Clairton was used to the routine by now, so the fact it happened once again came as little surprise.

The procedure goes like this: The opposing offense starts with an impressive drive, thinks it will do so repeatedly throughout the game, and then reluctantly gets sent into permanent hibernation by the suffocating Bears defense.

But in a 12-6 win against Monaca in the WPIAL Class A championship game at Heinz Field on Saturday, the terms of the typical circumstances were a bit skewed, and the last factor of the winning equation was put in serious doubt.

Monaca marched down the field on the game's opening possession, using just three plays and 1:26 to drive 60 yards and promptly take a 6-0 lead when Zach Garber split the Bears defense for a 38-yard touchdown run.

The Bears considered it an early statement from a team they admitted they thought they would handily defeat, and it forced the defensive unit to open their eyes, and do so quickly.

"Once that happened, we just knew they were coming to play," junior cornerback Kevin Weatherspoon said. "We needed to start going all out. That's when we woke up."

And because of that, Weatherspoon and his teammates woke up Sunday as WPIAL champions, a day after earning their second title in three seasons.

After the early eye-opening Monaca scoring drive, the Bears returned to their stingy selves, limiting the Indians to 133 yards on 45 plays (2.9 yards per snap). The Bears forced three turnovers, five Indians' punts and set the tone with their physicality and athleticism.

Clairton coach Tom Nola credited first-year defensive coordinator Mike LeDonne with tweaking some of the things the unit was originally attempting to execute. LeDonne, previously the head coach at South Allegheny, has played an instrumental role in Clairton's dominance on that side of the ball this season -- the Bears have only given up 36 points for the season -- and his expertise paid off again.

"After that first drive, coach LeDonne made a little adjustment," Nola said. "[Monaca was] running between our end and our tackle. He was telling both our linebackers to scrape through that hole and for our ends to squeeze it down further. Desimon Green and Brandon Small, our two defensive ends, started doing that and shut that down after the first drive."

Coincidentally, Green and Small, both sophomores, led the Bears in tackles, garnering 11 and eight, respectively. Each had two tackles for losses, and Small added a sack. Green, a 6-foot-5 man-child, is a burgeoning star, and college coaches could very well be flocking to Clairton because of him the next two seasons.

The Bears primary focus was shutting down Garber, who came into the game with 778 yards rushing and 11 touchdowns. Garber finished the game with 123 yards on 21 carries, but only 44 of those yards came after the first quarter.

"Their ends just squeezed really well and they really started keying on me more," Garber said.

Said Clairton junior cornerback Deontae Howard: "He was a tough runner. Our linebackers kept arm-tackling him. And we kept saying, 'We're the most physical team in this game, so start hitting him.' We just had to adjust, wrap up and bring him down."

The Bears then brought down Monaca for good, putting the clamps on the Indians' final possession, forcing four incompletions on a drive that began at the Clairton 37 with 1:59 left.

With one gold medal already around their necks, the Bears (13-0) begin their quest for PIAA gold Friday against District 5 champion Windber (9-3) at Johnstown, propelled by a defense as hungry as ever.

"We want to get to the state championship [game]," said senior linebacker Troy Webb, who sparked the Bears offensively by filling in for the injured Andrew Currington at quarterback with a pair of touchdown passes and 103 yards rushing. "We're really not satisfied with this win. I'm happy but I want the state championship more than anything."

• What: Clairton (13-0) vs. Windber (9-3).

• When: 7 p.m. Friday.

• Where: Johnstown High School.

• The skinny: This is a PIAA Class A quarterfinal contest with the winner playing either Farrell or Cameron County.