Sun, Jul 12 2009
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Published December 16, 2006 12:13 am - By Ed Farrell Herald Assistant Sports Editor HERSHEY — It was high noon in Hershey, and that didn’t bode well for the Big Reds. While West Middlesex High was making its initial appearance on the statewide stage and entered Hersheypark Stadium early for pre-game warm-ups, 4-time commonwealth kingpin Southern Columbia casually came out exactly one hour prior to Friday’s 1 p.m. kickoff. West Middlesex falls to powerful Southern Columbia in state finals By Ed Farrell
Herald Assistant Sports Editor HERSHEY — It was high noon in Hershey, and that didn’t bode well for the Big Reds. While West Middlesex High was making its initial appearance on the statewide stage and entered Hersheypark Stadium early for pre-game warm-ups, 4-time commonwealth kingpin Southern Columbia casually came out exactly one hour prior to Friday’s 1 p.m. kickoff. And that businesslike approach, highlighted by Henry Hynoski’s 11-carry, 126-yard, 3-TD performance, enabled the Tigers to maul Middlesex 56-14 before 5,006 spectators. Southern (16-0) secured its 5th consecutive commonwealth crown, snapping a stalemate with Berwick (4) in PIAA annals. It was the 9-time Eastern Regional titlist Tigers’ 6th championship overall, all directed by 23-year mentor Jim Roth (276-44-2). “This year, I thought, was the toughest, when you consider the expectations coming in,” Roth said. “Everything the media in the state was saying. With what we had coming back and what we’ve accomplished, we kind of figured there was going to be a lot of pressure, probably even a little bit more than I had anticipated. “There’s no way to measure (which of his Southern squads have been the best), but with the big-time players we have, combined with everybody else... there was so much talent we had offensively, and all we needed was the line to come together. But offensively, we’re right there with any team that we’ve had, and defensively, too. Overall, when you look at both sides of the ball, from day one, it could easily be said that this is as good a team as we’ve had. I have to give them that credit since they’re 16-0.” Meanwhile, West Middlesex (15-1) established not only school, but also Mercer County single-season marks for wins, while earning the once downtrodden program’s third District 10 title in five seasons. “I just hope it doesn’t diminish what we were able to accomplish. These players played outstanding football for 15 weeks,” 3rd-year Middlesex mentor Brian Hoffman said. “But I’ll be honest with you when I tell you (the Tigers) were bigger, stronger, faster. We were able to make plays on the offensive end, but in the end we didn’t tackle and that was the difference.” Southern Columbia collected 465 total yards, including a 293-61 advantage on the ground, and quarterback Ted Heitzman — who hadn’t been required to throw for most of this season — hit on 4 of 9 attempts for 172 yards and 2 TDs. The University of Pittsburgh-bound Hynoski’s hijinks began approximately 3 minutes into the contest when he burst 52 yards off the right side on a 3rd-and-1 play. That was followed by Heitzman’s 58-yard scoring strike to Colby Snyder, Corey Sober’s 30-yard return of a pickoff of a Kolten Hoffman pass, and Heitzman’s 14-yard option left. By the time kicker Bryan Snyder tacked on his fourth consecutive conversion, West Middlesex trailed the Tigers 28-0 after 12 minutes. The Tigers’ built their bulge to 35-0 midway through the second stanza as Heitzman and Hynoski collaborated on 70-yard screen pass, culminating a 4-play, 95-yard, 63-second march. West Middlesex’s deepest first-half penetration prior to that was halted when Lucas Allen was stopped a yard shy on a 4th-and-2 play from Southern’s 6-yard line. But the Big Reds broke through with 1:54 remaining to intermission on Hoffman’s 4th-and-4, 9-yard TD toss to Allen, capping a 12-play, 50-yard drive that consumed 4:18. Josh Brown’s conversion boot was wide. 
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