Steelton-Highspire rolls to PIAA Class 1A football state title: Pennsylvania high school football 2023 rewind

Alex Erby was responsible for six touchdowns as Steelton-Highspire defeated Fort Cherry in the 2023 PIAA Class 1A state championship game

Steelton-Highspire players hoist the 2023 PIAA Class 1A state championship trophy after defeating Fort Cherry 42-8 / 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 1A state championship game, which saw Steelton-Highspire win the state title with a 42-8 win over Fort Cherry.

Steelton-Highspire 42, Fort Cherry 8

Steelton-Highspire quarterback Alex Erby put on one final masterful high school performance as the Rollers took home the Class 1A state title.

The Naval Academy commit went 28-of-378 passing for 335 yards and five touchdowns and added 36 yards and a score on the ground to help lead the Rollers to their third state title in four seasons.

On a pop pass to Nazier Fuller in the first quarter - his second touchdown pass of the game - Erby broke the Pennsylvania single-season record for touchdown passes with his 58th touchdown toss of the season. It was just one more record for Erby, who finished his career with 13,562 yards passing and 175 touchdowns - both career records in Pennsylvania.

"It's surreal," Alex Erby said.  "Just looking in the history books, Dan Marino and all the quarterbacks going down the road, just putting my name in competition with them, it's truly amazing."

The Rollers scored two touchdowns in the first quarter and added three more in the second to take a 34-0 lead into halftime. Erby's fifth touchdown pass of the game - a three-yard completion to Taevon Legrande - made it 42-0 midway through the third.

Fort Cherry ended the shutout with a one-yard touchdown run by sophomore quarterback Matt Sieg with 1:47 left in the game.

Durrell Caeser, Jr. led the Rollers with 13 catches for 147 yards and a score, Nazier Fuller had 94 yards and tweo touchdowns on a pair of catches and Jaeion Perry hauled in nine passes for 84 yards and a touchdown.

2023 PIAA Class 1A state semifinal results

Steelton-Highspire 48, South Williamsport 21
Fort Cherry 32, Redbank Valley 23

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