Published Sunday, Dec. 15, 1996
Many players, like Southern Columbia's Joe Murphy (26), were left dazed in the wake of the Farrell Steelers second consecutive championship season. That state title, coming after a 14-12 victory over the Tigers, helped the Steelers garner honors as The Herald's Team of the Year.
TEAM OF THE YEAR
Farrell is area's top team
By Brad Isles
Herald Sports Write
Resilient, focused, experienced, self-disciplined, determined to repeat as state champs. Those were just a few words Farrell coach Lou Falconi used to describe his team of 1996 _ one that became just the second in the state's history to successfully defend its PIAA championship crown.
And for that reason the Farrell Steelers have been selected as The Herald's Team of the Year.
Maybe Falconi summed up the season best by stating, `` ... after 15 rounds, we were the guys still standing.''
His team rope-a-doped its way through the regular season and playoffs, dodging injuries and adversity.
The Steelers (13-1) first deflected an early knock-down punch by Aliquippa in just the second game of the regular season.
Farrell and the Class AA Quips were scoreless after regulation and the game went into overtime, with both teams getting four downs from the 10-yard line. The Steelers' defense kept Aliquippa out of the end zone, but Aliquippa's Zappula Lewis booted an 18-yard field goal to take a 3-0 lead.
Farrell got its opportunity to score, but nearly gave it away. On third-and-goal at the six, quarterback Rennie Gash rolled out to pass but fumbled at the 2-yard line. The ball bounced into the end zone and Willie Evans recovered to give the Steelers a 6-3 victory.
After that Farrell went on the offensive, pounding its opponents the next four games: 46-8 over Monaca, 40-21 over South Side Beaver, 32-3 over Neshannock and a 67-8 pasting of Union.
But the Steelers quickly found themselves back on the ropes again, narrowly getting by undefeated Western Beaver, 12-7. And then Rochester came into the ring and knocked Farrell to the canvas for the first time in 20 games.
The Rams broke out to a 14-0 first half lead and held on late for a 20-16 win. The loss knocked Farrell out of the state's No. 1 ranking and down to No. 8. But that paled in comparison to whom the Steelers lost. Late in the game, in a pileup, star senior running back and defensive end, Carlos Daniels, took a helmet to his ankle. It was broken.
``The injury helped pull the kids together, helped pull the seniors together,'' Falconi said. ``We got derailed, but it didn't cause a big problem. It was something that kept us more focused.''
Farrell regained its composure, shook out the cobwebs, inserted Jason Kennedy in Daniels' place and began its playoff run.
Kennedy went on to run 164 times for 1,025 yards, including nearly 800 after being inserted as the full-time tailback in Week 9, and scored 12 TDs on the year. The majority of his yards and touchdowns came in Daniels' absence.
``We were blessed with some good backs, so we could compensate for our loss,'' Falconi said.
Other key personnel nicked up at some point late in the year were: Gash, Chico Pinkins, Derrick Newell, Evans and Keygen Bryant.
After its first-week playoff bye, the Steelers notched their first, and only shutout of the season, a 14-0 win over Duquesne. They followed with another overtime victory in the WPIAL semifinals, 14-12, over South Fayette.
That earned Farrell a return trip to Three Rivers Stadium and a matchup against Riverview. The Steelers captured their second consecutive WPIAL crown in a come-from-behind shootout, 26-25. Daniels returned from his ankle injury to run for 43 yards on 10 carries and two TDs.
The next week, in the PIAA semifinals, Farrell came back from a 10-point first-quarter deficit to beat Moshannon Valley, 14-10. The Steelers battled their way back to defend their state title against the team they beat the previous year, Southern Columbia.
The Tigers came into the game averaging 360 yards per game rushing but managed just 148 against the Steelers.
Pinkins caught a 23-yard pass from Gash for Farrell's first score, and Kennedy followed with a 9-yard run. Pinkins caught the conversion pass for what turned out to be the winning points in a 14-12 decision.
The 1996 season was over and after beating Southern Columbia for the second straight year, the Steelers were in Altoona's Mansion Park Stadium with their arms raised overhead and the championship belt firmly buckled.
``I didn't think it would be this tough,'' Falconi said. ``But that makes it extra satisfying.''
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Updated Dec. 17, 1996.