Southern Columbia Claims Division Title

Tagged under: District 4, Gameday Hub, News

Dave Fegley | October 11, 2025

Tigers win at Montoursville 26-16

It takes a team to win, but Southern Columbia’s Blaise Kissinger highlighted the victory on both sides of the ball in crucial moments as the Tigers beat Montoursville 26-16.

The win earned Southern the Pennsylvania Heartland Athletic Conference Division 2 championship inside of Memorial Stadium.

“We have been working all season, and we come out and compete each week,” said Kissinger who finished the game with a pair of touchdown catches. “This was a tough game, and we did what we needed to do. We prepared all week in practice to get ready for them and it worked out for us.”

The Warrior led 3-0 late in the first half as they looked to extend the lead in Tiger territory, but Kissinger intercepted Elijah Eck with 1:50 left in the second quarter.

“Blaise definitely made an impact on both sides of the ball,” said Southern coach Jim Roth. “This was a game where we came out flat. I guess you can call it a hangover from the win we had last week that came down to the wire. We weren’t sharp in the first half tonight, but the players responded when they needed to. That’s a sign of a committed bunch, and I was happy to see it from our guys.”

In the low scoring first half affair, Ayden Hockenbroch rewarded Kissinger on the other side of the ball with a 15-yard strike with just eight seconds left in the half to give Southern a 7-3 lead at the half.

For the Southern QB, he was happy after the win but knows the standard for Southern’s program. The 34th all-time league title for SCA, across multiple conferences, is not something that the Tigers settle for. As the state’s most successful program, the junior knows that there are bigger things ahead.

“It’s nice, but state championships are better. The next step is a district championship, but state championships are better,” Hockenbroch said.

In the second half, Southern controlled the tempo. Montoursville only ran three offensive plays over a span of more than 15 minutes of game time.

In total, Southern had 19 first downs to just 5 from the host as the weather got more Fall-like in October.

“Ayden made some big throws to keep our offense on the field. The best one was to Jace (Malakoski) who made a very nice catch which led to one of Blaise’s touchdowns,” said Roth.

For the better part of the first half, the Warriors executed in the line battle.

As Southern does, they made the adjustments needed throughout the contest. Southern lineman Jaden Carter is battling through injuries, but he is committed to the process of the program.

The potential Division 1 prospect starts on both sides of the ball for the 14x state champions and had to adjust to the Warriors gameplan.

“We just had to make a quick little adjustment called a bucket where I take a deeper step outside to try and work up the field. Even though they were favoring the outside with the linebackers flowing, coach (Mike) Johnston had a great idea to get a step back and get better aligned before pushing up field to block,” Carter said.

Southern’s Grady Garcia scored twice in the win on short runs as Southern dominated the time of possession.

Southern (7-1) will play host to Bloomsburg next week. Montoursville (6-2) will head to Lewisburg. The Tigers should take over District 4’s top spot in 2A with the win last night. For a third week in a row, the black and gold will take on a team that enters with just one loss.

“It’s really great to get a championship in the PHAC. We put a lot of work in the offseason, so this was the first step of showing it pay off but we want more,” said Garcia.

Southern Columbia 26, Montoursville 16

SCA — MTV

First Downs: 19 — 5

Rushes-yds: 49-237 — 20-139

Passing yds: 113 — 118

Total yds: 350 — 257

Passing (C-A-I): 7-14-0 — 8-14-1

Penalties: 5-55 — 1-10

Fumbles-lost: 1-0 — 1-0

Southern Col. (7-1): 0-7-6-13 — 26

Montoursville (6-2): 3-0-0-13 — 16

1st Quarter

M– Adam Shearer 25 field goal, 9:56.

2nd Quarter

S– Blaise Kissinger 15 pass from Ayden Hockenbroch (Preston Shadle kick), 0:08.

3rd Quarter

S– Grady Garcia 2 run (kick blocked), 5:29.

4th Quarter

S– Kissinger 41 pass from Hockenbroch (two-point failed), 10:26.

S– Garcia 6 run (Shadle kick), 6:25.

M– Jay Houseknecht pass from Elijah Eck (two-point failed), 5:26.

M– Brayden Burkett pass from Eck (Shearer kick), 4:40.

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING — Southern: Grady Garcia 10-75, 2 TDs; Brayden Andrews 19-65; Joey Williams 12-63; Ayden Hockenbroch 2-22; Caden Hopper 4-11; Talon Piatt 2-1. Montoursville: Christian Banks 10-114; Hayden Harvey 5-11; Elijah Eck 3-9; Jordan Cohick 1-3; Chase Jones 1-2.

PASSING — Southern: Ayden Hockenbroch 7-14-0, 113 yds, 2 TDs. Montoursville: Elijah Eck 8-14-1, 118 yds, 2 TDs.

RECEIVING — Southern: Blaise Kissinger 3-69, 2 TDs; Jace Malakoski 1-26; Nate Gallagher 1-15; Grady Garcia 1-8; Brayden Andrews 1-(-5). Montoursville: Jay Houseknecht 2-67, TD; Brayden Burkett 2-34, TD; Christian Banks 4-17.

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