FOOTBALL \ Pennsylvania championships

December 13, 2008 at 12:00a.m.

Steelton-Highspire 35, Clairton 16

HERSHEY, Pa. — Steelton-Highspires defense was being pushed around by Clairton for the first 28 minutes of Fridays PIAA Class A Championship game. Defensive end Justin Williams and the rest of his unit found that unacceptable. So they went out and did something about it. Williams and his teammates held the Bears to 16 yards in the third quarter and 76 in the second half to spearhead a 35-16 victory and a second straight Class A title for the Steamrollers. “Our defense really came together,” Williams said. “We knew we were going to have to come through. Winning two in a row like this — it feels great.” Pennsylvania career rushing leader Jeremiah Young, who was held to 81 yards to finish his career with 9,027, was ineffective due to an injured left ankle. That put the game in the hands of quarterback Andre Campbell, and he delivered with four touchdowns on the day. After a Bears punt gave the Steamrollers (16-0) the ball at their own 39, Campbell looped a 59-yard touchdown strike to Jordan Smith for a 14-8 lead 1:06 into the second half. Smith sent five straight kickoffs into the endzone for touchbacks and was as much responsible for the Bears’ poor third-quarter output as the defense. “Thanks to him,” Williams said. “Five touchbacks in a row, that set it up for us. We knew we had them in a spot they didnt want to be in.” It allowed the defense to harass Bears quarterback Troy Webb and force eight plays for negative yards in the third quarter. It also gave the potent Steel-High attack a short field to work with. Campbell, who threw for 129 yards, orchestrated drives of 19, 30 and 21 yards. The senior signal caller capped each drive with touchdown runs of 5 yards, 5 yards and 1 yard in a 27-point third quarter outburst. “Jeremiah didnt practice this week, so I knew I had to step up,” Campbell said. “It feels good to play the way I played today.” Clairton, who eclipsed the 30-point barrier in 11 of its 15 wins, got off to a quick start when quarterback Troy Webb scored from 1-yard out with 35 seconds left in the first. Smith, a rock-solid 190-pounder, got Steel-High back in the game with a 92-yard kickoff return down the right side on the next play. Campbell scored on a run to even the score. The Bears (15-1) punished Steel-High in the second quarter, racking up 132 yards on the ground by halftime. But a fumble ended one drive at their opponents’ 16 and the half ended a second scoring attempt at the Steamrollers 25. From there, it was all Campbell and a defensive unit that wasnt going to be denied in the second half. “We just made a couple of slight adjustments, and the blitz package was just unbelievable,” Steamrollers head coach Rob Deibler said. “This is a great bunch of kids to coach. All year, they kept telling me ’we got it, we got it.’ Well, they went out and got it.”

Thomas Jefferson 34, Archbishop Wood 7

HERSHEY, Pa. — Thomas Jefferson senior quarterback Tyler Wehner threw three touchdown passes and ran for two more in in the PIAA Class AAA Championship game. The Jaguars (15-1) dominated early, scoring 14 points on just six plays and 81 yards in the first quarter. Wehner capped a two-play 27-yard drive with a 5-yard plunge after Archbishop Wood fumbled the initial kickoff. After a Vikings interception on the next drive, Wehner drove the Jaguars 69 yards on four plays, hitting Dan Virgin on a 13-yard strike for a score. The Vikings (12-3) scored on a 26-yard pass from Sean McCartney to Anthony Narisi early in the second. But Wehner answered with a pair of touchdown tosses to tight end Brock DeCicco that went for 33 and 18 yards. Wehner, who a year ago had been kicked off the team, finished with 156 yards passing and scored his final touchdown on a 1-yard run in the fourth.

Associated Press