C'mon - did you expect anything less?

You knew Penn Wood was this good before the season even began. You knew Penn Wood had the potential to repeat, the Division I prospects to compete, the players to steal a win or two from some of the nation's best programs.

Perhaps the only surprise that came from Wednesday's 70-51 win over Liberty was that leading scorer Aaron Brown, who averages 20 points per game, was limited to eight. Still, the Patriots cruised past the Hurricanes in a PIAA Class AAAA semifinal and into Saturday's championship game against ... Plymouth-Whitemarsh.

Surprised?

Shouldn't be. This was the matchup of fate, one that seemed predestined in the first weeks of the 2009-10 season, with both teams gaining national acclaim and regional hype. But, hey --- we have some days ahead to talk about Plymouth Whitemarsh. How about we stick with the PW from Delaware County?

En route to making consecutive appearances in the PIAA title game, the Patriots did what they do best - run up the score. The Hurricanes made the Pats kick the tires a couple times in the first quarter, leading 8-4 and making the District One champs think otherwise about a repeat.

Then, it happened.

Penn Wood went on a 17-0 burst on the way to a 40-19 halftime lead. The rest is history. Tyree Johnson scored 19 points, Dequan Pelzer tossed in 14 and Shawn Oakman dropped in 12 (and some thunderous dunks) for the Patriots.

See you in State College.