Complete Box Score and Play by Play
For the first time in a generation, St. Pius X will play for a state championship.
In a battle of unbeaten teams, the Warriors turned in a dominant second-half showing and surged to a 31-14 against Palmyra on Saturday in the Class 2 semifinals. With the win, St. Pius X continued its remarkable turnaround and advanced to the state title game for the first time since 2002.
Pius will play Lamar on Friday at Blair Oaks High School, looking for its fifth state title in program history.
First-year coach Anthony Simone has first-hand experience competing for state championships as a part of the Warriors’ state title winning team in 2000. But he said the chance to coach in the title game holds even more significance for him.
“To be able to do it with the coaching staff we have and the players, it’s been more enjoyable as a coach, I think,” Simone said. “But I’m just so happy these guys get to experience it because it’s obviously a once-in-a-lifetime deal.”
Pius (12-0) has surpassed expectations all year long but faced perhaps its biggest challenge yet against a Palmyra team ranked No. 1 in the state.
Junior quarterback Jack Mosh staked the Warriors to an early lead thanks to first-quarter touchdown passes to Robbie Sharp and David Deters that put Pius in great shape early on.
“He could call the offense for us up and down the field. That’s how smart he is,” Simone said of Mosh. “He knows the game, and having him back there, it opens everything up for us.”
But the Panthers (12-1) roared right back in the final minute before halftime. Palmyra quarterback Brody Lehenbauer put his team on the board when he took a double-reverse fleaflicker and connected with Abe Haerr for a crucial score with 17 seconds left in the first half.
Palmyra recovered the ensuing kickoff, and then Haerr pulled down another long scoring strike with five second remaining. Just like that, the game was tied at 14-14, but Deters said there was never any panic in the team’s approach.
“We knew we dominated that entire half, and they had two big plays at the end of the half. And that’s all they had,” Deters said. “We knew it was our game to win, so we knew we had the upper hand and we could come out and put it on them.”
Sure enough, Pius received the second-half kickoff and marched right down the field to retake the lead on Sharp’s 9-yard touchdown run. After forcing a three-and-out, the Warriors put together another lengthy scoring drive, capped by Joey Wilson’s 34-yard field goal.
Pius forced a turnover on downs early in the fourth quarter and then put the game out of reach on Shane Dorian’s 1-yard touchdown run with 6 minutes remaining.
“They had the confidence,” Simone said. “We knew we got the ball first and just stuck with the game plan we had installed. There was really no adjustments needed. We just stuck with it and believed in what we were doing, and they came out and did a great job in the second half.”
Mosh led the offense with 158 passing yards and two touchdown passes to go with 46 rushing yards. Deters was the main downfield threat with 91 receiving yards and a score, while Sharp led the team with 63 rushing yards.
Deters was also one of the leaders for Pius on defense, which limited Palmyra to just 67 yards of total offense and four first downs in the second half, and he said the finality of the postseason has pushed the team to play better.
“For the last four weeks, we’ve known it could be our last game. That’s the mentality we’ve been having,” Deters said. “We’ve been coming out and fight out hearts out and leave it all on this field.”
Haerr proved to be the biggest playmaker for the Panthers with 86 receiving yards and two touchdowns grabs, while Lehenbauer finished with 119 passing yards. But Palmyra’s rushing attack, led by 37 yards from Ross Arch, struggled to get going against a tough Pius defensive front.
When the final seconds ticked away, Mosh sprawled to the turf as the entire team rushed the field to celebrate the program’s first state championship appearance in nearly two decades. And as his teammates and coaches basked in the moment, Mosh reflected on the incredible strides the program has made since last season.
“It’s really amazing,” Mosh said. “We’ve been working every night since January. We were 3-7 last year. Nobody respects us. We just want our respect, and I think we earned it now.
“One more to go, though.”
