Steel-High tops Clairton in Single-A title game; Thomas Jefferson cruises past Archbishop Wood in Triple-A finale; Wilmington stuns West Catholic 35-34 in Double-A double-OT classic; Liberty outlasts Bethel Park 28-21 in OT in thrill-a-minute Quad-A final.

HERSHEY — Steel-High topped Clairton 35-16 in the Single-A game and Thomas Jefferson rolled over Archbishop Wood 34-7 in the Triple-A game on the first day of the PIAA championships in Hersheypark Stadium.

In the Single-A game, it was 8-8 at the half, when the Rollers exploded for 27 third-quarter points and zoomed past the Bears, winning their second state title in a row.

Steel-High senior running back Jeremiah Young finished his career with 9,027 rushing yards — the most in state history, and he’s the only back in state history to rush for more than 9,000 career yards.

TJ, meanwhile, jumped on Wood early, cashing in on a pair of first-quarter turnovers to take an early 14-0 lead and grab a 28-7 lead at the half.

Day 2 got off to a rousing start, when District 10 champ Wilmington rallied from a 14-0 halftime deficit and stunned District 12 champ West Catholic 35-34 in double-overtime.

West Catholic piled up 460 yards of total offense but couldn’t hold on. The Burrs were held out of the end zone on fourth-and-goal at the 1 at the end of regulation. And in the second OT, West Catholic went for the 2-point conversion and the win, but QB Curtis Drake was stopped at the 1 and Wilmington held on for a thrill-a-minute victory.

And in the final PIAA football game this season, District 11 champ Liberty helped the East salvage a split with an unbelievable 28-21 OT win over previously unbeaten District 7 champ Bethel Park. QB/DB Anthony Gonzalez, a junior, was the star. His TD keeper in OT gave Liberty the lead for good, and he picked off a pass on Bethel Park’s fourth-down attempt on the last play of the game to win it.

A fabulous weekend was had by all … and that, my friends, is a wrap on high school football: 2008.