HERSHEY, Pa. — It's championship week for the PIAA! Five high school football teams from western Pennsylvania are taking part in the championship games. Skylights will be there to cover our local teams.
Western Pennsylvania welcomed its first – and hopefully not last – state football champions home on Thursday.
Jeannette beat Homer-Center 42-12 in Hershey to take the 1A title in the first game of PIAA championship weekend. The WPIAL has a representative in four out of the six classifications.
Congratulations to Jeannette Football who defeated Homer-Center 42 - 12 in the State Championship! #wpxi pic.twitter.com/4YSWZS3LfX
— Ryan (@WPXIPhotogRyan) December 7, 2017
And the story of Jeannette's championship win was senior Robert Kennedy.
Trailing in the game, he took over for the Jayhawks, leading an outburst that propelled them to their second-ever state championship, an emotional win for the players and the whole town.
#PIAAFootball: Jeannette wins the Class A Football Championship 42-12 over Homer Center. pic.twitter.com/tpH9am9yFJ
— PIAA (@PIAASports) December 7, 2017
“It brought tears to my eyes, to be honest with you,” Kennedy said. “It's just a blessing just to win. It feels amazing.
“It means everything, not just to me, but for our town, our school district, our principal, our athletic director, because we always say it's a team. Teamwork makes the dream work and the dream worked today – we won a state title.”
Gateway, Quaker Valley and Pine-Richland will also go for state championships in the next two days.
In the later Thursday game, Cathedral Prep (Erie) downed Imhotep Charter (Philadelphia) 38-28 to claim their second straight 4A title.
CLICK HERE to view scores on your mobile device.
Cox Media Group