Playing against arguably the best defense in Pennsylvania, Penn-Trafford needed a late touchdown to keep its championship hopes alive on Friday night. Starting the possession with four minutes remaining in regulation, the Warriors engineered a 12-play drive that spanned 56 yards, capped off by a trick play touchdown to tie the game with just 34 seconds remaining.

With the game extended to overtime, Penn-Trafford took the lead on a field goal by Nathan Schlessinger, and the Warriors’ defense sealed the outcome, as Penn-Trafford notched a 17-14 victory against Imhotep Charter to capture the PIAA Class 5A Championship at Hersheypark Stadium.

In securing the state gold in their first appearance in program history, the Warriors concluded their historic season with a mark of 13-2, finishing on an 11-game winning streak. Imhotep Charter, the District 12 Champion, was denied its second state title, finishing with a record of 11-2.

Although the Warriors displayed their ability frequently throughout the WPIAL campaign, including a victory against Moon Area at Heinz Field last month to secure the first district title in program history, Penn-Trafford was viewed as the underdog against the Panthers, a Philadelphia-based team loaded with Division I prospects.

Despite being limited to less than 200 yards of offense and losing the turnover battle, however, the Warriors found a way to win, which drew the praise of Penn-Trafford head coach John Ruane.

“Our defense was phenomenal all night. They kept us in the game. They kept getting stops,” he said.

“Just a tremendous team win. It wasn’t the usual suspects necessarily making all kind of big, big plays, but everyone on this team sure as heck contributed tonight,” Ruane added.

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The defenses of both squads were at the forefront for most of the contest, which was scoreless until the final four minutes of the opening half. Imhotep Charter produced a 12-play drive in the second quarter which resulted in a 12-yard touchdown run by Rahmir Stewart with 3:29 left. The subsequent two-point attempt was denied, however, staking Imhotep to a 6-0 advantage.

Penn-Trafford responded, though, as the Warriors drove 65 yards, and senior standout Cade Yacamelli crossed the goal line on a 2-yard run with just four seconds left in the half. The subsequent extra point by Schlessinger gave the Warriors the narrowest of leads at halftime.

The score remained 7-6 until nearly halfway through the fourth quarter, when the Panthers regained their lead. Stewart punctuated another long drive, this one encompassing 14 plays and 66 yards, as his 5-yard score and subsequent conversion gave Imhotep the 14-7 lead.

Although the Warriors went three-and-out on their next possession, they got the ball back late, setting the stage for a season-defining drive. Among the notable plays were a third-down conversion from quarterback Carter Green to Liam Hileman, a beautifully-lofted screen pass by Green to Yacamelli, and most significantly, a defensive pass interference near the end zone on fourth down that kept the Warriors’ drive alive.

Once they reached the 2-yard line, the Warriors elected to go to their bag of tricks. Conlan Greene, a 6-foot-4, 240-pound tight end, received the snap, and initially advanced towards the line of scrimmage. However, he jumped and lofted a pass in the same motion, and Jack Jollie caught the toss wide open in the end zone, setting the stage for overtime.

“We rep it every single week, twice a week,” Ruane said of the play. “I kept telling them there was a time and place for it. We just felt it was the right look.”

Although the Warriors failed to reach the end zone on their overtime possession, Schlessinger split the uprights on his 24-yard kick to make it 17-14.

Without the capability to make a field goal, the Panthers needed to score on their possession in order to prevail. A false start and an errant snap put Imhotep beyond the 25-yard line, however, and needing to reach the end zone on 4th down, Panthers’ QB Mikal Davis Jr was sacked by Greene to seal the outcome.

After starting the campaign 2-2, including consecutive losses to Belle Vernon Area and Peters Township, the Warriors displayed a championship resolve over the past three months that culminated in front of a large PT continent in Hershey.

“Maturity. Leadership. Character. Discipline. Heart. The trademarks of these kids,” Ruane detailed of his squad. “They displayed every bit of it all season long, and especially in the last three weeks.”

In the victory, Yacamelli rushed 21 times for 100 yards, and caught two passes for 33 yards. Green was just 4-of-18 passing for 49 yards, while he rushed 11 times for 25 yards. Defensively, Daniel Tarabrella paced PT with 9 tackles, while Josh Huffman added 8.5, and Green contributed 7.5.

Imhotep was led by running back Stanley McLeod, who rushed 28 times for 185 yards. Davis connected on 5-of-8 passes for 34 yards, while RJ Atkinson caught three passes for 26 yards.

In addition to winning the first state title in team history, Penn-Trafford became the first Westmoreland County team to capture PIAA gold since Jeannette in 2017.