCA up 13-3 with 7:42 left in the half. The Tigers defense came up with stops on the next two Ironmen drives. Both drives ended on long missed field goal attempts of 49 and 43 yards. “Our linebackers and defensive front make it a priority to shut down the run each game. We want to help our secondary by making it more predictable in forcing the other team into passing situations,” said Scicchitano.

With just over a minute left in the first half, Southern’s offense added some insurance when Preston Zachman caught his first career touchdown pass on a perfectly placed ball from Hollenbach. “It felt pretty nice to get that first one off of my shoulders. Stone threw a great ball right into my hands,” said Zachman when asked about the 38-yard score that gave the Tigers a 20-3 halftime advantage. “With Julian receiving so many double teams, I try to win the one-on-one battles to provide us with another option in the passing game. I just want to contribute however I can,” the sophomore said.

Gaige Garcia put a nail in the coffin by scoring on the first offensive play of the second half on a 60-yard run to make the score 27-3. “We had some issues running the football in the first half, so it was nice to find an opening. We knew we needed to establish a scoring drive to start the third quarter, and the line opened up a hole for me to get through to score,” said Garcia. With 1:09 left in the third quarter, Fleming made another impactful play by returning a punt 68 yards to extend the lead to 34-3.

Ty Roadarmel put the game into the Mercy Rule with 8:31 left in the game on a 54-yard rushing score. “It’s good that we have different guys that have the ability to score. It takes the heat off of some guys so that the defense can’t always just key on one or two of us,” Garcia said. Danville finally found the goal-line with 1:12 left in the game when Ian Persing scored from a yard out to make the final 41-10 in favor of the team repping the black and gold.

Southern Columbia will end their regular season with their final two games on the road. “We will be tested over the final two weeks and it will be good preparation heading into the playoffs because we are going to see some different looks from quality opponents,” Roth said. They will travel to Central Columbia next week. The Blue Jays (7-1) will be coming off of their only loss of the season that came from South Williamsport. Danville on the other hand will have a much easier task next week when they take on Shamokin Area. The Ironmen will be heavy favorites against the Indians (1-7) who are in complete disarray. The Tigers currently holds the 1-seed in the District IV AA playoff race and the Ironmen are the top seed in a weaker AAA field.

SCA: 10-10-14-7 = 41
DAN: 3-0-0-7 = 10

SOUTHERN COLUMBIA (8-0)
RUSHING:
Gaige Garcia 7-107, TD; Ty Roadarmel 3-59, TD; Tristan Heim 3-1; Jeffrey Cox 3-5; Stone Hollenbach 4-13; Nate Crowl 2-12; Peyton Pursel 2-16; Julian Fleming 1-0
PASSING:
Stone Hollenbach 8-16-1, 192 yds, 2 TD’s
RECEIVING:
Julian Fleming 3-111, TD; Preston Zachman 1-38, TD; Jeffrey Cox 2-27; Gaige Garcia 2-16
1st DOWNS: 14
PENALTIES: 1-15

DANVILLE (6-2)
RUSHING:
Gannon Feldmann 13-64; Austin Millar 9-59; Jagger Dressler 4-44; Peyton Persing 2-10; Carter Conmy 2-7; Shane Kozick 1-4; Ryan Palm 4-3; Joey Harris 4-1; Ian Persing 1-1, TD; Eric Sees 1-(- 1); Kayden Riley 4-(-22).
PASSING:
Kayden Riley 4-13-1, 21 yds; Ian Persing 1-1-0, 27 yds
RECEIVING:
Shane Kozick 2-10; Colton Sidler 1-27; Palm 1-6; Evan Welliver 1-5
1st DOWNS: 9
PENALTIES: 5-35

Fleming sets another record in the romp

Spoiler alert if you aren’t a regular follower of Southern Columbia football, Julian Fleming is a human highlight reel on the gridiron. His nickname, Highlight, started as a joke when he put highlights in his hair last summer as a freshman, but since then he has taken over games in virtually every matchup that he has played in. The sophomore continues to awe fans in all three phases of the game. “I just want to help the team out any way that I can and leave my mark. On offense, defense, and special teams I try to make an impact on every play,” said Fleming.

In a 42-7 win over Montoursville on Friday night, he tied career highs with six catches and three scores on offense, picked off a pass on defense, and kicked a bomb on special teams as the team’s punter. “I was excited after that punt because I don’t get to do it often and I got a good piece of it,” he said with a smile. The punt traveled 61-yards and was a career long. Remarkably, it was just the second time that the undefeated Tigers had to punt all season through seven weeks, so the Division 1 recruit was able to use his legs in a different fashion.

Fleming’s touchdown grabs came on passes of 20, 33, and 32 yards on his home Jim Roth Field turf. The third one was historic because it gave him another school record. This one was the Tiger record for single-season receiving touchdowns. His now 15 scores broke the mark formerly held by Andy Helwig who had 14 touchdowns in 1995. “We try to go with whatever it is that is working. Usually our running game is the key with the offense that we run, but tonight we had a lot of positives through the air early on. Stone Hollenbach did a good job of threading the needle and we had success,” said the sensational sophomore who now has reached the endzone on nearly 50% of his catches from Hollenbach (15 TD’s on 31 receptions).

After Fleming’s first two scores, it was another outstanding sophomore’s turn to travel to the end zone. Gaige Garcia, who was an all-state selection last season with Fleming, scored on a seven yard run to give the Tigers a 21-0 lead after the first quarter. “Our offensive line made it a goal to come out and dominate the line of scrimmage from the beginning of the game. We focused on executing our blocks to give our skill players opportunities to make big plays,” said starting center Troy Donlan. The Tigers starting offense has scored 105 points combined over the last two weeks in just four quarters of work.

Garcia, who has earned the nickname of The Goliath, scored on the third play of the second quarter with a 10-yard push from his line to put Montoursville further behind 28-0. Then, after Fleming’s third touchdown catch from Hollenbach, Garcia completed his own hat trick on an 18-yard run to put SCA in front 42-0 at halftime. “Our offense played real well tonight in the first half. The defense has played solid all year and did their job to get the ball back into the hands of our offensive skill players. The line was able to open up space for us to convert those drives into scores,” said Southern coach Jim Roth. The offense scored on every first half possession behind the blocking up front of Donlan, Connor Fulmer, Andrew Bell, John Stabinski, and Oak Six. Anthony Scicchitano and AJ Goodlunas provided running lanes from their tight end positions as well.

The Tigers defense forced the Warriors into four punts, a turnover on downs, and an interception on their six first half possessions. “Our coverage looked good all around. It started with the d-line getting pressure on the quarterback. The rest of the guys stepped up and did their jobs. We all played tough,” said linebacker Cal Haladay who was the Tigers leading tackler. Montoursville was only able to get the ball across midfield once in the first half and that was thanks to multiple penalties from the SCA defense. The other drives ended with the Tigers forcing 3-and-outs and Fleming’s pick.

With the game in the Mercy Rule, the teams traded third quarter possessions without any scoring. Montoursville finally got on the board when senior Keegan Leahy scored on a one yard dive early in the fourth. Neither team scored again with Southern Columbia winning their 58th straight regular season game. “I’m still extremely proud of my guys even though we don’t have any wins. There is a bright future with our young guys. As for Southern, it is going to be fun to watch them make a run in the playoffs again. They are just so explosive and can score at any time from anywhere,” said Montoursville coach J.C. Keefer.

The Warriors will try to get a victory next week as they host another winless team in Milton. Southern Columbia will be home again as the 6-1 Danville Ironmen come to town. “That should be a good game. We are going to have to prepare and put forth our best effort and execute to hopefully come out with another win,” Donlan said. The Tigers are currently ranked No. 1 in the state for Class AA.

Now that Southern as completed the mental task of staying focused in beating two teams that have combined to go 0-14 this year, the Tigers will shift gears to close out the season against their three toughest opponents. “We have some tough tests coming up here to end the season. Danville, Central, and Selinsgrove have all had good years so far and it will be good preparation for us before heading into the playoffs,” Roth said. The Ironmen, Blue Jays, and Seals are a combined 19-2 with one of the losses coming from Central topping Danville.

SCA: 21-21-0-0 = 42
MTV: 0-0-0-7 = 7

SOUTHERN COLUMBIA (7-0)
RUSHING:
Gaige Garcia 8-89, 3 TD’s; Jeff Cox 6-48; Tristan Heim 4-24; Stone Hollenbach 1-8; Peyton Pursel 2-6; Cade Linn 1-5; Ty Roadarmel 1-2; Nate Crowl 1-2; Julian Fleming 1-0
PASSING:
Stone Hollenbach 10-12-0, 170 yds, 3 TD’s
RECEIVING:
Julian Fleming 6-110, 3 TD’s; Gaige Garcia 2-38; Preston Zachman 2-22
1st DOWNS: 17
PENALTIES: 7-49

MOUNTOURSVILLE (0-7)
RUSHING:
Dylan Moll 7-18; Oleg Bohner 12-11; Keegan Leahy 4-10, TD; Wyatt DeWald 4-10; Ryan Keen 1-3; Dylan Bennett 3-3; Logan Ott 4-1; Hunter Shearer 1-(-8)
PASSING:
Hunter Shearer 6-13-1, 101 yds; Dylan Bennett 1-2-0, 26 yds
RECEIVING:
Anthony Washington 3-71; Ryan Keen 1-26; Wyatt DeWald 1-12; Keegan Leahy 1-11; Brandon Dyer 1-7
1st DOWNS: 8
PENALTIES: 1-5

SCA had historic offensive performance

Let’s not sugarcoat it, nobody was looking forward to the matchup between Southern Columbia and Milton on Friday night. The Tigers came in riding a 56-game regular season winning streak dating back to 2011. The Black Panthers hadn’t won a single game since early in the 2015 season. With that being said, anyone looking for a change in results, at this point it is okay to stop reading.

Jim Roth’s Tigers won the matchup decisively 75-28 as Southern Columbia celebrated their annual Homecoming. The 75 points were the 3rd most that a Southern Columbia team has scored in school history and just two points shy of setting the school mark. “Offensively we looked as sharp as we have all year. Between the run and the pass, we just were clicking. Obviously Milton is struggling, but from an execution standpoint I was definitely pleased,” said Roth after his Tigers joined the 1969 and 2004 teams as the third team ever to top the 70-point barrier. The other two teams scored 76 points in their respective wins.

With how dominant SCA’s offense looked, Milton’s passing game did provide the Tigers secondary with some questions that need be answered as the regular season starts to wind down. “To be honest, I think the fact that we were playing a struggling opponent had a lot to do with it. We had off school the last two days, and I don’t want to make excuses, but I think we played a little lazy,” said SCA defensive end AJ Goodlunas. “We need to do a better job of executing with our pass rush and coverage the rest of the year and I think we will.”

Milton scored three first half touchdowns on long pass plays of 60, 67, and 77 yards. The first two touchdowns went to Quaylin Rice and the last to Francisco Manzano. Quarterback Philip Davis competed 12 of 22 passes in the first half for 267 yards and those three touchdowns. “We definitely have some things to watch on film to find ways to improve in our pass coverage,” said Roth. “Our secondary has played pretty good during the first half of the season, but tonight we struggled. I give Milton credit for executing through the air against us for sure.”

The two evident things that kept Milton from having a chance to compete with SCA were their running game and overall defense. Milton’s rushing attack, which only produced two rushes that went for positive yardage in the opening half, was ineffective throughout the course of the game. Milton coach Phil Davis said, “Southern is a tremendous team and they have a tremendous coach and I have so much respect for him and how he handles things.’’ The Black Panthers defense was about as useless as a keyboard without keys, and it allowed the Tigers to score nine touchdowns in the opening half with Elijah Hoffman converting on each PAT.

Sophomores Gaige Garcia and Julian Fleming combined to score five touchdowns on their first five touches of the game. Garcia’s first carry went for a 10-yard touchdown and his second was a 61-yard dash to pay dirt. Fleming caught touchdown passes from Stone Hollenbach on passes of 35 and 59 yards. The highly recruited prospect also returned a kickoff 78 yards for a touchdown. “We came out firing on all cylinders on offense and special teams. We made it a point of emphasis to execute on our blocking assignments and I think we did a really good job of that,” Tiger lineman Oak Six said. Garcia would go on to add a third touchdown of his own later in the second quarter on a 74-yard run.

Fullback Jeff Cox scored two touchdowns during the first half offensive onslaught on runs of 40 and three yards. “Everything seemed to go great for us on offense tonight. The line was blocking really well and the running backs did a good job of finding the running lanes. Losing Tom Manley for the season, we need the new guys to step in and I think they will prove to be able to get the job done,” Cox said. The ninth Tiger touchdown in the first half came from the defense when linebacker Cal Haladay returned an interception 43 yards for a score.

With the Tigers leading 63-21 at halftime, the starters were done for the evening with the exception of one position. “Well we need to try and figure out our backfield now in terms of our one wing position. Tristan Heim and Ty Roadarmel rotated at that one halfback spot and both have shown some nice things this year. Then Nate Crowl came in and did a real nice job in the fourth quarter” said Roth. Tom Manley’s senior season ended earlier in the week due to personal matters, so SCA is looking to find a replacement between the three of those guys.

After neither team scored in the third quarter, Peyton Pursel scored early in the fourth quarter on a two yard plunge to put the Tigers up 69-21. Jason Valladares scores for Milton on a 36-yard scamper and then the games final points came on a 61-yard carry from Crowl, who finished with over 100 yards, to make the final score 75-28 in favor of Southern Columbia.

Milton will try and get their first win of the season next week against a struggling Mount Carmel squad who have dropped three consecutive games. The Tigers, who are ranked No. 1 in the state at the AA level, will be heavy favorites again as they take on Montoursville at home. The Warriors will be the second straight winless team that SCA has to mentally prepare for.

SCA: 35-28-0-12 = 75
MIL: 14-7-0-7 = 28

SOUTHERN COLUMBIA (6-0)
RUSHING:
Gaige Garcia 5-176, 3 TD’s; Nate Crowl 7-102, TD; Jeff Cox 6-68, 2 TD’s; Tristan Heim 10-38; Ty Roadarmel 3-28; Cade Linn 4-33; Peyton Pursel 6-10, TD
PASSING:
Stone Hollenbach 4-4-0, 124 yds, 2 TD’s
RECEIVING:
Julian Fleming 2-94, 2 TD’s; Gaige Garcia 1-20; Preston Zachman 1-10
1st DOWNS: 19
PENALTIES: 8-85

MILTON (0-6)
RUSHING:
Jason Valladares 1-36, TD; Mason Edison 1-5; Alex Garcia 15-(-6); Qamar Bradley 2-(-8)
PASSING:
Philip Davis 13-23-1, 275 yds., 3 TD
RECEIVING:
Quaylin Rice 3-131, 2 TD; Francisco Manzano 3-89, TD; Jalil Garrison 3-22; Alex Garcia 3-15; Qamar Bradley 1-18
1st DOWNS: 8
PENALTIES: 5-30

Milton stats provided by Damien Scoblink (PE)

Fleming Sets School Record

First year Lewisburg head coach Marc Persing was forthright after Friday’s game when talking about the opposition in black and gold. “Let’s make no mistake about it, that is one of if not the best programs, not just the team, but programs in the state of Pennsylvania. I told our kids that we are trying to become what Southern Columbia is. They have set the standard that all the other teams are trying to reach,” Persing said. “Hats off to Coach Roth. He has a tremendous staff and a tremendous team and they just have a winning culture that we are trying to establish with our program.”

One of the tremendous Tigers is sophomore Julian Fleming. Now, just five games into his sophomore season, he has set the school’s career receiving yardage mark, with 1,528 total, that was formerly held by Sean Connaghan for the past two decades. “It is definitely an honor knowing how many talented players have played at Southern. Being able to have your name listed in a record book is an honor at any school and an even bigger one at a school with so many great players that have played in the program before me,” said the highly recruited receiver.

The record came on a 53-yard touchdown pass early on in which he was able to out-jump a pair of Green Dragon defensive backs and then outrun them into the end zone. Fleming has held the school’s career receiving touchdown record since week one of this season and he should break the receptions record before season’s end to give him every career receiving record possible before his junior year even begins. The Tigers would go up 14-0 when Gaige Garcia, another tremendous sophomore, reached the end zone on a 24-yard screen pass with 4:52 left in the opening quarter.

Garcia, who is the nephew of Persing, would extend the Tigers lead to 21-0 late in the first quarter on a 71-yard touchdown run. “He has been proving me wrong his whole life. He continues to surprise me since his youth football days. He’s a phenomenal kid, arguably one of my best friends, and just a helluva football player,” Persing said about Garcia. Garcia would then score the only touchdown of the second quarter with a 17-yard catch to give the top ranked team in the state a 28-0 halftime cushion.

The Tigers starting defense continued to impress on the season. At halftime, the Green Dragons unofficially had negative-11 yards of offense compared to over 300 yards for SCA’s potent offense. Another big part of the Tigers offense on Friday night was junior quarterback Stone Hollenbach who attended Lewisburg up through his freshman year. “I just approached it like any other game. Obviously I know pretty much everyone on their team and they have some great players and coaches. I tried to just take the same approach as I would any other week,” said Hollenbach who finished with 220 yards passing in the game.

Southern’s lead ballooned to 42-0 less than two minutes into the second half. The first score came on a quick pass to Fleming who juked out half of the Lewisburg defense en route to the end zone for a 53-yard score. “Obviously he is a very special talent. He’s shown that he is worthy of receiving high level college offers and Stone has done a great job of getting him the football,” said Tiger coach Jim Roth. Then, after forcing a turnover via a fumble, Garcia ran for a one yard touchdown, his fourth score of the evening, to end the game for the Tigers starting unit. “Looking at the numbers that our starters have posted so far this season makes records like Julian’s even more impressive because they usually only get to play in a half of a game before they are done,” said Roth after his 401st coaching victory at Southern.

For the remainder of the Heartland Conference meeting, Lewisburg outscored Southern 21-14 but it was just a formality at that point until the game’s end. The Green Dragons got touchdowns from Dylan Farronato (69-yard catch), Max Moyers (26-yard run), and Andrew Ramirez (93-yard kick return). The Tigers added two rushing touchdowns on a three yard run by Ty Roadarmel and a nine yard run by Tristan Heim. The victory for the Tigers was their fourth Mercy Rule win of the season already.

Lewisburg will try to get back to .500 next week as they will host a winless Montoursville team at Bucknell Univeristy. Southern Columbia will head home to Jim Roth Field to take on Milton. The Tigers will be as heavily favored as probably any team in the country against the Black Panthers next Friday. Milton has lost 22-consecutive games dating back to the early part of 2015 and Southern hasn’t lost a regular season game since 2011. The Tigers starting defense has also given up just one touchdown through five weeks of the season.

SCA: 21-7-21-7 = 56
LBG: 0-0-7-14 = 21

SOUTHERN COLUMBIA (5-0)
RUSHING:
Gaige Garcia 10-105, 2 TD’s; Ty Roadarmel 10-79, TD; Tristan Heim 6-17, TD; Jeffrey Cox 5-27; Tom Manley 3-17; Stone Hollenbach 1-39; Julian Fleming 1-4; Nate Crowl 6-40; Cade Linn 1-11; Jake Snyder 1-4
PASSING:
Stone Hollenbach 8-12-0, 220 yds, 4 TD’s
RECEIVING:
Julian Fleming 5-145, 2 TD’s; Gaige Garcia 2-40, 2 TD’s; Preston Zachman 1-35
1st DOWNS: 20
PENALTIES: 5-65

LEWISBURG (2-3)

RUSHING:

Max Moyers 13-69, TD; Draven Doebler 3-2; Dylan Farronato 3-(-8); Nick Shedleski 6-(-30)

PASSING:

Nick Shedleski 4-9-0, 103 yds, TD

RECEIVING:

Dylan Farronato 4-103, TD

1st DOWNS: 8

PENALTIES: 3-20

Southern Hammers Hughesville

Southern Columbia head coach Jim Roth decided to let the clock run out for halftime on Friday night with his team less than 15 yards from the end zone and all three timeouts left in his pocket. No, the Tigers weren’t in desperate need to score, the game was handily in check by then with his team in front 37-0 over Hughesville. It was just another classy move that the veteran coach has shown countless times during his long tenure at the helm.

Now, the man that has turned a struggling program in the 1980’s into a dynasty has become just the third coach in Pennsylvania history to win 400 games. He is also the quickest to reach the milestone. “It was one of those things where you reach a point and you know it is eventually going to happen. I’ve never looked at anything in my career as an individual thing. This record was made as a staff. I have been blessed to have the best assistants I could ask for. We have just found a way to gel together and make it all work,” Roth said.

The one coach that has been a part of it since the beginning is his defensive coordinator Andy Mills. “We have just been able to have a lot of consistency throughout the years. We haven’t ever had a losing season,” said Mills who may as well be known as the Secretary of Defense. The Tigers defense couldn’t have played much better against the Spartans in posting a 57-0 shutout victory. “That was nice to see. Obviously everyone knew the significance of the win and to be able to do it without the opponent scoring was satisfying,” Mills said.

Roth and his staff have obviously coached a lot of talent over the past three decades, and two of those players put their skills on high display in the victory. Sophomore Gaige Garcia rushed the ball two times in the opening quarter and scored on both carries. His first one was a 49-yard run and his second one went for 59 yards giving him 108 yards on the two runs. “I am just thankful to be a part of a great accomplishment for a great coach and staff,” said Garcia.

The other player is Julian Fleming who is the most sought out college recruit in the school’s history. He scored on a 23-yard pass from Stone Hollenbach before both of Garcia’s runs to help the Tigers go up 21-0 after the opening quarter. “It was an honor to be on the team that helped Coach Roth get his 400th win. A lot of people came out to see it, so that added motivation for us,” said Fleming. The sophomore caught another 23-yard touchdown pass in the second quarter to extend the lead to 28-0.

In the middle of the second quarter it was Mills’ defense that added to the score. Southern forced a safety to go up 30-0 and give the Tigers defense more points than Hughesville scored in the game. “It is important for us to try to do that every week, but tonight the goal was to score a lot of points and don’t let any points on defense. We just wanted to make this a night about Coach Roth,” said senior captain Andrew Bell.

Tom Manley added the final scoring of the opening half with a 19-yard run and then an Elijah Hoffman PAT made the score 37-0. The Tigers most likely would have scored again, but Roth elected to let the halftime horn sound before his offense had another shot at a play deep in Spartan territory. “We just try to do things the right way as a staff. Our goal is to carry ourselves in a professional way and that can trickle down through the other parts of our programs in junior high and the youth league,” said Roth.

The Tigers kept the ball on the ground the entire time in the second half, and they were able to get some other guys important reps. Manley scored on a 34-yard run during the final series that the starters played to begin the 3rd quarter. SCA’s lead was 44-0 heading to the final 12 minutes. “I think our starters take a lot of pride in posting a shutout and it’s rewarding to see it take place when the reserves are able to hold onto it,” Mills said. His defense was able to post five sacks in the victory as well.

The Tigers tacked on two touchdowns in the fourth. Both of them were scored by sophomore Nate Crowl. His first came on an 11-yard run and the second on a 40-yard run. Tristan Heim, who rotated in with the starters, also put on a nice display in helping to get the score to 57-0. “I was pleased by the way we ran the football. We had a handful of different guys all have success and that makes it nice to know you have depth in the backfield when we need it. Again I was real happy with the defensive effort and the way they played as a unit” Roth said.

The Spartans will host Loyalsock next Friday night to try and turn their season around. The Tigers will try and continue their 55-consecutive game regular season winning streak next week when they hit the road to take on Lewisburg. The game will be held at Susquehanna University because Lewisburg, who usually plays at Bucknell University, was informed that an event will be taking place next Friday in Bucknell’s stadium.

SCA: 21-16-7-13 = 57
HHS: 0-0-0-0 = 0

SOUTHERN COLUMBIA (4-0)
RUSHING:
Gaige Garcia 6-133, 2 TD’s; Tom Manley 5-59, 2 TD’s; Tristan Heim 7-85; Jeffrey Cox 4-34; Nate Crowl 4-84, 2 TD’s; Cade Linn 7-28; Jake Snyder 1-15
PASSING:
Stone Hollenbach 5-8-0, 109 yds, 2 TD’s
RECEIVING:
Julian Fleming 4-87, 2 TD’s; Preston Zachman 1-22
1st DOWNS: 21
PENALTIES: 10-71

HUGHESVILLE (1-3)

RUSHING: Ori Shaner 18-27; Gavin Steele 6-10; Gage Avery 3-9; Colton Yocum 2-4; Carter Marquardt 1-2; Hunter Herr 1-2

PASSING: Ori Shaner 4-12-0, 62 yds; Jacob Corson 1-3-0, 14 yds

RECEIVING: Devon Bushor 2-23; Daulton Myers 1-29; Julian Brehm 1-20; Patrick Rogers 1-4

1st DOWNS: 9

PENALTIES: 3-25

Kicking and Defense Provide Lift

During Southern Columbia’s now 54 consecutive game regular season winning streak, the Tigers have put points on the board at a staggering pace. Most have come from the offense during that span, but in Friday night’s 29-7 victory over rival Mount Carmel Area, the offense got some needed assistance in their home opener. “It’s still early in the year and high school kids sometimes listen to the noise from the outside of what they are expected to accomplish. Mount Carmel proved tonight that they are a good football team. We didn’t play our best by any means, but Mount Carmel deserves credit for that too,” said Southern coach Jim Roth after his 399th career coaching victory.

The game was the first ever sporting event on the newly turfed Jim Roth Field, and it was a game that will be remembered for a while. It wasn’t an instant classic, but the game was certainly entertaining. “You have to do whatever it takes to win. Obviously we are used to our offense scoring at will, but when they get stopped the special teams unit has to contribute,” said Tiger kicker Elijah Hoffman. The play of the special teams certainly played a major factor. Hoffman became the only kicker in Southern history to kick three field goals in one game. He also nearly missed on a fourth attempt. “I love getting the opportunity to kick a field goal. It doesn’t happen often, so I just try to do my best when I have the chance,” said the senior kicker.

The Tigers defense also made the decisive plays when they needed to. The biggest of them coming with 6:29 left in the game. The Red Tornadoes had the ball trailing 15-7, looking to tie the game, with the momentum on their side. It was at that point that Max Tillett made the biggest play of the young season for the Tigers. “We knew that they had momentum and that we needed to come up with a big play,” said Tillett. The sophomore hit MCA quarterback Tommy Reisinger forcing the ball to pop free. Connor Fulmer fell on the ball in the end zone for the touchdown to put the Tigers up two scores.

“As a defensive lineman you don’t expect to score touchdowns often. Max made a big hit on their quarterback and I was in the right place at the right time. It was nice to be able to find the football and give us more breathing room with the bigger lead,” said Fulmer who celebrated his birthday earlier in the week. Tillett’s gift had to be the best one that he received. “I was able to get my arm into the football as I hit him. Seeing us score there was huge and I was excited about it,” Tillett said. The Tigers had five sacks in the game, but none were bigger than that one.

Southern led 6-0 after the first quarter thanks to field goals of 37 and 29 yards from Hoffman. Hoffman missed a 39-yard attempt with two seconds left in the quarter. SCA added six more points in the second. This time it came on a 53-yard pass from Stone Hollenbach, who attempted a career high 25 passes including 19 in the first half, to Julian Fleming to make the score 12-0 at halftime.

During the first half, Mount Carmel punted on all six of their possessions. However, the Red Tornadoes defense was tough the entire time excluding that long pass play. “We have a pretty good feel on what they do. We know their offensive patterns pretty well. Manus McCracken and Jack Chapman made some big plays in some big situations,” said MCA coach John Darrah. The Red Tornadoes held all-state running back Gaige Garcia to just two yards rushing in the half for SCA.

Hoffman put Southern up 15-0 with 2:25 left in the third on another 29-yard field goal. “Special teams can certainly play a big role in games. We have a strong kicking game and those three field goals were big for us tonight when we needed them,” Roth said. The field goal was the only scoring in the third quarter on the new turf.

Special teams helped Mount Carmel on the following possession when Shane Weidner returned the ensuing kickoff to the Tiger 41 yard line. Six plays later, John Ayres scored on a one yard plunge to make the score 15-7 with 10:24 left in the game. That drive was the only one of the game that Red Tornadoes were able to pick up multiple first downs. MCA finished with less than 100 yards of total offense.

On the following possession, Southern was forced to punt for the first time all season. Fleming got off a great punt that went 53 yards down to the MCA seven yard line. Two plays later, Tillett came up with the strip sack that Fulmer recovered to go up 22-7 with 6:29 remaining. After the Tigers defense forced another punt, Garcia added some insurance with 3:53 left in the game on a 58-yard TD run to make the score 29-7.

Credit Mount Carmel’s defense for a valiant effort and making it a competitive game late into the final quarter. “Their defense came to play tonight. They did a great job of gang tackling our guys and not allowing them any room to get free. We had a few long plays that helped us get the win, but there weren’t as many as we would have liked,” Roth said.

The Red Tornadoes will host a struggling Montoursville squad next week at the Silver Bowl. The Tigers will return to Jim Roth Field to take on Hughesville. Roth will try to become just the third coach in PIAA history to win 400 games and he can do so next week against the Spartans. If SCA wins, he will be the quickest in PIAA history to reach the milestone.

SCA: 6-6-3-14 = 29
MCA: 0-0-0-7 = 7

SOUTHERN COLUMBIA (3-0)
RUSHING:
Gaige Garcia 11-73, TD; Jeffrey Cox 10-50; Stone Hollenbach 5-26; Tom Manley 4-14
PASSING:
Stone Hollenbach 13-25-0, 220 yds, TD
RECEIVING:
Julian Fleming 6-80, TD; Preston Zachman 2-61; Tom Manley 2-51; Gaige Garcia 2-26; Jeff Cox 1-2
1st DOWNS: 13
PENALTIES: 8-55

MOUNT CARMEL AREA (2-1)

RUSHING: John Ayres 11-57, TD; Shane Weidner 4-6; CJ Reichard 5-3; Tommy Reisinger 12-(-29)

PASSING: Tommy Reisinger 7-13-0, 41 yds

RECEIVING: Jack Chapman 4-39; Manus McCracken 1-6; Shane Weidner 1-2; John Ayres 1(-6)

1st DOWNS: 5

PENALTIES: 5-35

Southern’s Fleming Breaks School Record

Southern Columbia’s Julian Fleming is considered one of the best players that this area has ever seen. Giving a player the title of “once-in-a-generation” puts them in a category of their own. In the professional sports world, some of the athletes that are mentioned with this phrase include Michael Jordan, Tom Brady, Babe Ruth, Wayne Gretzky & Michael Phelps. The Tiger sophomore has already reached that level in the PIAA sports world. “He’s as talented of a receiver as you are going to see at this level. He can do just about everything with the football in his hands,” said Southern coach Jim Roth after his Tigers first game since last year’s state championship game loss.

Southern Columbia opened their season at Shamokin Area’s Kemp Memorial Field with a dominating 55-7 victory over the Indians. During the dismantling, Fleming caught his 14th, 15th, and 16th receiving touchdown of his young career. The significance of the 15th one was Fleming breaking the school record for the most career receiving touchdowns, a record held by Andy Helwig and Steve Toczylousky who each had 14. “Everything seemed to be working for us on offense and we were able to keep it going and kept scoring,” said Fleming who only needed one game into his sophomore campaign to set the career record.

Fleming’s first touchdown of the game came on an 11-yard slant from Stone Hollenbach. Hollenbach then overthrew a wide open Gaige Garcia that would have put the Tigers up two scores on the next drive. No worries though as the junior quarterback came back two plays later to rush for a 34-yard touchdown to put Southern up 14-0 with 4:27 left in the first quarter. Fleming then made it 21-0 by the end of the quarter with a 25-yard touchdown grab. “He’s an amazing talent,” Hollenbach stated about his favorite receiving target.

Garcia, who like Fleming is only a sophomore, went over the 2,000 yard rushing mark for his career in the second quarter on a 32-yard dash to extend the Tigers lead to 28-0. Tom Manley scored on SCA’s next possession to put the Tigers up 35-0 on a three yard run with 6:23 remaining in the first half. “I think they were really focused on keying on Gaige and that opened up some holes for me,” said Manley. Manley is replacing two-time all state running back Hunter Thomas who graduated. “I’m just going to try and do the best that I can. It’s a huge benefit to have our entire offensive line returning,” he said.

The final touchdown of the first half looked like maybe the easiest even though it was the longest of the game. Fleming, who was doubled-covered the entire night, caught a basic ten yard out-pattern and turned it into a 61-yard touchdown. During the process, he made Shamokin’s secondary appear as if they were trying to skate for the first time in an ice rink. “I don’t have any control over how the defense is going to cover me, so I just try to get the most out of every opportunity,” Fleming said. The Tigers went into the half leading 42-0 and scoring every possession.

Not to be overshadowed by the offense, Southern’s defense was probably even more impressive. “I was most pleased with the way our defense came out and took care of business. We knew we have our two inside-linebackers in Cal Haladay and Anthony Scicchitano returning off of huge years from last year so we are expecting them to be the leaders,” said Roth. “The way our front was able to get off the ball and put pressure on their quarterback was nice to see. We were also glad to see the new outside linebackers and new guys in the secondary contribute and we are confident that they will keep improving as the season goes on.”

Just how good was Southern’s defense? Well put it this way, Shamokin’s best play of the first half came by accident. Their punter botched a snap on 4th down of their first series, but he was able to pick it up and run for a first down. Other than that play, the Indians had just one other play in the half to go for more than three yards. “When the defense is able to have success, it really boosts the confidence of the whole team. I thought we did a good job of getting pressure on their quarterback,” said Tyler Bendas who had two of the Tigers five sacks. Shamokin finished the half with negative-16 yards rushing and 0 for 5 passing.

Manley scored his second touchdown to start the third quarter and that would be the only touchdown of the quarter. Then in the fourth quarter, Shamokin’s Jake’s Jeremiah was able to finally give the home bleachers something to cheer about when he scored on a 33-yard run make it 49-7. The final touchdown came from Tiger senior Tristan Heim on a 44-yard burst to make the final score 55-7.

The Tigers, who finished with over 500 yards of offense, will travel to Bloomsburg next Friday night to take on the Panthers. “The guys know that they are going to get everyone’s best shot. When you have a successful season, the next year you just need to realize that there is a target on your back,” Roth said. The Indians will play host to Loyalsock in week two.

SCA: 21-21-7-6 = 55
SHA: 0-0-0-7 = 7

SOUTHERN COLUMBIA (1-0)
RUSHING:
Gaige Garcia 10-149, TD; Tom Manley 5-56, 2 TD’s; Stone Hollenbach 2-40, TD; Jeffrey Cox 5-15; Tristan Heim 3-92, TD; Ty Roadarmel 4-25; Nate Crowl 1-2; Nate Kearney 1-1
PASSING:
Stone Hollenbach 7-10-0, 144 yds, 3 TD’s
RECEIVING:
Julian Fleming 4-111, 3 TD’s; Preston Zachman 1-16; Anthony Scicchitano 1-12; Gaige Garcia 1-5
1st DOWNS: 18
PENALTIES: 6-51

SHAMOKIN AREA (0-1)

RUSHING:

Jacob Jeremiah 4-32, TD; Dennis Cole 3-15; Mark Wetzel 11-15; Marcus Deivert 1-14; Devin Pietkiewicz 8-6; Brycen James 4-6; Michael Breslin 1-2; Zack Johnson 1-0; Wolfgang Pearson 1-(-1); Deven Klock 1-(-5); Nathan Grimes 5-(-11)

PASSING:

Nathan Grimes 0-6-0

RECEIVING:

None

1st DOWNS: 7

PENALTIES: 6-40

Shamokin stats provided by Damien Scoblink (PE)

Tigers headed back to Hershey

Not many people, if any at all, outside of the Southern Columbia football program thought it was fathomable to make a return trip to Chocolate Town. After all, the Tigers graduated 26 seniors including 10 starters on the defensive side of the football, and they have almost double the amount of freshmen (11) on the roster as seniors (6). Now, the 15-0 defending state champions will ride a 31 game winning streak into trying to win a record 8th state championship.

Ligonier Valley came into Alumni Stadium at Bald Eagle High School riding a perfect 14-0 record and the best season in school history. The Rams hadn’t ever won a District VI championship, yet alone a state playoff game, before this season. Their defense came in giving up on average less than five points per game and they posted eight shutouts. “They had a lot of quick players and we knew that our defense had to step up in a big way. They have done a great job the past two weeks for us,” said Southern coach Jim Roth. The Tigers mounted a 24-7 halftime lead in the victory.

The Tigers won the toss and chose to receive the opening kickoff. They used a 13-play drive to go 69 yards to open up the scoring. Gaige Garcia finished the job with a seven yard run to put SCA up 7-0. “I think our whole team came out with more heart and desire. We’ve been battle tested and we were determined,” Garcia said. That touchdown would be the only scoring in the opening quarter.

Thomas Manley recovered a fumble early in the second quarter on a bobbled snap from Ram quarterback Collin Smith. The Tigers would drive down the field and Elijah Hoffman kicked a 25-yard field goal to extend the lead to 10-0. “We have a lot of first year starters including our kicker. It takes contributions from everyone to get to this point and we have gotten it,” Roth said.

Smith, who will most certainly be an all-state selection, answered right back after his mistake with a 50-yard touchdown run to make the score 10-7. “He has been our leader all season. I can’t say enough about how this senior class has elevated the program to another level. We just ran into an outstanding football program,” Ligonier Valley coach Roger Beitel said. The senior finished his senior season with mind-boggling numbers and is headed to West Virginia next fall to play football for the Mountaineers. He finished his final season with over 3,000 yards passing and just under 1,000 rushing to go along with 64 offensive touchdowns (42 passing & 22 rushing).

On the other sideline, Hunter Thomas has elevated his play to an even higher level than his junior season that ended with an all-state selection. The senior captain, although extremely effective, was frustrated with his regular season that was hindered by injury. “Missing those games after my knee surgery really took my heart out of my body it seemed. I was worried and upset that I wouldn’t be coming back, but fortunately I was able to work myself back to 100%,” said Thomas. He scored on 33-yard run with 5:20 left in the first half to put Southern Columbia up 17-7 after catching a pass on the previous play for a first down.

After forcing a 3-and-out, the Tigers traveled 51 yards to score with 25 seconds left in the half to make the score 24-7 at the break. It marked the first time the Rams gave up more than 20 in a game all season yet alone a half. “It was very Important. It gave us a huge advantage and we held them off for the rest of the game and came out with the win,” said lineman Oak Six about the halftime lead. At that point though, the Tigers knew that the game was far from over.

Ligonier Valley didn’t waste much time scoring to start the second half. Aaron Tutino got behind the Tiger secondary and Smith found him for a 57-yard strike. Aaron Sheeder added a two-point conversion to make the score 24-15. “Our guys came out and didn’t quit. They battled until the final play,” said Beitel.

Thomas scored on an eight yard jaunt on the next possession to make the score 31-15 with 5:32 left in the third quarter. Tutino was was able to get behind Southern all-state corner Cam Young for the second series in a row for a 44-yard completion from Smith. After getting tackled at the one, Smith finished the drive off himself on the next play. The Rams couldn’t convert on the two-point try so the teams entered the final quarter with the Tigers in front 31-21.

Smith, who was the only player on the LV squad to carry the football, scored for the third time on the ground just 51 seconds into the final quarter and after another missed two-point conversion, the Rams trailed by a slim margin of 31-27. The final 11 minutes were filled with lots of drama and the deciding factor would come down to if Southern’s offense could control the clock and if the defense could come up with pivotal stops.

Southern quarterback Stone Hollenbach, who finished 6 for 12 in the game, missed an open receiver on third down of the next Tiger drive giving the ball back to Ligonier Valley with a chance to take the lead. “They had the momentum at that point and our defense needed to come up big,” Roth said. Anthony Scicchitano hit Smith on the second play of the Rams drive forcing an errant pass from Smith that was intercepted by Julian Fleming. “I knew pressuring their quarterback was going to be big in this game. That pass he got flustered back there and it set up the pick for Julian,” said Scicchitano.

Give credit to the Rams defense as they forced another punt for the Tigers to give them the ball back with 5:46 left to play still down by just four points. After an Andrew Bell sack and a holding penalty, Smith threw an incompletion on 4th and 24 to give SCA the ball back with 4:11 to play. “We obviously have a lot of younger players this season and new starters, but we just all believed in the dream. There was no way we were going to let them win that game after the work we’ve put in,” senior Garrett Henry said.

Ligonier Valley burned all three timeouts earlier in the half, so the Tigers had an opportunity to run the clock out with a couple of first downs. Although Thomas and Garcia both topped the century mark on the ground, Roth decided to put the ball in the hands of his fullback to pick up the final first down and he converted. “I wasn’t thinking if I picked up the first down that we would win, but once I picked it up then it hit me. It’s definitely a great feeling for our team to make it back to the state championship,” said Nic Fetterman who picked up four first downs on carries throughout the game including the final one.

Southern Columbia’s state record of now 15 Eastern Championships will put them up against Steel Valley in the PIAA Class AA State Championship. The Tigers and Ironmen will kickoff next Saturday at 11:00 am in Hershey Park Stadium. The WPIAL champs will be Southern’s toughest opponent since 2011 when they took on Clairton with Tyler Boyd for the Class A title in Hershey. “We will be ready. There’s no questions about it,” Thomas said. The Ironmen will be the first PIAA team ever to play in the state final by winning in Mercy Rule fashion every single game along the way. Unfortunately for the Ironmen, they have to now get the job done against state’s winningest program since the state championship games were implemented in 1988.

SCA: 7-17-7-0 = 31
LV: 0-7-14-6 = 27

SOUTHERN COLUMBIA (15-0)
RUSHING:
Hunter Thomas 24-192, 2 TDs; Gaige Garcia 22-117, 2 TDs; Nic Fetterman 18-52; Julian Fleming 2-11; Stone Hollenbach 1-11
PASSING:
Stone Hollenbach 6-12-0, 55 yds
RECEIVING:
Can Young 2-21; Gaige Garcia 2-5; Julian Fleming 1-13; Hunter Thomas 1-16
1st DOWNS: 24
PENALTIES: 9-82

LIGONIER VALLEY(14-1)
RUSHING:
Collin Smith 12-123, 3 TDs
PASSING:
Collin Smith 10-27-1, 212 yds, TD
RECEIVING:
Aaron Tutino 2-120, TD; Trent Stewart 5-44; Trent Hepner 2-42; Jackson Daugherty 1-6
1st DOWNS: 14
PENALTIES: 5-45

Garcia breaks state record in SCA victory

Southern Columbia’s coaching staff has proven to be the most successful staff in all of Pennsylvania for the last three decades. With that being said, it’s hard to pick out the most surprising season during the championship-filled run, but this year may just be it. After losing 25 seniors from last year’s state championship team, and starting more freshman this year than any other, the Tigers have won their 30th consecutive football game to move to next Saturday’s PIAA Class AA Eastern Final. SCA was able to grind it out for a 20-5 victory over District XI champion Schuylkill Haven. “It was certainly a bizarre game. Not the way I had envisioned it to play out, but we got the win and that’s all that really matters at this point,” said Jim Roth who won his 395th game as Southern’s head coach.

The Tigers came in averaging a state best 50.6 points per game. The Hurricanes also were scoring in bunches averaging 41.5 per contest. Neither offense was able to have much success at all throughout the majority of the state quarterfinal clash. Southern got their points in all three phases of the game. The offense, defense, & special teams all scored a touchdown and that ultimately came down to being the difference. Schuylkill Haven only managed a field goal and safety for their handful of points. The game winning score actually came on the opening kickoff when Hunter Thomas, an all-state running back last season, returned it 93 yards to the house to give the Tigers a 7-0 lead. “I had a nice lane up the middle and I saw Garrett Henry crush a kid. Then I cut it outside to outrun their kicker. I started getting gassed at about the 20, but I was able to shake a final guy off of me to score,” Thomas said.

A lot has been talked about Southern’s “Core Four” group of freshman including Gaige Garcia, Julian Fleming, Cal Haladay, & Tegan Wilk and the quartet didn’t disappoint in the victory. After the Hurricanes kicked a 25-yd field goal to make the score 7-3, Fleming caught a simple slant route and turned it into a 65-yd touchdown to extend the lead to 14-3. “I was able to catch it in stride after clearing their defensive backs and then I just had to outrun their cover guys into the end zone,” Fleming said of his 13th receiving touchdown which is just one off of the single-season school mark. Garcia carried 10 times for 63 yards which was enough to set the school and state, yes state, freshman rushing record. “It feels good with all the great backs that have played here and everywhere. It feels even better that it happened in a win,” said Garcia who now unofficially has 1,819 yards on the season. Southern’s Jerry Marks had held the state record since 1984.

Defensively, Wilk came up with the play of the game. After the Hurricanes produced a safety to make the score 14-5 and got the ball back, the freshman picked off a pass and returned it 58 yards for a touchdown. “It comes down to the coaching staff making sure that we watch film. I was able to read that play off of film and was fortunate enough to come up with interception and return,” Wilk said. With the score 20-5, Haladay and Anthony Scicchitano came up with a combined stop on a 4th-and-goal from the one yard line to keep the Hurricanes out of the end zone to end their best chance at getting back into the game. “Shicky and I were able to make the read and stop him from getting into the end zone. There was no way that we were letting him score to get back into the game,” said Haladay who now has the third most single-season tackles in school history.

Late in the game with Schuylkill Haven in desperation mode, Cameron Young came up with a Tiger interception to officially seal the victory with under three minutes to play. The interception was the 17th of the senior’s outstanding career which set a new school mark. “It’s a cool accomplishment. I’m glad I’m able to be an example of an undersized guy that wants to compete on every play,” said Young after breaking a tie with Matt Murdock. Although the Tigers defense hasn’t gotten the credit that the high-powered offense has, they made the plays needed to preserve the victory especially down near the goal-line. “We seemed to get some good pressure on their quarterback. They had some trouble with holding onto the football and we were able to shed their blockers,” said lineman Connor Fulmer who had two sacks.

Schuylkill Haven ends their season at 12-2 and Southern Columbia sits at 14-0 and will take on undefeated Ligonier Valley next Friday night at Bald Eagle High School. “At this point in the season, no matter who you play it is going to be a big challenge. They sound like they are a much more pass-oriented team so we will have to get ready for it,” said Roth about the Tigers next opponent. Ligonier Valley is playing in the school’s first ever Eastern Final. The Tigers on the other hand are playing in their state record 16th and have only lost once in the previous 15 appearances.

SCA: 14-0-6-0 = 20
SH: 3-0-2-0 = 5

SOUTHERN COLUMBIA (14-0)

RUSHING:

Hunter Thomas 6-87; Gaige Garcia 10-63; Nic Fetterman 8-25; Stone Hollenbach 3-12; Julian Fleming 1-4

PASSING:

Hollenbach 4-12-1, 93 yds, TD

RECEIVING:

Julian Fleming 2-70, TD; Gaige Garcia 1-15; Cam Young 1-8

1st DOWNS: 8

PENALTIES: 5-43

SCHUYLKILL HAVEN (12-2)

RUSHING:

Danny Lozada 10-51; Preston Gehring 12-36; Mike Kalyan 12-35; Kobe Brish 11-29

PASSING:

Danny Lozada 3-7-1, 78 yds; Josh Kalyan 0-2-1

RECEIVING:

Preston Gehring 1-62; Mike Kalyan 1-12; Kobe Brish 1-4

1st DOWNS: 9

PENALTIES: 9-72

SCA players rewrite the record book

The questions coming into 2016 were more about who was going to replace Southern Columbia by season’s end at the top of District IV AA. Now the questions center around who on Earth will be able to stop the Tigers offense in all of Pennsylvania in AA. “We know that people were doubting us early on in the season. They didn’t think we had a team that could be as good this year after what we lost to graduation. I mean it’s hard to believe, but we were actually losing to Shamokin at halftime in the opening game of the season,” said Southern lineman John Stabinski. Now thirteen weeks later, the Tigers are a perfect 13-0, winners of 29 consecutive games, and the District IV AA Champions after beating South Williamsport in Mercy Rule fashion 49-21.

The Mountaineers actually controlled the tempo to start the game. They picked up five first downs on their opening drive and ate up over half of the quarter. Unfortunately for them, the drive came to an end with a punt and then the rest is history. “We knew that they were going to pick up their yards on the ground. They have quality players in the backfield and on the line and have had success running all year,” said Tiger coach Jim Roth. “I think our players did a good job of adjusting during that series and ultimately came up with the stop.”

Southern would score touchdowns on their first five possessions of the opening half to build a 35-0 lead at halftime. “They are very explosive as a unit and it’s just tough to stop. We knew coming in how difficult it would be to try and stop all their weapons. They can beat you in so many ways,” South Williamsport coach Chris Eiswerth said. Julian Fleming started the scoring frenzy with a 38-yard reception from Stone Hollenbach on the first Tiger drive. Then, Gaige Garcia scored on a 37-yard scamper with seven seconds left in the opening quarter. After Elijah Hoffman’s extra point, the Tigers lead was at 14-0.

In the second quarter, Hollenbach threw a pair of touchdown passes to Hunter Thomas and Fleming to extend the lead to 28-0. The touchdowns went for 55 and 25 yards respectively. “We have a lot of weapons and with that we have a lot of options to beat other defenses. Teams can’t key on one person because if they do then another player will make them pay,” said fullback Nic Fetterman. Garcia scored the final touchdown of the half on a six yard carry. The five touchdowns in the first half came over a span of just over eight minutes of game time.

After that first sustained drive by the Mountaineers, the Tigers starting defensive unit didn’t allow much more success. “All the credit should go to the coaches. We knew coming into the season that our defense wasn’t going to be as big as in years past, but we have been put in positions to succeed,” said defensive end Tyler Bendas. In the first half, the Tigers forced three turnovers and tallied five sacks to help put the game into the Mercy Rule.

In the second half, Garcia found the end zone on a 50-yard run to start the third quarter. South Williamsport finally got on the board on the next possession when junior running back Gideon Green, who finished with nearly 2,000 yards rushing on the season, found the goal line from four yards out. Fetterman answered right back with a 17-yard trot to extend the SCA lead to 49-7 after three quarters of action. In the fourth quarter, Green scored on a one yard carry and teammate Ashton Martin scored on a two yard plunge, making the final 49-21 score seem a little closer than it was.

A handful of Southern Columbia players are creeping up the record books, as well as setting new ones, during this offensive show that they have put on over the past few months. “With the youth on this team, I don’t know how much better that some of these guys could have done up to this point. Now, these players basically have a full year under their belt so they have certainly grown throughout the season,” Roth said. Fleming’s two receiving touchdowns give him 12 for the year which is tied for second in a single-season in school history. The freshman is tied with Steve Toczylousky who had 12 last season, and he trails only Andy Helwig’s record of 14 which was set in 1995. Garcia is approaching Jerry Marks’ freshman rushing record of 1,769 which was set 32 years ago. Garcia now has 1,747 heading into the state playoffs.

Hunter Thomas has now caught 59 passes in his career. With three more receptions, he would break Blake Marks’ record for the most ever by a running back which was set last season. He also sits just 124 yards away from passing Shaun Gaul for 5th on the career rushing list. Fellow senior Cam Young, who had an interception against the Mountaineers, now is tied with Matt Murdock for the most interceptions in school history with 16. Freshman linebacker Cal Haladay has moved into 10th place for tackles in a season.

Although the ground game gets much of the praise in the Tigers offensive system, Stone Hollenbach has without a doubt put together one of the best seasons ever by a Tiger quarterback in his first season with the black and gold. The sophomore has now thrown for 22 touchdown passes which breaks Matt Kaskie’s record of 21, set in 2000, for the most ever in a season. “It is definitely a tremendous honor to be mentioned with some of the greats to play quarterback for Southern. I have tried to become familiar with the past here in my first year at the school,” Hollenbach said. He has also thrown for 1,873 yards on the season moving him up three spots to third on the school’s single-season list. In the win, he moved ahead of Brad Osevala (1,807 yards), Brad Fegley (1,770 yards), & Nick Becker (1,750 yards). “Obviously last year Nick Becker was a big part in helping the team win a state title. A few years before that Brad Fegley became the first quarterback in Pennsylvania history to make a state title game without throwing an interception. It’s just an honor to be in the same category as guys like this.”

Next week’s opponent is yet to be determined. The Tigers await the winner of West Catholic vs Schuylkill Haven that is to be played today. Southern Columbia defeated West Catholic in last year’s Eastern Final. “We have to be ready to play no matter who it is. At this point in the season, it comes down to who wants it more and who is able to get the job done on both sides of the football,” Roth said.
SCA: 14-21-14-0 = 49
SW: 0-0-7-14 = 0

SOUTHERN COLUMBIA (13-0)

RUSHING:

Gaige Garcia 6-129, 3 TDs; Hunter Thomas 7-57; Nic Fetterman 5-53, TD; Thomas Manley 3-25; Cole Potter 3-5; Nate Crowl 3-7; Ty Roadarmel 2-5; Stone Hollenbach

PASSING:

Hollenbach 5-6-0, 128 yds, 3 TD

RECEIVING:

Julian Fleming 2-63, 2 TDs; Thomas 1-55, TD; Cam Young 1-13; Fetterman 1-(-3)

1st DOWNS: 14

PENALTIES: 2-19

SOUTH WILLIAMSPORT (11-2)

RUSHING:

Gideon Green 33-157, 2 TDs; Ashton Martin 11-70, TD

PASSING:

A.J. Flick 6-10-2, 44 yds

RECEIVING:

Austin Nash 2-13; Ashton Martin 2-9; Patrick West 1-18; Hunter Finn 1-4

1st DOWNS: 14

PENALTIES: 3-25

Thomas propels Southern in dominating victory

Hunter Thomas entered his senior season expecting big things. After all, he was chosen as an all-state running back after helping to lead Southern Columbia to a state championship in 2015. Unfortunately, two separate injuries have caused him to miss the better part of four games this season. However, just liked last year, he has elevated his play to an even higher level in the postseason. “It has definitely been frustrating to have to miss time because of different injuries this season, but now I’m fully healthy. Last year I felt I made my biggest impact in the playoffs, and so far it seems this postseason is going the same way and I hope it continues,” said Thomas who scored four times in helping the Tigers win 49-0 over Line Mountain in the District IV AA semi-finals. SCA’s main goal for the game was to stop the option attack that Line Mountain’s offense has used for success this season. “I thought our defense read the option well and we had guys around the football all night,” Southern coach Jim Roth said.

Southern’s defense stopped Line Mountain on a 4th and short to start the game to set up a 47-yard touchdown pass from Stone Hollenbach to Julian Fleming early on. On the next Eagles possession, Teagan Wilk intercepted a pass thrown by Kenny Boyer and four plays later Thomas scored on a 14-yard run to put him over 1,000 yards rushing for the season. “Hunter had some good runs where there was room initially, but then he found ways to turn average gains into scores,” Roth said. The Tigers would lead 14-0 after the first quarter and Line Mountain couldn’t get anything going on offense. Southern’s offense on the other hand has had things going all season long. “We have four first-year starters on this offensive line, but everyone has done the job in helping the offense to be as successful as we’ve been,” said lineman Andrew Bell who is the only returning starter up front.

SoCo would add three more touchdowns in the second quarter to put the game into the Mercy Rule by halftime. Thomas scored the first two touchdowns of the quarter on runs of 22 and 45 yards. The third touchdown was again set up by the defense after Hollenbach was intercepted on the Tigers previous offensive drive. “The defense really came to play and I felt they had a chip on their shoulder. Last week, Towanda scored some points, but this week the shutout really showed that our defense can be as good as any,” Thomas said. Tom Manley forced a fumble that was recovered by Anthony Scicchitano with less than a minute remaining in the half. Three plays later, Hollenbach connected with Fleming again, from 30 yards out, and Elijah Hoffman’s PAT made the score 35-0 at the break. “I feel like that offense is as talented as any I’ve seen in 30 years. We told our players to go out and leave it all on the field,” Line Mountain coach Brandon Carson said. “The younger kids on our team, that got to experience and play in this game, now know how much strength they need to add in the offseason to compete with a team like Southern.”

Thomas added his fourth touchdown in the third quarter on a 74-yard run. Early in the fourth quarter, Gaige Garcia sprinted 80 yards into the end zone pushing him over 1,600 yards rushing on the season and giving SCA a 49-0 lead that would hold as the final score. “It’s all a mentality. I think all of the guys were motivated to stop their option attack. We hadn’t seen that type of offense this year and we wanted to shut it down,” said Bell who also plays on the defensive line and was making stops seemingly all night. The Eagles were limited to just 129 yards of total offense in their season finale. The Tigers, who are averaging an astonishing 50.75 points per game this season, will host the District IV AA Championship game next Friday against South Williamsport on Jim Roth Field. The Mounties won a dramatic game, 28-24 over Wellsboro, in the final seconds to advance on the other half of the bracket to take on the defending state champions.

SCA: 14-21-7-7 = 49
LM: 0-0-0-0 = 0

SOUTHERN COLUMBIA (12-0)

RUSHING:

Hunter Thomas 8-168, 4 TDs; Gaige Garcia 7-111, TD; Nic Fetterman 5-27; Stone Hollenbach 2-2; Cole Potter 1-11; Ty Roadarmel 1-(-3); Nate Crowl 1-(-2)

PASSING:

Stone Hollenbach 6-10-1, 145 yds, 2 TDs

RECEIVING:

Julian Fleming 3-85, 2 TDs; Gaige Garcia 1-18; Hunter Thomas 1-20; Cam Young 1-12

1st DOWNS: 14

PENALTIES: 7-63

LINE MOUNTAIN (7-5)

RUSHING:

Kenny Boyer 24-70; Cole Hauck 5-18; Brent Osman 7-12; Brenden Cregger 3-16

PASSING:

Kenny Boyer 3-12-2, 13 yds

RECEIVING:

Breven Derk 2-5; Justin Scott 1-8

1st DOWNS: 9

PENALTIES: 2-20

Tigers offensive output was scary

Halloween ended almost a week ago, but the Southern Columbia offense has continued to be scarier than Michael Myers, Jason Voorhees, & Freddy Krueger. The Tigers opened up District IV AA playoff action with a 69-34 Mercy Rule victory over Towanda. The 69 points were the third most ever scored in a game over the program’s 53 years of existence. SCA scored 76 points in a 2004 victory over Pius X and in a 1969 win against Crestwood. “We don’t have many veterans on this team, but the younger guys have continued to impress. The mindset of everyone has flipped 180 degrees compared to where it was at during the preseason. Many people thought this could be a year of rebuilding and struggling at times,” said Southern coach Jim Roth. The only thing the Tigers may need to rebuild is another trophy case at season’s end.

Everyone has seen how lethal the Southern running game has been during the regular season, but in the first quarter it was the passing game that propelled the Tigers over the Black Knights. Stone Hollenbach became the first Southern quarterback to ever throw for four touchdowns in a single game. The sophomore accomplished the feat on four consecutive passes in the first quarter alone. “Their secondary certainly wasn’t the best and we have great athletes on this team. Everyone seemed to be wide open so it was really easy for me to just throw the ball for the receivers to catch and they did all the work,” Hollenbach said. He finished six of seven passing for 158 yards and the four touchdown tosses in the opening quarter.

Julian Fleming scored the first one on a 24-yard fade pattern into the end zone. Towanda actually tied the score at 7-7 on their opening possession thanks to a 47-yard burst by Griffon Sites. A 20-yard pass to Gaige Garcia put the Tigers back in front for good at 14-7. Then, Cam Young caught a 34-yard strike and Fleming hauled one in for a 57-yard score. “I don’t think their secondary was really prepared for that much passing out of us early on. The success of our running game has helped to set up our passing game nicely,” said Fleming. The 28-7 Southern advantage would be a mirror image of the scoring in the next quarter.

Garcia started the second quarter with touchdown runs of 10 and 56 yards to give the top-seeded Tigers a 42-7 lead. The second run put him over the 1,500 yard rushing mark for his all-state caliber freshman season. “The line has continued to do a great job of staying on their blocks. My pulling guard, Andrew Bell, has been opening running lanes for me all season,” Garcia said. The workhorse unofficially has 1,516 yards to go along with 25 touchdowns on the ground.

His partner, senior Hunter Thomas, has continued to move up the all-time rushing list for the school. On a five yard touchdown run in the second quarter, he passed Butch Romanoski for sixth on the career rushing list. Thomas now has unofficially rushed for 3,248 yards over the past three seasons. “Although we have had most of the younger guys getting the headlines this season, we still have a few outstanding seniors like Hunter,” said Roth. The score extended the lead to 49-7.

Sites scored his second touchdown for Black Knights on a one play drive on a 72-yard carry. The junior had an outstanding night in defeat by scoring four times and eclipsing 100 yards both rushing and receiving. Then just before the half, Garcia scored his fourth overall touchdown of the half on a 1-yard plunge to put the defending state champions in front 56-14 at halftime. SoCo’s offense compiled 491 yards of offense in the opening half which is the most they have produced in a half since the 2004 win over Pius X. “All of the different weapons on this team have allowed for us to have success in both the running and passing game. Teams can’t key on just one player because there are so many others players that have the ability to score,” Hollenbach said.

With reserves in for Southern, the Black Knights outscored the Tigers in the second half 20-13. There aren’t many things that the Tigers can do to improve much more this season, but Roth is still a bit concerned with the defense up front. “From week one our defensive front was our biggest concern and heading into week twelve it continues to be,” Roth said. For the second week in a row, Southern’s defense has allowed opponents to score 30+ points on them. The last time that happened in consecutive weeks was in that 2004 season, but the circumstances were a bit different. It happened in the PIAA Eastern Semi-Finals and PIAA Eastern Final, but the Tigers ultimately went on to win their third straight PIAA State Championship.

Next week’s Southern opponent will be fifth seeded Line Mountain who will bring an option-attack to Tiger Stadium. “We just need to continue to play with consistency as we have been doing offensively. The defense has been a little shaky, but we have guys that are capable of fixing it,” said Garcia. The Eagles were trailing North Penn 28-13 entering the fourth quarter, but rallied to beat them 34-28 in overtime. Towanda’s season ends at 5-6 after staring out the year with a record of 1-4. The other semi-final matchup will feature South Williamsport traveling to Wellsboro.

SCA: 28-28-0-13 = 69
TOW: 7-7-6-14 = 34

SOUTHERN COLUMBIA (11-0)

RUSHING:

Gaige Garcia 11-178, 3 TDs; Hunter Thomas 11-130, TD; Nic Fetterman 6-39, TD; Julian Fleming 1-10; Preston Zachman 3-29; Nate Crowl 3-19; Ty Roadarmel 3-9; Cole Potter 2-4; Stone Hollenbach 1-(-2); Justin Derk 1-(-3)

PASSING:

Stone Hollenbach 6-7-0, 158 yds, 4 TDs; Justin Derk 1-1-0, 11 yds

RECEIVING:

Julian Fleming 3-90, 2 TDs; Cam Young 2-48, TD; Gaige Garcia 1-20, TD; Nic Fetterman 1-11

1st DOWNS: 22

PENALTIES: 2-15

TOWANDA (5-6)

RUSHING:

Griffin Sites 6-141, 3 TDs; Keegan Kisner 17-87, TD; Dalton Potter 2-31; Tanner Kunkle 4-20

PASSING:

Tanner Kunkle 11-18-1, 126 yds, TD

RECEIVING:

Dalton Potter 5-10; Griffin Sites 4-105, TD

1st DOWNS: 12

PENALTIES: 1-5

Towanda stats courtesy of Damien Scoblink (PE)

5 Straight Perfect Regular Seasons

Sometimes in life, it’s important to just sit back and appreciate greatness. Whether you’re a supporter of Southern Columbia football or not, the reality is what they have done, are doing, and will almost certainly continue to do is great. For the fifth straight season, the Tigers will head to the postseason without a loss on their resume. The regular season ended on Friday night with Southern Columbia beating Selinsgrove 52-35 in a scoring frenzy on Jim Roth Field. “We were expecting them to be tough in the passing game obviously, but they really hurt us on the ground. We were able to come up with some big plays though to pick up the win,” said Jim Roth after the Tigers 51st consecutive regular season victory. It was also the 26th straight win overall.

If you’re a fan of stats, the regular season finale was filled with them. Southern senior halfback Hunter Thomas went over the 3,000 rushing yard mark for his career, becoming just the 8th Tiger to ever reach that milestone. He’s less than 500 yards from cracking the school’s top five. Selinsgrove’s Logan Leiby set the school’s single-season completions record of 177. The junior quarterback broke the record that had stood since 1979. SCA’s Julian Fleming became the first freshman since 2009 in all of District IV to go over 500 yards receiving during a season. Oh, and a player on each team rushed for over 200 yards, another quarterback threw for a career high, a receiver had 140 yards, and none of their names have been mentioned yet.

The skills position players are the ones that garner most of the press throughout the season, but to be elite it takes the efforts of the players that do most of their work outside of the spotlight. After the first quarter ended without any scoring, the Tigers outscored the Seals 24-7 in the second quarter. That lead ultimately provided Southern with enough security to hold on until the end of the game. Key plays by linebacker Anthony Scicchitano, fullback Nic Fetterman, and kicker Elijah Hoffman sparked the Tigers in helping them take a three score advantage to the halftime break.

The Seals drove down the field to start the game, but a third down pass breakup in the end zone by Scicchitano forced Selinsgrove into missing a field goal. “Our scout team ran a lot of passing plays in all kinds of situations during the week. We knew we had to stop their pass attack. I was able to get good position to knock the ball away on that play,” said Scicchitano. Thomas scored for the Tigers on a four yard run to put the home team up 7-0 after Southern’s first possession. Fetterman, who has been primarily used as a blocker this season, scored the second touchdown on a 14-yard carry. “Being that it’s my senior year, I wanted to end the regular season on a positive note. I was determined to score on that run,” Fetterman said.

With Southern in front 14-0, Scicchitano came up with another big play. This time the junior intercepted a Logan Leiby pass to set up the team’s third score. “As an inside linebacker, it’s rare to have the chance to intercept a pass, so I’m glad I had the opportunity to help get the ball back in our offense’s hands,” he said. Thomas scored from a yard out to make the score 21-0. Leiby scored on a short run on the following possession, but the Tigers were able to drive down the field with under a half minute remaining in the half. Hoffman kicked a 30-yard field goal on the final play of the half to make it a three score game at 24-7. “I was hoping to get an opportunity to kick a field goal and the offense gave me that chance. I was happy to see it go through the uprights,” said Hoffman.

The third quarter, which seemed to last longer than the movie Titanic, resulted in both teams trading touchdowns for the majority of it. Gaige Garcia, who finished with 218 yards rushing, extended the Tigers lead to 31-7 on an eight yard run after a big pass from Stone Hollenbach to Fleming. “We have so many weapons on this team. It’s fun to be a part of it all. We don’t have just one guy that other teams can key on,” said Hollenbach who finished with a career high of 226 yards passing. Ricky Cope scored on a 23-yard catch on Selinsgrove’s opening drive of the second half. Garcia then fumbled on the next drive after rushing for a 39-yard gain. Joseph Kahn carried the ball 56 yards just three plays later for the Seals to make the score 31-21.

Roth wanted to show his freshman halfback that he didn’t lose an ounce of confidence in him. He gave the ball to him on the first play of the next drive, and Garcia came up clutch as he has time and time again during his freshman campaign. “I was mad after that fumble, but I was glad that I had the chance to make up for it with that next touchdown,” Garcia said about his 55-yard touchdown run. He then scored on the next drive, this time on a 20-yard dash, to put Southern up 45-21. Garrett Campbell, who lead Selinsgrove with 207 yards rushing, scored from 18 yards and then again from 68 yards to make the score 45-35 after three quarters.

The highlight of the fourth quarter was a Cam Young interception as the Seals were trying to make it a one score game. The senior corner was able to pick it off of the the intended receivers back after the ball bounced around multiple times. “The ball hit his leg, then it bounced off of me, and I was finally able to dive and pull it off of his back before it hit the ground,” Young said. Leiby, who is on pace to break the school’s single season completion percentage record, had his most inaccurate game of the season by completing well under 50% off his passes and throwing three interceptions.

Thomas scored the lone touchdown of the fourth quarter less than a minute later from 25 yards out to make the final score 52-35 in favor of the Tigers. Selinsgrove will open the District IV AAAA playoffs next week at home. The loss dropped them to the two-seed, so the Seals will host a Shikellamy squad that beat them earlier in the season. Southern will be the top-seed in the District IV AA playoffs and barring a miracle, the Tigers are three weeks away from walking away with yet another district championship. “Now is when the fun really begins. It’s do-or-die time and we can’t have any let downs. Our goal is to defend our state championship and win another one,” Thomas said. Southern will host Towanda in round one.

SCA: 0-24-21-7 = 52
SEL: 0-7-28-0 = 35

SOUTHERN COLUMBIA (10-0)

RUSHING:

Gaige Garcia 19-218, 3 TDs; Hunter Thomas 13-161, 3 TDs Nic Fetterman 9-68, TD; Julian Fleming 1-14; Stone Hollenbach 2-7; Jeffrey Cox 1-9; Thomas Manley 1-3

PASSING:

Stone Hollenbach 11-19-0, 226 yds

RECEIVING:

Julian Fleming 5-112; Hunter Thomas 3-97; Cam Young 2-22; Gaige Garcia 1-(-5)

1st DOWNS: 24

PENALTIES: 6-54

SELINSGROVE (7-3)

RUSHING

Garrett Campbell 14-207, 2 TDs; Joseph Kahn 2-60; TD; Logan Leiby 6-10, TD

PASSING:

Logan Leiby 16-41-3, 285 yds, TD

RECEIVING:

Jarrett Inch 7-140; Ricky Cope 4-95, TD; Ryan Bucher 3-20; Garrett Campbell 1-21; Kody Showers 1-9

1st DOWNS: 18

PENALTIES: 1-11

Tigers Torment Blue Jays

Go back to week nine of the 2011 regular season if you are looking for the last time that Southern Columbia has lost a regular season game. In that game, the Tigers gave up a two touchdown lead in the fourth quarter to Mount Carmel Area to lose 22-21. Ironically, the argument can be made that the 2011 squad may have been the best team that the Tigers have had during this remarkable run of winning 50 straight regular season games. There’s no reason to argue though, because the past five Tiger teams have put together a run that hasn’t been done many times in Pennsylvania history. The 50th, and most recent win, came on Jim Roth Field with the Tigers pummeling Central Columbia 49-6.

The weather was as ugly as it has been during the winning streak, but Southern Columbia’s offense, defense, and special teams were the exact opposite of ugly on their home field. “I was really pleased with the way we played in all of the phases. It’s nice to be clicking at the right time in the season,” said Tiger coach Jim Roth. Southern’s defense held the Blue Jays to just 22 total yards on 24 plays in the first half.

The Tigers were playing with heavy hearts on Friday night. The school’s field hockey coach, Ellen Sosnoski, passed away a week prior in a tragic house fire. “It was a sad week for the whole school. A tragic loss like that, but everyone has supported everyone since the incident. The community has been very supportive for Ellen’s family and team. I’m glad we got the win to end the week for her memory,” Hunter Thomas said. The Southern senior scored three first half touchdowns on the ground and finished with 127 yards.

Thomas scored the first touchdown on the team’s first drive that went 10 plays for 68 yards. The scores came on a short one yard plunge. Special teams contributed to the next score, when Tyler Bendas blocked a punt out of the end zone to move the lead to 9-0. Tight end Garrett Henry caught a touchdown pass of 11 yards from Stone Hollenbach to extend the lead after the Tigers got the ball back following the safety. “I love blocking, so I don’t really care about catching the ball all that much. I do get credit when I catch the ball though since it doesn’t happen often and I hope the girls like it,” Henry said while smiling after the game. Gaige Garcia had a one yard carry to give the Tigers a commanding 21-0 lead after the first twelve minutes.

Henry caught an 18-yard pass for a score to start the second quarter. His second touchdown was a rare feat as the senior became the first tight end since Sean Connaghan in 2000 to catch two TD passes in one game. “I didn’t expect to get the ball at all tonight with the rain, but things opened up for me. I enjoyed the action,” said Henry. His quarterback played an efficient first half, completing all but one pass. “Stone Hollenbach deserves some of the credit too. Obviously Garrett has to get open, but Stone did a good job of looking off of his primary targets to find him,” said Roth.

Thomas finished off his first half hat trick with rushing touchdowns of 70 and 11 yards. With the Tigers leading 42-0 at halftime, the starters were able to rest after the break. “With the field being wet, it was harder to cut on running plays. The holes were just ridiculous though so a lot of it was running straight forward. The line definitely got the job done,” Thomas said. Each team scored one touchdown in the second half. Jeffrey Cox had a rushing touchdown of two yards for Southern in the third quarter. On the final play of the game, Central completed a 54-yard pass from Aaron Farver to Zander Bradley for a touchdown.

In the regular season finale next week, Central Columbia will carry a three game losing streak back home to host rival Bloomsburg. That game will potentially be for the final playoff spot in the District IV AA eight team field. The top-seeded Tigers, who have a comfortable lead over second seed Wellsboro, will play host to a dangerous Selinsgrove team that is finally healthy. The final regular season game, for the third consecutive season, will be the premiere crossover matchup in the Heartland Conference. “Seeing what they were able to do against Mount Carmel, it will be a good test for us heading into the playoffs. They have been able to throw the ball successfully all season and that is where we can use some extra work,” said Roth.

SCA: 21-21-7-0 = 49
CC: 0-0-0-6 = 6

SOUTHERN COLUMBIA (9-0)

RUSHING:

Hunter Thomas 9-127, 3 TDs; Gaige Garcia 7-69, TD; Nic Fetterman 4-31; Nate Crowl 6-56; Jeffrey Cox 7-43, TD; Thomas Manley 3-38; Ty Roadarmel 4-28; Cole Potter 2-(-3)

PASSING:

Stone Hollenbach 8-9-0, 127 yds, 2 TDs

RECEIVING:

Garrett Henry 3-38, 2 TDs; Cam Young 3-62; Julian Fleming 2-27

1st DOWNS: 21

PENALTIES: 3-32

CENTRAL COLUMBIA (4-5)

RUSHING

Isaac Gensemer 11-42; Jack Schechterly 8-28; Trae Devlin 2-16; Cole Sweitzer 2-2; Justin Mungo 1-1; Andrew Fritz 3-(-2);

PASSING:

Aaron Farver 2-6-0, 6 yds; Trae Devlin 1-3-0, 54 yds, TD

RECEIVING:

Jensen Thivierge 2-6; Zander Bradley 1-54, TD

1st DOWNS: 6

PENALTIES: 3-15

Tigers were too much for Ironmen

Coming off of last year’s state championship, many of the media outlets and fans didn’t give Southern Columbia much thought entering this season. It was Montoursville and Danville garnering much of the publicity around the conference, and the Tigers were out of the spotlight. Most people thought that the young cats would be too inexperienced from the graduation effect that hit them harder than any other team arguably in the state. Eight weeks into the season, the Tigers now have the full spotlight all to themselves. They are officially the 2016 Heartland Conference Division II champions after sweeping through their five divisional matchups with relative ease. Southern Columbia is also the only team left in any of the three divisions still undefeated at this point in the season.

Danville is Southern’s latest victim after the Tigers stormed into Ironmen Stadium to ruin their Homecoming by winning 47-7 via the Mercy Rule. In the process, freshman halfback Gaige Garcia went over 1,000 yards rushing and sophomore quarterback Stone Hollenbach hit the 1,000 yard passing plateau. It was Julian Fleming’s performance however that, for the second week in a row, stole the show. “We thought as a staff that we needed to get the ball in Fleming’s hands more often, and the easiest way to do that is to just hand it to him,” said Southern coach Jim Roth. “Back in 2002, we moved Matt Murdock from wide receiver to a halfback position at times during the year we finally got over the hump and won a state title after finishing in second for that long stretch. Other than that, Fleming is only the second guy we have ever done this with.”

The latest wrinkle is another way for the Tigers to use their speed and athleticism to burn opposing defenses. “I was nervous when they first told me about playing some halfback. Obviously receiver is still my main position, but now I will get a few chances to carry the ball as well,” Fleming said. He only officially carried the football one time for 16 yards, but he torched the Danville defense at his primary position out wide. The freshman had three catches on the night for 119 yards and two of them went for scores. Garcia rushed for 128 yards and Hunter Thomas gained 127 yards with both of them reaching the end zone twice.

Thomas started the scoring on the first drive with a 40-yard dash. The Ironmen came close to evening the score on their first possession, but a third down sack by Thomas Manley forced Danville into trying a 31-yard field goal attempt that sailed wide-right. “It’s important for our defense to make opposing offenses feel uncomfortable. We try to get as much pressure on the quarterback as we can,” said Manley who got to Danville’s Peyton Riley three times on the night. Two plays later Fleming caught a pass from Hollenbach, having to reach low and behind him on a crossing route, and he stayed in motion through the process to outrace the Ironmen secondary down the sideline for a 75-yard touchdown to put SCA up 14-0 after the first quarter.

Danville got their leading rusher Trent Hilkert, who won the Homecoming King at halftime, back onto the field after a two-week hiatus due to a leg injury. He scored the Ironmen’s lone touchdown on the night on a 71-yard carry to cut the Tigers lead in half. Garcia scored on the next drive with a run of 21 yards. Then, with less than a minute remaining in the half, Fleming made a SportsCenter Top Ten worthy one-handed catch on a fourth-and-goal from the nine to put Southern in control 27-7 at the break. “I didn’t run the best route, but Stone Hollenbach threw it up nicely to give me a chance at the ball. I was able to get enough of my one hand on it while falling back to luckily pull it in over the defender. The guy covering had good coverage, but I thought he may have fell,” Fleming said of the play.

Southern’s defense was able to get pressure on Riley for most of the second half to limit any chance at a comeback bid. “We don’t have the biggest set of linebackers, but we have a lot of athleticism that allows us to use speed to get to the quarterback. Our inside linebackers are quick off the snap and that helps the outside linebackers get to the quarterback when he has to scramble outside,” said linebacker Drew Michaels who was in on two of the sacks. The one bright spot for Danville in the second half was the pass-catching ability of tight end Shane Kozick who caught nine passes in the game. “The defense played pretty well overall, but we were in a couple of situations over the course of the game where they had success moving the ball in the air. We kept them out of the end zone on those drives which is a positive sign at this point in the season,” Roth said.

Garcia scored the only touchdown of the third quarter on a one-play drive that went for a 72-yard rushing score. Thomas added a rushing touchdown of two yards early in the fourth quarter and reserve fullback Ty Roadarmel finished off the night’s scoring with a five yard run. The Tigers head home next week, after a three game road trip, to take on Central Columbia. The Ironmen head to Shamokin to try and end their three game losing skid.

SCA: 14-13-7-13 = 47
DAN: 0-7-0-0 = 7

SOUTHERN COLUMBIA (8-0)

RUSHING:

Gaige Garcia 7-128, 2 TDs; Hunter Thomas 12-127, 2 TDs; Nic Fetterman 8-18; Stone Hollenbach 2-16; Julian Fleming 1-16; Ty Roadarmel 3-28, TD; Nate Crowl 4-36; Cole Potter 1-3

PASSING:

Stone Hollenbach 5-9-0, 155 yds, 2 TDs

RECEIVING:

Julian Fleming 3-119, 2 TDs; Garrett Henry 1-20; Hunter Thomas 1-16

1st DOWNS: 18

PENALTIES: 4-45

DANVILLE (4-4)

RUSHING:

Trent Hilkert 16-113, TD; Gannon Feldmann 6-50; Joey Harris 6-37; Zach Zerbe 3-18

PASSING:

Peyton Riley 10-14-0, 105 yds

RECEIVING:

Shane Kozick 9-97; Peyton Persing 1-8

1st DOWNS: 16

PENALTIES: 1-15

SCA won in all three phases against Montoursville

Ever since last November’s District IV championship thriller, both the Tigers and Warriors have anxiously been awaiting the sequel. Given the fact that Southern Columbia and Montoursville were the only two remaining undefeated teams in the 18 team Heartland Conference, it added that much more hype to the matchup. “The guys knew going in that tonight was the only time we would play each other this year with Montoursville moving up from AA to AAA with the new classifications. That and the fact that both teams were 6-0 added to the buildup,” said Southern coach Jim Roth. His Tigers took advantage of the only chance that they would have to take on the Warriors in 2016 by winning on the road in convincing fashion 42-21. The result showed fans around the conference that Southern is once again the best in the business.

Last season, seniors Hunter Thomas and Cam Young were important assets to the Tigers in their state championship run. This season the media has been focusing more on the talented freshman class that Southern has on their roster including the likes of Gaige Garcia and Julian Fleming. The core four didn’t disappoint on Friday night at Memorial Stadium. “When we get on a roll we are tough to compete with. Tonight our offense didn’t have to play as much because the defense and special teams were both scoring points,” Thomas said. He scored on a rushing touchdown and also caught a touchdown pass. Fleming had a pick six and added a long kickoff return for a score. Young also had a pick six and Garcia reached pay dirt on the ground.

The primary concern for Southern coming in was playing solid pass defense against Montoursville’s prolific throw-first offense which was spearheaded by senior quarterback Brycen Mussina. The Tigers used different personnel packages and constantly blitzed to make life uneasy for Mussina. “Our defensive line and linebackers did a great job of forcing pressure all night. It’s a lot easier in pass coverage when the other quarterback can’t just sit back and wait for receivers to get open,” said Fleming who is working in some at the corner position opposite of Young with the lack of production leading up to the game from other players. On 35 pass attempts, Mussina threw 23 of them on the run while being chased down by voracious Tiger pass rushers.

On the opening drive of the game, Southern Columbia drove down the field threatening to score until Stone Hollenbach was intercepted by Nolan Ott in the end zone putting a halt to the scoring chance. Montoursville couldn’t capitalize on their first possession and gave the ball back to the Tigers on a three-and-out. Thomas, who had missed the last two games with an injury, scored the first touchdown of the game on a 25-yard run. “That was a tremendous feeling. The doctors told me initially that I’d be out at least two to three weeks, but in my head I knew I was going to make sure I was back for this one,” said the running back. The next SCA score would come from the defense when Young intercepted a pass and returned it 41 yards to put the defending state champions in front 14-0 after the opening quarter. “They seemed like they were trying to test me out early. I haven’t had many passes thrown in my direction this season, so I just try to make the most out of each opportunity,” Young said.

The Warriors got on the scoreboard with 5:17 left in the first half on a 1-yard run by Torin Lewis which was set up by a 35-yard pass completion to Ott. Fleming didn’t give the home crowd much time to cheer as he returned the ensuing kickoff 96 yards for a touchdown to make the score 21-7 in favor of the Tigers. “Julian Fleming wasn’t fazed at all in the big moment. Our goal right now is actually figuring out ways to get the ball in his hands more often with how explosive that he can be,” said Roth. Southern had a chance to expand on their lead before the half, but Hollenbach’s second interception put an end to the threat. Riley Conboy intercepted the pass at the 1-yard line and Montoursville ran out the rest of the clock to head to the locker rooms for the intermission.

Montoursville drove right down the field to start the third quarter, but they fumbled on a mishandled snap at the 11. Southern defensive tackle Troy Donlan was in the right spot to pounce on it. “Luckily their guard let me right through on the play and I was able to get right on it. When I was on the ground I was just yelling that I had it and didn’t let go,” said the sophomore. After turning the ball over on downs, it was Fleming’s turn to come up with the big defensive play. He intercepted a Mussina pass at the 12-yard line and returned it 88 yards for the defense’s second score on the night. “I was in tight coverage and was able to jump the route. Connor Fulmer then had a great block on the return which helped me get into the end zone,” Fleming said. After Elijah Hoffman’s point after, the Tigers were leading 28-7.

On the second play of the fourth quarter, Mussina found his favorite target in Mitch Rothrock and he scored on a 55-yard pass. Southern answered the call on the first offensive play of their next drive with the same result. A 55-yard pass from Hollebach to Thomas put the Tigers lead back up to three touchdowns at 35-14. Thomas carried two defenders on his back for the final eight yards until reaching the goal line. The lack of tackling was a common theme for the Warriors throughout the night in the loss. “Schematically we were in the position to make plays, but we just didn’t get it done. We have been talking about improving on our tackling and we didn’t. They have some good players and you need to make tackles to have any type of success,” Montoursville coach J.C. Keefer said.

Tom Shea made the score 35-21 with 7:41 left in the game on an end-around run that went five yards for a score. Garcia, who was the game’s leading rusher with 110 yards, ended any comeback bid that the Warriors were thinking when he broke three tackles on his travels to the end zone. The touchdown run covered 42 yards and put Garcia over the 900-yard mark on the season through his first seven career games. “It’s definitely not a secret anymore that we have talented young players. The freshman class is one of the strongest we have had, so the ones playing varsity football are certainly capable of getting the job done and haven’t disappointed,” said Roth.

Montoursville will try to rebound next week as they take on a Milton squad that is about as depleted as a team possibly can be. The Black Panthers haven’t been competitive at all during their 0-7 start. Southern will head on the road for the third consecutive week to take the on Danville. The Ironmen received a lot of preseason hype, but they haven’t been able to live up to it and currently sit at 4-3 after two straight losses.

SCA: 14-7-7-14 = 42
MTV: 0-7-0-14 = 21

SOUTHERN COLUMBIA (7-0)

RUSHING:

Hunter Thomas 10-88, TD; Gaige Garcia 9-110, TD; Nic Fetterman 10-33; Stone Hollenbach 2-6; Ty Roadarmel 1-5; Nate Crowl 2-15

PASSING:

Stone Hollenbach 9-14-2, 116 yds, TD

RECEIVING:

Hunter Thomas 3-57, TD; Cam Young 2-18; Julian Fleming 1-14; Gaige Garcia 2-22; Nic Fetterman 1-5

1st DOWNS: 16

PENALTIES: 7-36

MONTOURSVILLE (6-1)

RUSHING:

Nolan Ott 13-34; Torin Lewis 7-16, TD; Brycen Mussina 8-10; Logan Ott 2-6; Tom Shea 1-5, TD; Keegan Leahy 1-1.

PASSING:

Brycen Mussina 16-35-2, 252 yds., TD

RECEIVING:

Riley Conboy 6-66; Mitch Rothrock 4-86, TD; Tom Shea 3-47; Nolan Ott 1-35; Aaron Stoner 1-19; Keegan Leahy 1-(-1)

1st DOWNS: 16

PENALTIES: 1-15

Montoursville stats provided by Damien Scoblink (PE)

Garcia finishes with 200 yards rushing

There were a lot of footballs being kicked in the first half of Friday night’s rainy game at Alumni Stadium in Milton. Southern Columbia’s kicker Elijah Hoffman kicked six successful extra points and then kicked off after each of the scores which included four touchdowns from halfback Gaige Garcia. On the other side, Milton’s punter had to punt five times on the Black Panthers eight first half possessions. The other three times they had the ball their drives ended in lost fumbles. Southern’s punter didn’t get to put his foot on the pigskin. For the third consecutive week, Milton hasn’t forced the opposition into punting a single time. With all of that being said, it’s no surprise that the Tigers were able to devour the Black Panthers 56-0 to move to 6-0 on the season.

The goal for the Tigers coming in was to take care of business early in order to get the starters out of the game as soon as possible.  They were able to do just that. “We wanted to stay healthy knowing that the Montoursville game next week is a big one. Unfortunately, we lost Hunter Thomas a couple of weeks ago and hope to have him back soon,” said Garcia who finished with 200 yards on just eight carries for an average of 25 yards per touch. In the first quarter, the freshman scored on rushes of 10 and 39 yards to give the Tigers an early 14-0 advantage. Senior Nic Fetterman tacked on the third touchdown of the opening quarter on an 18-yard run up the middle untouched to make the score 21-0.

Southern Columbia would equal their first quarter scoring output in the second quarter. Garcia started it with a one yard carry. Halfback Thomas Manley, who is Thomas’ replacement in the backfield, scored next on a 7-yard carry behind the solid blocking of the offensive line. “We started off really well with our running game. Our goal was to execute the game plan and to get ready for next week,” said offensive lineman John Stabinski. With 5:22 left in the first half, Garcia finished off his impressive performance with an 83-yard run to make the score 42-0 at the half on his final carry. It was his fourth touchdown against a Black Panthers depleted defense. “The line gave us some really nice holes to run through. Hopefully our running game is able to stay as good as it has been for the rest of the season,” Garcia said.

The Tigers added a seventh rushing touchdown in the third quarter and an eighth in the fourth. Ty Roadarmel scored both of them on carries of two and nine yards respectively. “We were hopeful that the starters would take care of business to get the backups and younger kids some reps. The starters got the job done in the first half allowing us to rest them for the rest of the game,” said Southern coach Jim Roth. The only area that the Tigers struggled with at times was trying to work in the passing game. Throwing the ball is a phase that the coaching staff wants to keep in place to give the offense balance from here on out. “With the weather conditions and not knowing how long the starters would play, we wanted to throw the football early. That’s the one area that we could have executed better in,” Roth said. Quarterback Stone Hollenbach threw his first interception of the season in the first half while trying to find an open receiver in the end zone.

Next Friday, the Black Panthers travel to The Silver Bowl to take on the Mount Carmel Area Red Tornadoes. MCA is coming off of a much needed win at Danville. The game of the week in the conference, and arguably across the state, will be the undefeated Tigers traveling to take on undefeated Montoursville. Last season, the Tigers defeated the Warriors in a playoff thriller by a score of 56-50 in the district championship.

SCA: 21-21-7-7 = 56
MIL: 0-0-0-0 = 0

SOUTHERN COLUMBIA (6-0)

RUSHING:

Gaige Garcia 8-200, 4 TDs; Thomas Manley 4-65, TD; Nic Fetterman 3-35, TD; Ty Roadarmel 8-52, 2 TDs; Preston Zachman 1-25; Nate Crowl 5-24; Stone Hollenbach 2-13; Justin Derk 1-6; Cole Potter 3-24

PASSING:

Stone Hollenbach 5-12-1, 101 yds

RECEIVING:

Cam Young 1-54; Julian Fleming 2-17; Nic Fetterman 1-16; Anthony Scicchitano 1-14

1st DOWNS: 19

PENALTIES: 8-55

MILTON (0-6)

RUSHING:

Mason Whitmyer 12-35; Eric Wilt 11-19; Quaylin Rice 3-12; Michael Young 2-6; Jalil Garrison 4-4; Phil Davis 2-(-22)
PASSING:

Phil Davis 5-15-0, 98 yds

RECEIVING:

Jalil Garrison 4-56; Alex Garcia 1-42

1st DOWNS: 8

PENALTIES: 6-42

Milton stats provided by the Press Enterprise

Head of the Tiger Dynasty

Back in 1984, the Southern Columbia football team was starting to finally turn things around after two decades filled with a lot of pain and heartache. Winning was at a minimum for the better part of the first two decades of the team’s existence. A program that was established in 1963. A man by the name of Jim Roth took over the Tiger program, and from that point on there hasn’t been a more successful coach in the entire state of Pennsylvania or in the country for that matter. For that, Tiger Stadium’s playing field has now been officially named Jim Roth Field. “It’s definitely an honor that I appreciate. I want to make sure that all of the past players that played in the program know that they aren’t forgotten. Without those guys that came before, you don’t have the pride, tradition, and long term success,” Roth said. Looking at all of the high school football coaches across all 50 states in the USA, Coach Roth has won more games than any other coach over the span of the last 33 seasons.

As far as Pennsylvania is considered, Roth’s accomplishments stand above the rest in virtually every aspect. The Southern Columbia coach, along with his excellent staff including defensive coordinator Andy Mills who has been part of it since the beginning of Roth’s tenure, has won a state record of 7 state championships & 14 eastern championships. The District IV gold medal has been captured by the Tigers in 23 out of the last 25 years. “When you’re talking about a football program, there are so many parts that have to come together to make it work. As a head coach, you need to have assistant coaches that are willing to put in the time and be dedicated. I can’t ask for anything better than what I have had,” said the head coach. From 1994 to 2006, Southern Columbia made state championship game appearances in all but one year.

His team’s longest winning streak spanned from 1993 to 1995 when the black & gold won 32 consecutive games. The longest regular season winning streak currently is still in tact at 46 consecutive games dating back to 2011. “If this was going to happen with the naming of the field, I’d rather have it happen now then when I’m not around to see it. It’s an enjoyable time now to experience it coming off of a state championship season,” Roth said. His football teams have never lost more than two games in a row over the last 33 seasons. To put that into perspective, area teams such as Bloomsburg, Central Columbia, Danville, Mount Carmel, and Shamokin all have had stretches of more than two losses in a row at some point since the start of last season alone. Roth’s now 386 wins to just 62 losses gives him a national record of the highest winning percentage, at over 86%, of any coach that has coached since 1980 in the United States.

He also sits 4th all-time in total coaching victories in Pennsylvania and is now exactly 70 victories from the late George Curry’s all-time state record. Maybe the most impressive stat of them all is the fact that he has never had a losing season in over three decades. Look around at some successful programs across the state like Allentown Central Catholic, Bethlehem Catholic, Bishop Guilfoyle, Farrell, Jeannette, Lancaster Catholic, Parkland, Rochester, Selinsgrove, & St. Joseph’s Prep. They’ve each had at least one losing season during the first half of this decade alone. Also, it must be taken into consideration that SCA doesn’t have the luxury that the private schools have around the state of bringing in recruits from other districts. That fact makes the accomplishments even more mind boggling. “As a coaching staff we kind of set the tone as to what we are doing. However, it is up to the players to put the effort in to keep the tradition rolling with how all of the past players have gotten us to the point that we are at now,” said Roth.

Tigers post shutout on an eventful night

Lewisburg gained four yards. There are probably a few questions running through your head at this point after reading that statement. Four yards on what: their first carry, their first pass, or their first touchdown? The answer to that statement is simple…in the game. The Southern Columbia defense posted a shutout in another Mercy Rule fashion. This time the Green Dragons were the victims with the Tigers winning 35-0. “This was definitely the best our defense has played this season. Our defensive line was in the backfield all game it seemed,” said Cam Young who scored both an offensive and defensive touchdown in the victory.

Lewisburg came in to Tiger Stadium on a bad night for any opponent. Southern Columbia was celebrating their annual Homecoming by honoring the 1966 Susquehanna Valley League champions on the 50^th anniversary. The school also held a postgame ceremony to recognize Jim Roth with their home field being renamed after him. “It’s certainly an honor that I appreciate. It’s not as much about me as it is about all of the players past and present that have been a part of the program. I’m grateful for the gesture. As for the game, I’m glad that our defense was able to control the game the way that they did tonight,” Roth said. The Tigers held the Green Dragons to negative-5 yards rushing on 21 attempts which almost defies belief.

Through the first three losses that the Green Dragons have suffered this season, the offensive line has given up 22 sacks. The Tigers added to that total with five more in handing Lewisburg their fourth loss of the year. “We knew coming in that we had to establish pressure early. That was the game plan coming in and we were able to execute. We played with a chip on our shoulder because our defense has been a little shaky at times this year,” said Tyler Bendas who had two of the sacks. It wasn’t until there was 2:30 left in the first half when Lewisburg was able to finally crack through and pick up a first down after their first five drives ended with three-and-outs. The next play, after picking up their lone first down of the night, Young intercepted a pass and took it 49 yards for a touchdown to add to the struggle.

The storyline coming in was SCA’s quarterback Stone Hollenbach going against his former team as the sophomore was a Lewisburg player a season ago. “I think he was nervous at first tonight for sure. I mean anyone would be in that situation. They were talking a lot of smack before the game about how they were going to beat us. Clearly that wasn’t even close to happening, and I thought the line improved a lot tonight from last week,” said Southern center Troy Donlan. Hollenbach’s stats didn’t jump off of the paper, but he was operative in completing 8 of 11 passes for 91 yards and a score. His opposition, freshman Nicholas Shedleski, completed just one pass on the night for nine yards while also throwing a pick six.

Gaige Garcia started the Tigers scoring with two short runs. He scored on a one yard run with 3:36 left in the first quarter and then again on another one yard carry with 10:27 to play in the half. Elijah Hoffman’s two extra points helped to put Southern in front 14-0. Thomas Manley, who is filling in for injured star Hunter Thomas, added the third touchdown of the game with a four yard run and then Young’s defensive score lifted the Tigers lead to 28-0 at halftime. “We controlled both sides of the line all game. We didn’t let their quarterback get comfortable at any point. Then our offense was able to get the ball back in good field position most of the time after they had to punt,” defensive end Jeffrey Cox said. Young put the game into the Mercy Rule early in the third quarter when he caught three passes for 49 yards on the opening drive after half including an 11-yard scoring strike from Hollenbach. Hoffman’s fifth successful PAT made the game 35-0 with no more scoring for the rest of the action.

Lewisburg plays another tough opponent next week as they travel to play Montoursville in a divisional meeting. The Tigers have arguably their easiest matchup of the season next Friday when they travel to take on winless Milton who hasn’t been competitive really at any point thus far. “It was good to see our defense post a shutout like they did. As a coaching staff, we are always looking for improvements as the season progresses and we hope to build on this performance moving forward,” Roth said. The win moved Southern’s regular season winning streak to 46 consecutive games.

SCA: 7-21-7-0 = 35
LBG: 0-0-0-0 = 0

SOUTHERN COLUMBIA (4-0)

RUSHING:

Gaige Garcia 11-85, 2 TDs; Nic Fetterman 9-65; Thomas Manley 5-15, TD; Nate Crowl 8-47; Stone Hollenbach 1-10; Teagan Wilk 3-8; Ty Roadarmel 6-23; Tristan Heim 1-1

PASSING:

Stone Hollenbach 8-11-0, 91 yds, TD

RECEIVING:

Cam Young 3-49, TD; Julian Fleming 2-21; Thomas Manley 1-9; Gaige Garcia 1-8; Nic Fetterman 1-4

1st DOWNS: 19

PENALTIES: 3-20

LEWISBURG (1-4)

RUSHING:

Trey Delbaugh 7-10; Donte Malone 1-10; Andrew Ramirez 4-2; Hunter Murphy 1-2; Charles Blough 3-(-5); Nicholas Shedleski 5-(-24)

PASSING:

Nicholas Shedleski 1-8-1, 9 yds

RECEIVING:

Nathan Gose 1-9

1st DOWNS: 1

PENALTIES: 1-5

Lewisburg stats provided by Damien Scoblink (PE)

Passing game comes alive for SoCo

When a program has established itself as the most dominant one in the state over the past two decades, it comes with almost flawless expectations. A week ago, Southern Columbia came out of the locker room on fire and put the Mount Carmel Area Red Tornadoes on the back burner and into the Mercy Rule by scoring on every drive. This week, the Mercy Rule still was put in place during the Tigers win at Hughesville, but the results were drastically different. The Tigers, who have now won a program-record of 45 straight regular season games, almost seemed defeated after another victory. “We lost our focus tonight for sure. The attitudes were different after halftime compared to last week. Our mentality didn’t seem to be the same and it showed even in a win,” said Tiger two-way lineman Andrew Bell. SCA moved to 4-0 on the season, but a 28-0 halftime lead was trimmed down to 35-19 by the game’s end. “I wasn’t happy with the consistency of our running game. When you coach long enough, you can pick out the times and tell when you’re not playing the way that you’re capable of playing. Give Hughesville credit though because they certainly didn’t give up,” said Southern coach Jim Roth after the team’s 16-point victory.

One of the bright spots that the Tigers did have on the field was the passing game. Sophomore quarterback Stone Hollenbach threw for a career-high 254 yards to go with three touchdown passes while connecting with six different receivers in the process. After starting the game off shaky and missing some wide-open receivers, he completed his final nine pass attempts. “I kind of thought we were going to throw the ball more this week. I didn’t get off to the start that I was looking for after missing some targets, but then I started to connect with the guys down the stretch,” Hollenbach said. His longest pass was a 66-yard touchdown to all-state senior halfback Hunter Thomas. It came just three plays after overthrowing him on the same route. Thomas finished the game as the team’s leading receiver with 99 receiving yards in the first half, but the senior’s night ended prematurely for the second time in three weeks. This time it was an apparent knee injury in the middle of the second quarter. “Our trainer doesn’t think it’s anything too serious, but we need to wait to get him looked at to know for sure,” Roth stated.

The Tigers defense set up the first score of the night when linebacker Anthony Scicchitano recovered a fumble at the Spartans 6-yard line. “I saw their back go in motion to the outside, so I knew I had to get wide. I got lucky because I was the closest one to the ball and was able to get on it. The goal is to get the ball back to the offense as quick as we can to give them a chance to score,” said Scicchitano. One play later, freshman Gaige Garcia scored on an outside hand-off to put SCA up 7-0 at the 6:14 mark in the first quarter. Thomas caught his long touchdown pass five minutes later to put his team up by two scores.

Southern was threatening to score early in the second quarter, but a miscue resulted in a fumble on an exchange inside the 5-yard line. The Tigers forced a 3-and-out on the following drive and got the ball at the 20-yard line after a short punt and return. Garcia added a second touchdown on a 13-yard carry to extend the lead to 21-0. Bell would recover a fumble on the ensuing drive, and Hollenbach threw a 27-yard touchdown pass to Julian Fleming with just 17 seconds left in the half to give the Tigers a comfortable 28-0 lead at the break. “We did not have a good game blocking up front without question. I thought the passing game was pretty solid though. I know some of the early passes Stone would like to have back that he missed on, but then he settled down and made plays,” said Roth.

The Spartans outplayed the Tigers in the second half by outscoring them 19-0 after Southern’s Cam Young caught a 6-yard touchdown putting the game into the Mercy Rule at 35-0. Hughesville quarterback Landon Henry was able to make plays with both his arm and legs after the break. He finished as the team’s leading rusher with 112 yards and added 165 through the air. “We need to improve all-around on defense. That starts with being more aggressive and executing our assignments,” Scicchitano said. Ryan McClain caught a 33-yard touchdown pass from Henry in the third quarter. In the fourth quarter, Henry scored on a one yard carry and connected with Ori Shaner on a 55-yard strike on the final play of the game.

For the first time in quite a while, Southern’s offense failed to rush for over 200 yards as a team. The entire second half, Thomas had to watch from the sidelines on crutches. “This was definitely the line’s worst blocking game. Most of the yards that our backs got came after contact. We will fix the problems though and get back to the way we executed in the first three games,” Bell stated. Garcia was able to go over the 500-yard mark on the season through just his first four career games after finishing with a team-high 85 yards on the ground.

Hughesville will look to rebound next week against rival Loyalsock. The Spartans currently sit at 2-2 after starting 2-0. The Tigers travel home next Friday night to host Lewisburg. That will be Southern’s Homecoming as well as Alumni Night. Hollenbach is excited to take on his former Green Dragon teammates after moving from the district this past summer. “It will be a fun game and they have some talented athletes. I’m sure it will be weird at first, but I’m excited for it,” he said.

SCA: 14-14-7-0 = 35
HHS: 0-0-7-12 = 19

SOUTHERN COLUMBIA (4-0)

RUSHING:

Gaige Garcia 15-85, 2 TDs; Nic Fetterman 11-52; Tom Manley 3-19; Hunter Thomas 1-4; Stone Hollenbach 1-3; Nate Crowl 2-2; Ty Roadarmel 1-(-2)

PASSING:

Stone Hollenbach 12-17-0, 254 yds, 3 TDs

RECEIVING:

Hunter Thomas 3-99, TD; Cam Young 4-39, TD; Julian Fleming 1-27, TD; Gaige Garcia 2-45; Garrett Henry 1-42; Nic Fetterman 1-2

1st DOWNS: 16

PENALTIES: 4-35

HUGHESVILLE (2-2)

RUSHING:

Landon Henry 13-112, TD; Jase Wright 6-25; Ryan McClain 7-8; Julian Brehm 1-3; Gavin Steele 1-3

PASSING:

Landon Henry 8-15-0, 165 yds, 2 TDs

RECEIVING:

Jase Wright 3-24; Ryan McClain 2-35, TD; Ori Shaner 1-55, TD; Brenden Gardner 1-51

1st DOWNS: 10

PENALTIES: 7-44

Hughesville stats provided by Damien Scoblink (PE)

Fleming, Garcia, and Wilk provide spark in victory

Every one of Southern Columbia’s opponents had to be thrilled to see all of the Tigers losses to graduation and the amount of freshman on this year’s roster. After two weeks, the thought now has to be that the year 2019 can’t come soon enough. “We knew we had a very talented freshman class. The players getting varsity time have shown lots of confidence so far and they will only get better with time,” said Tiger coach Jim Roth. That’s a scary thought for the rest of PA. Freshmen Gaige Garcia, Julian Fleming, and Teagan Wilk were the standouts this week in helping SCA move to 2-0 on the season by defeating Bloomsburg in convincing fashion 65-21 in a Heartland Conference cross-over matchup.

However, the scoring onslaught started with a senior. All-state running back Hunter Thomas rushed 49 yards to the end zone to put the Tigers up 7-0 against his former team. Thomas was at Bloomsburg his freshman season before switching to the black and gold uniform. It took Bloomsburg less than a minute to cut into the lead. Nick Anderson hit fellow junior Logan Benintende with a perfectly thrown ball for an 89-yard score. “We made some mistakes, but we also did a lot of good things. Not everything is going to go your way, so sometimes it’s how you respond. The freshmen responded in a big way again,” Roth stated. A missed extra point kept Southern’s lead at 7-6. On the following possession, Fleming won a jump ball on a pass and tried scoring after catching the pigskin near the goal line. The extra effort caused him to fumble it resulting in a Panthers recovery in the end zone.

Bloomsburg tried taking the lead by throwing early in the possession. Wilk made them pay by intercepting a pass at the 41-yard line and returning it all the way to the 11. “The line got some good pressure on the play forcing a quicker pass. I watched a lot of film which I think helped me with reading the routes they ran,” said Wilk who is now the man at safety after rotating last week with Blake Day who tore his ACL. “I feel bad for Blake because he put a lot of time and work in. Now it’s my job to step up in his absence,” the freshman said. Nic Fetterman scored on a one yard dive with just eight seconds left in the first quarter putting the Tigers up 14-6, and the defending state champions would not look back.

Garcia started the scoring in the second quarter after Thomas went down with an ankle injury causing his night to end prematurely. “I hope Hunter is able to play next week. It’s fun playing with him in the backfield. We both have our strengths and are obviously much better with him on the field as another weapon,” said Garcia. After his four-yard touchdown run, Cam Young, who like Thomas used to attend Bloomsburg, intercepted a pass on the ensuing possession. He then caught a pass on the next play for 39 yards from Stone Hollenbach. “It’s the last time I got to play against some former teammates. I just wanted to go out and give it my all. It’s motivating to want to go out and make plays,” Young said. Fleming caught a 28-yard jump ball on the following play to extend Southern’s lead to 28-6. “Stone knows that I can jump a little bit, so he puts it up there where he knows I can make a play on it. I feel any pass in my area is one that I can come down with,” Fleming said.

After Bloomsburg scored on the following kickoff return and converted on a two-point attempt, Garcia returned a kick to the 28. One play later, Hollenbach kept it himself and scored from 28 yards out making the score 35-14. That was the game’s third TD in less than a minute of game action. The Tigers defense forced a 3-and-out after some hard hitting. Garcia picked up 40 yards on a run, Fleming caught a 32-yard pass, and then Garcia carried the final six yards for another score. Less than two minutes later, Garcia scored again. This time he went 64 yards to show off his speed. “The line blocked well tonight. When a running back has a big hole to run through, you need to take advantage of it,” Garcia said. That touchdown put the Tigers in front 49-14 at the half. In that half, Garcia carried the ball seven times for 148 yards and three scores.

Fleming added to his already impressive night of 99 receiving yards, by taking the third quarter kickoff 95-yards for a touchdown. “Once I got through the first couple of blocks, I was off to the races. The blockers and other returners set up a lane for me,” said Fleming. Bloomsburg scored later in the third on a short run. Fetterman added the Tigers final touchdown of the night on a 35-yard run and Elijah Hoffman converted on his ninth straight extra point. A fourth quarter safety added two points for SCA and those were the only points of the final frame. Bloomsburg will try and pick up their first win next week as they take on Warrior Run. Southern Columbia travels to rival Mount Carmel Area who got shutout this week against Shikellamy. “I’m sure they will be ready. It’s a rivalry game so both teams will be hyped up,” said Young.

SCA: 14-35-14-2 = 65
BLM: 6-8-7-0 = 21

SOUTHERN COLUMBIA (2-0)

RUSHING:

Gaige Garcia 7-148, 3 TDs; Hunter Thomas 4-59, TD; Nic Fetterman 8-66, 2 TDs; Stone Hollenbach 3-32, TD; Tom Manley 5-27; Cole Potter 3-21; Nate Crowl 2-12; Ty Roadarmel 5-11

PASSING:

Stone Hollenbach 7-10-0, 153 yds, TD

RECEIVING:

Julian Fleming 4-99, TD; Cam Young 3-54

1st DOWNS: 19

PENALTIES: 6-43

BLOOMSBURG (0-2)

RUSHING:

Joe Zola 4-20; Darius Green 10-16; Hunter Coulter 2-15; Nick Anderson 5-13; Jonathan Stone 2-9; Colby Kashner 5-7; Jack Malatesta 1-7; Jacob Mattive 2-4, TD; Zahier Stewart 1-4

PASSING:

Nick Anderson 4-9-2, 100 yds, TD

RECEIVING:

Logan Benintenda 2-92, TD; Eric Foust 1-7; Jacob Mattive 1-1

1st DOWNS: 5

PENALTIES: 1-15

Explosive 3^rd quarter propels Southern Columbia

Last season, a lot of the Southern Columbia current football players were cheering on the Tigers either from the sideline or the stands during their state championship season. The gaduation of ten starters of defense and the majority of the offense forced some younger Tigers to mature quickly. SCA went into halftime trailing the Shamokin Area Indians 14-13 in the opener, but Jim Roth’s team came out on fire in the third quarter on the way to a 47-20 victory for the defending PIAA Class AA State Champions on the newly named Jim Roth Field. “I think the first half was a combination of things. We had some execution breakdowns early on. We certainly looked inexperienced and we didn’t handle the adversity very well. Shamokin did a good job of being more composed and they battled. The penalties and miscues are a sign that we are a young team,” said the head coach.

Just because the Tigers are youthful doesn’t mean that they aren’t talented and explosive. The freshman class is as adroit as any that Roth’s staff has ever coached, and they showed glimpses of what the future holds in the victory. Freshman linebacker Cal Haladay gave Southern a 7-0 lift with an interception that he returned 21 yards with 5:23 left in the opening quarter of 2016. “I read where the running back was going and made a play on the ball. Once I caught it I just kept running to the end zone,” said Haladay who also was the team leader in tackles. Mark Wetzel answered on the Indians next drive. The offense drove 88 yards on the series, which was aided by two Tiger personal fouls, and the sophomore scored from four yards out to tie the score at 7-7.

Another Tiger freshman, running back Gaige Garcia, had a nice return on the ensuing kickoff, but the play was negated thanks to another SCA personal foul. The Tigers were able to muster together a 75-yard drive and Garcia scored with an 11-yard trot to put Southern up 13-7 after the PAT was blocked. On the drive, returning all-state running back Hunter Thomas caught a 23-yard pass on a 3^rd and 21 for a first down. That catch gave the senior the most catches ever by a running back in a career for Southern Columbia which is no small feat considering the history of the position. Shamokin answered the bell once again. This time Wetzel scored from a yard out and the Indians went into halftime with a surprising 14-13 lead after Alek Washuta’s successful extra point. “I don’t think we played terrible. I made some mistakes and other guys did as well. The main thing was that we were able to regroup after halftime and take it to them,” Garcia said.

Regroup they did. Southern got the ball to start the third quarter after choosing to kick on the opening coin toss. The Indians tried a squib kick that was picked up after a couple of bounces by Teagan Wilk, another Southern freshman, and the rookie took it to the Indians 38. It took the offense just three plays to put Southern back in front after Thomas scored on a 22-yard jaunt. Nic Fetterman ran in a two-point conversion to put the Tigers up 21-14 less than a minute into the second half. A lead that the home team would not relinquish. “I expected some young guys to step up and they definitely did tonight. Wilk’s kickoff return is another example of what these new guys are capable of doing,” Roth stated.

After forcing a three-and-out, Southern got the ball back and scored with 6:25 left in the third. This time it was freshman Julian Fleming’s turn. He caught a 36-yard score from sophomore Stone Hollenbach to extend the SCA advantage to 27-14. “The more the receivers have been able to spend time working in the passing game, the more we are starting to click. Stone has a really good arm for a sophomore, and I’m excitied to work with him over the next couple of years,” said Fleming. The Tiger lead would be extended to 33-14 after Cam Young returned a punt 58 yards. Young would then catch a 21-yard touchdown pass on the next drive from Hollenbach who just recently moved to the district from Lewisburg. “It’s a lot different here. You can certainly tell it’s a football school. The state championship tradition and just the atmosphere as a whole. I’m happy to have the chance to be a part of it,” Hollenbach said. The Tigers would take the comfortable 40-14 lead into the final quarter.

Wetzel scored his third touchdown of the game with 7:07 left in the fourth. Shamokin put together an impressive 18-play drive which was finished off with the 10-yard trot. The final score came with 4:58 left. Garcia had the highlight play of the drive with a 42-yard rush. Thomas finished off the drive, and the scoring for the game, with a 15-yard run putting the Tigers in front 47-20. Shamokin travels to Loyalsock in week two after the Lancers lost in OT to Mount Carmel Area. Tiger fans won’t have far to travel again as they will host another local rival in Bloomsburg who fell in their opener to Danville.

SCA: 7-6-27-7= 47
SAHS: 7-7-0-6 = 20

SOUTHERN COLUMBIA (1-0)

RUSHING:

Hunter Thomas 8-90, 2 TDs; Gaige Garcia 10-89, TD; Nic Fetterman 10-52; Stone Hollenbach 2-8

PASSING:

Stone Hollenbach 5-9-0, 90 yds, 2 TDs

RECEIVING:

Nic Fetterman 2-10; Julian Fleming 1-36, TD; Cam Young 1-21, TD; Hunter Thomas 1-23

1st DOWNS: 17

PENALTIES: 8-58

SHAMOKIN (0-1)

RUSHING:

Mark Wetzel 16-89, 3 TDs; Jake Jeremiah 4-60; Devin Pietkiewicz 13-35; Collin Bowers 10-26; Zach Johnson 4-18; Sam Deptula 4-9; David Stevens 3-8

PASSING:

Zach Johnson 1-3-0, 28 yds.; Collin Bowers 1-5-1, 1 yd

RECEIVING:

Sam Deptula 2-29

1st DOWNS: 14

PENALTIES: 5-37

-Shamokin stats compliments of Damien Scoblink (PE)

Looking back at the Tigers 2015 season

State Championship article (if you missed it): https://www.easternpafootball.com/news/stairway-to-seven/

Every sports season ends at some point. Only two teams in each classification get to battle it out for the top prize, but there are hundreds of other teams throughout the state that would do anything to be in the position to compete for a Pennsylvania gold. Regardless if a team gets upset, misses the playoffs, goes winless, or makes a state championship, memories are made along the way. Some memories are better than others, but in the case of Southern Columbia, there are many visuals that will be engrained in the player’s heads for a lifetime. Below is a look back at the Tigers 2015 PIAA Class AA State Championship undefeated journey:

Week 1: Mifflinburg 49-21

Southern Columbia lost their starting quarterback and the season looked like it might be in question. The Tigers won the game aided by six rushing touchdowns, and Nick Becker returned in a hospital gown during the fourth quarter after leaving the first quarter in an ambulance.

Week 2: Bloomsburg 56-19

Backup Drew Michaels got his first start at quarterback and took advantage of the opportunity by throwing three touchdown passes including two to Steve Toczylousky as the Tigers wore down the Panthers.

Week 3: Shamokin 49-27

The Tigers came out and took care of business early by putting the game into the Mercy Rule by halftime. Becker returned after getting good results with his MRI and threw two touchdown passes to Hunter Thomas.

Week 4: Danville 42-14

Blake Marks scored on the opening possession of the game from 57 yards out and the offense didn’t slow up. Southern’s offense had success both in the air and on the ground in the win over a young Ironmen squad.

Week 5: Central Columbia 40-0

Southern Columbia’s defense shut out the Blue Jays on Homecoming night. The running trio of Hunter Thomas, Jared Torres, and Blake Marks needed only 15 total attempts to pile up 292 rushing yards and four scores.

Week 6: Mount Carmel 42-0

The Red Tornadoes came into Tiger Stadium the same way that they left by not putting a single point on the scoreboard. The big play on offense was a 68 yard touchdown pass from Nick Becker to Steve Toczylousky to start the onslaught.

Week 7: Warrior Run 56-7

The first time since week four that the Tigers defense gave up any points. No worries though as the score came on a fourth quarter touchdown pass against Southern’s backups. Steve Toczylousky caught three passes, all for touchdowns, and 119 yards in the win.

Week 8: Lewisburg 49-24

Southern Columbia traveled to Bucknell University to take on the Green Dragons on a Thursday night. The offense scored 49 first half points in the victory. Hunter Thomas had a 78 yard kick return in the game and Nick Becker threw a pair of touchdown passes.

Week 9: Central Mountain 62-7

The Tigers came out of the halftime break on fire by outscoring the Wildcats 34-0 over the final two quarters. Steve Toczylousky intercepted two passes and returned one for an 85 yard score. He also caught two TD passes.

Week 10: Selinsgrove 21-14

Neither team scored a point in the second half, but Southern’s one touchdown lead at halftime was all that they needed to win and finish the regular season undefeated. Blake Marks iced the game late in the fourth with an interception.

Week 11 : Troy 42-22

Hunter Thomas rushed for 134 yards and three touchdowns, and Jared Torres added 101 yards and two scores in the Tigers opening round playoff victory over the Trojans. The first drive of the game the Tigers drove 96 yards for the opening touchdown.

Week 12: Hughesville 56-20

Hunter Thomas, Jared Torres, and Blake Marks combined to rush for 367 yards behind the push of the offensive line against the Spartans. Billy Marzeski also took a kick back 73 yards for a touchdown in the district semi-final victory.

Week 13: Montoursville 56-50

Hunter Thomas ran for a career high of 238 yards and scored three times in the dramatic District IV AA Championship win over the Warriors. Cam Young intercepted a pass and returned it for a 33 yard touchdown to start the second half.

Week 14: Berks Catholic 34-21

This group of Tigers won their first ever state playoff game over the Saints. Hunter Thomas had over 100 yards both rushing and receiving in the game with the highlight being a 74 yard reverse that he scored on late in the fourth quarter. The defense held the Saints high-scoring offense in check when they needed to make a stop.

Week 15: West Catholic 34-19

Southern Columbia’s defense forced seven turnovers including five interceptions in leading the team to the win against the Burrs in the Eastern Final. Nick Becker rushed for three touchdowns in the game, and Hunter Thomas rushed for 108 yards.

Week 16: Aliquippa 49-14

History has been made. The Tigers became the first school in PIAA history to win seven state championships. The defense came up clutch once again by forcing seven turnovers for the second consecutive week. Billy Marzeski was the leader with two interceptions including one returned for a touchdown. Tyler Keiser was a perfect 7/7 on his PAT attempts which set a new Class AA record for the state title.

Team MVP:

The offensive and defensive lines win this award. There wasn’t a particular player that you can say just blew people off the ball every single play, but the Tigers won each game in the trenches on both sides of the ball. SCA’s offensive line consisted of Gabe Delbo, Josh Yoder, Aaron Kroh, Dale Houser, Andrew Bell, and Garrett Henry. “I don’t think the offensive line could have done much better than we did. We had to replace three starters, but they did a great job. Our success was capped off by a state championship”, said offensive tackle Aaron Kroh. Add in the fact that Nick Becker was sacked less than 10 times all season, and you can say that the offensive line set the tone. The defensive line starters were Chase Tillett, Nick Freeman, Chris Grosch, and Delbo. “Our defensive line made it a point to stay disciplined and do our role. Our mentality each play was to blow up the player across the line and to dominate the line of scrimmage,” Delbo said. Troy Donlan also saw a lot of action as the season started to wind down on defense as did Yoder. Southern Columbia’s offense rushed for 5,104 yards this season which averages out to be 319 yards per game. The defense held opponents to just 108.7 yards rushing per game which in total was 1,739 over the 16 games played. A pretty impressive 3:1 ratio considering most of the second halves of games were the Tigers reserves competing against the oppositions starting units.

Offensive MVP:

Somehow this player only garnered 2^nd Team Heartland Conference honors, but he was the leader in offensive production for the highest scoring offense in the state. Hunter Thomas was consistently dominant in the regular season, but he turned into a highlight reel over the final six games. “It all starts up front with the offensive line. This year our whole line played consistent, and we couldn’t have run the way we did without their efforts. It also helps having two other great runners in the backfield like we had this season,” said Thomas. The junior halfback rushed for 867 yards and 12 scores in the postseason run. For the season, he averaged an astounsing 11.4 yards per carry to go along with 32 total touchdowns. By going over 1,000 rushing and 500 receiving, he became just the second player in SCA history to hit both marks the same year.

Defensive MVP:

There were a handful of deserving candidates to get this award, but there was a tie for the top spot. The two senior inside linebackers, Matt Bell and Austin Knepp, were run-stoppers all season long. “I feel like football is a real emotional game. To be a good player you have to play with a lot of intensity, and when everyone was excited we played better,” said Bell. His 128 tackles this season gives him the third best in school history for a single season and Knepp’s almost identical 127 is the fourth best mark. “The hardest thing was just learning a whole new playbook this year, but the coaches at Southern Columbia are great. It got easier as the season went on and I became more comfortable,” said Knepp who moved into the district at the end of last school year.

Breakout Player:

This was the easiest of the awards. Steve Toczylousky started to come along nicely as the 2014 season progressed. In the offseason, the wide receiver and safety made it a goal to become the best that he could be. He now holds SCA’s single-season receiving touchdown record with 12. “We all worked really hard in the offseason knowing that we had the chance to accomplish something special. Now looking back and reflecting, it’s awesome to know that I was a key player on a state championship winning team,” said Toczylousky. The senior also caught 30 passes for 758 yards. On defense, Toczylousky added seven interceptions to go along with 51 tackles.

Unsung Hero:

Blake Marks & Hunter Thomas got most of the media attention during the regular season, but it was their senior fullback Jared Torres that elevated his game to a high level in the District IV AA Playoffs. “I just did the best I could do trying to help the team win. I liked the attention being focused on the other guys. They had great years, but it took a team effort to accomplish what we did,” Torres said. During the three game district run, he eclipsed the 100 yard mark in all three of the games. His totals were 101, 119, and 121 yards respectively to go along with five touchdowns.

Comeback Kid:

Nick Becker was hurt on his first carry of the season. The quarterback’s shoulder popped out of the socket on the way to the ground. He had previous operations and injuries to his shoulder, but this was the first time it didn’t pop right back in. “When the injury happened, I honestly thought it was the last time I would play high school football. When I got the news that I could come back, I just rehabbed as hard as I could. There couldn’t be a better final ending to the season,” the quarterback said. The senior surprised many folks by returning to play two weeks later against Shamokin. He would start the rest of the season and helped to guide the team to the final in Hershey.

Wounded Warrior:

Blake Marks injured his kidney during the summer of his junior year, and his junior season eventually ended after he tore knee ligaments. Going into his senior season, he was selected as one of the team captains. He felt the effects as the season wore on, but there is no better medicine than a state championship. “I think it’s the same for every football player by the end of the year. Everyone is banged up because of the nature of the game. Last year my injuries were much more serious. This year I just had some nagging effects from previous injuries,” said Marks who was one of three Tigers to rush for over 1,000 yards in 2015.

Undervalued Assets:

Both Ross Crowl and Jake Potter knew that they would see time during the 2015 season, but neither was listed as an every down starter. The two senior outside linebackers didn’t put up stats that will jump off the page at people or make any all-star teams, but they did what was needed during the times that they were out there. “It wasn’t a really big deal to me having to rotate. I just wanted to go in and do the best that I could when I was on the field,” said Potter. The duo was responsible for rotating at one of the outside linebacker spots and did exactly what they needed to do in order to help the team win games during the undefeated run. “The main thing is just staying in your position and doing your job. Whether it was stopping the run or the pass, it was important to be disciplined,” Crowl stated.

Rookies of the Year:

Troy Donlan and Oak Six were the only two freshman on this year’s squad. Neither one of them figured in to being a starter, but by the end of the year they both were in the mix. Although neither started a game in the playoffs, both of them were crucial components on the lines. “My role was to come in and give any of the defensive lineman a break when they needed one. I just tried my best to clog up holes and I got more time in the playoff run,” Donlan said. Six converted from an offensive tackle to a blocking tight end and Donlan saw a lot of snaps at defensive tackle.

Mr. Consistency:

Tyler Keiser has been Southern’s kicker for the past two seasons. He doesn’t get to practice much with the team since he is a member of the Tigers soccer team. Even without a ton of reps throughout the season, Keiser’s left foot was almost automatic. “The biggest challenge once soccer season ended was finding a way to keep my leg fresh. Obviously having more time once soccer season was over, I tried to make sure to not over kick and hurt myself,” the left footed kicker said. He converted on 91 of his 95 PAT’s which is nearly 96%.

Prime Time Performers:

In today’s world of football, lots of teams like to pass. In the playoffs all it takes is one big play to give a team momentum and change the game and sometimes the outcome. Nobody learned this more than SCA’s two defensive backs. The Tigers were nearly upset in their District IV Championship game when Montoursville scored 50 points thanks to a bunch of third and fourth down conversions via the pass. After that game, Billy Marzeski and Cam Young made it a point to not let it happen again. “With how explosive our offense was this year, our pass defense had to be a key because teams had to pass to try and get back in games. After Montoursville scored 50 on us, I think our pass defense played much better,” said Young. He finished as the team leader with eight interceptions. In Marzeski’s final game as a Tiger, he intercepted two passes to help his team win the school’s seventh state championship. His first one saved a touchdown, and the other he returned for a touchdown in the first half helping the team build a lead.

All-State Recipients:

Southern Columbia had five players earn all-state honors. Those included Nick Becker, Hunter Thomas, Josh Yoder, Matt Bell, and Cam Young. What put this team over the top though was their unselfishness and team mentality. “The state championship is more of an accomplishment because we did it as a team. We’ve grown up together dreaming of winning it one day and the best part was doing it as friends,” Yoder said. The Tigers head coach was also named the Class AA Coach of the Year. It was Jim Roth’s fifth time winning the award, and he became only the second coach in PA history to win the award in two different classifications.

Plays of the Year:

-Bill Marzeski had the best game of his career in his final game as a Tiger. He had arguably the two best plays in the State Championship victory over Aliquippa. He intercepted a pass in the end zone in the first quarter to keep the Quips from going up by two touchdowns early in the game. He also picked off a pass and returned it for a touchdown to put the Tigers up 21-6 late in the second quarter. “He stepped up and made two huge plays. He came a long way after making the tough switch from being a linebacker last year to moving to cornerback this season. The two biggest plays he made all season happened to come in the biggest game,” said Jim Roth.

-With Southern leading Montoursville 56-50 late in the fourth quarter of the District IV Championship game, the Tigers defense needed one stop to earn the district crown. That stop came on a fourth down sack by inside linebackers Matt Bell and Austin Knepp which put the finishing touches on a game that was dominated by both offensive units.

-In the season opener against Mifflinburg, safety Steve Toczylousky came off the edge on a blitz and knocked the ball out of the hands of the quarterback. Defensive end Chase Tillett was there to scoop it up and return it 38 yards for the first touchdown to open the season. “With the amount of point that our offense produced this year, it was fun to be able to get the scoring started this year on the other side of the ball. I made a joke before the season started that I was going to score the first touchdown of the year just kidding around, but it was cool to be able to actually do it especially with how we finished the season up,” Tillett stated.

-Jared Torres had a 34 yard run against the Troy Trojans in the first round of the playoffs. He didn’t score on the play, but the bruising back broke seven tackles and carried four Troy defenders the final six yards before being brought down. The crowd gave him a standing ovation for the effort, and the fullback scored two plays later.

-Hunter Thomas pulled off a bunch of highlight reel plays throughout the course of the unbeaten season, but his best may have come in the state playoff win over the Saints of Berks Catholic. The junior took an inside-reverse handoff and ran down the Southern sidelines for a 74 yard touchdown to give the Tigers a two touchdown cushion in the fourth quarter.

Quotes of the Year:

-“You know something. Interviews would be a lot easier if we knew what was being asked before you ask it. That probably doesn’t make any sense, but I’m not good with coming up with things off of the top of my head, and it makes it worse when guys like Blake (Marks) make fun of everything that I say,” Steve Toczylouksy said after his three touchdown catches in a home win over Warrior Run during the regular season.

-“If our defense puts up a shutout and our offense scores more points than the other team, we will win every game,” senior Jake Potter said after SCA shut out Central Columbia. Yes, this may be the most obvious statement of all time, but will result in a win in any sport.

-“Last week I was listed as the third string quarterback and just hoping to get the chance to play at the end of some varsity games. Now seven days later I am starting in a varsity game. It has certainly been a crazy week and obviously not what I anticipated,” Drew Michaels said after starting the second game of the season at Bloomsburg in place of injured starter Nick Becker.

-“Blake’s just a gamer. He seems to make big plays when we need them the most. You can tell he has spent a lot of time out on the playground and that’s just a phrase because he lives nowhere near a playground. The point is if you know him, he is always out doing something. The kid can’t sit still,” said Southern coach Jim Roth after Blake Marks clinched the Selinsgrove game with an interception.

-“I think we were the best team in the state. We won the state championship. That’s why they call it the state championship,” Billy Marzeski said after the Tigers victory celebration following their state championship against Aliquippa.

Top Statistical Performers:

Passing:

Becker- 1,750 yards (20 TDs & 10 INTs)

Michaels- 234 yards (3 TDs & 1 INT)

Rushing:

Thomas- 1,593 yards (24 TDs)

Marks- 1,048 yards (16 TDs)

Torres- 1,034 yards (15 TDs)

Fetterman- 377 yards (2 TDs)

Becker- 359 yards (10 TDs)

Receiving:

Toczylousky- 758 yards (30 catches & 12 TDs)

Thomas- 582 yards (36 catches & 5 TDs)

Young- 287 yards (20 catches & 3 TDs)

Marks- 229 yards (23 catches & 2 TDs)

Torres- 125 yards (8 catches)

Defense:

Bell- 128 tackles

Knepp- 127 tackles (2.5 sacks)

Marzeski- 94 tackles (4 INTs)

Marks- 88 tackles (4 INTs)

Tillett- 68 tackles (8 sacks)

Young- 55 tackles (8 INTs)

Potter- 54 tackles

Crowl- 53 tackles (2.5 sacks)

Toczylousky- 51 tackles (7 INTs)

Delbo- 50 tackles (3.5 sacks)

Stats of the Year:

-The three-headed-monster of Hunter Thomas, Blake Marks, & Jared Torres became the first trio in PIAA history to all go over the 1,000 yard rushing mark and win the state title. It also marked the first time in school history that this was accomplished regardless of how the season ended. Hunter Thomas finished with 1,593 rushing yards, Blake Marks had 1,048 yards, and Jared Torres totaled 1,034.

-With Jim Roth’s win in the state championship, he finished the 2015 season with 381 career victories. He now sits fourth in Pennsylvania history. George Curry (455 wins), Jack Henzes (404 wins), and Jim Render (384 wins) are the only coaches to have won more games. “I didn’t win all of the games. We won all of the games. Without the great assistant coaches and talented players that have gone through the program over the years, we wouldn’t have been able to have all of this success. The program takes pride in having a great tradition and support from all around which helps lead to the accomplishments,” Roth said. The United States all-time leader is John McKissick of Summerville, South Carolina who retired before this season with 621 victories after coaching for 63 years. Roth just finished season number 32.

-Southern Columbia won 11 games this year via the Mercy Rule. Not a bad average over a 16 game span. The only teams that they didn’t have at least a 35 point lead on at any point in the game this year were West Catholic, Berks Catholic, Montoursville, Selinsgrove, and Mifflinburg.

By the Numbers:

7: The number of State Championships Southern Columbia now has. They were tied with Berwick at 6, but now have the Pennsylvania record all to themselves

93: The Tigers went in to the final tied with the Quips for the most PIAA playoff victories at 92. Now the Tigers have that record to themselves as well heading into 2016.

20: Southern Columbia (14 appearances) and Aliquippa (6 appearances) combined to have played in 20 state championships. This is the most out of any two teams to matchup in a state final in PIAA history.

100+: It is just the fourth time in school history that two different players finished with over 100 tackles in the same season. This year’s inside linebacker duo of Matt Bell and Austin Knepp reached that mark.

737: The amount of points SCA’s offense produced this season. The Tigers scored the most points in the state and averaged 46.1 points per game. In 2006, the team scored 755 in the last state championship winning season.

33: The number of quarters that SCA’s defense held the opponents scoreless this season. That is over half of the 64 total quarters this season that they played.

8: Cam Young had eight interceptions this season which is the fourth most in a single season. Justin Barnes had 11 in 1994 and Matt Murdock (2002) & Keith Day (2011) finished seasons with 9.

1,750: The number of passing yards Nick Becker threw for this season which was a career high for him. It is also the fifth most single-season passing yards in school history. The top 4 are: Matt Kaskie- 2,146 (2000), Matt Kaskie- 1,919 (1999), Brad Osevala- 1,807 (1995), & Brad Fegley- 1,770 (2011).

12: The number of touchdown receptions that Steve Toczylousky had this season which set a new single-season school mark breaking Andy Helwig’s old record of 11.

36: The new record for catches in a season by a running back which Hunter Thomas set in this 2015 season out of the backfield.

107: Becker completed a career high 107 passes this season which is just four off of Brad Fegley’s school record of 111 set in 2011.

That’s a wrap on the 2015 football season. I would like to thank all of the readers that read my weekly articles on the top team in the state. I try my best to recognize as many players as possible, and I hope that everyone enjoys the literature. Congratulations to the players, coaching staff, cheerleaders, band, fans, and everyone else that makes the Southern Columbia football tradition what it is. Following the black & gold each week is a fun journey because every game brings new memories and enjoyment. I wish everyone a Merry Christmas, and I look forward to volunteering my time again next year to cover the Tigers in 2016. To the 25 seniors, welcome to the SCA football alumni club!

Tigers demolish Quips in state title

By: Dave Fegley (Twitter: @DFegs9)

Southern Columbia has made it a point to get to the 16^th rung on their schedule ladder since the opening game this season. Their ultimate goal was to win a state championship, but they were focused on taking it one step at a time. “After being away for a few years since 2011, this group wanted to get back to that point again. They played as a unit and didn’t care who got the credit. The seniors did an outstanding job of helping to keep the guys focused until they reached their ultimate goal,” Southern head coach Jim Roth said. The Tigers not only got to the final rung, but they also took the seventh step to become the PIAA leader in State Championship victories with their 49-14 Mercy Rule slashing of Aliquippa at Hershey Park Stadium on Saturday afternoon. “We did it. Getting to finish out our career like this, there’s just nothing better,” said senior Gabe Delbo who was a leader in helping the team stay focused in getting to the next rung on the ladder each week. Southern Columbia and Berwick were tied with six state titles for the Pennsylvania lead, but now the Tigers have seven all to themselves.

The game couldn’t have started much worse for the Tigers though. The Quips got the opening kickoff and drove down the field. A 41 yard pass play from Sheldon Jeter to Jassir Jordan set up a one yard score from University of Pittsburgh recruit Kaezon Pugh to put Aliquippa in front 6-0. The Quips got the ball back on the ensuing kickoff when Blake Marks fumbled trying to fight for more yards. After starting at the 37 yard line, the Quips drove the short field with the biggest gain coming on a pass interference penalty against Southern cornerback Billy Marzeski. Two plays later, Jeter threw a pass into the end zone trying to put his Quips up by two scores early on. Marzeski came up with the play of the game by intercepting the pass at the goal line and took it out to the 35. “Well you see I was upset after getting that pass interference penalty and I wanted to make up for it. On that pass the wind seemed to take it, and I was able to get under it to make a play,” Marzeski said.

Southern used a 15-play drive to go 65 yards to take the lead. Nick Becker converted a fourth and short on a keeper and hit Marks on a fourth down completion to keep the drive alive. Fullback Jared Torres scored on the final play of the drive from three yards out and Tyler Keiser’s extra point gave the Tigers a 7-6 lead after the opening quarter. “The offensive line was solid again in this game. They have done a nice job all season and are the reason we were able to have all this success,” Torres said about the consistent play of Aaron Kroh, Andrew Bell, Dale Houser, Josh Yoder, Gabe Delbo, and Garrett Henry all season long.

Marzeski came up with a key stop on the next kickoff making Aliquippa start the drive at their own 14. Delbo had a third down sack forcing a punt, but the Tigers were forced to punt on the following drive. Jeter was forced out of the pocket on the second play of the drive and tried throwing the ball away. Unfortunately for him, he didn’t get enough on the ball and Steve Toczylousky intercepted the pass giving the Tigers a short field to work with. Becker scored on a fifteen yard keeper around the end to put his team up 14-6. “This team wasn’t really coming at us very hard which gave us an opportunity to push them off of the ball. We were able to set up some good blocking and it ended pretty well for us,” Houser said.

Marzeski was back at it again on the following possession. This time the senior intercepted a pass at the Quips 36 yard line and took it back for a touchdown. “I was trying to score on my first interception, but their #33 was standing in front of me. I tried to run him over and that didn’t work out very well. This time the wind took the ball and blew it right into my hands. I just caught it and ran that sucker into the end zone. I felt like a million bucks, my team felt like a million bucks, and it really seemed to kill any chance of them gaining back momentum,” said Marzeski about his second interception that put SCA up 21-6. The senior picked the right day to have the game of his life. “The surprising thing coming in was seeing that Billy Marzeski was third on the team in tackles. He’s a real good defensive ball player, but at times he would get down on himself this year. In this game, to his credit, he picked it right back up and had a really solid game on defense helping us win,” defensive coordinator Andy Mills said.

Aliquippa gained back some momentum on a perfectly executed hook-and-ladder play. Jeter hit Canard Tates who pitched it to Jordan, and he was able to outrun the Tiger defense for a 44 yard touchdown to shrink Southern’s lead to 21-14 with just 1:39 left in the half. That was plenty of time however for Southern’s offense to answer the call. With 23 seconds left before heading to the locker room, Becker scored on a 30 yard run to extend the lead back to two touchdowns at 28-14. “The senior class came together as a team and helped out the younger guys. We didn’t really have any superstars this year, but we had guys that were willing to do what it took to win each week. They didn’t care who got the credit and each week it seemed like different players stepped up in different situations,” Roth said.

Southern was forced to punt to start the second half after a three and out, but Ross Crowl sacked Jeter early in the next possession causing him to lose the football. Delbo pounced on it giving the ball back to the Tigers at their 40. Becker found an open Marks for a 49 yard completion that setup a Torres one yard touchdown extending the lead to 35-14. The Tigers defense forced another punt on the next possession. The Quips tried a fake, but it didn’t work out as the punter slipped before being able to make any move. “Our coaches came up with a great game plan to shut down their offense. We thought that we played against some better backs coming in earlier in the season than the guys they had. I think they were over hyped and we used that as motivation,” said Southern linebacker Austin Knepp.

Hunter Thomas scored on the next drive on a one yard plunge, and he then scored the game’s final touchdown from 10 yards out after Marks came up with a fumble recovery. After Keiser’s seventh PAT, the Tigers put the Quips in the Mercy Rule at 49-14. The defense forced another turnover on the following drive, and Southern Columbia had to take just one victory kneel down to give Southern Columbia a Mercy Rule victory in a dominant defensive fashion. “This is just indescribable for us. There have been so many great teams that came before us. The 2006 team was the last team to win a state championship. The 2011 team got us back on the map by getting the school back to Hershey. Now this year we were able to win not only a state record seventh title, but we were able to do it for the first time at the Class AA level,” Toczylousky exclaimed.

Just how dominant of an effort was it by this Tiger defense? Well, the seven turnovers they forced set a new PIAA State Championship game record. “Our game plan was to just go out with our base defense. There wasn’t really anything different that we did in this game. At practice we just kept going over their plays to show our guys what they were likely to do in different scenarios and formations. Our guys went out focused and played well,” Mills said. The offense wasn’t too far behind the dominance of the defense. Just take the game’s final extra point from Keiser as an example. That kick, which was ironically the seventh one, also set a PIAA Class AA State Championship game record.

The Tigers will graduate 25 seniors going into next season. The group went an incredible 40-0 throughout their careers in the regular season, and they’ve become so close over this four year journey together. “We are like a family. All of us are so close, and it’s just amazing that I got to share this experience with them,” said Marks who finishes his career with 2,558 rushing yards putting him 13^th on the all-time list. The senior also caught 61 passes which puts him fourth all-time. “There’s no better feeling than this. We did this as a team and everyone contributed. Going 16-0 and winning a State Championship, it really is a dream come true,” said Becker who graduates at the top of the record books in career passing yards, touchdown passes, completions, and his career 57.1% completion percentage is third all-time behind Brad Fegley’s 60.0% and Dan Latorre’s 57.5%. Toczyslousky finished his career with 14 touchdown grabs putting him in a tie at the top. Heading into next year, the Tigers know that they will need more players to step up to fill the many positions that will be lost to graduation. “We are going to graduate a lot of great players, and we definitely will need players to step up and try to fill roles. This group was great to play with,” Thomas stated. The junior heads into next season with 2,286 career rushing yards and needs 33 receptions to set a new school record, currently held by Colby Snyder, for catches in a career. For now, the Tigers will relax and enjoy the accomplishments that the 2015 group accomplished. “The kids had fun this year and when you see the kids develop friendships and bond together as a team, that’s really what it is all about,” said Roth who now has 381 career victories and is on pace to one day set the state record for coaching victories.

SCA: 7-21-7-14 = 49
QUIP: 6-8-0-0 = 14

SOUTHERN COLUMBIA (16-0)

RUSHING:

Jared Torres 14-55, 2 TDs; Nick Becker 11-88, 2 TDs; Hunter Thomas 16-56, 2 TDs; Blake Marks 9-21

PASSING:

Nick Becker 6-8-0, 82 yds

RECEIVING:

Blake Marks 3-64; Hunter Thomas 2-2; Steve Toczylousky 1-16

1st DOWNS: 14

PENALTIES: 7-60

ALIQUIPPA (15-1)

RUSHING:

Kaezon Pugh 19-109, TD; Kiyon Fooks 5-20; Thomas Perry 1-9; Sheldon Jeter 8-6; Jelani Solomon 1-2; Larry Walker 1-0; Eli Kosanovich 1-(-3); Jassir Jordan 2-(-4)

PASSING:

Sheldon Jeter 6-10-3, 98 yds, TD

RECEIVING:

Jassir Jordan 4-89, TD; Kiyon Fooks 1-6; Thomas Perry 1-3; Conard Tate 1-0

1st DOWNS: 11

PENALTIES: 5-49

Southern Columbia keeps proving critics wrong

Jealousy is all over the world that we live in. Whether it is in sports, relationships, riches, or fame, people have a natural tendency of becoming jealous of an individual person or group of people. In this case, it boils down to a football family. The Southern Columbia football program started up in the early 1960’s. The first two decades were filled with a lot of losing and there was a point where people didn’t know if the Tigers would ever put together a string of winning seasons. “It’s been a long haul from the beginning when I started here and some of the assistants to where we are today. The program has gone through a lot of transition over the years,” Southern head coach Jim Roth said. After having a 0-10 campaign in 1980, the Tigers finished their 1982 season at 9-3 and have not had a losing season since that point.

The rest of the 1980’s resulted in Southern winning a handful of league and conference championships in helping to build a foundation for success. Then in 1991, the black and gold earned their first district crown and have been nothing short of unstoppable in District IV since. For 23 out of the last 25 years, the Tigers have earned the District IV Championship including a state record of 16 consecutive years in a row. In 1994, Southern Columbia defeated Western Beaver 49-6 to claim the school’s first state championship in Class A. “Around the first fifteen years or so from the early 80’s to our first state title in 1994 was probably the time that we showed the most growth in terms of our level of play. We went from a winless season at the start and then came all the way to winning a state title,” said Roth. From that point on, the Tigers have been known around the state as a powerhouse, but also started to draw a jealous following. Two other schools near Southern won state titles in ’94 as well. The Berwick Bulldogs won the Class AAA title and the Mount Carmel Area Red Tornadoes won in Class AA giving the heart of Central, Pennsylvania three of the four state champs.

Berwick would go on to win four in a row from 1994-1997 to give them their six total with previous titles in 1988 and 1992. The Red Tornadoes went on an even year streak of winning gold. They won in 1994, 1996, 1998, 2000, and 2002 bringing their total to five. The Tigers made more appearances than both of those programs during that span, but failed to win another final heading into the 2002 season. SCA lost the 1995 and 1996 state championship games, missed the 1997 final after losing in the Eastern Championship, and then lost in the state final from 1999-2001. The talk around the area and state was that Southern Columbia couldn’t close the deal and win the big one. The word was that they choked in state championship games and were intimidated by the Western champions. “We had some close losses in those runner-up finishing years, but we knew we had to try and improve in some areas to get over that final hump. In 2002 the guys realized that it was going to take a more physical effort to finally break through,” the coach said.

Going into the 2002 season, the Southern was determined to show everyone that they could defeat a Western power after dominating the East for the better part of the last decade. The Tigers found themselves in the Eastern Final against Schuylkill Haven at Susquehanna University. After a strong defensive effort, the Tigers came out victorious 28-0. The following week they would take on a familiar Rochester Rams team that had beaten them the previous two years in the state championship at Hershey Park Stadium. “I actually think there was less pressure going into the 2002 game because of that fact we hadn’t won since 1994. I remember our team being pretty laid back before the game but still focused on playing Rochester,” said Ryan Slater who was a starting linebacker on that team and earned all-state honors the following year. “We knew they were a good team with some solid athletes, but we were confident that we could handle them.”

After scoring only 14 total points against the Rams in the two losses, the Tigers came out of the gates on fire and won the game 31-6 giving the school their second overall state championship. More importantly, the victory proved that they could hang with the west and own the state again. “The feeling that I experienced on December 6, 2002 is hard to explain and to put into words; relieved, happy, ecstatic, overjoyed, etc. I really don’t know how to explain it. To be able to say that you’re the best or the greatest at something leaves me speechless,” former running back Brandon Traugh, who rushed for 50 touchdowns in his career, said about the victory. It was also the first time in PIAA State Championship game history that a team had lost to the same opponent multiple times in a final and then came back to hold them to under 10 points the following year in a win.

Jim Roth’s teams would go on to win five consecutive state championships from 2002-2006 bringing their total to six which currently ties with Berwick as the most in PIAA history. During that time, the Tigers were led by a talented core group of players, most notably the school’s all-time leading rusher Henry Hynoski. Southern Columbia defeated Rochester, Bishop Carroll 49-20, Rochester 35-0, Duquesne 50-19, and West Middlesex 56-14 respectively. “Over that span was when I think people around the state started to realize the consistent style of play that our guys had set. Our program was proving that they could compete at a high level against the best teams across the state in a successful fashion over a very long period of time,” Roth stated. In that span of five straight titles, the Tigers outscored the opponents in total 221-59 which is 32.4 points per game. The PIAA Mercy Rule comes into effect once a team is leading by 35 points in the second half of a ball game. For five straight seasons, SoCo nearly averaged to win their state championships during that stretch by that Mercy Rule margin against the best team in the western part of PA.

After losing a strong senior nucleus to graduation, the 2007 Tiger team was upset by Line Mountain in the opening round of the district playoffs. The 2008-2010 teams each won district gold medals, but never reached an Eastern Final. It was at that point when the critics and doubters came out of their caves again and said that the boys who hailed from Elysburg, Catawissa, & Numidia would never get back to a State Championship game. “I think more than anything is the small communities that we all grew up in is what really brought the teams together. I think that feeling is very similar no matter what Southern team you are talking about. We all grew up either playing with or against each other in every sport, yet still going to the same school. We developed bonds since we were young kids,” Slater noted. Looking back at the PIAA history, the skeptics had a strong case because teams like Berwick, Mount Carmel Area, and Central Bucks West who all had won multiple state titles, never got back to the final game after an absence of five or more years. “What made the 2011 team special was the way that they showed team chemistry and had a great group of leaders with a high level of desire. They proved that they could get back to the final game with hard work. It was the first time that a school was able to get back in the final after a bit of an absence after winning in the past, and that’s something that they can always be proud of,” said Roth.

The 2011 squad wanted to shut the nonbelievers up much like the 2002 team was able to do. “When you’re in a program that almost has an expectation to play in Hershey every year, we definitely wanted to get the program back to where it belonged. When it was our time as seniors to be in control, there was really only one way it would have been a successful season for us, and that was being the only team left in the East playing at Hershey,” said former two-way starter Brad Fegley who happens to be the only quarterback in Pennsylvania high school football history to lead a team to a state final appearance without throwing a single interception all season long. During the first official practice that year, the Tigers returning all-state running back, Tyrell Thomas, tore his ACL causing him to miss his entire senior season. The rumors were going around the area that this team would fail to reach the state championship game like the previous four teams. The team and coaches found a way to make it work. “A large part of Southern’s success has always come from the cohesiveness and ability to play selflessly as a team. Coach Roth has always emphasized that, and it shows on the field. Having a well balanced offense rather than relying on one or two standout players is a lot more difficult for opponents to stop,” former lineman Bryan Gedman said.

The team, led by a tight-knit group of seniors, battled through a tough regular season schedule and then an even rougher postseason road. After beating Line Mountain for the District IV Class A Championship, the Tigers came from behind in the second half to beat Old Forge and then broke a halftime tie to down Pius X in back to back weeks. “Knowing that the community is following and supporting the team every step of the way is an awesome feeling. It’s definitely an advantage especially during the state playoffs. When playing at a neutral field, the huge fan base can create a home field atmosphere,” Gedman stated. Southern had no trouble in the Eastern Final taking down Penns Manor 37-6. With that victory, the Tigers revived the program at the state level while earning back their “Beast of the East” label. “You have teams that will win a district championship and celebrate like it’s a huge accomplishment. At Southern, we win a district title and it’s just another notch in our belts and on to the real season that counts. The only way you’re really going to be remembered in the Tiger program is if you’re one of the teams that played in Hershey,” Fegley said. The Tigers fell to Clairton by two touchdowns in the final against Clairton and Tyler Boyd who is arguably the best player that the Tigers have faced in the program’s 52 year history. However, it was just getting back to the final stage that will be etched in Tiger history forever. “That 2011 Clairton team that our guys played in the final was probably the best team that Clairton had during their title run, but our guys battled until the end and proved that we could hang with the athleticism and speed that the premiere western teams had,” Roth stated.

In 2012 and 2013, SCA won first place district medals, but got bounced in the opening round of the state playoffs. In 2014, the Tigers moved up in classifications from Class A to Class AA. This got the critics in gear again by saying that the only reason the Tigers ever won was because they played at the lowest classification level which is a pretty imprudent statement considering the classifications are given out based on enrollment figures by the PIAA. Unfortunately for the Tigers, they were defeated in the district semi-finals making some of those criticizers feel like geniuses. Those same people have gone back into hiding a year later because the 2015 Tigers have made it back to the “Sweetest Place on Earth” in Hershey. “Almost all successful people in both the sports world and real-world have been doubted and have had criticizing remarks made about them. Like most people, we take anything that’s said negatively about us and use it as motivation and as a way to push us. When it comes time to line up on the field and play football, all of their comments don’t have any effect on us as a team,” said offensive and defensive lineman Gabe Delbo.

Southern Columbia currently sits at 15-0 and is the highest scoring team in Pennsylvania. Nobody is more happy about this year’s postseason success than the seniors because they had never been a part of a state playoff win prior to this season. “It really is a surreal feeling. Being able to play in a championship football game anywhere is special, but it is even better when you get to do it with some of your best friends. Our senior class didn’t ever get past round one before this year and now we are in the final,” said current QB Nick Becker. This year’s gang, which includes 25 seniors, has gotten the opportunity to play in Pennsylvania high school football’s final weekend along with seven other schools across the state between the four classifications. On Saturday around 3:00 these Tigers will take off their uniforms for the last time as a team regardless of the outcome after taking on the Aliquippa Quips. “There’s definitely going to be some sadness. Being part of a program like Southern Columbia was an amazing experience and I wouldn’t have wanted to play for or with anyone else regardless of the outcome,” senior captain Blake Marks said.

The bottom line is this. SCA football has been arguably the best high school sports program in Pennsylvania since the mid-1990’s. There has not been a sport in any school to garner this much success over such a long period of time. Southern Columbia Area School District is a public school, so the luxury of recruiting state-wide and surrounding states isn’t there for them which makes their consistent dominance that much more impressive. The majority of the Tiger coaching staff has been with Roth for either the entirety or most of this successful journey. “I believe talking about the success our program has had continues to drive our teams each year towards the ultimate goal even though many of them haven’t experienced playing in that kind of atmosphere before,” said Traugh who is now a coach.

After winning 23 District IV Championships, 14 Eastern Titles, and either six or seven PIAA State Championships pending Saturday’s result, Roth’s teams have more than proven to be at the pinnacle of success. “I think the thing that makes me and the rest of the coaching staff the happiest about the program is the high level of consistency over the years. In the years that we didn’t quite reach the state final, we still have had a lot of teams that won league and district titles and were successful,” he said. Regardless if you root for or against the Tigers, one thing is for certain. The boys in pads are just high school student athletes playing a game that they love. It’s not always about who wins and who loses. Most people don’t recognize who scores the most touchdowns nor has the most tackles. Years down the road, the average follower couldn’t tell you who tops the record books or received all-state nods in the past. The one thing that hopefully everyone can tell you is that the Southern Columbia football family is like none other and the Tigers historic past speaks for itself. “There’s always been a tremendous amount of support from all angles since the program has turned the tables and started to win. That support helps to motivate the players especially with a team like we have this year because these players have never gotten to this point before. Having our stands filled each week is certainly an advantage, and it’s going to make a difference,” said the man who is in charge and had guided the Tigers to 380 wins during his hall-of-fame career.

Before any other critics come out of hiding thinking the program is going to eventually start to fall, be aware of what you wish for. This year’s varsity program sits at 15-0, the junior varsity squad didn’t lose a game, and both the freshman and junior high teams went undefeated this season. “The tradition is a huge factor. When you have a strong following like we have starting with the younger kids and their parents, it goes a long way. The kids coming through the system start to see the support that we get from all parts of the community and want to be a part of the strong tradition that was built by the players that came before them,” Roth said. With all of this being said, it is probably easier now to understand why people are jealous of the Tiger way.

PIAA Class AA State Championship: Tigers vs Quips

Record: 15-0 (District IV Champions)

Last Week: Defeated West Catholic 34-19

Head Coach: Jim Roth (380 career victories)

What if the Tigers win?

Southern Columbia will extend their state record total to 14 state championship game appearances. With a win, they will break a tie with Berwick and become the first school in PIAA history to win seven gold medals. The Tigers are currently 6-7 in state title contests.

Fact of the Championship:

Southern Columbia and Aliquippa are currently tied for the most playoff wins in PIAA history at 92. The winner of Saturday’s game will not only be labeled as the Class AA State Champions, but will also be the state’s all-time winningest playoff program.

NFL Alums:

Former four-time Southern Columbia state champion Henry Hynoski had a successful starting stint as the lead blocker for the New York Giants. He was also the starter on the G-Men’s Super Bowl XLVI victory over the New England Patriots at fullback. The Quips have had a longer line of notable players to have an impact at the professional level. NFL Hall of Fame player and former coach, Mike Ditka, was a Quip back in the day. Former Super Bowl winning defensive back Ty Law and arguably the top corner this millennium, Darrelle Revis, played for the Quips during their high school years. Another interesting fact is that NBA Hall-of-Famer “Pistol” Pete Maravich was born in Aliquippa.

Keys to Victory:

-The Tigers will need to contain running back, Kaezon Pugh who has nearly 2,000 more rushing yards then the second leading rusher on the Quips. Pugh is a University of Pittsburgh recruit, like Tyler Boyd, who the Tigers faced back in 2011 in the state final. Pugh is an exceptional player, but nowhere near the talent level of Boyd who will most likely be a first-round NFL draft pick in the upcoming draft after breaking all of Larry Fitzgerald’s Panther records at Pitt.

-Win the turnover differential. The Tigers only threw one interception last week in the Eastern Final, and the SCA defense forced seven turnovers on the opposition. Aliquippa has trailed in the fourth quarter of their last three games, so a turnover in favor of SCA could be the momentum shift that they need to propel them to victory.

-Control the field position battle. A lot of games featuring two explosive teams come down to who wins the battle of field position. Last week, Southern gave up an 87 kick return for a touchdown on the opening kickoff. After that, the Tigers special team unit had the upper-hand in all phases of the game.

Here’s a breakdown of Southern Columbia’s projected starters in the Class AA PIAA State Championship game.

Quarterback

Sr. Nick Becker

Becker is in his third year as a starter and has been adding a rushing attack to aide his arm over the past couple of weeks. In wins over West Catholic & Berks Catholic, the senior has rushed for five scores and thrown for over 300 yards. Another key for Becker has been the fact that he has remained healthy after being taken out in an ambulance in the first half of the first game this season against Mifflinburg. His confidence has been building and he has seemed to motivate the team more and more as the post-season has progressed.

Running Backs

Jr. Hunter Thomas, Sr. Blake Marks, Sr. Jared Torres

In the Tigers offensive system, it’s not a secret that the backs are the vocal point. This year’s crew has the potential to do something for the first time in school history. Southern has had two different runners go over the 1,000 yard plateau multiple times in school history, but never three. If Torres is able to pick up just 13 rushing yards in the final, the three-headed monster will achieve the feat. “It makes it hard for teams to just key on one back. When they start keying on someone, it opens up a lot of opportunities for the other two,” said Torres who is the fullback. Thomas leads the way with 1,536 rushing yards and Marks has 1,028. The trio has also combined to score 51 rushing touchdowns this season. Thomas is the team leader in receptions for the Tigers during the 2015 campaign as well.

Offensive Line

Tackles: Sr. Gabe Delbo & Sr. Aaron Kroh

Guards: Sr. Josh Yoder & So. Andrew Bell

Center: Sr. Dale Houser

Tight End: Jr. Garrett Henry

The offensive line has been the Tigers most surprising success this season. Coming into 2015, the Tigers only had two returning starters coming back (Yoder & Kroh). “I’ve been very pleased with the way our line has played. They were our biggest question mark coming in, but they have done what we needed them to do for the most part this season,” said Jim Roth after his team’s district championship win in week 13. This unit has been able to wear down and overpower opponents in helping to pave the way for their 15-0 record. Freshman Oak Six has been converted over to tight end to provide more meat on the outside when the Tigers are in double tight end sets.

Wide Receivers

Sr. Steve Toczylousky & Jr. Cameron Young

Toczylousky has set a new single-season Southern record for touchdown receptions in a season with 12. He has also caused fits for opposing secondaries by averaging 25.6 yards per catch. “Our ability to throw the ball helps to keep the defense honest. We are more known as a running team obviously, but we like to have some balance,” said Roth. Young comes in with 20 grabs and three scores on the season.

Defensive Line

Defensive Ends: Sr. Chase Tillett & Sr. Gabe Delbo

Defensive Tackles: Sr. Nick Freeman & Sr. Chris Grosch

The Tigers defensive line provided plenty of pressure last week in the Easter Final. West Catholic quarterback Josh Evans was forced to throw outside the pocket the majority of the time thanks to the quickness from the outside of Southern’s defensive line. Southern will need that same type of pressure this week against Quip QB Sheldon Jeter who comes in as one of the top WPIAL passers this season. Tillett is the Tigers leader with nine sacks on the year. Freshman Troy Donlan will see some time at defensive tackle and Josh Yoder comes in for run-stopping situational plays.

Linebackers

Inside Linebackers: Sr. Matt Bell & Sr. Austin Knepp

Outside Linebackers: Sr. Blake Marks, Sr. Jake Potter, & Sr. Ross Crowl

Both Bell and Knepp will come in to the state final with over 100 tackles on the season. Bell was the leader coming into last week with 109 and Knepp had 102. “It has been the defensive line playing quick and aggressive reacting off of blocks. The linebackers are playing fast and we have good run support from the secondary,” Bell said. Potter and Crowl have done a solid job of rotating at the one outside backer position. Marks, who plays on the other side, has four interceptions including two in the fourth quarter last week. All five of these guys have been catalysts in stopping the other team’s ground game in the postseason.

Secondary

Cornerbacks: Sr. Billy Marzeski & Jr. Cameron Young

Safety: Sr. Steve Toczylousky

This trio has done a fine job of forcing turnovers and limiting running backs from breaking free. Young leads the way with eight interceptions and Toczylouksy has six. Both of them have returned one for a touchdown. Marzeski has added two interceptions and leads the secondary with over 80 tackles on the season. “It’s very important to keep them from completing big pass plays. They are mostly a run team, but when they do pass they have had success. Breaking up big pass plays will kill their drives and momentum,” said Marzeski. They will be faced with the tough task in the final of stopping Jassir Jordan who has 42 catches for 934 yards and came up with some clutch receptions in Aliquippa’s come from behind victories.

Special Teams

Nick Becker, a lefty with his foot, handles the punting duties for the Tigers. Senior soccer player Tyler Keiser has been kicking for the Tigers over the past two seasons. This year he has been virtually automatic on PAT’s by converting on nearly 95% of them. “Our special teams are a key for us. When they play good, it seems to get the rest of us fired up and motivated to go out and control the game,” stated Becker. The Tigers use their play-makers and speed in the return game and have returned three kickoffs for scores.

Prediction:

This Tiger senior class has gotten over their playoff slump. They had never been a part of a state playoff victory prior to this season and have defeated two talented Catholic teams over the past two weeks. West Catholic was a more balanced team than Aliquippa has been this season. The Quips have leaned on their running attack for the majority of the season which plays into Southern’s strength. Assuming the Tigers rush defense doesn’t fall apart at Hershey Park Stadium on Saturday and the offense is able to sustain drives, Southern Columbia wins their seventh golden football for their display case by a final of 35-21.

Aliquippa’s Preview click here

Southern Columbia downs West Catholic in Eastern Final

By: Dave Fegley (Twitter: @DFegs9)

The majority of the time in the game of football, the team that commits the least amount of turnovers and penalties usually wins. When the differential is as great as it was in Southern Columbia’s 34-19 victory over West Catholic in the PIAA Class AA Eastern Final, the winning coach had a lot to be pleased about. “We talked coming in about how important it was going to be to keep our head in the game and not worry about how the other team would act. The discipline of executing your plays goes right in hand with the discipline of your behavior, and I think we did a pretty good job with both,” said Jim Roth who will be coaching in his 14^th state championship game next Saturday as the head coach of the Tigers.

West Catholic turned the ball over seven times (five interceptions and two fumbles) compared to only one interception thrown by Southern. The Burrs committed 11 penalties, including four personal fouls, compared to just one Tiger penalty. One of those Burrs penalties wiped away a 52 yard first half touchdown pass that could have put them in front heading to halftime. On half of the Burrs penalties, their secondary inexplicably turned to the Tigers sideline and tried pumping up an SCA crowd that probably outnumbered the West Catholic crowd by a ratio of 25 to 1, which got the Tiger faithful even more excited. There wasn’t an explanation given as to what they were trying to accomplish, but the Tigers thrived off of their crowd support which has supported them all season long. “Our fan support has been awesome. Everyone comes out to support us and it really gets us pumped up,” said Tiger leading rusher Hunter Thomas who finished with 113 yards on 14 carries.

The game started in West Catholic’s favor as their play-maker, senior Craig Jones, received the opening kickoff. The wide receiver took the kick 86 yards to the end zone to put the Burrs in front 7-0 just like that. “I think we used that as motivation because it had us mad early on. Special teams are a big part of games, and they were able to take advantage right away,” said Southern starting quarterback Nick Becker. The Tigers were then forced to punt on their opening possession, giving the Burrs offense a chance at taking an early two score lead. The Burrs drove down the field behind both the arm and legs of their senior quarterback, Josh Evans,  setting the ball inside the Tigers 20. “They had some phenomenal receivers so our secondary had to focus on making some plays. Our defensive line was able to get pressure on their quarterback and rush some of his throws,” said Tiger cornerback Cam Young. One of those heavy pass rushes resulted in Young picking off a pass and giving his team the ball back at their own 12 yard line.

Southern was able to pick up 20 yards on a screen pass and two first down via the run which set the ball near midfield. Then the Burrs committed two costly penalties on back to back plays with the first one being a pass interference and the next a late hit. Becker took advantage three plays later by finding Blake Marks for a 21 yard score to tie the game up at 7-7. “West Catholic was switching up their fronts early on and it took us a little to get adjusted to it. I think we started to wear them down as the game went on just based off of the fact that they were huffing and puffing at the end of our longer drives,” said four year starting lineman Josh Yoder. West Catholic was also called for an encroachment penalty the play prior to the touchdown pass.

Evans, who finished with 277 yards passing, started to heat up again on the next drive finding his three favorite targets Jones, Amadou Barry, and Jameer Bryson for first down receptions. Barry then got behind the secondary and caught a 22 yard touchdown pass to put the Burrs in front 13-7 after a missed PAT. Southern would take the lead on the next possession with the big play coming on a 31 yard run by Thomas. “This is the best feeling ever, and I wouldn’t want to be playing for another team in the state. This whole community is like a big family. I’m emotional because this means so much to this team and I have never been a part of this before,” said Thomas who became the 22^nd back in school history to go over 2,000 career rushing yards for a career earlier this postseason. Becker finished off the drive with a three yard keeper and after Tyler Keiser’s extra point, the Tigers would go in front 14-13.

On the first play of West Catholic’s next drive, Evans found Jones for a 52 yard touchdown, but the score was negated after an illegal shift penalty. The drive ended when Gabe Delbo recovered a fumble giving SCA the ball back at their 48 yard line. The Tigers used the tandem of fullback Jared Torres and Thomas on the next drive to put the ball inside the red zone. After a sack, the Tigers were forced with a 4^th down from the 29 yard line. Becker was intercepted by Jones, but it ended up working in the Tigers favor. He caught the ball at the six instead of batting it down and giving the Burrs possession at the 29. The 23 yard difference proved to be pivitol as the Burrs took it down to the Tiger 18 yard line and threw an interception to Steve Toczylousky on the final play of the first half. “The game plan coming in was to not give up any big pass plays. We knew that we could shut down their run, but they had a lot of speed on the outside,” said Toczylousky who finished with two interceptions on the afternoon. The Tigers went in to the locker room with a 14-13 lead.

Both defenses traded stops to start the second half until Evans found Barry for a 33 yard strike to put the Burrs back in front 19-13 and that was the score heading into the final quarter, but the Tigers have a veteran coaching staff that had been in this position before. “These particular players haven’t ever been in this position obviously, but the staff has been here plenty of times before. Our coaching staff is the ‘over the hill bunch’. Mike Johnston is the only one not retired and he has to change after school. The rest of us can come to practice ready to go,” said Roth joking around about his staff after the win. “John Marks is younger too, but he just plays on his farm all day. (Andy) Mills just retired, (Don) Traugh and (Roger) Nunkester are retired, and I’m retired from teaching but still the AD. We’ve played in 14 of these Eastern Finals before this one, and the majority of our staff has been on board for all of them.” he said.

The Tigers rallied behind the advice and strategies from their coaches and outscored West Catholic 20-0 during the final quarter. Becker scored the first one on a five yard run and then Marks, who was battling through a dead leg, followed on the next drive from 12 yards out putting the Tigers up 27-19. “I have a kidney pad and it kind of dug into me, and I couldn’t really run full force after an earlier run. Then to add insult to injury I got kneed in the calf later,” said Marks. The senior captain finished with 92 yards on the ground putting him over 1,000 on the year. “I’d have negative a million yards if we still were able to win. Negative a million would probably force us to lose, but the point is we just care about winning the games at this point. Nothing else matters,” he said.

The biggest play of the game may have come on the ensuing kickoff. Keiser’s kickoff was a line drive that smacked off of one of the West Catholic up men and ricocheted back to Southern’s kickoff team where Nic Fetterman was able to fall on it. “I wasn’t expecting it. The kick was supposed to be deep, but instead it hit the guy in front of the line. As soon as I saw it hit him and come my way I just jumped on it,” Fetterman said. Becker scored six plays later on an 18 yard keeper, extending the Tiger lead to 34-19 and putting all the momentum on their side. “It’s an incredible feeling and I’m really at a loss for words right now. With all of the support we get from our families, friends, school, and the community as a whole, there is nothing like having the opportunity to play in front of so many supporters like we have at Southern,” said Becker.

Marks put the icing on the cake or in this case, the Hershey kisses in the air by intercepting two passes over the final four minutes to end any potential comeback bid by West Catholic. “I think I was due to have a pretty good game, and I’m just happy I was able to put the best I had to give on the line to help this team win,” Marks said. The Tigers kept the ball on the ground to run the clock down to end the game. After the final horn sounded, the Tigers could officially mark a date on the calendar next Saturday to make a trip down the Hershey Highway to Chocolate Town, USA for the first time since 2011. The Tigers will take on the Aliquippa Quips who have an identical 15-0 record. The Quips will enter as the #1 ranked team in the state, but the Tigers aren’t worried about rankings. “We have the philosophy of letting the doubters be doubters. We have put in the time and effort to get to this point, so we don’t care what others think. We just want to reach our ultimate goal and that is winning a state championship,” SCA captain Gabe Delbo stated.

The Tigers will try to achieve that goal with kickoff against the Quips set for 12:00 next Saturday afternoon. This will be familiar territory for both of these historic programs. Aliquippa will be making their sixth trip to the state final with wins coming in 1991 and 2003. The Tigers will make their record 14^th appearance, and try and extend their current state record of overall state championships victories from six to seven with gold trophies coming in 1994 and 2002-2006. “It’s historic since it will be our first state championship game at the Class AA level after we had so much success dominating in Class A from 1994 to 2011. It’s also the last year that the PIAA will have four classifications, so that’s an added incentive to want to come out on top next week,” said Toczylousky. Southern Columbia & Aliquippa are the only two PIAA programs with more than 90 all-time playoff victories, each with 92, so next week’s winner will have the overall lead for the state of Pennsylvania.

SCA: 0-14-0-20 = 34
WC: 7-6-6-0 = 19

SOUTHERN COLUMBIA (15-0)

RUSHING:

Hunter Thomas 14-113; Blake Marks 12-92, TD; Jared Torres 13-56; Nick Becker 8-50, 3 TDs; Nic Fetterman 4-11

PASSING:

Nick Becker 6-12-1, 96 yds, TD

RECEIVING:

Blake Marks 2-36, TD; Hunter Thomas 2-23; Jared Torres 1-20; Garrett Henry 1-17

1st DOWNS: 22

PENALTIES: 1-15

WEST CATHOLIC (10-5)

RUSHING:

Josh Evans 11-68; Supreme Kemp 4-22; Sharif Fennell 7-17; Craig Jones 2-6; Ociele Miller 1-2

PASSING:

Josh Evans 18-29-5, 277 yds, 2 TDs

RECEIVING:

Amadou Barry 6-118, 2 TDs; Craig Jones 4-63; Jameer Bryson 2-58; Ahmad Kent 2-10; Tahj Powell 1-18; Supreme Kemp 1-8; Josh Holsopple 1-6; Sharif Fennell 1-(-4)

1st DOWNS: 22

PENALTIES: 11-107

Burrs stats provided by Tim Hare (PE)

Southern Columbia and Montoursville battled to the end

By: Dave Fegley (Twitter: @DFegs9)

The biggest question mark that Southern Columbia Area had coming into the 2015 season was the way the offensive line would come together and play as a unit. This group has not only changed that question mark, but they have made it into an exclamation point. The big boys up front paved the way for the skill players to score eight times on the ground and helped grind out one of the most memorable victories in program history. The Tigers outlasted Montoursville 56-50 on their way to picking up the school’s first ever District IV AA Championship after winning plenty of District IV A titles over the past three decades. “The offensive line is the area of the team that essential won the game for us. When you have 50 points scored on you and you can still win the game, the offensive line has to do a great job,” said Southern coach Jim Roth. “In the second half Montoursville had to know that we weren’t passing. We just kept running it at them and they just weren’t able to stop us which speaks volumes for the offensive line’s play.” The second half play calling resulted in 24 runs to just one pass attempt.

After the Tigers took a 14-0 lead into the second quarter, with touchdown runs of eight yards by Jared Torres and 17 yards from Hunter Thomas, Montoursville scored to open up the second quarter. A six yard run by Keith Batkowski, who ends his career as the Warriors all-time leading rusher, made the score 14-7. On the first play of the next drive Thomas took a handoff 80 yards into the end zone to put Southern ahead 21-7. “It was another one of those games where we just wanted to run the ball up and down the field. Once we established the run, we just wanted it more and didn’t stop until the backs got into the end zone,” said SCA offensive tackle Aaron Kroh. The Warriors answered back on the next play when Tom Shea returned the ensuing kickoff 91 yards to pay dirt cutting back into the Southern lead.

Southern would use a nine play drive to score on their next possession with the highlight coming on a Thomas 54 yard dash taking the ball deep into Warrior territory. “It’s really easy to do your job when you have great backs like we have. When you gash teams with the running game, it makes all of us feel more confident,” said Tiger tight end Garrett Henry. Quarterback Nick Becker scored from a yard out and converted on a two-point conversion pass to Blake Marks to put the Tigers up 29-13. “There is a lot of communication involved and we rely on each other to block up front. Every single play we need to go 100% and I think we do a pretty good job of that as an offensive unit,” said Tiger offensive tackle Gabe Delbo.

Montoursville, showing no quit, would score the final 16 points of the first half to go into the break knotted up at 29-29. “These kids are the toughest kids that I have ever been around. They learned how to battle through adversity even in defeat and I couldn’t be any prouder of them,” said Montoursville coach J.C. Keefer. Ben Cerney scored on a one yard plunge to make it a one score game after a successful two-point conversion. The Warriors recovered the ensuing onside kick, and then Batkowski scored from 15 yards out. To tie the game, Montoursville quarterback Brycen Mussina hit his tight end Mitch Rothrock with less than a minute to go in the first half off of a fake extra point attempt.

Montoursville had their first chance to take the lead to start the second half, but Cam Young intercepted a pass and returned it 33 yards to put the Tigers back in front 36-29. Mussina, who came up with clutch throw after clutch throw in the second half, threw a 34 yard touchdown pass on the next drive to Dylan Fontenol to tie the game once again. Southern answered the call when the backs ran behind the line with the final run coming on a seven yard score by Torres. “We just need to play with the mentality that every play could be the last. We were fortunate to win this one, but it’s important that we give it our all,” senior center Dale Houser stated. “The rest of our lives we will be able to look back at this, but when it’s over it’s over so we need to play in the moment.”

Mussina converted a 4^th and nine on the next drive with a 44 yard pass to Shea which set up a short Cerney run to make the game 43-43. Thomas, who finished with a career high of 241 rushing yards, answered the call by scoring his third touchdown of the night from 15 yards out to put the Tigers back in front. “We have a great set of backs with rare talent and it’s satisfying to see the yardage that they are able to get,” said Andrew Bell who is the Tigers lone underclassman on the line. Southern would head to the final 12 minutes with a 50-43 lead.

Mussina converted another fourth down on the next drive. This time he was faced with a 4^th and 15, but connected with Shea for 19 yards. “Brycen Mussina is an outstanding quarterback. He gets better every second with every throw that he makes,” said Keefer about his junior QB. That set up a Batkowski two yard run to make the score 50-50 which also marked the first time Southern Columbia has given up 50 points in a game since a 68-52 playoff victory over Canton back in 2010. On the Tigers next possession, the offensive line opened holes and allowed for Torres to go over the 100 yard mark, finishing with 121 in total, and continued to wear down the Warriors defense. Becker scored from two yards out with under four minutes left in the game. The Tigers missed the PAT, and it gave the Warriors momentum with a chance to win the game with the Tigers lead sitting at 56-50.

That set up Southern Columbia’s defense with an opportunity to make a rare stop and win the game on Montoursville’s final possession. “Obviously our defense could have played much better. It’s not often that you can give up 50 points and still be in the lead. We knew we just had to make one stop to win the game,” said Tiger linebacker Matt Bell. That one stop came from the senior inside linebacker duo of Bell and Austin Knepp. On fourth down, the Tigers drew up a blitz and it was the tandem of Knepp and Bell that sacked Mussina to win the game. “Matt and I both blitzed on that play up the middle. It was a ton of relief after we made that sack especially with the way our defense struggled, but we got it done when we needed to,” Knepp said. All the Tigers had to do was take two knees to wrap up a 56-50 dramatic victory.

Montoursville ends their season as silver-medalists and a record of 9-4 after taking home the district gold last year. Southern Columbia, District IV’s victors, moves to 13-0 and will face District III champion Berks Catholic next Saturday afternoon. “In over 30 years of coaching, you think you’ve seen every type of game there could be. I never thought this would happen though,” Roth said. This SCA senior class has never lost a regular season game and now has won three of the last four district titles. However, with the success that the program has had at the state level over the years, they want to be known outside of just the district. Tiger football has been put on a pedestal where the success of a season is measured in the state playoffs. Fair or not, when the school has the most state titles in Pennsylvania history, the expectations are that much higher and this group is motivated to make some noise across the Keystone state.

The one thing that none of these Southern seniors have is a state playoff victory against a team outside of District IV, and they are determined to not break a streak that started before any of them were even born. Incredibly, every graduating class of Southern Columbia has had at least one player with a state playoff victory dating back prior to the Tigers first of six state championships in 1994. This group wants to keep that streak alive with a win next week. “The past three years we’ve won some district titles, but we haven’t done anything in the state playoffs. We are going to be motivated next week and want to put our mark in school history and that starts with winning in the state playoffs,” said four-year starting lineman Josh Yoder. Southern fans can expect another high scoring affair next week in the opening round of the state playoffs. The Tigers and Saints will come in as the two highest scoring AA offenses in the eastern part of the state playoff bracket. The game will take place at Governor Mifflin High School in Shillington, near Reading, with a 1:00 kickoff tentatively scheduled.

SCA: 14-15-14-13 = 56
MTV: 0-29-14-7 = 50

SOUTHERN COLUMBIA (13-0)

RUSHING:

Hunter Thomas 16-241, 3 TDs; Jared Torres 19-121, 2 TDs; Blake Marks 10-74; Nick Becker 8-25, 2 TDs

PASSING:

Nick Becker 7-10-0, 83 yds

RECEIVING:

Steve Toczylousky 2-42; Jared Torres 1-24; Hunter Thomas 2-17; Blake Marks 2-0

1st DOWNS: 24

PENALTIES: 8-70

MONTOURSVILLE (9-4)

RUSHING:

Keith Batkowski 24-109, 3 TD; Ben Cerney 6-41, 2 TD; Brycen Mussina 3-(-19)

PASSING:

Brycen Mussina 17-30-1, 233 yds., TD

RECEIVING:

Tom Shea 9-122; Dylan Fontenot 4-78, TD; Mitchell Rothrock 2-16; Keith Batkowski 1-17; Ben Cerney 1-0

1st DOWNS: 18

PENALTIES: 3-25

Tigers total nearly 600 yards in win

By: Dave Fegley (Twitter: @DFegs9)

Southern Columbia’s offense has been impressive all season long. They have had success on the ground and in the air behind the blocking of their offensive line. The result has been 10 Mercy Rule victories this season now through 12 weeks. In Friday’s District IV AA semi-final, a convincing 56-20 victory over Hughesville, the Tigers racked up yardage on the ground at a blistering rate. The starting backfield combination of Hunter Thomas, Jared Torres, Blake Marks, and QB Nick Becker carried the ball 22 times between them and tallied 410 yards rushing. “We have been playing well all season, but now that we are in playoff mode our intensity level is picking up,” said Thomas who led the way with 164 yards on six carries and added three touchdowns.

The Spartans got on the board first to start the game with a 19 yard run by Melvin Derhammer, but the Tigers answered right back on the ensuing kickoff. Hughesville attempted a squib kick that was taken by speedster Billy Marzeski. The senior switched directions, crossing field from right to left, and outran the coverage team for a 73 yard score. “I saw the ball bounce in front of me so I grabbed it. Then I saw most of their guys on one side of the field, so I cut back to the other side,” Marzeski said. “They had two or three guys on the opposite side of the field, but they were pretty slow and I was able to outrun them into the end zone.” After that, Southern scored on their next five possessions and the defensive unit for the black and gold shut down the opposition to put the game into the Mercy Rule by halftime.

Thomas scored the Tigers next two touchdowns on runs of 81, the first offensive play of the game for SCA, and then a five yard run. Becker threw two touchdown passes to Steve Toczylousky and Cam Young respectively, and then Torres scored from 21 yards out for the final score of the half. “We started out kind of slow, and Hughesville had a lot to do with that. They had a solid season and it took us a little bit to get going. Once we found our groove, I was pleased with the way we played on both sides of the ball,” Southern coach Jim Roth said. The Tigers forced four turnovers on the night and forced four straight punts after the Spartans opening score.

Toczylousky’s touchdown put him alone at the top of the Tigers single-season record books and tied him for career receiving touchdowns. His 12^th touchdown broke a 20 year mark held by assistant coach Andy Helwig. “He congratulated me as I came off the field and that was a cool feeling. I actually didn’t have any idea until you (Dave Fegley) told me after last week’s game that I was even close,” Toczylousky said. The two-way starter also added two interceptions on the night. “It’s real important to me that I am able to go both ways. I want to try and help this team out any way possible,” he said.

In total, Southern’s offense was able to rack up 511 yards on the ground after reserve fullback Nic Fetterman added 92 rushing yards after halftime. Add in Becker’s 77 passing yards, and SCA nearly went over the 600 yard plateau as a team. “We came out and played with a lot of confidence like we do every week. We really don’t care who we are playing because we just play football the way we know how,” said Southern lineman Andrew Bell. It was with the help of the offensive line that allowed for the backs to pile up mindboggling yards per carry. Thomas averaged 27.3 yards per carry, Becker 21.5, Marks 16.8, Torres 13.2, and Fetterman 11.5 per attempt.

All four touchdowns in the second half came on long plays as well. Hughesville scored first to make the score 42-14 when Trey Smith got behind the Tiger secondary and scored on a 95 yard pass thrown out of the end zone by quarterback Landon Henry. The Tigers scored on their next two possessions on runs of 63 yards by Marks and 46 yards by Thomas. The final touchdown was a milestone for Spartan senior wide receiver Zach Fry. He caught a 66 yard bomb from Henry to put him over 1,000 yards receiving for the season. “This was definitely our most balanced rushing game of the season. It seemed like no matter who touched the ball they were all able to pick up yardage. That’s certainly a positive heading into next week and hopefully further into the postseason,” Roth stated after the 56-20 drubbing his team laid on Hughesville. The Spartans, coached by Dan Tucker, ended a successful 2015 season at 9-3 and have valuable pieces returning for next year’s team to build off of. His team can look at Southern’s success as a measuring stick that could be a sense of motivation for the Spartans heading into the offseason. “They have an amazing program. They can do so many things to take you out of a game,” stated Tucker.

Southern Columbia will get the rematch they have been waiting for since the end of last season. The Montoursville Warriors, a Friday night winner over Athens, will come to Tiger Stadium next week to take on the Tigers in the District IV AA Championship. The Warriors upset the Tigers in last year’s semi-final matchup on their way to earning the district crown. The winner of next Friday’s game will enter the state playoffs and take on the winner between Berks Catholic and Wyomissing the following Saturday afternoon.

SCA: 21-21-14-0 = 56
HHS: 7-0-7-6 = 20

SOUTHERN COLUMBIA (12-0)

RUSHING:

Hunter Thomas 6-164, 3 TDs; Jared Torres 9-119, TD; Blake Marks 5-84, TD; Nic Fetterman 8-92; Nick Becker 2-43; Jake Potter 2-5; Thomas Manley 1-5; Jeffrey Cox 1-0; Billy Marzeski 2-(-2)

PASSING:

Nick Becker 8-10-0, 77 yds, 2 TDs

RECEIVING:

Steve Toczylousky 2-35, TD; Cam Young 2-25, TD; Hunter Thomas 2-11; Blake Marks 2-6

1st DOWNS: 18

PENALTIES: 6-55

HUGHESVILLE (9-3)

RUSHING:

Melvin Derhammer 16-83, TD; Landon Henry 5-6; Ryan McClain 3-(-1)

PASSING:

Landon Henry 10-22-3, 231 yds, 2 TD

RECEIVING:

Trey Smith 4-141, TD; Zach Fry 4-77, TD; Jase Wright 1-10; Ethan Duff 1-3

1st DOWNS: 10

PENALTIES: 7-60

Hughesville stats provided by Damien Scoblink (PE)

Southern opens the playoffs with a win

By: Dave Fegley (Twitter: @DFegs9)

Southern Columbia’s first offensive possession Friday night started deep in their own territory after forcing Troy to punt on the game’s opening drive. After 13 plays, the Tigers put together a 96 yard drive, capped off with a 33 yard run by Hunter Thomas, to put the Tigers up 7-0. District IV’s top ranked team didn’t look back from that point forward. “Our line got it done up front tonight. Troy came out tough, but it was just a matter of time until we started to overpower them up front,” Thomas said. The junior would finish the night with 134 rushing yards and three touchdowns on only nine carries. In the second quarter, the Tigers were able to score four times to put the game into the Mercy Rule at halftime 35-0. Jared Torres scored twice on runs of 12 and two yards, Thomas scored on a one yard plunge, and Nick Becker threw a 29 yard touchdown to fellow senior Steve Toczylousky.

Toczylousky’s touchdown reception put the senior at 13 for his career and he is closing in on assistant coach Andy Helwig’s career record of 14 touchdown grabs. “We are known as primarily a running team and having balance just makes us harder to stop,” said Toczylousky. If he is able to pull in another touchdown reception this year, putting his season total at 12, it would set the school’s individual season record by surpassing the 11 that Helwig had during the 1995 season. However, Toczylousky is more worried about this group of seniors winning a state playoff game, something this class is yet to accomplish in their careers, rather than any individual accolades. “We want to win districts, but we have much bigger goals in mind. At Southern a district title doesn’t mean as much as it does at other schools, so we are trying to get back to a state championship,” he said. On that same pass, Becker became the career passing yardage leader for SCA passing Matt Kaskie. “I had two goals coming into this year and this was one of them. More importantly though is trying to help this team win a state title. Individual stats don’t mean too much. Taking that ride to Hershey would mean a lot more because the team’s success is the main goal,” said the third year starter.

The highlight of the night came late in the second quarter at Tiger Stadium. On a play after Southern linebacker Ross Crowl intercepted Troy’s Clark Jackson, Torres arguably pulled off the best play of the season so far for Southern. He took a handoff up the middle for a 34 yard gain. He didn’t reach the goal line, but it was a play that without seeing it doesn’t do it justice. The fullback broke seven tackles and carried four Troy defenders the final six yards before being brought down setting up his second score two plays later. “He’s had a good year, and he’s a nice piece to add in the running game. With Marks and Thomas running a lot on the outside, he adds that dimension of running inside to mix it up. That run was by far his most physical run of the year and it was nice to see,” said Southern coach Jim Roth. The fullback finished the night with 101 yards behind the push of the offensive line. “It was nice to get Josh Yoder back into the lineup after he missed a couple of games. Our line has done a really nice job of opening up holes for all of our backs this season and now the starters are back and healthy” stated Torres.

Jackson got the Trojans on the board in the third quarter with an 85 yard quarterback keeper, but Thomas answer right back with a 55 yard scamper of his own to make the score 42-7 after three quarters once Tyler Keiser converted on his sixth consecutive extra point. The senior kicker, who is a soccer player, also added two touchbacks on the night which provides the Tigers with an excellent weapon to have on special teams. “Since soccer has finished my leg is feeling a lot better throughout the week. It also gives me more time to focus on my kicking in football and being more consistent on the extra points and kickoffs,” said Keiser. “As the playoffs progress, special teams become even more important and I feel we have a consistent unit. With Josh Yoder as a long snapper and Cam Young as the holder, I feel the three of us have developed a nice flow in the kicking game,” stated the kicker. Southern’s starting defense held the Trojans offense to a meager one yard passing and 41 yards rushing through the first three quarters of play.

Troy’s senior running back Ben Sherman finished his career on a positive note with two rushing touchdowns in the fourth quarter against the Tiger reserves, but it wasn’t near enough as Southern would go on to win 42-22. The Trojans season comes to an end at 7-4. The Tigers advance to meet Hughesville, a 24-14 winner over Loyalsock, in the District IV AA Semi-Finals next Friday night at Tiger Stadium. Southern Columbia should be heavily favored, but Roth is impressed with the season the Spartans have put together so far this season. “I really don’t know too much about Hughesville at this point until we watch some film, but they have beaten some quality teams in the regular season. They started to come onto the scene late last season, so it’s really not too much of a surprise that they have made it to this point,” said Roth. The winner of next Friday’s game will meet the winner of Athens and Montoursville. If Southern Columbia wins, they will host the District IV AA Championship game as the top seed regardless of who wins the other matchup.

SCA: 7-28-7-0 = 42
TROY: 0-0-7-15 = 22

SOUTHERN COLUMBIA (11-0)

RUSHING:

Hunter Thomas 9-134, 3 TDs; Jared Torres 13-101, 2 TDs; Blake Marks 8-51; Nic Fetterman 6-27; Nick Becker 1-15; Jake Potter 1-11; Thomas Manley 1-14; Sami Abdul 3-(-4)

PASSING:

Nick Becker 6-11-0, 103 yds, TD

RECEIVING:

Steve Toczylousky 4-83, TD; Cam Young 2-10

1st DOWNS: 22

PENALTIES: 1-10

TROY (7-4)

RUSHING:

Ben Sherman, 20-92, 2 TDs; Cody Ercolino 2-8; Clark Jackson 15-134; Zach Zimmerman 1-(-4); Collin Binford 2-8; Hunter Cohick 1-(-2)

PASSING:

Clark Jackson, 1-3-1, 1 yd, TD

RECEIVING:

Ben Sherman, 1-1

1st DOWNS: 10

PENALTIES: 3-18

Interception by Blake Marks helps Tigers seal off the Seals

By: Dave Fegley (Twitter: @DFegs9)

Last season, the Southern Columbia vs Selinsgrove showdown came down to the Tigers defense making a key interception late in the game to ice the victory. It was Southern senior linebacker Billy Barnes picking off a pass a season ago. Almost a year to the day later, another senior linebacker, Blake Marks, came up with an interception in the closing minutes to stop a potential comeback and give the Tigers a win. “We were in a man-coverage on the play, but my guy stayed in the backfield to block. When I noticed that he wasn’t a threat, I just kind of flowed to the outside when their quarterback rolled out. Fortunately, I was able to get my hands on the pass and pick it off,” Marks said. The win for the Tigers wrapped up their fourth consecutive undefeated regular season, and handed the Seals their lone loss. SCA also gained bragging rights as the mythical overall PHAC Champions with both teams winning their respective divisions.

With under three minutes left in the game, and Southern leading 21-14, Selinsgrove had the ball at the Tiger eight yard line facing a third and goal with a chance to tie or potentially take the lead. Logan Leiby rolled out to his right and threw a pass to an outside receiver in the flat. Marks stepped in front of the intended target and intercepted the pass at the four yard line. “Blake’s just a gamer. He seems to make big plays when we need them the most. You can tell he has spent a lot of time out on the playground and that’s just a phrase because he lives nowhere near a playground. The point is if you know him, he is always out doing something. The kid can’t sit still,” said Southern coach Jim Roth.

After a back and forth first half, the second half was dominated by both defenses. “Defense wins championships and tonight that proved to be correct. Being able to shut down Selinsgrove’s star runner Juvon Batts in the second half and contain their quarterback is a nice accomplishment for our defense,” said Tiger defensive back Cam Young who picked off two of Leiby’s passes. The halftime score would be the final score, 21-14, with neither team being able to find the end zone after the break. A surprising turn of events considering that both teams have been scoring points at will through the first nine weeks in 2015. In fact, Southern came into Harold L. Bolig Field on Friday night as the top scoring team in the state averaging 49.4 points per game.

On the first possession of the game, Tiger quarterback Nick Becker was intercepted inside the ten yard line which looked like it would prevent the Tigers an opportunity to score first. However after Garrett Campbell picked off the pass for the Seals, he was stripped on the same play by Marks who also recovered the football setting up a first-and-goal to go. Two plays later, Becker took advantage of the play made by his fellow senior teammate and found Marks for a five yard score to put Southern up 7-0. “This game was a huge momentum booster for us. We didn’t play our best game, but we got the win and that is really all that matters at this point with the playoffs coming up next,” said Marks.

Selinsgrove tied it early in the second quarter when Leiby connected on a perfectly thrown pass to Nick Swineford from 36 yards out. Becker put the Tigers in front again with a five yard run on the next possession. “I am happy that Nick was running with a sense of urgency. He did a nice job with his legs tonight and showed some emotions to get the team excited which he doesn’t let out very often,” Roth said about his quarterback. Becker carried the ball 12 times on Friday night, which is more than double the amount of designed attempts he has had in total since coming back in week three after an early season upper-body injury. After Tyler Keiser’s extra point, Southern’s lead was 14-7. Three plays later, Juvon Batts reeled off one of his long runs that Seals fans have grown accustom to seeing over the years. The senior scored from 53 yards out blowing past the Southern defense and after Joey Radel’s PAT the score was knotted up at 14-14.

Becker was intercepted again by Campbell on the next drive giving Selinsgrove a chance at grabbing their first lead, but Young answered the call with his second interception as well on the ensuing series. “I look forward to being challenged every week. Everyone I go up against is taller than me, but I just try to battle for every pass thrown my way. It takes technique and focus,” said Young who is listed at only 5’7” on the depth chart. With 42 seconds left in the first half, Marks got behind his offensive line and scored what ended up being the game-winning touchdown from three yards out.

Every possession in the second half resulted in either a punt or a turnover with both defenses coming up with key stops. Neither team threw the ball particularly well after halftime. Becker and Leiby each were intercepted three times on the night, and neither team had a running back break free for a long run like many fans around the area have seen from Batts of Selinsgrove and Marks, Hunter Thomas, and Jared Torres from Southern through the first two months. “Our running game is obviously our main strength. Nick may not have had his best game throwing the ball, but our receivers do have to make sure that they are making an effort trying to get back to some of the balls that aren’t necessarily the best passes in the world. He hasn’t let the six interceptions that he’s thrown over the last two weeks affect his role as a leader and that is certainly a good thing heading into the playoffs,” said Roth. If Becker is able to pull off some of the powerful runs like he did on Friday night, defenses will have nightmares trying to figure out a way to stop the four guys in the backfield of Roth’s Wing-T offensive scheme.

Selinsgrove will be heavily favored as they will host Columbia-Montour Vo-Tech in the District IV AAA playoffs next Friday night. The Tigers will travel back home as the top seed to take on a Troy squad out of the Northern Tier League. “The main positive to take from this game is the fact that we were able to post a shutout against a quality team like Selinsgrove. It takes a strong defense to have sustained success in the playoffs. I like the way our defense has been playing and they are going to need to keep it up for us to be successful,” said Roth. Southern will try to win their first ever District IV AA championship this year after making the move from Class-A after the 2013 season. “We are hungry to try and make some noise in the playoffs this year. We need to stay focused now because it’s win or go home from this point forward,” Marks said. With the win, Southern has guaranteed itself home-field advantage for the next three weeks in the district playoffs if they are to keep winning. Selinsgrove has also earned home-field advantage throughout district play.

SCA: 7-14-0-0 = 21
SEL: 0-14-0-0 = 14

SOUTHERN COLUMBIA (10-0)

RUSHING:

Jared Torres 16-66; Nick Becker 12-59, TD; Blake Marks 10-63, TD; Hunter Thomas 16-72

PASSING:

Nick Becker 8-17-3, 63 yds, TD

RECEIVING:

Blake Marks 3-20, TD; Cam Young 1-10; Hunter Thomas 4-33

1st DOWNS: 20

PENALTIES: 3-25

SELINSGROVE (9-1)

RUSHING:

Juvon Batts 22-119, TD; Logan Leiby 6-15; Ethan Trautman 2-7

PASSING:

Logan Leiby 4-15-3, 107 yds, TD

RECEIVING:

Colin Hoke 2-20; Ricky Cope 1-51; Nick Swineford 1-36, TD

1st DOWNS: 9

PENALTIES: 3-28

Selinsgrove stats courtesy of Damien Scoblink (PE)

Strong second half lifts Southern

Southern Columbia came to Central Mountain on Friday night riding a 39 game regular season winning streak. The Tigers also have posted Mercy Rule victories against every team that they have played since week one this season. They moved the streak to 40 consecutive and kept the Mercy Rule streak in tact, but the 62-7 final wasn’t an indication of how well the Wildcats competed against the hottest team in District IV. “It was probably our worst first half of the season. It’s not an excuse, but missing two returning starters on the offensive line and all of our penalties and those interceptions didn’t help,” said Southern coach Jim Roth. “Give Central Mountain credit though, they are better than their record indicates and they played us tough.”

In fact, with just under nine minutes left in the third quarter, Central Mountain was three yards away from cutting Southern’s lead to just a single touchdown. A position Southern Columbia hasn’t been in at any point after intermission this season. “We came out slow and I don’t think our heads were really in it early. We played a sloppy first half, but started to turn it on in the second half,” said Tiger defensive lineman Chase Tillett.

Then, the tables turned in an odd and deflating way for the Wildcats. They went from having a 1st-and-goal at the three, to third and goal from the 37 thanks to three offensive penalties in a row. It was at that moment when Southern’s Steve Toczylousky made the play of the game when he intercepted a pass from Austyn Carson and took it back from 85 yards out to put the Tigers on top 28-7. “I saw right off the bat that their quarterback floated the ball. After I caught it, I had all kinds of blockers in front of me and the rest was easy running behind them,” said Toczylousky.

Instead of the Tigers being in their first second half dog fight of the season, they would use that momentum to rattle off the final 41 points in the ball game to finish the damage. Toczylousky also made a significant impact on the offensive side of the ball scoring touchdowns on two of his three grabs from fellow senior Nick Becker. Another Southern senior, Blake Marks, was the game’s leading rusher with 108 yards on 10 carries. Southern’s defense also settled down late in the first quarter after back to back sacks from the senior defensive end duo of Gabe Delbo and Tillett. “Our defense is at our best when we are able to get early pressure and force their quarterbacks into tougher passes,” Tillett said.

Southern Columbia did make some uncharacteristic mistakes throughout the course of the night, but Roth didn’t seem overly concerned. “I give credit to our guys. After how poorly we played in the first half, we started to settle in during the third and fourth quarters and get out to the big lead,” Roth said. Most notably, the Tigers had trouble containing Wildcat return man Neff. “He’s a great player. I think that return he had for a touchdown was either his eighth or ninth this season,” Roth stated. SCA committed nine penalties, fumbled three times (recovered all three), and Becker threw three interceptions after having arguably the best two game stretch of his career leading up to the game.

“The bottom line is football requires a lot of focus. Sometimes people don’t realize how important special teams are. We had some breakdowns in all three phases and that can certainly be a problem,” said Delbo. Central Mountain played a sloppy game as well. The Wildcats had seven turnovers and were charged with five penalties with the most impactful being a block in the back on what would have been Neff’s second kickoff return for a touchdown in the first half. “I think we will be fine. A lot of the guys have been focused for the most part this year. Playoffs are coming up so that is going to be a key,” Delbo said.

After a first quarter that only had one touchdown from Hunter Thomas on a nine yard plunge, the scoring started in the second. Becker hit Toczylousky on passes of 56 and eight yards to put the Tigers up 21-0. “Whenever I get the ball I have the mentality that I want to score. I think all of our skill players are determined on every touch,” Toczylousky said. Central Mountain got their only score of the night on the ensuing kickoff when junior speedster Justin Neff returned a kickoff 91 yards to pay dirt which made the halftime score 21-7 on Halloween weekend.

Toczylousky’s game changing interception return started the third quarter scoring, and then the Tigers reeled off the final five touchdowns on the ground. Marks, Thomas, Jake Potter, AJ Goodlunas, and Jeffrey Cox each scored once for the black and gold. Central Mountain will finish next week on the road against rival Jersey Shore. Southern Columbia will travel to Selinsgrove in a 9-0 vs 9-0 matchup that will determine the best overall team in the Pennsylvania Heartland Athletic Conference with both teams already having wrapped up their respective divisions. “It should be a nice test for both teams before heading into the playoffs. You have two undefeated teams trying to gain some extra momentum heading into the postseason. Playing against quality opponents is what competition is all about,” said Delbo. The regular season finale will also serve for bragging rights as both the Tigers and Seals have won their division championships. There isn’t an overall conference championship given out, but the two foes have steamrolled through their schedules so far in 2015.

SCA: 7-14-21-20= 62
CM: 0-7-0-0 = 7

SOUTHERN COLUMBIA (9-0)

RUSHING:

Blake Marks 10-108, TD; Hunter Thomas 9-68, 2 TDs; Jared Torres 11-45; Nic Fetterman 4-45; Jeffrey Cox 2-32, TD; AJ Goodlunas 3-19, TD; Jake Potter 2-17; Sami Abdul 2-11; Nick Becker 1-8; Dylan Kranzel 1-1

PASSING:

Nick Becker 9-16-3, 147 yds, 2 TDs

RECEIVING:

Steve Toczylousky 3-73, 2 TDs; Hunter Thomas 2-38; Jared Torres 1-22; Blake Marks 2-13; Cam Young 1-1

1st DOWNS: 25

PENALTIES: 9-79

CENTRAL MOUNTAIN (5-3)

RUSHING:

Hunter Weaver 4-3; Bryce Bitner 1-3; Tanner Weaver 2-0; Justin Neff 5-0; Austyn Carson 1-(-5)

PASSING:

Austyn Carson 6-13-2, 112 yds; Justin Neff 7-9-1, 57 yds

RECEIVING:

JJ Harris 8-100; Tyler Zablocki 2-67; Hunter Baker 2-(-1); Justin Neff 1-3

1st DOWNS: 5

PENALTIES: 5-59

Tigers wrap up conference title

By: Dave Fegley (Twitter: @DFegs9)

One thing Southern Columbia head coach Jim Roth knew for certain coming into a rare Thursday night game at Bucknell University was that Lewisburg was going to throw the ball early and often. “They threw the ball on us a lot last year, and we had a feeling that they weren’t going to be able to match up with us up front. They normally throw the ball a lot anyways, and I think they definitely thought that was their best chance against us,” Roth said. Green Dragon quarterback Trent Gower threw 17 times in the first quarter alone, 32 passes in total, and he found freshman wide receiver Dylan Farronato four times for 149 yards and two scores. The Lewisburg passing attack was effective when Gower had time to unload finishing with nearly 300 yards passing. However, that wasn’t close to being enough to make it a game against the high-powered Tigers in Southern Columbia’s 49-24 victory which gives them the Heartland Conference Division II Championship.

Lewisburg jumped out to an early 7-6 lead, but from there the Tigers outscored the Green Dragons 42-3 for the remainder of the first half. “All week we prepared for their passing attack and the way we shut down the run tonight it forced them to pass even more,” said SCA defensive back Billy Marzeski. Blake Marks rushed for three touchdowns in the opening half and the Tigers defense completely shut down Lewisburg’s ground game. “We didn’t break too many of the big plays likes we have been coming into this game, but the line did a nice job of helping us pick up three, four, or five yards each carry. That’s what won us the game by pounding it down their throats and keeping the chains moving until we reached the end zone,” Marks stated. It was the second time in as many weeks that the Tigers lethal offense scored 49 first half points.

Jared Torres was the change of pace back leading the team with a modest 66 rushing yards in helping set up the pass. “We go out each week and try to beat teams with our running game. We have a real strong group of runners and the line has been able to knock the other team’s defense off of the ball,” said Southern offensive lineman Aaron Kroh. Nick Becker had a very efficient first half for SCA by completing 10 of 11 passes for 104 yards while tying the school record for career completions on his last attempt. He threw touchdown passes to Steve Toczylousky and Hunter Thomas. Thomas also added a 78-yard kick return for a TD after Lewisburg kicked a 35 yard field goal to start the second quarter.

The momentum changer in the game was when Southern Columbia’s most experienced player, four year starting lineman Josh Yoder, went down with a leg injury. The game was paused for nearly 20 minutes as the paramedics brought out a gurney to take Yoder, who was in obvious pain, off of the field. “We won’t know his status until he goes through some tests, but hopefully it isn’t season ending. If he does receive unfortunate news then we will have to do something and make it work the best we can,” Roth said. Southern put the game into the Mercy Rule scoring on the next four possessions after the injury. The preliminary reports sound positive with rumors spreading after the game that nothing was broken, but more tests will follow in the upcoming week. “Josh is a big key on our line, and after he went down we wanted to rally behind him and pick up the win,” said Marzeski.

On defense, Austin Knepp blocked a punt and recovered it himself to set up the Tigers first score of the night. Gabe Delbo had a sack and a forced fumble that Knepp recovered in the second quarter to set up another touchdown. Chase Tillett, Nick Freeman, and Anthony Scicchitano each added sacks during the game with Marks and Andrew Haupt adding interceptions as well. “Billy Marzeski did a nice job in coverage on my interception and the pass bounced off of their guy’s chest. I was able to just kind of pick it up off of him as he fell to the turf,” said Marks. Southern’s defense limited Lewisburg to 11 rushes for negative-27 yards in total including the sacks from the blitzes that SoCo was sending in the first half.

The Green Dragons scored the only two touchdowns in the second half, but they did so with their starters playing most of the second half against the Southern reserves. Lewisburg also opted to kick onside after each score which didn’t leave the best taste in some of the Tiger player’s mouths. “Our younger kids do a good job of battling each week and competing, but it’s certainly tough when the other team keeps their starters in to make the score closer than the game actually is. By the end of the game it has our starters motivated to go out the next week and play smash mouth football,” Kroh said. Next Friday the Green Dragons will host Warrior Run and the undefeated Tigers will make the long trek to Central Mountain for a Heartland Conference crossover game.

SCA: 21-28-0-0 = 49
LBG: 7-3-0-14 = 24

SOUTHERN COLUMBIA (8-0)

RUSHING:

Blake Marks 8-31, 3 TDs; Jared Torres 7-66, TD; Hunter Thomas 5-38; Nic Fetterman 12-65; Jake Potter 3-17; Sami Abdul 7-32; Nick Becker 1-8; Dylan Kranzel 1-(-2)

PASSING:

Nick Becker 10-11-0, 104 yds, 2 TDs

RECEIVING:

Steve Toczylousky 2-13, TD; Cam Young 3-23, TD; Hunter Thomas 2-36, TD; Jared Torres 1-24; Blake Marks 2-8

1st DOWNS: 17

PENALTIES: 2-20

LEWISBURG (5-3)

RUSHING:

Dominick Farronato 4-0; A.J. Ramirez 2-(-2); Trent Gower 5-(-25)

PASSING:

Trent Gower 18-33-1, 290 yds, 2 TDs; Stone Hollenbach 2-3-1, 11 yds, TD

RECEIVING:

Matt Fedorjaka 5-56; Dylan Farronato 4-149, 2 TDs; Donte Malone 4-33; Noah Inch 3-47; James Richard 2-7, TD; Chase Prutzman 1-8; Trey Delbaugh 1-1

1st DOWNS: 11

PENALTIES: 1-8

Toczylousky, Becker, and Marks lead the way

By: Dave Fegley (Twitter: @DFegs9)

On a night that Southern Columbia senior Blake Marks became the 21^st back in school history to rush for 2,000 career yards, it was the passing game that proved to be key in the Tigers 56-7 shellacking over Warrior Run. It was a combination of plays made by three Tiger seniors in particular that made an impact on Senior Night. “The game plan wasn’t really setup to stress us throwing more, but it helps to keep the defense honest. In order to succeed we need to be balanced and tonight we had success throwing and running,” said quarterback Nick Becker. On the first play of the game, Southern’s defense came up with a turnover on a Defenders blunder. Blake Marks recovered a fumble on the 13 yard line setting up short field position. The very next play, Becker connected with his favorite receiver Steve Toczylousky for the score and the Tigers didn’t look back from there. “The most positive things as far as our team’s development this year have been the play of our offensive line and the defense as a whole. Both units have been playing more consistently which is nice to see as the season has progressed,” said Tiger coach Jim Roth.

Marks rushed for the second touchdown of the game from 12 yards out and Toczylousky caught a 77 yard bomb to give the Tigers a three score advantage after the opening quarter. “Nick was putting the ball where it needed to be. Every time I make a catch I just want to make the biggest impact that I can. The ball gets spread around a lot in our offense, so you have to make the most out of every opportunity that you get,” said Toczylousky. Southern’s offensive line was able to keep Warrior Run’s pass rush away from Becker which will continue to be a key after he missed time earlier in the season with an injury.

The start of the second quarter was when Marks made the biggest impact of his career from the linebacker position. “I don’t know if they were having a little bit of a mishap off of the edge or what. They just were not picking up our outside blitzes, and it gave me the opportunity to hit their quarterback from his blindside. It was fun getting the opportunity to lay a bit of a beat down,” said Marks who had three first half sacks to go along with the fumble recovery. He has made the transition after playing in the secondary in previous years. Southern scored four times in the final five minutes of the second quarter. Becker found Toczylousky once more, this one from 29 yards out, and Toczylousky completed the hat trick with his third touchdown of the first half to put Southern up 28-0. “Stevie and I have a good connection and I can rely on him when we need to make a play. We put in a lot of time in the offseason and it makes it more comfortable to have that option,” the quarterback said. Becker threw his fourth touchdown on the next drive to Cam Young. Hunter Thomas, who had 93 yards on just three carries, and Jared Torres each added rushing scores to put the Tigers up 49-0 at halftime in another Mercy Rule effort by the Tigers.

In only 24 minutes of work, Toczylousky finished his night with three catches for 119 yards and the three scores. “We have a lot of different guys making plays this year, so it makes it hard for the defenses to focus their attention on only the run or the pass,” Toczylousky stated. Becker completed eight passes to six different players for 190 yards, and Marks finished with 57 yards on only four carries including a 40 yarder to put him over the 2,000 yard barrier. “It feels great and I have to give credit to my linemen who do an awesome job blocking up front for me. I couldn’t have done it without their efforts each week,” said Marks who joins his father, Jerry, as the first ever father-son combo on the list. That offensive line he is referring to consists of seniors Josh Yoder, Aaron Kroh, Gabe Delbo, Dale Houser, and sophomore Andrew Bell. The blocking tight ends are Garrett Henry and Chase Tillett. SCA’s defense held Warrior Run to only 40 yards rushing on 28 attempts. Tiger senior kicker Tyler Keiser, who converted on all eight of his extra points, was able to outscore the opposition on the night by himself which speaks volumes for the dominance of Andy Mills’ defense in recent weeks.

Each team scored one touchdown in the second half, a run by Southern’s Jake Potter and a catch by Warrior Run’s Teddy Bender from Gage Anzulavich, which made the final outcome 56-7 in favor of the Tigers in their regular season home finale. The Defenders will head back home next week as they host a Mount Carmel Area squad that has struggled mightily in getting shutout over the past two weeks by a combined score of 83-0. The Tigers will travel to Bucknell University to take on the Green Dragons of Lewisburg in a rare Thursday night contest. “It shouldn’t be anything too different and both teams have to prepare for it. The only change is we won’t have a JV game on Monday, so that will give us an extra day to prepare. It’s going to be a little odd since Thursday games are unusual, but again it’s the same for both teams that will be competing,” Roth said. With the win Friday night, the Tigers have now extended their regular season winning streak to 38 games and the Tigers will be favored in their final three games before the playoffs begin.

SCA: 21-28-7-0 = 56
WR: 0-0-0-7 = 7

SOUTHERN COLUMBIA (7-0)

RUSHING:

Blake Marks 4-57, TD; Jared Torres 4-37, TD; Hunter Thomas 3-93, TD; Billy Marzeski 1-42; Nic Fetterman 4-29; Jake Potter 2-14, TD; Dylan Kranzel 3-27; AJ Goodlunas 1-5; 0-0; Nick Becker 1-2; Jeffrey Cox 1-1; Thomas Manley 1-(-2); Sami Abdul 1-(-2)

PASSING:

Nick Becker 8-14-0, 190 yds, 4 TDs

RECEIVING:

Steve Toczylousky 3-119, 3 TDs; Cam Young 1-36, TD; Jake Potter 1-10; Hunter Thomas 1-16; Jared Torres 1-8; Blake Marks 1-1

1st DOWNS: 15

PENALTIES: 2-21

WARRIOR RUN (3-4)

RUSHING:

Tyler Brown 15-46; Ty Kirkner 3-11; Anthony Null 3-6; Noah Showers 1-4; Team 1-(-8); Gage Anzulavich 5-(-25)

PASSING:

Gage Anzulavich 13-26-0, 119 yds, TD

RECEIVING:

Matt Truckenmiller 4-43; Matt Gummo 4-28; Ty Kirkner 3-34; Teddy Bender 2-14, TD

1st DOWNS: 11

PENALTIES: 3-25

Southern Columbia dominant in Mercy Rule victory

By: Dave Fegley (Twitter: @DFegs9)

Give credit to first-year Mount Carmel Area head coach John Darrah. He brought his troops into Tiger Stadium Friday night with more wins than most people had expected at this point by starting the season 3-2 with a limited amount of players on the roster. That was before the Red Tornadoes met District IV’s most lethal weapon, the Southern Columbia Area Tigers who are also ranked #1 in the EasternPAFootball AA poll. “Our kids have been doing an excellent job the past couple of weeks of doing what they have been asked to do. That goes for both sides of the ball, and it will be important for us to continue to stay focused as we approach the playoffs,” Southern head coach Jim Roth said. The Tigers, who won 42-0, have now won their last 37 regular season games dating back to 2011.

How dominant was SCA against their arch-rival MCA? Well you can start by looking at Mount Carmel’s first half passing numbers. They completed two passes for negative-20 yards. Yes, you are reading that correctly, 20 yards the wrong way through the air. Both of the completions were screen passes that the Tiger defense seemed to know were coming before the ball was even snapped. “They actually have had some success before this game with their passing game. We knew with the scouting report that they were going to be much more run-oriented, but the secondary still needed to stay disciplined,” said Roth. On the ground they weren’t much better. Last week, Kyle Karycki set the Mount Carmel Area single-game record with 368 rushing yards. Friday night, he didn’t even go in during the second half after finishing with 29 yards on 13 first half carries. “The defense is playing more consistently. Tonight we knew the key was stopping number one (Kyle Karycki). He obviously has been their workhorse, but I commend our defense for staying disciplined and executing the way they were supposed to,” Roth said. It also didn’t help that the Big Red was playing without two-way starter Wes Shurock who was ejected in last week’s win over Danville after attempting to throw a punch at one of the opponents.

The first score for the Tigers came on their fourth play from scrimmage when Nick Becker hit Steve Toczylousky in stride for a 68 yard score after the Tiger defense forced the Red Tornadoes to punt on their opening series. Surprisingly, those were the only points scored in the opening 12 minutes of action. The teams traded defensive stops to end the quarter with both teams coughing up the football on the ground. “We knew that they might try to get some passes in early, but ultimately the plan was to shut down their running attack,” said Tiger defensive lineman Nick Freeman who recovered one of the fumbles. Southern held the Tornadoes to less than 100 yards of total offense on the night, and the Tigers did not commit a single penalty for the first time all season. Jim Roth’s team didn’t have to punt a single time either.

The second quarter was when Southern Columbia decided to take over and show the Mount Carmel faithful that the Tornadoes are just no match for the top dogs. “I feel like we just have a mental block whenever we go against Southern lately,” said Mount Carmel coach John Darrah. “The last few times we’ve played them, we haven’t done too much.” Over the last three games between these two teams, Southern has outscored Mount Carmel by a margin of 142-20. The Tigers are now 12-8 in the 20 times that these two teams have played all-time since the rivalry began.

SoCo rushed for four touchdowns in the second frame including a trio of them by the magician, Blake Marks. His first one seemed to set the tone for the rest of the game. On the 12 yard run, he made mincemeat out of the Tornado defense by literally running over a linebacker and carrying five other defenders into the end zone with him. “There was a great hole created by the offensive line. I saw their one linebacker and just lowered my head. After running over him I just tried to keep my feet moving until I reached that goal-line,” Marks stated. Jared Torres scored from seven yards out before Marks reached pay dirt two more times to end the half.

“In the beginning it was kind of hard to adjust to some of their slanting, but as the game moved forward we started to pick up on it,” said center Dale Houser. “It’s great to know that we have so many different options to go to in order to pick up yards and score touchdowns in helping us pick up wins.” The 35-0 halftime score, another Mercy Rule for the black and gold, allowed for Southern to rest their starters like usual. “It’s nice going out and getting the job done, but it sucks because it doesn’t really prepare us for the postseason when we will be playing the whole game,” said Marks who is one of the SCA seniors that has never experienced a regular season defeat.

Hunter Thomas scored the only touchdown of the second half to make the final 42-0 after Tyler Keiser kicked his sixth successful extra point. “It’s always nice to post a shutout especially when our defensive line plays well. Our whole defense came through for us,” Freeman said. Southern Columbia (6-0) will play their final home game next week against Warrior Run before finishing with three straight on the road. The Red Tornadoes (3-3) will take on North Schuylkill, the 50^th meeting between the two Coal Region foes, at the Silver Bowl in Mount Carmel with both teams trying to make a late playoff push.

SCA: 7-28-7-0 = 42
MCA: 0-0-0-0 = 0

SOUTHERN COLUMBIA (6-0)

RUSHING:

Blake Marks 7-59, 3 TDs; Jared Torres 10-67, TD; Hunter Thomas 5-45, TD; Billy Marzeski 3-21; Nic Fetterman 6-33; Thomas Manley 1-5; Sami Abdul 2-22; Cole Potter 1-(-4)

PASSING:

Nick Becker 7-10-0, 114 yds, 1 TD

RECEIVING:

Steve Toczylousky 1-68, TD; Hunter Thomas 3-8; Blake Marks 2-26; Cam Young 1-12

1st DOWNS: 18

PENALTIES: 0-0

MOUNT CARMEL AREA (3-3)

RUSHING:

Tommy McDonald 7-47; Kyle Karycki 13-29; Zach Zarkowski 9-25; Michael Cuff 1-8; Cameron Britt 1-0; Gabe Bogutskie 1-(-1); Allen Yancoskie 1-(-1); Lane Tanney 1-(-6)

PASSING:

Tommy McDonald 3-9-0, 5 yds

RECEIVING:

Michael Hood 1-25; Allen Yancoskie 1-(-10); Kyle Karycki 1-(-10)

1st DOWNS: 6

PENALTIES: 4-30

MCA stats provided by Damien Scoblink (PE)

Southern Columbia shuts out Central Columbia

By: Dave Fegley (Twitter: @DFegs9)

On a night that started off with Southern Columbia senior Blair Johnston being crowned the 2015 Homecoming Queen, it was the junior halfback Hunter Thomas leaving the field as the king on the gridiron. For the night, he only needed three carriers to rack up 125 yards and two scores. Add in two catches for 69 yards, and Thomas averaged over 38 yards per touch. “The offensive line has been getting it done up front. I have a lot of faith in those guys each game,” Thomas said after his team overpowered Central Columbia in a 40-0 win.

The game conditions were far from perfect with rain falling from beginning to end and a slight wind blowing throughout the night. “It rained a lot earlier in the week and you would certainly rather play in better conditions. Thankfully nobody suffered any injuries, and I thought our guys came out and took care of business,” said Tiger head coach Jim Roth. The defense was able to keep the Blue Jays off of the scoreboard leading to the first shutout victory of the season for the Tigers. “The defense wasn’t playing the best that we could earlier, but the last two games we have picked it up. I think we can keep it rolling as we move on with our schedule,” said Ross Crowl who had two key third down tackles in the first quarter. The Blue Jays were held to just 48 yards rushing on 20 carries.

Blake Marks scored the first touchdown of the game on a five yard carry, and the Tigers defense forced a 3-and-out on Central Columbia’s first possession. On the next drive, the Blue Jays lone bright spot on the night came when Eli Petersheim picked off Southern quarterback Nick Becker giving his team the ball in Tiger territory. Southern Columbia’s defense prevailed forcing the Jays to turn it over on downs. It took SCA just two plays to score on the ensuing drive thanks to Thomas’ 70 yard run that was setup by the blocking of the offensive line after Thomas cut from the left side all the way across field down the right sideline. After Tyler Keiser’s PAT the Tigers were up 14-0. The last score of the opening quarter came when Becker, who last week broke the school’s career touchdown pass mark, found his tight end Garrett Henry from five yards out.

SoCo would score three more times in the second quarter on a six yard scamper from Nic Fetterman, a 35 yard dash by Thomas, and a 43 yard run by fullback Jared Torres making it 40-0. “A lot of guys had good blocks, especially Garrett Henry’s one late that allowed me to get into the end zone right before halftime. The line did a good job all night against their front,” said Torres who had 91 yards on five carries. The score at the half would be the same at the end of the game with neither team finding the end zone during the Mercy Rule second half, that lasted only a total of 28 minutes in real time, with the Tigers moving to 5-0 on the year and the Blue Jays still without a win. “They’re just bigger and faster, and obviously it’s one of the best-coached teams in Pennsylvania,” Central Columbia coach Jason Hippenstiel said. “When you put that combination together, they’re dangerous at every level.” The Blue Jays haven’t beaten the Tigers since the 1996 season, which was before any current player on either side was born.

Next week will be the Tigers biggest challenge yet as they will host the red hot Red Tornadoes of Mount Carmel Area. “We need to come out with a lot of intensity against them next week. Our defense wants to try and shut them down from the start,” said SCA linebacker Jake Potter. Next week will be Red Tornado first-year head coach John Darrah’s first time facing off against Jim Roth. The Tigers have had the upper-hand as of late winning the last three in the series. “I know this is a historic rivalry and it should be a good game. They have been having a surprisingly good season,” said Thomas about Mount Carmel Area (3-2) who will come to Tiger Stadium riding a three game winning streak.

SCA: 21-19-0-0 = 40
CC: 0-0-0-0 = 0

SOUTHERN COLUMBIA (5-0)

RUSHING:

Hunter Thomas 3-125, 2 TDs; Jared Torres 5-91, TD; Blake Marks 7-76, TD; Nic Fetterman 3-16, TD; Thomas Manley 2-14; Jake Potter 1-0; Dylan Kranzel 3-18; AJ Goodlunas 3-16; Cole Potter 2-13; Nick Becker 1-0; Drew Michaels 1-(-4)

PASSING:

Nick Becker 6-10-1, 123 yds, TD; Drew Michaels 1-1-0, 3 yds

RECEIVING:

Hunter Thomas 2-69; Garrett Henry 1-5, TD; Steve Toczylousky 2-45; Cam Young 1-4; Tom Ivey 1-3

1st DOWNS: 19

PENALTIES: 1-5

CENTRAL COLUMBIA (0-5)

RUSHING: Isaac Gensemer 5-21; Ky Seesholtz 4-15; Evan Campbell 6-7; Owen Gensemer 4-4; Aaron Farver 1-1

PASSING: Aaron Farver 7-23-0, 68 yds; Ky Seesholtz 4-7-0, 43 yds

RECEIVING: Brady Crawfod 4-47; Eli Petersheim 3-21; Isaac Gensemer 2-29; Trae Devlin 1-10; Jensen Thivierge 1-4

1st DOWNS: 8

PENALTIES: 4-31

Central Columbia stats provided by Damien Scoblink (PE)

Southern Columbia defense also tough against Danville

By: Dave Fegley (Twitter: @DFegs9)

Prior to Friday night’s kickoff at Tiger Stadium, Southern Columbia honored their top 20 backs to come through the program. The criterion for the club is 2,000 career rushing yards, and current Tiger halfback Blake Marks is closing in on the mark. He now sits at 1,832 yards after the Tigers dropped the Ironmen 42-14. “It was just a great atmosphere to begin with and being a running back made it even more special,” Marks said. On the third play of the game, he scored on a 57 yard run down Southern’s sideline. “That was probably my favorite run of my career. All of the honorees watched the game from our sideline including my father (Jerry Marks). Running right past them and giving them the view was just really cool,” stated Marks who now unofficially sits 168 yards away from becoming the 21^st member to make it on the prestigious list. When he reaches, it will be a first for a father-son combination to both be in the record book.

Hunter Thomas scored in the second quarter on a 14 yard screen pass to put Southern Columbia up 14-0 in a half that was controlled by the Tiger offensive line and the Ironmen secondary. “The glory for the line is watching the runner taking off down the field on a long run. It makes it even better when you personally contribute with a key block,” said Tiger offensive tackle Aaron Kroh. In the opening half, the Tigers were able to sustain long drives thanks to the blocking of the big boys up front. Credit the Danville defense though for having a bend, but don’t break mentality. On two separate drives, the Ironmen intercepted Nick Becker’s passes to end potential scoring opportunities. Matt Meloy and Trent Hilkert were the two players with the interceptions to keep the score at 14-0 heading into the break.

Southern’s Cam Young started the second half by intercepting a Gannon Feldmann pass, and Thomas took advantage of it five plays later on a nine yard rush into the end zone. Tiger senior Gabe Delbo had the key block on that run that put SCA up 21-0. Delbo is one of the two-way players on Jim Roth’s squad. “I love being in the continuous flow of the game and not missing anything. When the ball’s turned over, I’m back on defense to try and make a stop. On offense I try to open up holes for guys to score,” said Delbo who made the transition from tight end to guard in the preseason. Danville scored their first touchdown on the ensuing drive thanks to a six yard pass from Feldmann to freshman Shane Kozick making the score 21-7. Not to be outdone, on the next offensive play, Becker threw a perfect ball to fellow senior Steve Toczylousky to push the Tiger lead to 28-7.

The Tigers forced a turnover on the next drive that lead to Thomas’ third touchdown of the game. “The saying is that defense wins championships, and I really believe in that theory. As one of the leaders on the defense, I just try to get better and better each week. I think the defense is starting to really come together nicely,” senior Matt Bell said. At the end of the third quarter, the Tiger lead was more comfortable at 35-7. Andy Mills’ Tiger defense held Danville to only five first downs and 156 total yards for the game. “That was probably our best game of the year defensively, and that puts you at ease a little bit. Even though we weren’t able to score on some good opportunities, our defense was shutting them down for the most part,” head coach Jim Roth said.

Reserve fullback Nic Fetterman put the game into the Mercy Rule with a six yard touchdown run. The game’s final touchdown was scored by Danville’s Ryan Palm on a three yard carry. Southern Columbia (4-0) will host Central Columbia next Friday for Homecoming. Danville (2-2) will try to get back over the .500 mark as they travel to the Silver Bowl to take on a Mount Carmel Area squad that is currently one of the hottest teams in District IV. The win for Southern keeps their regular season win streak intact. The Tigers have not lost a regular season game since the 2011 season which was the last time they made a State Championship appearance. The current Tigers haven’t lost a regular season game in any of their careers, but they also haven’t won any state playoff games. “Since I’ve been here, this is the hardest we’ve worked as a team during the offseason. Two and three years ago we lost in the first round of states, and last year we weren’t even able to make it out of the district. This year, we are hungrier than ever to try and get back to a state title game,” said Josh Yoder who is the only four year starter on Southern’s roster.

SCA: 14-0-21-7 = 42
DAN: 0-0-7-7 = 14

SOUTHERN COLUMBIA (4-0)

RUSHING:

Hunter Thomas 7-50, 2 TDs; Blake Marks 9-96, TD; Jared Torres 14-62; Billy Marzeski 1-2; Nic Fetterman 4-21, TD; Thomas Manley 1-4; Jake Potter 2-34; Cole Potter 1-1; AJ Goodlunas 1-(-3

PASSING:

Nick Becker 8-14-2, 171 yds, 2 TDs

RECEIVING:

Steve Toczylousky 2-72, TD; Hunter Thomas 3-66, TD; Cam Young 3-33

1st DOWNS: 18

PENALTIES: 1-10

DANVILLE (2-2)

RUSHING:

Trent Hilkert 8-8; Gannon Feldmann 6-21; Ryan Palm 5-2, TD; Eric Sees 4-55; Cross Truesdell 3-4

PASSING:

Gannon Feldmann 11-19-1, 66 yds, TD

RECEIVING:

Peyton Riley 3-16; Colton Riley 2-19; Matt Meloy 2-12; Trent Hilkert 2-1; Peyton Persing 1-12; Shane Kozick 1-6, TD

1st DOWNS: 5

PENALTIES: 5-36

2,000+ yard rushers to be recognized on Alumni Night

By: Dave Fegley (@DFegs9)

Since the change of the millennium, much has changed offensively in the historic game of football. Many of the teams at the professional, collegiate, and high school levels have decided to change their play calling on the gridiron. The ground and pound philosophy used to be a staple in every offensive game plan, which former Ohio State coach Woody Hayes referred to as “three yards and a cloud of dust.” Now, the majority of teams are content to line up in the shot gun formation and sling it all over the field. Many programs feel this gives them the best chance to win, but there is an exception to every rule. “Tradition is the key at Southern. I really think it starts with the youth programs. The varsity staff has been so successful and now the youth programs run the offensive system. By the time these kids reach the varsity level they seem to have most of the basics down,” said former all-state running back Jerry Marks. “I followed Jay Drumheller, then Ricco Rosini came through, and most recently Henry Hynoski. There has been a line of great backs to play here, and the bottom line is the guys that come through want to keep the tradition going,” he said.

Southern Columbia, a Pennsylvania football powerhouse, has remained constant in its game plan approach each week: run the football. Sure, there have been a select group of notable quarterbacks to come through the system, but Jim Roth’s Wing-T scheme has been the most lethal offense since its installment in the late 1980’s. “We have had some outstanding quarterbacks come through the system which is a way to keep defenses honest. Our offense still obviously involves running the football more often, but it’s important to add in the pass to give us some balance,” said Tiger head coach Jim Roth who coached the Tigers to state titles in 1994 and a state record of five in a row from 2002-2006. During this time, the Tigers have won a state record of six State Championships, 13 Eastern Championships, and 22 District IV Championships. All of these titles have come with the main priority being to beat teams on the ground. “We’ve just always had good success running the football since some of the other coaches and myself took over. Back in the early 80’s it was the norm. You didn’t see many teams in passing formations as often as today. At the start, we just ran a real basic Power I-Formation offense for the first four years when Jerry Marks was the tailback. Then once he graduated was when we made the change to the Wing-T because we didn’t have a player like Jerry. We felt getting more people involved was the way to go, and it was the offense that we felt was the most effective way of doing that,” said Roth who is on pace to break the Pennsylvania record for coaching victories in the future.

Many schools are ecstatic to have a 1,000 yard rusher graduate from their school which is an impressive accomplishment. Since 1983, Southern Columbia has had 20 backs graduate with over 2,000 career rushing yards and will have more names etched in their record book as time passes. “Actually running our offense works as an advantage for us. Most teams now see offenses that tend to pass more. Then they get to us and have to change their whole defensive philosophy,” stated Roth. Even more impressive is the fact that every single one of these workhorses, that oppositions focused their game plans around weekly, averaged more than 5.5 yards per carry over the course of their careers. To put this into perspective, last year’s top two running backs in terms of yards per carry in the NFL were the Baltimore Ravens Justin Forsett who averaged 5.4 yards per carry and the Miami Dolphins Lamar Miller at 5.1 yards per attempt. Now, understandably these Southern Columbia backs didn’t go up against the likes of J.J. Watt, Ndamukong Suh, Luke Kuechly, and Gerald McCoy on a weekly basis, but the majority of these SoCo backs have had most of their success against quality high school defenses.

After all, the majority of these running backs and fullbacks have played in state championships and faced quality defenses along the way in both the district and state playoffs. “We always knew that we had to raise our level of play in bigger games. Obviously our teams had extremely high expectations for our seasons and what we wanted to achieve,” former running back Brandon Traugh said. He is currently on the other end of the spectrum. As a junior high coach at SCA, he can now help the younger players develop for the future. What has made the Tigers particularly special over the span of the last thirty years is that the players are always ready to step up to whatever challenges the opposing teams present. Every team seems to mark Southern on their calendars as the game to gauge where they stand. However, the Tiger teams always find ways to hurdle whatever obstacles are in their way. Part of this comes from the amount of extra time that the coaching staff puts in on a weekly basis outside of the after school practices and film study. “In order to be the best, you have to beat the best. This was our mentality going into every game, but especially in playoff games. We had the mindset of doing whatever it took to help the team win,” said Traugh who is also now Jim Roth’s son-in-law.

The three most well-known on the list are former starting New York Giants fullback Henry Hynoski, Bucknell Bison recruit Ricco Rosini, and Bloomsburg University great Jerry Marks. The trio ran for an astounding 20,653 yards, or nearly twelve miles, over the course of their Pennsylvania High School Hall of Fame worthy careers. They also combined to score an amazing 290 rushing touchdowns. “I believe in football that everything starts up front with the offensive line and blocking backs. We had tremendous grit and determination to make a statement and set that standard each and every week,” Hynoski said. The offensive line at Southern Columbia has produced more all-state selections than any other position. Without the consistency of the offensive line’s play year in and year out, many of these Tiger backs wouldn’t have been able to pick up yardage at such a staggering rate. “I was very fortunate to have not only good players and teammates in those positions, but also great friends. We worked together each and every week to put up big numbers in the ground game to ultimately lead our team to great success,” said Hynoski who has always had an appreciation for the offensive linemen that helped pave the way.

When Marks finished his senior season in 1987, his 7,075 rushing yards were the most in state history. “My mentality was always the same as what it was in wrestling. I was scared that somebody was going to catch me physically. I wanted to make sure that I trained harder than anybody else. At Southern Columbia, as a running back, you need to be in shape. When you get into those physical games in the fourth quarter where you are counted upon, it’s all about the work that you put in up to that moment, said Marks. Over three decades later, Marks is still 12^th all-time in rushing yards. Rosini, who averaged 10.1 yards per carry, is 19^th all-time in PA history. The 1998 graduate finished with 6,413 yards which is less than 200 yards behind what current Buffalo Bills starting running back LeSean McCoy finished with in his high school playing days at Bishop McDevitt. Rosini is also Southern Columbia Area’s all-time leading tackler with 320 of them while playing linebacker.

The most decorated runner in Pennsylvania high school football history is Hynoski. The bruising fullback, who was a member of the Pennsylvania Big 33 team after graduating in 2007, won four rings in four years and would most likely have the state record for career rushing yards if given the opportunity. He is the Tigers all-time leading rusher with 7,165 yards and 112 TDs on the ground. The majority of his success came in the first half of games because most of the second halves were spent on the sideline with his team well out in front on the scoreboard. “The fact that our starters were out for most if not all of the games by halftime gave our younger backups the opportunities to play against the opposing team’s starters. I feel this was instrumental in building for the future of our program,” Hynoski stated. This culture that Jim Roth’s staff built allowed for the reserves to get invaluable experience, and it also motivated them to want to be successful in the following years. Basically, the junior varsity players at Southern Columbia over the years have been able to get a game and a half worth of reps each week which helps them maintain their focus and hunger. “When it was time for these younger guys to become starters in the coming years, they were prepared. They were ready from game one to hit the ground running and pick up where we left off in prior seasons,” said Hynoski. He is currently 10^th on the state’s all-time list and 62 yards ahead of Mount Carmel Area’s top career runner Jonathan Veach.

Jay Drumheller, who is the oldest Tiger on the list and a 1984 grad, comes in as the Tigers 4^th all-time rushing leader with 4,111 yards. Former fullback Shaun Gaul, who played from 1996 to 1999, rounds out the top five by finishing with 3,596. Southern has had two others crack the 3,000 yard mark. Butch Romanoski was a catalyst on offense for the Tigers first championship team around the time when high school football really took the community by storm. “It was special. You play with your close friends and have the whole community at the games. Playing at Southern gives you the feeling you’re in an elite program, and this was before we were established as a powerhouse program. I looked at Friday nights as an opportunity to prove how good we were and show how hard work pays off,” said Romanoski. The other member of the 3,000 yard club, Adam Feudale, is the most recent member to make this list. “Having the same coaches on the staff for such a long time is very important. They have been using the same system and know it very well. The staff knows how to find ways to put players in the right positions to succeed which helps the players prepare. You know what you are expected to do going into each season,” Feudale said.

The remaining members of the list that have cracked the 2,000 yard barrier have all done so since the 1992 season. This club features Steve Roth, Scott Bloom, Dave Michaels, Brandon Traugh, Jake Morton, Nate Roadarmel, Tyler Levan, Mike Zimmerman, Joe Murphy, Nate Schicchitano, Mark Yurkiewicz, Tyrell Thomas and Kyle Connaghan. “It’s a priority that you put in the extra time during the offseason to try and out-do the competition. Nowadays, all the teams are putting in extra work which makes it that much more important,” said Jim Roth. Two other players should make the list over the course of the next two seasons barring any injury setbacks. Senior Blake Marks, the son of Jerry, is currently sitting at 1,736 yards on 217 attempts and has totaled 29 rushing scores. If not for missing half of last season, he would have most likely reached the milestone before his senior year even began. If Blake is able to reach this feat, it would make Jerry and him the only father-son combo on the list. Junior halfback Hunter Thomas has carried 73 times for 937 yards and 12 TDs thus far. Adding more yardage this season, and then being the lone returning running back next year, should get him over the mark.

The Tigers currently have a dominant group of junior high and youth players, so this list has the potential to certainly grow with time. “One of the keys to the junior high program is the large number of players coming out every year wanting to play for and continue the Southern tradition. We have a large number of skill kids at all positions and a strong group of linemen that take pride in making holes with their blocking,” Nate Roadarmel said. He, like Traugh, is on the junior high staff at Southern Columbia which provides the athletes with valuable insight from former players’ perspectives that had success on the gridiron. There are also a lot of other former players that attend games, show up at practices, and stay in contact other ways with the existing team members and coaches. “Between the current varsity players, the junior high kids, and the midget programs in Ralpho and Catawissa, I don’t see the tradition slowing down anytime soon,” said Roadarmel who was in the backfield on Southern’s first state title team in 1994.

There also aren’t too many towns that love their high school football as much as the people from Elysburg, Catawissa, and Numidia. “Community comes right after family. During my time at SCA, these two terms were nearly one in the same. Knowing that each Friday night, regardless of the outcome, you are embraced, supported, and celebrated by your school community is a special feeling that Tiger football players have the unique privilege of experiencing,” Scott Bloom said. Time will tell as to how much more success is in the program’s future. The past is the past, and the present is the present. The future will be built around how much time, effort, dedication, and motivation the young cats are willing to put out on the line. One thing is for certain. If the next thirty years are anything like the last thirty years, the Southern Columbia community can expect an affluence of enjoyment and a trophy case that is eager to expand.

Below is the full list including yards, attempts, and touchdowns:

1.) Henry Hynoski (2007 grad): 7,165 yards on 754 attempts and 112 TDs

2.) Jerry Marks (1988 grad): 7,075 yards on 1,071 attempts and 93 TDs

3.) Ricco Rosini (1998 grad): 6,413 yards on 637 attempts and 85 TDs

4.) Jay Drumheller (1984 grad): 4,111 yards on 669 attempts and 42 TDs

5.) Shaun Gaul (2000 grad): 3,596 yards on 635 attempts and 35 TDs

6.) Butch Romanoski (1995 grad): 3,238 yards on 425 attempts and 48 TDs

7.) Adam Feudale (2014 grad): 3,027 yards on 370 attempts and 48 TDs

8.) Steve Roth (2009 grad): 2,879 yards on 405 attempts and 41 TDs

9.) Scott Bloom (1998 grad): 2,650 yards on 352 attempts and 37 TDs

10.) Dave Michaels (1993 grad): 2,645 yards on 410 attempts and 31 TDs

11.) Brandon Traugh (2004 grad): 2,630 yards on 353 attempts and 50 TDs

12.) Jake Morton (2011 grad): 2,620 yards on 389 attempts and 39 TDs

13.) Nate Roadarmel (1995 grad): 2,487 yards on 322 attempts and 38 TDs

14.) Tyler Levan (2012 grad): 2,389 yards on 276 attempts and 38 TDs

15.) Mike Zimmerman (1994 grad): 2,303 yards on 275 attempts and 28 TDs

16.) Joe Murphy (1997 grad): 2,300 yards on 301 attempts and 34 TDs

17.) Nate Schicchitano (2002 grad): 2,242 yards on 252 attempts and 34 TDs

18.) Mark Yurkiewicz (1999 grad): 2,181 yards on 317 attempts and 28 TDs

19.) Tyrell Thomas (2012 grad): 2,067 yards on 292 attempts and 28 TDs

20.) Kyle Connaghan (2006 grad): 2,010 yards on 211 attempts and 28 TDs

Becker returns from injury

By: Dave Fegley (Twitter: @DFegs9)

Southern Columbia traveled to Kemp Memorial Stadium Friday night and picked up a 49-27 victory. Just looking at the box score, readers may think that Shamokin Area was able to hang with the victors, but that was far from the truth. One statistic to show the type of dominance the Tigers displayed is by looking at Shamokin’s passing results. In the first half seven Indian passes were caught, but unfortunately for them, four of them fell into the hands of Tiger defenders. “We are inexperienced in our passing game and that certainly showed against Southern. I thought our guys on the outside would be able to matchup with them athletically, and unfortunately that wasn’t the case,” said Shamokin coach Pat DiRienzo.

Billy Marzeski picked off the first one, Austin Knepp took the next one back for a touchdown, and Cam Young intercepted the final two. “That was my first ever defensive touchdown, but I can’t take any of the credit on the play. Our defensive line was solid all night, and on that play Gabe Delbo and Matt Bell pressured their quarterback and I was able to read the screen. Then I just made the play on the ball.” Knepp said about his pick six. Knepp, a first year Tiger, moved from Penn Ridge last year where he played a lot of different positions. “I played fullback and then got moved to the line on offense. On defense I switched around as well. I’m excited to be back playing linebacker at Southern. I love it here because everyone is so close with everyone and we have a lot of big expectations for the season,” said Knepp.

Southern’s senior quarterback Nick Becker, who left the opener in an ambulance with a non-throwing shoulder injury, surprised fans by making an earlier return than expected. “The doctors felt that the shoulder wasn’t going to be much stronger in another week and the damage that occurred isn’t going to be much more healed in another week. I thought his timing and execution was a little off, but that’s certainly understandable considering the circumstance,” said Tiger coach Jim Roth. The senior quarterback may have only completed six of thirteen passes, but the six that were completed caused a lot of damage. He threw three touchdown passes, two on screen passes to Hunter Thomas and another to receiver Cam Young, and finished with 155 yards in less than a half of work. “I didn’t officially know I was coming back until Thursday. I felt good all week in practice, and was excited to get back. The physical therapist didn’t really want me to, but I thought I was as close to ready as I will be,” Becker said. The veteran showed a lot of guts because a lot of players that suffer an injury of that severity may be done for the entire season. 14 days later #14 was back out there leading the charge for his Tigers.

Southern’s six first half scores were enough to put the game in the Mercy Rule for the entire second half. The other two touchdowns were scored by fullback Jared Torres and Thomas had another one on the ground. Through three games, Thomas has now scored nine total touchdowns for the Tigers. Shamokin’s leading rusher Preston Burns scored the lone Indian touchdown in the first half from 52 yards out to make the halftime score 42-7. If not for allowing that touchdown, the Tigers had Burns bottled up the entire first half. The senior running back came in through two weeks with 357 rushing yards, but the Tigers held him to negative three yards on eight carriers before he pulled off that long run at the end of the half. “Our defense played great tonight. Coming into the season we knew if our defense started to gel that we were going to be tough. Besides that one run our starters shut Burns down. He came into the game a little cocky, but I think he knows now what our defense can do,” Becker said.

Shamokin left their starters in for the majority of the second half against the Tiger reserves and were able to score three times. Garrett Zalar, Isaiah Reiprich, and Marcus Dievert were the Indians that found the end zone. Southern’s Thomas Manley scored the lone second half touchdown for the Tigers. The final score, 49-27, wasn’t any indication of how one-sided the game was. Southern will head home for their annual alumni night next week. The Tigers (3-0) will host Danville. Shamokin (1-2) will take on Selinsgrove.

SCA: 28-14-0-7 = 49
SHAM: 0-7-14-6 = 27

SOUTHERN COLUMBIA (3-0)

RUSHING:

Hunter Thomas 7-70, TD; Blake Marks 3-8; Jared Torres 9-52, TD; Billy Marzeski 4-12; Nic Fetterman 8-32; Thomas Manley 3-39, TD; Jake Potter 2-13; AJ Goodlunas 1-8; Sami Abdul 1-2; Drew Michaels 2-(-6); Nick Becker 1-(-4)

PASSING:

Nick Becker 6-13-0, 155 yds, 3 TDs; Drew Michaels 2-2-0, 47 yds

RECEIVING:

Cam Young 3-64, TD; Steve Toczylousky 1-40; Hunter Thomas 2-68, 2 TDs; Blake Marks 2-30

1st DOWNS: 15

PENALTIES: 10-85

SHAMOKIN (1-2)

RUSHING:

Preston Burns 16-136, TD; Garrett Zalar 5-35, TD; Mark Wetzel 3-11; Devin Pietkiewicz 4-9; Isaiah Reiprich 1-8; Jake Jeremiah 1-2; Jake DiRienzo 1-1; Tom Campbell 2-(-1); Ty Berge 1-(-4)

PASSING:

Tom Campbell 6-19-4, 133 yds, TD; Zack Johnson 4-6-0, 46 yds, TD

RECEIVING:

Isaiah Reiprich 2-109, TD; Jake Jeremiah 2-17; Devin Pietkiewicz 2-14; Jake DiRienzo 2-10; Marcus Dievert 1-22, TD; Mark Wetzel 1-7

1st DOWNS: 15

PENALTIES: 6-45

Shamokin stats provided by Damien Scoblink (PE)

Unfortunate injury again for Tigers to start 2015

By: Dave Fegley (Twitter: @DFegs9)

For the second consecutive year, Southern Columbia opened the season with a convincing victory over Mifflinburg. Unfortunately, for the second consecutive year, the Tigers also suffered a tough loss to injury. Last season, all-state performer Luke Rarig went down in the first quarter with a torn ACL. This year, in the opening quarter as well, the Tigers lost one of their captains and quarterback to an injury that doesn’t appear to be quite as serious. Although Nick Becker was taken by ambulance with a non-throwing shoulder injury, head coach Jim Roth is optimistic. “He came back from the hospital to the sidelines in the fourth quarter so that’s the best sign. It’s a shoulder injury and as far as I know they’re not saying it’s anything too serious to cause him to be out for a long period of time. He’s going to get evaluated by the doctors this weekend, so we will find out the extent of the injury after the tests,” said Roth. Becker returned to the sideline in a hospital gown to a standing ovation which showed how much of a true leader Becker really is and how much respect he has gotten over the past three seasons as the team’s signal caller under center.

As for the game, the scoring started on defense for the Tigers. Senior safety Steve Toczylousky came off the edge on a safety blitz and knocked the ball out of Mifflinburg quarterback James Zack’s hands. Chase Tillett was there to scoop up the fumble for Southern and he took it in from 38 yards out to start the scoring for the Tigers. “Honestly a funny story, I was talking to Blake Marks in the locker room before the game and told him that I actually had a dream last night about that exact same thing happening,” said Tillett. Marks, who was kicking early in the game because starting kicker Tyler Keiser was at his soccer game, connected on the extra point to give the Tigers an early 7-0 lead.

Southern forced a punt on the ensuing possession thanks to three straight tackles from senior Austin Knepp who just moved into the district toward the end of last school year. Becker had the big play on that series with a 40 yard carry after breaking several tackles on the play that ended when he landed awkwardly which would be his final play of the night. Fullback Jared Torres scored from five yards out to make the score 13-0. Mifflinburg struck back on the first play of their next drive when Zack connected on a 65 yard dart to Brian Zimmerman to make the score 13-7 and that was the score after the first quarter. Zack finished with an impressive 265 yards through the air in his first varsity start. Zimmerman also had himself a nice night with 108 yards on five grabs.

The Wildcats took the lead 14-13 early in the second quarter with a 70 yard touchdown run by Brayden Pierce after breaking several tackles in route to the end zone. The game changing play happened on the next kickoff when Hunter Thomas took it to the house from 92 yards out to give Southern a 19-14 lead that they would keep for the rest of the game. “It was a short kick that I caught on the run which gave me a full head of steam going forward. Blake (Marks) made a good block on a kid and I cut off of his block. After that I was off to the races,” Thomas said. Keiser arrived to the stadium in the second quarter and tacked on a 34 yard field goal right before half to give Southern a 22-14 lead at the break. Backup quarterback Justin Derk set up the field goal with a 30 yard completion to tight end Garrett Henry to put the ball at the one yard line. However, a costly penalty by Southern negated their chance at getting six on the drive. Southern finished the night with 13 penalties and two of those penalties cancelled scores. Derk played in Becker’s absence for the remainder of the first half action.

Thomas scored on a 42 yard run to start the third quarter to stretch Southern’s lead to 29-14. The junior finished with 77 yards on only six carries. For the second half, the Tigers put in their other backup quarterback Drew Michaels who completed a 19 yard pass and had a 14 yard rush to set up the next score. Torres scored his second touchdown on the night from three yards out to make it 36-14. Roth was pleased with the way the backups played in Becker’s absence. “I thought both Justin and Drew came in and did a nice job. We didn’t hit on a couple of passes, but they both had to go in with some nerves with the situation the way it was. They didn’t go in there when the game was out of reach, they went in under fire and I was pleased with the way they both handled themselves,” Roth said. Michaels played the remainder of the game and showed that he is capable of using his legs when he gets outside of the pocket.

Marks scored the next touchdown on a 34 yard run in which he made a couple of Barry Sanders type cuts. On that carry Marks was able to go over the century mark and made the score 43-14 ultimately putting it out of reach for good. Pierce, who had 124 yards on the ground, scored Mifflinburg’s final touchdown on the next drive. The final score came from Southern’s Dylan Kranzel on a three yard carry to make it a 49-21 victory for Southern at their home field. “It was a great team win for us. Obviously with Nick (Becker) going down early it handed us some adversity, but we were able to pull it together,” said Tillett. Southern travels to local rival Bloomsburg next week and Mifflinburg will host Heartland Conference foe Danville.

SCA: 13-9-21-6 = 49
MIFF: 7-7-0-7 = 21

SOUTHERN COLUMBIA (1-0)

RUSHING:

Hunter Thomas 7-74, TD; Blake Marks 8-106, TD; Jared Torres 7-36, 2 TD’s; Nick Becker 1-40; Drew Michaels 4-63; Billy Marzeski 1-4; Thomas Manley 2-11; Dylan Kranzel 1-3, TD; AJ Goodlunas 1-9; Sami Abdul 1-2; Cole Potter 1-8

PASSING:

Justin Derk 3-9-0, 62 yds; Drew Michaels 1-4-0, 19 yds

RECEIVING:

Steve Toczylousky 1-25; Cameron Young 1-19; Jared Torres 1-7; Garrett Henry 1-30

1st DOWNS: 18

PENALTIES: 13-85

MIFFLINBURG (0-1)

RUSHING:

Brayden Pierce 16-124, 2 TD; Hunter Kahley 2-(-2); Cole Laubach 3-(-2); Brian Zimmerman 1-(-2); Josh Foster 1-(-8); James Zack 5-(-10)

PASSING:

James Zack 21-33-1, 265 yds, TD; Josh Foster 1-1-0, 27 yds

RECEIVING:

Tristan Martin 8-57; Brian Zimmerman 5-108, TD; Bradley Sauers 4-42; Cole Laubach 2-45; Robert Foltz 1-27; Brayden Pierce 1-8; Christopher Day 1-5.

1st DOWNS: 16

PENALTIES: 6-60

Mifflinburg stats provided by Damien Scoblink (PE)