BG dominates for another title
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By John Hartsock
jhartsock@altoonamirror.com
For Bishop Guilfoyle Academy football coach Justin Wheeler, victory and success has never become old.
Now in his 14th season at the helm of the Marauders, Wheeler has directed BG teams to four PIAA state championships and eight District 6 titles.
The latest district championship was secured Saturday night at Mansion Park Stadium, when top-seeded BG (12-1) captured the District 6 1A title with a 42-18 victory over Northern Cambria.
"I think that the first goal of any coach in District 6, in every season, is to win a district championship,'' Wheeler said. "Every single time it happens, it's special, and tonight is no different.''
BG moves on to a PIAA Class 1A quarterfinal-round game this Friday night against Pittsburgh City League champion Westinghouse. That game will be played at Greater Johnstown High School's Trojan Stadium, with kickoff set for 7 p.m.
Senior standout Hamilton Gates turned in another stellar effort in the district championship game for BG, scoring four touchdowns, including two game-breaking scores in the third quarter, when the Marauders pulled away to take a 29-12 advantage after leading by only eight points, 14-6, at halftime.
Gates -- who rushed for 107 yards on 13 carries and caught four passes totaling 83 yards -- returned a punt 49 yards for a touchdown with 9:38 left in the third quarter to give BG a 21-6 lead, then ran 31 yards for another score with 3:28 left in the third period to stake the Marauders to another two-touchdown lead at 29-12.
Gates also ran 2 yards for BG's first touchdown of the game, in the first quarter, and 6 yards for his final score of the night, early in the fourth quarter.
"I say it all the time, but he's exceptional,'' Wheeler said of Gates. "He's able to make plays even when the defense is set up in good position to try to stop him. He's also at his best in big games, which is a tribute to him.''
Gates said that the Marauders' cohesiveness as a group has been a big intangible factor in the team's success.
"It's great to win the district championship,'' Gates said. "This shows how good a team that we are, and how well that we play together.''
After the Marauders' defense stopped Northern Cambria on a three-and-out to start the third quarter, Gates gathered in the Colts' fourth-down punt near midfield, used his superior elusiveness to break two tackles after cutting to the right side, and turned on the afterburners to complete his touchdown return.
"I caught the ball, saw a cutback lane, my teammate Braden Reilly threw a great block downfield, and the rest was history,'' Gates said of the big play.
After Northern Cambria responded with a 9-yard touchdown pass from senior quarterback Ty Dumm to junior running back Reese Wagner to pull the Colts to within 21-12, BG answered with Gates' 31-yard touchdown run that again illustrated his speed and evasiveness in the open field.
"I definitely kicked it into a second gear after my linemen up front, especially Joe Eckenrode, threw great blocks to help get me into the open field,'' Gates said.
Northern Cambria coach Sam Shutty, whose second-seeded Colts finished an 11-2 season, knows full well what a potent weapon that Gates is for the Marauders.
"His punt return was a huge momentum swing for them in this game,'' Shutty said. "He's really exceptional. He's just so elusive. You can't really contain the type of player that he is.''
Junior running back Taurean Consiglio ran 1 yard in the second quarter for a BG touchdown to stake the Marauders to a 14-0 lead, but the Colts got on the board before the half ended when Dumm, who accounted for over 3,000 total yards running and throwing the ball this season, blasted 1 yard through the middle for a touchdown to shave the BG lead to 14-8 at halftime.
Dumm rushed for 91 yards on 22 carries in the game -- with 85 of those yards coming on 17 first-half carries -- and also completed 13 of 19 passes for 224 yards in the contest. Sophomore Daniel Farrell made six catches for 166 yards, including one reception on a slant pattern that covered 80 yards in the third quarter and paved the way for the Colts' second touchdown of the game. Dumm and Farrell also connected on a 34-yard touchdown pass late in the fourth quarter.
Eckenrode, BG's 283-pound all-state two-way lineman, ran 1 yard as a tackle eligible, for BG's final touchdown with 4:54 left in the game.
"It's great to win the district championship,'' said Eckenrode, who has been a member of three district championship teams in his career at BG. "We came out and played as a team tonight, and we played very hard. This was a total team effort.''
After competing at the Class 2A level for the past two seasons -- and winning the District 6 title in that classification in 2022 -- BG returned to Class 1A competition this season. The Marauders won four Class 1A state titles and made five appearances in the 1A state championship game between the 2014 and 2021 seasons.
BG was ousted in the first round of the District 6 Class 2A playoffs last year, and quarterback Chase Kissell, a senior on this year's team, said that the Marauders had plenty of incentive because of that this season.
"Winning the district championship this year feels great after what happened with us last season,'' Kissell said. "We used what happened last year as motivation, and we weren't going to let it happen to us again this year.
"We've worked hard since the preseason this year, and all the hard work has paid off.''
Play(s) of the game: Gates' punt return for a TD and his 31-yard scoring run, both in the third quarter, helped the Marauders to get a grip on the victory.
Player of the game: Gates.
Unsung hero(es): Dumm.
Most vital statistic(s): The Marauders maximized efficiency offensively, and did not need to punt once.
Notable: Bishop Guilfoyle's district championship was the 10th in school history since the district playoffs began back in 1985 ... Westinghouse, which routed Windber, 61-6, in an opening-round PIAA playoff game this past Friday, also dropped from Class 2A to Class 1A this year. Westinghouse (9-1) made it to the Class 2A state championship game in both of the past two years, but lost both times.
Records: Northern Cambria (11-2); Bishop Guilfoyle (12-1).
Next: Bishop Guilfoyle advances to the quarterfinal round of the PIAA Class 1A tournament to face Westinghouse this Friday night at Johnstown High School's Trojan Stadium. Northern Cambria's season is complete.
SCORE BY QUARTERS
Northern Cambria 0 6 6 6--18
Bishop Guilfoyle 7 7 15 13--42
First Quarter
BG--Gates 2 run (Boland kick), 8:03.
Second Quarter
BG--Consiglio 1 run (Boland kick), 1:55.
NC--Dumm 1 run (pass failed), 0:21.
Third Quarter
BG--Gates 49 punt return (Boland kick), 9:38.
NC--Wagner 9 pass from Dumm (run failed), 6:12.
BG--Gates 31 run (Reilly pass from Gates), 3:28.
Fourth Quarter
BG--Gates 6 run (kick failed), 10:40.
BG--Eckenrode 1 run (Boland kick), 4:54.
NC--Farrell 34 pass from Dumm (kick failed), 3:02.
TEAM STATISTICS NC BG
First downs 15 17
Total yards 325 330
Rushes-yards 33-101 33-230
Yards passing 224 100
Passing (comp.-att.-int.) 13-19-0 5-6-1
Punts/avg. 1-9 0-0
Fumbles-lost 1-0 2-0
Penalties-yards 9-96 6-41
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING--Northern Cambria, Dumm 22-91, Farrell 1-9, Fry 6-5, Fox 4-(-4). Bishop Guilfoyle, Gates 13-107, C. Kissell 6-45, Consiglio 9-36, Reilly 1-21, Gioiosa 2-11, Wheeler 1-9, Eckenrode 1-1.
PASSING--Northern Cambria, Dumm 13-19-0-224. Bishop Guilfoyle, C. Kissell 5-6-1-100.
RECEIVING--Northern Cambria, Farrell 6-166, Dolney 3-36, Fox 2-10, Wagner 1-9, Fry 1-3. Bishop Guilfoyle, Gates 4-83, Reilly 1-17.