HERSHEY, Pa.-- Tom Nola retired as a history teacher in June. That did not mean he couldn't still make some history.

Six months after Nola taught his final history class, the Clairton High School football coach and his team put themselves in a spot where no team has been in WPIAL history.

Clairton won the PIAA Class A championship with a 35-19 victory against Southern Columbia at Hersheypark Stadium Friday. Not only did the win give Clairton its third consecutive PIAA title, it also stretched the Bears' winning streak to a record 47 games.

Clairton broke the WPIAL record for the longest winning streak. Braddock won 46 consecutive games in the 1950s.

It all made the usually low-keyed Nola a little emotional after the game.

"I can't tell you why," he said about the tears in his eyes. "It really is just overwhelming to be mentioned with those Braddock teams and coach [Chuck] Klausing."

Tyler Boyd overwhelmed Southern Columbia (14-2). A junior running back, Boyd had a few big plays that proved to be the difference against a Southern Columbia team that trailed by only 21-19 heading into the fourth quarter. Boyd finished with 218 yards rushing on 14 carries for a Clairton team that finished the season 16-0. The Bears' last loss was in the 2009 season opener.

Boyd scored on runs of 78 and 68 yards in the fourth quarter to break the Tigers' resolve. His 78-yarder was jaw dropping. Clairton ran an option play to the left and Boyd took the pitch from quarterback Capri Thompson. Seeing he had nowhere to run, Boyd stopped, ran all the way across the field to the right, took off downfield, ran across the field to the left and outraced defenders into the end zone with 5:54 left.

"He's one of the most athletic kids I've ever seen," said Jim Roth, Southern Columbia's longtime coach. "I don't know if I've ever seen anyone change direction that drastically before."