Schuylkill Valley football falls 44-41 to Lancaster Catholic in instant classic for Section 5 title

Dressed in military camouflage uniforms, the Schuylkill Valley football team braved Lancaster Catholic 44-41 on Friday in Leesport, giving the Crusaders the outright Lancaster-Lebanon League Section 5 title.

“We took the No. 7 (ranked) team in the state to the very end,” said Schuylkill Valley coach Bruce Harbach, whose team would have shared the section title with the win. “And maybe we could have won that game. Three errors killed us and it gave them points and it was a dagger.’

After trailing 41-20 with 4:05 left in the third quarter, Schuylkill Valley scored 21 unanswered points behind three touchdowns by junior running back Dominique Giuffre.

With 1:34 left, the Crusaders (6-0, 10-0) drove to the Schuylkill Valley 25-yard line. The Panthers (5-2, 6-4) had some momentum driving the ball with Giuffre before an intentional grounding penalty led to Schuylkill Valley winning on a tight 3rd-and-22 with 1:09 left .

After a timeout, the dagger came for the Panthers when quarterback Logan Nawrocki dropped to pass before fumbling under heavy pressure.

Hudson Hess recovered for the Crusaders at the Schuylkill Valley 14 with 49.5 to go. Kicker Gavin Tregeo kicked a 23-yard field goal three plays later to give Lancaster Catholic a 44-41 lead with 27 seconds left.

Schuylkill Valley was unable to get into a fighting position on the final drive.

“There’s definitely a lot to learn,” Giuffre said. “They are a very tough team to beat. They are ranked in the state, and we came and played and gave it our all. But yes, it was not the result we wanted.”

Giuffre scored six touchdowns, four rushing and two receiving, and recorded 218 yards of total offense (121 rushing, 97 receiving).

His impressive performance was only surpassed by the 302 yards rushing and five touchdowns earned by the Crusaders’ Elijah Cunningham.

Cunningham had field goals of 13, 63, 6, 13 and 2 yards. He carried the ball 40 times.

“He (Cunningham) had his best game of the year,” Lancaster Catholic coach Chris Maiorino said. “Once we realized they were going to take away our skill guys on the outside, we just tried to beat him and he was breaking tackles.

“And thanks to those (Schuylkill Valley) guys, they didn’t quit either. They have a great future with Coach Harbach and his group.”

Harbach coached Lancaster Catholic to two state titles and 139 wins in 16 seasons.

A 25-yard pass from quarterback Michael Goud to Giuffre capped Schuylkill Valley’s opening 5-play, 65-yard drive.

An interception by Dylan Luckner soon after set up Giuffre for a 7-yard touchdown to give the Panthers a 14-0 lead just three minutes into the game.

Cunningham and the Crusaders outscored Schuylkill Valley 28-6 to take a 28-20 halftime lead.

Giuffre scored a 6-yard touchdown run with 9:11 left in the second and kicker Noah Wamscher missed an extra point to keep the Panthers ahead 20-14. Cunningham’s third rushing touchdown gave the Crusaders the lead with 2:32 left in the first half before Schuylkill Valley fumbled and lost the ball on the ensuing kickoff, leading to a Lancaster Catholic touchdown just before halftime.

“I can’t explain how I feel,” Cunningham said. “I just feel really good being the sectional champion; it’s just inexplicable.”

In the second half, a 2-yard touchdown run by Cunningham capped off the third quarter. The Crusaders missed the extra point but scored on the next drive on a 30-yard pass from Will Cranford to Jevon Parker.

With their backs against the wall, the Panthers didn’t budge.

Giuffre scored on an 8-yard run with 1:08 left in the third before taking a 50-yard pass from Nawrocki to the house on the next drive to cut the Panthers’ deficit to 41-34. Giuffre broke several tackles during the game and made decisive cuts once he got into the secondary.

Schuylkill Valley’s defense also did its part, forcing a 3-and-out on Lancaster Catholic’s next possession.

Giuffre capped an 8-play drive that started at the Panthers’ 42 with a 21-yard touchdown run. Wamscher converted the extra point to tie the game.

“We just have to keep our heads up,” Giuffre said. “It was a very difficult game. And we fought and gave our best.”

Schuylkill Valley entered the game ranked fifth in the District 3 Class 3A power rankings; the top six qualify for the playoffs. The final power rating will be announced on Sunday at 10:00 AM

“We’ll see where the chips fall,” Harbach said of the possibility of qualifying for the district playoffs.