Mikal Davis, Jabree Wallace-Coleman help Imhotep Charter quiet the noise to defeat Peters Township for Pennsylvania high school football Class 5A state championship
MECHANICSBURG, Pennsylvania - Imhotep Charter had faced a WPIAL team in the PIAA state championship game three times before this season and had come up on the short end all three times.
That changed Friday night with a 38-13 win over Peters Township in the PIAA Class 5A state championship game at Cumberland Valley's Chapman Field.
The Panthers got out to a 24-7 halftime lead on three rushing touchdowns by quarterback Mikal Davis, who scored from 1, 12 and 22 yards.
"I just know my name was being called and I had to step up in big moments," Davis said. "But it wasn't a one man show, it was a team (effort), I love this team."
The 22-yarder was supposed to be a pass play but once the Army commit was pressured in the pocket, he escaped and eluded multiple defenders before diving into the corner of the end zone.
"I just saw the pocket open up like the Red Sea," Davis said. "I said I have to take that opportunity, they can't tackle me."
Georgia running back commit Jabree Wallace-Coleman added a touchdown for the Panthers in the third quarter when he broke through the line and ran free for a 68-yard score to make it 31-7. He finished the game with 214 yards on 13 carries.
"I was excited, I finally I got my one," Wallace-Coleman said. "I knew it was gonna come sooner or later, I was happy I got to put the game out of reach."
Imhotep added one more touchdown in the fourth quarter on a 50-yard touchdown pass from Davis to Johann Hennigan.
Davis finished the game 8-of-12 passing for 184 and a touchdown and ran for 85 yards and the three scores on 11 carries.
Imhotep Charter quarterback Mikal Davis runs the ball during the 2023 PIAA Class 5A state championship game. Photo credit: Paul Burdick, SBLive Sports
Paul Burdick, SBLive Sports
Prior to 2023, the Panthers had lost to South Fayette (2013 - 2A), Penn-Trafford (2021 - 5A) and Pine-Richland (2022 - 5A) from the WPIAL in championship appearances, while also losing three straight championship games to Erie Cathedral Prep (2016-18), and taking home the PIAA Class 3A title in 2015 with a win over Cathedral Prep.
That history agaisnt the WPIAL was not lost on the players, who saw a poll on social media earlier in the week indicating that people expected Imhotep to be the team to "choke" this weekend.
"We were 53 percent (to lose)," Davis said. "All my screensavers they have Peters Township to beat us 42-13. Nah, nah, that ain't us. They go at us but we take that on the chin and we just rock and roll."
Wallace-Coleman not only saw the social media polls, but he heard all of the outside noise.
"Since we won that last game, they've been talking on Twitter the whole time," Wallace-Coleman said. "They said we were 1-6 in state championships, they said we were going to choke when we got punched in the mouth. I was just happy to finally prove them wrong."
When all was said and done, the score was close to predicted, but it was Imhotep on top.
"Look what happened," Davis said.
-- Ryan Isley | ryan@scorebooklive.com | @sblivepa
Photo gallery (photos by Paul Burdick)
Paul Burdick, SBLive Sports
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