PIAA football playoffs: 30 years in 30 days — WPIAL teams go 1 for 4 in ’90

By: HSSN Staff
Saturday, November 10, 2018 | 4:33 PM

The PIAA had been hosting state playoffs in all but one fall high school sport since 1976. Soccer, volleyball, tennis, golf, cross country and field hockey all crowned state champions once the district playoffs concluded.

The lone exception to the fall state playoff slate was high school football.

It wasn’t until 1988 when PIAA officials finally pulled the trigger on the idea of having a yearly state football playoff.

From George Novak and Woodland Hills losing in a mud pit to Bob Palko and West Allegheny finding the third time really was the charm to Neil Walker and Pine-Richland competing in a heartbreaking overtime loss in a snowstorm and to Tyler Boyd and the golden Bears of Clairton winning four straight state championships.

There have been a lot of thrills and heartbreak in three decades of state championship football. Leading up to the 2018 state finals, the TribLIVE High School Sports Network will look back at how WPIAL teams have fared in the PIAA championships with 30 years in 30 days.

The Year: 1990

The Sites: Hersheypark Stadium in Hershey, Memorial Stadium in Middletown

The Champs: North Allegheny, Bethlehem Catholic, Hanover and Marian Catholic

The Headline: WPIAL goes overtime, but still lose three of four

The Lowdown: The early trends for the WPIAL in the PIAA playoffs continued in Year 3.

The WPIAL made it a perfect 3 for 3 in the Class AAAA tournament and 0 for 9 in the other three classifications.

North Allegheny followed in the footsteps of Central Catholic and Upper St. Clair in winning gold in the highest class with a one-touchdown victory over District 1 champion Ridley.

The Tigers were led by senior quarterback Paul Failla. The two-sport star hit on 7 of 13 passes for 71 yards and a touchdown and rushed for 74 yards, all on his 18th birthday.

Trailing 14-13, Failla scored on a 3-yard run with 1:50 left in the fourth quarter for the golden score. He also caught the 2-point conversion for the game’s final points in a 20-14 win.

The future Notre Dame football and baseball player who played in the Los Angles Angels organization for four years shined bright on a team that featured three 1,000-yard rushers in Kevin Rock, Jonathan Craig and Mike McKnight.

• The result in the other state title game played in Hershey was not as close.

Bethlehem Catholic became the first school in PIAA history to win two football championships with a 43-7 drubbing of Seton LaSalle.

The Rebels actually scored first to take a 7-0 lead, but the Hawks answered with two touchdowns and a pair of 2-point conversions to go up 16-7 at the half.

Turnovers hurt Seton LaSalle in the second half, and Bethlehem Catholic made the Rebels pay with 27 unanswered points for the victory.

“After that, it just snowballed on us,” Seton LaSalle coach Greg Gattuso said afterward. “That’s what usually happens when you see a score like this. We had to pass and they knew it. There is no way they’re 36 points better than we are.”

• The first overtime game in PIAA football history took place in Middletown in the 1990 Class AA finals as Hanover edged Canevin, 20-19.

Al Kaufman was the Crusaders’ leading rusher with more than 2,000 yards on the season and played a pivotal role in the mud of Memorial Stadium.

Despite playing with a fractured shoulder blade, Kaufman rushed for 148 yards on 28 carries and scored the game’s first touchdown on a 12-yard run.

A fumbled punt led to Hanover’s tying touchdown before Canevin quarterback Paul Bell scored on an 8-yard run early in the fourth quarter to put the Crusaders back up 13-7.

Another Crusaders turnover led to the Nighthawks’ tying touchdown and forcing overtime.

Jamie Proctor opened OT with a 7-yard scoring run to put Hanover up 20-13.

On third down, Bell hit Jamar Spencer, who juggled and secured the catch in the back of the end zone for a 10-yard touchdown to make it 20-19.

Canevin coach Bob Jacoby went for the win and Kaufman was stopped short of the goal line as Hanover celebrated a wild state title.

“We thought we had some momentum after the big pass and thought we’d go for the win,” Jacoby said after the game.

• In the Class A championship game, District 11 champion Marian Catholic stunned current District 10 power but then WPIAL-champion Farrell, 21-13.

The Steelers had four turnovers that helped the Colts’ cause.

Don Rebel is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Don at drebel@tribweb.com or via Twitter @TheDonRebel.

Tags: Bishop Canevin, North Allegheny