BRADFORD-PINE-RICHLAND SQUARE OFF FOR RIGHT TO GO TO HERSHEY

PIAA CLASS AAA PLAYOFF HOME

By Chris Rossetti

WARREN – A month ago when the Bradford Owls football team lost two games in a row to close out the regular season, few thought the Owls would be playing football after Thanksgiving.

But thanks to three straight playoff wins, Bradford (10-2) not only finds itself still playing but the Owls are just one win removed from going to Hershey and the PIAA Class AAA state title game.

Standing in the way of a trip to "Chocolate Town USA" is the WPIAL (District 7) champion Pine-Richland (13-0), who Bradford takes on in the Western Region Final at 7 p.m. Friday at Warren High School.

"I think the credit (for us getting here) has to go to the kids," Bradford head coach Steve Ackerman said. "They really pulled together in the second half for the District 9 title game (against Clearfield), and ever since they have been playing with so much confidence. They believe in themselves. They just believe they belong at this level and can play with these teams."

Bradford enters the game off of a 13-7 upset of perennial PIAA powerhouse Perry last Friday night at Warren High school.

"Our defense did an outstanding job last week," Ackerman said. "Every time Perry got something going, the defense made a big play."

Pine-Richland advanced to the Western Final thanks to a 21-7 win over Thomas Jefferson last Saturday in the WPIAL championship game at Heinz Field in Pittsburgh. It was the Rams first WPIAL title since 1970, although Pine-Richland lost in the championship game last year.

"They have a lot of athletes," Ackerman said. "They are very much bigger than we are, and they have a lot of strength. I really thought they controlled the line of scrimmage against Thomas Jefferson."

The Rams are quarterbacked by a familiar face to Bradford fans Jake Long, a sophomore. Long was the starting quarterback at Bradford last season before his family moved to the Pittsburgh area.

"We are trying not to make that (Long being Pine-Richland’s quarterback) the main focus," Ackerman said. "They have a lot of weapons that can hurt us. We can’t be preoccupied with Jake."

The weapons Ackerman talks about include the NSN Sports WPIAL Class AAA Player of the Year senior wide receiver Neil Walker as well as two of the top running backs in the WPIAL in senior Greg Hough and junior Tim Newman.

"They have quite a few weapons on offense," Ackerman said. "Their offense is a lot like Huntingdon’s and Clearfield’s because they can do a lot of things with different people."

Hough, who rushed for 1,871 yards last season and 3,433 yards in his career, missed a large chunk of the season after tearing his triceps away from his arm bone in Week Five. He returned to the defensive side of the ball in the WPIAL semifinals before returning on offense last week. He made an immediate impact rushing for 121 yards and two touchdowns giving him 733 yards and 12 touchdowns on 88 carries this season.

"It was a nice surprise for us that he could come back," Pine-Richland head coach Clair Altemus said. "It was such an inspiration for our kids when he came back onto the field last week and ran with the power and reckless abandon that he did before the injury. He is one of our captains, and his return pumped the team up."

In Hough’s absence, junior Tim Newman stepped to the forefront and has rushed 196 times for 1,189 yards and 15 touchdowns. He was a big factor in the Rams win last week carrying the ball 20 times for 108 yards including a 77-yard run that set up Pine-Richland’s first touchdown.

"It (both Hough and Newman in the lineup) makes us a better football team," Altemus said. "Timmy Newman came into the season probably relegating himself as the backup while bidding his time for next year. But injuries started tearing away from our lineup, and when he stepped in he had prepared himself both physically and mentally. In his first game, he bolted for 150 yards and two touchdowns. That put the sealer on that he was legitimate. He is just doing the things he does naturally."

Walker, who is an exceptional athlete who comes from a family with pro baseball ties, has put up phenomenal numbers for the Rams this season with 60 catches for 967 yards and 10 touchdowns. Overall he has scored 18 touchdowns.

"He is our best athlete, maybe the best athlete to ever come through the school," Altemus said.

Long is the man getting Walker the football. The sophomore has really flourished in Pine-Richland’s pro-style offense going 102-for-168 (60.7 percent) passing for 1,490 yards and 22 touchdowns.

"Jake coming in and performing the way he has was a surprise for us," Altemus said. "I didn’t know much about Bradford. You don’t see a lot about them done here. In the second scrimmage, Jake stepped in and started playing well. He has taken to this thing like a duck takes to water."

Both Long and Walker’s numbers have fallen off the last couple of weeks with Long completing just 9-of-24 passes for 85 yards and two touchdowns in Pine-Richland’s last two games. Meanwhile, Walker was held without a catch for the first time all season last week.

"People are starting to defend Neil differently," Altemus said. "People are taking three people to cover him leaving eight against 10. That is where our running attack plays into our advantage. Jake and Neil understand their roles. Their numbers dropping off are not my some mysterious ailment. The drop off is more by choice of taking what the other team is giving us."

While the Rams like to mix it up on offense, Bradford prefers to lineup and run over, around and through people.

Of the Owls 3,586 yards this season, 3,357 of them (93.6 percent) have come on the ground. Bradford is averaging a District 9 leading 279.8 yards per game rushing while the pass offense is dead last in the 31 teams playing in District 9 leagues at 19.1 yards per game. In their three playoff games, Bradford has attempted just four passes completing one of them.

"We pride ourselves in being able to move people off the line of scrimmage even when the other team puts nine or 10 guys in the box," Ackerman said. "The while idea (of running the football) is a pride thing."

Bradford’s ground game starts up front with an offensive line that is anchored by No. 76 Joe Reinhardt, a 6-4, 330 pound tackle. Reinhardt broke his foot against Brookville in Week 6, and the Owls rushing attack suffered over the next three weeks. But with Reinhardt’s return in the playoffs, Bradford picked up where it left off running the ball with great effectiveness.

"I think our stats in the games Joe was out show how valuable he is," Ackerman said. "We were averaging 330 some yards the first six games, and then when Joe went down our numbers went done. Teams just shut us down. Since Joe has come back, we have moved the ball again. He is a big factor."

Reinhardt isn’t the only key player on the offensive line, which also includes center Brian Wallace, guards Brent Raabe and Tyler Arlington, right tackle Al Pries and tight end Josh McCreadie.

"The numbers speak for themselves," Ackerman said. "The line has done an outstanding job. They are all seniors, and that helps because they have played together so long as a cohesive group."

The holes the line has opened this season has meant big games for Bradford’s three main running backs: Sean Hvizdzak, Dave Snyder and Aaron O’Toole. The threesome has combined to gain 3,091 yards and score 31 touchdowns this season.

"Any one of them can have a big game on any night depending on who the defense is keying on," Ackerman said. "That is the beauty of our backfield. It is awfully tough to key on someone, and defenses have to chase everyone."

Hvizdzak is the leader of the group. The second ranked rusher in District 9, he has 195 carries for 1,478 yards (7.6 yards per carry) and 12 touchdowns. Hvizdzak is also a dangerous return man having returned three kickoffs and a punt for touchdowns this year including two kickoffs in the District 9 title game win over Clearfield.

"I think the 7.6 yards per carry is the key," Ackerman said. "He doesn’t carry as much as other backs in District 9. If you gave him some of the other guys (in the district) carries, he would be over 2,000 yards rushing.

Snyder is the 10^th leading rusher in District 9 with 170 carries for 849 yards and 12 touchdowns, while O’Toole is the 13^th leading rusher in the district with 109 carries for 764 yards and seven touchdowns.

"Dave is the fireplug in the backfield," Ackerman said. "He runs straight ahead between the tackles. He is a very strong runner.

"Aaron has come through big in some games for us. As a whole, I think we have the best backfield in District 9."

On the rare occasion when Bradford does go to the air, Mike Austin is the triggerman.

Austin has gone 19-for-45 passing this season (42.2 percent) for 229 yards and four touchdowns while throwing nine interceptions.

"Mike is capable of throwing the ball very well," Ackerman said. "The fact that teams key so much on our running game opens up the pass sometimes. We are also getting him involved running the option and some other things."

Jake Wells (112 yards, 2 touchdowns), Hvizdzak (87 yards, 1 touchdown) and O’Toole (35 yards, 1 touchdown) each have six catches to lead the Owls.

With both team’s having explosive capabilities on offense, the game might come down to which team’s defense or special team’s rises to the occasion.

Bradford’s defense has played tremendous the last two weeks allowing just 17 points in the last two weeks.

"Our defense has played outstanding," Ackerman said. "They are hitting hard and playing inspired football. Our intensity level has really stepped up.

"Jerry Pattison our defensive coordinator also does a great job preparing our defense. We won’t see anything we haven’t prepared for. That is a pretty good job of preparation by Jerry.

Altemus is very impressed with the Bradford defense.

"They are the most sure tacklers I have ever seen in my career which spans 30 years," Altemus said. "I was amazed. They sit right in there and are deadly. That and their team speed scares me."

Pine-Richland also has a pretty good defense, which was the main reason the Rams won the WPIAL Title. The defense held a high-powered Thomas Jefferson offense, which came into the game averaging over 35 ppg, to just 210 total yards including 103 passing and 107 rushing.

Ackerman believes the game will be won in the trenches by the team who controls the line of scrimmage and can run the football.

"I have gone to the state championship game the last few years," Ackerman said. "The thing I have seen is that teams win by running the ball. In almost all the games, the team that ran the ball the best won the state championship. I think that sticks in my mind. That is how you are going to win by moving the ball on the ground. If you control the line of scrimmage, you will win games."

Altemus doesn’t think either team has an advantage on the line.

"I don’t think we are much smaller or bigger than they are," Altemus. "I think it is a great match-up overall. We have some quick kids and they have some quick kids. That is really all you can ask for when you are playing for all the marbles. All you want is for the game to be the type of game it is suppose to be."