Thomas Jefferson added another brick to its WPIAL Class AAA dynasty Saturday night, rolling to a 34-14 victory against Blackhawk in the championship game at Heinz Field.

The Jaguars took advantage of four first-half turnovers to win their third title in a row.

Thomas Jefferson (12-1), which has won 38 consecutive games against WPIAL competition, will play Erie Strong Vincent (13-0) on Friday in the opening round of the PIAA playoffs at a site and time to be determined. Strong Vincent beat Clearfield, 42-10, on Saturday.

It is the Jaguars' fourth title in the past five years and fifth in school history. The first was in 1980. Blackhawk has lost six of its 10 WPIAL final appearances and three in a row.

"This never gets old down here," Thomas Jefferson coach Bill Cherpak said. "It's exciting in its own right for the seniors who played on the previous two teams."

Thomas Jefferson senior running back Brian Baldrige rushed for 138 yards and four touchdowns, and quarterback Tyler Wehner was an efficient six for nine for 155 yards.

Quarterback Zack Hayward has a nightmarish first half for Blackhawk (11-2). He was intercepted three times and lost a fumble when he was sacked by TJ's Brock DeCicco. The fumble was returned 13 yards by Thomas Jefferson linebacker Ryan Vietmeier for the game's first score.

Coming into the game, Hayward had thrown only three interceptions in 218 pass attempts, but his second pass of the game was picked off by the Jaguars defensive back Jim Giansante. Dan Virgin (31-yard return) and Steve Licht also picked off passes.

Hayward completed 6 of 21 passes for 30 yards. Thomas Jefferson's defense also sacked Hayward three times.

"We wanted to put pressure on him and not allow him to pick us apart," Cherpak said. "We also wanted to contain Jake Delmonico. He's their playmaker."

The lead went to 13-0 early in the second quarter when senior running back Brian Baldrige, who rushed for 101 yards, scored on a 3-yard run to cap a 78-yard, 10-play drive.

The big play in the drive was a 38-yard pass from quarterback Tyler Wehner to Virgin.

A little later, Virgin returned a Hayward interception 31 yards to the Blackhawk 31.

Three plays later, Baldrige scored on a nifty 10-yard run, when he made a brilliant run by cutting inside the Blackhawk pursuit for an easy score.

"We didn't attack some areas," Blackhawk coach Joe Hamilton said, "and you can't give up any cheap touchdowns."

Blackhawk finally scored in the third quarter when Hayward tossed a 5-yard scoring strike to Mike Pearson to make it 20-7 with 5:36 left in the quarter.

But Thomas Jefferson answered behind the arm of Wehner and the running of Baldrige. Wehner completed passes of 17 yards to Virgin and 38 yards to DeCicco, and Baldrige capped it off with his third touchdown run of the game from the Blackhawk 2 on the first play of the fourth quarter to make it 27-7.

"When we need a play, we go to Brock," Cherpak said. "We needed help on defense, so we moved him to inside linebacker. At 6-foot-5, he can be disruptive."

Blackhawk made it 27-14 with 10:41 left in the game when senior running back Bryan Stefanik raced 55 yards for a score. Stefanik rushed for 116 yards on 16 carries.

Thomas Jefferson finished off the scoring with 59 seconds left when Baldrige scored his fourth score of the game.

"We had a great season," Hamilton said. "I hope TJ brings back the state trophy from the east."

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