DuBOIS – The Forest Hills Rangers make it count when it comes to the PIAA Class AA football playoffs.

After winning their first District 6 title since 1994, Forest Hills advanced to the Western Region finals for the fourth time in five trips to states with a 49-14 rout of District 9 champion Brockway Friday night at E.J. Mansell Stadium in DuBois.

Forest Hills (13-0) will face another unbeaten team, WPIAL champion Seton-LaSalle, next week for the right to play in the state championship game.

"It’s certainly sweet to be into the Western Finals," Forest Hills head coach Don Bailey said. "This is our fourth trip. We’re really excited about it and we’re really excited about playing Seton-LaSalle, because we know from what we’ve read about them that they’re an outstanding football team."

"Forest Hills is a good football team," Brockway head coach Ray Reckner said. "I wish them well and hopefully they can keep it in this area rather than down in Pittsburgh."

Mansell Stadium has been a familiar place for outstanding individual performances lately. Clearfield’s Dave Richards scored 14 touchdowns in three games at Mansell Stadium.

Rangers senior tailback Cody Gallaher picked up where Richards left off, scoring five touchdowns and rushing for 153 yards. Gallaher scored on runs of 16, 6 and 5 yards, caught a screen pass and dashed 60 yards for a touchdown and returned a punt 54 yards for another score. Gallaher also completed a 28-yard pass on a key third-down play in the first half.

"Cody has been a big-play guy for us all year long," Bailey said. "He and Eric Trout and (Bryan) Kudlowiec and Mike Mayes, they’re making big plays every single week. Sometimes one guy steps up, sometimes another. Tonight, Cody stepped up and played a great game on defense."

Despite going three and out on its first two possessions, Forest Hills eventually turned the game into a rout, scoring on three of its final four first-half possessions and three of its first four second-half possessions.

The Rangers turned on the PIAA Mercy Rule’s running clock when Gallaher’s punt return made it 42-7 with 1:07 left in the third quarter.

After shaking off the slow start, Forest Hills put the pressure on Brockway, both defensively and offensively. The worsening field conditions under weather that turned from rain into snow didn’t help Brockway either.

"Our passing game was non-existent," Reckner said. "They put a lot of pressure on (quarterback) John Himes. That was a big key to the game. We didn’t have time to throw the ball and have a balanced attack."

The Rovers did gain 129 yards rushing against Forest Hills in the first half and finished with 206, but the Rangers limited Rovers QB Himes to only 4 yards on 3-of-7 passing.

"We felt in order for us to win, we had to keep them off the field," Bailey said. "Plus, we had to make them throw the ball because they weren’t as good throwing the ball as they were running the ball. That was the game plan."

Gallaher opened the game’s scoring on a beautifully executed screen pass on third-and-7. He took the short throw and dashed down the Rangers’ sideline for the touchdown at the 4:55 mark of the first quarter.

"That screen pass killed us," Reckner said. "They were able to throw the ball and that was a big difference."

Brockway answered with a six-play, 64-yard scoring drive. The Rovers executed the quick fullback dive five straight plays, ending it with Seth Rhed’s 9-yard TD with 2:38 left in the quarter.

But the Rangers were only getting warmed up. They answered with a five-play drive that culminated with Gallaher’s 16-yard touchdown run with 36 seconds left in the first.

The Rovers reached the Rangers’ 15 on the ensuing possession, but the drive stalled, forcing a punt to the Rovers’ 10. Ten plays and 90 yards later, Forest Hills made it 21-7 on quarterback Kudlowiec scored on a 1-yard keeper. That lead would hold until intermission.

The Rangers went back to work in the second half, scoring on their first two offensive possessions on Gallaher runs of 6 and 5 yards. Then he started the running clock with his 54-yard punt return.

Brockway got its second touchdown run from Rhed on an 8-yard run early in the fourth quarter.

Fullback Mike Mayes, who finished with 74 yards rushing on 15 carries, scored the Rangers’ final touchdown on a 2-yard run with 3:32 remaining.

Brockway finished the season at 8-5.

"They were 8-4 (coming in)," Bailey said. "But they've played really good football the last three weeks. They beat a good Brookville team, Karns City, which was the favorite and the District 10 champs Slippery Rock."

NOTES: Forest Hills outgained Brockway, 378-210. … The Rangers recorded four sacks. Mayes had 1.5 sacks, sharing one with Ben Maderia. Gabe Wingard and Dan Enedy also had sacks. … Kudlawiec completed 4 of 9 passes for 107 yards. He tossed a perfectly placed 33-yard pass to Eric Trout inside the 1 to set up his own TD run in the second quarter. … Bailey refused to comment on leaving his starters in for the final touchdown with his team leading by a big margin with the running clock. … Forest Hills last made it two the Western Finals in 1994, advancing with a 14-13 win over D-9 champion Brookville. It lost to Mount Carmel in the state finals that year.

Forest Hills 14 7 21 7 - 49

Brockway 7 0 0 7 - 14

F – Gallaher 60 pass from Kudlawiec (Carpenter kick), 4:55.

B – Rhed 9 run (Cantafio kick), 2:38.

F – Gallaher 16 run (Carpenter kick), :36.

F – Kudlawiec 1 run (Carpenter kick), 5:38.

F – Gallaher 6 run (Carpenter kick), 8:01.

F – Gallaher 5 run (Carpenter kick), 4:19.

F – Gallaher 54 punt return (Carpenter kick), 1:07.

B – Rhed 8 run (Cantafio kick), 11:30.

F – Mayes 2 run (Carpenter kick), 3:32.

RUSHING: Forest Hills – Gallaher 20-153, Mayes 15-74, Kudlawiec 2-9, Hull 1-4, Kisel 3-3, Mehall 1-0. Brockway – Martino 11-83, Sickeri 9-75, Cantafio 6-53, Rhed 6-29, Himes 6-(-34).

PASSING: Forest Hills – Kudlawiec 4-9-0-107, Gallaher 1-1-0-28. Brockway: Himes 3-for-7, 4 yards.

RECEIVING: Forest Hills – Gallaher 1-60, Trout 1-33, Papcunik 1-28, Mayes 1-14. Brockway: Bussard 2-3, Sickeri 1-1.

INTERCEPTIONS: None.

First Downs 15 8

Yards Rushing 243 206

Passing 5-10-0 3-7-0

Yards Passing 135 4

Total Yards 378 210

Fumbles-lost 1-1 1-1

Penalties 3-21 1-5

Punts-Avg. 2-35.5 7-25