PA State Football Championships
This has been a rather exciting week for me here at PhotoFX Pros. I was asked by MaxPreps to provide photo coverage for the PIAA State Football Championships in Hershey. While in the realm of professional photography this isn't exactly the equivalent to shooting the Super Bowl, I was nonetheless looking forward to the opportunity. Truth be told, since graduating from Cumberland Valley High School a few years ago, I haven't really kept up with high school football but thankfully photography changed all that.
I was lucky enough this year to be accepted as a freelance photographer for MaxPreps (www.maxpreps.com), a website dedicated to reporting on high school varsity sports across the country. While I hadn't covered too many regular season games, I was given the opportunity to photograph several playoff games and then the championships themselves.
My first game was the Class A game between Steelton Highspire and Serra Catholic (pictures HERE). I had been following the "Rollers" progress throughout the season but hadn't actually been to any games. Well let me just say that if I had to see one Steel High game this year, the championship game was the one to see. From everything I've read about the team this year, I honestly think that their game against Serra was probably as good a display of their strengths and abilities as any. To their credit, Serra is a good team and they put up a fight for awhile but you're just not going to beat a team that plays as well balanced as Steel High did on that Friday.
I've heard so much about Jeremiah Young, the Rollers star running back. With over 3000 yards rushing and 41 touchdowns for the season I'm not even sure that words can do justice to what a gifted athlete he is. Watching him run the ball I realized I was seeing the perfect balance of speed, power, and finesse. He's not a flashy runner nor does he run with a lot of extra motion. He just runs in a deceptively simple way, yet he found holes where none existed, caused countless missed tackles, ran over, through and around the defense. Reviewing my pictures later that evening, it appeared that he wasn't even looking at the hole in the defensive line in front of him. It dawned on me that he wasn't looking at the hole because he had already seen it long before he ever got there and now his legs were instinctively carrying him through. Meanwhile, his attention was focused on the secondary fifteen/twenty yards downfield already visualizing his route into the endzone. I think that 45 carries, 292 yards, and 4 touchdowns pretty much sums it up.
As amazing as Young was on that day, you just don't win championships without the performance of the entire team and the offensive line play was phenomenal. But offense is only half the story. While putting points on the board is critical, keeping points off the board is essential. While much has been said about Young and the Steel High offense the Rollers defense rose to the occassion and showed what it meant to play for a championship. They limited Serra to only 162 yards on 44 plays with 4 sacks and 2 interceptions. Serra's QB was 2-for-10 and held to 24 passing yards.
Truth be told, it was exciting to watch a local team win a state championship. However, it was equally exciting to watch one of the top high school football players in the country take to the field. I knew nothing of Jeannette or Dunmore other than the crash course given to me by the great guys over at Eastern PA Football News. Bottom line: Dunmore is scrappy but Jeannette is a powerhouse unlike anything seen in a while. If that were true then why did the Harrisburg Cougars almost knock them out of the playoffs a week earlier? The Cougars had that game won were it not for that bobbled ball late in the game. Am I bitter? No, just disappointed. I was really pulling for Harrisburg this year. Don't ask me why I've just really enjoyed watching them play this year and thought they might have a chance to go all the way. They have a big, strong team with lots of speed and are just plain fun to watch. Anyway, that game is in the books and there's no use in mulling over it anymore (but I'll be looking for them next year).
Having never seen him play before, it still wasn't difficult to pick Terrell Pryor out of the crowd. At 6'6" and 227 lbs. the Jeanette QB does stand out a bit. But here he was, the one that everyone came to see. I was told by a very nice Associated Press photographer that "today is going to be crazy" and when I walked out of the media trailer and heard the roar of the crowd, I knew she was right. I immediately noticed that the number of television cameras and sports photographers had doubled overnight. The bleachers had filled up and there was a level of excitement in the air that you could feel.
Much like Serra did against Steel High, Dunmore put up a valiant effort during the first quarter but then the Terrell Pryor train started rolling. Of course it goes without say that one player alone cannot guarantee a win. But when you have backs who can run, an offensive line that can block, and a defense that can shut down the opposition then your chances of victory are increased dramatically. Jeanette had all that and more. What started out as a football game quickly turned into a football clinic lead by Terrell Pryor.
Jeanette finished the game with 506 total yards. Of those Pryor ran for 209 yards and 3 touchdowns, passed for 83 yards and another TD, and was on the receiving end of a 28-yard touchdown pass. But before you think him too one-sided, he also had 7 tackles and 1 sack from the safety position. I won't bother talking about his stats as the Jayhawks kicker, I think you get the picture.
Watching Jeanette accept the Class "AA" trophy I suddenly realized that my football season was over which was a little disappointing. However, I really couldn't think of a better way to finish the season than by watching two excellent teams win their respective championships. Both Steelton Highspire and Jeanette each played a different style of game, each had their respective superstar, and in the end each team left no doubt that they were there to play for and win a state championship.
I was lucky enough this year to be accepted as a freelance photographer for MaxPreps (www.maxpreps.com), a website dedicated to reporting on high school varsity sports across the country. While I hadn't covered too many regular season games, I was given the opportunity to photograph several playoff games and then the championships themselves.
My first game was the Class A game between Steelton Highspire and Serra Catholic (pictures HERE). I had been following the "Rollers" progress throughout the season but hadn't actually been to any games. Well let me just say that if I had to see one Steel High game this year, the championship game was the one to see. From everything I've read about the team this year, I honestly think that their game against Serra was probably as good a display of their strengths and abilities as any. To their credit, Serra is a good team and they put up a fight for awhile but you're just not going to beat a team that plays as well balanced as Steel High did on that Friday.
I've heard so much about Jeremiah Young, the Rollers star running back. With over 3000 yards rushing and 41 touchdowns for the season I'm not even sure that words can do justice to what a gifted athlete he is. Watching him run the ball I realized I was seeing the perfect balance of speed, power, and finesse. He's not a flashy runner nor does he run with a lot of extra motion. He just runs in a deceptively simple way, yet he found holes where none existed, caused countless missed tackles, ran over, through and around the defense. Reviewing my pictures later that evening, it appeared that he wasn't even looking at the hole in the defensive line in front of him. It dawned on me that he wasn't looking at the hole because he had already seen it long before he ever got there and now his legs were instinctively carrying him through. Meanwhile, his attention was focused on the secondary fifteen/twenty yards downfield already visualizing his route into the endzone. I think that 45 carries, 292 yards, and 4 touchdowns pretty much sums it up.
As amazing as Young was on that day, you just don't win championships without the performance of the entire team and the offensive line play was phenomenal. But offense is only half the story. While putting points on the board is critical, keeping points off the board is essential. While much has been said about Young and the Steel High offense the Rollers defense rose to the occassion and showed what it meant to play for a championship. They limited Serra to only 162 yards on 44 plays with 4 sacks and 2 interceptions. Serra's QB was 2-for-10 and held to 24 passing yards.
Truth be told, it was exciting to watch a local team win a state championship. However, it was equally exciting to watch one of the top high school football players in the country take to the field. I knew nothing of Jeannette or Dunmore other than the crash course given to me by the great guys over at Eastern PA Football News. Bottom line: Dunmore is scrappy but Jeannette is a powerhouse unlike anything seen in a while. If that were true then why did the Harrisburg Cougars almost knock them out of the playoffs a week earlier? The Cougars had that game won were it not for that bobbled ball late in the game. Am I bitter? No, just disappointed. I was really pulling for Harrisburg this year. Don't ask me why I've just really enjoyed watching them play this year and thought they might have a chance to go all the way. They have a big, strong team with lots of speed and are just plain fun to watch. Anyway, that game is in the books and there's no use in mulling over it anymore (but I'll be looking for them next year).
Having never seen him play before, it still wasn't difficult to pick Terrell Pryor out of the crowd. At 6'6" and 227 lbs. the Jeanette QB does stand out a bit. But here he was, the one that everyone came to see. I was told by a very nice Associated Press photographer that "today is going to be crazy" and when I walked out of the media trailer and heard the roar of the crowd, I knew she was right. I immediately noticed that the number of television cameras and sports photographers had doubled overnight. The bleachers had filled up and there was a level of excitement in the air that you could feel.
Much like Serra did against Steel High, Dunmore put up a valiant effort during the first quarter but then the Terrell Pryor train started rolling. Of course it goes without say that one player alone cannot guarantee a win. But when you have backs who can run, an offensive line that can block, and a defense that can shut down the opposition then your chances of victory are increased dramatically. Jeanette had all that and more. What started out as a football game quickly turned into a football clinic lead by Terrell Pryor.
Jeanette finished the game with 506 total yards. Of those Pryor ran for 209 yards and 3 touchdowns, passed for 83 yards and another TD, and was on the receiving end of a 28-yard touchdown pass. But before you think him too one-sided, he also had 7 tackles and 1 sack from the safety position. I won't bother talking about his stats as the Jayhawks kicker, I think you get the picture.
Watching Jeanette accept the Class "AA" trophy I suddenly realized that my football season was over which was a little disappointing. However, I really couldn't think of a better way to finish the season than by watching two excellent teams win their respective championships. Both Steelton Highspire and Jeanette each played a different style of game, each had their respective superstar, and in the end each team left no doubt that they were there to play for and win a state championship.
posted by Steve at
10:05 AM
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