Font ResizeBrian Baldrige never thought of football as a spectator sport.
After leading the Jaguars in rushing as a sophomore in 2006, Baldrige tore his ACL on a kickoff return in the second quarter of Thomas Jefferson's first game of the season last year. He had to watch from the sideline as the Jaguars went 16-0 and brought home the PIAA Class AAA championship.
It was tougher than getting blindsided by an open-field tackle.
"I've been playing football since I was 6, and I'm not really used to just sitting there and watching games," Baldrige said. "Plus, you lose that whole locker room environment because you're never in the locker room. You just feel like an outsider."
He's regained that feeling of camaraderie this year and proven himself again as a big-time ballcarrier -- racking up 2,156 yards and 34 touchdowns on 272 carries. The only thing that's missing is a state championship.
What happened last year helped give him extra fuel to take advantage of the last chance he has.
"It was real hard," Baldrige said. "I was happy for the team and everything, but it was hard because I could have been a part of it. But going through that just motivated me more to get there this year.
Standing in the way of Baldrige's goal is a history-making West York squad that became the first YAIAA team to ever win a District 3 title at the Class AAA level. The Bulldogs have allowed only seven points in their last two games. Now they will try to stop a focused Baldrige on Friday
Thomas Jefferson can also get it done through the air, as quarterback Tyler Wehner has thrown for 2,226 yards and 25 touchdowns with a 53 percent completion rate. But more than 70 percent of the time the Jaguars keep the ball on the ground, and Baldrige is their primary weapon.
"He's our catalyst on offense," Thomas Jefferson coach Bill Cherpak said. "He does a lot of different things. He's a power runner, but he has speed and great vision, and he can cut back. He can do it all, even though he is only 5-foot-9 and 200 pounds."
It sounds like Baldrige bears at least some resemblance to another standout running back who suffered an untimely injury -- one that West York is intimately familiar with. That 51-touchdown man known as Brandon Real said that his greatest skill was his field vision, followed closely by his ability to make sharp cuts and change direction. Baldrige described himself in a similar way.
"I can run with power, but my greatest asset is my vision and my cutting ability," Baldrige said. "I'm elusive, I guess."
Even though West York's offensive productivity has slowed since Real went down with a broken collarbone after increasing his season total to 2,533 rushing yards in the district semifinals, it hasn't mattered. The Bulldogs have made up the difference on defense and last week contained a Manheim Central offense that featured Division I-A prospect Dakota Royer at wideout.
Now they turn their attention to Baldrige and a Thomas Jefferson offense that has scored at least 34 points in its four playoff games and is intent on winning another state title. For Baldrige, anything else would be falling short of expectations.
"I think we're really confident," Baldrige said. "We're really experienced -- our senior class has been in 40-some games in our career. We've been to the state playoffs every year. That experience makes you confident. You know what's expected of you when you play. They expect you to win a state title. That's what you're measured on when you graduate from T.J."
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