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Hittin’ The Road With Travelin’ Matt (Playoffs Week 3)

Tagged under: District 4, District 6, District 7, pfn

| November 20, 2023

Each week Travelin’ Matt traverses Pennsylvania attending the hottest high school football games and best match ups in the Commonwealth.  Follow his exploits each week as he documents his journey from Week Zero to the Pennsylvania State Football Finals!

Wednesday, November 15

The STATE of PA Football Live – C3 Sports, State College

 

Friday, November 17

2A #5 Southern Columbia (11-1) vs. 2A #4 Troy (12-0)

Saturday, November 11

5A #2 Peters Township (12-0) vs. 5A # 10 Pine-Richland (9-3)

2A #7 Bald Eagle Area (11-1) vs. 2A #8 Richland (11-1)

ROUNDTRIP – 774 MILES

 

Wednesday, November 15

My high school football week kicked off with an appearance on The STATE of PA Football Live which was hosted at the C3 Sports & Events Center located in State College.  This was my second time on the show this season to break down the playoff brackets and it’s always a tremendous experience to talk high school football as we enter the final month of the schedule.

One of the perks of working with PA Football News is the opportunity to meet people who possess the same passion for high school football as myself and to absorb all the info they have gained over their years of covering the sport.  While I am fortunate to attend more than 50 games each season across the Commonwealth I surely can’t be at all the matchups each week and any chance to speak with PA Football News reporters, photographers and experts helps me to garner more information about teams and players I may not get the chance to see during the regular season.

The STATE of PA Football Live show gives me an opportunity to put to work all the data I’ve gathered throughout the season and in past years to share with fellow panelists and viewers of the broadcast.  There are only a handful people who have the time, desire and knowledge to sit down for two hours to discuss statewide PA High School Football and it’s a blessing to have an outlet like PA Football News and The STATE of PA Football Live to take a tour across the landscape of the season.

To view the most recent edition of The STATE of PA Football Live click the link below…

 

Friday, November 17

While last week I attended games mostly closer to home this week I logged my most miles of any week this season.  My car ticked off nearly 800 miles in two days beginning on Friday with a three hour trek north to Bradford County to witness the highly-anticipated 2A District 4 Finals matchup between undefeated state-ranked #4 Troy Trojans and 13-time State Champion state-ranked #5 Southern Columbia Tigers.

There were numerous storylines to this matchup I’ve been patiently waiting all season to play out on the field and it was a relief to finally get two of the top 2A teams in the state on the gridiron to settle the score.

Troy cruised through their schedule effortlessly this season having mercy-ruled every team they faced.  The Trojans posted six shutouts on their campaign and scored 36 or more points in every contest they played including lighting up the scoreboard for 50+ points six times.  While the rap on Northern Tier League teams has been facing a weak regular season schedule that has resulted in numerous early exits in the playoffs this Troy team passed the eye-test as a legitimate threat in District 4 and the 2A state classification.

Troy featured a dynamic offensive playbook that avoided the trap of relying solely on a running game to move the ball as in past seasons.  The Trojans were equally impressive through the air this year and their ability to run or pass on any down made for a difficult task for opponents to focus on stopping just one area of their offense to shut them down.

Perennial power Southern Columbia posted another stellar regular season and avenged their sole loss to rival Mount Carmel last week with a 43-0 thumping of the Red Tornadoes in the District 4 semi-finals.  While some have prognosticated cracks in the Tigers armor in recent seasons those naysayers have found themselves eating crow by early December as the Tigers have ripped off six consecutive 2A State Titles.  There is one rule that should be followed when previewing a Southern Columbia game…never bet against the Tigers!

The 13-time State Champions have been the Commonwealth’s most dominant program for the past 30+ years and the reason why I affectionately refer to them as THE Southern Columbia University.  The Tigers are unequaled in their PA football dominance and while their impressive state run will eventually come to an end their decades of dominance should be widely applauded.

In addition to the actual matchup on the field between these two District 4 stalwarts another storyline prior to their meeting was the field where they were scheduled to play.  Hot discussion had taken place all week leading up to the game that the contest should be moved to a local artificial surface due to the poor conditions of Troy’s home field.

Troy’s home stadium at Alparon Park and the condition of its natural grass playing surface has been the topic of discussion for many years particularly when the Trojans have hosted playoff games.  By the end of the regular season the football field is more dirt than grass and addionally while the home seating area is generously covered by a old-timey grand stand the visiting side accommodations leave much to be desired with a capacity surely not more than a few hundred fans.

Without fail the weather added another storyline to the matchup as a steady rain arrived on Friday and by game time the Alparon Park field had transformed into a muddy mess.  By the conclusion of warm-ups both teams already appeared as if they had played a full game their uniforms covered in mud.

The game was clearly affected by the weather and playing field conditions as both teams slogged their way to a 0-0 tie at the half in two quarters that saw players mostly skating across the muddy field.  Troy’s balanced offensive attack saw their passing game greatly restricted by sloppy conditions and Southern Columbia failed to gain traction as well with their powerful Wing-T offense slipping on blocks and cuts that resulted in a scoreless effort.

In the second half Southern Columbia’s patented ground game found some traction and they posted two scoring drives that proved to be the difference on the evening in a hard-hitting and hard-fought 14-0 victory.  The Tigers picked up their astounding 31st District 4 title with the win despite Troy’s best efforts to topple the 13-time state champions.

Check out the Tigers first TD in front of an electric crowd and my post-game interview with a rain-soaked and muddy Garrett Garcia…

For the full Southern Columbia vs. Troy game story click below…

Southern Columbia Captures D4 Gold

As a bonus view our PA Football News video recap of the epic 2A District 4 Final…

2A District 4 Final Southern Columbia vs Troy (Video Recap)

 

Saturday, November 18

My Saturday double-header plans began early as I made the four hour jaunt westward from northeastern PA to Norwin High School to catch the WPIAL 5A title game featuring state-ranked #2 Peters Township and state-ranked #10 Pine-Richland for a noon kickoff.

I’ve stated many times that District 7 WPIAL games are my favorite in the state to attend each season and on this day my affection for Western PA football was only strengthened by my Saturday experience.

The WPIAL hosts their 5A and 6A championship contests on a neutral field at Norwin High School while they play their 1A through 4A title games a week later at the Pittsburgh Steelers’ Acrisure Stadium.  While 5A and 6A seemingly get the short end of the stick in this arrangement the grandeur of the event does not suffer from the more humble game location.

The WPIAL puts on a great show for their championship contests at Norwin High and the importance of the games held there can be sensed immediately upon entering the stadium.  Media coverage is expansive as the biggest Pittsburgh radio, tv and print outlets are on hand including live broadcasts on the sidelines leading up to the contests.  Fans pour into the seating areas enthusiastically in anticipation of the pending contests.  While a state title is surely the ultimate reward for a tremendous season capturing a WPIAL championship is not far behind in accolades for the 123 conference teams.  The local bragging rights for winning a WPIAL title is a year-long and highly-coveted privilege to District 7 teams.

Most striking when attending larger school contests is the tempo and speed with which teams play in the 4A to 6A classes.  The pace of a bigger school contest is clearly evident on every play and momentum changes often throughout the game as highly skilled athletes can make game changing efforts on every play.  While smaller schools in the 1A to 3A classes generally feature a few highly skilled players on each team the larger schools benefit from a deep pool of talent that contributes significantly to the higher pace play on the field.

Peters Township, despite fielding competitive teams in the WPIAL for decades, had never won a District 7 championship and this season the undefeated Indians were the favorites to finally accomplish the task.  Standing in their way was perennial WPIAL powerhouse Pine-Richland fresh off their 5A PA State Championship last season.

Peters Township was up to the task on this day and the Indians finally captured a WPIAL title with a resounding 43-17 victory against the battle-tested Rams.  Most evident to me before, during and after the game was the passion of the Peters Township fans who packed the stadium in support of their team and community.  As the final seconds ticked off the clock the students gathered field side and they shared in the win with their fellow classmates in grand style.

View the post-game Peters Township celebration in the video below…

For the full game story click the link below…

Peters Township defeats Pine Richland 43-17 for the 5A WPIAL Championship

 

The second half of my Saturday double-header took place that evening in Altoona as state-ranked #7 Bald Eagle Area tackled state-ranked #8 Richland in the 2A District 6 championship contest.  When I choose which games to attend each week in the playoffs I sometimes decide to pair my selections with contests that result in the winners of both games playing the following week.  This was the case this weekend as the winner of Bald Eagle Area/Richland game would face Southern Columbia who I watched win the previous night vs. Troy.  This strategy gives me a more accurate sense of how the following weeks matchup will play out between the two winners and also guarantees I will have seen the winner of that game in the following round of games.

As an added bonus, Bald Eagle Area was a team we welcomed to our STATE of PA Football Live show on Wednesday night and having interviewed Head Coach Jesse Nagle, QB Carson Nagle and WR Kahale Burns on the broadcast I was interested to see how their comments and preparation for the game translated to the field a couple days later.

Bald Eagle Area was at the top of their game on Saturday night with a convincing 49-0 victory over Richland at Mansion Park in Altoona.  The Eagles Junior signal-caller Nagle delivered all night with two passing touchdowns.  Senior Running back Cameron Dubbs also tallied four touchdowns on the ground to pace the Eagles offense.  On the other side of the ball Bald Eagle area was equally dominant with four interceptions.

Check out a couple remarkable highlights of the Bald Eagle Area vs. Richland game…

 

Here’s the full game story from PA Football News as well…

BEA Makes a Statement with Win Over Richland for the D-6 Class AA Crown

Bonus content…check out the photo gallery from the game…

Bald Eagle defeats Richland For D6 2A Championship, Gallery

Follow along next week as Travelin’ Matt takes you on another PA High School Football journey.

Follow PA Football News on Twitter @PaFootballNews

 
 
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