DEC. 12
CLASS AAA STATE FINAL
Wood 33, Central Valley 14
(At Hersheypark Stadium)
  "It's the state championship game. Gotta be aggressive, right?" Those words were spoken by coach Steve Devlin a shade after 10 o'clock, well after his Vikings had claimed a second consecutive state championship as well as their third in four years. He was talking about a play call 6.9 seconds prior to halftime that, unfortunately, led to a shocking outcome that could have brought a lesser team to its knees -- for good. Jr. QB Anthony Russo tried a hook to the right, to jr. WR James Gillespie, and the hope was that star sr. RB Jarrett McClenton (Villanova) would then receive a lateral and race to the end zone. Instead, sr. DB Brandon Wilson jumped the route and, snap, HE was in the end zone celebrating a 48-yard return TD at 0:00 that drew the Warriors within 12-7. Oh, baby. After student fan Tommy Rosenbaum easily won a halftime contest (more on that later), neither team made noise two thirds of the way through the third quarter. Then, Wood faced fourth-and-one from its own 47. What to do? Be aggressive, baby! And the guy Devlin tabbed was Russo. On a sneak, with lots of help from the grunts, Russo surged ahead for two yards and the juice being displayed along Wood's sideline was high-level. Hey, why not maintain the momentum? Seeeee yaaaaa!! On the very next play, McClenton took a dive right up the middle for a 51-yard TD. And it was easy. Once he got to the second level, there was no one within a zip code and no Warriors remotely tried to run him down; not that such an attempt would have come even close to working. There'd be other important goings-on, of course, but for my money the fact that Devlin retained his brass and was rewarded by the guy who'd caused big consternation was pretty darn special. Quick note: As the Vikings returned to the field after halftime from their below-ground-level locker room, Russo was greeted by assistant Vernard Abrams at pretty much the instant he reached the top step. Vernard put his arm around Anthony and offered non-stop encouragement all the way to the sideline. By the way, that carry was Russo's only one of the evening. Like always through six postseason games, the Vikings' offense was the Jarrett & Alex Show. McClenton finished with 233 yards and four TDs on 26 carries while sr. FB Alex Arcangeli added 131 yards and the last score (with 1:33 remaining) on 16 rushes. That last carry enabled Arcangeli to eclipse 1,000 yards for the season. In six postseason games, McClenton racked up four TDs in all but one. And he still had three in that one, so it wasn't as if he slacked (smile). Tonight, he also notched a conversion run, so his point output in those six games was 140 (23.3 average). Jarrett had quite the interesting outing. Once in the first quarter and again in the second, he was picked up and body slammed by CV's franchise back, Pitt commit Jordan Whitehead. Also, on McClenton's first TD, a 12-yarder just 88 seconds into the game, Whitehead was grabbing his jersey and complaining to the refs that he'd been held at pretty much the instant McClenton entered the end zone. Before the game began, CV's fans broke out the "I Believe" chant. Hey, at least the Wood kids waited until play No. 2 (smile). On that one, McClenton zipped for 48 yards to place the ball at CV's 18. Arcangeli then bulled for six to set up the TD play. Wood scored another TD in the first quarter (also with 1:33 left; weird) on McClenton's 12-yard sweep to the right corner. Gillespie made a helpful block on that one. With 4:09 left in the second quarter, CV had a great chance to reduce the 12-0 deficit. On fourth-and-goal from the 1, sr. QB John George lined up in a shotgun formation and tossed a left-side swing pass. The wide-open receiver, Whitehead, could not hang on. OK, now for the halftime festivities. In 2013, against Harrisburg Bishop McDevitt, Wood finished the first half scoreless and things weren't looking good. Sr. basketball player Matt Funk then whipped a McDevitt kid in a punt-and-pass contest; punt the ball from the end zone to wherever it lands, then throw it from there to a target at midfield. Closest throw wins. This year's Viking was Rosenbaum, a sr. baseball player, and he was chosen at a pep rally by Matt's brother, Tommy, now a junior hoopster. The CV kid went first and his punt was quite poor. He then fired his pass way over the banner. Rosenbaum had a decent punt and then -- bingo! -- hit the banner with his throw. Vikings rule! On the second play of the fourth quarter, CV moved within 20-14 as George made a perfect pass to jr. WR Kurt Reinstadtler for a 55-yard score on a right-sideline streak pattern. The Warriors followed with an onside kick, but star sr. L-DL Ryan Bates (Penn State) recovered and Wood went, mostly, the little-by-little route, using nine plays to cover 58 yards. McClenton scored that one on a 15-yard, right-side toss. He was slightly stopped at roughly the 10, but then broke free and breezed from there. CV's next possession was destarched when Bates posted a 6-yard sack and jr. LB Mack Schwartz registered a 15-yarder. Plus, the Warriors were hit with a personal foul and the half-the-distance markoff placed the ball at the 14, bringing about a fourth-and-45 situation. Whew! No wonder the Warrior settled for a punt despite the 26-14 deficit.
  TITLE TIDBITS: Wood's grunts were sr. C Ryan Neher, sr. Gs Shawn Scroger and Tom Cardozo, Bates and sr. T Kurt Stengel . . . McClenton ended his career with 434 carries for 4,539 yards and 73 TDs. He added 11 other TDs and ch-chinged his way to 506 points, counting tonight's conversion . . . Jarrett's final score enabled him to claim the city record for rushing TDs in a season with 37 (West Catholic's Rob Hollomon had 36 in '08) and his 42 total TDs tied Hollomon's city mark from that same season . . . Because of the early deadline, Ace had to watch the game from the press box. He then scurried downstairs and did some quick interviews before polishing off his story . . . Huck watched PCN's telecast and compiled defensive stats. Bates had two sacks and a TFL among six tackles. Schwartz' eight-tackle effort included two sacks. Sr. DL Devon Cobb was in on seven stops. Included were 1.5 sacks and two TFLs. He also recovered a fumble. Sr. LB Justin Rubin was in on seven tackles while sr. LB Nafeez Brown-Carter and jr. LB Sebastian Silva had five apiece . . . Athletic director Joe Sette said Wood used 13 buses to get its students to the game . . . Bates and sr. LB Jake Cooper, who made it back from injury to play in this game, exchanged quite the emotional postgame hug. They'll be teammates at Penn State . . . Wood finished 14-1 with the only blemish being a 35-31 loss to La Salle. Devlin is 98-17 (.852) through eight seasons . . . During the postgame celebration, sr. holder Cody Fitzpatrick was sporting a mini-recording device on his head. CodyCam, of course . . . Assistant Mike Carey received a cold-water dousing right after arriving down on the field from the press box. Long after the game e nded, the other coaches kept waiting and waiting with the hope that someone could find him for the group shot. Finally, the stadium's lights were dimmed and the photo shoot had to proceed without him. Here's hoping he was warm, somewhere . . . Assistant Kevin "Boooooch" Bucher, a website stalwart in a previous life, did yeoman scouting work via tapes . . . What are the chances? The first and third quarters ended with the ball at the 50? . . . In two years as Wood's kicker, Dan McDonald racked up 158 points on 149 PAT and three field goals . . . Rumor has it soph Mark Webb will not be playing basketball this season. He's a lefty, as is sr. Christian Lohin, the punter and a two-way lineman. "My mom really wants me to play," Lohin said. Ditto. I want many more lefties to join the squad, so Wood can really crush the acknowledged city record (six by Southern in 1981-82). Wood now has six, but two are on the JV.