Top-10 teams collide as Ligonier Valley faces Berlin Brothersvalley in Appalachian Bowl

By: HSSN Staff
Friday, October 27, 2017 | 7:24 PM

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In the last Appalachian Bowl — the recently revived high school football game pitting regular-season champions from the Heritage and Western Pennsylvania Athletic conferences — Ligonier Valley came away from Conemaugh Township with a dominating victory.

That 56-0 outcome was a prelude to bigger things for the Rams, who finished their season one step short of an appearance in the 2016 PIAA Class 2A championship game.

The Appalachian Bowl, in its second year since being discontinued in 1994, is 7 p.m. Saturday at Ligonier's Weller Field. It again will feature defending District 6 champion Ligonier Valley of the Heritage Conference. This time, the Rams will face Berlin Brothersvalley, like Conemaugh Township a District 5 school from the WestPAC.

“I expect a great football game,” Ligonier Valley coach Roger Beitel said, offering no hint of the Rams' overwhelming success in last year's game.

Both teams are 9-0 and ranked among the top Class 2A teams in Pennsylvania by pennlive.com: Westmoreland County's Ligonier Valley is No. 5 and Somerset County's Berlin Brothersvalley is No. 10.

“The programs are very similar,” Beitel said. “They're a Double-A school in a Single-A conference. We're a Double-A school in mostly a Single-A conference.”

Nine other crossover games involving teams from both conferences and matching opponents by seeding were scheduled for Friday night at school sites in the Heritage Conference.

The Appalachian Bowl is the main attraction.

“Both programs have won for so long. Both are undefeated,” Beitel said. “Something's going to have to give.”

Said Jim Foster, principal at Conemaugh Township and president of the WestPAC: “There are five counties served by the schools in the Heritage and WestPAC, schools similar in size, similar in demographics. It's a great fit having teams from each playing one another.”

After a year without a corporate sponsor, First Commonwealth Bank has signed on for at least three years, giving the Appalachian Bowl more stability.

A buzz began earlier this week, when the players and coaches from Ligonier Valley and Berlin Brothersvalley, along with representatives from the remaining schools in each conference, were on hand for a pregame luncheon in Richland Township in Cambria County.

Both Appalachian Bowl teams have shown mutual respect for one another during the weeks leading up to the game, and Beitel and Berlin Brothersvalley coach Doug Paul have reflected that sentiment, having previously coached together at the annual Ken Lantzy Finest 40 all-star game.

“It's a respectful, mutual respect of history,” Beitel said. “The programs are very similar. I think they have an advantage in seeing the spread offense (that Ligonier Valley employs) so much more from teams in their conference. In our conference, we're kind of on the cutting edge of what we do.”

Said Paul: “Really looking forward to this game. The big thing is to stay healthy and enjoy it this week. There's bigger fish to fry.”

Both teams are headed to their respective district playoffs next week.

Saturday's game marks the second Appalachian Bowl meeting between Ligonier Valley and Berlin Brothersvalley. The Rams defeated the Mountaineers, 42-14, in 1973 before the game was discontinued for 21 years because of an expansion of scheduled District 5 and 6 playoff games beginning in 1994.

But it's back and growing as schools from both conferences decided to use the final week of the regular season to play nonconference games against one another.

Before their first Appalachian Bowl meeting, Ligonier Valley and Berlin Brothersvalley also faced each other in regular-season games from 1970-72, with Ligonier Valley prevailing each time.

“Talk about an opportunity for our kids to get not only this playoff-type experience but also against an opponent who's been there,” Beitel said. “As much success as our senior class has had in terms of wins on the football field, their senior class is sitting, I believe, at over 40 combined wins. Ours are at something like 37. That's not 40.”

The success of these programs in recent years is no fluke. A year ago, Ligonier Valley was a touchdown away from beating seven-time PIAA champion Southern Columbia in the Class 2A semifinals.

In 2015, Berlin Brothersvalley fell to District 10 champion Farrell in the Class 1A semifinals a week after upsetting WPIAL champion Clairton, which won PIAA titles from 2009-12.

Dave Mackall is a freelance writer.

Tags: Ligonier Valley