MECHANICSBURG — All they needed was just one play.

After the most important defensive stop in the history of the Northwestern Lehigh football program, the Tigers had four plays to cover 10 yards for the win in Saturday’s PIAA Class 3A state title game.

Eli Zimmerman’s game-winning 10-yard touchdown run ended the game after one overtime period and earned Northwestern its first football state title, 36-33 over Avonworth Saturday at Cumberland Valley High School.

“It was a little heart-thumping there for a while,” said Northwestern head coach Josh Snyder. “But our kids kept coming and answering the bell. In that first half we just kept answering, coming back and answering, went up, got stops and walked it off in overtime. That was unbelievable. State champs. I can’t even believe it.”

On the winning play, Snyder dialed up something he thought the Antelopes wouldn’t be ready for.

The Tigers went to their version of a wildcat offense — which they call their Bronco formation. Everyone in the stadium knew who was getting the ball. The only question was whether or not the Lopes could stop it.

Zimmerman took a direct snap and headed to the right pylon.

“That was a newer formation we put in,” said Zimmerman, who finished the game with 123 rushing yards and three touchdowns on 29 carries. “We were supposed to run an inside zone to the right. It kind of collapsed and I strung it out. Michael Lagowy held his block long enough to let me read it and get into the end zone for the touchdown.”

While that touchdown produced the winning score, the defensive stand that came before it cleared the way for Zimmerman’s heroics.

Avonworth (12-4, District 7 champ) had been moving the ball consistently most of the game, primarily on runs by quarterback Luca Neal (36 carries, 252 yards, 4 TDs). The junior accounted for all but six of his team’s 42 carries, and nearly all of the Antelopes’ 259 rushing yards.

But in overtime, the Tigers found an answer.

Neal was stopped for no gain on first down by Shane Hulmes.

“I was on a blitz, but it ran counter,” said Hulmes. “I was able to run it down from the backside. In overtime they only had four plays from the 10. We knew we just had to make some plays, and we were able to do that.”

On second down, it was Mason Bollinger and Josh Wambold that stopped Neal after a 3-yard gain.

On third down, Neal threw his only pass of the game, which fell incomplete as he was being taken down. Video replay showed he was down before releasing the ball, but the result was the same either way. The Lopes were forced to kick a field goal.

“We strung two plays together, one on first down and one on second down,” said Snyder. “They got a little bit nervous after that and tried a trick play there. We tackled them. They had to kick a field goal.

“I think four plays from 10 yards out we can find a way to score, and it only took us one.”

The back-and-forth game was everything a state final should be.

The Lopes took an early lead, capping the game’s first possession with an 18-yard Neal run for a 6-0 lead.

Northwestern answered with a 71-yard, nine-play drive that saw Zimmerman score from one yard out to take a 7-6 lead.

The Antelopes answered on their next possession when Neal broke free for a 24-yard touchdown run for a 13-6 advantage late in the first quarter.

Neal’s powerful running style was a proverbial punch in the mouth for the Tigers. But it takes more than just a few jabs and uppercuts to knock out this Northwestern team.

The Tigers’ next possession was a 12-play, 71-yard drive that ended with Shane Leh’s pass to Hulmes in the end zone for a 14-13 Northwestern lead with 9:13 left in the first half.

Avonworth’s next drive was the first not to end beyond the goal line, settling for a 28-yard Calder Mahan field goal that put his team ahead 16-14 with 2:44 to play in the second quarter.

The Tigers matched the field goal when Seth Kern hit from 29 yards with no time on the first-half clock, making it 17-16 at halftime.

Northwestern got the ball to start the second half and marched 59 yards in 11 plays. Zimmerman capped the drive with a 1-yard plunge as he leaped over a pile of linemen and stretched the ball over the goal line for a 23-16 lead.

The Antelopes didn’t get a chance to answer that score. On the first play of their next drive, Zimmerman stripped Neal and recovered the fumble at the Avonworth 32-yard line.

Five plays later, Hulmes ran in from a yard out for a 30-16 Tiger advantage with 5:47 showing on the third-quarter clock.

The Antelopes were down, but not out. A 54-yard touchdown run from Neal closed the gap to one score in the fourth frame.

After a three-and-out from Northwestern, Avonworth tied the game at 30-30 with a 14-play drive that took 7:28 off the clock and left the Tigers with 4:32 to win the game in regulation.

“They were able to bounce back,” said Hulmes. “Kudos to them. There’s a reason they were here, and they showed it. When it mattered most, we were able to make more plays than they were.

“We knew we had to buckle down. They were really tough up front, and they ran really hard. We got punched in the mouth a little bit during the game, but once we buckled down we were able to make plays.”

The Tigers’ ensuing drive ended with an interception at the Antelope 40-yard line and 1:18 remaining on the game clock.

Avonworth gained one first down before stalling and punting from its from its own 45-yard line. The Tigers kneeled to run out the final eight seconds and send the game to overtime.

The Lopes managed to keep all of their kick offs and their one punt away from Zimmerman, a dangerous returner who ran six punts back for scores this season.

Neal (5-10, 185) ran with power like the Tigers hadn’t seen all season. “He was definitely a great runner,” said Zimmerman. “We haven’t seen a physical kid like that all year. He had some speed. He’s a pretty thick kid. We just had to wrap him up and bring him down.”

Northwestern junior quarterback Leh went 12-for-15 passing with 114 yards and one touchdown toss. He ran for 48 yards on 11 carries, and made all the right reads at the line of scrimmage. He was 10-for-10 passing in the first half. “He was calling some of those read plays where we have a run play called,” said Snyder. “They were rotating their safeties over to our strength and really slanting backside on that end. He said ‘coach let’s read it.’ He kept [the ball] in the first half for a big play. We ran a number of other ones. I thought he played unbelievable, floating some passes on the over-drag to Shane Hulmes. Finding Landon [Matson] out in the flat. He was just really nifty today. He’s played his best ball of the season in the playoffs. When he’s cooking, that takes us to the next level.”

Zimmerman ends his career as the all-time leading rusher in Tiger football history. An all-state selection as a junior in 2023, this season he could be in for even more postseason accolades. “He’s the best player in the state,” said Snyder. “He deserves to be, and should be the Player of the Year in Pennsylvania.”

The Tigers were not called for a penalty Saturday, while the Antelopes had just two flags for 10 yards.

The Tigers finished the season at 16-0, and became the third Northwestern team to earn a fall sports state title. The school’s soccer teams both won it all a few weeks ago. It marks the first time in state history that three teams from the same school went unbeaten while winning state titles in the same season.