@ChronBrianSmith
There is no explaining to do. That defense can't get stops. You get the 2, you win. If they couldn't stop Tennessee from going down the field, why would you think they could stop a potential 2-pt. conversion?
PIAA Boys Class A Championship: Millville 2 Avonworth 0 final. Quakers capture the school's first state title with impressive defense, great goalkeeping and opportunistic scoring.
I want to extend a sincere thanks to
@hwidom
and
@LexiThrush
for taking the time to interview after the game under very difficult circumstances. They have represented their team with tremendous class. Congrats on a great senior season.
All in all, a great weekend for PHAC soccer. Two girls' state championships (Southern Columbia and Bloomsburg) and one boys' title (Lewisburg.)
No doubt the PHAC has to be considered one of the top soccer leagues in the state.
Pretty remarkable that FOUR of Southern's opponents are still playing in Week 14. Hammond, Wyoming Area, Montoursville and Jersey Shore are all still alive. Tigers' opponents are a combined 99-58 this season. Upper Dauphin's opponents are 63-71.
⚽️ PIAA Girls 2A State Championship game: Central Columbia 4 Avonworth 0 final.
Kayla Keefer 2G 1A
Haley Bull 1G 1A
Abby Costanza 1G 1A
Blue Jays repeat as state champions, and saved their best performances for the last week of the season when it mattered most.
Something has to give in District 4. I saw three games today where the NTL was higher seeded and lost all of them. A power rating is sorely needed. If the NTL AD's/admin don't like it, too bad. Play better competition. The PHAC is dominating in girls BB.
@SportsCenter
#SCtop10
Berwick, PA sophomore Katie Starr hits the fence at full throttle and still makes the catch. Solid shot by Crestwood senior Haley Naperkowski. Starr recuperated quickly and later hit a solo home run to help Berwick win the game 5-3.
No rosters, no programs, nothing for media. This is hardly a "state championship" feel. You want to play the District 3 championships here, OK. But forcing media to sit in the stands because you can't provide an adequate view is not acceptable. This is embarrassing.
@PIAASports
PIAA Girls 2A Semifinal: Bloomsburg 1 Allentown Central Catholic 0 final. Panthers will face North Catholic on Saturday in Hershey in their first ever state championship appearance.
A couple of notes before wrapping things up from Friday's in Williamsport.
#1
Bloomsburg's Eric Foust had a nice game, hauling in 3 passes for 51 yards and a TD.
#2
Logan Leiby is just an outstanding quarterback. One of the best ever in D4. Pleasure to watch him tonight.
The Mount Carmel coaching staff of Lisa Varano, Joe Varano and Gary Spears are one of the best in District 4. They do a fantastic job and go about their business in the classiest of ways. No doubt the Red Tornadoes will be in the playoff mix again next year.
"Coach Roth preaches every week that we cant overlook anybody...... If we overlook one team at this point, the season could be over.......Any of these games could be your last game, so you have to leave it all out on the field."
Julian Fleming, Gaige Garcia and Gavin Garcia all had 100-yard games receiving/rushing. Southern has now outscored its opponents 617-26 in 11 games. Preston Zachman gave a great quote after the game about the team staying motivated.........
This has been as poorly officiated of a game as I can recall. This crew has lost complete control, and overshadowed what has happened in terms of playing the game.
Danville and Mifflinburg girls, both from District 4, are the only public schools remaining in the eight team bracket of Class 4A girls. Both have tough assignments tomorrow.
Over at the Silver Bowl for Mount Carmel media day. One week until high school football opening night! Looking forward to covering
@GOBIGRED19
at North Schuylkill next Friday night.
Out in Boise, and just did an interview with Loyalsock's Kyle Datres, who plays for the Boise Hawks. It will be in the
@SunGazetteSpts
later this week. Big thanks to
@JonGerardi
and
@RylanKobrePxP
for helping set things up!
Southern enters Week 14 having not allowed a point in the postseason. Gaige Garcia has rushed for 1,650 yards and 27 TDs on just 99 carries. Gavin Garcia has rushed for 1,386 yards and 24 TDs on just 78 carries. Julian Fleming has 60 catches for 1,226 yards and 19 TDs.
PIAA Class 2A state championship game: Southern Columbia 74 Avonworth 7 final. Southern wins its third consecutive state championship, and becomes the first program to win ten in state history. 48 consecutive victories heading into next season. Outscored opponents 894-82.
Southern Columbia overcame eight penalties for 74 yards and put together a great drive before the half. Can't stress enough what a fantastic play it was by Carter just to catch the high snap, let alone run for a 1st down.
Zachman and Fleming connect once again on a gorgeous 43-yd touchdown pass on the final play of the first quarter. Southern Columbia 21 Montoursville 0 end 1st. Fleming 6 receptions for 112 yards and 2 TDs.
Chatted with Central Columbia's Adi Mitchell, Ava Klingerman, Gigi Duncan and Karsyn Cox before practice yesterday. Look for a story on the Blue Jays' defense and goalkeeper in tomorrow's Press-Enterprise.
Gaige Garcia takes a handoff, and runs 74 yards down the right sideline for a touchdown. Sixth TD in seven plays. 341 yards of offense. Southern Columbia 42 Towanda 0, :24 1st.
On a positive note, the young lady from Southern Columbia who played the national anthem on her violin absolutely knocked it out of the park. Very well done.
PIAA Boys Class A Semifinal: Millville 3 Faith Christian 0 final. Quakers will face the survivor of the Avonworth-Greensburg Central Catholic game on Friday in Hershey for the state championship.
High School football kickoff is fast approaching, and I'll be flying down to South Carolina this weekend to cover the Southern Columbia-Hammond game Sunday at 2PM. Lots of updates to follow!🛩 🏈
Paige Temple's quote on her penalty kick that was the game-winner:
"The goal actually felt small. I felt like I was walking on water when I walked up to it, I was so nervous. But, I just had to place it, and I'm glad it went in."
So, if a spot is reserved in the press box that is CLEARLY marked "Sun Gazette," and a lady is sitting there who won't give it up, I guess I'll cover the game from the field. Nice to see there a really friendly folks down in Montoursville.
@MontourWarrior
Potential additional accommodations for Southern tomorrow: Gaige Garcia should go over 2,000 yards on the season; Julian Fleming will probably eclipse 1,500 receiving yards, and Jim Roth could move into a tie for 2nd place all-time in PA history with his 444th win.
Luke Potora takes a 92-yd run to the house after Bloomsburg came up with a huge defensive stand. Bloomsburg 13 Mount Carmel 6, 9:30 3rd. 2-pt. conversion failed.
Kelsey Widom was huge for Bloomsburg, especially after Allie Lewis left the game with just over 32 minutes left due to injury. Rachel Williams played the game with a cast on her left hand that was protected. Libby Haney and Liz Seamans were also big factors on the backline.
"Man, I sure hope so," Fleming said when asked if he was ready for one more game. "It's going to be a lot of work going into this week. I hope everybody is ready to get down to it, and I hope everybody is ready to come out and work."
Southern Columbia just won a 3-2 thriller over Freedom in OT. Congratulations to the Tigers on the Girls Class A state championship. Avonworth-Millville will start at approximately 1:40 PM.
A couple of notes to put a bow on the evening. Bloomsburg has not been scored on since October 19 in the first half against Milton, over 450 minutes. Also, Temple now has 20 goals on the season. Saturday will be the toughest test to date. Camp Hill plays in a very good league.
For the 1 ½ people who actually care, here is my coverage schedule for 1st round Girls' PIAA 🏀 state playoffs:
Fri: Clarion vs. Mt. Carmel 5PM at Shamokin
Sat: Christian School of York vs. Millville 1PM at Milton
Berwick vs. Danville 4PM at Shamokin
Looking forward to it!
Tonight marks the EIGHTH opponent (counting Mt. Carmel twice) Southern has defeated that has 10 wins or more on the season. Tigers can put an exclamation point on one of the great seasons this area has ever seen with a win next week. Have outscored opponents 820-75.
Heading down to Hershey tomorrow morning to cover some state championship ⚽️. I'll have the PIAA Girls 2A Championship Game: Bloomsburg vs. North Catholic. 11am start. Updates starting around 10:45, or whenever I get back from Chocolate World with a cup of hot chocolate. ☕
Richland sophomore QB Kellen Stahl has thrown for 2,732 yards with 40 TDs and just 4 interceptions this year. New Hampshire commit Caleb Burke has 66 receptions for 1,336 yards and 22 TDs. Have to think a certain
#4
may be covering him on Friday night.
Central Columbia 2 Lewisburg 1 final. Blue Jays now 11-1 on the season. Consentino finishes with 15 strikeouts while allowing just two hits. Erin Field with both hits for LBG.
Luke Zeisloft leads off the bottom of the 8th with a solo homer to left, and Central Columbia survives with a 3-2, extra inning win over Hughesville. Mount Carmel awaits Central on Friday in the D4 3A semifinals.
Headed back to Selinsgrove on Friday night. I'll be covering a PIAA 2A semifinal: Richland vs. Southern Columbia. 7 pm kickoff with updates to come. Good luck to everyone making the trip there through the Black Friday traffic on 11 and 15. 🤦♂️
Nolter broke the school record for most three-pointers made in a career with 108. Varano finishes her stellar career with 1,818 points. She also went over 1,000 rebounds in Friday's game against ND-Green Pond. She scored 27 tonight and did everything to keep her team in it.
Cole Spears has played very well in his starting debut for Mount Carmel. 8-12, 134 yards. Michael Farronato 2-51 and Garrett Varano 2-47 to lead MCA in receiving.
A couple of preview tweets: Southern Columbia is trying to become the first school to win 10 state titles. Tigers also going for a third consecutive state championship as well as their 48th consecutive victory.
Just a couple of notes/quotes to put a bow on Bloomsburg's 1-0 win over North Catholic in the state championship game today in Hershey.
Bloomsburg finished the season allowing just eight goals in 24 games. The Panthers did not allow a single goal in all 7 postseason games.
@rob_haas
A near brawl broke out and cops were on the field. The priest said "You're a joke." I assume he was referring to the officials, but the cop looked right at him and said "Are you talking to me?" (1/2)....
Looking forward to covering a PIAA 1st Round state playoff doubleheader tomorrow.
5 PM: Wilson Area at Central Columbia 🏑
7 PM: Susquenita at Central Columbia ⚽️ (girls)
Plenty of updates will be headed your way.
Bloomsburg gains 55 yards on its first series, but doesn't score. Aidan Klinger with a 15-yard run, followed by a Cooper Thrush 15-yard reception were the highlights.