The Top-10 PIAA Football Championship Games of All Time
By Joshua Funk
For PA Football News
Wilmington’s double-overtime victory against West Catholic could arguably be one of the best “AA” state title games ever played. It certainly featured one of the greatest individual plays ever executed in a state finals game.
Then, there was Bethlehem Liberty’s seven point defeat of WPIAL champion Bethel Park only hours later, which was the closest “AAAA” state final since 2000.
But where do these two games from 2008 rank in the grand scheme of things? PIAA football finals were first played in 1988. There have been 84 PIAA football finals played to date, and there have been some very well-played games in that time.
Upper St. Clair shut down Wilson-West Lawn’s high-powered offense in 1989. South Side Beaver denied Southern Columbia its second PIAA title in 1999. Tyrone stunned Mount Carmel on a 93-yard touchdown run in the “AA” title game that same year. Who could forget Duquesne’s 1993 three-point triumph over South Williamsport, or McKeesport Area’s victory over a then-unified Downingtown Area in 1994?
Unfortunately, none of those games in the last paragraph made this list of 10. There were several games worth mentioning that didn’t make the cut, including the 1993 North Hills-CB West “AAAA” final and Berwick’s “upset” of heavily favored Aliquippa in the 1988 “AAA” final.
Here is a list of the 10-best PIAA football finals ever played in the 21-year history of the state championship games:
It’s been nicknamed the “Snow Bowl,” and for good reason. Snow fell heavily throughout the evening at Hersheypark Stadium and the grounds crew worked feverishly to stay ahead of the storm. Big play after big play followed, and few would believe the score only saw Pine-Richland leading at the half, 9-3. This game featured Pine-Richland’s career 5,800-yard passer Jake Long and phenomenal athlete Neil Walker against Manheim’s 1,000-yard rushing and passing quarterback Jarryd Moyer and brutish linebacker Jeremiha Hunter. None of those names, though, made the winning play. It was Shawn Wilt who blocked P-R’s extra point in the second overtime to give the Barons their first PIAA title.
There had been a buzz that if the second overtime had ended in a tie, both schools would have been declared co-champions. To this day, no PIAA title game has ever ended with a co-championship being declared. Both schools set records for wins in a season, and Manheim Central was in the midst of a run in which it went 183-20, spanning from 1992 to 2006.
Forest Hills had more state playoff experience at this point in history than did District 11 champion Mount Carmel. The Rangers had played in the 1993 “AA” semifinals against WPIAL champion Washington, falling 21-0 to the eventual PIAA runner-up. It was a battle coaching wits in Dave “Whitey” Williams of Mount Carmel and Don Bailey of Forest Hills. The game was played at Altoona’s Mansion Park Stadium in very wintry conditions. It is easily one of the greatest “AA” state title game ever played, and was the only double-overtime state finals game played in the first 15 years of the state finals.
In a battle of two nationally-ranked Top-10 teams (CB West #3, Erie Prep #9), it was the Bucks that prevailed late in the fourth quarter on a blocked punt recovered for a touchdown. It was the latest in-season match-up of two Top-10 nationally ranked teams in state history. CB West played much of the game without star running back Dustin Picchotti, who injured his ankle early in the first half. This was also the final game of Mike Pettine’s amazing career in Doylestown – he compiled a record of 326-42-4, and won four PIAA titles.
Central Bucks West might have been without their legendary head coach Mike Pettine, but yet here the Bucks were, District 1 champions for the fifth time and in the PIAA finals for the sixth. Cathedral Prep, though, was also undefeated and ranked nationally, and Ed Hinkel and company sealed the state title in overtime, ending the Bucks’ state-record 59-game winning streak and run of three straight state titles. Cathedral Prep scored a school-record 666 points in 14 games that season, and the 10-time District 10 champions brought home the region’s fourth PIAA title in nine tries.
Consider this “Farrell-Marian Catholic Part Two.” Wilmington, an 11-time district champion, was making its first PIAA finals appearance since 1988, when the Greyhounds fell to Bethlehem Catholic, 26-11. Some predicted a worse outcome this time around. West Catholic boasted three 1,000-yard rushers, and a quarterback (Curtis Drake) who was attending Penn State in the fall. Wilmington overcame a 14-0 deficit, sent the game to overtime, and won when it stopped Drake inches shy of a winning two-point conversion run. West did become the second highest scoring team in state history (775 point) at the end of the day, but failed to win state gold.
Believe it or not, there was actually a time when Southern Columbia wasn’t hoisting state gold. Between 1995 and 2001, the Tigers lost six PIAA championship games. This two-point loss to Farrell saw Southern miss a tying two-point conversion late in the fourth quarter. The two coaches in this game, Lou Falconi (Farrell) and Jim Roth (Southern Columbia) each would go on to win 200 games in their careers. The win gave Farrell its second PIAA title, while Southern fell to 1-2 in PIAA title games.
Strath Haven hit a long pass late in the fourth quarter and kicked the winning field goal as time expired in the fourth quarter for the victory. At this point in PIAA finals history, no “AAA” final had ever gone to overtime. West Allegheny was led by head coach Bob Palko, whose son, Tyler, was the starting quarterback. Strath Haven was beginning its run with Dan Connor, a feared fullback and linebacker, who would eventually go on to Penn State and to the NFL. The win gave Strath Haven its 30th consecutive victory and second straight PIAA title. Haven was in the midst of an eight-year run in which it posted a 107-7 overall record and won eight District 1 championships and 2 PIAA titles. West Allegheny was in the beginnings of a 73-16 run from 1999-2005.
Wilson Area trailed by 12 points in early in the fourth quarter, but quarterback DJ Lenehan engineered two scoring drives to give Wilson the lead when it mattered the most. It was the second straight year that a team in the “AA” finals held a 10-point lead and finished as runner-up. Jeannette was led by junior quarterback Terrelle Pryor, who went on to have one of the most dominating high school careers this state has ever seen. The Jayhawks, winners of over 600 games at the time, had to wait another year to remove themselves from the list of 500-game winners that never won a PIAA football title.
This game pitted a series of firsts – both Liberty and Bethel Park were looking for their first PIAA championship. The only problem was Liberty had been in the finals twice before, and had been mercy-ruled each time by a combined score of 96-23. Bethel Park was considered a slight favorite, having played seven former WPIAL champions and five former PIAA champions on its schedule. Regulation ended tied at 21 apiece, and Liberty sealed its first PIAA title when Anthony Gonzalez intercepted Erik Olson’s pass in overtime. It was the first time a District 11 vs. WPIAL match-up in the “AAAA” finals ended with a margin of victory less than 20 points.
This game could serve as one of the great upsets of all-time in the world of the PIAA football finals. Farrell had rolled through its first 13 games, winning the WPIAL championship over traditional power Clairton 40-0, and setting a PIAA semifinals record 63 points scored against then-District 9 power house Smethport. Lou Falconi had been quoted as saying that Marian Catholic, “shouldn’t even show up” to the game. Marian did show up, and brought District 11 state gold. Farrell’s juggernaut, which scored 598 points on the season, settled for runner-up.