HARRISBURG, Pa. — One week after avenging their only regular season loss with an overtime victory over Manheim Township, Harrisburg can turn its attention on getting back to the state championship game.
But there is a major obstacle standing between the Cougars and the state finals: two-time WPIAL champion North Allegheny.
Harrisburg and NA will square off Saturday at 1 p.m. in the PIAA Class 6A semifinals in Altoona's Mansion Park.
The victor will advance to the state championship game, where they'll face either defending champion and perennial powerhouse St. Joseph's Prep or District 1 champ Central Bucks South, who square off in the other semi.
St. Joe's hammered Harrisburg in last year's state title game.
The state championship game is set for 7 p.m. on Saturday, December 9 at Cumberland Valley's Champman Field.
Here's a look at this Saturday's state semifinal.
Harrisburg (12-1) vs. North Allegheny (12-1)
Saturday, 1 p.m. at Mansion Park, Altoona
ABOUT NORTH ALLEGHENY: The reigning WPIAL champions hammered Erie McDowell 41-7 in the state quarterfinals, riding strong performances in all three facets of the game -- offense, defense and special teams -- to build an insurmountable 35-0 lead at halftime.
The Tigers had 196 yards of offense at the end of the first quarter and 358 total yards by halftime. Their starters watched the entire second half from the sidelines.
QB Logan Kushner completed 6 of 9 passes for 176 yards and two touchdowns and added 87 yards and another score on the ground before taking the rest of the game off. Khirin Boyd set up NA's first score with a 74-yard return of the game's opening kickoff, while the Tiger defense held McDowell to under 100 total yards and completely shut down Trojan star QB Blayze Myers, who managed 110 passing yards before leaving the game with an injury early in the fourth quarter.
Evan Lyon caught three passes for 81 yards and two touchdowns in the first half for the Tigers, while Liam Flaherty led the team's rushing effort with 90 yards on 10 carries in the first two quarters.
It was the eighth straight win for NA, whose only loss this season was a 50-22 setback against Pittsburgh Central Catholic in Week 5. The Tigers avenged that loss by beating Central Catholic 44-41 in the WPIAL title game.
Kushner rushed for 240 yards and four touchdowns and threw for 107 yards and two more scores in NA's victory over Central Catholic. Three of those passes went to Boyd, who had 107 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Tyree Alualu added 105 yards on the ground for the Tigers.
Kushner has more than 1,600 passing yards, 12,000 rushing yards, and 24 combined touchdowns. He's the main cog in the Tigers' dangerous offense.
NA's defense has held six of its last eight opponents to two touchdowns or less.
The Tigers are chasing their fourth state title. They won three while competing as a Class 4A team (1990, 2010 and 2012).
ABOUT HARRISBURG: The Cougars captured their third straight District 3 Class 6A title with a 34-28 overtime victory at Manheim Township, rallying from a 28-7 deficit in the second half to force the extra session. In overtime, Nehemiah Ewell scored on a 2-yard TD run, and Harrisburg turned Township away empty on its OT possession to escape with the hard-fought win.
The victory avenged Harrisburg's only loss of the season, a 33-0 defeat at Township in Week 3. The Cougars have won every game since.
Shawn Lee rushed for 121 yards, threw for 42 more, and accounted for two touchdowns in Harrisburg's victory, while Ewell had 88 yards and three TDs on 24 carries.
For the season, Lee's numbers stand at 1,973 passing yards, 24 TDs, 1,252 yards and 16 scores on the ground. Ewell's 88 yards last Saturday pushed him over the 1,000-yard mark for the season; he's now at 1,024 yards and 15 TDs on 142 carries. Elias Coke (40-759, 12 TDs) is the Cougars' top receiver.
Harrisburg is trying to become the sixth Mid-Penn Conference team to win a state title. The Cougars fell 42-7 to St. Joe's last year. It was the second time since 2018 that Harrisburg fell to St. Joe's in the finals.