Marauders relish another state title opportunity
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The Bishop Guilfoyle Catholic High School Marauders started the 2021 season with a relatively young, inexperienced team and plenty of question marks.
The Marauders had graduated all-state selection Keegan Myrick, a top-tier standout on both sides of the ball, and were breaking in new starters at most positions both offensively and defensively.
To add to the adversity, BG lost senior star Haiden Garner with a leg injury very early this season, and faced its daunting Laurel Highlands Athletic Conference regular-season schedule without him.
Nonetheless, BG is in a familiar spot today, when the Marauders (10-4) make their fifth appearance in the PIAA Class 1A championship game in the last eight seasons. They'll face District 9 champion Redbank Valley (13-1) in the title matchup at 1 p.m. at Hersheypark Stadium.
"It's the greatest feeling,'' said BG coach Justin Wheeler of another trip to the state final. "All coaches work so hard, and to get to this game, it's an unbelievable feeling. It never gets old.''
BG junior Cooper Rother, a three-year starter at cornerback on defense and at running back and slotback on offense, said that this year's Marauders have overcome several challenges to get to today's big game.
"We had our backs to the wall this season,'' Rother said. "We faced more adversity this year than we did on any of the previous two teams I've been on here, but we battled through it and really became a great football team.
"It's obviously a great feeling when you make a state championship game in any sport, and to be playing in this game with guys I've played football with since the fourth or fifth grade,'' Rother added. "Being in the state championship game again brings a lot of energy to both our football program and our community.''
BG has turned it up an extra gear in the playoffs, shutting out second-seeded Homer-Center on the road in the District 6 semifinals, and coming from behind to defeat top-seeded Juniata Valley, 24-21, in the district championship game.
Last week, in a PIAA semifinal matchup at Mansion Park, BG upended previously unbeaten District 4 champion Canton, 20-7, to earn another trip to Hershey.
In Wheeler's 11 seasons as BG's head coach, the Marauders won three consecutive District 6 titles from 2014 through 2016, before losing in overtime in the 2019 state championship game.
Senior Colin Butler, who starts at both offensive and defensive tackle, played for BG in the 2019 title game, and is happy to be returning to Hershey today.
"It's an amazing feeling,'' Butler said. "We definitely stepped it up this year once the playoffs came along.''
Junior quarterback Karson Kiesewetter has led the Marauders with both his arm and his legs this season, rushing for 1,005 yards on 180 carries and 21 touchdowns, while completing 123 of 194 passes for 1,823 yards and 12 scores.
Rother has rushed for 887 yards on 155 carries and 10 touchdowns, while leading the team in pass receptions with 46 for 615 yards and three scores.
Senior Patrick Reilly and junior Dominic Yanoshak have 20 and 18 receptions, respectively, with Yanoshak catching three touchdown passes and Reilly two for BG.
Junior running back Drew Abraham has rushed for 422 yards and two touchdowns, while catching 14 passes for 279 yards and two more scores.
Third-year Redbank Valley coach Blane Gold feels that BG annually provides a measuring stick for the other Class 1A teams in the state.
"Obviously, BG is a program that, if you're a single-A school across the state, they're the standard that you want to meet,'' Gold said. "They started 1-2 this season, but they've looked really good since then.
"What really strikes me about their offense is what a talented player number 14 (Kiesewetter) is both running and passing the ball,'' Gold added. "Offensively, they're big up front -- as we've gotten further and further into the playoffs, we've seen bigger offensive lines, and theirs is probably one of the bigger ones that we've seen.''
Butler stands 6-feet-1 and weighs 250 pounds. Another senior, Anthony Edwards, is a 255-pound right guard who, like Butler and Rother, also played in the 2019 title game.
"Our offensive line is definitely bigger than it was last year,'' Edwards said. "I feel like we play physical and use our size to our advantage.''
Gold is also impressed with the Marauders' defense.
"Defensively, they're very well-coached, and they possess good technique,'' Gold said. "They show good discipline in their assignments, and in how good their pass rush is when teams are trying to throw the ball against them.
"It's BG,'' Gold said. "It's one of those games where we've got to be ready to play, because they're the standard.''
Redbank Valley has had a landmark season of its own. This is the first team in its school's history to reach the state championship game in any sport.
"It's an exciting time right now for our program and for our community,'' Gold said.
Like BG, Redbank has plenty of offensive weapons. Bryson Bain, a 6-foot-4, 205-pound senior quarterback, has completed 149 passes of 253 passes for 2,115 yards and 28 touchdowns this year in his first and only season of varsity football.
Bain is headed to Indiana University of Pennsylvania on a baseball scholarship next year, but his athletic ability made him a great fit for Redbank's quarterback spot this season.
"Bryson is a very heads-up, three-sport athlete whose intelligence and mental strength are the keys to his game,'' Gold said. "He also has a cannon of an arm from the quarterback position.''
And plenty of talented receivers at his beck and call. Senior wideout Chris Marshall has 40 catches for 630 yards and 11 touchdowns, while junior Tate Minich has 39 receptions for 524 yards and seven scores.
Senior Marquese Gardlock has 29 catches for 474 yards and four touchdowns, while junior Aiden Ortzhas 23 receptions for 289 yards and four scores. Gardlock stands 6-feet-4, and Marshall stands 6-3.
Senior back Ray Schreckengost leads Redbank's rushing attack with 878 yards on 161 carries and 16 touchdowns, but he hasn't played the last two games.
"They're a really athletic team that likes to throw the ball and is very explosive,'' Wheeler said of Redbank. "For sure, we'll have to (avoid) giving up the home runs. They have scored a ton of points this year on chunk plays of more than 20 or 30 yards.''
Bishop Guilfoyle, which lost to Steelton-Highspire in last season's PIAA semifinals, has spent this season carving another special niche for its football program, and extending its fantastic legacy of success.
"We only brought back a few starters this year, so it definitely took some time for this team to come together as one,'' Wheeler said. "But it is rewarding to see them develop into the team that they are now.
"I'm extremely proud of this group,'' Wheeler added. "Nobody really knew many of our starters at the beginning of this season, but I thought that was OK, as long as people know who they are at the end. And I think these players have lived up to that.''
PIAA Class 1A state final
Teams: Bishop Guilfoyle Catholic (10-4) vs. Redbank Valley (13-1)
Kickoff: 1 p.m. today, Hersheypark Stadium
TV: PCN. Radio: WRTA-AM (1240) and FM (98.5)
Coaches: BG's Justin Wheeler is 116-31 in 11 seasons. Redbank Valley's Blane Gold is 29-5 in three seasons.
The road to here: Bishop Guilfoyle: A27--at Johnstown (W 49-6). S4--Penn Cambria (L 14-27); S10--at Richland (L 3-28); S18--Forest Hills (W 17-16); S25--Somerset (W 45-24). O2--at Westmont Hilltop (W 35-14); O8--at Chestnut Ridge (L 22-41); O16--Central Cambria (W 28-13); O22--Bishop McCort (W 42-0); O29--at Bedford (L 10-28). N12--Purchase Line (W 28-8, District 6 quarterfinal); N19--at Homer-Center (W 28-0, district semifinal); N26--Juniata Valley (W 24-21, district championship game). D3--Canton (W 20-7, PIAA semifinal). Redbank Valley: A27--at Keystone (L 20-22). S3--Otto-Eldred/Oswayo Valley (W 59-6); S10--Elk County Christian (W 51-0); S18--at Sheffield (W 55-6); S24--Brockway (W 51-0). O1--Smethport (W 27-6); O8--at Bucktail (W 49-6); O15--Coudersport (W 52-6); O22--at Union/Allegheny-Clarion Valley (W 28-6); O29--at Punxsutawney (W 40-14). N12--Port Allegany (W 35-24, District 9 semifinal); N19--vs. Union/Allegheny-Clarion Valley (W 28-21, District 9 championship game); N26--vs. Northern Bedford (W 21-14, PIAA quarterfinal). D3--vs. Bishop Canevin (W 23-14, PIAA semifinal).
Notable: This is Bishop Guilfoyle's fifth appearance in the Class 1A state championship game over the last eight seasons. It is Redbank Valley's first state championship-game appearance in any sport.