Final drive propels Southern Columbia to PIAA Class 2A state title: Pennsylvania high school football 2023 rewind

Southern Columbia went 99 yards in 12 plays to score the game-winning touchdown and capture its seventh consecutive state championship

Carter Madden of Southern Columbia runs the ball against Westinghouse in the 2023 PIAA Class 2A state championship game. / Paul Burdick, SBLive Sports

As we get ready for the beginning of the 2024 Pennsylvania high school football season, we wanted to take a look back at 2023 to see how the season ended in each of the state’s six classes with a rewind recap of the state championship game.

In this edition, we will take a look at the 2023 PIAA Class 2A state championship game, which saw Southern Columbia win its seventh straight state title with a 21-20 win over Westinghouse.

Southern Columbia 21, Westinghouse 20

Just when it looked like Southern Columbia's stronghold over Class 2A in Pennsylvania, the Tigers clawed their way out of a hole and finished off the state championship game the way one would expect a champion to - by taking the ball the lenght of the field for a game-winning drive.

Trailing 20-14 and their streak of six straight state titles on the line, Southern Columbia knew it might only have one more chance. But that chance looked slim when the Tigers got the ball at their own one-yard-line with 6:09 remaining.

That's when Southern Columbia went on a dirve that will live on in PIAA lore. 12 plays, 99 yards and 5:27 later, the Tigers held a 21-20 lead and were about to celebrate.

Southern Columbia quickly got out of the shadow of its own end zone when a handoff to Garrett Garcia went off the left edge for 28 yards on the first play of the drive.

Once the Tigers crossed midfield, there was a wild sequence of fourth down plays.

On 4th-and-8 from the Westinghouse 45, a 10-yard completion from Blake Wise to Kyle Christman looked to give the Tigers a new set of downs. But a holding penalty erased the play and made it 4th-and-18. On that play, Wisxe fumbled and the ball was recovered by Westinghouse, seemingly ending the drive and possibly the game. But again, a flag was on the field. This one was a holding penalty on a Westinghouse defensive back to once again make ith 4th-and-8. This time, the Tigers converted as Wise and Christman connected for 11 yards with no flags.

Southern Columbia used that momentum - and the frustration from Westinghouse over the defensive holding call - to finish off the drive.

On the play adfter the fourth down conversion, Carter Madden scampered 16 yards for a first down. Garrett Garcia followed with a one-yard run before Westinghouse jumped offside on the next play set the Tigers up at the 12-yard-line.

On the next play, Carter got the ball on a sweep to the left side and found paydirt with 42 seconds left to tie the game. Isaac Carter's PAT then gave Southern Columbia a 21-20 win and its seventh straight state title.

"If anyone could do it, we could do it," Carter said. "Our team has been playing together for I don't know how long and that just shows how good we are as a team. That shows our character and that shows what we can do."

Louden Murphy led Southern Columbia with 131 yards rushing and a score on 16 carries, Garcia added 69 yards on 15 carries and Carter ran the ball nine times for 41 yards and a the game-winning touchdown.

2023 PIAA Class 2A state semifinal results

Southern Columbia 39, Dunmore 7
Westinghouse 28, Beaver Falls 8

-- Ryan Isley  | ryan@scorebooklive.com | @sblivepa