PIAA Class 3A football championship preview: Avonworth vs. Northwestern Lehigh

By: Don Rebel
Friday, December 6, 2024 | 4:10 PM

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The PIAA Class 3A championship game features two schools making their second appearance in the football state championship game and still in search of their first PIAA gold.

Five years ago, WPIAL champion Avonworth suffered one of the biggest losses in PIAA football playoff history, falling to state power Southern Columbia in the 2A title game by 67 points.

It was a year ago when Northwestern Lehigh captured a second straight District 11 Class 3A championship and won two PIAA postseason games to reach the finals against defending state champion Belle Vernon. The Tigers lost the cat fight for state gold to the Leopards by 31 points.

Here is a breakdown of the Saturday afternoon PIAA Class 3A championship game taking place in Mechanicsburg.

PIAA Class 3A championship

Avonworth (12-3) vs. Northwestern Lehigh (15-0)

1 p.m. Saturday, Chapman Field at Cumberland Valley, Mechanicsburg

How they got here: WPIAL No. 5-seeded Avonworth defeated Greensburg Salem, Beaver, top-seeded Imani Christian and No. 2 Central Valley to win its second District 7 championship in five years, before eliminating Penn Cambria in the PIAA final four. Northwestern Lehigh was the No. 1 seed in the District 11 postseason and beat Saucon Valley and North Schuylkill to win another D-11 title, and then knocked off Conwell-Egan in the first round, Scranton Prep in the quarterfinals and Danville in the state semifinals to return to the PIAA title game.

Last week: Avonworth 16, Penn Cambria 6; Northwestern Lehigh 31, Danville 14

Players to watch: Luca Neal, Avonworth (Jr., 5-10, 190, RB/DB); Eli Zimmerman, Northwestern Lehigh (Sr., 5-9, 160, RB/FS)

Notable

Avonworth: The day after Thanksgiving was a turkey for four WPIAL champions that lost in the state semifinals. The only winner on Black Friday was the freshly minted 3A District 7 champion Antelopes. The grind-it-out offense Avonworth has turned to in the postseason once again featured one of the Neal brothers running out of the wildcat offense. While senior Nico Neal had a touchdown run called back and finished with 63 yards on 12 carries, it was Luca Neal that led the way for the ‘Lopes with 255 yards on 25 carries for an average of more than 10 yards per tote. Luca also found the end zone twice on runs of 65 and 2 yards. Sophomore kicker Calder Mahan added a 25-yard field goal as the Antelopes advanced to the state championship game for the second time in five years.

Northwestern Lehigh: The Tigers have been rock steady all year after falling in the 2023 PIAA Class 3A championship game to Belle Vernon, 38-7. Northwestern Lehigh has been perfect and has remained ranked No. 1 in the Trib HSSN Class 3A state football rankings all season. After winning a third straight District 11 3A championship, the Tigers have defeated Conwell-Egan, Scranton Prep and Danville in the PIAA playoffs by a combined score of 114-21. Last week, they jumped on the back of senior running back Eli Zimmerman and he rode them to victory. He carried the ball 34 times for 337 yards (9.9 yards per carry) and a touchdown in the win over previously undefeated Danville.

Statistical leaders

Avonworth

Passing: Carson Bellinger, 64 of 142 for 1,060 yards, 11 TDs

Rushing: Nico Neal, 104-770 yards, 11 TDs; Luca Neal, 99-766 yards, 5 TDs

Receiving: Luca Neal, 25-475 yards, 4 TDs

Northwestern Lehigh

Passing: Shane Leh, 100 of 171 for 1,472 yards, 23 TDs

Rushing: Eli Zimmerman, 221-2,548 yards, 24 TDs

Receiving: Mason Bollinger, 37-523 yards, 6 TDs

Historic factoids

• This is the first meeting between Avonworth and Northwestern Lehigh on the football field.

• This is only the second appearance for Avonworth in the PIAA playoffs in which it is 2-1 overall. In the 2019 Class 2A playoffs, the Antelopes beat District 10 winner Wilmington in the state semifinals, 33-21, before getting crushed in their only other PIAA championship appearance by Southern Columbia, 74-7. They began this PIAA postseason with a victory over previously undefeated Central Cambria for a fifth consecutive win.

• This is the seventh appearance in the PIAA postseason for Northwestern Lehigh and the second time it has reached the PIAA finals after falling to Belle Vernon a year ago. The loss to the Leopards was its only state playoff game against a WPIAL team. The Tigers have an overall record of 7-6 with five of the wins coming in the last two seasons. The other two state playoff wins for Northwestern Lehigh came in 1997 against Bishop McDevitt and in 2002 against Camp Hill Trinity.

Starting lineups

Avonworth

Coach: Duke Johncour

Offense

QB, 3, Carson Bellinger, 5-10, 170, Jr.

RB, 7, Nico Neal, 5-10, 225, Sr.

HB, 21, Jackson Krul, 5-9, 185, Jr.

HB, 23, Bryce Metz, 6-0, 190, So.

WR, 4, Luca Neal, 5-10, 190, Jr.

WR, 2, Noah Goetz, 6-2, 185, Sr.

LT, 74, Peter Bonnet, 6-2, 280, Jr.

LG, 64, Tyler Hanny, 5-10, 240, Jr.

C, 76, Brad Hines, 5-8, 240, So.

RG, 78, Harrison McAfee, 5-10, 240, So.

RT, 54, Mason Metz, 6-1, 220, Sr.

Defense

DE, 54, Mason Metz, 6-1, 220, Sr.

DL, 12, Justin Beck, 6-0, 225, Sr.

DL, 74, Peter Bonnet, 6-5, 280, Jr.

DE, 88, Marco Arlia, 6-0, 205, Jr.

LB, 34, Dimitri Velisaris, 5-6, 160, So.

LB, 23, Bryce Metz, 6-0, 225, So.

LB, 7, Nico Neal, 5-10, 225, Sr.

CB, 5, Cooper Scharding, 5-10, 180, Jr.

CB, 15, Achilles Heinold, 5-9, 160, So.

S, 4, Luca Neal, 5-10, 190, Jr.

S, 13, Billy Onyshko, 5-11, 165, Sr.

Special teams

K, 31, Calder Mahan, 5-8, 140, So.

P, 54, Mason Metz, 6-1, 220, Sr.

Northwestern Lehigh

Coach: Josh Snyder

Offense

QB, 12, Shane Leh, 6-1, 173, Jr.

RB, 4, Eli Zimmerman, 5-8, 160, Sr.

FB, 10, Mason Bollinger, 6-2, 186, Jr.

WR, 11, Michael Lagowy, 6-0, 151, So.

HB, 13, Landen Matson, 5-11, 178, Sr.

TE, 5, Shane Hulmes, 6-0, 207, Jr.

LT, 62, Colton Popp, 6-0, 220, Jr.

LG, 64, Jackson Bailey, 5-11, 207, Sr.

C, 51, Jeremiah Gornicz, 6-1, 202, Sr.

RG, 52, Jared Meck, 5-10, 206, Sr.

RT, 55, Bryer Reichard, 6-4, 240, Sr.

Defense

DE, 55, Bryer Reichard, 6-4, 240, Sr.

NT, 75, Jackson Huber, 5-10, 299, Sr.

DE, 52, Jared Meck, 5-10, 206, Sr.

OLB, 10, Mason Bollinger, 6-2, 186, Jr.

LB, 8, Brady Zimmerman, 5-8, 139, So.

MLB, 5, Shane Hulmes, 6-0, 207, Jr.

LB, 21, Josh Wambold, 6-0, 180, Sr.

OLB, 13, Landen Matson, 5-11, 178, Sr.

CB, 11, Michael Lagowy, 6-0, 151, So.

CB, 19, Seth Kern, 5-10, 165, Sr.

S, 4, Eli Zimmerman, 5-8, 160, Sr.

Special teams

K/P, 21, Josh Wambold, 6-0, 180, Sr.

Tags: Avonworth