Southern Columbia Claims Conference Championship
Tigers were too much for Ironmen Coming off of last year’s state championship, many of the media outlets and fans didn’t give Southern Columbia much thought entering this season. It was Montoursville and Danville garnering much of the publicity around the conference, and the Tigers were out of the spotlight. Most people thought that the […]
Tigers Win Battle of Unbeaten Teams
SCA won in all three phases against Montoursville Ever since last November’s District IV championship thriller, both the Tigers and Warriors have anxiously been awaiting the sequel. Given the fact that Southern Columbia and Montoursville were the only two remaining undefeated teams in the 18 team Heartland Conference, it added that much more hype to […]
Tigers Feast on Panthers
Garcia finishes with 200 yards rushing There were a lot of footballs being kicked in the first half of Friday night’s rainy game at Alumni Stadium in Milton. Southern Columbia’s kicker Elijah Hoffman kicked six successful extra points and then kicked off after each of the scores which included four touchdowns from halfback Gaige Garcia. […]
Jim Roth Field Officially Named
Head of the Tiger Dynasty Back in 1984, the Southern Columbia football team was starting to finally turn things around after two decades filled with a lot of pain and heartache. Winning was at a minimum for the better part of the first two decades of the team’s existence. A program that was established in […]
Southern’s Defense Dominates Lewisburg
Tigers post shutout on an eventful night Lewisburg gained four yards. There are probably a few questions running through your head at this point after reading that statement. Four yards on what: their first carry, their first pass, or their first touchdown? The answer to that statement is simple…in the game. The Southern Columbia defense […]
Unhappy Tigers Still Victorious
Passing game comes alive for SoCo When a program has established itself as the most dominant one in the state over the past two decades, it comes with almost flawless expectations. A week ago, Southern Columbia came out of the locker room on fire and put the Mount Carmel Area Red Tornadoes on the back […]
Tiger Offense Unstoppable
Southern Columbia runs through Mount Carmel Football fans around the country have been eagerly anticipating this weekend as the NFL season kicks off. Millions of people have their fantasy football rosters in place and have to make difficult decisions as to who they should start. The decisions would be easier if the fantasy world revolved […]
Freshmen Lead Tigers
Fleming, Garcia, and Wilk provide spark in victory Every one of Southern Columbia’s opponents had to be thrilled to see all of the Tigers losses to graduation and the amount of freshman on this year’s roster. After two weeks, the thought now has to be that the year 2019 can’t come soon enough. “We knew […]
Defending State Champs Prevail
Explosive 3rd quarter propels Southern Columbia Last season, a lot of the Southern Columbia current football players were cheering on the Tigers either from the sideline or the stands during their state championship season. The gaduation of ten starters of defense and the majority of the offense forced some younger Tigers to mature quickly. SCA […]
Team # 3 Class 2A – Southern Columbia (4)
People all over the state have been envious of the way that the Southern Columbia Tigers have been able to sustain success at the state level for such a long time. No other team in any classification across the state has won more state, district, or league championships since 1994. There isn’t a set formula […]
2015 EasternPAFootball.com Class 2A Coach of the Year: Jim Roth, Southern Columbia
Jim Roth would be a first-ballot hall-of-fame coach whether he would have gone 0-10 this season or 16-0 like his state champion Southern Columbia Tigers did. “I’m proud of these guys because they didn’t ever win a state playoff game before this season. In saying that they also never experienced a loss in the regular […]
2015 Class 2A EasternPAFootball.com Offensive Player of the Year: Nick Becker, Southern Columbia
Nick Becker had never won a state playoff game before entering his senior season. He started as a sophomore when the Tigers lost in the opening round of states to Old Forge and then missed making the district title as a junior when Montoursville beat Southern Columbia. The senior captain didn’t want to miss out […]
Recap of Southern Columbia’s Run
Looking back at the Tigers 2015 season State Championship article (if you missed it): http://www.easternpafootball.com/news/stairway-to-seven/ Every sports season ends at some point. Only two teams in each classification get to battle it out for the top prize, but there are hundreds of other teams throughout the state that would do anything to be in the […]
Stairway to Seven
Tigers demolish Quips in state title By: Dave Fegley (Twitter: @DFegs9) Southern Columbia has made it a point to get to the 16th rung on their schedule ladder since the opening game this season. Their ultimate goal was to win a state championship, but they were focused on taking it one step at a time. […]
Tiger Tradition: Consistency & Community
Southern Columbia keeps proving critics wrong Jealousy is all over the world that we live in. Whether it is in sports, relationships, riches, or fame, people have a natural tendency of becoming jealous of an individual person or group of people. In this case, it boils down to a football family. The Southern Columbia football […]
PIAA Class 2A: Southern Columbia State Championship Preview
PIAA Class AA State Championship: Tigers vs Quips Record: 15-0 (District IV Champions) Last Week: Defeated West Catholic 34-19 Head Coach: Jim Roth (380 career victories) What if the Tigers win? Southern Columbia will extend their state record total to 14 state championship game appearances. With a win, they will break a tie with […]
Tigers Headed Back To Hershey
Southern Columbia downs West Catholic in Eastern Final By: Dave Fegley (Twitter: @DFegs9) The majority of the time in the game of football, the team that commits the least amount of turnovers and penalties usually wins. When the differential is as great as it was in Southern Columbia’s 34-19 victory over West Catholic in the […]
Southern Columbia Beats Berks Catholic
Tigers are headed to PIAA AA Eastern Final By: Dave Fegley (Twitter: @DFegs9) Last week Southern Columbia’s defense gave up 50 points for only the second time in head coach Jim Roth and defensive coordinator Andy Mills’ 32 year tenure together with the Tigers. Eight days after winning the District IV AA title 56-50, the […]
Tigers Win District Crown
Southern Columbia and Montoursville battled to the end By: Dave Fegley (Twitter: @DFegs9) The biggest question mark that Southern Columbia Area had coming into the 2015 season was the way the offensive line would come together and play as a unit. This group has not only changed that question mark, but they have made it […]
Southern Columbia’s Offense Dominates
Tigers total nearly 600 yards in win By: Dave Fegley (Twitter: @DFegs9) Southern Columbia’s offense has been impressive all season long. They have had success on the ground and in the air behind the blocking of their offensive line. The result has been 10 Mercy Rule victories this season now through 12 weeks. In Friday’s […]
Tigers Take Down Trojans
Southern opens the playoffs with a win By: Dave Fegley (Twitter: @DFegs9) Southern Columbia’s first offensive possession Friday night started deep in their own territory after forcing Troy to punt on the game’s opening drive. After 13 plays, the Tigers put together a 96 yard drive, capped off with a 33 yard run by Hunter […]
Southern Columbia Wins Thriller
Interception by Blake Marks helps Tigers seal off the Seals By: Dave Fegley (Twitter: @DFegs9) Last season, the Southern Columbia vs Selinsgrove showdown came down to the Tigers defense making a key interception late in the game to ice the victory. It was Southern senior linebacker Billy Barnes picking off a pass a season ago. […]
Tigers Top Wildcats on the Road
Strong second half lifts Southern Southern Columbia came to Central Mountain on Friday night riding a 39 game regular season winning streak. The Tigers also have posted Mercy Rule victories against every team that they have played since week one this season. They moved the streak to 40 consecutive and kept the Mercy Rule streak […]
SCA Stifles Lewisburg on Thursday Night
Tigers wrap up conference title By: Dave Fegley (Twitter: @DFegs9) One thing Southern Columbia head coach Jim Roth knew for certain coming into a rare Thursday night game at Bucknell University was that Lewisburg was going to throw the ball early and often. “They threw the ball on us a lot last year, and we had a […]
Tigers Trio Torches Defenders
Toczylousky, Becker, and Marks lead the way By: Dave Fegley (Twitter: @DFegs9) On a night that Southern Columbia senior Blake Marks became the 21st back in school history to rush for 2,000 career yards, it was the passing game that proved to be key in the Tigers 56-7 shellacking over Warrior Run. It was a […]
Tigers Blow Past Red Tornadoes
Southern Columbia dominant in Mercy Rule victory By: Dave Fegley (Twitter: @DFegs9) Give credit to first-year Mount Carmel Area head coach John Darrah. He brought his troops into Tiger Stadium Friday night with more wins than most people had expected at this point by starting the season 3-2 with a limited amount of players on […]
Big Plays Carried Tigers to Victory
Southern Columbia shuts out Central Columbia By: Dave Fegley (Twitter: @DFegs9) On a night that started off with Southern Columbia senior Blair Johnston being crowned the 2015 Homecoming Queen, it was the junior halfback Hunter Thomas leaving the field as the king on the gridiron. For the night, he only needed three carriers to rack […]
Offensive Line Motors Tigers To Victory
Southern Columbia defense also tough against Danville By: Dave Fegley (Twitter: @DFegs9) Prior to Friday night’s kickoff at Tiger Stadium, Southern Columbia honored their top 20 backs to come through the program. The criterion for the club is 2,000 career rushing yards, and current Tiger halfback Blake Marks is closing in on the mark. He […]
Southern Columbia Honoring Historic Backs
2,000+ yard rushers to be recognized on Alumni Night By: Dave Fegley (@DFegs9) Since the change of the millennium, much has changed offensively in the historic game of football. Many of the teams at the professional, collegiate, and high school levels have decided to change their play calling on the gridiron. The ground and pound […]
Southern’s Defense Dominates Shamokin
Becker returns from injury By: Dave Fegley (Twitter: @DFegs9) Southern Columbia traveled to Kemp Memorial Stadium Friday night and picked up a 49-27 victory. Just looking at the box score, readers may think that Shamokin Area was able to hang with the victors, but that was far from the truth. One statistic to show the […]
Tigers Offense Too Much For Panthers
Michaels looked solid in debut By: Dave Fegley (Twitter: @DFegs9) Drew Michaels hadn’t played football since 8th grade, but the junior decided to come out this season after two seasons off and was listed third on the depth chart entering last week. Seven days later he was making his first career varsity start against Bloomsburg, […]
Southern Columbia Routs Mifflinburg
Unfortunate injury again for Tigers to start 2015 By: Dave Fegley (Twitter: @DFegs9) For the second consecutive year, Southern Columbia opened the season with a convincing victory over Mifflinburg. Unfortunately, for the second consecutive year, the Tigers also suffered a tough loss to injury. Last season, all-state performer Luke Rarig went down in the first […]
2015 Team Preview – Southern Columbia (4) – Small School Team # 2
By: Dave Fegley (Twitter: @DFegs9) Team Name: Tigers Head Coach: Jim Roth (31st year at SCA) Record: 365-62 (never had a losing season) 6 State Championships (PIAA Record) Assistant Coaches: Andy Mills (36 Yrs) John Marks (22 Yrs) Mike Johnston (19 Yrs) Don Traugh (13 Yrs) Roger Nunkester (3 Yrs) 2015 Team Schedule Conference: […]
Warriors Upset Tigers
Montoursville advances to district final By Dave Fegley (Twitter: @DFegs9) After the first seven weeks of the regular season, the Montoursville Warriors were sitting at 3-4 in serious jeopardy of missing the playoffs. Now, a little over a month later, they are headed to the District IV AA Championship after upsetting the top-seeded and undefeated […]
Running Game Propels Southern to Win
Same Faces in Different Places guide Tigers By Dave Fegley (Twitter: @DFegs9) Southern Columbia won their first ever District IV AA playoff game on Friday night after dominating the Class A level for the better part of the last 30 years. The top-seeded Tigers defeated Hughesville by a score of 35-13, but Southern head coach […]
Tigers Win Thriller
Southern finishes regular season undefeated By Dave Fegley (Twitter: @DFegs9) Billy Barnes hasn’t shown any tricks this season, but he has certainly been a treat for Southern Columbia. Barnes’ interception with 21 seconds left in the 4th quarter lifted the Tigers to a 28-21 victory over Selinsgrove on Halloween night at Tiger Stadium. “He has […]
Tigers Thump Wildcats
Marks and Barnes lift Southern By Dave Fegley (Twitter: @dfegs9) The last two carries of Blake Marks’ junior season will both be tallied for two yards up the middle. On a stat sheet the gain is the same, but the two runs were anything but that in meaning. Last week, Marks went down in the […]
Southern Survives Scare
Marks injured in 2nd half By Dave Fegley (Twitter: @dfegs9) Southern Columbia’s Blake Marks took a handoff up the gut towards the end of the 3rd quarter on Friday night for a short gain. The problem wasn’t the fact that he only managed to pick up a couple of yards on the carry; it was […]
Southern Columbia Continues to Roll
Tigers defense delivers a shutout By: Dave Fegley (Twitter: @dfegs9) For the seventh time this season, and the 17th consecutive regular season game dating back to week one of last season, the Southern Columbia Tigers have delivered a win in Mercy Rule fashion to their opponent. This week, the victim was the Warrior Run Defenders […]
Beat Down at the Silver Bowl
Tigers tear apart Tornadoes By: Dave Fegley (twitter: @dfegs9) Once a year on a fall Friday night, Southern Columbia and Mount Carmel Area square off in arguably the most important rivalry in the entire state. Not based off of the amount of years they have played because there are a lot of longer lasting rivalries than […]
Strong Defensive Effort for Southern
Tigers shut down Blue Jays run game By: Dave Fegley (Twitter: @DFegs9) Central Columbia came into Friday night’s game against Southern Columbia averaging just under 30 points per game and rushing for almost 280 yards per game over the first four games of the season. It was the first time that the Blue Jays had […]
SCA Dominates Danville
Becker and Thomas Impressive In Win By: Dave Fegley (Twitter: @DFegs9) Danville Area returned the opening kickoff across midfield and with a personal foul tacked on at the end, the Ironmen were in business at the Tigers 30 yard-line. Danville used their run game to take the ball near the end zone to set up […]
Punt Return Sparks Tigers
Southern was too much for Shamokin By: Dave Fegley (Twitter: @DFegs9) One difference from last year to this year is that the Shamokin Indians came into their rivalry against the Southern Columbia Tigers with a few wins under their belt. Last year, the Indians finished 0-10 on the year, but they came into Friday night’s […]
Southern Columbia Wins for Rarig
Marks returned early to help fill void By: Dave Fegley (Twitter: @DFegs9) On Wednesday morning the Southern Columbia football team received word that their top player, senior Luke Rarig, would be lost for the season after an MRI revealed he tore his ACL. “I went in expecting the worst, and then if there was any […]
Tigers Defense Looked Solid in Opener
Southern’s Rarig injured early on By: Dave Fegley (Twitter: @DFegs9) Southern Columbia traveled to Mifflinburg to win the opening game of the 2014 season. The win also marks the first victory for the Tigers in program history at the Class AA level in their first try. They also found a potential breakout linebacker in senior […]
Throwback Thursday: Calamity to Championship in 2004 for Tigers
A look back at Southern Columbia’s undefeated season a decade ago Written by: Dave Fegley (@dfegs9) Friday nights from early September until sometimes as late as mid December mean one thing to me, Southern Columbia Tiger football. Even though I will only be turning 24 during this football season, I have had the privilege of being […]
40 Teams in 40 Days – Day 37 – Southern Columbia (4) – Small School Team # 2
Written by: Dave Fegley (@dfegs9) on Thursday, August 28th, 2014 The Tigers have moved up to Class AA this year for the first time in school history. The Tigers still have the advantage against virtually any team they face with Jim Roth on the sidelines for his 31st season as the head coach of the Tigers. […]
South Defense Dominant in Victory
By: Dave Fegley (Twitter: @DFegs9) SOUTH WILLIAMSPORT— District IV has some of the best football programs in the state when considering the success over the years. With that, a lot of rivalries are generated. Look at Southern Columbia-Mount Carmel Area, Selinsgrove-Shikellamy, Loyalsock-Montoursville, Bloomsburg-Central Columbia, & Towanda-Troy just to name a few. From September to some […]
Old Forge stuns Southern Columbia
By: Dave Fegley (Twitter: @DFegs9) Legendary college football coach Paul “Bear” Bryant used to say that “defense wins championships” and if he was still alive today, he would have liked what he saw from both Old Forge and Southern Columbia in their state playoff matchup. The Tigers came into the state playoffs scoring at least […]
SCA is at the top of District IV yet again
By: Dave Fegley (Twitter: @DFegs9) CATAWISSA— Dominick Bragalone came into Saturday’s District IV title game needing just 60 yards for 3,000 on the year. He picked up those yards and plenty more, but him and the other members of the South Williamsport Mounties (10-2) football team are going to have to ‘brag alone’. The rest […]
