Dylan Scheller of South Williamsport celebrates a touchdown late in the fourth quarter against Canton in South Williamsport Sept. 22, 2023. Canton won 27-21.
DAVE KENNEDY/Sun-Gazette
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As they exited the Williamsport locker room last Saturday night, noise immediately greeted South Williamsport football players and coaches. The volume was turned up and the Mounties quickly were pumped up.
Boisterous South fans, several who arrived more than 90 minutes before kickoff, serenaded the team onto the field. There is no official stat which can measure the impact those fans made, but judging by the way South started the game, scoring on all four first-half possessions, it was powerful. Both the fans and the Mounties never let up either as South romped to a 33-0 Class A state quarterfinal win against District 6 champion Cambria Heights.
South (11-2) often fills up the stands at Rodney K. Morgans Stadium during the regular season. They have not played there since Week 10, but the visiting stands have remained full and the community continues embracing this team. South has responded by playing terrific football and reaching the state Final Four for the first time since 2014.
“It was amazing seeing how we bring the community together,” two-way starter Landyn Gephart said after making seven tackles and catching a touchdown. “We were walking out of the locker room coming in and hearing chants and screams. They were all yelling for us. It brings goose bumps.”
Parents and fans likely experience something similar. This is their team and most have followed these players since they first put on football cleats. They have watched the majority of this team go from winning no games in junior high to becoming district champions and one of the state’s four best Class A teams.
South is winning in a big way this season, but the fans have been there through all the hard times, too. Their support has been unwavering. The team’s effort has been as well and now everything has come together with South avenging two regular-season losses on its way to the district championship while becoming the fifth team in program history to reach the state semifinals.
What a ride together it has become.
“The support we get is amazing. We had a tremendous crowd and it was loud. It was great to see,” South coach Chris Eiswerth said. “You think about those (younger) days and to see these grown men they have grown into and the level they play at is incredible.”
Following home games, South fans often flood the field win or lose. At different times it is either celebratory or conciliatory. But either way it often feels like it is one part game, one part community gathering.
That is like a lot of small towns throughout the country as well, but it makes it no less special. Some players have parents who played at South and community pride has been instilled. Even for those who did not grow up in South, that is the case.
This is a town which rallies around each other. It’s evident in other sports there and it certainly has been obvious throughout the football season.
“There are a bunch of people up there and they come down to the sideline afterward to greet us,” linebacker Garrett Cooley said. “It’s hometown camaraderie.”
Fans joining the players and coaches following all three playoff games has made those experiences even sweeter for all involved. Those are the memories these players will remember as much as the wins as they grow older.
This particular playoff journey started with a 45-minute ride to Canton where the Mounties exorcized some playoff demons and dethroned the two-time defending champions in thrilling fashion. It continued a week later at Muncy when steady rain was no match for the fans who arrived early, stayed late and made noise all night as South won the district championship, 57-20.
Last Saturday, the rain was replaced by temperatures which hovered around 30 degrees as fans started arriving and dropped to the mid-20s throughout the game. That did not turn them away or quiet their roars either. South paid those loyal fans back by playing a super all-around game and ensuring that its season would run long enough to coincide with the start of winter sports.
“We’re excited,” Gephart said. “We’re going to go out hard on every play and try our hardest.”
That is what these fans like most about their team. Win or lose, they know the players and coaches are doing everything possible to maximize their ability and potential. From the ashes of winless junior high campaigns, this team has risen and become one of the state’s top four.
Rain is in the forecast for Friday night at Shamokin and temperatures are expected to be in the mid-40s. Not a lot of people will want to be outside, but one can bet that does not include the South community. It has been an exciting ride and whether Friday is the end or it continues, nobody wants to miss coming along.
“Everybody comes out to support us. Even if we’re hours away, they come out and support us,” Cooley said. “It’s just great to have a community like South Williamsport behind you.”