Mirror Photo by Chuck Meyers Cambria Heights players celebrate their District 6 Class 2A championship victory over Richland on Friday at Mansion Park.

After winning the District 6 football championship in Class 1A last year, Cambria Heights moved up to Class 2A this season, and the Highlanders faced many naysayers who doubted they could win another title in the higher division.

Cambria Heights spent Friday night conclusively proving all the doubters wrong.

The undefeated Highlanders (13-0) controlled the second half of the District 6 Class 2A championship game against Richland at Mansion Park, using a ground-and-pound running game behind solid offensive line play to open the game in the second half. En route to a 42-21 district gold medal victory.

The win will earn Heights a spot in next week’s PIAA Class 2A quarterfinals against undefeated Central Clarion (12-0) at a time and place to be determined. District 9 champion Central Clarion advanced with a 41-6 win over Farrell in a PIAA Class 2A first-round playoff game Friday night.

“We’ve been a second-half team all year, and tonight we imposed our will on them in the second half,” said Heights coach Jarrod Lewis, whose strong offensive attack broke a 14-14 first half tie. . “Our offense came out great in the second half and our defense was great tonight.

“I’m really proud of our kids,” Lewis added. “When we won (Class 1A) last year and moved up to (Class 2A), there were people who thought we wouldn’t win the title again. But this is a tribute to our children and their professionalism. We have great kids on this team with great parents. “Our seniors were great and our underclassmen improved all year long.”

Heights took a 21-14 lead on Steven Nelen’s 59-yard field goal with less than two minutes remaining in the third quarter, running down the middle of the field, and the Highlanders continued to advance from there.

“It was a zone read and I took it right down the middle of the field,” Nelen said of his game-changing run. “We knew we had to drive the ball effectively and we did our job in the second half. Our offensive line is an experienced group and we couldn’t have done it without them.

“It’s great to win another championship,” added Nelen. “We have worked hard for this since last summer. “This was one of our goals at the beginning of the season.”

Heights ran for 365 yards, with Nelen rushing for 129 yards on 16 carries and a touchdown, senior fullback Trey Trybus rushing for 106 yards on 16 carries and two scores, and fellow senior fullback Marshall Eckenrode rushing for 94 yards on 11 carries and two touchdowns. collected. 449 total yards during the run.

“Our offensive diversity makes us a tough team to defend,” Lewis said. “We have many players touching the ball”

Heights made a big defensive play that paved the way for the Highlanders to take a 28-14 lead late in the third quarter. Junior Carson Lobick took the ball from a Richland player and Eckenrode recovered the ball from a defensive linebacker position at the Richland 19.

Five plays later, Trybus scored on an 8-yard run to give Heights some much-needed breathing room.

“We went to the locker room at halftime and planned what we were going to do,” Trybus said. “We all came out in the second half and did our job. This is the best offensive line I’ve ever played with.”

The Highlanders’ offensive front includes senior center Braylon Rydbom, senior guard Tristan Weakland and sophomore guard Jack Sherwood, juniors James Houtz and Hayden Leamer, and senior tight end Garrett Jasper.

“It was a total team effort tonight,” Rydbom said. “Our line was very impressive and our runners got into the holes.

“There were people saying we would be destroyed once we got to 2A,” Rydbom said. “I think we proved these people wrong and that feels great.”

Trybus added a 4-yard touchdown run and Eckenrode left the left tackle for a 41-yard TD run, both in the fourth quarter, as Heights won on the road.

“There has been constant improvement in this team throughout this season,” Lewis said. “The players on this team are never satisfied. Tonight was a total team effort.”

Game Play: On offense, Nelen’s big goal in the third quarter shifted the momentum in Heights’ favor. It was a huge defensive play, with Lobick’s rush and Eckenrode’s fumble recovery helping Heights gain a strong lead.

Players of the game: It is very difficult to name just one. Nelen, Trybus and Eckenrode all deserve salute.

Unsung heroes: The Heights offensive line helped open up the Highlanders’ running game in the second half.

The most vital statistic: Heights racked up 449 yards and 365 from scrimmage as the Highlanders dominated the second half.

Richland coach Brandon Bailey: “Our kids played very well in the first half, but we didn’t succeed in our first offensive move in the second half and they did it. Then things started to pile up on us from there. Cambria Heights is a good football team. “We couldn’t make the plays we needed to make, and they did too.”

Notable: Freshman quarterback Jake Regan threw for 174 yards and two touchdowns for Richland, hitting senior wideout Austin Yarnick on a 34-yard touchdown pass to open the scoring in the first quarter and connecting with sophomore offensive lineman Jamere Christian on a 4-yard touchdown pass established late in the fourth quarter. Christian made nine catches totaling 113 yards for Richland and caught a 3-yard touchdown pass from Joe Mcaneny in the second quarter… Heights scored its first touchdown on a pass from quarterback Isaac Weiland to Luke Mulraney that traveled 19 yards at mid-pitch. In the second quarter, Eckenrode also scored his first touchdown on a 4-yard run.

Records: Richland (10-2); Cambria Hills (12-0).

Next week: Cambria Heights will face undefeated Central Clarion in a PIAA quarterfinal round game at a location and time to be determined. Richland’s season is complete.

SCORE BY QUARTER

Richland 7 7 0 7–21

Cambria Heights 0 14 7 21–42

First Quarter

R–Yarnick, 34 pass by Regan (Ritko kick), 11:01.

Second Quarter

CH – Mulraney 19 pass by Weiland (kick by Abrams), 8:02.

R–Mcaneny 3 run (Ritko strike), 4:14.

CH – Eckenrode 4 runs (hit by Abrams), 0:43.

Third Quarter

CH – Nelen 59 runs (strike by Abrams), 10:16.

Fourth Quarter

CH – Trybus 8 run (kick by Abrams), 10:15.

CH – Trybus 4 run (kick by Abrams), 5:59.

R–Christian 4 pass by Regan (Ritko kick), 4:30.

CH – Eckenrode 41 runs (kick by Abrams), 2:58.

TEAM STATISTICS AR CH

Debuts 13 23

Rush-yard 25-98 57-365

174 84 passing yards

Total yards 272 449

Passing (informed-att.-int.) 15-28-0 7-10-0

Bet/average 2-43.5 1-42

Fumbles-lose 1-1 1-1

Penalty yards 4-30 6-72

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING – Richland, Mcaneny 11-47, Yeager 8-39, Regan 3-6, Christian 2-4, A Mugwera 1-2. Cambria Heights, Nelen 16-129, Trybus 16-106, Eckenrode 11-94, Mulraney 7-23, Kline 1-12, Jasper 2-9, Clawson 1-2, Weiland 3-(-10).

PASSING–Richland, Regan 15-28-0-174. Cambria Heights, Weiland 7-10-0-84.

WELCOME – Richland, Christian 9-113, Yarnick 3-44, J. Mugerwa 1-10, Mcaneny 1-7, Yeager 1-0. Cambria Heights, Eckenrode 4-17, Trybus 2-48, Mulraney 1-19.