2024 Team Preview: Southern Columbia Tigers (4)
Head Coach: Jim Roth Assistant Coaches: Andy Mills Mike Johnston Brandon Traugh Wesley Tillett Ardie Kissinger Rick Steele Ken Ruckle Alex Carawan Team Name: Southern Columbia Tigers District: 4 Class: 2A League: PA Heartland Athletic Conference, Division II 2023 Record: 15-1 8/25 Berwick Area (4A) 7:00 pm W 50-0 9/01 Shamokin (4A) 7:00 pm W […]
2023 Team Preview: Southern Columbia Tigers
Head Coach: Jim Roth, 40th season Career Record: 484-67-2 2022 Season: 13-3 (13th PIAA Championship) Assistant Coaches: Andy Mills Mike Johnston Brandon Traugh Wes Tillett Rick Steele Ardie Kissinger Ken Ruckle Roger Nunkester Alex Carawan Team Colors: Black and Vegas Gold Home Field: Tiger Stadium (Jim Roth Field) District: 4 Class: AA League: PA Heartland […]
Player Preview in 100 Days – Day 100: Gavin Garcia, Southern Columbia HS
Player Name: Gavin Garcia School: Southern Columbia Class of: 2022 Primary Position: RB Secondary Position: CB Jersey Number: 5 Height: 5’8 Weight: 180 40-Yard Dash: N/A GPA: 4.0 + 2nd class rank Other Sports: Wrestling and Track Starting Experience (Years): 2019 Stats: He rushed for 1,700 yards on 103 carries and 28 touchdowns. He caught […]
Player Previews in 100 Days – Day 97: Jake Davis, Southern Columbia HS
Player Name: Jake Davis School: Southern Columbia HS Class of: 2021 Primary Position: CB Secondary Position: WR Jersey Number: 10 Height: 5’10 Weight: 165 40-Yard Dash: 4.5 GPA: 3.4 Other Sports: Basketball 2019 Stats: On defense he had 43 total tackles and nine interceptions. Hudl Highlights: Twitter: @JakeDavis1020 Coaches comments: Jake had an outstanding junior […]
Player Previews in 100 Days – Day 76: Wade Kerstetter, Southern Columbia HS
Player Name: Wade Kerstetter School: Southern Columbia Class of: 2021 Primary Position: TE Secondary Position: MLB Jersey Number: 46 Height: 5’11 Weight: 200 40-Yard Dash: 4.6 GPA: 4.0 Other Sports: Baseball Starting Experience (Years): 2019 Stats: On defense he had 42 tackles. Hudl Highlights: Twitter: @w_kerstetter Coaches comments: After starting at the tight end position […]
2019 Team Previews: Southern Columbia Tigers (4)
Head Coach: Jim Roth (36th year) Assistant Coaches: Andy Mills, Mike Johnston, John Marks, Al Cihocki, Roger Nunkester, Brandon Traugh, Andy Helwig, Alex Carawan Team Name: Southern Columbia Tigers 2018 Record: 16-0 (PIAA 2A STATE CHAMPIONS) Twitter: @socotigersports Hudl Highlights: Key Starters Lost: QB – Stone Hollenbach OL – Troy Donlan OL -Oak Six OL – […]
Player Previews in 100 Days – Day 100: Julian Fleming, Southern Columbia (4)
Player Name: Julian Fleming School: Southern Columbia Class of: 2020 Primary Position: Wide Receiver Secondary Position: Defensive Back Jersey Number: 4 Height: 6’3″ Weight: 210 40-Yard Dash: 4.48 GPA: 3.5 Other Sports: Basketball, Track & Field Starting Experience (Years): 3 years 2018 Stats: Offense: 78 receptions for 1,524 yards (19.5 avg) & 22 TD’s Defense: 20 tackles, 9 pass breakups, 4 INT’s (3 TD’s) Honors: Gatorade PA […]
Player Previews in 100 Days – Day 99: Gaige Garcia, Southern Columbia (4)
Player Name: Gaige Garcia School: Southern Columbia Class of: 2020 Primary Position: Running Back Secondary Position: Outside Linebacker Jersey Number: 23 Height: 5’10” Weight: 210 40-Yard Dash: 4.5 GPA: 4.0 Other Sports: Wrestling, Track & Field Starting Experience (Years): 3 years 2018 Stats: Rushing: 201 carries for 2,042 yards (10.2 avg) & 38 TD’s Receiving: 13 receptions for 284 yards (21.9 avg) & 8 TD’s Special […]
Player Previews in 100 Days – Day 91: Max Tillett, Southern Columbia (4)
Player Name: Max Tillett School: Southern Columbia Class of: 2020 Primary Position: Linebacker Secondary Position: Safety Jersey Number: 8 Height: 6-0 Weight: 195 40-Yard Dash: 4.55 GPA: 3.7 Other Sports: Baseball Starting Experience (Years): 2 years 2018 Stats: 124 tackles, 6.5 sacks, 5 hurries, 2 INT’s Honors: AP Class 2A All-State (LB) PFN Class 2A 2nd Team All-State (LB) 1st Team EasternPAFootball.com 1st Team PHAC Division 3 […]
Player Previews in 100 Days – Day 72: Preston Zachman, Southern Columbia (4)
Player Name: Preston Zachman School: Southern Columbia Class of: 2020 Primary Position: Linebacker Secondary Position: Wide Receiver/Quarterback Jersey Number: 14 Height: 6-2 Weight: 205 40-Yard Dash: 4.53 GPA: 3.7 Other Sports: Wrestling and Baseball Starting Experience (Years): 2 years 2018 Stats: Receiving: 19 receptions for 372 yards (19.6 avg) & 4 TD’s Passing: 29 for 44 completions, 597 yards, 8 TD’s – 1 INT Rushing: 10 […]
Player Previews in 100 Days – Day 70: Gavin Garcia, Southern Columbia (4)
Player Name: Gavin Garcia School: Southern Columbia Class of: 2022 Primary Position: Running Back Secondary Position: Defensive Back Jersey Number: 5 Height: 5-8 Weight: 170 40-Yard Dash: N/A GPA: 4.0 Other Sports: Wrestling, Track & Field Starting Experience (Years): 1 year 2018 Stats: Rushing: 101 carries for 1,179 yards (11.7 avg) & 23 TD’s Receiving: 6 receptions for 139 yards (23.2 avg) & 2 TD’s Honors: […]
Player Previews in 100 Days – Day 65: Cal Haladay, Southern Columbia (4)
Player Name: Cal Haladay School: Southern Columbia Class of: 2020 Primary Position: Inside Linebacker Secondary Position: Outside Linebacker Jersey Number: 28 Height: 6-1 Weight: 205 40-Yard Dash: 4.75 GPA: 3.8 Other Sports: N/A Starting Experience (Years): 3 years 2018 Stats: 131 tackles, 5 sacks, 12 hurries Honors: AP Class 2A All-State (LB) PFN Class 2A All-State (LB) Press Enterprise LB of the Year 1st Team Daily Item […]
Player Previews in 100 Days – Day 61: Lear Quinton, Southern Columbia (4)
Player Name: Lear Quinton School: Southern Columbia Class of: 2020 Primary Position: Defensive End Secondary Position: Offensive Line Jersey Number: 67 Height: 6’2″ Weight: 225 40-Yard Dash: 4.95 GPA: 4.0 Other Sports: Wrestling Starting Experience (Years): 2 years 2018 Stats: 68 tackles, 4.5 sacks, 14 hurries Honors: PFN Class 2A All-State (DE) 1st Team Daily Item All-Star 1st Team Press Enterprise All-Star 1st Team News Item All-Star […]
Five-Star Wide Receiver Julian Fleming Commits to Ohio State
Friday was a day like no other for Southern Columbia junior Julian Fleming. At 10:30 am, in between class periods, the top ranked high school wide receiver in the United States made his college decision public. With a short two minute video clip, Fleming posted on Twitter and Instagram that he would be heading to […]
2018 EasternPAFootball.com Class 2A Coach of the Year, Jim Roth, Southern Columbia (4)
Jim Roth’s Southern Columbia Tigers simply cruised through their regular season, moving their regular season winning streak to 71 games, and then went on another dominant playoff run that was capped off with another state championship and finishing 16-0. During the playoffs, the Tigers won five of their six games via the Mercy Rule including […]
2018 EasternPAFootball.com Class 2A Player of the Year, Julian Fleming, Southern Columbia (4)
Julian Fleming was chosen as the 2018 Gatorade Pennsylvania High School Football Player of the Year on the day before Southern Columbia’s PIAA Class 2A State Championship. The junior, who makes an impact in all three phases of the game, can now add another award to his lengthy list. For the second year in a […]
2018 PIAA Class 2A High School Football Preview
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 […]
2018 Team Previews – Southern Columbia Tigers (4)
Jim Roth (35th year at SCA) Record: 412-63 (never had a losing season) 8 State Championships (PIAA Record) 16 Eastern Championships (PIAA Record) 2018 Schedule: Assistant Coaches: Andy Mills Al Cihocki Mike Johnston Don Traugh Roger Nunkester Alex Carawan Offensive Starters Returning: (7) QB Stone Hollenbach (Sr) RB Gaige Garcia (Jr) WR Julian Fleming (Jr) WR […]
2017 Class 2A Coach of the Year, Jim Roth, Southern Columbia
Early on in the 2017 regular season, Southern Columbia head coach Jim Roth became the youngest coach in Pennsylvania high school football history to win 400 games. Three months later, he became the first coach in Pennsylvania high school football history to win eight state championships. His Tigers went a perfect 16-0, winning 13 games […]
2017 Class 2A Co-Players of the Year, Julian Fleming and Gaige Garcia, Southern Columbia
Any school in Pennsylvania, and the country for that matter, would love to have either Julian Fleming or Gaige Garcia suiting up for their football team. Having both of them suiting up for the same team is something that every other school in the PIAA is envious about. The Southern Columbia Tigers have the luxury […]
Tigers Continue Tallying Titles
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 […]
Eight Is Great
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 […]
2017 PIAA Class 2A Title Game Preview: Southern Columbia (4) 15-0
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 […]
Tigers Score Trophy Buck
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 […]
Tigers Send Saints Marching Home
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 […]
Tigers Take Title
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 […]
Southern Columbia All Business
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 […]
Tigers Claw Panthers
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 […]
Southern Columbia Stays Undefeated
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 […]
Sixty Straight For Southern
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 […]
SCA Claims Conference Crown
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 […]
Southern Storms By Montoursville
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 […]
Tigers Feast On Black Panthers
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 […]
Southern Slays Lewisburg
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 […]
Roth Wins 400th Game
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 […]
Tigers Top Tornadoes
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 […]
Tigers Too Tough For Panthers
Southern Columbia’s defense dominant again Every high school football fan in District IV knew what Southern Columbia had coming back on offense this season. A running back in Gaige Garcia that broke the PIAA freshman rushing record last season, the top ranked receiver recruit in the country in sophomore Julian Fleming, the school’s single-season passing […]
Tigers Decimate Indians
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, […]
2017 Team Preview – Southern Columbia (4)
If any coaching staff in the state knows how to manage the pressure of high expectations, the Southern Columbia staff would top the list. High expectations come with success, and the Tigers have been the leader in that category for three decades. The black & gold have set the standard by winning more games than […]
Class 2A Coach of the Year, Jim Roth, Southern Columbia
In 2015, Jim Roth’s Southern Columbia Tigers won a 7th PIAA State Championship setting a new state record. He was named the PIAA Coach of the Year. This season however, the case could be made that the man in charge of the Tigers for the past 33 seasons did an even better job. “We knew […]
Class 2A Player of the Year, Hunter Thomas, Southern Columbia
Southern Columbia has had its share of great runners throughout the years, but it would be awfully difficult to keep Hunter Thomas off of the school’s Mount Rushmore for running backs. “It was such an honor to play for the most accomplished program in all of Pennsylvania high school football. I’m going to miss putting […]
Steel Valley Steals State Gold
Proud Partners of West had career game against Tigers A couple of firsts took place on Saturday afternoon inside of Hershey Park Stadium. Most importantly for Steel Valley, they won the school’s first ever football state championship. They also became the first team in PIAA history to Mercy Rule every opponent in every […]
PIAA Class 2A preview: Tigers Looking for Back-to-Back State Titles
Steel Valley Preview Class AA Eastern Champions: Southern Columbia will be playing in their state record 15th state championship game when they take on undefeated Steel Valley this weekend in Hershey. Jim Roth’s squads have played in over half of the possible state finals since the game’s implementation in 1988 which is just remarkable to […]
SCA Again: Beast of the East
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 […]
30 In A Row For SoCo
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 […]
Another Year, Another Gold
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 […]
Tigers Title Bound
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, […]
Southern Has Historic Night
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 […]
Roth’s Tigers Have Been Unbeatable
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 […]
SCA Wins 50th Straight
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 […]
Southern Columbia Claims Conference Championship
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 […]
Tigers Win Battle of Unbeaten Teams
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 […]
Tigers Feast on Panthers
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. […]
Jim Roth Field Officially Named
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 […]
Southern’s Defense Dominates Lewisburg
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 […]
Unhappy Tigers Still Victorious
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 […]
Tiger Offense Unstoppable
Southern Columbia runs through Mount Carmel Football fans around the country have been eagerly anticipating this weekend as the NFL season kicks off. Millions of people have their fantasy football rosters in place and have to make difficult decisions as to who they should start. The decisions would be easier if the fantasy world revolved […]
Freshmen Lead Tigers
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 […]
Defending State Champs Prevail
Explosive 3rd 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 […]
Team # 3 Class 2A – Southern Columbia (4)
People all over the state have been envious of the way that the Southern Columbia Tigers have been able to sustain success at the state level for such a long time. No other team in any classification across the state has won more state, district, or league championships since 1994. There isn’t a set formula […]
2015 EasternPAFootball.com Class 2A Coach of the Year: Jim Roth, Southern Columbia
Jim Roth would be a first-ballot hall-of-fame coach whether he would have gone 0-10 this season or 16-0 like his state champion Southern Columbia Tigers did. “I’m proud of these guys because they didn’t ever win a state playoff game before this season. In saying that they also never experienced a loss in the regular […]
2015 Class 2A EasternPAFootball.com Offensive Player of the Year: Nick Becker, Southern Columbia
Nick Becker had never won a state playoff game before entering his senior season. He started as a sophomore when the Tigers lost in the opening round of states to Old Forge and then missed making the district title as a junior when Montoursville beat Southern Columbia. The senior captain didn’t want to miss out […]
Recap of Southern Columbia’s Run
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 […]
Stairway to Seven
Tigers demolish Quips in state title By: Dave Fegley (Twitter: @DFegs9) Southern Columbia has made it a point to get to the 16th 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. […]
Tiger Tradition: Consistency & Community
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 […]
PIAA Class 2A: Southern Columbia State Championship Preview
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 […]
Tigers Headed Back To Hershey
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 […]
Southern Columbia Beats Berks Catholic
Tigers are headed to PIAA AA Eastern Final By: Dave Fegley (Twitter: @DFegs9) Last week Southern Columbia’s defense gave up 50 points for only the second time in head coach Jim Roth and defensive coordinator Andy Mills’ 32 year tenure together with the Tigers. Eight days after winning the District IV AA title 56-50, the […]
Tigers Win District Crown
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 […]
Southern Columbia’s Offense Dominates
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 […]
Tigers Take Down Trojans
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 […]
Southern Columbia Wins Thriller
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. […]
Tigers Top Wildcats on the Road
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 […]
SCA Stifles Lewisburg on Thursday Night
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 […]
Tigers Trio Torches Defenders
Toczylousky, Becker, and Marks lead the way By: Dave Fegley (Twitter: @DFegs9) On a night that Southern Columbia senior Blake Marks became the 21st 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 […]
Tigers Blow Past Red Tornadoes
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 […]
Big Plays Carried Tigers to Victory
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 […]
Offensive Line Motors Tigers To Victory
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 […]
Southern Columbia Honoring Historic Backs
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 […]
Southern’s Defense Dominates Shamokin
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 […]
Tigers Offense Too Much For Panthers
Michaels looked solid in debut By: Dave Fegley (Twitter: @DFegs9) Drew Michaels hadn’t played football since 8th grade, but the junior decided to come out this season after two seasons off and was listed third on the depth chart entering last week. Seven days later he was making his first career varsity start against Bloomsburg, […]
Southern Columbia Routs Mifflinburg
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 […]
2015 Team Preview – Southern Columbia (4) – Small School Team # 2
By: Dave Fegley (Twitter: @DFegs9) Team Name: Tigers Head Coach: Jim Roth (31st year at SCA) Record: 365-62 (never had a losing season) 6 State Championships (PIAA Record) Assistant Coaches: Andy Mills (36 Yrs) John Marks (22 Yrs) Mike Johnston (19 Yrs) Don Traugh (13 Yrs) Roger Nunkester (3 Yrs) 2015 Team Schedule Conference: […]
Warriors Upset Tigers
Montoursville advances to district final By Dave Fegley (Twitter: @DFegs9) After the first seven weeks of the regular season, the Montoursville Warriors were sitting at 3-4 in serious jeopardy of missing the playoffs. Now, a little over a month later, they are headed to the District IV AA Championship after upsetting the top-seeded and undefeated […]
Running Game Propels Southern to Win
Same Faces in Different Places guide Tigers By Dave Fegley (Twitter: @DFegs9) Southern Columbia won their first ever District IV AA playoff game on Friday night after dominating the Class A level for the better part of the last 30 years. The top-seeded Tigers defeated Hughesville by a score of 35-13, but Southern head coach […]
Tigers Win Thriller
Southern finishes regular season undefeated By Dave Fegley (Twitter: @DFegs9) Billy Barnes hasn’t shown any tricks this season, but he has certainly been a treat for Southern Columbia. Barnes’ interception with 21 seconds left in the 4th quarter lifted the Tigers to a 28-21 victory over Selinsgrove on Halloween night at Tiger Stadium. “He has […]
Tigers Thump Wildcats
Marks and Barnes lift Southern By Dave Fegley (Twitter: @dfegs9) The last two carries of Blake Marks’ junior season will both be tallied for two yards up the middle. On a stat sheet the gain is the same, but the two runs were anything but that in meaning. Last week, Marks went down in the […]
Southern Survives Scare
Marks injured in 2nd half By Dave Fegley (Twitter: @dfegs9) Southern Columbia’s Blake Marks took a handoff up the gut towards the end of the 3rd quarter on Friday night for a short gain. The problem wasn’t the fact that he only managed to pick up a couple of yards on the carry; it was […]
Southern Columbia Continues to Roll
Tigers defense delivers a shutout By: Dave Fegley (Twitter: @dfegs9) For the seventh time this season, and the 17th consecutive regular season game dating back to week one of last season, the Southern Columbia Tigers have delivered a win in Mercy Rule fashion to their opponent. This week, the victim was the Warrior Run Defenders […]
Beat Down at the Silver Bowl
Tigers tear apart Tornadoes By: Dave Fegley (twitter: @dfegs9) Once a year on a fall Friday night, Southern Columbia and Mount Carmel Area square off in arguably the most important rivalry in the entire state. Not based off of the amount of years they have played because there are a lot of longer lasting rivalries than […]
Strong Defensive Effort for Southern
Tigers shut down Blue Jays run game By: Dave Fegley (Twitter: @DFegs9) Central Columbia came into Friday night’s game against Southern Columbia averaging just under 30 points per game and rushing for almost 280 yards per game over the first four games of the season. It was the first time that the Blue Jays had […]
SCA Dominates Danville
Becker and Thomas Impressive In Win By: Dave Fegley (Twitter: @DFegs9) Danville Area returned the opening kickoff across midfield and with a personal foul tacked on at the end, the Ironmen were in business at the Tigers 30 yard-line. Danville used their run game to take the ball near the end zone to set up […]
Punt Return Sparks Tigers
Southern was too much for Shamokin By: Dave Fegley (Twitter: @DFegs9) One difference from last year to this year is that the Shamokin Indians came into their rivalry against the Southern Columbia Tigers with a few wins under their belt. Last year, the Indians finished 0-10 on the year, but they came into Friday night’s […]
Southern Columbia Wins for Rarig
Marks returned early to help fill void By: Dave Fegley (Twitter: @DFegs9) On Wednesday morning the Southern Columbia football team received word that their top player, senior Luke Rarig, would be lost for the season after an MRI revealed he tore his ACL. “I went in expecting the worst, and then if there was any […]
Tigers Defense Looked Solid in Opener
Southern’s Rarig injured early on By: Dave Fegley (Twitter: @DFegs9) Southern Columbia traveled to Mifflinburg to win the opening game of the 2014 season. The win also marks the first victory for the Tigers in program history at the Class AA level in their first try. They also found a potential breakout linebacker in senior […]
Throwback Thursday: Calamity to Championship in 2004 for Tigers
A look back at Southern Columbia’s undefeated season a decade ago Written by: Dave Fegley (@dfegs9) Friday nights from early September until sometimes as late as mid December mean one thing to me, Southern Columbia Tiger football. Even though I will only be turning 24 during this football season, I have had the privilege of being […]
40 Teams in 40 Days – Day 37 – Southern Columbia (4) – Small School Team # 2
Written by: Dave Fegley (@dfegs9) on Thursday, August 28th, 2014 The Tigers have moved up to Class AA this year for the first time in school history. The Tigers still have the advantage against virtually any team they face with Jim Roth on the sidelines for his 31st season as the head coach of the Tigers. […]
South Defense Dominant in Victory
By: Dave Fegley (Twitter: @DFegs9) SOUTH WILLIAMSPORT— District IV has some of the best football programs in the state when considering the success over the years. With that, a lot of rivalries are generated. Look at Southern Columbia-Mount Carmel Area, Selinsgrove-Shikellamy, Loyalsock-Montoursville, Bloomsburg-Central Columbia, & Towanda-Troy just to name a few. From September to some […]
Old Forge stuns Southern Columbia
By: Dave Fegley (Twitter: @DFegs9) Legendary college football coach Paul “Bear” Bryant used to say that “defense wins championships” and if he was still alive today, he would have liked what he saw from both Old Forge and Southern Columbia in their state playoff matchup. The Tigers came into the state playoffs scoring at least […]
SCA is at the top of District IV yet again
By: Dave Fegley (Twitter: @DFegs9) CATAWISSA— Dominick Bragalone came into Saturday’s District IV title game needing just 60 yards for 3,000 on the year. He picked up those yards and plenty more, but him and the other members of the South Williamsport Mounties (10-2) football team are going to have to ‘brag alone’. The rest […]
Feudale carries Tigers to Victory
By: Dave Fegley (Twitter: @DFegs9) Bloomsburg head coach Mike Kogut gave Southern Columbia fullback Adam Feudale about as high of a praise as anybody could give a Tiger running back after Southern’s 49-14 victory over his Panthers. “He is just a tremendous athlete that has great balance for his size. He looks like kind of […]
Tigers Recipe for Success
By: Dave Fegley (Twitter: @DFegs9) Southern Columbia has been throwing a party since week one because this season has marked a half-century of the program’s existence which dates back to 1963. The Tigers have certainly learned what it takes to create a recipe for success in the past twenty years. Ask any football fan of […]
Tigers End Regular Season Unbeaten
By: Dave Fegley (Twitter: @DFegs9) For the 9th time in Southern Columbia head coach Jim Roth’s historic career, his Tigers completed an undefeated regular season. His squad didn’t have any trouble against an inferior Warrior Run team as the Tigers cruised to a 44-13 victory. In fact, it was such a dominant effort that the […]
Southern Columbia Wins Against Rival
By: Dave Fegley (Twitter: @DFegs9) After Friday night’s game held at Central Columbia’s brand new turf field, the Blue Jays (3-6) can at least say one thing that the first eight opponents the Southern Columbia Tigers (9-0) faced cannot. They held SCA under 45 points. Not by much, but they were the first opponent to […]
Coach Jim Roth gets 350th win
By: Dave Fegley (Twitter: @DFegs9) For the first seven minutes of Friday night’s game at Kemp Memorial Stadium, the Shamokin Indians (0-8) actually outplayed the Southern Tigers (8-0). However, the final three and a half quarters belonged to the top ranked Tigers as they went on to thrash the Indians by a score of 56-0 […]
Southern’s defense was key in victory
By: Dave Fegley (Black Diamond Sports Network) In the preseason, a lot of fans from both Southern Columbia (7-0) and Bloomsburg (4-3) were excited to see how their offenses would perform during the season. Coming into the game, both teams have certainly put up some gaudy numbers on the offensive side of the ball. The […]
Tigers Celebrate on All Cylinders
Dave Fegley (Black Diamond Sports Network): Southern Columbia honored the class of 1963 before kickoff on Friday night because this season marks the 50th year of football for the program. It was also the homecoming game for the Tigers. Add in the atmosphere, an October night that was around 75 degrees by kickoff, with a […]
Southern Columbia Tigers Celebrate 50th Anniversary
Brief History: In 1963, the small-school known as “Southern Columbia” started a varsity football team. After struggling for a couple of decades, including a bunch of long losing streaks, the Tigers hired Jim Roth as the Head Coach in the early 1980’s. Now, after fifty seasons on the gridiron, this high school dynasty has more […]
Tiger defense looking very impressive
Southern Columbia head coach Jim Roth has said since the preseason that he has been impressed with his offense. Clearly any football fan can say the same thing as the Tigers are the third highest scoring team in the entire state. For the last three weeks, the defense has actually been probably even more impressive. […]
Southern Columbia looks like the top of Class A
Tigers will most likely claim top spot after victory CATAWISSA— The Southern Columbia Tigers (4-0) came into this week ranked #2 in the state for Class A. When the new rankings come out, the Tigers will most likely move up to the top spot after the Clairton Bears, who had the nation’s longest winning streak […]
Tigers Defense Dominates Red Tornadoes at the Silver Bowl
By: Dave Fegley (Black Diamond Sports Network) on Saturday, September 14th, 2013 MOUNT CARMEL— When Southern Columbia (3-0) and Mount Carmel Area (2-1) square off, which they have done for the last eighteen years, it is the marquee matchup in the state for a couple of different reasons. You have a Tiger program that has […]
Southern Mauls Montgomery
By: Dave Fegley (Black Diamond Sports Network) on Saturday, September 7th, 2013 MONTGOMERY—The Tigers (2-0) came in to the game knowing that they were probably going to only let their starters play for a little over a quarter because they were heavy favorites against the Red Raiders (0-2).”We wanted to just come out and take […]
Tigers Tackle Royals in Season Opener
By: Dave Fegley (Black Diamond Sports Network) on Saturday, Augusust 31st, 2013 CATAWISSA—The Tigers of Southern Columbia celebrate their 50th Anniversary this year. The first varsity squad was established in 1963. After five decades, the Tigers have won six state championships and have a team this year that many think can contend for a seventh. […]
