For the first since 1998, the Pennsylvania high school football championships aren’t being played in Hershey. Earlier this year, the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association moved the title games to Cumberland Valley High School.
Four of this year’s finalists are ranked nationally by High School Football America, powered by NFL Play Football.
Related: HSFA 300
Below is a preview of the six title games with help from our friends at EasternPAFootball.com:
Class 6A – St. Joseph’s Prep (11-1) vs. Harrisburg (11-2) – Saturday, 7 PM
St. Joe’s is playing in its seventh straight state title game. The Hawks, who are ranked No. 21 in the High School Football America 300 national rankings, have won six state championships.
After a season opening loss to Florida-power St. Thomas Aquinas, ranked No. 3 nationally, the Hawks have been on a roll.
According to EasternPAFootball.com, junior quarterback Samaj Jones has taken great steps in maturing since last season, throwing for 2,092 pass yards and 25 TDs in 2022, while rushing for 606 yards and 12 TDs. Senior tailback Khaseem Phillips has rushed for 694 yards and 8 TDs. The Hawks are riding an 11-game winning streak and lug a great amount of motivation into this game, after losing last year’s championship. The Hawks arrived here by pounding District 1 champion Garnet Valley, 48-7, in the semifinals scoring on their first seven possessions and amassing close to 400 yards of total offense—in the first half. The Cougars reached the state finals by beating State College, 27-7, in the semifinals avenging a regular-season defeat.
Harrisburg, ranked No. 264 in the HSFA 300, is led by Temple-bound senior tailback Kyle Williams, who scored all four of the Cougars’ touchdowns in the semifinals. This season, Williams has picked up 1,021 total yards and scored 15 TDs. Cougars’ dual-threat sophomore quarterback Shawn Lee has thrown for 1,416 yards and 15 TDs. Harrisburg, which is giving up 9.5 points a game, will need to slow down the course of the game and keep St. Joe Prep’s quick-strike offense off the field to have the chance of winning.
Class 5A – Imhotep Charter (10-2) vs. Pine-Richland (12-3) – Friday, 7 PM
Both of these teams are ranked nationally by High School Football America — Imhotep is No. 143 and Pine-Richland is No. 262.
From EasternPAFootball.com:
This will be Pine-Richland’s fifth time in the state finals (2003, 2014, 2017, 2020, and 2022). The Rams started the season 1-3 and have since won 12 straight games. Pine-Richland arrived here by beating District 3 champion Cocalico, 34-12, behind 5-10, 175-pound senior quarterback Ryan Palmieri, who roasted Cocalico by completing 9 of 10 for 200 yards and three touchdowns, while rushing for 85 yards and a touchdown. For the season, the dual-threat Palmieri has thrown for 1,008 yards, and 9 TDs, and rushed for 1,798 yards and 23 TDs. The Rams’ go-to back is 5-11, 200-pound junior Ethan Pillar, who’s rushed for 1,249 yards and 15 TDs. The Rams are 2-2 in state title games, most recently winning the 5A championship in 2020 over Cathedral Prep, 48-7.
This will be Imhotep’s seventh trip to the finals (2013, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2021, and 2022). The Panthers won the Class 5A title in 2015, becoming the first Philadelphia public school to win a state championship in football. Imhotep beat Upper Dublin, 21-14, in the state semifinals. The Panthers are led by 6-foot, 200-pound junior dual-threat lefty quarterback Mikal Davis, who scored two touchdowns and threw for another in the state semifinals. Imhotep’s defense made two crucial red zone stops early in the state semis and will be counted on again to set the tone. The Panthers are giving up an average of 7.3 points a game while relying on sophomore tailback Jabree Wallace-Coleman, a Georgia commit who’s rushed for 979 yards and 11 TDs this season. The Panthers carry the shattering 17-14 overtime defeat to Penn-Trafford in last year’s 5A state finals. This game could come down to Pine-Richland’s ability to move the ball against Imhotep’s suffocating defense.
Class 4A Bishop McDevitt (12-1) vs. Aliquippa (13-0) – Thursday, 7 PM
From EasternPAFootball.com:
This could be the best game of championship week. Aliquippa is actually a Class 1A school, playing way up at 4A based on its success. The Quips won their first Class 4A state title last year, 34-27, over McDevitt. This is Aliquippa’s ninth trip to the state finals (two as a 4A, two as a Class 3A, and five as a Class 2A). Both quarterbacks return, junior Quentin Goode for the Quips, and sophomore Stone Saunders for McDevitt. Both arrived at this rematch after dominant semifinal victories. Aliquippa went off on Allentown Central Catholic, 31-10, behind 5-10, 190-pound sophomore tailback Tiqwai Hayes, and juniors John Tracy and Cameron Lindsey. Goode has thrown for 1,909 yards and 22 TDs, while Hayes has rushed for 1,911 yards and 32 TDs this season. The Quips are playing for history, and they know it. No Aliquippa team has ever repeated as state champions and no Quip state championship team has gone undefeated. These Quips can achieve both.
But they’re going to have to go through McDevitt, which smoked Crestwood, 35-0, in the semifinals behind Saunders’ three TD passes, 140 yards rushing from 5-8, 180-pound senior tailback Marquese Williams, and 95 yards receiving from 6-foot, 185-pound senior Rico Scott. Saunders has thrown for an amazing 3,416 yards and 49 TDs, while Williams has rushed for 1,378 yards and 26 TDs. Defensively, McDevitt smothered Crestwood for 26 yards of total offense. The Crusaders will be making their second-straight finals appearance. This is the sixth time the Crusaders have reached the state championship (1995, 2010, 2011, 2013, 2021, and 2022). The Crusaders have one state championship, beating District 7 Burrell, 29-0, back in 1995 as a Class 2A. Since then, McDevitt has been to the finals three of four years as a Class 3A (2010, 2011, 2013), reaching the state finals for the first time last year as a 5A and back again standing in the way of the Quips and history this year.
Class 3A – Belle Vernon (11-2) vs. Neumann-Goretti (11-3) – Saturday, 1 PM
From EasternPAFootball.com:
Reaching the state championship is a first for both programs. Belle Vernon arrived here by beating Martinsburg Central, 21-17, behind 132 yards rushing from junior quarterback Braden Laux. But the Leopards’ offense runs through 6-2, 200-pound junior tailback Quinton Martin, who may have been held to 22 yards rushing against Martinsburg Central, his 18-yard run late in the game clinched the victory for the Leopards, who won their first WPIAL title since 1995. This season, Martin has rushed for 1,208 yards and 29 TDs. Martin also leads a talented secondary that also includes Adam LaCarte, Alonzo Wade, and Chase Ruokonen. Belle Vernon’s defense has faced various offenses this season, especially on the Leopards’ journey through the WPIAL playoffs. Belle Vernon is giving up a scant 8.8 points a game, while Neumann-Goretti is almost as stubborn, giving up an average of 11.2 points a game.
The Saints arrived at their first state championship on a 44-yard Hail Mary pass from Mehki Wharton to Qaasim Major with eight seconds left to play in Neumann-Goretti’s 20-17 victory over Wyomissing Area in the semifinals. Regrettably, the Saints may be without their best player, Boston College-bound running back/safety Shawn Battle, who was thrown out of the game late due to a personal foul call. Because he was ejected, Battle is ineligible to play in this game. As of this posting, Battle’s situation is being appealed to the PIAA on Thursday. The Saints’ defense will win or lose this game. They stopped Wyomissing, last year’s state runner-up, three times on fourth down and made a huge play late in the first half on a third-and-goal from the four. Neumann-Goretti coach Albie Crosby becomes the first high school coach in the Philadelphia area to lead a Catholic League (Neumann-Goretti) and Philadelphia Public League team (Imhotep in 2015) to the state finals. Crosby made history in 2015 when Imhotep became the first Philadelphia Public League team to win a state title.
Class 2A – Southern Columbia (12-3) vs. Westingthouse (14-0) – Friday, 1 PM
From EasternPAFootball.com:
Mark Twain once famously quipped, “The reports of my death are greatly exaggerated,” but even that was not accurate. What Twain actually said was, “The report of my death was an exaggeration.” Much like the reports that traditional powerhouse Southern Columbia, the king of Pennsylvania high school football, was supposedly done. The Tigers lost a rare three games this season, losing to Loyalsock, Danville, and Mt. Carmel by double-digits. While those teams celebrated like they won the Super Bowl, they’re watching in December as legendary coach Jim Roth and his Tigers play for their 13th overall state title, sixth-straight Class 2A, and seventh 2A title in the last eight years. Southern Columbia does nothing mysteriously. The Tigers pound opponents with their Wing-T offense with detailed precision. Leading the attack will be Wes Barnes and Braeden Wisloski, who combined to run for over 380 yards in the Tigers’ 42-7 semifinal victory over Trinity. Wisloski has rushed this season for 1,804 yards and 24 TDs, while Barnes has pounded opponents for 1,304 yards and 16 TDs. They will be working against a Westinghouse team that is giving up 8.1 points a game.
Westinghouse is new to this stage. The Bulldogs are the first City League District 8 team to reach the finals in 25 years (since Perry Traditional Academy did it as a Class 3A in the 4A system in 1997). Westinghouse reached the finals by beating Steel Valley, 26-7, behind senior tailback Khalil Taylor’s 158 yards rushing and senior quarterback Keyshawn Morsillo’s two touchdowns. Can Westinghouse derail Southern Columbia, or were the reports of the Tigers’ demise an exaggeration?
Class 1A – Steelton-Highspire (13-1) vs. Union (12-3) – Thursday, 1 PM
From EasternPAFootball.com:
Steelton-Highspire is used to being here, Union isn’t. In 2020, the Steamrollers won their third PIAA Class 1A state title and first since 2008 with a 32-20 victory over Jeannette at Hersheypark Stadium. This marks the fourth time Steelton-Highspire has reached the Class 1A finals, where they are undefeated in state championship games at 3-0 (2007, 2008, and 2020). The Steamrollers reached this year’s finals on a 28-21 victory over Canton in the state semifinals, riding 5-foot-8, 170-pound junior tailback Ronald Bernette Jr., who ran for three touchdowns, picking up 112 yards on 20 carries, while 6-3, 200-pound junior quarterback Alex Erby completed 25 of 34 for 226 yards and a touchdown. For the season, Erby has thrown for 2,545 yards and 42 TDs, and his main target, junior receiver Durrell Caesar has 1,050 yards and 15 TD receptions.
This is new terrain for surprising Union, a No. 10 seed, but not for first-year head coach Kim Niedbala, who was an assistant under Mount Lebanon’s Bob Palko last year when the Blue Devils won the Class 6A title over St. Joseph’s Prep. Union has a great nickname, the Scotties, and is led by the combined 185 yards rushing from senior tailbacks Mike Gunn and Matt Stanley working out of the wildcat, while junior quarterback Braylon Thomas threw for 127 yards. This season Thomas has thrown for 1,198 yards and 12 TDs, while rushing for 1,549 yards and 19 TDs. Niedbala has done wonders in a short time. The last time Union got this deep into a postseason was 1979, when the Scotties lost to Knoch (13-2) in the WPIAL Class 2A semifinals.
