MECHANICSBURG, Pa. — What an improbable run it had been for the Union High School football team. The No. 10 seed for the WPIAL playoffs, the Scotties won a title for the first time in 63 years and then earned a spot in a state championship game.
But Union’s magical run ended Thursday against a strong team whose nickname is the Steamrollers.
Oh, Steelton-Highspire certainly didn’t steamroll Union. It was a one-point game late in the third quarter. But Steelton-Highspire used a late surge to get past Union, 26-8, in the PIAA Class 1A championship at Cumberland Valley High School’s Chapman Field.
It was the second state title in three years for Steel-High (13-2).
“That’s a good team we played. Look how many Division I college guys they have,” Union coach Kim Niedbala said. “We have 26 kids playing. It’s kind of funny. But our kids battled. That’s all I can say.”
Union (12-4) had to go back home to New Castle wondering what might have been if it could have come through in the red zone. The Scotties turned the ball over on downs twice in the first quarter in the red zone and threw an interception in the end zone late in the first half.
“That was probably the game right there,” Niedbala said.
Steelton-Highspire has a big-name junior quarterback in Alex Erby, who has major-college scholarship offers and came in with 3,005 yards passing this season and 6,270 the past two years. But Steel-High didn’t throw all that much, and Erby completed 9 of 15 passes for 139 yards. But running back Robert Burnette ran for 126 yards on 27 carries and scored three touchdowns.
“They’re good up front. They’re big and physical, and I think that was probably the main thing: their offensive and defensive lines,” Niedbala said.
Burnette scored on runs of 3, 1 and 19 yards. His 1-yarder came only 1:14 after Union had cut the lead to 7-6 on Braylon Thomas’ 1-yard touchdown run with 2:21 to go in the third quarter.
“Our offensive line has been physical all year,” said Steelton-Highspire coach Andrew Erby, father of the quarterback. “Union was a good team that fought inside the box and had some good players. We were just able to chip away and hit some seams late with runs. We have a high-prospect quarterback, so a lot of teams try to take away the pass and give us the run. We were able to finish off this game running the ball.”
Union was outgained in yardage, 270-172. Dual-threat quarterback Thomas, who had vital in Union’s playoff run, had only 76 yards on 29 attempts and completed 4 of 14 passes for 70 yards and was intercepted twice. Thomas was also sacked four times.
“They did a good job of pushing us back and moving us a little and letting the running back get some yards,” said Matt Stanley, a senior outside linebacker for Union.
Steelton-Highspire led, 7-0, at halftime, and the main reason was Union’s wasted trips inside the 20-yard line.
On Union’s first possession, the Scotties drove to the Steel-High 11 but eventually turned the ball over on downs at the 19.
Union drove to the 16 on its second possession but again turned the ball over on downs. Then, late in the half, Union looked to be in good shape when it moved to the Steel-High 13. A run picked up 4 yards on first down, but “Bamm” went the Scotties’ scoring chance on the next play. Bamm Appleby intercepted Thomas’ pass in the end zone with 59 seconds left in the second quarter. Thomas completed only one pass for 23 yards in the first half.
Steel-High got its first-half touchdown when it moved 81 yards in 12 plays for a score. The Rollers picked up a first down on a 4th-and-five to put the ball at the 5, and Burnette scored two plays later on a 3-yard run.
In the second half, Union cut the lead to 13-8 with a safety, but the Scotties never seriously threatened again.
Although the Scotties came up one game short of a championship, players will not be short on memories from the season.
“For only 26 to 30 guys on this team, to bring the whole community together and have them behind us and make this run, it was special,” Stanley said. “Look at all the support, not just us in the locker room but the fans out there. It’s an awesome feeling. It’s always tough to lose, but tomorrow we’ll wake up, look back and reflect on the journey we had together.”
Mike White: mwhite@post-gazette.com and Twitter @mwhiteburgh
First Published: December 8, 2022, 10:33 p.m.