CATAWISSA, Pa. — The top-ranked team in our Super 16 Countdown is no surprise. Southern Columbia.
”Every game is just one step closer to getting back to Hershey and I think that’s how the team looks at it," Southern Columbia senior running back Gavin Garcia said. "We like to call it climbing the ladder. Week by week. One game to 16 and every ring is another game and keeping our heads on straight to ultimately get back to Hershey.”
The Tigers’ success is well-documented. They’ve won four straight and five of the last six state championships. So those expectations are on the torch passed to this year’s team.
"There’s definitely a lot of pressure because of all the times we’ve been winning and the past couple years we’ve been winning," Southern Columbia junior running back Braeden Wisloski. "There’s definitely a lot of pressure, but I just think we’ve got to put that in the past and win another state chip this year."
”When you get on a run like this, they don’t want to be the group that is responsible for it ending," Southern Columbia Football Coach Jim Roth added. "They want to keep it going. They want to maintain the level of success. It’s a remarkable run and again, there are just a lot of great players that have contributed to it.”
Three of those players return to what could be the best backfield ever to suit up at Southern. Garcia is back for his senior season, but a couple juniors bring the speed and power. Wes Barnes and Wisloski, who helped lead the boys track and field team to a state championship.
”We feel really good about our back field," Roth said. "It’s definitely one of the best we’ve ever had. It’s a good thing when you have athletes that show up with speed. It obviously translates really well to the football field.”
”Any guy who gets the ball in this backfield, Coach Roth knows they have the potential to score on every play," Garcia said. "So much speed with me and Braeden on the outside and so much power with Wesley running up the middle.”
”It’s a three-headed monster," Wisloski added. "I don’t think anybody could cover it. You’ve got me and Gavin on the edges, running around the edges. No one’s catching us and Wes in the middle. I think we’re pretty much unstoppable.”
Something this team has been for half a decade. Super 16 Team number one: Southern Columbia.