Goal in sight: Belle Vernon one win away from repeating as PIAA champions
Matt Humbert clearly enjoyed the celebration after his Belle Vernon football team won the program鈥檚 first PIAA championship last year.
The Leopards coach, who stresses his team to focus on one game at a time, admitted it wasn鈥檛 long after his team鈥檚 9-8 win over Newmann-Goretti that he was already thinking about the possibility of a repeat.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 think there was any doubt after that game was over, zeroes on the scoreboard at Mechanicsburg last year, because we only lost four kids,鈥� Humbert said. 鈥淪o I think the quest and the journey has always been that.鈥�
Belle Vernon, with its goal of winning consecutive WPIAL championships accomplished, will strive for a second straight state title when it takes on District 11 champion Northwestern Lehigh (15-0) on Saturday at Cumberland Valley High School鈥檚 Chapman Field.
Kickoff is set for 1 p.m.
Humbert made sure, in the offseason and as the 2023 season came about, that he didn鈥檛 let the Leopards get too far ahead of themselves in seeking back-to-back PIAA titles.
鈥淚 think our process is good, how we handled it,鈥� Humbert said. 鈥淲e don鈥檛 overly stimulate the kids with that.鈥�
Humbert didn鈥檛 have to stress the ultimate goal as there was visual stimulation in that regards.
鈥淲hen you walk in our locker room there鈥檚 nothing but those posters plastered everywhere as a constant reminder that鈥檚 what your goal is,鈥� Humbert said.
Still, he made sure his players knew they faced a long road to get back to that point.
鈥淲e try to experience the process and take it one day at a time,鈥� Humbert said. 鈥淲e don鈥檛 try to look ahead too much, and that鈥檚 always kind of worked out for us, short-term goals usually lead to long-term goals.
鈥淚t鈥檚 neat to see, when you set a goal a year in advance, for the coaches and kids to work towards that and finally get that (opportunity).鈥�
The Leopards (12-1) are led by a host of talented players with Penn State recruit Quinton Martin, a running back/wide receiver and defensive back, the headline name.
There have been many others who have contributed to the run to another PIAA final, quarterback/defensive end Braden Laux, an Eastern Michigan recruit, Jake Gedekoh, Kole Doppelheuer, Adam LaCarte, Anthony Crews and Colton Lee among them.
The Tigers are coached by Josh Snyder and led by running back Dalton Clymer, quarterback Shane Leh, change-of-pace back Eli Zimmerman and 5-10, 300-pound lineman Jackson Huber.
Belle Vernon rolled past Hickory, 42-16, in the semifinals one week after blanking Avonworth, 26-0, in the District 7 championship game.
Northwestern Lehigh鈥檚 path to the PIAA title game included wins over Palmerton Area, 58-8, Scranton Prep, 27-6, and Wyomissing, who the Tigers rallied from 10 points down to defeat, 33-24.
Humbert said he felt as if a load fell off his shoulders after Friday night鈥檚 win over Hickory.
鈥淚t鈥檚 just a relief,鈥� Humbert admitted. 鈥淭here鈥檚 so much stress and so much grind that goes into this. Finally being able to get back there, finally being able to get those key cards and get everybody ready to roll. It feels good, there鈥檚 no doubt about it.鈥�
Humbert agreed that his team may have a bit of an advantage in that it played in this game a year ago while it鈥檚 the Tigers鈥� first time playing for a PIAA championship.
鈥淚 think it鈥檚 huge, but, I think the kids handled it so well last year,鈥� Humbert said. 鈥淚t wasn鈥檛 like this was a benign new culture. Think about those kids. Those kids have been to Heinz Field (now Acrisure Stadium) three straight years. Even though we didn鈥檛 win it in 鈥�21, there鈥檚 been a lot of success that those young kids had from the freshmen-sophomore standpoint.
鈥淭hey understand the process, they understand the ups and downs when it comes to wins and losses. I definitely think this year I can reap the spoils of having that upperclass group that understands the grind, the system, the process. They make practices uber-competitive, uber-high energy. We always strive to make practices during the week harder than what the game is and I think they really buy into that and do a good job with it.
鈥淲hen you look at playing football and getting to 15 games, the one thing I notice the most when we hit like maybe the WPIAL championship, the (PIAA) semifinal last year, just the progression of the kids. Like think of the defensive line. We weren鈥檛 world beaters on the defensive line. Braden and Aiden (Johson) have been solid all year but we kind of mixed guys in and out from our interior defensive line position, and just to see them keep getting bigger 鈥� I think the more football you play, the more experience you gain, the more momentum you get. They鈥檝e just been getting better each week.鈥�
Now that goal that Humbert quickly thought of following last year鈥檚 state final looms in front of the Leopards.