HERSHEY, Pa. -- The best football season in West Middlesex High School history ended with one of the worst beatings in PIAA championship history.

Mighty Southern Columbia flexed its muscles and whipped the District 10 champion, 56-14, in the PIAA Class A title game yesterday afternoon at Hersheypark Stadium.

A crowd of 5,006 watched the third-most lopsided game in 19 seasons of PIAA championships. The only championships with a bigger final margin were the 1998 Class AAAA championship when Central Bucks West defeated New Castle, 56-7, and the 1994 Class A final when Southern Columbia pummeled Western Beaver, 49-6.

"Honestly, it probably would have taken about eight more players to beat them," West Middlesex coach Brian Hoffman said.

Southern Columbia (16-0), located near Bloomsburg, made history with the victory, becoming the first team to win five consecutive PIAA titles. The Tigers made West Middlesex's first title game appearance something to forget as the Big Red (15-1) lost for the first time this season.

"I don't think we've quite seen a team as complete as Southern Columbia," Hoffman said. "I thought our kids stepped up a level in playing a physical Clairton team last week. ... But that was a great football team we lost to. I could sit here and tell you that if we played them nine more times, we're probably not going to win the game."

The PIAA mercy rule was enacted at the start of the second half. Under the rule, the clock runs continuously when a team gets ahead by 35 points or more in the second half. Southern Columbia led, 42-6, at halftime. Southern Columbia also forced the mercy rule the past three years against Duquesne, Rochester and Bishop Carroll.

Southern Columbia finished with 496 total yards, including 324 on the ground. Senior fullback Henry Hynoski, a Pitt recruit, rushed for 126 yards on 11 carries, and caught two passes for 109 yards. He scored three touchdowns -- two on runs of 52 and 9 yards, and one on a 70-yard reception.

West Middlesex quarterback Kolten Hoffman set Class A championship game records for completions, attempts and yards. He finished 22 of 46 for 210 yards.

Class AAA

Drew Astorino scored the winning touchdown on a 20-yard run with 4:55 left in the game as General McLane (13-2) defeated Pottsville, 28-23, in the Class AAA final.

Astorino, a Kent State recruit, finished with 172 yards on 21 carries and also had a 71-yard touchdown run. Ryan Skelton added 132 yards on 20 attempts.

Pottsville (13-3), which lost in the title game for the second year in a row, took a 21-20 lead in the third quarter on Tom McFarland's 24-yard touchdown run. McFarland finished with 171 yards on 17 carries and Matt Feeney added 100 on 21 attempts.