PIAA Class 3A championship preview: Belle Vernon vs. Northwestern Lehigh

There is no doubt the PIAA Class 3A title game will be a physical, defensive battle.

Belle Vernon (12-1) will meet Northwestern Lehigh (15-0) in an attempt to defend its state title at 1 p.m. Saturday at Cumberland Valley High School in Mechanicsburg.

“The thing that you learn from tape is they are a good football team,” Belle Vernon coach Matt Humbert said of Northwestern Lehigh. “There’s a reason why they’re 15-0, and there’s a reason why you’re playing them in the state championship because they’re good. They’re just solid all around the board. They play as a team; I think that’s the biggest thing when I look at them they’re just a unit, a tight-knit team that kind of feeds and plays off of each other.”

Belle Vernon won the PIAA title a year ago with a goal-line stand to beat Neumann-Goretti, 9-8. This year, the Leopards beat Avonworth, 26-0, to win the WPIAL title at Acrisure Stadium. They advanced and defeated Hickory, 42-16, to reach the title game. 

Northwestern Lehigh has never been to a PIAA title game. In fact the previous time a District 11 team won a state title was in 2010 when Allentown Central Catholic topped Bishop McDevitt, 28-27, for the Class 3A title.

Northwestern Lehigh defeated Wyomissing a week ago to reach the state title game. The Tigers trailed, 17-7, at halftime, but stout defense and an offensive spark allowed them to rally to claim the spot in the title game with a 33-24 victory.

The 24 points Northwestern Lehigh allowed are the most this season. The Tigers only had allowed a team to reach 21 points on two other occasions this year. Similarly, Belle Vernon has allowed only more than 20 points twice this year.

The Tigers are powered by senior running back Dalton Clymer who has racked up 1,801 yards on 268 carries with 31 touchdowns. Clymer also has 11 catches for 153 yards and four scores. His 35 total touchdowns are a school record.

Northwestern Lehigh sophomore quarterback Shane Leh has completed 112 of his 187 passes for 1,699 yards and 23 touchdowns to six interceptions. 

Junior safety Eli Zimmerman has 10 interceptions, which tied a school record.

“It all runs through their offensive line,” Humbert said of the Tigers offense. “They’re not huge. I mean, they’ve got a couple of big kids. [Benjamin Walters] is probably 6-3, I think. They’re just, they’re fast. That’s the thing that’s the most impressive: They have fast line play. Those kids can get off quick to backers. 

“The good thing is we’re fast at the linebacker position, so it’s gonna be a great battle to see who will be able to counter that speed a little bit. But I think everything that they do leads through that offensive line.”

The star of the show for Belle Vernon is Quinton Martin. This Penn State recruit can do a little bit of everything. He carries the ball, he lines up out wide as a receiver, he’s a talented kick returner, and on defense he’s a ball-hawking defensive back. Martin has 107 carries for 1,027 yards and 15 touchdowns. He added 48 catches for 733 yards and 11 touchdowns. 

“I think sometimes people might look at a stat line and see that Quinton doesn’t have the most gaudy numbers, but ironically he does in certain games,” Humbert said. “We kind of take what the defense gives us. I mean, we want to be an aggressor, but we also want to have counters off of everything that they’re doing and there’s sometimes where they’re overloading the box when [Martin] is in the box. And so, we’ll just move him out, and that might free up someone else. So, you know, we start off with, we want to try to get him the ball 50,000 ways. But then with that being said, we have tangents off of it, so if he’s getting keyed on then that’s just going to free everybody up.”

Anthony Crews is the top beneficiary of some of those games when the Leopards have had to go away from Martin. On the season, Crews has 25 catches for 363 yards and four touchdowns. Colton Lee has 18 catches for 250 yards and two touchdowns. 

Belle Vernon senior quarterback Braden Laux is 106 of 166 on the season for 1,585 yards with 18 touchdowns and 10 interceptions. He also has rushed 68 times for 248 yards and seven touchdowns. Laux, an Eastern Michigan recruit, also plays defensive end and has 30 tackles on the season including nine tackles for a loss. 

“I think one thing that people don’t realize about Braden is 60-70% of the time he has decision-making power to run it or throw,” Humbert said. “We put a lot in his wheelhouse from pre-snap motion to determine if he’s going to hand that thing off or if he’s going to throw it. You need someone that can do that. We do a lot of motioning, we do a lot of movement. You need someone that can literally just make sure everybody is set, and kind of orchestrate the traffic we call. … That kid has a certain skill set that can do that, lead people. So, I can’t say enough about the kid. He’s, he’s a huge reason why we are where we’re at right now.”

Humbert gives a lot of credit to Northwestern Lehigh’s lines on both sides of the ball. Walters is one key to that as the left tackle on offense and edge rusher on defense. The senior is complemented with another large human being in junior Bryer Reichard on the other side of both lines. 

“Everything goes through them,” Humbert said. “Their linebackers make plays, don’t get me wrong. They’re solid. But I just think what really propels them to success is those two defensive ends. They allow everybody else to do their job. Their safety [Zimmerman] is very fast. He’s, you know, he’s a downhill kid. He can cover well. So, they’re talented all over, but those two techniques are what really make them roll.”

Having won the title a year ago, there is a sense of calm around the Belle Vernon team. It has more than 15 seniors, many of whom played pivotal roles in the 2022 title game. The team trusts in one another and they work as a unit. They have one goal: Lift the trophy again. 

“It’s not just about having chemistry and being on the same page,” Humbert said. “You can work through that. That doesn’t need five years in the making. I just think the kids play hard for each other because they’re all close and they’re all friends. I think that’s the benefit of having a group of kids that have been together for a while is, they just kind of know their strengths and weaknesses, and they’re going to fight harder for each other.”