SLATINGTON – Dominic Bragalone rushed for 438 yards and six touchdowns to lead the Mounties over Pius X 69-41 in a Class A football quarterfinals at Northern Lehigh Friday night.
“Dom is the guy that as the stage continues to grow he’s seizing the moment like the offensive line,” said South Williamsport head coach Chris Eiswerth. “It’s fun to see the growth each week with this team.”
Bragalone now has 4,361 yards rushing this year, breaking the previous record of 4,187 yards set by Schuylkill Haven’s Zach Barket in 2008.
With the win the Mounties will face District 6 champion Bishop Guilfoyle. They defeated Camp Hill 62-21 Friday night.
Pius X took the opening drive and marched right down the field. Junior quarterback Tre Jordan finished off the drive with a nine-yard touchdown run. The extra point was no good by Dalton Tucker and Pius X led 6-0 with 9:38 left in the first quarter.
It didn’t take Dominic Bragalone long to find the end zone. Dominic’s 49-yard touchdown run tied the game up at six with 7:20 remaining in the first quarter. Logan Wein’s kick was no good.
The one thing Pius X didn’t want to do is turnover the ball. South Williamsport capitalized on the fumble by Pius X as Bragalone’s nine-yard touchdown run put the Mounties up 13-6.
Early in the second quarter Tre Jordan scored from three yards out, but the two-point conversion was no good and Pius X trailed South Williamsport 13-12.
After a nice punt return by Nate Koletar to the 50, South Williamsport answered right back on a 23-yard touchdown run by quarterback Matt Boone. The Mounties led 20-12.
South Williamsport’s Gideon Green blocked a Pius X punt. On the very next play Bragalone went up the middle for a 32-yard touchdown run with 7:12 remaining in the first half. They now led 27-12.
Pius X was not going away. Nate Stewart capped off a 90-yard drive with an eight-yard touchdown run with 2:57 remaining. The Mounties led 27-19.
Bragalone did it again, one play, he went 69-yards for the touchdown run and South went up 34-19.
South Williamsport’s Riley Thomas’ 78-yard punt return added to the Mounties lead. With 1:10 left the score was 41-19.
The Mounties weren’t done yet in the first half. Maybe the best run of the night was Bragalone’s fifth touchdown run of the first half. He broke six or seven tackles for a 69-yard touchdown run. With that run he set the single-season rushing record.
“It means a lot, but honestly without all the guys on the team I couldn’t have done it,” said Bragalone. “I’d like to thank all of them and we all worked together for this moment.”
South Williamsport went into halftime leading 48-19. Bragalone rushed for 308 yards in the first half and five touchdowns.
In the first play of the second half, Bragalone took the hand-off and went 81 yards for the touchdown. South Williamsport led 55-19 with 11:40 left in the quarter.
The last four touches (4 carries for 256 yards) by Bragalone resulted in a touchdown.
“The offensive line did a great job tonight,” said Bragalone. “They opened up the holes and I ran threw them. Once we get big plays it gives us more confidence.”
The Mounties added another score in the third quarter when Boone hit Tyler Schonewolf for a seven-yard touchdown. It was setup by a Pius X fumble.
Boone finished the night 3-of-3 passing for 45 yards.
“Matt makes this whole thing go,” said Eiswerth. “He can throw it, run it and is very fast. He did a great job tonight for us.”
Pius X scored on a Jordan 19-yard run and converted a two-point conversion to cut into South Williamsport lead, 62-27.
In the fourth quarter, Boone’s 23-yard run put South up 69-27. Pius X got the last two touchdowns of the game. Jordan hit Stewart on a fade route and Nico Palma scored on a two-yard run.
Note: South Williamsport’s Dominic Bragalone rushed for 438 syards (unofficial) and now has 4,361 yards rushing this year. He broke the single-season rushing record of 4,187 yard set by Schuylkill Haven’s Zach Barket in 2008.
Bragalone’s six touchdowns tonight put him at 64 for the year. He is two touchdowns away from tying Barket’s record of 66 in a season.
Pius X quarterback Tre Jordan passed for 255 yards and one score. He led his team in rushing with 145 yards and three touchdowns.
“Pius is very explosive and has a tremendous quarterback,” said Eiswerth.
Next week it will be a matchup between South Williamsport’s potent running attack vs. Bishop Guilfoyle’s defense. The Mounties averaged 51.1 points per game and Bishop Guilfoyle is giving up only 4.8 points a game.
“We know when you get to this level all the teams are very talented,” said Eiswerth.
| Final | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | T |
| Pius X | 6 | 13 | 8 | 14 | 41 |
| South Williamsport | 13 | 35 | 14 | 7 | 69 |
1st Quarter
PX – Tre Jordan 9-yard run 9:38
SW – Dominic Bragalone 49-yard run 7:20
SW – Dominic Bragalone 9-yard run 0:48
2nd Quarter
PX – Tre Jordan 9-yard run 10:11
SW – Matt Boone 23-yard run 8:44
SW – Dominic Bragalone 37-yard run 7:12
SW – Dominic Bragalone 69-yard run 2:37
SW – Riley Thomas 77-yard punt return 1:10
SW – Dominic Bragalone 69-yard run 0:27
3rd Quarter
SW – Dominic Bragalone 81-yard run 11:40
SW – Tyler Schonewolf 8-yard pass from Matt Boone 2:47
PX – Tre Jordan 19-yard run 1:09
4th Quarter
SW – Matt Boone 23-yard run 11:15
PX – Nate Stewart 2-yard pass from Tre Jordan 8:04
PX – Nico Palma 2-yard run 3:55
