Photo for the Mirror by Jeremy Boland Taurean Consiglio and BG hope to keep things rolling tonight at Lock Haven University.

Bishop Guilfoyle Academy is back in the PIAA Class 1A semifinals — a place the Marauders have found themselves in a lot over the past 10 years since winning their first state championship in 2014.

From 2014 through 2021 when BG was forced to move up to Class 2A due to the PIAA’s success formula, the Marauders made it to the PIAA semifinals every season other than 2017 (when they lost to Homer-Center in the District 6 final) and 2018 when they fell to Juniata Valley in the District 6 playoffs.

They won four state championships (2014, 2015, 2016, 2021) and lost in the state final in 2019 in overtime. The Marauders won the District 6 title in their first season in 2A but fell in the state playoffs to eventual champion Southern Columbia before they lost in the district quarterfinals last season.

Back in 1A this year after winning an appeal which showed they had no transfers on the roster and after not accumulating enough success points in the two-year cycle to stay in 2A, the Marauders are right back where they left off 10 years later.

Tonight at Lock Haven University, they will be playing a team in Muncy that is making its first appearance in a PIAA semifinal.

“Ten years ago, we had no idea what it was like and made our first run,” BG coach Justin Wheeler said. “We were able to stay in games and win some big games where maybe no one thought we would. That’s the message this week. This is a program that is winning and doing some good things. They believe they can win, and when you’ve got a 3,000-yard rusher and Division I wrestler committed to Oklahoma State that you can hand the ball to, you know you’re a dangerous football team. You expect the final four teams in the state to be really good, and Muncy is.”

Wheeler was referring to Austin Johnson, who rushed for 332 yards and five touchdowns last week in Muncy’s win over Delone Catholic. Johnson has rushed for 2,726 yards and 40 touchdowns this season.

“It’s great for our kids and great for our community,” Muncy coach Sean Tetreault said. “It’s the furthest a Muncy football team has ever made it. We’re excited and can’t wait to be playing again on Friday. The kids have bought into the system and played for each other. They are playing as one solid unit. They know our scheme and execute fast and physical.”

To make this year’s state semifinal, Bishop Guilfoyle may have had to overcome its biggest challenge over the past decade to do so in PIttsburgh City League champion Westinghouse, which has played in the last two Class 2A state championship games.

“It’s a relief,” Bishop Guilfoyle junior Jake Kissell said. “It feels really good. We used last year for motivation for what we were going to do this year, and it feels great to be back to the Bishop Guilfoyle standard, and I’m super stoked to get back to playing in the state semifinals and hopefully making the state championship.”

Westinghouse was coming off a 61-6 thrashing of District 5 champion Windber.

“It really was an incredible day, and it seemed like the game just couldn’t get there with the weather not being in our favor, and you hope with the disruption that your kids can stay focused,” Wheeler said. “We never have really had to take many three-hour bus rides before such a big game before. But we started just the way we’d hoped, and it was really exciting to see our guys play the game they are capable of against an incredible opponent.”

Muncy has not had an easy road either. The Indians won a thriller, 47-46, over Lackawanna Trail two weeks ago. Muncy was down by a touchdown late in that game.

“You get the ball back in your hands with a little more than two minutes to score a touchdown,” Tetreault said. “You get one, go for two, and the kids make my call look great and executed the play perfectly. We got a big stop at the end, and it was exciting for our kids and the fans who were there.”

Muncy’s win over Delone Catholic was much less stressful. In addition to Johnson’s big game, quarterback Stiles Eyer threw for 115 yards and a touchdown and Landyn Wommer had 75 yards on just 10 carries.

“It’s not just (Johnson), the fullback has 1,000 yards,” Wheeler said. “They are really a team that is not just one kid you have to stop offensively. Obviously they have a star, but they do a nice job of giving the ball to their other backs, and their quarterback has thrown 16 touchdowns and only a couple picks. They are a pretty complete team.”

Tetreault knows the challenge his team is facing.

“They are a very well-balanced team,” Tetreault said. “I know they throw the ball quite a bit, but they are still an underrated running team. They are physical up front, very well coached and they do their jobs well. We have to be ready to play four quarters and be sound in our schemes.”

The winner of tonight’s game will play either WPIAL champion Fort Cherry or District 9 champion Port Allegany in the PIAA championship game on Thursday, Dec. 5 at 1 p.m. at Cumberland Valley’s Chapman Field.

“We have to play fast and know our assignments,” Tetreault said. “We have to believe in the fact that we can compete and play our game.”

For BG, the seniors have experienced this week when the Marauders won the state title in 2021, and they are looking forward to restarting a Thanksgiving tradition of a special morning practice that day.

“Our kids have already been talking about it,” Wheeler said. “No one ordered any pajamas just in case, because that’s our pajama practice day, but when the game was over, some kids started talking about what pajamas they were going to wear. It’s exciting. We bring back the former players and have breakfast in the morning with everyone. It’s just a lot of fun, and it’s one of those memories our kids had for so many years, and it’s been a few years since we’ve had a chance to do that, so it’s nice to get back to practicing football on Thanksgiving when there’s only a small amount of teams doing that in the state.”