Duquesne topples Rochester in 'A' final

South Park and Franklin Regional won AA and AAA titles, respectively.
PITTSBURGH (AP) -- Layton Dunn rushed for 121 yards and a touchdown on 29 carries to lead Duquesne to a 14-6 win over Rochester in a WPIAL Class A championship game matchup of unbeaten teams Saturday at Heinz Field.
The win gives Duquesne (12-0) its fourth WPIAL title and first since 1993.
Defending champion Rochester (12-1) was making its ninth appearance in the title game.
Duquesne opened the scoring with a 5-yard touchdown pass from Darrale Dunn to Elijah Fields with 1:59 left in the first half. The two also connected on a 16-yard pass during the 8-play, 62-yard drive.
The Dukes increased their lead to 14-0 with a 5-yard run by Layton Dunn with 31 seconds left in the third quarter. The touchdown capped a 15-play, 75-yard drive.
Rochester scored its only touchdown on a 61-yard pass from Dan Camp to Tony Whiteleather on the first play of the fourth quarter. Camp completed 7 of 16 passes for 108 yards, but was intercepted twice.
Duquesne will face District 5 champion Windber (10-1) in a PIAA quarterfinal game next weekend at a site to be determined.
The WPIAL, recognized as District 7 in the PIAA, is the nation's largest high school conference.
Class AA
Tyler Scruggs ran for two touchdowns and blocked an extra point attempt for South Park.
The win gives South Park (13-0) its second WPIAL title and first since 1997. Greensburg Central Catholic (11-1) was making its first appearance in a WPIAL title game.
Scruggs rushed for 89 yards on 26 carries and scored on touchdown runs of 8 and 3 yards in the first half. He also blocked the Centurions' third extra point attempt and picked off a pass.
South Park also scored on a 74-yard touchdown pass from Connor Dixon to Brandon Detwiler, and a 19-yard field goal by Justin Fink, both coming in the third quarter. Dixon completed 11 of 18 passes for 221 yards, while Detwiler caught 5 passes for 161 yards.
Greensburg Central Catholic scored on a 2-yard sneak by Cody Catalina, a 55-yard pass from Nick Sukay to Chris Stem on a halfback option pass, and a 1-yard run by Sukay. Catalina completed 7 of 20 passes for 135 yards, but was intercepted four times.
The victory earns South Park a berth in the PIAA tournament. The Eagles will face District 6 champion Forest Hills (11-1) in the quarterfinals Friday in Altoona.
Class AAA
Robby Armstrong rushed for 143 yards and a touchdown on 25 carries to lead Franklin Regional.
Franklin Regional (12-1), making its second title appearance -- the first since 1995 -- captured its first WPIAL crown. Defending champion Thomas Jefferson (11-2) was in a title game for the third year in a row.
Armstrong, who scored on a 9-yard run in the second quarter, increased his season totals to 1,882 yards on 238 carries at Heinz Field.
Franklin Regional also scored on a 36-yard pass from Lenny Gallo to Justin Malego, a 45-yard pass from Dino Tortorice to Mike Schilling on a reverse pass, a 51-yard interception return by Matt Giuliano and a 27-yard field goal by Glen Halperin.
Gallo, who completed two passes for 48 yards and rushed for 62 yards on seven carries, was called into service when starting quarterback Brad Phillips sustained a knee injury in the first half.
Thomas Jefferson scored on a 17-yard pass from Kevin Franz to Dom DeCicco and a 1-yard run by Nate Nix. Franz completed 16 of 28 passes for 234 yards, but was intercepted three times.
The victory earns Franklin Regional a berth in the PIAA tournament. The Panthers will face District 4 champion Selinsgrove (11-1) in the quarterfinals either Nov. 25 or Nov. 26.
Copyright 2005 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.