Central York's historic run ends with loss to juggernaut St. Joseph's Prep in state title game

As the St. Joseph's Prep Hawks dumped the water cooler on coach Tim Roken in celebration, a loud cheer was heard from the bleachers. 

The opposite bleachers. 

A limited amount of Central York fans were congratulating their team on a historic season. 

The first York County football team to reach a state title game. 

The first York County football team to win a state playoff game past the District 3 level. 

The first York County football team to win a District 3 title in the state's biggest classification. 

But on Saturday, the York County football team that shattered glass ceilings all fall finally hit a roof it couldn't crack. 

The same roof that's been stopping every contender from District 3 — and the entire state — in recent years. 

Central York lost to St. Joseph's Prep, 62-13, in the PIAA Class 6A title game at Hersheypark Stadium Saturday night. The Panthers finish perhaps the greatest season in York County history 10-1. 

"This was a special run," Central York head coach Gerry Yonchiuk said. "I told the guys, 'One bad night or getting beat by a superior opponent cannot be the measuring stick for your season.' They went 10-0 and did tremendous things ... 

"Just ran into a juggernaut tonight." 

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St. Joseph's Prep (6-0) has now won three straight state titles and six in the past eight years. The Hawks have won three in a row against District 3 opponents (Central Dauphin in 2019, Harrisburg in 2018). 

The private Catholic school in Philadelphia boasted an incredible amount of talent on this year's team. An Ohio State commit quarterback. An Ohio State commit receiver flanked by Duke and Temple recruits. A cornerback badly coveted by many of the top schools in the country, including Penn State. 

That's just a sampling of the long list of Division I recruits on the Hawks, who are ranked the No. 3 team in the country by USA Today and MaxPreps. 

It was the first time this season that Central York — which features (at least) five Division I recruits — was outmatched in talent. 

Still, Central York came out playing tough. But a promising defensive start was upended by a few miscues and a nagging foot injury to star quarterback Beau Pribula, and the Hawks offense was unstoppable once it got rolling. 

After solemnly accepting the second place trophy, Central York's seniors took time to hug each other and their coaches. 

And to commemorate the incredible season they had. 

"I love every single one of these guys. I've been playing with most of these guys since I was five," senior defensive end and team captain Seth Griffiths said through tears. "Football has just been such a big part of our lives. It just means so much to me we got to play this game. 

"This group was so special because we were so close-knit. We could go over anybody's house. Nobody was left out. They will always be my brothers."

A different kind of beast 

Yonchiuk entered Saturday thinking his team had a legitimate shot to play with the Hawks. 

That was before the news came that St. Joseph's Prep senior linebacker and Clemson commit Jeremiah Trotter Jr. would miss the game with an arm injury sustained in a win over Souderton. 

And Central York got off to a promising start. The Panthers held the Hawks to a field goal on their opening drive. Then Pribula connected with receiver Taylor Wright-Rawls for a 34-yard gain. 

But the Panthers couldn't capitalize. And that became a theme. 

The Hawks drove the length of the field for a touchdown run by Noble House, and a long run in response by Central's Isaiah Sturgis was brought back by a penalty. That proved to be a killer, and another Panthers defensive stop didn't lead to points. The Hawks finally made the Panthers pay with a 7-yard touchdown pass from future Ohio State teammates Kyle McCord and Marvin Harrison Jr. 

If a 17-point deficit seemed daunting, Pribula was then picked off on an overthrow. McCord immediately hit Harrison Jr. for a 45-yard score and a 24-0 lead. 

"I thought right there it was still a game we had a shot at winning," Yonchiuk said of the 10-point deficit at the end of the first quarter. "I really thought we'd go down and make it 10-7. I was really, really impressed with their defense. I know they have all those weapons (on offense), but defensively, where they should get more credit is how fast they run to the ball."

The Panthers finally got their offense going with a 10-yard touchdown pass from Pribula to Jahmar Simpson with 2:13 left in the half. 

Needing to get to halftime without giving up any more points, the Panthers gave up two more touchdowns in the quarter. McCord immediately hit Temple commit Malik Cooper for a 78-yard score. Central quickly went four-and-out, and the Hawks ran a wideout reverse pass, with Cooper — who started at quarterback in last year's state title game — hitting Duke commit Sahmir Hagans with a 55-yard score. 

The 38-7 halftime deficit quickly became 45-7 when Cooper took a punt back for a score to open the third quarter. 

"We were playing some man-under and over-the-top (help) and we got beat on some coverage busts," Yonchiuk said. "They're so explosive that if you're patting your feet or not opening up your hips, great athletes like that can run by you."

Pribula was hampered throughout the game by a right foot injury he sustained playing defense in the first half. The injury limited his running ability and kept him from planting his foot while passing. 

Pribula finished 19-of-38 for 165 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions. Star receiver Judah Tomb was limited to just eight yards on five catches. 

"It just really immobilized me," Pribula said. "It was hard to push off throwing. I was ticked off that it happened." 

"He said, 'Coach, I can't run,'" Yonchiuk said. "He's so gritty and so tough. I just wish he could've been healthy the whole game. That's the reality of playing him on both sides of the ball. That certainly affects what we do offensively." 

McCord, who missed last year's state title game with an injury, went 21-of-28 for 337 yards and four touchdowns. Hagans and Cooper both finished with more than 100 yards receiving. 

Central York scored once more at the end of the contest, when backup quarterback Trenton Dunnick fumbled while diving for the end zone and Jakob Terpak recovered. 

"I think we have a great football team. I think they’re at a different level," Yonchiuk said. "That’s a different brand of football. I can’t complain, it is what it is. They can recruit and they’ve got kids from three states. That is what it is. But we can only control what we can control, and that is just to try to get faster, stronger, all the things we tried to put out there.

"We felt we had a really, realistic shot at it. And it just wasn’t our night and they really, really played well.” 

Moving forward 

Pribula said he welcomed the chance to play against St. Joseph's Prep and compete against the best players in Pennsylvania. 

The Penn State commit will now look to lead a Central York team that will have a lot of new faces next year. 

Central York graduates a lot — 24 players total. But they do bring back Pribula and a number of young playmakers like Dunnick, sophomore receiver Parker Hines and junior linebacker Carter Glassmyer. 

Yonchiuk pointed out the Panthers' ninth grade and seventh-eighth grade teams all went undefeated this season. 

"The bar has been set," he said. "I really like our chances in 2021. Especially with Beau Pribula at quarterback."

"It's gonna take a lot of hard work this offseason to get where we want to be," Pribula said. "But we have our goals set high again. This was an unbelievable season. I'm proud we set the bar for York County, and hopefully for years to come, teams can continue to win meaningful playoff games and continue moving forward." 

Yonchiuk echoed his quarterback when asked what he hopes the rest of York County — and the younger players in his program — will learn from this season. 

"You can't worry about what county you're from," Yonchiuk said. "You go out and you train and you buy-in and do all the things that gives you an opportunity to play in Hershey. What an unbelievable feeling this week was. 

"Now they know this is what you can accomplish and make this your goal. Are you gonna get back to the state (championship) every year? No, but you try to get to the state playoffs every year, and get a little Lady Luck on your side and see where you wind up." 

Matt Allibone is a sports reporter for GameTimePA. He can be reached at 717-881-8221, mallibone@ydr.com or on Twitter at @bad2theallibone.