Conrad Weiser grad goes out with national championship
2024 Berks football coverage presented by
Utilities Employees Credit Union
Matt Noll went out on top.
The Conrad Weiser grad helped Jackson State beat South Carolina State 28-7 Saturday in the annual Celebration Bowl to claim the HBCU national championship.
Noll, a grad student, handled punting duties for the Tigers (12-2); he was also the holder on PATs and field goals.
The national championship is the first for Jackson State, which was the SWAC champ; South Carolina State won the MEAC championship.
With the Tigers offense cranking out 385 total yards Noll wasn’t called on to punt very often, but he came through as usual.
He averaged 43 yards on his three punts, with a long of 54. Only one of the kicks was returned, for 3 yards; the other two were fair caught.
Jackson State quarterback Jacobian Morgan threw for 233 yards and two passing touchdowns, each to wide receiver Joanes Fortilien.
Noll earned second-team all-league honors this season after averaging 43.0 yards on his 36 punts. He finished third in the conference in punting average. He placed 15 kicks inside the 20 and had nine kicks of 50 or more yards.
Noll was named SWAC Specialist of the Week after he kept Alabama State pinned deep most of the game during a 16-10 win on Nov. 16. He averaged 44.4 yards per punt with three punts inside the 20.
Noll was a national semifinalist for the Walter Campbell Award, which is given by the national football foundation to a collegiate athlete who shows not only great on-field performance but also great academic performance and leadership off the field.
Noll was an All-America first team pick and the All-MEAC punter his freshman season at Delaware State. After graduating in three years with a degree in Business Management he sought a bigger challenge and transferred to Jackson State for the 2023 season.
Noll was a two-time, two-way All-Berks pick as both a punter and placekicker his junior and senior seasons at Conrad Weiser.
He set the Berks career record for field goals with 23. As a junior he set the Berks single-season mark with 12 field goals, on 15 attempts, and helped the Scouts beat Gov. Mifflin to claim the Berks Football League Section 1 title. His late field goal was key in the 17-7 season finale over the Mustangs.
