South Fayette outslugs Dunmore to win second AA title, 28-16

Written by: EasternPAFootball.com Staff on Saturday, December 13th, 2014. Follow EasternPAFootball.com Staff on Twitter.

Hunter Hayes said it best: “We lined up, they hit us then we hit them back all day long.” When the Bucks came out for the first play of the game Deion Brown and Dan Drewes walked up to scrimmage and towered over the Lions offensive line. Two plays later Bucks qb/cb Eric DeLuccie stepped in front of a Brett Brumbaugh pass at the 50 for the first of 3 South Fayette turnovers.

“They’re big up front and I was having trouble seeing over them in the beginning of the game,” said the 11,000 yard passer. He eventually made the adjustment he needed to complete a few key passes but it was running back Hunter Hayes who stole the show. With the score at 14-12 in favor of Dunmore and the ball at their own 5 following a key stop of Dunmore on downs, Hayes took the ball, slid right and sprinted up the field. Ninety five yards later he had put his name and team in the record books. His was the longest touchdown run from scrimmage in PIAA championship and playoff history. His team became the first AA team to repeat as state champions.

Dunmore, though, fired the first couple shots behind their mammoth line. Colin Holmes fired off a couple nice runs and Garrett Murray finished off the first drive for the Bucks with an impressive 34 yard td run. The kick failed but the Bucks had surprised many by doing what they needed to do against a high scoring, quick hitting team. They got off to a fast start.

Hayes and the Lions answered quickly. Hunter carried the ball several times on the next drive and then finished it from 9 yards out. The kick from Dan Trimbur was true and the Lions took the lead by 1 with still 7 minutes in the first.

Dunmore came right back in a furious first quarter battle that was eventually dominated by the Bucks and their big front line. Despite 3 penalties in the drive (something that would plague the Bucks all afternoon), Dunmore found the end zone once again on a 4 yard Holmes td run. This time the kick went through and Dunmore was back in the lead 13-7.

Murray and company started the second quarter where they left off in the first, plowing down field. But on third down on the Fayette 8, the Lion defense made a stop that was a sign of things to come. Dunmore settled for a 27 yard Joey Capooci field goal with 9:09 remaining in the half and what looked like a very good lead.

Field position was key at this point as Dunmore was forced to punt, but the ball didn’t go any further than the 39, giving the Lions great field position. They failed to move the ball but pinned the Bucks deep at the 8. Another crucial Dunmore penalty backed them up even more and eventually the Bucks were forced to punt from their own 1.

South Fayette needed only 3 carries from Hayes and a 9 yard td pass to Ryan Schmider to bring the Lions within 2 after the kick.

The second half was all South Fayette as they finished the job scoring 21 unanswered points in total. Dunmore did have a chance to get the lead back after driving 66 yards to the South Fayette 2 yard line but another penalty moved them back to the 8. The Bucks failed to move the ball and, with 30 seconds remaining in the third quarter, Dunmore Coach Jack Henzes made a call that changed the game. The Bucks tried to convert but failed.

That’s when Hayes made his play. A 10 point swing was the outcome. South Fayette didn’t look back, eventually scoring the final 7 points on a beautiful 37 yard td pass to Dan Trimbur with 8:27 remaining in the game.

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