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Penn Cambria Panthers keep it going against Sharon

By John Hartsock 6 min read

CLARION -- Penn Cambria's historic 2024 season under its former head coach Nick Felus ended one game short of a spot in the PIAA Class 3A state championship game -- with a loss to eventual state runner-up Avonworth in the state semifinals.

Last year's team, which won the school's first District 6 football championship, set a school record for victories, and advanced further in the state playoffs than any other team in school history, set the bar very high for this year's team.

And this year's Panthers, in head coach Jason Grassi's second tenure as their head coach, have proven more than capable of meeting the challenge of the precedent.

After defending their district championship two weeks ago, the Panthers (12-2) earned their second berth in the state semifinals Friday night, capitalizing on a huge momentum swing late in the second quarter to carve out a hard-fought 12-7 quarterfinal-round victory over District 10 champion Sharon in a game played on Clarion University's Memorial Field.

Penn Cambria will meet a WPIAL champion in next week's semifinal round at a site and time to be determined. The winner of today's WPIAL title game that pairs two unbeaten teams, Avonworth and Imani Christian, at Pittsburgh's Acrisure Stadium, will provide the semifinal-round opposition for Penn Cambria.

"This feels awesome,'' Grassi said. "I'm so happy for these kids, and so happy for our seniors in particular. We had a great group of seniors last year that helped us get to a place that this program had never been before, and we have a great group this year that has put a lot of time and effort in to keep up that standard.''

Friday's game was scoreless until Penn Cambria broke through with big plays offensively and defensively late in the second quarter to take a 12-0 halftime lead.

The Panthers marched 63 yards in 11 plays before senior quarterback Brady Jones rolled right and hit senior wideout Grant Gides with a 5-yard TD pass in the corner of the end zone to break a scoreless tie and put Penn Cambria up, 6-0, with 1:36 left in the first half.

"This means everything to us to be back to where we were last year again,'' Jones said. "It was gritty and it wasn't pretty, but we got the job done tonight.''

A turnover on Sharon's ensuing possession resulted in Penn Cambria's second touchdown and a 12-0 halftime lead.

Senior quarterback Ethan Englemore's first-down pass was intercepted by Penn Cambria sophomore defensive lineman Colin Gongloff. As Gongloff raced upfield, he was hit by Englemore near the 10-yard line and the ball popped loose. But junior defensive back Evan Latterner alertly recovered the ball and took it into the end zone for what proved to be the game's decisive touchdown.

"I felt their lineman release, I dropped back and intercepted the pass,'' said Gongloff, who also made a key fourth-quarter sack. "It didn't end well for me. I was hit by their quarterback, I fumbled, but my buddy Evan Latterner recovered and went into the end zone with it.''

Grassi thought the late second-quarter sequence was pivotal.

"Any time that you can get a turnover like that in a playoff game, it's big,'' Grassi said. "Our defense has been doing the job all year, and those players did it again tonight. I can't ask for more from our players. I'm proud of them.''

Play of the game: Gongloff's interception and Latterner's fumble recovery for the touchdown was the biggest play in an air-tight game.

Player of the game: Junior fullback Corbin Vinglish was a beast with the ball again, rushing for 101 yards on 29 carries and carrying defenders with him for extra yardage multiple times.

Unsung heroes: Penn Cambria's defense held Sharon's vaunted offense at bay, save for a 97-yard touchdown drive in the third quarter. Jones boomed three punts for an average of 51.3 yards per kick to help the Panthers flip the field.

Most vital statistic: Sharon racked up significant advantages in total yards (295-162) and passing yards (211 to 48), but turned the ball over three times, including two on interceptions.

Vinglish: "The guys last year helped set up the expectations for this year's team and set an example of what we needed to do to get to where we are again now. In high school football, momentum is everything, and getting the momentum late in the second quarter sparked us, and we kept it going.''

Sharon coach Jason McElhaney: "Our kids battled their butts off tonight. Ultimately, what this game came down to is that we made a few too many mistakes against a really good team.''

Notable: Blake Lilly also made an interception for Penn Cambria ... Sharon junior Ghafir Lampkins entered the game in the second half at quarterback and provided the team with a spark, completing four passes for 95 yards on the team's 97-yard third-quarter touchdown drive that was capped off by senior back Terrian White's 2-yard run ... Rakeem Hughes had an interception for Sharon.

Records: Sharon (9-4), Penn Cambria (12-2).

Next week: Sharon's season is complete. Penn Cambria advances to the PIAA semifinals next weekend against the winner of today's WPIAL championship game between Avonworth and Imani Christian.

SCORE BY QUARTERS

Penn Cambria 0 12 0 0--12

Sharon 0 0 7 0--7

Second Quarter

PC--Gides 9 pass from Jones (kick failed), 1:36.

PC--Latterner 10 fumble return (pass failed), 1:13.

Third Quarter

S--White 2 run (Kanan kick), 2:04.

TEAM STATISTICS PC S

First downs 9 15

Total yards 162 295

Rushes-yards 41-114 29-84

Yards passing 48 211

Passing (comp.-att.-int.) 8-16-1 15-25-2

Punts/avg. 3-51.7 2-12.5

Fumbles-lost 0-0 5-1

Penalties-yards 5-52 6-80

NDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING--Penn Cambria, Vinglish 29-101, Jones 11-18, TEAM 1-(-5). Sharon, White 13-55, B. Root 2-16, Lampkins 8-11, Englemore 6-2.

PASSING--Penn Cambria, Jones 8-16-1-48. Sharon, Englemore 6-13-2-59, Lampkins 9-12-0-152.

RECEIVING--Penn Cambria, Vinglish 3-25, Gides 2-15, Lilly 2-(-1), Mack 1-9. Sharon, Norris 7-111, B. Root 3-40, Hughes 2-38, White 2-14, Smith 1-8.

Starting at /week.