South Fayette product, Chiefs WR Justin Watson seeks 3rd Super Bowl ring over 4-year span

He might be earning a third Super Bowl ring Sunday. But Justin Watson holds a former football championship near and dear to his heart, too.

“One of my favorite things when I go home is you pull into South Fayette, and right off the exit there’s a sign that says ‘State Champions,’” Watson said during the Super Bowl LVIII media night event this past week in Las Vegas. “And I was a part of that first state championship team in 2013, and so I still swell with pride thinking about my time at South Fayette.”

Watson, a 2014 alumnus of South Fayette, is a wide receiver for the Kansas City Chiefs preparing for Sunday’s Super Bowl against the San Francisco 49ers. During last season’s big game, Watson had two catches for 18 yards while playing 60% of the offensive snaps in a win against the Philadelphia Eagles.

Two years before that, Watson was on a team that played against the Chiefs in a Super Bowl, but he was inactive for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers during their victory.

So while the likes of Chiefs stalwarts Patrick Mahomes, Travis Kelce and Andy Reid can claim a third Super Bowl ring, too, this Sunday, only Watson could say he has won three over a four-year span.

Watson twice was on teams at Penn that shared Ivy League titles. But, judging by what he told NFL broadcaster Ross Tucker in Las Vegas this week, it was the 2013 PIAA Class 2A championship won by South Fayette — the first in the school’s history — that Watson looks back on with most joy.

“Coach Joe Rossi taught me my foundations with football,” Watson said, “and that’s bringing a great attitude every single day. And I still live and practice by that every single time I put a helmet on.”

Watson might not be the only graduate of a WPIAL school to play in Sunday’s Super Bowl if New Kensington’s Skyy Moore (Shady Side Academy) returns for the Chiefs. A second-year wide receiver, Moore made eight starts before suffering a knee injury in December. He was activated off injured reserve Wednesday, a signal he might be in uniform for the Super Bowl 364 days after he had a 4-yard touchdown reception during last year’s triumph over the Eagles.

Kevin Givens, a 49ers defensive lineman, played for Altoona High School a decade ago when that school was part of the WPIAL. Givens, a Penn State alum, is in his fifth NFL season — all with San Francisco.

One of Givens’ teammates on the 49ers defense, safety Ji’Ayir Brown, is also a former Penn State player. The rookie third-round pick has started six games this season, including the NFC championship game when he played every defensive snap.

“I think every moment of every season I’ve went through has prepared me for this exact moment,” Brown said at Super Bowl media day this past week.

A third former Nittany Lion who will play Sunday is Kansas City veteran left tackle Donovan Smith. Smith, who played for Penn State from 2011-14, was on that 2020 Bucs team that claimed the title.

San Francisco right tackle Colton McKivitz is a West Virginia alum in his fourth NFL season. He has been a full-time starter for the first time this season.