With the District 11 4A championship game against Bethlehem Catholic hanging in the balance, Southern Lehigh opted to run its heavy package, “king” formation to drain more than nine minutes off the clock and put an end to the Golden Hawks’ hopes of a championship.
The Spartans did the same to Twin Valley on Thursday night, utilizing the unstoppable formation time and time again to convert fourth downs, swing momentum and deliver the knockout blow of a 43-21 win over the Raiders to secure the first state championship in program history.
“I’ve been saying to Coach [Phil Sams], we can run “king” every single play and win. Obviously, we didn’t do that today, but it’s just so clutch in key moments,” senior running back Sean Steckert said. “Colton [Sams] does his thing, but when we play hard nosed football, there’s nobody out here that can stop this offensive line. They perform to the best of their ability and I just run right behind them.”
“We can run that play from our own 1 and score. We did it against Becahi. We ran it for nine minutes straight,” junior fullback and lead blocker Jake Trembler said. “The guys up front, and us in the backfield, we’ve been in the weight room 11 months for this, so it’s just beautiful to have that trust in each other.”
Before they could punish the District 3 champions with it on Thursday, the Spartans turned to Steckert out of the heavy formation in the PIAA 4A quarterfinal against Shamokin to pick up the final 44 yards of a game-winning drive with time winding down in the game and their dream season.
The Southern Lehigh Spartans are presented the championship trophy following a 43-21′ PIAA Class 4A final victory over the Twin Valley at Chapman Field in Mechanicsburg on Thursday, Dec. 4, 2025. . (BILL UHRICH/READING EAGLE)
That kind of experience, even with the clock winding down, allowed Sams to go back to the play on 4th-and-1 from the Twin Valley 27 with just 25 seconds remaining in the first half.
Steckert delivered far more than just a first down, shaking off a would-be tackler and racing to the corner of the end zone for a go-ahead touchdown.
That lead remained until the final whistle of an unforgettable season.
“I wasn’t expecting that. I was expecting to call a time out, draw a couple pass plays and hopefully get in,” Sams said. “It couldn’t have worked out any better.”
“Tanner Traub told me I was going to house it, so I can’t let him down. When you get to the outside in that one on one, that’s the situation you want to be in and you’ve just got to perform,” Steckert said. “You’ve just got to go up against that guy and show what you got. I’m just glad that I was able to do that.”
The formation dates back to offensive line coach Ed Chromczak from his time at Saucon Valley, who Sams brought, as well as the formation, with him to Center Valley.
Southern Lehigh coach Phil Sams hugs Luke Kaczenski in a 43-21 Spartans’ PIAA Class 4A final victory over Twin Valley at Chapman Field in Mechanicsburg on Thursday, Dec. 4, 2025. . (BILL UHRICH/READING EAGLE)
The evolution from then until now is staggering with a culture, personnel and running back that perfectly blended a simple alignment into a state championship-winning staple.
“It’s not fancy or anything like that, but everyone does their job and it’s awesome,” Sams said.
From Dariuz Lightner’s slow motion to the strong side and kick out blocks to Trembler’s fearless sprint to the second level to clear the way, a hole always seems to emerge with one of the most prolific runners in the history of the state ready to inflict punishment.
It’s impossible for every player involved not to love it.
“That’s my favorite [formation] just because you look at the guy right across from you and you say, ‘Who’s tougher? Me or you?,’” senior Jacoby Jacobs said. “And every time we say we’re tougher than you, and we drive it down their throat. It’s just old school, hard football. I love it.”
There might not be anyone who loves it more than Steckert, which is probably the biggest reason why he and the Spartans are able to be so explosive and effective in a formation that should gain no more than three yards at a time.
While defying the odds is simply what this team does, nobody does that quite like Steckert.
Southern Lehigh’s Sean Steckert breaks loose for some of his 301 rushing yards against Twin Valley in a 43-21 Spartans’ PIAA Class 4A final victory over the Raiders at Chapman Field in Mechanicsburg on Thursday, Dec. 4, 2025. . (BILL UHRICH/READING EAGLE)
The 5’9, 175-pound running back holds every single-season and career record he can at Southern Lehigh. He exited all three of his team’s state tournament games with injury just to return and deliver the go-ahead touchdown each time.
Not to mention he became the first PIAA 4A running back to surpass 300 yards in the state championship.
Steckert’s importance isn’t lost on anyone and his legacy, now cemented with a state championship trophy, will never die.
It was only fitting that with time winding down and his team clinging to a two-possession lead, Steckert delivered the dagger with one final plunge into the end zone from the formation that is now aptly engrained in PIAA history with Southern Lehigh as the 2025 kings of the state.
“There wouldn’t be “kings” formation without Sean,” Jacobs said. “He’s amazing. He’s Mr. 3K.”
Derek Bast is a freelance sports reporter who can be found on Twitter/X at @derek_bast or reached by email at derekbast11@gmail.com.
