WATCH VIDEO | Penn Cambria blanks Brockway to advance to 3A quarterfinals
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BROCKWAY, Pa. – Penn Cambria coach Jason Grassi said following his team’s PIAA Class 3A first-round victory over Brockway that the Panthers are playing better defense now than they did during the regular season.
The results have spoken for themselves.
Penn Cambria allowed just 160 yards of offense as the Panthers shut out the District 9 champion Rovers 27-0 Friday night at Frank Varischetti Stadium.
WTAJ | Penn Cambria at Brockway
“We really buckled down tonight,” Grassi said. “We’re getting through and we’re sacking the quarterback, plus we’re playing good in the secondary right now. At all three levels, we’re playing really good football defensively.
“Anytime you can shut a team out in the state playoffs, it’s awesome.”
The two-time defending District 6 champion Panthers have now outscored their opponents 101-13 over the three postseason contests, including not allowing a touchdown since their district semifinal win over Forest Hills Oct. 31.
Penn Cambria (11-2) will ride its stellar defensive play into next week’s PIAA quarterfinal matchup against District 10 champion Sharon, a 20-17 winner over Hickory.
“This is exactly where we want to be,” said Panthers quarterback Brady Jones, who threw for 299 yards and all four of Penn Cambria’s touchdowns.
“We’re just doing what we’ve been doing all year long. We’re establishing a run and then putting the ball in our playmaker’s hands and let them do the work. We’re very confident in our abilities as a team and we for sure don’t want to stop now.”
The Panthers will look to make their second straight final four appearance after becoming the first football team in school history to reach the state semifinals in 2024.
“It means everything,” Penn Cambria senior Grant Gides said. “We work so hard in the off-season every year. We put the time in every week, putting our bodies through all this stuff to get these results. It just feels awesome.”
Defensively, Penn Cambria focused its game plan on containing Brockway dual-threat quarterback Aiden Patton, who came into Friday with over 1,800 passing yards.
The Panthers sacked Patton six times and registered nine quarterback hurries. Patton finished 16-for-36 passing for 154 yards and was intercepted by Noah Jones.
On the ground, Patton registered minus-15 rushing yards on 14 attempts, as the Rovers totaled just six yards rushing as a team.
“You’ve got to stop the run first and make them one-dimensional,” said Panthers linebacker Ayden Himmer, who tallied 1.5 sacks. “Then we’ll get to the quarterback and make plays. We practiced it all week, cover the scramble, and keep him in the pocket, make him throw balls up. We did a great job of that tonight.”
Jones then provided more than enough insurance for the Panthers defense, as Penn Cambria found the end zone once in each quarter.
Gides opened the scoring with a 49-yard touchdown reception on Penn Cambria’s first drive of the game.
Gides, who totaled 273 receiving yards in the first 12 games, hauled in six passes for 193 yards to go along with his score.
“It just shows how much preparation we put into each week,” Gides said. “Our coaching staff, all the players we work with every week, everyone has the same goal. We’ve got a good team here this year, and we want to go even further.”
Corbin Vinglish caught a 25-yard touchdown pass to put Penn Cambria ahead 13-0 at halftime.
Jones then fired a 51-yard score to Blake Nadolsky to begin the third quarter and set the final with a 7-yard touchdown pass to Blake Lilly early in the fourth.
Nadolsky was second to Gides with 64 receiving yards.
Vinglish compiled 95 rushing yards on 21 attempts.
“Overall, it was a solid night,” Grassi said.
“We’re going to try and keep this train moving and hopefully make some more history with this team.”
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