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Bishop Guilfoyle Claims Fifth State Title over Port Allegany

Tagged under: District 6, District 9, Gameday Hub, News, pfn, Playoffs

| December 5, 2024

The PIAA Championship games opened on a cold and blustery Thursday afternoon. Entering the first game, much of the conversation was centered on Port Allegany and their vaunted wildcat offense that produced nearly 4,500 yards on the ground. However, it was Taurean Consiglio and the explosive offense of Bishop Guilfoyle that took over in a 41-22 victory.

Early jitters were certainly prevalent on both sides. The Marauders were forced into a quick three and out. On the ensuing possession, Port Allegany’s Aiden Bliss showed his moves, chugging ahead for gains of six and 11 yards. Howeveer, he fumbled and Chase Kissell recovered on the Guilfoyle 37.

After another three plays and punt, the Marauders were back on defense. Hayden Hosgood came up big on a 4th & 2, stopping Bliss on downs in Gators territory. Chase Kissell picked up 15 on a designed quarterback draw, moving deeper to the Port Allegany 33. Consiglio carried over the left side, gaining 11 on the next play, before pounding his way into the end zone from 12 yards out. Despite just two first downs in the game with 2:07 to play in the first quarter, the Marauders were ahead 7-0.

Another big defensive play highlighted the next drive. After Port Allegany was hit with a false start, Rocco Cacciotti blasted through the line and sacked Brennan Fillhart. Forced into a long yardage situation, the Gators would end up punting on 4th & 18.

Bishop Guilfoyle then put together their longest drive of the night. A nine play, 61 yard march was punctuated by a 6-yard touchdown run from Consiglio, increasing the lead to 14-0. Along the way, Hamilton “Hammer” Gates gashed the defense for a 17-yard gainer over the left side. Kessell also had a seven yard keeper. Consiglio’s touchdown run came untouched, as he squeezed through a seam on the left side.

At long last, the Gators offense began to click. Bliss broke off a 28-yard chunk going down the near sideline, flipping field position into Guilfoyle territory at the 42. Bliss would end up carrying on all 11 plays of the drive, culminating with a 3-yard touchdown surge. Bliss also carried on the two-point conversion to cut the deficit to 14-8 with 1:26 to play in the first half. By halftime, Port Allegany had run 13 plays in Marauders territory compared to 11 run by Guilfoyle on the Gators’ side of midfield.

Port Allegany opened the second half by chewing up 7:30 of the clock. Bliss accelerated for 15 yards on the first play from scrimmage and would end up carrying ten more times on the drive. With a first down on the Marauders; 2, it took three plays,but Bliss pushed his way into the end zone. His two-point try around the left end came up short and the game remained tied with 4:24 to go in the third.

Bishop Guilfoyle responded in two plays. Gates hammered his way down the far sideline for 65 yards and a touchdown, putting the Marauders back in front 21-14. The Gators gained just two yards on their ensuing drive and Guilfoyle was back in business at its own 40 moments later. This time, the offense needed just three plays to hit pay dirt. Consiglio blasted his way in from 25 yards out, spinning off a would-be tackler, extending the lead to 28-14 before the third quarter was out.

With the deficit now 14, Port Allegany was forced to do what their offense rarely does: throw the ball. Fillhart was 0/2 prior to throwing his third pass of the night, which was intercepted by Braden Reilly over the middle. Two plays later, Guilfoyle went to the bag of tricks. Hamilton Gates threw a ball to Braden Reilly for a 26-yard strike.

On Port Allegany’s next play, Hayden Hosgood hit Bliss in the backfield for a short loss. A personal foul backed up the Gators inside their own 15 and despite another big run of 21 yards from Bliss, the Gators would turn it over on downs near midfield. Consiglio capped the Marauders’ scoring with a 15 yard run before Bliss reached the end zone for the fourth time.

“We all did our assignments. We got the job done. We just never give up,” commented Consiglio. When asked about the the success of the Marauders team in recent years, he added, “It’s great to be part of a legacy like that…over the past decade.”

Consiglio finished the contest with 161 yards and four touchdowns on just 15 carries, as the Marauders racked up 302 total rushing yards.

Head coach Justin Wheeler noted that his team wanted to dominate with their offense and was able to adjust on the fly to the weather coniditons: “Hats off to Port Allegany. They’re a tough team. Our guys just played really well for four quarters, We didn’t take a play off most of the day. I couldn’t be prouder of the guys and their effort and now they’re state champions forever.”

“They’re so selfless, They don’t care what it takes, they just want to win. If you’re the quarterback and you become fullback in the state championship, you can be mad or you can embrace it and he embraced it.”

“We wanted to leave our mark with our running back and our line and I think we did that today.”

In defeat, Aiden Bliss, only a junior, carried his team on his back. He ran 47 times for 249 yards and also returned three kickoffs for 60 yards. He will certainly be a force to be reckoned with again next year.

Bishop Guilfoyle sends seniors Hamilton Gates and Chase Kissell out on top, earning the school’s first title since 2021.

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