ALTOONA – Southern Columbia’s quest for a sixth consecutive state championship is alive and well. A third straight road game proved to be nothing more than a small inconvenience, as the Tigers once again put together a fantastic second-half performance to break open a tight game. Southern (11-3) forced four turnovers, scored twice on defense, and got 100-yard games out of both Wes Barnes and Braeden Wisloski in a 42-14 win over Bishop Guilfoyle. District 3 champion Trinity (10-4) will await the Tigers in the PIAA Class 2A semifinals next week.
“What I talked to them about after the game is, it’s hard after that game last week against Mount Carmel,” Southern coach Jim Roth said. “That was not a typical district playoff game. It was bigger than that. I kind of felt even though this was a state playoff game – it’s obviously a big deal, and the goal is to win a state title, I felt emotional there could be a little bit of a drop-off. I thought we showed some effects in the first half. We weren’t really sharp and didn’t execute really well. But we fought and got our act together in the second half.”
With the game tied 7-7 at halftime, Southern made the first of many big plays in the second half when Colden Bloom recovered a fumble. On the very next play, Wisloski broke loose on a 20-yard touchdown run. After being limited to just 20 yards on seven carries in the first half, Wisloski finished with 113 yards on 13 carries and two scores that were complemented by a fantastic play on defense later in the game.
The game remained close until early in the fourth quarter. Leading just 13-7, Southern put together an eight-play, 74-yard drive that wore down the Marauders while opening up some separation on the scoreboard. Tyler Arnold converted a 4th-and-1 with a quarterback sneak and Wes Barnes capped off the drive by crossing the goal line from five yards out with 8:10 remaining. Barnes rushed 21 times for 149 yards and matched Wisloski by scoring twice.
“Can’t say enough about our running game,” Roth said. “People know we’re going to line up and run the ball. There’s really not much threat of a whole lot of balance with the pass right now in our offense, but yet our offensive line is doing a good job. The backs are blocking for one another, and of course, they’re running the ball really well.”
Karson Kiesewetter did his best to keep Bishop Guilfoyle in the game. The all-everything quarterback lined up in the backfield to score on a 1-yard run late in the second quarter, but he was generally held in check until late in the game when the outcome was already decided. Louden Murphy intercepted a pair of passes, and Wisloski provided the play of the night when he literally ripped the ball out of Kaden Wyandt’s hands, then promptly returned the fumble 75 yards to put the game away with 6:24 left.
“That was pretty crazy, you don’t see that stuff at this level anymore,” Murphy said. “I used to see stuff like that back in midgets, but I mean (Wisloski) is a playmaker, he’s something different.”
Wisloski put an exclamation point on his big night by scoring on a 23-yard run after Southern stopped Bishop Guilfoyle on downs. With Kiesewetter and the Marauders’ offense still firing away until their very last possession, Murphy stepped in front of a pass and headed the other way on a 95-yard pick-six with just over two minutes remaining. It was a fitting end for a defense that came through in the second half just like it did on a snow-covered field at Mount Carmel last week.
“I had to follow the guy across the play,” Murphy said. “I was a little late, but it kind of went to my benefit. I got to fly underneath. The quarterback didn’t even see me coming, so I just read it perfectly.”
Next week’s matchup against Trinity will mark the 22nd time Southern has appeared in the PIAA semifinals. The Tigers have an incredible 21-1 record in those games. Given where Southern was just five weeks ago, there were plenty of doubters outside the program that questioned whether or not this team would even make it out of the district. Now, they’re just one win away from what has become an annual march to the state championship game.
“It was the toughest regular season we’ve had in a long time,” Roth said. “The goal after losing to Mount Carmel in Week 8 was to keep improving. The main emphasis was the run defense. We felt if we played better to run defense, everything would fall into place. We got a couple of people back – mainly one guy in Wes Barnes and another guy we didn’t have previously in Isaac Carter, who’s been a really nice boost to our defensive front and we’re just playing our best football right now. That’s what we try to emphasize every year is to peak at the right time.”
Southern Columbia 0 7 6 29-42
Bishop Guilfoyle 0 7 0 7-14
Individual Scoring
Second Quarter
SC-Wes Barnes 1 run (Isaac Carter kick) 9:33
BG-Karson Kiesewetter 1 run (Michael Cacciotti kick) 3:02
Third Quarter
SC-Braeden Wisloski 20 run (kick blocked) 10:49
Fourth Quarter
SC-Barnes 5 run (Tyler Arnold run) 8:10
SC-Wisloski 75 fumble return (Carter kick) 6:24
SC-Wisloski 23 run (Carter kick) 4:50
SC-Louden Murphy 95 interception return (Carter kick) 2:28
BG-Dominic Yanoshak 35 pass from Kiesewetter (Cacciotti kick) 1:30
Team Statistics
…………………….SC……………BG
1st downs………16………………12
rush-yds……..46-335……26-88
comp-att-int..1-2-0……..11-26-2
pass yds……10………….249
total yds……345……….337
fumb-lost…..4-2…….2-2
pen-yds…9-73……4-31
Individual Statistics
Rushing-Southern Columbia: Wes Barnes 21-149, 2 TDs; Braeden Wisloski 13-113, 2 TDs; Carter Madden 6-63; Louden Murphy 3-10; Tyler Arnold 1-3; Team 1-(-1); Brayden Andrews 1-(-2). Bishop Guilfoyle: Karson Kiesewetter 18-50, TD; Kaden Wyandt 5-30; Cooper Rother 3-8.
Passing-Southern Columbia: Blake Wise 1-2-0, 10 yds. Bishop Guilfoyle: Kissewetter 11-26-2, 249 yds., TD.
Receiving-Southern Columbia: Barnes 1-10. Bishop Guilfoyle: Dominic Yanoshak 4-99, TD; Rother 3-84; Hamilton Gates 2-40; Trent Adams 1-23; Wyandt 1-3.
