Antelopes are WPIAL champions!

&emsp;&emsp;In their third consecutive trip back to Acrisure Stadium, the Avonworth Antelopes football team made it a charm when they shut down the Central Valley Warriors 17-0 last Saturday to capture the WPIAL 3A title, and the third championship in the school's history.&emsp;&emsp;"It was the first shut-out all year," said coach Duke Johncour. "That's a great football team we beat — tough, physical and well coached."&emsp;&emsp;Nico Neal led the way offensively with 102 yards rushing on 23 carries, and two touchdowns, while Bryce Metz (8 tackles), Justin Beck (7 tackles), Dimitri Velisaris (7 tackles), and Mason Metz (5 tackles), highlighted a spectacular defensive effort that limited the Warriors' top two tailbacks to a total of 43 yards on 16 carries.&emsp;&emsp;Central Valley's Mason Dixon and Jance Henry had combined for 2,127 rushing yards with 31 touchdowns entering the championship game.&emsp;&emsp;When asked how he felt about securing his second championship at the helm of the Antelopes, Johncour said, "It's great. Winning this, it's for the kids. It's not about me, it's about their hard work and their effort. I'm so excited and happy for them, the fact that they put all of this hard work in, and it paid off."&emsp;&emsp;Avonworth got off to a fantastic start when Cooper Scharding returned the opening kick-off 51 yards, which allowed the Antelopes' offense to start from the CV 42 yard line.&emsp;&emsp;Nico Neal and Luca Neal ran the ball strictly out of the wildcat formation, and Nico's seventh carry of the 10-play drive resulted in a 2-yard touchdown run. Calder Mahan converted on the PAT, and the 'Lopes went up 7-0 with 6:11 left to play in the first quarter.&emsp;&emsp;The Warriors decided to gamble early. Their first possession netted 5 yards to their 43 yard line, but a fourth down pass from what appeared to be a punt formation fell incomplete and Avonworth took over on downs to begin their next scoring drive.&emsp;&emsp;A key play along the way was a pitch-out on an end around play to Jayden Jones, who dropped the ball, picked it up, and reversed field. Jones gained 6 yards, but his facemask was pulled on the play, and the penalty against the Warriors brought the ball to the CV 21 yard line.&emsp;&emsp;The Antelopes had to settle for a field goal by Mahan from 32 yards out on the first play of the second quarter to increase their lead to 10-0.&emsp;&emsp;Central Valley would end up going 0-3 on fourth down conversions in the first half, with Avonworth maintaining their 10-0 lead.&emsp;&emsp;The Warriors were able to have more success offensively on two drives in the third quarter, but the Antelopes, with sacks by Mason Metz and Beck in those drives, would force third down and long situations that CV could not convert on.&emsp;&emsp;A combined sack by Bryce and Mason Metz in the fourth quarter forced Central Valley to punt the ball from deep in their own end, and a poor punt led to Avonworth's touchdown drive that started at the CV 33.The Neal brothers shared carries, and the six-play drive was completed by Nico Neal's 3-yard TD run, followed by Mahan's PAT to secure a 17-0 victory for the Antelopes.&emsp;&emsp;"Congratulations to Avonworth," said Central Valley coach Mark Lyons. "We got beat by a better team tonight, and sometimes that is hard to accept. Sometimes the life of football can teach you some tough lessons. We just came up short today." &emsp;&emsp;The WPIAL championship doubles as a PIAA quarterfinal game, and Avonworth (11-3) advances to meet District 6 champion Penn Cambria (14-0) in a semifinal game played at Norwin High School tonight at 7 p.m. &emsp;&emsp; &emsp;&emsp;