Chargers stun Bears to reach 1A final
Our Lady of the Sacred Heart junior Brock Saftner still can vividly remember walking off the field at Chartiers-Houston High School in November 2017 — nearly a year ago to date — with a gut-wrenching feeling lingering in the depths of his stomach. He wasn’t the only one, as the entire Chargers team had just been dealt an eight-point loss by Imani Christian with a trip to the WPIAL championship on the line.
The night had ended a lot differently than the program’s first postseason win a week prior. The euphoria derived from the monumental milestone — one that was once considered improbable for the upstart program — was abruptly gone.
“There were definitely tears,” Saftner recalled. “Losing the seniors from last year’s class was like losing part of your family. To no longer have that, it hurt more than I could describe. It was difficult to accept that it was over.”
Although this time around, the Chargers weren’t about be sent home emptyhanded again — even if it meant knocking off a historically dominant Class 1A program that was appearing in its 13th consecutive semifinal with nine titles to its name.
OLSH now is headed to Heinz Field. “It can’t be put into words,” senior quarterback Tyler Bradley said after the Chargers’ 27-7 victory against Clairton Friday night at Dormont Memorial Stadium. “The work we put in since January, it’s just all paying off.”
The newness associated with the eightyear-old OLSH program is irrelevant at this point. A combined 19-4 regular-season record over the past two years with consecutive deep playoff runs appears to be a byproduct of the new standard set by head coach Tom Bradley and his staff.
“The last three years we’ve come a long way,” he said. “We practice hard. We love them hard. We pat them on the back, and the benefits paid off today.”
OLSH didn’t beat Clairton by way of its usual formula, either. The top scoring offense in Class 1A (averaging 43.3 points per game) mustered just 27 points in this one – only 13 of which came in the second half. And Bradley, the third-leading passer in WPIAL 1A and focal point of the OLSH offense, finished with an uncharacteristic 160 yards passing on nine completions with two touchdowns and an interception.
Instead, the win Friday night came from a combination of grit and determination coupled with stymieing defense that bent, at times, but refused to break.
After stalling on their first three drives, the Chargers finally broke open the scoring late in the first quarter on a 6-yard rush from Austin Wigley. Tyler Bradley then connected with Richard Banks for a 2-yard touchdown on their ensuing drive to take a 14-0 lead. Banks had hauled in a 30-yard reception two plays earlier that set up the score. The Bears answered, however, with a 2-yard rush from quarterback Brendan Parsons. OLSH found the end zone again after a scoreless third quarter when Noah Campalong busted it in from 2 yards to begin the final frame. Bradley added his second touchdown pass of the game on an 11-yard completion to Campalong with four minutes left. On the other side of the ball, Campalong registered two of OLSH’s five sacks.
Parsons was limited to 90 yards passing while completing 10 of 22 passes, while Clairton’s combination of running backs totaled just 22 yards — its lowest output all season.
“Clairton’s a great team,” Wigley said. “They’re really physical but we fought through it. We knew we could this year. We were playing for Heinz [Field] so we needed to play hungry.”
The Chargers will face a familiar opponent next Saturday in the WPIAL final after Rochester upset Jeannette, 27-0. The Chargers knocked off the Rams, 37-8, on the road earlier this season.