HERSHEY Manheim edges Pine-Richland in OT

A blocked extra-point in overtime was the difference in the Class AAA game.
HERSHEY, Pa. (AP) -- Shawn Wilt had never blocked a kick before. He'd also never won a state championship. Now he's done both.
Wilt caught the go-ahead touchdown pass in the second overtime, then blocked Patrick Humes' PAT try minutes later to give Manheim Central a 39-38 victory over Pine-Richland and its first PIAA Class AAA championship game.
"Jeremy Smith took his guy out -- there was a hole, and I went through and got it," Wilt said. "I'm not even supposed to be in on the block. [Neil] Hunter stayed on the other side to psych them out, and Jeremy took his guy out. I saw a hole, saw I was there and went up for it, and I can't believe I hit it."
Wilt first caught a 10-yard pass from Jarryd Moyer to give Manheim Central (15-0) a 39-32 lead in the second overtime. The pass, to the right sideline, appeared to be wide, but Wilt reached out and reeled it in. With no defenders around him, he easily went into the end zone.
Stroke of luck
For the Barons, it was a stroke of luck for a team that hasn't had much luck in the past. Manheim Central has 10 losses in the PIAA playoffs, more than any other school, and was 0-8 in semifinal games before beating Strath Haven last week.
"We got some big plays there. That last touchdown was kind of a scrambling throw, so you might say that was a bit of a lucky play," coach Mike Williams said. "We've never had any luck in the state playoffs -- we've never had any -- and this year we had a little bit."
Greg Hough had a 1-yard touchdown run on fourth down in the second overtime for Pine-Richland to make it 39-38, but Wilt got through the line to block the kick.
"They overloaded the one side. We just didn't block everybody," Rams coach Clair Altemus said.
It was just the second double-overtime game in a PIAA championship (the first was Mount Carmel's 20-14 victory over Forest Hills in the 1994 AA game). The game had eight lead changes and two ties. And both teams played mostly error-free football in a swirling snowstorm.
Neil Walker scored on an 8-yard sweep to give Pine-Richland (14-1) a 32-25 lead in the first overtime, but Craig Gatchell forced a second overtime with his 1-yard scoring run.
Humes' 31-yard field goal tied the game 25-25 with 1:01 left.
Fourth-down TD
Kneeling in the end zone, Ryan Huber caught a 10-yard pass -- his first catch of the season -- from Moyer on fourth down to give Manheim Central a 25-22 lead with 4:58 left.
Earlier in that possession, Moyer threw a slant pass to Ryan Dennes on third-and-14; Dennes broke a tackle and went 41 yards, crossing midfield.
"The big blow in the game was the slanting pass," Altemus said. "We had them deep in the hole, and they eventually went on to score the go-ahead touchdown."