Published: Sunday, December 19, 2010 By
GENARO C. ARMAS, AP Sports Writer
HERSHEY, Pa. (AP) — West Philadelphia Catholic's fans
danced in the stands, some waving around their winter
scarves or pointing in the air to signify "No. 1" — and
it was only halftime. The final quarters were a mere
formality after the explosive Burrs opened up a 22-point
lead at the half in a 50-14 rout Saturday over
previously-undefeated South Fayette to take the PIAA
Class AA championship. Quarterback Anthony Reid
connected with Jaelen Strong-Rankin for scoring strikes
of 75 and 25 yards, and also had a 7-yard touchdown run
in the first half. David Williams ran for a game-high
183 yards on 14 carries, including an 81-yard dash to
the end zone late in the first quarter to settle the
offense after West Catholic's first drive ended with a
pick.From there, the Burrs just ran past, around or
through defenders to turn the title tilt into a track
meet on the cold turf at Hersheypark Stadium. They led
36-14 at the half, setting records for most points in a
half and a game in a Class AA final.
"Philly's got speed. We don't get noticed for it a lot,
but we do have some athletes," Reid said. South
Fayette's Zach Challingsworth caught two TD passes from
Christian Brumbaugh to give the senior quarterback a
PIAA single-season record 52 touchdown tosses. But there
were few other highlights in the final game of what was
otherwise an impressive season for the Lions (15-1).
"Remember the journey," coach Joe Rossi told his players
as they huddled around him on the field afterward, some
fighting back tears. "It's a journey that they have to
remember. It's a pain today, but the 15 weeks of what
they've done for our community, and everything they've
done — I'm so proud of them," Rossi told reporters
minutes later.
West Catholic knows how they feel — they lost the title
game two seasons ago to Wilmington Area 35-34 in double
overtime. No such drama this time around. After trading
touchdowns in the first quarter, the Burrs broke out for
30 points in the second. The third quarter wasn't
much better for South Fayette after Williams capped the
opening drive with a 4-yard touchdown run. A 2-point
conversion made it 44-14 with 7:53 left.
"Our kids were playing with a lot of confidence and a
lot of swagger today. They've been playing with it since
we started the playoffs," Burrs coach Brian Fluck said.
"This was for all the alumni, the 2008 team." West
Catholic had 406 rushing yards on 48 carries to 24 yards
on 19 carries for South Fayette. Forced to pass to
score quickly the rest of the way, South Fayette
couldn't avoid West Catholic's speed on defense either,
and Brumbaugh didn't look sharp at times.
Strong-Rankin opened the second-quarter scoring with a
75-yard TD pass after Reid hit him in stride in the open
for a 14-7 lead. The 6-foot-4 receiver scooted away from
the defender, easily jogging into the end zone for what
Reid descibed as the game's momentum-shifting play.
"It was like, 'All right, it's time to click,'" Reid
said. "After we scored, I was like, 'Oh wow, it's like a
dream come true for us.'" Brumbaugh's 20-yard TD
pass to Challingsworth with 2:55 left cut the deficit to
20-14, but the Burrs answered with 16 points in the
final 1:07 of the quarter, capped by Strong-Rankin's
25-yard touchdown reception with 4 seconds left.
West Catholic outgained South Fayette 334-140 in the
first half despite running eight fewer plays (26) than
the Lions.