Panthers’ impressive 2024 season reaches an end

Mirror photo by Patrick Waksmunski
Penn Cambria’s Thomas Plunkett (left) and Brady Jones come off the field together after Friday’s loss to Avonworth.

IRWIN — Although the final chapter wasn’t what the team desired, Penn Cambria put together an historic, unprecedented, storybook high school football season in 2024.

After becoming the school’s first District 6 football champions and the first in school history to reach the PIAA football semifinals, the Panthers — who entered Friday night’s PIAA Class 3A semifinal clash against WPIAL champion Avonworth sporting the first unbeaten record by a Penn Cambria football team since the 1989 season — ran into an opponent that simply made a few more plays than it did.

And Avonworth junior scatback Luca Neal made the biggest plays of the night, rushing for 261 yards on 27 carries and two second-half touchdowns, as Avonworth posted a 16-6 victory on a snow-specked Norwin High School Knights field.

The fleet 5-10, 190-pound Neal broke off a 65-yard touchdown run off right tackle with 4:39 left in the third quarter to give Avonworth (12-3) a 9-6 lead that the Antelopes never relinquished.

Neal also ran 2 yards for a touchdown with 1:08 left in the game after setting up that score with a 43-yard scamper off the right end to put a bow on Avonworth’s victory that clinched the Antelopes a berth in next Saturday afternoon’s Class 3A state championship game at Cumberland Valley High School’s Chapman Field.

“We’re hurting right now, but we had an unbelievable season,” said Penn Cambria coach Nick Felus, whose Panthers put together a 14-1 campaign. “They just made more plays than we did tonight, and that was the story.”

Neal’s quickness and speed out of the wildcat formation proved to be too much for the Panthers to handle, particularly in the second half.

“Our linemen all did their jobs tonight and I got some awesome blocks, and hit the holes,” said Neal, whose older brother, Nico, a senior, joins him in the Avonworth backfield to give the Lopes a potent 1-2 running tandem. “(Getting to the state championship game) doesn’t feel real. It feels super special getting the chance to play in the game with my brother.”

Avonworth coach Duke Johncour knows that Luca Neal is a special back.

“He’s just a tough kid all-around, a great player who is shifty, fast and physical,” Johncour said. “He had a great game tonight.”

After Avonworth took a 3-0 second-quarter lead on a 31-yard field goal by sophomore kicker Calder Mahan, Penn Cambria senior standout Gavin Harrold accounted for the Panthers’ only points of the night by racing 62 yards down the left sideline on a jet sweep for a touchdown with 2:30 left in the first half to give the Panthers a 6-3 lead at halftime.

“The outside was wide open,” Harrold said. “A lot of guys made some great blocks to allow me to go the whole way.”

After Penn Cambria drove to the Avonworth 23 midway through the third quarter, the Panthers just missed connecting on junior quarterback Brady Jones’ fourth-down pass to senior tight end in the back of the end zone.

Avonworth regained possession, and three plays later, Luca Neal raced off the right side of the field for the go-ahead 65-yard touchdown run.

On a night when its defense turned in another stellar effort after blanking Central Valley in last Saturday’s WPIAL championship game, that would prove to be enough for the Antelopes.

An interception by junior defensive back Blake Lilly near the goal line with 9:16 left in the game kept Penn Cambria’s hopes alive, with the Panthers regaining possession at their own 28.

But Penn Cambria eventually was forced to punt the ball away at midfield, and Avoworth took over at its own 18 with under five minutes left, and drove 82 yards in just six plays with the Luca Neal 2-yard scoring run being the dagger.

“Our kids are resilient and physical, and that last drive sealed the deal for us,” Johncour said.

Nonetheless, it took nothing away from Penn Cambria’s watershed 2024 campaign.

“You’ve got to tip your cap to them — they just made more plays than us,” Harrold said. “But our team definitely set the standard here this season for football at Penn Cambria. Things just didn’t go our way tonight, but I couldn’t be more proud of our team and the way that our season went.”

Play of the game: Luca Neal’s 65-yard third-quarter touchdown run gave Avonworth the lead for good, 9-6, and Neal’s 43-yard run and 2-yard TD burst in the closing minutes sealed the deal for Avonworth.

Player of the game: Luca Neal.

Unsung heroes: Avonworth’s defensive unit limited Penn Cambria’s high-powered offense to just six points.

Most vital statistic: Avonworth rolled up 335 of its 376 yards on the ground.

Penn Cambria quarterback Jones: “We battled tonight, and we can’t hang our heads. This game came down to a couple more big plays that they made. We created a legacy, and set a standard at Penn Cambria this season.”

Penn Cambria senior running back/linebacker Mason Mento: “I know it didn’t end well tonight, but we had an amazing season. We did some things this year that no football team at our school has ever done. I’ll never forget this.”

Notable: Sophomore linebacker Bryce Metz recovered a fumble for Avonworth, which has allowed a total of only 12 points in its last three playoff games … Northwestern Lehigh advanced to the state title game by winning its 3A semifinal Friday night over Danville, 31-14.

Records: Penn Cambria (14-1); Avonworth (12-3).

Next week: Penn Cambria’s season is complete. Avonworth meets Northwestern Lehigh in the PIAA Class 3A championship game next Saturday.

SCORE BY QUARTERS

Penn Cambria 0 6 0 0–6

Avonworth 0 3 6 7–16

Second Quarter

A–Mahan 25 FG, 4:06.

PC–Harrold 62 run (pass failed), 2:30.

Third Quarter

A–L. Neal 65 run (kick failed), 4:39.

Fourth Quarter

A–L. Neal 2 run (Mahan kick), 1:08.

TEAM STATISTICS PC A

First downs 7 17

Total yards 202 376

Rushes-yards 29-160 46-335

Yards passing 42 41

Passing (comp.-att.-int.) 6-11-0 4-9-1

Punts/avg. 4-29 2-39.5

Fumbles-lost 2-1 1-0

Penalties-yards 6-35 9-55

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING–Penn Cambria, Harrold 11-93, Mento 6-28, Mento 6-28, Plunkett 6-21. Avonworth, L. Neal 27-261, N. Neal 17-60, Dellinger 1-8, Velisaris 1-6.

PASSING–Penn Cambria, Jones 6-11-0-42. Avonworth, Bellinger 4-9-1-41.

RECEIVING–Penn Cambria, Harrold 4-11, Vinglish 2-31. Avonworth, Goetz 1-12, Harding 1-10, Scharding 1-0, Krull 1-9.