Josh Snyder’s only message to the Northwestern Lehigh football team at halftime of Friday night’s PIAA Class 3A semifinal was simple.
“If we play on offense in the second half like we did in the first half,” he said, “you’ll be taking the pads off for the last time.”
Senior captain Dalton Clymer had a simple response.
“He said, ‘That’s not going to be the last time,” Snyder said.
Clymer and Co. were true to his words.
Northwestern rallied from a 10-point halftime deficit with a 26-point performance, including senior Devon Hildebrand’s game-winning, 6-yard touchdown run with 2 minutes, 57 seconds left in a 33-24 victory over Wyomissing at Kutztown’s Andre Reed Stadium.
Northwestern (15-0) faces District 7 champion Belle Vernon in next Saturday’s PIAA final at 1 p.m. at Cumberland Valley’s Chapman Field. Belle Vernon beat District 10 champ Hickory 42-16 in Friday’s other state semifinal.
Northwestern is the first District 11 team since Parkland in 2015 to reach a state football final. The Tigers are trying to become the first local state champion since Allentown Central Catholic in 2010.
“I’m at a loss for words right now,” Hildebrand said. “I’m just so excited. Even when the ball is not in my hands, I’m doing what I can to help my teammates. I love everyone of them.”
Hildebrand’s hands never touched the football offensively until the game-winning drive. His 39-yard reception on a perfectly designed screen pass on 3rd-and-7 got the Tigers to the Spartans’ 13-yard line.
His first carry was a 4-yarder on third down to the Spartans’ 6. His next carry ended in an end zone celebration with his close friends and teammates.
Seth Kern’s extra point gave Northwestern a 27-24 lead. It came in response to a 16-play, 79-yard touchdown drive by Wyomissing that took 8 minutes, 23 seconds off the clock and was culminated by Chase Eisenhower’s 1-yard TD run on fourth down.
Down by 3, Wyomissing, went 4-and-out.
Clymer then sealed another historic moment for the Northwestern football program with a 2-yard TD run. The senior rushed for 97 yards and two scores.
Those two scores gave Clymer the school’s single-season TD record of 34, one more than Snyder’s brother Brett in 1995.
Northwestern hurt itself with eight penalties and other uncommon miscues in the first half. The Tigers started three of their drives in the first two quarters inside their 10-yard line.
Wyomissing took advantage, getting both touchdowns after generating short fields to work with. Its field goal came in the final minute of the half after a Spartans punt hit the Tigers up man who was blocking.
“We had to flip the switch [in the second half],” Snyder said. “Little by little, Uncle Mo started to turn. Momentum is a critical thing in football. When it does, the crowd gets into it. You start to believe it. One play into two and it has a snowball effect.”
The first play was Eli Zimmerman’s program record-tying 10th interception on Wyomissing’s first series of the second half.
The Spartans were driving, up 10 points. They picked up three first downs. But a first-down penalty and Bryer Reichard’s sack forced a third-down pass. Zimmerman read quarterback Logan Hyde’s eyes and made a well-timed break on the pass.
Four plays later, Northwestern had a touchdown and Old Uncle Mo was on its side. Shane Leh’s 26-yard TD run got the Tigers within 17-14.
After a 3-and-out by Wyomissing, Northwestern drove 46 yards in seven plays to take its first lead on a Clymer 3-yard TD run.
The Spartans countered with their lengthy drive before the Tigers bounced back again with the game-winning drive capped by Hildebrand’s run.
“We came into this game with that mindset that we knew we were going to make plays,” Clymer said. “They were a big, physical team. It was going to be how we responded. We put ourselves behind the sticks so many times, so many mistakes.
“At half, we were down 10 points, and it was because of us. We were the only ones holding us back. We came out and got it done.”
Morning Call reporter Tom Housenick can be reached at 610-820-6651 or atthousenick@mcall.com
NORTHWESTERN 33, WYOMISSING 24
Northwestern: 7; 0; 13; 13 — 33
Wyomissing: 7; 10; 0; 7 — 24
ORDER OF SCORING
First quarter
W: Chase Eisenhower 23 run (Keegan Maher kick), 3:57
NWL: Shane Leh 25 pass to Dalton Clymer (Seth Kern kick) 0:57
Second quarter
W: Logan Hyde 3 pass to Ryker Jones (Maher kick), 5:09
W: Maher FG 39 yards, 0:59
Third quarter
NWL: Leh 26 run (Kern kick), 5:42
NWL: Clymer 3 run (kick failed), 2:09
Fourth quarter
W: Eisenhower 1 run (Maher kick), 5:43
NWL: Devon Hildebrand 6 run (Kern kick), 2:57
NWL: Clymer 2 run (kick failed), 1:21
TEAM STATISTICS
NWL; Wyo
First downs; 14; 00
Rushes-yards; 35-175; 47-198
Passing yards; 108; 66
Comp-Att-INTs; 7-13-0; 7-17-2
Punts-avg.; 5-29.0; 4-34.8
Fumbles-lost; 2-1; 0-0
Penalties-yards; 10-69; 6-44
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
Rushing: (Northwestern) Dalton Clymer 19-97, 2 TDs; Devon Hildebrand 2-10, TD; Shane Leh 10-60, TD; Landen Matson 1-5; Eli Zimmerman 2-4; team 1-(-1); (Wyomissing) Chase Eisenhower 16-72, 2 TDs; Ryker Jones 7-59; Collin Niedrowski 2-2; Justice Hardy 6-17; Logan Hyde 6-33; Derek Macrina 6-16; Marvin Armistead 1-1; Jeremiah Diaz 3-(-2).
Passing: (Northwestern) Leh 7-13-0, 108 yards, TD; Mason Bollinger 0-1-0; (Wyomissing) Hyde 7-17-2, 66 yards, TD.
Receiving: (Northwestern) Clymer 2-28; Hildebrand 1-39; Bollinger 1-13; Zimmerman 1-3; Matson 2-25 (Wyomissing) Jake Neff 1-12; Ethan Brower 1-6; Jones 1-3, TD; Hardy 1-2; Eisenhower 2-19; Evan Blickley 1-24.
