HERSHEY, Pa. -- It wasn't exactly the bully going soft, but big and brutish Thomas Jefferson showed a side of itself last night that had not been seen in a while.

The change in personality helped turn Thomas Jefferson into a team that has never been seen in the WPIAL.

Thomas Jefferson threw the ball with regularity and threw Garnet Valley's defense into a funk. The passing game helped Thomas Jefferson defeat Garnet Valley, 28-3, in the PIAA Class AAA championship game in front of 5,087 chilly fans at Hersheypark Stadium.

The win allowed Thomas Jefferson to become the first team from the WPIAL to win a PIAA Class AAA championship with a perfect record. Thomas Jefferson finished 16-0 and won its second PIAA crown in the past four years. Garnet Valley, a District 1 team from suburban Philadelphia, finished 13-2.

This should tell you how the game went: The person who got the water cooler shower after the contest wasn't Thomas Jefferson coach Bill Cherpak. It was quarterback-defensive back Zach DeCicco.

A 6-foot senior, DeCicco completed 10 of 17 passes for 137 yards and two touchdown passes.

"Player of the year, right here," said teammate Lucas Nix after helping dump the water cooler on DeCicco.

Seventeen passes might not seem like much, but to Thomas Jefferson it was an aerial circus. Since moving from receiver to quarterback in the final game of the regular season, DeCicco had thrown a total of 51 passes in six games. In the past three games, he was 5 of 15 for 75 yards.

"We were hoping they were going to pass it. That's what we wanted them to do," said Garnet Valley coach Mike Ricci. "To be honest, we didn't think [DeCicco] could do what he did tonight."

Thomas Jefferson had bullied through the postseason with a powerful offensive line and a strong running game. The Jaguars did damage on the ground again last night as fullback Nate Bota ran for 143 yards on 10 carries, and Orlando Torres added 102 on 20.

But DeCicco throwing the ball so much was like Shaquille O'Neal jacking 3-pointers.

"They weren't covering the pass. They were covering the run, so we just took what they gave us," DeCicco said.

Cherpak said, "We thought we could take advantage of some things they were doing on defense. But, to be honest, a lot of those pass plays were Zach making calls at the line."

DeCicco did more than pass, though. He also rushed for 71 yards on four attempts, scored one touchdown and intercepted two passes.

What made the game more special to DeCicco was his younger brother, Brock, a junior tight end, also played a big role. The brothers hooked up on a 15-yard touchdown pass that gave Thomas Jefferson a 21-3 lead in the fourth quarter.

Brock DeCicco finished with 3 catches for 54 yards. Their older brother, Dom, is a freshman at Pitt who played quarterback for Thomas Jefferson last year.

"I think a lot of people thought last year was our year with Dom," Zach said. "But this is great being my senior year, going 16-0 and having everyone step up."

Thomas Jefferson finished with 468 yards offense while its defense limited Garnet Valley to 206, including only 111 on the ground. It was the first time since 1998 that a team did not score a touchdown in a Class AAA final.

The game was scoreless after the first quarter, but Thomas Jefferson started to find its offensive rhythm in the second quarter, moving 80 yards in five plays for a score. Bota capped the march with a 23-yard touchdown run with 6:53 left in the half.

Garnet Valley's Eric VanWyk made a 37-yard field goal with three minutes left in the half, but Thomas Jefferson responded with a 69-yard scoring drive that ended with Zach DeCicco's 20-yard touchdown pass to receiver Trevor Wildman with 33 seconds left in the second quarter. Wildman made a superb catch, leaping into the air and taking the ball away from a defender for his ninth touchdown of the year.

Garnet Valley showed some desperation late in the third quarter when it went for a first down on fourth-and-2 at its own 29. A pass fell incomplete, and Brock DeCicco caught his touchdown pass three plays later.

Zach DeCicco closed out the scoring with a 10-yard touchdown run.

It was a grand finish for a team that lost its star running back [Brian Baldrige] with a knee injury in the first game. Starting quarterback Tyler Wehner was kicked off the team near the end of the regular season. That's when Zach DeCicco volunteered to move to quarterback.