2025 PIAA 3A football championship breakdown: Avonworth vs. Northwestern Lehigh

By: Chris Harlan
Friday, December 5, 2025 | 9:35 AM

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PIAA Class 3A football championship

Avonworth vs. Northwestern Lehigh

1 p.m. Saturday, Cumberland Valley, Mechanicsburg

On the air: TV: PCN; Radio: KDKA (100.1 FM, 1020 AM); Video streaming: NFHS Network; Audio streaming: PIAA Radio Network

PIAA titles: Avonworth 0, Northwestern Lehigh 1 (2024)

Avonworth (14-0)

Player to watch: Luca Neal

Neal nearly carried Avonworth to a PIAA title last season when he rushed for 252 yards and four touchdowns in the state finals. The Antelopes ultimately lost in overtime to Northwestern Lehigh, but Neal gets another shot at the Tigers on Saturday. Neal, the team’s leading receiver this season, has 22 touchdowns.

Statistical leaders

Passing: Carson Bellinger 105-154, 2,287 yards, 29 TDs

Rushing: Dimitri Velisaris 200-1,492 yards, 24 TDs

Receiving: Luca Neal 52-659 yards, 9 TDs

How they got here: Avonworth defeated Imani Christian, 30-6, in the WPIAL finals; and District 6 champion Penn Cambria, 31-15, in a PIAA semifinal.

Probable starting lineup

Coach: Duke Johncour (15th season)

Offense

QB, 3, Carson Bellinger, 5-11, 180, sr.

RB, 34, Dimitri Velisaris, 5-7, 175, jr.

HB, 23, Bryce Metz, 6-1, 205, jr.

WR, 4, Luca Neal, 5-10, 185, sr.

WR, 6, Jaden Jones, 6-3, 180, so.

TE, 88, Marco Arlia, 6-1, 220, sr.

LT, 74, Peter Bonnet, 6-6, 300, sr.

LG, 64, Tyler Hanny, 5-11, 255, sr.

C, 76, Brad Hines, 5-11, 250, jr.

RG, 72, Noah Neiss, 6-0, 235, so.

RT, 78, Harrison McAfee, 5-10, 255, jr.

Defense

DE, 7, Romello Harris-Blanchard, 6-2, 190, so.

DL, 72, Noah Neiss, 6-0, 235, so.

DL, 88, Marco Arlia, 6-1, 220, sr.

DE, 14, Evan Loutzenhiser, 6-2, 190, sr.

LB, 1, Jackson Krul, 5-10, 190, sr.

LB, 23, Bryce Metz, 6-1, 205, jr.

LB, 4, Luca Neal, 5-11, 185, sr.

CB, 5, Cooper Scharding, 5-11, 200, sr.

CB, 11, Jack Crawford, 6-0, 170, sr.

S, 26, Brayden Wiles, 5-8, 165, so.

S, 6, Jaden Jones, 6-3, 180, so.

Special teams

K/P, 31, Calder Mahan, 6-1, 165, jr.

Notable: Avonworth makes its third trip to the state finals after runner-up finishes in 2024 and ‘19. … The Antelopes lost in overtime to Northwestern Lehigh, 36-33, last year. In 2019, Avonworth was defeated by Southern Columbia, 74-7, in the 2A final. … WPIAL teams had won four consecutive PIAA Class 3A titles before last season (Central Valley in 2020 and ’21; Belle Vernon in 2022 and ’23). … Avonworth averages 40.6 points per game and allows 9.2. The Antelopes have held 10 opponents to a touchdown or less. … Leading rusher Dimitri Velisaris missed last week’s semifinal win with an injury. In his place, Luca Neal rushed for 141 yards and two touchdowns in a 31-15 win over Penn Cambria. … Luca Neal ranks second on the team with 659 rushing yards and nine TDs on 52 carries. … QB Carson Bellinger passed for 253 yards, two touchdowns and one interception last week. … Bryce Metz has a team-high 97 tackles along with 11 tackles for loss, two interceptions and two fumble recoveries. Romello Harris-Blanchard has a team-high 10 sacks and Evan Loutzenhizer has eight. … Jaden Jones leads with five interceptions. … Avonworth has rushed for 3,224 yards and 40 touchdowns. The Antelopes have 2,376 yards passing and 31 TDs.

Northwestern Lehigh (15-0)

Player to watch: Shane Leh

The senior quarterback is hot lately. Leh completed 27 of 31 attempts in the past two games while racking up 417 passing yards and eight touchdowns. The Marist commit has completed 74% of his throws overall and averages 150 passing yards per game. Three different receivers have at least 41 catches.

Statistical leaders

Passing: Shane Leh 154-209, 2,581 yards, 33 TDs

Rushing: Braxton Lakatosh 120-1,285 yards, 15 TDs

Receiving: Brady Zimmerman 44-903 yards, 13 TDs

How they got here: Northwestern Lehigh defeated Notre Dame Green Pond, 35-14, in the District 11 finals; District 2 champion Scranton Prep, 42-14, in the PIAA quarterfinals; and District 3 champion Camp Hill Trinity, 48-13, in the semifinals

Probable starting lineup

Coach: Josh Snyder (14th season)

Offense

QB, 12, Shane Leh, 6-1, 187, sr.

RB, 9, Braxton Lakatosh, 5-9, 176, sr.

FB, 8, Brady Zimmerman, 5-6, 149, jr.

WR, 10, Mason Bollinger, 6-2, 188, sr.

WR, 11, Michael Lagowy, 6-0, 162, jr.

TE, 5, Shane Humes, 6-0, 213, sr.

LT, 62, Colton Popp, 6-1, 194, so.

LG, 74, Braidon Berk, 5-10, 199, sr.

C, 58, Nolan Koehler, 5-8, 175, so.

RG, 54, Devin Rex, 5-9, 222, so.

RT, 77, Maddox Hurdle, 6-1, 285, so.

Defense

DE, 72, Fritz Scheirer, 6-1, 194, so.

NT, 62, Colton Popp, 6-0, 234, sr.

DE, 17, MJ Boring, 5-10, 210, sr.

OLB, 10, Mason Bollinger, 6-2, 188, sr.

LB, 45, Evan Wagstaff, 5-8, 178, sr.

MLB, 5, Shane Hulmes, 6-0, 213, sr.

LB, 9, Braxton Lakatosh, 5-9, 176, sr.

OLB, 8, Brady Zimmerman, 5-6, 149, jr.

CB, 6, Kemurry Morgan, 5-8, 154, sr.

CB, 12, Shane Leh, 6-1, 187, sr.

S, 11, Michael Lagowy, 6-0, 162, jr.

Special teams

K, 2, Chase Sukanick, 5-8, 155, so.

P, 10, Mason Bollinger, 6-2, 188, sr.

Notable: Northwestern Lehigh has reached the state finals for the third year in a row. This is a rematch from last year’s state finals that the Tigers won, 36-33, in overtime. They lost to Belle Vernon, 38-7, in 2023. … The winning touchdown last year was scored by Eli Zimmerman, who has since graduated. … In last week’s semifinal, Braxton Lakatosh rushed for 158 yards and three touchdowns on 13 carries. … The team has three players with at least 41 catches: Michael Lagowy (48 for 745 yards), Brady Zimmerman (44 for 903) and Mason Bollinger (41 for 559). … Second-leading rusher Chase Sukanick, a sophomore, has 874 yards and 13 touchdowns on 110 carries. … Northwestern Lehigh average 45.7 points per game and allow 13.3. … As a team, the Tigers have rushed for 3,399 yards and 56 touchdowns. They’ve passed for 2,803 yards and 34 TDs. … Team stats credit Shane Hulmes with 148 total tackles with 17 tackles for loss and eight sacks. … Braxton Lakatosh has 110 tackles. … Michael Lagowy has a team-high five interceptions. … Josh Snyder, a former All-American wide receiver at Lehigh University, was named Northwestern Lehigh coach in 2012.

Chris Harlan is a TribLive reporter covering sports. He joined the Trib in 2009 after seven years as a reporter at the Beaver County Times. He can be reached at charlan@triblive.com.

Tags: Avonworth