Neal brothers, defense carry Avonworth to PIAA Class 3A finals

By: Paul Schofield
Friday, November 29, 2024 | 10:52 PM

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It took the Avonworth offense a little time to find its groove Friday at snowy Norwin, but once it did, it took control of the game.

The Neal brothers – junior Luca and senior Nico – combined to rush for 300 yards, and the Antelopes defense limited high-scoring Penn Cambria to one touchdown to advance to the PIAA Class 3A championship game with a 16-6 victory.

Luca Neal rushed for 254 yards on 26 carries, running for 186 yards and two scores in the second half, and Nico rushed for 54 yards.

“They go both ways, so we like to go with who has more gas in the tank,” Avonworth coach Duke Johncour said. “They are both physical runners who have a lot of speed.

“Nico might be a little faster. They wear on you. They are hard to bring down. We knew we were going to break one sooner or later.”

Luca scored on a 65-yard run in the third quarter to give Avonworth the lead for good, and then added his second score, a 2-yard run with 1:08 left, to seal the victory.

This is the second time that Avonworth has reached the state finals since 2019. The first time, they faced Southern Columbia. This time they will face Northwestern Lehigh, which defeated Danville.

The Class 3A championship game is at 1 p.m. Saturday at Cumberland Valley.

Avonworth struck first in the second quarter behind the running of Luca Neal, who carried the ball 10 consecutive times to set up Calder Mahan’s 25-yard field goal.

Penn Cambria, which was having a season of firsts, scored three plays later when senior Gavin Harold headed around left end and scooted 62 yards for a touchdown and a 6-3 lead.

“They had that one big run,” Johncour said. “The defense played outstanding. The Metz boys (Mason and Bryce) are unbelievable on defense.”

Harold finished with 95 yards rushing and the Panthers (14-1) were limited on offense to 209 total yards, 166 on the ground.

This was the Panthers’ first undefeated regular season since 1989, their first District 6 title, their first PIAA playoff win and their first trip to the PIAA Western finals.

“It’s hard to talk about what we’ve accomplished now,” Penn Cambria coach Nick Felus said. “It was a great season, and these guys deserve all the credit. It’s something they’ll remember.”

“Their defense deserves a lot of credit. They were able to slow us down. We also missed on a couple opportunities.”

Avonworth’s running success in the second quarter carried over into the second half.

On its first possession, a holding penalty nullified a Luca Neal 51-yard touchdown run.

But on its second possession, there was no penalty that stopped Luca’s 65-yard jaunt to the end zone.

“They play sound defense,” Felus said. “They are physical at the point of attack and they keep everything in front of them. We didn’t back down. We felt we could win even down 10.

“I thought our defense did a good job getting them into third and long. They have a good one-two combination. And they definitely kept the ball away from us.”

Paul Schofield is a TribLive reporter covering high school and college sports and local golf. He joined the Trib in 1995 after spending 15 years at the Daily Courier in Connellsville, where he served as sports editor for 14 years. He can be reached at pschofield@triblive.com.

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