Wheeler
Bishop Guilfoyle Academy has grown accustomed to meeting certain teams at this point in the state playoffs over the years whether it’s Clairton, Steelton-Highspire or Lackawanna Trail — but this season Lackawanna, which BG topped 11-7 in the 2019 PIAA playoffs after Trail had made the 2018 state title game, was defeated by relatively unknown District 12 champion Belmont Charter.
If you haven’t heard of Belmont — you aren’t alone. The school has a male enrollment of just 127, has no home football stadium and has only had varsity football since 2021.
But the Tigers will be playing the Marauders tonight at John H. Frederick Field at Memorial Park in Mechanicsburg at 7 p.m. in the PIAA Class 1A semifinals.
“I have talked to a few coaches across the state that I have gotten to know from some different all-star games, and some have played them over the past couple of years,” BG coach Justin Wheeler said. “They said they will be extremely athletic, which we saw on film. If you watched that Lackawanna Trail game, it wasn’t sustained drives as much as it was one-play touchdowns. They are super athletic on the perimeter, and they have a kid that has a bunch of Division I Power 4 offers on the offensive line that’s 6-foot-4, 330 pounds. They have some size up front. It’s going to be a challenge to limit their big plays and also if you take away the pass too much, they can run behind that Division I tackle (Mason Billingsley-Walker).”
Last week’s 52-40 win over Lackawanna Trail marked the deepest a Belmont Charter team has ever made it in the state playoffs.
“The process has had its ups and downs, but we saw this vision back when the program first started,” Belmont Charter coach Terrell Brent said. “The only goal has been grinding year in and year out to build and grow the program every year. We still are building the program, and the best has yet to come. A great foundation was set by the former head coach Ed McCabe. He was my former coach, teacher and mentor.”
Belmont had several long touchdown receptions and a 74-yard touchdown run by Shyneem Newsuan in the win over Trail.
“We have been playing a good brand of football as a team,” Brent said. “We need our guys to keep playing, and we also need everyone else to play their role and chip in however is needed to be successful.”
Wheeler said last week’s win over Westinghouse should help BG be ready for this week.
“They are similar to Westinghouse as far as playing man and doing some of that stuff,” Wheeler said. “We didn’t have to use some of the things we had prepared for last week that we thought we might need at some point. It’s a good place to start. It’s a few things we thought would work against a team that is fast and has some size. We’ll have a plan and adjust as we go, but it’s going to be a challenge. They score a lot of points, but their defense has given up some too, so we like our chances on both sides.”
Brent called BG a “well coached and very experienced program.”
“We walk into, not just playoff games but all games, with a swagger behind us,” BG senior Hayden Hosgood said. “We know this is what we do. We play for the big games. We love it and love the spotlight. There’s always a little bit of nervousness, but it’s always just another game.”
Making a state championship game is the expected goal at Bishop Guilfoyle. Establishing that belief at Belmont Charter would mean a lot to Brent.
“It would mean the world for the program and the school. It would be a testament to how hard the kids work and the daily preparation we put in week in and week out,” Brent said. “This grind started back in January. We have made school history, but we understand the bigger goal is a state title.”
For what it’s worth, Wheeler said experience should only play a minor role in Friday’s game.
“Every team that won is a team that had never won before they won it all,” Wheeler said. “We were in the same boat in 2014 with people counting us out because we hadn’t been there. The only thing for me is that we know what we like to do and what our practice schedule will be. The kids expect to be practicing and playing now. As a program the experience helps, but we have a bunch of new starters. Hopefully we can lean on the guys with experience and let the other guys catch up.”
More importantly to Wheeler and his team is the level of competition they played to get to this point.
“Our regular-season schedule prepares us a lot for what we see in the postseason,” BG senior Jesse Georgiana said. “Our coaches really pound it into our head that these teams want to end our season. We have to be on top of our game and make sure we’re dialed in for each of these games.”
Jake Kissell, BG’s top rusher and defensive star, left the field limping last week but is expected to play in Friday’s game.
“He feels good,” Wheeler said. “Hopefully he’s as close as he can get to 100 percent, because he’s quite a player.”
With the Marauders just four quarters from returning to the state finals, expect Kissell and the rest of the team to give it their all.
“Ever since last winter, our main goal has been to get back,” Georgiana said. “We all got a taste of how that feels, and we want to recreate that and bring the school another state championship.”