YORK, Pa. — This year, Harrisburg's postseason journey has been something of a revenge tour.
The Cougars avenged an early season loss to Manheim Township in last week's District 3 Class 6A championship game, defeating the Blue Streaks 44-6 to capture their second straight crown.
Township is one of two teams to defeat Harrisburg this season. The other one -- Mid-Penn Commonwealth rival State College -- awaits the Cougars in the state semifinals.
The Little Lions, who beat Harrisburg 20-6 in their regular-season matchup on Oct. 15, defeated District 7 champion North Allegheny 28-7 in last week's quarterfinals to improve to 13-0.
They'll take on the Cougars Saturday at 1 p.m. at Mansion Park in Altoona.
The winner advances to the PIAA Class 6A title game, where they will face either District 12 champ St. Joseph's Prep (10-1) or District 1 champ Garnet Valley (13-0) at Cumberland Valley High School at 7 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 10.
Here's a look at the Harrisburg-State College matchup.
Harrisburg (10-2) vs. State College (13-0)
Saturday, 1 p.m. at Mansion Park
ABOUT STATE COLLEGE: After winning the Mid-Penn Commonwealth title in the regular season, the Little Lions' memorable postseason run began with a 28-7 victory over Altoona in the District 6 championship game. It was their sixth district title in the last seven years.
State College then survived an epic triple-overtime clash with McDowell in the first round of States, prevailing 57-50 when sophomore Michael Gaul caught a 13-yard TD pass to give his team the lead, then recovered a fumble on McDowell's ensuing possession to make sure it held up.
The Lions had it a little easier in last week's quarterfinal win over North Allegheny, scoring the game's first three touchdowns. The State College defense did the rest, turning away several NA threats in the second half to secure the victory.
QB Finn Furmanek rushed for 130 yards and two touchdowns for the Lions, while freshman RB D’antae Sheffey added 106 yards on the ground.
Furmanek, a senior, sometimes platoons under center with junior Owen Yerka, moving to the flanks when Yerka calls the signals. Furmanek has completed 106 of 166 passes for 1,528 yards and 15 touchdowns, is second on the team in rushing with 572 yards and seven scores, and has hauled in 13 catches for 152 yards and a TD.
Yerka has an additional 456 yards and four TDs on 35-of-65 passing.
Sheffey has rushed for a team-high 1,680 yards and 21 touchdowns on 208 attempts. The Lions' top receivers are Donte Nastasi (51-606, 4 TDs), Ty Salazar (29-595, 5 TDs) and Gaul (19-328, 7 TDs).
State College averages 396.6 yards per game on offense.
In their regular-season meeting with Harrisburg, State College built a 17-6 advantage at halftime with a pair of second-quarter TDs and played keep-away from the Cougars in the second half, allowing them to run just six plays from scrimmage in the fourth quarter.
Harrisburg, which played the game without starting QB Shawn Lee Jr. and a handful of other key figures, managed just 219 total yards and eight first downs.
Sheffey finished with 24 carries for 93 yards and a score for the Lions, while Furmanek passed for 110 yards (including a 32-yard TD strike to Gaul) and rushed for 38 more.
State College is in the state semifinals for the second straight year. They lost 49-28 to eventual state champ Mount Lebanon last year.
The Lions reached the state finals in 2009, falling to District 12 champ LaSalle 24-7 in the Class 4A title game.
ABOUT HARRISBURG: The Cougars successfully defended their District 3 championship with last Friday's rout of Manheim Township, dominating the game in all three facets to avenge their 24-20 loss to the Blue Streaks in the regular season.
It was the first time in program history that the Cougars won back-to-back district titles.
Harrisburg held Township's powerful offense to 169 total yards, forced three turnovers, and sacked Streak QB Hayden Johnson four times. Township's only score came on a 52-yard pick-six in the third quarter, long after the outcome had been decided.
The Cougar offense racked up 348 yards, sparked in part by Lee, who ran for three touchdowns and threw for another. Makhai Hopkins scored on a short TD run and hauled in a 51-yard TD strike from Lee.
Harrisburg even got a special teams touchdown, as Kyle Williams took a punt return 57 yards to the house.
The Cougars led 31-0 at halftime and were never really threatened. It was their fifth straight win and their ninth victory in their last 10 games. The only loss over that span came to State College.
Lee, a sophomore, has completed 107 of 153 passes for 1,416 yards and 15 touchdowns despite missing three games this season.
Hopkins (848 yards and 11 TDs on 126 carries) powers the ground game, while Williams (510 rush yards, a team-leading 511 receiving yards, 15 total TDs) is threat to score no matter how he gets the ball.
The Cougars have won five district titles in program history, but so far a state title has eluded them. They made it to the Class 6A state championship game in 2018, but fell 40-20 to St. Joseph's Prep. That's the only time Harrisburg has ever gotten beyond the state semifinals.