by Phil Myers, WesternPAFootball.net Reporter
If you are a high school football fan, then going to the PA state finals should be a bucket list item to 
check off. From a fan and now media perspective, Hershey is a wonderful place to experience the PA title games. There is nothing like being there! Yeah, you can sit at home and watch on TV and not be in the weather, but you miss the atmosphere, the bands (some of them are really quite good), rubbing shoulders with other fans, the sights (we’ll talk about later), and just to say, ” I was at that classic game” or “I actually saw so and so when he played in the state championship game.” Besides, you could always DVR the game! That being said, I thoroughly enjoyed the weekend. For me, being in the press box was quite an experience. Visiting with the old sages like Tom Elling, Rich Vetock, and Rod Frisco was priceless. Making new acquaintances was fun. Everyone appeared to be very knowledgeable, even though they did not always agree about things, it was apparent opinions were respected.
Here is a recap of the games played. For a more detailed story on each game, see Billy Splains excellent reports on the front page. Bishop Gulifoyle vs. Clairton was a game that was statistically dominated by Clairton, except for time of possession. BG came out on top 19-18 because they converted the only PAT of the game. In fact, the lack of a kicker may have cost Clairton the game. Clairton’s offense is fun to watch as it is fast paced much like the Oregon Ducks. But congrats to the BG Marauders because they played hard, they were poised, and had the defense to slow and frustrate the highest scoring offense in PA history. It is no easy task to hold a team averaging 63 points a game through 15 games to only 18. The BG faithful and players celebrated for an hour after the game. They will cherish that moment the rest of their lives. 6’1″ 230 lb. TE Matt Gormley, who is looking to play at the next level said, “As a team we dreamed about this, but we knew we had to take it one game at a time. In the back of our minds we thought we were good enough.” QB Brandon Chadbourn, who is going to Villanova to play wide receiver, echoed a similar thought about getting to Hershey and then said, “This is unbelievable!!” When asked how he felt tossing the INT with 4 minutes left up by one point, he responded by saying that he felt bad, but knew he had to play defense and the team had to stop them one more time. Clairton has a sophomore sensation, Lamont Wade, whom I believe can do very well at the next level. He is the real deal. One more note, as most of you know there were some shenanigans near the end of the game by some of the Clairton players. PIAA officials decided there would not be a post game hand shake between the two teams. But, I noted four Clairton players eventually make their way over and congratulate the Guilfoyle team. Kudos to them.
Archbishop Wood vs. Central Valley was a contrast in offenses for sure. Wood’s offense had one starter under six foot. The offensive line went between 6’1″ 240 lbs. to 6’5″ 285 lbs. and the two tight ends both weighed 235 lbs. Their RB, Jarrett McClenton, was super quick with unbelievable cut back ability. The Vikings’ fullback, Alex Arcangeli was a great compliment to McClenton and also was impressive. Their only weakness appeared to be the passing game, but the QB did throw for over 1200 yards and 20 TDs this year. Central Valley played them very well through 3 plus quarters as the score was 20-14 less than a minute into the fourth stanza. If Jordan Whitehead had not been injured early on (he did eventually come back) this game may have had a closer final score, although I feel the Vikings just wore down the CV Warriors and they would have won anyway. The one stat that jumped out at me was the fact that Wood was 4 for 4 in the red zone, while Central Valley was 0 for 2. Congratulations goes out to the Wood Vikings on defending their state title 33-14. Two Vikings have verbally committed to Penn State in Ryan Bates and Jake Cooper. McClenton is heading to Villanova. CVs Whitehead is a Pitt recruit.
South Fayette vs. Dunmore again was a game with totally different offenses. Dunmore had size and depends heavily on their running game, while South Fayette uses the spread, likes to pass with Brett Brumbaugh the state’s all time career passing yardage king, but will run effectively if you try to take away the pass. The Bucks came out and smacked the Lions building a 16-7 lead. But a little adjustment in defense limited the Bucks the rest of the way except for one key drive. And that drive figured huge in the outcome of the game. The Bucks used almost seven minutes to drive 66 yards and had a first and goal at the SF two when they got hit for an illegal substitution right after a time out for a measurement. On fourth and five they elected to forego the almost sure FG and a pass went incomplete when the receiver slipped. The very next play the Lions’ Hunter Hayes ran 95 yards to put the kelly green and white up to stay. For the second time this weekend a team successfully defended their state title. This time it was the South Fayette Lions and the final was 28-16.
The final game pitted St. Joes Prep against Pine Richland. The weekend began with a classic when Bishop Guilfoyle pulled off the upset by one point and ended in another classic in which Pine Richland fell just short of an historic AAAA finals comeback. In a game that broke many PA state final game offensive records, St. Joes beat P-R 49-41. Early in the fourth quarter trailing by 21 points the Rams scored 3 TDs in less than six minutes. Trailing 42-41 with 135 seconds left in the game they elected to go for 2 after their third score of the quarter. Ben Dinucci’s pass went incomplete, but the game was not over. The Hawks scored quickly and the Rams had a chance to tie, but Dinucci’s pass into the end zone was intercepted on the last play of the game. St. Joes coach was very impressed with Dinucci, who by the way, is the first QB in Pennsylvania history to throw for more than 4,000 yards in one year. “He’s a great player. I’m glad he’s graduating,” Gabe Infante said about the Ram QB, implying he doesn’t want to see him next year if the Hawks get there again. By St. Joes winning, for the first time ever, three teams repeated as state champs. De’Andre Swift, the Hawk RB is only a sophomore and is a man out there. I believe he is getting offers already at the D-1 level. In fact, a couple college coaches were working their phones during the game after seeing him run a few times.
Other points of interest include plays, bands, and fans. Some sensational pass catches include those by Lamont Wade and Aaron Matthews of Cairton, BJ Powell of Central Valley, Ryan Schmider of South Fayette, and Mike Merhaut and D’ondre Gastion of Pine Richland. Incredible runs had to be Swift’s 58 yard TD when he not only showed power and moves, but speed as well. Also, Wade of Clairton, McClenton and Arcangeli of Wood, and Hayes of South Fayette. Two other plays were phenominal and worth mentioning. One was Central Valley’s Jordan Whitehead’s interception return, even though it did not go for a TD, the pick and return was a thing of beauty. The second was a double reverse run by St. Joes Prep that resulted in a third handoff, back to the QB Jack Clements, who threw a sideline screen to Swift who then ran untouched 48 yards to score.
The bands that STOOD OUT for me was the Pine Richland and South Fayette bands. If you heard and saw them this year you were treated to top notch high school football half time entertainment. Hats off to them, they were phenomenal. All the bands that were at states were good, it is just that those two really struck a chord with me. Kudos to those bands. Wish I could see more.
The fans are an interesting lot. Clairton had a man in what appeared to be an actual bear coat with the head still attached. They also had another guy in an orange and black flannel shirt who had unbelievable energy throughout the game. WOW! He was like the energizer bunny, he never quit. Eventually he took off his shirt and most in the press box were hoping he would stop there. And he did. Then there was the guy from Dunmore with the hard hat painted in their colors of crimson and blue with buck horns glued on somehow. Finally there was a real high school football fan there. I thought I did good to make it to 30 games this year with my wife’s blessing. But this guy attended, get this, over 110 games this year alone and over 380 in the last four years. Of course they all were not from Pennsylvania as that would be impossible. Remember, some states start earlier than we do and many, if not most, have more than four classifications. That way in one weekend you could see six to eight games.
Protime Predictions was 3-1 and finished 26-9 which is a .743 percentage. One final note is that there is plenty to do at Hershey. Bring the better half as she can go shopping or antiquing. The kids will love Hershey Park and the Christmas lights and Chocolate world of course. I’ve been known to hang out there. And if you tell the Park officials you are there for the football championships they will let you walk around the park for an hour with out paying. Next year make plans to go to Hershey and be there in person. It is worth it from one high school football fan to others.
