PIAA FOOTBALL So. Columbia cruises to second-straight title

Manheim Central defeated Pine-Richland 39-38 in overtime.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
HERSHEY, Pa. -- Southern Columbia's long drought in the PIAA Class A Championship game is not only over -- it's been completely forgotten.
The Tigers (14-1) scored three touchdowns in less than 3 minutes as the snow piled up in the third quarter Friday, cruising to a 49-20 victory over Bishop Carroll (14-1) and a second-consecutive title.
"We came out of the locker room after halftime and made mistake after mistake," Bishop Carroll coach Craig Sponsky said. "The game change occurred in that 3 1/2-minute stretch in the third quarter. I thought offensively, we matched them up until that point in the game."
Leading 21-14, the Tigers took the second-half kickoff and drove 64 yards, running the clock to just 6:22 before Brandon Traugh burst through the middle for a 3-yard touchdown run, his second.
Joel Lauer fumbled the ensuing kickoff, and Ken Thomas recovered for Southern Columbia, which scored again just five plays later on Ryan Slater's 5-yard run.
The Huskies returned the next kickoff, but Paul Forcellini fumbled the first play from scrimmage, and Mike Wydra recovered for Southern Columbia. On the first play, Traugh went through the middle, then cut left 42 yards for a touchdown and a 42-14 lead with 3:51 left in the quarter.
Southern Columbia lost four consecutive Class A title games from 1998-2001 before finally breaking through last year with a 31-6 victory over longtime nemesis Rochester.
Manheim Central 39, Pine-Richland 38, 2OT
HERSHEY, Pa. -- Shawn Wilt caught the go-ahead touchdown pass in the second overtime, then blocked Patrick Humes' PAT try to give Manheim Central a 39-38 victory over Pine-Richland and its first PIAA Class AAA championship game.
Wilt caught a 10-yard pass from Jarryd Moyer to give Manheim Central (15-0) a 39-32 lead in the second overtime. Greg Hough had a 1-yard touchdown run on fourth down to make it 39-38, but Wilt got through the line to block the kick.
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.