The freshman quarterback people call “Oobi” had people saying “Oh my” Friday night.
Aaron “Oobi” Strader scored on a 4-yard touchdown run with two seconds left to give defending WPIAL and PIAA champion Pine-Richland a thrilling 16-9 win against Penn Hills in a WPIAL Class 5A semifinal at North Hills’ Martorelli Stadium.
The win was the sixth in a row for No. 3 Pine-Richland (9-3) and moved the Rams into the championship game Nov. 18 at Norwin. The Rams will take on No. 1 Peters Township. Penn Hills, the No. 2 seed, finished its season 9-3.
Pine-Richland scored only three points in the first 47 minutes, 58 seconds of Friday’s game before scoring 13 in the final two seconds. Trailing, 9-3, the Rams put together their strongest drive of the game, one that ended with Strader’s dramatic touchdown run. Grant Argiro, who put the Rams on the board courtesy of a 42-yard field goal with 3:36 left, followed with an extra point to give his team a 10-9 lead. On the final play of the game, Pine-Richland’s Evan Johnson scooped up a Penn Hills fumble and returned it 25 yards for a touchdown.
Penn Hills, which won at Pine-Richland, 26-20, on Sept. 8, had scored a season-high 63 points in last week’s quarterfinal win against Penn-Trafford. The Indians built their 9-0 lead Friday via Landon Hankey’s 32-yard field goal in the second quarter and Julian Dugger’s 8-yard touchdown run late in the third.
Other Class 5A semifinal
• Nolan DiLucia threw for three touchdowns to propel No. 1 Peters Township (12-0) to a 41-18 win against No. 5 Moon (6-6) at South Fayette. After Moon’s Hayden Boland opened the scoring with a 32-yard field goal four minutes into the second quarter, Peters Township ripped off 28 unanswered points. DiLucia was 12 of 23 for 188 yards in the game, tossing a pair of touchdowns to Thomas Aspinwall and another to Nate McCullough. Vinny Sarcone ran for two touchdowns for the Indians and Preston Blair added one of his own. Josh Bladel and Braeden Stuart scored touchdowns for Moon, which fell to Peters Township, 40-7, on Oct. 6.
Class 6A semifinals
• Logan Kushner accounted for three touchdowns to help No. 2 seed and defending champion North Allegheny (10-1) return to the final by throttling visiting No. 3 Canon-McMillan (6-5), 49-7. Kushner ran for touchdowns of 71 and 15 yards and threw an 8-yard scoring strike to Daniel Sellers, who also added a touchdown run. Kushner ran for 125 yards and passed for 101 yards. Khiryn Boyd returned a punt 60 yards for a touchdown for North Allegheny, which led, 32-0, at the half and forced five turnovers. Canon-McMillan’s Mike Evans threw for 128 yards and a touchdown.
• Elijah Faulkner ran for 184 yards and five touchdowns in leading No. 1 Central Catholic (10-1) to a 42-7 win against No. 4 Mt. Lebanon (5-6) at Fox Chapel. After Payton Wehner threw a 38-yard touchdown pass to Cole Sullivan to open the scoring, Mt. Lebanon’s Fred LaSota scored on a 5-yard run to knot the score midway through the second quarter. That’s when Faulkner took over. Faulkner scored on runs of 43, 7, 31, 40 and 12 yards. Central Catholic will meet North Allegheny in the final for the second year in a row. The Vikings defeated North Allegheny, 50-22, back on Sept. 22.
Class 4A quarterfinals
• No. 4 Mars (10-2) scored the first 17 points of the game and held on for a 24-14 win against No. 5 Central Valley (8-4) at Ambridge, earning the Planets a bid to the semifinals for the first time since 2015. Mars’ Evan Wright ran for 131 yards on 29 carries, scoring on runs of 2 and 25 yards. After Wright’s first touchdown put Mars in front, 17-0, in the third, Central Valley cut its deficit to 17-14 following Steven Rutherford’s 16-yard touchdown pass to Jaden Underwood and Josiah Boykin’s 3-yard touchdown run. Wright’s second scoring run with 7:47 left in the fourth gave the Planets some breathing room. Mason Dixon ran for 102 yards for Central Valley.
• Montour’s A.J. Alston had a night to remember, as he was on the receiving end of five touchdowns while leading the No. 3 Spartans (10-1) to a 51-21 mercy-rule win against visiting No. 6 Thomas Jefferson (9-3). The Spartans advance to the semifinals for the first time since 2017. Alston finished with eight catches for 237 yards. Jake Wolfe found Alston for four touchdowns and backup Trey Hopper connected with Alston on another. Wolfe completed 14-of-26 passes for 223 yards and five touchdowns and ran for 81 yards and a touchdown on 16 carries. It marked only the third time that Thomas Jefferson suffered a mercy-rule defeat in coach Bill Cherpak’s 29 seasons.
• Latrobe nearly pulled off an improbable upset Friday. Instead, Aliquippa is headed back to the WPIAL semifinals for the 17th year in a row. Penn State recruit Tikey Hayes ran for 256 yards and two touchdowns to lead No. 1 and two-time defending champion Aliquippa (10-0) to a 37-29 win against visiting No. 9 Latrobe (8-4). Aliquippa has won a record 19 WPIAL titles, while Latrobe has three playoff wins in school history. Hayes, a junior who went over 5,000 career yards, scored touchdowns on runs of 4 and 75 yards. The second touchdown came with 8:34 left in the game and gave the Quips a 31-22 lead. John Wetzel accounted for two touchdowns for Latrobe (one passing, one rushing), while Alex Tatsch ran for 135 yards and a score.
• The Spell brothers, Kemon and Keith, combined for three touchdowns to push No. 2 McKeesport (10-1) to a 28-14 home win against No. 10 Trinity (7-5). Kemon Spell, a freshman, scored both first-half touchdowns for the Tigers. The first came on a 34-yard pass from Garrett Tarker. The second came in a more unconventional way, as Spell caught a Trinity field-goal attempt that fell short and returned it 100 yards for a touchdown. Senior Keith Spell added a 1-yard touchdown run on the opening possession of the second half. Trinity’s Jonah Williamson scored on a 1-yard touchdown run and tossed a 26-yard touchdown to Tony Cipoletti.
Class 3A quarterfinals
• Braden Laux threw for 225 yards and three touchdowns to lift No. 1 and defending champion Belle Vernon (9-1) to a 49-6 win against visiting No. 8 Deer Lakes (8-4). Laux, an Eastern Michigan recruit, hooked up with Penn State recruit Quinton Martin for two touchdowns and with Anthony Crews on another. Martin and Crews added touchdown runs for the Leopards, and Kole Doppelheuer chipped in two of his own. The Leopards have scored at least 49 points in each of their past six games. Deer Lakes scored its touchdown on Derek Burk’s 45-yard scoring toss to Aiden Fletcher. The Lancers were coming off their first playoff win in program history.
• Andrew Kuban’s three touchdowns helped send No. 2 Avonworth (11-0) back to the semifinals following a 41-21 win against visiting No. 7 Beaver (9-3). The Antelopes had beaten Beaver, 33-28, in the regular season. After giving up an early touchdown, Avonworth scored the next 34 points. Kuban scored on a pair of 1-yard runs and on a 25-yard pass from Carson Bellinger. Freshman Dimitri Velisaris added a pair of touchdown runs and Brandon Biagiarelli also had one. Qualan Cain and Travis Clear each scored on 1-yard touchdown runs for Beaver.
• Michael Cahill found Amir Rollins for a 9-yard touchdown with 1:27 left to vault host No. 4 East Allegheny (9-2) to a 28-21 win against No. 12 South Park (7-5). The winning score came after Eric Doerue’s 4-yard touchdown run gave South Park a 21-20 advantage with 4:54 remaining. Cahill had a big night, completing 16-of-18 passes for 254 yards and two touchdowns. He connected with Kam Marshall for a 70-yard score in the second quarter. Rollins was also on the receiving end of a 20-yard scoring toss from Cedric Mack. Doerue ran for 116 yards on 25 carries and scored all three South Park touchdowns.
• No. 3 Elizabeth Forward (10-1) scored three defensive touchdowns and another on special teams to roll to a 42-21 home win against No. 6 West Mifflin (7-5). Dominic DeRenzo and Bucknell recruit Charlie Meehleib scored on fumble returns and Meehleib later added a pick-6. Teammate AJ Grese returned the second-half kickoff 85 yards for a score for the Warriors, who beat West Mifflin, 24-7, on Sept. 1. Freshman sensation Armand Hill ran for 197 yards and two touchdowns for West Mifflin, which saw its five-game win streak end.
SCOREBOARD
WPIAL CLASS 6A PLAYOFFS
Semifinals
Central Catholic 42, Mt. Lebanon 7
North Allegheny 49, Canon-McMillan 7
WPIAL CLASS 5A PLAYOFFS
Semifinals
Peters Township 41, Moon 18
Pine-Richland 16, Penn Hills 9
WPIAL CLASS 4A PLAYOFFS
Quarterfinals
Aliquippa 37, Latrobe 29
Mars 24, Central Valley 14
McKeesport 28, Trinity 14
Montour 51, Thomas Jefferson 21
WPIAL CLASS 3A PLAYOFFS
Quarterfinals
Avonworth 41, Beaver 21
Belle Vernon 49, Deer Lakes 6
East Allegheny 28, South Park 21
Elizabeth Forward 42, West Mifflin 21
Brad is a sports writer at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, but he's currently on strike. Email him at beverett@unionprogress.com.