That was the storyline in Thursday’s PIAA Class 1A football state championship game at frigid Chapman Field at Cumberland Valley High School, as the Bishop Guilfoyle Academy Marauders saw their bid for a sixth PIAA title and their second overall hit an insurmountable roadblock with a 35-3 loss to the WPIAL champion Clairton Bears.

In rolling up 356 yards in total offense while winning its 15th straight game after a season-opening loss, Clairton put forth an impressive offensive display to capture the school’s fifth state football championship and its first since 2012.

But it was the Bears’ defense that set the tone for them again on Thursday. After entering the state championship game with nine consecutive on-the-field shutouts to its credit, Clairton held the vaunted Marauders’ offense to just one field goal and 79 yards in total offense, including a total of 1 yard in rushing offense.

“Defense … this game was all about our defense,” Clairton coach Wayne Wade said. “Give credit to our defenders. They played lights out today.”

Mirror photo by Patrick Waksmunski Bishop Guilfoyle's Justin Wheeler tries to shed Clairton's Taris Wooding.

Senior running back-linebacker Devon Lovelace-Pompey rushed for touchdowns on runs of 29 yards in the second quarter and 7 in the third for Clairton, and also registered the biggest play of the game on defense 52 seconds into the third quarter, returning an intercepted pass from BG sophomore quarterback Justin Wheeler 25 yards for a touchdown to put Clairton firmly in the driver’s seat with a 21-3 lead.

“I was looking at his eyes and seeing which way he was going,” Pompey said. “The pass tipped off my hands into the air, and I came down with it and scored.”

Wade said that his team’s defenders correctly read a slant route on the interception.

“We talked about defending their slant routes at halftime, and we went into zone coverage and got ready for the slant,” Wade said.

Sophomore wideout Brandon Murphy got the Bears on the board first in the game, catching a pass from senior quarterback Jeff Thompson on the left flat and diving into the end zone to complete a 14-yard pitch-and-catch touchdown play that ended a 65-yard, 11-play scoring drive with 1:55 left in the first quarter.

Mirror photo by Patrick Waksmunski Bishop Guilfoyle's Evan Schimminger evades Clairton's Jaece Booker after a reception.

A fumble recovery by senior defensive end Tahvasz Armstrong in the second quarter gave Clairton the ball at the BG 37 and paved the way for Pompey’s 29-yard TD run off the right side two plays later that helped stake Clairton to a 14-0 lead.

“I think that Pompey is very underrated as a running back,” Wade said. “He doesn’t get the credit that he deserves.”

BG put together its only significant offensive drive of the game later in the second quarter, resulting in the Marauders’ only points – on a 28-yard field goal by junior kicker Carter Boland with 2:23 left in the first half. The Marauders marched from their own 23 to the Clairton 11 in 15 plays before the drive stopped.

BG coach Justin Wheeler gave Clairton its just due.

“They’re an incredibly gifted, well-balanced football team,” Coach Wheeler said. “We played pretty well in the first half, but we didn’t start the third quarter the way that we wanted.”

Clairton put the Marauders’ offense on ice in the second half, and added two more third-quarter touchdowns after Pompey’s pick-six to win going away.

A pass covering 51 yards from Thompson to senior athlete Donte Wright set up Pompey’s 7-yard touchdown run with 3:48 left in the third quarter, and senior Tavis Wooding took a pass from Thompson off the right side 20 yards to the end zone for the game’s final score with 1:16 remaining in the third quarter.

Both coaches had hefty praise for their teams.

“Our ultimate goal this season was to become a state champion, and I couldn’t be happier for our kids,” Wade said. “They worked so hard for this.”

BG overcame a season-ending injury sustained by star senior fullback/linebacker Taurean Consiglio and regrouped to return to the state championship game for the second year in a row. The Marauders are now 5-2 in state finals under Coach Wheeler since 2014.

“Nobody picked us to be here again before the season started,” Coach Wheeler said. “We weren’t even picked to win our (Laurel Highlands Athletic Conference) section. As much as this hurts now, our guys know that they did something pretty special this year to get back to this moment.”

Play of the game: Pompey’s pick-6 in the third quarter gave Clairton a good leg up on the victory.

Player of the game: Pompey, who accounted for three Clairton touchdowns.

Unsung heroes: Clairton’s defense limited the Marauders to just 79 total yards and a field goal.

Most vital statistic: Clairton enjoyed statistical domination by carving out a 356-79 advantage in total yards.

BG senior standout Jake Kissell: “We worked at setting the tone to start the game. They’re a fast, all-around team that is tough to stop. We gave it our best, but at the end of the day, it wasn’t enough. It’s been pretty hard to put into words how special that these last four years here have been for me.”

BG senior lineman Trenton Murphy: “I think that what I’ll remember the most about my career here is that we had players who were willing to do the hard stuff — working hard at practice, exercising and conditioning. I’m so proud of this team.”

Notable: Clairton was penalized 16 times for 128 yards, with 11 of those infractions coming in the second half to slow down a game that had become out of reach for BG … Connor Okonak recovered a fumble for BG, while Wright picked off a pass for Clairton.

Records: Bishop Guilfoyle (13-3), Clairton (15-1).

SCORE BY QUARTERS

Bishop Guilfoyle 0 3 0 0–3

Clairton 6 8 21 0–35

First Quarter

C–Murphy 14 pass from Thompson (pass failed), 1:55.

Second Quarter

C–Pompey 29 run (Wright run), 11:01.

BG–Boland 28 FG, 2:23.

Third Quarter

C–Pompey 25 interception return (Thompson kick), 11:08.

C–Pompey 7 run (kick failed), 3:48.

C–Wooding 20 pass from Thompson (Williams kick), 1:16.

TEAM STATISTICS BG C

First downs 8 15

Total yards 79 356

Rushes-yards 25-1 26-172

Yards passing 78 184

Passing (comp.-att.-int.) 15-22-2 13-15-0

Punts/avg. 3-28.7 0-0

Fumbles-lost 3-1 2-1

Penalties-yards 5-40 16-128

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING–Bishop Guilfoyle, Kissell 9-19, Okonak 2-3, Schimminger 2-(minus 2), Hewitt 1-(minus 1), Wheeler 10-(minus 19), TEAM 1-1. Clairton, Pompey 10-84, Wright 9-65, Armstrong 1-16, Thompson 6-7.

PASSING–Bishop Guilfoyle, Wheeler 13-18-2-61, Kissell 2-4-0-17. Clairton, Thompson 13-15-0-184.

RECEIVING–Bishop Guilfoyle, Kissell 7-38, Schimminger 5-29, Lestochi 3-11. Clairton, Murphy 6-70, Wright 5-81, Wooding 1-20, Booker 1-13.