Scruggs and Cathedral Prep win PIAA 4A state championship
Future Penn State offensive lineman Juice Scruggs won his second straight PIAA Class 4A state championship Thursday evening.
Future Penn State offensive lineman Juice Scruggs and his Cathedral Prep teammates won their second straight PIAA Class 4A state championship Thursday night, defeating Imhotep Charter, 38-28.
Back in 2015, Prep lost to Imhotep 40-3 in what was then the PIAA Class 3A state championship. For Scruggs, it left a bad taste in his mouth, motivating he and the rest of his team to come back even stronger in 2016.
A year later, the Ramblers got their second crack at Imhotep in Class 4A state championship game - the PIAA reclassified in 2016, adding two divisions, which bumped both schools up to 4A. This time, Prep got its revenge, defeating the Panthers 27-20.
That made Thursday’s showdown in Hershey the rubber match between of Pennsylvania’s top high school program. After a competitive first half, Prep led Imhotep 17-13 at the break. It felt as if the 2017 matchup would go down to the wire, but Prep had different plans, dominating Imhotep in the third quarter to push their lead to 31-13. Charter would eventually score two touchdowns in the fourth quarter, but a solid drive from Prep midway through the final quarter put the game away.
“It’s an unbelievable feeling to finish my career on top,” Scruggs said, following the game. “It’s even more crazy that we went back-to-back my junior and senior year. The feeling is unreal when you realize that all that hard work in the offseason and during the season finally paid off.
“This moment will be something that I remember the rest of my life.”
Penn State offensive line coach Matt Limegrover and wide receiver coach Josh Gattis were both at Hersheypark Stadium to watch the game. Scruggs said that he appreciated their support.
“For him [Limegrover] to come out and support me, it really is just showing how much PSU is really family,” Scruggs told Patriot News reporter Greg Pickel following the game. “It’s just really special.”
This weekend, the majority of Penn State’s 2018 class will be taking their official visits with James Franklin and his staff. However, Scruggs had a prior arrangement, so he won’t be able to make the trip. He also mentioned that there's a chance that he holds off on signing with the Lions on Dec. 20, but made it clear that there's no reason to worry about his commitment status.
"I am 100 percent committed to PSU," he said. "Not sure if I'm going to sign early yet or not. I just want to get my whole family there. If they can (be there) on the 20th, then I will (sign)."
A four-star prospect, Scruggs is currently the 19th-ranked offensive guard and the 15th-ranked prospect in Pennsylvania for the Class of 2018. He's set to enroll at Penn State next summer. In the meantime, he has plenty of work to do before he takes that next step.
"I'm going to get back to work as soon as I get back to Erie," he said. "I work with Steve Spearman, who, in my opinion, is the best personal trainer in Erie. He trains James Connor.
" I'll mainly be working on my strength and footwork the most. I'm going to get an early start to my offseason training this year so I can put on some extra muscle."