Farrell’s Bid for State Title Ended by Southern Columbia

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Shane Lux | December 5, 2025

Mechanicsburg – Southern Columbia rushed for 352 yards and six touchdowns as the Tigers ousted the Steelers 43-22 Friday afternoon at Cumberland Valley’s Chapman Stadium.

For Farrell, the Steelers tasted defeat for only the third time in state title games. Having only previously fallen to Marian Catholic in 1990 and Bishop Guilfoyle in 2015.

“If you’re a competitor, it’s going to hurt, and it should hurt,” said Farrell head coach Anthony Pegues. “These kids are great competitors, so it hurts right now. But they’re a great team and played well today.”

After a one-year hiatus, Southern Columbia is back on top. A season ago, Troy knocked off the Tigers 69-28 in the District 4 semifinals. This season, Southern Columbia routed the Trojans 42-0 in the District 4 final, and they haven’t looked back since winning their state-record 15th title.

Likewise, Farrell has been on an eight-game roll, knocking off three consecutive District champions from Karns City in District 9, District 6’s Richland, and WPIAL Champion Seton LaSalle.

But the Steelers were no match for District 4 Southern Columbia and their Wing-T, their three-headed monster in the backfield, as Grady Garcia, Brayden Andrews, and Joey Williams combined for 287 yards and six touchdowns.

“Once they get into that offense, and we’re not reading our keys and jumping their guards, they’re a tough team,” said Pegues. “I’ll say this right now, we’ll be back here again next year, and we’ll see them again.”

District 4 has now won nine consecutive Class AA titles, with Southern accounting for eight of them.

Southern Columbia pounded the ball 59 times for 352 yards, something nobody has done against Farrell all season.

“They’re a good team, they average over 300 rushing yards a game,” Pegues said. “They have good backs and lineman, and their scheme is tough. It took us a little while to catch up to their rhythm. We started to do that a little in the second half, but they got that big lead on us in the first half, and it was hard to fight back. I’m proud of my guys; they didn’t waver or quit. They tried their best to fight back into the game. But we couldn’t get it done.”

While the Tigers’ rushing attack was on fire, the Steelers were not. Southern Columbia held the Farrell to negative 28 rushing yards and limited Nebraska commit Juelz Johnson to 15 yards on only four carries, with a late touchdown after the outcome had been decided.

“We couldn’t get the running game going today,” said Pegues. “They beat us up front a little bit. We were able to throw the ball around a bit, but they put a lot of pressure on the quarterback. They’re a good team, and they did what they had to do.”

Southern Columbia took the football and drove 62 yards in five plays, scoring on Grady Garcia’s 32-yard touchdown run with just over two minutes gone.

Farrell then took the lead when Jadon King-Vincent ran the ensuing kickoff back 90 yards for a touchdown. King-Vincent finished the season with six special team returns for touchdowns this year.

However, the momentum was short-lived as the Tigers continued to churn out yardage as Garcia, the fourth brother to come through the program, capped a 60-yard drive with a 25-yard run, giving the Tigers a 14-8 lead with 4:21 to play in the first quarter, before Farrell had run an offensive play.

Farrell’s opening offensive possession showed promise as Aaron Pegues connected with Dorean Cain on a 39-yard pass to the Tigers’ 27-yard line.

But the drive stalled as Pegues was sacked for a 16-yard loss on 3rd-and-12 with Southern recovering a fumble.

The Tigers then drove 54 yards in 15 plays, where Brayden Andrews scored on a 4-yard run on fourth down. The prior play quarterback Ayden Hockenbroch scrambled for 15 yards on 3rd-and-19.

Farrell then punted in three plays, setting up Southern at their 43-yard line with 2:23 to play in the half. They proceeded to march 43 yards in nine plays with Garcia scoring his third touchdown of the half on a 1-yard run with 19 seconds to play.

Southern Columbia led 28-8 at halftime. Farrell ran only nine offensive plays in the first half.

The Steelers tried their best to get back into the game late in the third quarter when Juelz Johnson caught a 15-yard touchdown pass from Pegues on fourth down. The Steelers trailed 28-14 after three quarters.

Farrell had a chance late in the third quarter to pull within a touchdown when they stopped the Tigers on 4th down and later forced a punt, but both drives ended without a first down.

Southern then put the game away when Brayden Andrews scored his second touchdown of the night, capping a 49-yard drive with a 5-yard run with 8:15 to play.

On their following drive, Joey Williams scored on a 19-yard run, completing a 93-yard drive. Williams rushed for 91 yards on 15 carries.

Trailing 43-14 with 2:01 remaining, Juelz Johnson capped his high school football career with a 3-yard touchdown reception from Pegues with 42 seconds to play. He finishes the season with 43 total touchdowns and his career as Farrell’s all-time touchdown leader.

Johnson also caught six passes for 78 yards, while Dorean Cain added five catches for 97 yards. Aaron Pegues completed 13 of 26 passes for 202 yards and two touchdowns.

“I could go name for name about this senior class,” concluded Pegues. “They got us back to where we need to be in Class AA. We did a lot in Class A. Now we’re going to catch this rhythm in Class AA. My hats off to that senior class, we were young last year, and they stepped up big time for us. Those guys stepped up again this year and led us to this game.”

Farrell finishes their season at 13-3.

Game Highlights:

Southern Columbia 43 Farrell 22

Score by Quarters

Farrell – 8 0 6 8 – 22

Southern Columbia – 14 14 0 15 – 43

First Quarter

SC- Grady Garcia 32 yd run, (kick failed), 9:56 – 5-62

F – Jadon King-Vincent 90 yd kickoff return, (Juelz Johnson rush), 9:41

SC – Garcia 25 yd run, (Ayden Hockenbroch rush), 4:21 – 10-60

Second Quarter

SC – Brayden Andrews 4 yd run, (Jase Malakoski from Hockenbroch), 4:31 – 15-54

SC – Garcia 1 yd run, (rush failed), 0:19 – 9-43

Third Quarter

F – Johnson 15 yd pass from Aaron Pegues, (rush failed), 4:32 – 9-70

Fourth Quarter

SC – Andrews 5 yd run, (Chase Williams from Hockenbroch), 8:15 – 9-49

SC – Joey Williams 19 yd run, (Preston Shadle pat), 2:01 – 7-93

F – Johnson 3 yd pass from Pegues, (Nemo Jones from Pegues), 0:42 – 3-57

Individual Stats

Rushing: F – Johnson 4-15, Pegues 9-(-43). Totals: 13-(-28). SC- Garcia 12-108, Williams 15-91, Andrews 22-88, Hockenbroch 9-66, Team 1-(-1). Totals: 59-352.

Receiving: F – Dorean Cain 5-97, Johnson 6-78, Jones 2-27. SC – Blake Kissinger 2-27, Nathan Gallagher 1-4, Malakoski 1-(-2).

Passing: F – Pegues 13 for 26, 202 yards, 2 TD. SC – Hockenbroch 4-for-4, 29 yards.

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