Hershey, Pa. — A normal championship celebration consists of a team photo with the captain holding the trophy. When a storm drops six to eight inches of snow on the field, “normal” no longer applies.
The La Salle Explorers accepted the first place trophy after defeating the State College Little Lions 24-7 and then they started their own celebration.
Some La Salle players threw snow balls at each other, while others flapped their arms and legs on the field and made snow angels.
“Today was fun,” said La Salle head coach Drew Gordon. “It was very satisfying.”
When it snows, a team will usually run the ball to keep turnovers at a minimum. All three of the Explorers’ touchdowns came on running plays, but the La Salle passing game set up the rushing attack.
“They had a combination of great passing and running,” said State College’s Alex Kenney. “They just kind of worked us today.”
La Salle (14-1) attacked the middle of the field with the passing game and the Explorers’ big wide receivers came down with the ball. The Little Lions’ defensive line did not get the penetration that it has all year long and quarterback Drew Loughery had ample time to throw the ball in the snow storm.
Loughery completed just five passes, but the willingness to throw the ball kept the Little Lions’ defense off balance.
With the Little Lions clinging to the slim hope of a comeback, La Salle’s Sam Feleccia provided the knockout blow when he dashed 55 yards for a touchdown to give the Explorers a commanding 24-0 lead.
Kenney made the game interesting when he took the ensuing kickoff 95 yards for a touchdown. Kenney mishandled the kickoff, but then he found a seam, turned the corner and made a nice cut to beat the kicker to trim the Explorers’ lead to 24-7.
“The special teams made some great blocks and I was able to hit the seam and find open space,” said Kenney.
Kenney provided a spark for State College, but the stingy Explorer defense thwarted any effort for a Little Lions comeback when Dom Mills fumbled the ball and La Salle defense recovered. Mills looked to have an opening for a large gain on the play, but he lost the ball as he busted through the hole.
Mills played well defensively, as he provided several big hits in the secondary to break up passes.
The Explorers played with confidence right from the opening drive of the game. La Salle worked the ball into field goal range and kicker Mike Bennett connected on a 37-yard field goal. Bennett’s kick had just enough distance, as the ball hit the back of the crossbar and kept going to make the game 3-0 in favor of the Explorers.
Jamal Abdur-Rahman scored a touchdown on a 22 yard run and Tim Wade added a touchdown of his own on an eight yard score. Both touchdowns came in the last five minutes of the first half to give the Explorers a comfortable 17-0 lead going into the locker room.
La Salle overcame several penalties, as well as the wintry weather to win its first PIAA state championship in school history.
“It hasn’t set in yet,” said Gordon. “It’s great for the kids, especially when you set that goal and have the focus to reach it.”
State College (12-3) finishes the year as the PIAA class AAAA runner-up in its first PIAA state championship game.
“If you asked everyone honestly how far we would go in the beginning of the season, most guys would say make the playoffs and go one or two games,” said State College head coach Al Wolski. “These kids took it a lot further than that. They believed in each other.”
