Sean Steckert Opens Up Southern Lehigh’s Offense in 4A State Title Win

Southern Lehigh won their first football state championship in school history on Thursday, Dec. 4, riding the legs of running back Sean Steckert for 300 yards and four touchdowns. Steckert set the single-game record for yards in the PIAA 4A title game, but said that giving his Spartans the win is all that matters.

“It’s amazing. The records are nice, but the fact we came away with the win is all that matters. 

It’s the perfect way to go out with this team. I’ve been with these boys for forever,” Steckert said. “We struggled a little bit on defense in the beginning but just to know that we have that confidence in our offense, pure domination.”

Steckert Sparks the Offense

Southern Lehigh head coach Phil Sams gave insight to Steckert’s dominance, describing how his multi-sport ability as a wrestler helps Steckert fight through tackles.

“He’s the toughest — and we’ve had some tough kids over the years — probably the toughest kid I’ve ever coached. He can do it all. He’s a great defensive player, underrated, he didn’t get to play enough this year because we held him out,” Sams said. “Wrestling background helps, I’m a big promoter of wrestlers. You saw his balance and when you wrestle you do those kinds of things, you see what wrestlers can do.”

Being able to run at will opened up the passing game for Southern Lehigh, and wide receiver Otto Young caught a pair of long touchdowns in the second half as a result. Young said his first touchdown came about because of a halftime adjustment. During the second, the Raiders’ defense overcompensated for Steckert’s threat as a runner.

“On the post one we talked at halftime, I told coach that [the defensive back] was playing scared, so I could make a play on him. Colton [quarterback Colton Sams], all he had to do was just put the ball over the middle and I’d make a play for it,” Young said.  “On the second one there was a read option, so they were scared that Sean was gonna do something, and then Colton made a read, threw it to me, and I knew I had to score there.”

Don’t Forget Defense

Another key contributor was sophomore safety Adam Fritts, who intercepted two passes in the second half, setting up touchdown drives with both. Fritts said that he felt confident going into the game because Twin Valley played with a similar style to Southern Lehigh: if the Spartans could play their game, they’d have an excellent chance at winning. 

“I saw their film and was like we’ve definitely got their number,” Fritts said. “We’re really good at stopping the run and they’re a really run heavy team. After the first drive we settled in a little bit and we were good.”

Although he’s only in his first season as a starter, Fritts broke down his assignment on his first interception with the football knowledge of a seasoned veteran. Charged with covering the flat in the Spartans’ zone defense, Fritts cycled down and was in position to catch a tipped ball.

“It was a little cover four call but it was a sky call so it was like cover one kind of,” Fritts said. “I saw the running back come out of that backfield, saw him tip it, and got the interception.”