The Marauders struggled in the first half of a season-opening win over Penns Valley before losing to Richland and eking out a 7-0 win over Bellefonte. In the middle of that stretch, they lost possibly their best player — running back and linebacker Taurean Consiglio — to a season-ending injury.

Friday night, all of that was a distant memory as Bishop Guilfoyle punched its return ticket to Cumberland Valley’s Chapman Field for the state championship game Thursday against old rival Clairton after the Marauders pounded District 12 champion Belmont Charter, 35-0, at John H. Frederick Field at Memorial Park in the PIAA semifinals.

“When we lose a kid like Consiglio in the second week, that next week you’re just trying to get the guys refocused,” Bishop Guilfoyle coach Justin Wheeler said. “It took a gutsy win to get us over that hump a little bit, and then we just relied on Jake (Kissell) and the seniors. Once the shock of that injury faded, the guys realized it was just going to be us. No one was coming back to help us, and we realized we had to get better in every aspect. I thought we coached well. My staff has been great — the kids believe in us — and this is a really talented group. They have performed at a really high level every week since.”

Leading that charge has been Kissell, both offensively and defensively.

Photo for the Mirror by Jeremy Boland Bishop Guilfoyle quarterback Justin Wheeler flings a pass to teammate Jack Gioiosa on Friday night in Mechanicsburg.

Friday night after BG quarterback Justin Wheeler hurt his knee, Kissell came on and threw three touchdown passes and added another one on the ground while leading the defense to a shutout.

“All playoffs, our defensive line has been unbelievable,” Kissell said. “Decan (Peterson), (Jesse) Georgiana, Hayden (Hosgood) and Rocco (Cacciotti) — those guys have been unstoppable. We have given up a total of 12 points the entire playoff run. Our defensive line — I couldn’t be prouder of them. We have a bend-but-don’t-break style and have been through so much adversity. I’m so proud of my guys, and I can’t wait to get back to Cumberland Valley.”

Belmont Charter managed just 136 total yards and only 72 after the Tigers’ opening drive that was stopped when Wheeler tipped away a pass on fourth down at the BG 16-yard line. On that opening drive, Belmont lost top receiver Kabir Knight to an ankle injury for the rest of the game.

“We didn’t play as well as we wanted to in the trenches,” Belmont Charter coach Terrell Brent said. “It started up front. Losing (Knight) was a big loss, but we still didn’t play up to par even accounting for him not being in there.”

The Marauders will play Clairton, the team they beat for their first PIAA championship in 2014 and again in 2016, at 1 p.m. on Thursday about two miles from the field they played at on Friday.

Photo for the Mirror by Jeremy Boland Bishop Guilfoyle’s Connor Okonak gets into the end zone on a 13-yard pass from Jake Kissell on Friday.

Wheeler ran for 119 yards and a touchdown, including 41 yards after he briefly left with his knee injury.

“I hurt my knee when I got rolled up on,” Wheeler said. “There’s only one more week of football. I’m going to try and heal up with therapy and be able to play in this game. It’s what I have lived for, so there’s no point in not playing no matter what happens.”

Play of the game: Leading 14-0, Bishop Guilfoyle got the ball back at its own 47 with 1:44 left in the first half. Wheeler took a shotgun snap and pitched it back to Kissell, who was playing at halfback. He threw it to Tyson Lestochi, who was wide open for a 53-yard touchdown.

“I can’t name a time when I was more wide open,” Lestochi said. “That kid was jumpy and trying to play me tight all night. I knew that double move would work, and it did.”

Player of the game: Kissell has had flashier numbers, but his impact on a game might never have been bigger. While keeping Belmont in check defensively, he was 3-for-4 passing for 79 yards and three touchdowns — the other two were both 13-yarders to Connor Okonak and Jack Gioiosa. He also carried the ball 16 times for 90 yards.

“(Wheeler) was dealing with a little injury, and I had to step up and throw a couple passes,” Kissell said. “It feels great, but I did not expect that. I thought we would be running the ball all night. Their defensive backs were pretty solid, but we found some holes in their defense, and we executed. I couldn’t be prouder of my guys.”

Unsung heroes: The BG defensive line, which allowed just 39 yards rushing on 20 attempts to a team that scored 52 points last week.

“I thought our defensive line played really well,” Coach Wheeler said. “We were able to drop more guys into coverage because of that. Early on, we were bringing some pressure, and they were getting the ball out quick. We thought we might be able to get there with just four, and it worked out. We dropped guys out because of how our defensive line was getting to the quarterback and it helped in coverage.”

Most vital statistic: BG was penalized only three times for 15 yards. Belmont Charter, like Westinghouse last week, was plagued by penalties and committed nine for 73 yards in addition to fumbling six times.

Coach Wheeler on his son’s ability to make people miss: “People always ask where he gets his elusiveness from. Maybe it’s because his mom has been a dancer her whole life, and he gets his speed from me (as he laughed). He has such good vision and patience. There’s a couple times where you think he’s not going to break it, and he squirts out of it. He adds another dimension to our offense and makes us more difficult to defend.”

Belmont’s Brent: “It was a great season. I am proud of what we accomplished. We did so many things to come this far. What we did and what we have built will push the program farther than it was before.”

QB Wheeler on his knee: “It felt OK — I pushed through the pain and the adrenaline helped me. We’ll see how I am feeling later, but in the game it felt OK, so I should be good to go.”

Notable: Evan Schimminger and Gioiosa each had interceptions for BG, and Tahir Tucker had one for Belmont Charter. … Shyneem Newsuan, who had a 74-yard touchdown run last week in a win over Lackawanna Trail, led Belmont offensively with 12 carries for 80 yards. … Cacciotti recovered a fumble. … BG will be making its seventh appearance in the state championship game and is 5-1 in those games with its only loss coming to Farrell, 10-7, in overtime in 2019.

Records: Belmont Charter (10-2); Bishop Guilfoyle (13-2).

Next week: Bishop Guilfoyle Academy will play WPIAL champion Clairton, a 57-0 winner over District 10 champion Greenville on Friday in the other semifinal, in the PIAA Class 1A championship game on Thursday at Cumberland Valley’s Chapman Field at 1 p.m.

SCORE BY QUARTERS

Belmont Charter 0 0 0 0 — 0

Bishop Guilfoyle 7 14 7 7 — 35

First Quarter

BG–Wheeler 43 run (Boland kick), 4:32.

Second Quarter

BG–Okonak 13 pass from Kissell (Boland kick), 3:53.

BG–Lestochi 53 pass from Kissell (Boland kick), 1:35.

Third Quarter

BG–Kissell 13 run (Boland kick), 1:27.

Fourth Quarter

BG–Gioiosa 13 pass from Kissell (Boland kick), 11:55.

TEAM STATISTICS BC BG

First downs 7 15

Total yards 136 296

Rushes-yards 20-39 37-219

Yards passing 97 77

Passing (comp.-att.-int.) 7-15-2 8-12-1

Punts-avg. 5-27.6 2-33.5

Fumbles-lost 6-1 1-0

Penalties-yards 9-73 3-15

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING–Belmont Charter, Newsuan 12-80, Knight 1-6, Watkins 3-(-24), TEAM 4-(-23). Bishop Guilfoyle, Wheeler 9-119, Kissell 16-90, Shellenberger 2-8, Schimminger 1-7, Hewitt 4-5, Lawson 1-1, TEAM 4-(-11).

PASSING–Belmont Charter, Watkins 7-15-2-97. Bishop Guilfoyle, Kissell 3-4-1-79, Wheeler 5-7-0-(-2), TEAM 0-1-0-0.

RECEIVING–Belmont Charter, Fluerival 3-61, Tucker 2-26, Knight 2-10. Bishop Guilfoyle, Hewitt 3-(-7), Lestochi 1-53, Gioiosa 1-13, Okonak 1-13, Kissell 1-11, Wheeler 1-(-6).