Hampton senior running back climbs school’s all-time rushing list

By: John Grupp
Saturday, October 28, 2023 | 11:01 AM

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The first time Hampton running back Brock Borgo touched the football in a meaningful varsity carry, he raced 58 yards for a touchdown.

He was a sophomore at the time and, after getting only four varsity carries as a freshman, burst onto the scene against Valley in the 2021 opener.

“As they say,” Hampton coach Steve Sciullo said, “the rest is history.”

Two-plus seasons later, Borgo is one of the most accomplished running backs in Hampton history. The 6-foot, 200-pound senior surpassed 3,000 career rushing yards in a 35-7 victory over Indiana on Oct. 13 and was nearing his third consecutive 1,000-yard season for the WPIAL Class 4A playoff hopeful Talbots.

Hampton (3-6, 3-2) needed a victory over Greater Allegheny Conference foe Highlands on Oct. 27 — or a Kiski Area loss to Armstrong — to clinch a WPIAL Class 4A playoff berth for the fourth consecutive season. The Talbots would still advance with a loss and a Kiski Area win, if they maintained a Gardner Points margin of victory tiebreaker over the Cavaliers (Hampton plus-4, Kiski Area minus-9).

Borgo entered the regular-season finale with 983 yards and 11 rushing touchdowns on 199 carries. He stood at 3,166 career yards, one of the top totals in Talbots history. Steve Paskorz, who rushed for 4,000 yards from 2003-06, is the program’s all-time rushing leader.

“I was hoping it would happen this year, sooner rather than later,” Borgo said of reaching 3,000 career yards. “It was a big moment. It was a wow factor for me. My freshman year was kind of shocking. It was the first time I ever watched a game. I thought ‘This is going to be tough.’”

Borgo has put together another strong season despite being the focus of every opposing defense. The Talbots lost starting quarterback Adrian Midgley to a season-ending injury during training camp, and the passing game has sputtered in his absence.

“It’s been incredible,” Sciullo said. “You got a guy that you knew going into the season every team is going to key on him. And then you lose your starting quarterback before you even get to a scrimmage and then you really know teams are going to key on him.”

Borgo, a first-team all-conference pick last season, kept running hard. He finished with 161 yards at Indiana, 202 against Connellsville and a career-high 224 yards in a 35-26 victory over Kiski Area.

In a pivotal 32-27 victory at Armstrong, he rushed for 140 yards and one touchdown and returned a blocked punt for another score.

Borgo also has a team-high 24 receptions for 332 yards and four TDs and handles punting duties.

“He does everything well,” Sciullo said. “This is a well-rounded, versatile kid. He’s a phenomenal athlete, and he’s an all-around football player. There’s not a weakness in his game. He can run. He can run people over. He can make moves. He’s a complete back.”

Borgo started the sport in third grade. His parents, including Hampton Hall of Fame father Steve, wouldn’t let him play tackle football before that. So Brock honed his moves in flag football. He played quarterback for the first two years in youth football before moving to running back in fifth grade and flourishing, especially after a seventh-grade growth spurt.

Borgo, who said he has drawn interest from a couple of schools including Clarion, still remembers his season-opening TD against Valley as a sophomore.

“I was so fired up,” he said. “I broke into the field and stumbled a little bit and I sprinted as fast as I humanly could.”

Borgo hasn’t slowed down since, becoming a team captain and putting his mark in the Talbots’ record books.

“I felt like my time would come and I’d just have to prove myself when I got the opportunity,” Borgo said, “and I felt like I did that.”

Brock ‘N Roll

Here are some of Hampton senior running back Brock Borgo’s top games this season

Opponent Att.-yards TDs

Kiski Area 32-224 3

Connellsville 26-202 1

Indiana 24-161 3

Armstrong 30-140 1

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