Some of Williams Valley's linemen rest on a bleacher following Friday's District 11 Class AA championship game victory over Schuylkill Haven as quarterback Brady Shomper, back left, and running back Fletcher Thompson, back right, pose with them. Seated are, from left: Bryce Zilinski, Brayden Archer, Robbie Hoffman, Killian Kocher, Jesse Koons, Camron Green and tight end Brayden Crisswell.

ORWIGSBURG — One by one they gathered on the aluminum bench, sitting down to relax like a coal miner, construction worker or any other hard-labor worker would after a tough day on the job.

Gold medals around their necks, the Williams Valley linemen leaned back, shook hands and celebrated their fine efforts, knowing that all of the hard work they had put in to prepare for this moment resulted in the reward they were seeking.

They were soon joined by the two players who reaped the biggest benefits from their hard work, quarterback Brady Shomper and running back Fletcher Thompson, and posed for photos by family and friends, medals in their mouths to signify their triumph.

Williams Valley’s guys in the trenches — offensive linemen Bryce Zilinski, Camron Green, Jesse Koons, Tyler Koppenhaver and Robbie Hoffman, tight end Brayden Crisswell, and defensive linemen Shawn Romberger, Eli Weiss, Brayden Archer, Killian Kocher, Zilinski, Crisswell and Green — were the difference in Friday’s 28-13 victory over Schuylkill Haven in the District 11 Class AA championship game at Blue Mountain High School’s Eagles’ Nest.

With the Vikings and Hurricanes both possessing powerful offenses, both teams knew coming in that the team that controlled the line of scrimmage — both offensively and defensively — would win the game.

That was Williams Valley, who not only won the battle up front, but the war overall, winning a second straight District 11 title and advancing to a PIAA Class AA quarterfinal against District 2 champion Riverside at 7 p.m. Friday at Berwick High School.

“They won the line of scrimmage. That’s what wins games,” Schuylkill Haven coach Mike Farr said. “Not as much offensively for them, but defensively. They kept shooting certain gaps and we weren’t taking our proper steps. We made some adjustments … but they played super aggressive and downhill. That’s what wins football games.

“Offensively, we could never get into a rhythm. You have to give them credit for not allowing us to get into a rhythm.”

The statistics easily support Williams Valley’s dominance.

Offensively, Williams Valley rushed 223 yards, with quarterback Brady Shomper gaining 127 yards on 29 carries. The Vikes had six “chunk” plays of 10 yards or more, the biggest being Kian Krzyzanowski’s 60-yard touchdown run on a reverse. The Vikings were able to control the clock by consistently moving the chains, collecting 15 first downs.

Defensively, the Vikings clogged the middle of the line, holding Schuylkill Haven to just 112 yards rushing and six first downs. The Hurricanes rushed for 383 yards in the first meeting between the teams Sept. 27, a 38-30 Haven win at Rotary Field. Friday, only two carries, a 14-yard run by Niko Carestia on the final play of the first half and Carestia’s 35-yard TD run in the third quarter, went for more than 10 yards.

The biggest number might be total carries. Williams Valley controlled the ball by collecting 48 carries, while Schuylkill Haven was limited to 23 rushes. The Hurricanes’ run-first offense averaged 35 carries per game.

Not counting punts, Williams Valley ran 61 plays to 36 for Schuylkill Haven.

“I lot of people underestimate our size up front,” Williams Valley head coach Stephen Sedesse said, singling out the 280-pound Green and the 330-pound Romberger. “Shawn didn’t play the first game against Haven. He was able to take up two of their blockers, which is huge against that offense.

“If you can get in there and disrupt some stuff at the line of scrimmage, I think that’s what caused Carestia to cut it back in … he usually doesn’t do that. We forced him to do some things he usually doesn’t do as a runner, which was huge.”

Successful teams in the postseason are teams that control the line of scrimmage and are able to run the football.

Williams Valley’s linemen accomplished both tasks Friday, giving them their second straight District 11 crown.

“Our offensive and defensive lines don’t get enough credit,” defensive coordinator Mike Sedesse said. “We have some big boys there, some 300 pounders. They came to play. They were challenged all week to be physical and they were.”

By the Numbers

Friday’s victory not only gave Williams Valley its ninth District 11 championship, but it was the program’s 400^th victory all-time.

Since Williams Valley was created in 1965, the Vikings are 400-250-10, with 26 playoff appearances in that span and 10 overall championships — 1999 Eastern Conference Class I title, seven District 11 Class A crowns (1990, 2012, 2016, ’17, ’19, ’20, ’21) and the back-to-back Class AA championships the past two seasons.

Williams Valley has made 17 straight playoff appearances, qualifying every year from 2008 until the present. During that time frame, which began with the last four years of Scott Cecco’s eight-year tenure, lasted 11 years under Tim Savage and now two years with Stephen Sedesse, the Vikes are 157-46 (a whopping .773 winning percentage) with seven district titles in the past nine years.

The Vikes are making their seventh appearance in the PIAA playoffs. Williams Valley is 2-6 all-time in PIAA games, scoring first-round Class A wins over Lackawanna Trail in 2016 and Old Forge in 2017.

Looking ahead

Friday’s victory put the Vikings in the Elite Eight in Class AA. The state quarterfinals are this weekend, with the state semifinals the following weekend, Nov. 29-30.

The PIAA Football Championships are spread over three days at Cumberland Valley High School’s Chapman Field, with Class A and 4A on Thursday, 2A and 5A on Friday, and 3A and 6A on Saturday. The first game of the day is at 1 p.m., with the second game at 7 p.m.

A complete look at all six classifications of the PIAA football playoffs is available on this website by clicking here: https://www.t102sportsnow.com/2024/11/18/piaa-football-playoff-brackets/

Here’s a look at the Class AA bracket:

Opening Round

Friday-Saturday, Nov. 15-16

Riverside 17, Lansdale Catholic 7

Williams Valley 28, Schuylkill Haven 13

Troy 59, Warrior Run 14

Bedford 24, Steel-High 15

Seton LaSalle 27, Steel Valley 13

South Park 28, Ellwood City 7

Cambria Heights 42, Richland 21

Central Clarion 41, Farrell 6

Quarterfinals

2-1 Riverside (12-1) vs. 11-1 Williams Valley (12-1), Friday, 7 p.m., Berwick HS

4-1 Troy (13-0) vs. 5-1 Bedford (10-3), Friday, 7 p.m., Lock Haven University

District 7 championship, Seton LaSalle (11-0) vs. South Park (11-1), Saturday, 2 p.m., Acrisure Stadium, Pittsburgh

6-1 Cambria Heights (13-0) vs. 9-1 Central Clarion (12-0), Saturday, 1 p.m., Armstrong HS

Semifinals

Friday-Saturday, Nov. 29-30

Quarterfinal winners, TBA

Championship

Friday, Dec. 6

At Cumberland Valley HS

Semifinal winners, 1 p.m.

Odds and Ends

** Shomper became the first Williams Valley quarterback to throw and rush for more than 1,000 yards in a season. Entering this Friday’s game, Shomper has passed for 2,235 yards and 34 TDs and run for 1,056 yards and 17 scores.

You can read more about the Vikings’ junior quarterback later this week on www.t102sportsnow.com.

** Schuylkill Haven junior Carestia (2,702) and sophomore Reber (1,114) became the fifth pair of Hurricanes to rush for more than 1,000 yards in the same season.

The others:

1978 — Scott Bracey (1,243) and Dave Clevinger (1,210)

2013 — Will Casella (2,264) and Ryan Fink (1,406)

2016 — Danny Lozada (1,135) and Mike Kalyan (1,096)

2023 — Niko Carestia (1,453) and Aiden Myers (1,312)

** Carestia’s total is the third highest single-season mark in Haven history, behind Zach Barket’s 4,187 yards in 2008 and Kobe Brish’s 2,775 in 2017.

** Colton Reber joins father Blake Reber to become the first father-son 1,000-yard rushers in Haven history. Blake Reber rushed for 1,226 yards in 2003 and 1,589 in 2004.

** Schuylkill Haven is 48-26 all-time in postseason play, 17-11 in championship games. The Hurricanes have won seven Eastern Conference crowns, seven District 11 Class A titles, two District 11 AA banners and the 1991 PIAA Class A state championship.

** With just Williams Valley remaining alive, the T102 Sports Now Super 7 poll will reappear when the Vikings’ season comes to a close with one final, season-ending edition.

** While just in our first year, our T102 Sports Now crew will be assembling a season-ending all-star football team to be released sometime in December. The official name of it and format of it have yet to be finalized.

There are plans for an awards ceremony to be held in conjunction with the Schuylkill County Football Coaches Association where the T-102 major award-winners, our Sports Now all-star squad and the SCFCA big-school and small-school teams are unveiled. More details to follow.

Hurricanes will be back

Farr knew coming into this season that he had a strong ballclub and that winning a Schuylkill/Colonial Football Cooperative Blue Division title, as the Hurricanes did with a 9-0 league record, was a good possibility.

He also hinted, on a couple of occasions, that his team might be a year away.

The veteran coach has a good reason to believe that.

The Hurricanes only graduate five starters: linemen Brian Moran and Nate Chamberlain, tight end/defensive end Adam Malinoski, wide receiver/defensive back Leyden Hertz and quarterback Brayden Fasnacht.

The Hurricanes will return seven starters on offense and eight on defense, including their backfield trio of Carestia (2,702, 38 TDs), Reber (1,114, 17 TDs) and Niko Castillo (829, 12 TDs), which combined for 4,645 yards and 67 touchdowns.

Four starting offensive linemen (Chase Williams, Wyatt Keefer, Ethan Kline, Brody Brand), defensive end Aaron Gilbert, linebacker Triston Davis and defensive back Adam Balulis also return, while junior Blake Rossi, sophomore Chase Leibensperger and freshmen Logan Goad, Bradyn Diehl and Chase Yoder also saw extensive action.

Junior Max Heim, who began the season as Blue Mountain’s backup quarterback and then transferred to Schuylkill Haven midseason, is expected to take over as the Hurricanes’ signal-caller next year.

With next season being the second in the PIAA cycle, don’t be surprised to see Schuylkill Haven and Williams Valley tangle for a third straight year in the Class AA final. The Vikings also bring back a bevy of starters, including Shomper, Thompson, wide receiver/defensive back Evan Achenbach and Blazer Lords, sophomore linebacker Trevon Bair, junior linebacker Evan Kandybowski and four linemen.

“Our kids had a great year. I’m super proud of them,” Farr said. “This one is going to sting again, but we’ll see them again next year. We’ll be better than we are now, I promise you that.

“It’s their night tonight, our night is coming.”

Senior Showcase next week

As the Schuylkill League’s boys’ and girls’ basketball teams gathered at Schuylkill Haven’s Sports Performance Center on Sunday evening for the first-ever Schuylkill League Basketball Media Day, the lights at Rotary Field were aglow and the sound of whistles and pads crunching filled the stadium.

It will be that way next Wednesday night when the Schuylkill County Football Coaches Association holds its annual Thanksgiving Eve senior all-star game at 7 p.m.

This year’s format has changed, going from North vs. South to Big School vs. Small School. Pottsville’s Mike Brennan and his staff will coach the Big School team, while Minersville’s Justin Frantz and his staff will guide the Small School stars.

You can a list of the rosters for both teams here: https://www.t102sportsnow.com/2024/11/13/scfca-all-star-game-changing-format-to-big-school-vs-small-school/

Tickets cost $5 per person. The game will be broadcast live on WPPA 1360 AM and 105.9 FM, with special YouTube and sideline interviews planned by our T102 Sports Now crew. See you there!