EXPANDED HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL COVERAGE
After beating two-time defending champions, Penn Hills still rolling
CHAMBERSBURG, Pa. — Penn Hills is known for its big-play offense.
Friday, in a PIAA Class 5A semifinal game against Archbishop Wood, the Indians made several big plays. But it was a stout and quick defense that came up with three turnovers and stifled the twotime defending state champion Vikings when it needed to that was the biggest factor in a 20-13 victory at Trojan Stadium.
Penn Hills (15-0) will face Manheim Central (15-0), which beat Upper Dublin, 34-12, Friday at Hersheypark Stadium for the PIAA 5A title.
“Getting to play for a state championship is all we’ve talked about since we were like 4-and 5-year-olds,” Indians running back Tank Smith said.
“It’ll be a different feeling playing in Hershey, but we’ll be confident,” Penn Hills receiver Daequan Hardy added,
Nerves might have been a factor Friday. Four times in the first, the Indians fumbled, recovering each time.
Two times while trying to punt, a snap sailed over the head of punter Andy Plowden Jr., giving Archbishop Wood possession on the Penn Hills 28 and 38. Both times, the Vikings could manage only a field goal by Bob Hennessey. A third bad punt snap was short, causing Plowden to throw incomplete, but the defense held again.
“We were fortunate,” Penn Hills coach Joe LeDonne said. “We put the ball on the ground too many times in the first half, and you usually can’t do that in the playoffs and win. But our defense had our backs.”
Archbishop Wood coach Kyle Atkins added, “Early in the game they gave us good chances, but we had to settle for field goals, and that was big.”
The first of the poor punt snaps enabled Wood to take a 3-0 lead late in the first quarter. But Smith, after fumbling on the previous play, burst through the middle for a 75-yard scoring run on the next play.
A conversion pass from Hardy to Hollis Mathis made it 8-3.
“Wood is a great team, so we wanted to jump out early against them,” Smith said, “My run was a great play call and the line blocked it perfectly.”
The score was 8-6 at halftime and remained that way until Hardy made his big play. He took a jet sweep to the left and zoomed past the Vikings defense for 62 yards, putting his team up 14-6 with 1:15 left in the third.
The defense forced a three-and-out and Penn Hills took over on its 35. Smith rambled for 28 yards, then LeDonne dialed up a little trickery.
Receiver Dante Cephas took a handoff rolling left then pulled up and hit a wideopen Richard Martin for a 37-yard touchdown pass to boost the Indians’ lead to 20-6.
“With the kind of offense they run, we couldn’t afford to give up big plays, and we gave up a few of them,” Adkins said.
Wood did manage one touchdown, a 25-yard pass from Jack Colyar to Cardel Pigford. But on the Vikings’ final three possessions, they were held to just one first down. Hardy ended one with a diving interception of a deflected ball — his second pick of the game.
“The defense has been lights-out in the playoffs and we only gave up one touchdown tonight,” Hardy said.
Wood, known for its punishing ground game, picked up just 108 yards on 36 rushing attempts.
Smith, who had 144 yards on 14 carries, said, “Our defense is always undersized, but we have the heart of lions out there. We are a brotherhood.”
“In the WPIAL, we always say that defense wins championships, and tonight our defense gave a great effort,” LeDonne said.
“We made some big stops and held them to field goals, and that was a win for us.”