Woodland Hills kicker Sam Scifo was at home sick during the Wolverines' playoff game against Central Catholic last week.

Last night, he sent Bethel Park home for good.

Scifo's 20-yard field goal in overtime gave Woodland Hills a 38-35 victory against Bethel Park in a WPIAL Class AAAA semifinal game.

"It's something I've dreamt of ever since I started kicking," Scifo said.

In high school football overtime, each team gets four downs from the 10.

After the Wolverines' defense stopped Bethel Park on the Black Hawks' overtime possession, which ended in a missed field goal, Woodland Hills ran three plays before Scifo's kick.

"This is one of the biggest wins in Woodland Hills history," said Wolverines coach George Novak.

A sophomore, Scifo figured the game might come down to his left foot once Bethel Park tied the score, 35-35, with 21 seconds left in regulation.

"I had done it a million times in practice before," Scifo said. "No reason it should be any different."

The field goal ended defending WPIAL champion Bethel Park's quest for a second consecutive trip to the title game.

Scifo's kick also ended one of the wildest games of the season.

Wolverines running back Dom Timbers finished the night with 140 yards rushing and three touchdowns. Bethel Park could not match Woodland Hills on the ground, but Black Hawks quarterback Matt Bliss kept his team in the game, completing 17 of 30 passes for 218 yards, two touchdowns and an interception.

Most importantly, he kept Woodland Hills from running away with the score several times.

The Wolverines dominated Bethel Park through the first 15 minutes on both sides of the ball.

By the time Bethel Park gained its initial first down of the night with 9:09 remaining in the second quarter, Woodland Hills had already scored three touchdowns and had nine first downs.

But mistakes by the Wolverines kept the Black Hawks within striking distance.

An early 14-0 lead would have been larger had the Wolverines not committed costly penalties.

Woodland Hills had two touchdowns overturned by penalties on consecutive plays. That score would have put the Wolverines up, 21-0, before the end of the first quarter. Instead, Bliss intercepted a John Yezovich pass on the very next play and returned it 30 yards for a touchdown to cut the deficit in half, 14-7.

From that point on, it was a back-and-forth affair between the two schools. Woodland Hills running back Lafayette Pitts scored six plays later on a 59-yard run to stretch the lead to 21-7.

The Black Hawks' Bre Ford countered with a 3-yard touchdown run.

Two plays later, Woodland Hills was up by 14 again. Cameron Thompkins' 74-yard run set up Timbers' third touchdown of the night -- a 1-yard run.

But again, Bethel Park answered. Drew Volbers caught a 10-yard touchdown pass from Bliss to bring the Black Hawks within seven points again, down 28-21 at halftime.

Neither team could do much offensively for the rest of the third quarter, but Jevonte Pitts blocked a punt toward the end of the third quarter, setting up a Woodland Hills touchdown. At that point, the Wolverines led, 35-21.

It looked like Woodland Hills sealed the game after Lafayette Pitts intercepted a Bliss pass on fourth-and-goal with 7:28 remaining. But the Black Hawks forced Woodland Hills to punt after three plays, and Bethel Park's Jerret Hannigan blocked the punt and recovered it in the end zone to bring the Black Hawks within seven again.

After stopping Woodland Hills in three plays, the Black Hawks got the ball back at their 20-yard line with 4:41 left in the game.

Bliss marched the Black Hawks 80 yards in 4:20, capped by a 4-yard touchdown pass to Alex Baroffio that tied the score.

But Brendad Didiano missed wide left on his only field goal attempt of the night -- a 22-yard attempt in over time.

The win sent Woodland Hills to the WPIAL title game for the first time since 2005.

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