By HUNTER O. LYLE
KANE, PA – As they streamed out of the locker room and down the 31 stairs leading to the District 9 Class A champions stage, Justin Bienkowski addressed his team as they looked out on the illuminated field. As has been the tone for the Port Allegany football team all year, he kept it simple.
“It’s a great place to win a medal.”
Then they took to the field, ultimately marching towards that reward in the form of a 41-19 win over Redbank Valley to earn the program’s third D9 championship in four years.
Their fight would be a tough one, one where hardened, battle-tested titans lined up on either side of the field. There were no budding, fresh faces on the gridiron that night. No up-and-comers looking to establish themselves. Instead, there were two teams that each held championship experience and fresh memories of one another.
In recent years, Port Allegany and Redbank Valley have dominated the Class A postseason, combining for five titles in five years, the last three of which coming against each other. Although the Bulldogs held a slim advantage in the trophy case, winning three D9 championships to Port’s two, the Gators were emerging with the upper hand, taking home two of the three most recent banners.
“We have nothing but mad respect between our programs. We put together some good seasons, they put together some good seasons. We were just going to go out there and have a good fight and to the victor goes the spoils,” said Bienkowski. “I have absolutely nothing but the utmost respect for Redbank Valley football.”
The Bulldogs put their intimate knowledge of their opponents to use. Per usual, Port opened the game by handing the ball to their star, Aiden Bliss, however, Redbank was ready and pulled him down for back-to-back tackles for loss. Two snaps later, Port was punting. Facing an electrified opposing sideline, the Gators snapped back almost immediately.
Starting with a stalemate at the line of scrimmage during the Bulldogs’ opening play, Julian Kaple and Garrin Wright came away with successive sacks to force Redbank into a fourth-and-25 punt in retaliation. Then, the Gators offense had a turn at redemption. Diversifying their playbook early, Kellen Veilleux took the handoff, shot through a gap and burst into open field for a 74-yard gain. Bliss then took back over, carrying the ball three yards for the first touchdown of the night.
Then the bloodletting began. Port’s defense continuously harassed the Bulldogs both in the backfield and in the secondary. Isaac Postlewait came away with his first sack of the day on Redbank’s second drive of the night, one that ultimately ended in a punt on fourth-and-eleven, while Veilleux disrupted several would-be first-down-converting passes downrange. In all, the Bulldogs would move the chains just three times throughout the opening two quarters of play.
“It was an absolutely phenomenal defensive gameplan by Chad Saltsman and Kyle Bachman. Our defensive coaches put together a hell of a plan. We were moving up front, we played a little bit of coverage, and the defensive lineman hit a little here or there,” said Bienkowski. “(Braylan) Wagner is as good as they come. He’s a hell of a quarterback and he just keeps coming and for us to hold him in check a little bit, I was very proud of our defense.”
While Redbank continuously ran into an Orange and Black wall, Port’s offense was just getting warmed up. On their third drive of the game, Bliss found his legs with a seven-, nine- and then 61-yard carry, the latter of which put him in the endzone once again to put the Gators up by 15 with 3:20 left in the first quarter. Despite being stopped once again to end the opening period, Bliss and Co. added another six points to the scoreboard with a 12-play drive that chipped away both yards and remaining time – Bliss touched the ball 10 times before scoring on a one-yard carry with 2:49 seconds left in the second quarter.
Although they began the second half with the ball, Redbank’s struggles failed to dissipate in the third quarter. On just the second snap of the half, Veilleux picked off a Bulldog pass before streaking downfield and into the endzone to put the Gators up 27-0.
“Kellen Veilleux showed up for us tonight and was a heck of a player for us. He was a heck of a two-punch to Aiden Bliss,” said Bienkowski. “You could tell that (Redbank’s) whole front box was going after (Bliss) and then Kellen snuck through and that pick he had was absolutely beautiful. The kid’s electric.”
Even on the Bulldogs most successful drive of the game, which saw four first downs and a seat on Port’s nine-yard-line, they couldn’t find a way through the defense, instead being forced backwards six yards and ultimately suffering a turnover on downs after back-to-back incomplete passes. After the stonewall stand, Port racked up another touchdown, again coming from Bliss, to put them up 35-0 and begin the mercy rule running clock.
Facing a mountainous lead in front of them, Redbank started finding life. After a massive 58-yard pass from Wagner to Easton Magagnotti, the Bulldogs’ longest play of the night thus far, they marched down to the goal line once again. Not to be denied twice, Redbank finally punched in a score with a four-yard connection through the air to Magagnotti. Forcing a Port fumble immediately after, the Bulldogs broke into the endzone for a second time with a 34-yard touchdown pass to Jaxon Huffman.
However, their efforts fell in vain. As the clock quickly emptied, both teams traded touchdowns in one final volley of points, but the damage was already done. Port had ran away with the game early and defended their title, becoming the first Gators squad to win back-to-back championships since the teams in 2011 and 2012.
“It’s special to our team. Mike Bodamer, the head coach at that time, actually texted me earlier today and just wished us well. We’re proud of a program that he started and we’re just continuing on the Port Allegany way,” said Bienkowski. “It’s special for our program. If it’s a hardware game, it’s extra special, whether it’s a league title, a district title. Our kids run this program. They’re so locked in, they let us coach them and it just works.”
Along with his five touchdowns, Bliss ended the game with 285 rushing yards on 27 carries while Veilleux added 105 yards on the ground on seven carries. Veilleux also contributed a tackle and pick-six alongside Kaple, who anchored the defense with seven tackles, five solo, and two sacks.
Moving into the PIAA State Tournament bracket, Port (11-0) now faces either Wilmington (8-3) or Greenville (10-1) on either next Friday or Saturday at Hickory High School as they begin their march towards a different sort of championship.
“We’re certainly going to take a look at our run defense. That’s for sure because we know what Wilmington’s going to do since we played against them in the quarterfinal game and they’re going to come out of the huddle fast,” said Bienkowski. “We’re very, very happy that we get an opportunity to compete at the state level.”
