Coaches often don’t like to single out one player when talking about standouts on their team, but when you’ve got one of the nation’s best on your side, it’s difficult not to.
When asked what he liked most about his team during heat acclimatization week, McKeesport coach Matt Miller stated the obvious.
“I obviously like Kemon. There’s a lot to like,” Miller said. “He plays at a different gear. He’s amazing to watch. I’ve been around a long time, and he’s special.”
Led by their special player, the Tigers are shooting for a special season.
Junior running back-cornerback Kemon Spell is the headliner of a McKeesport team that was a win away from winning the WPIAL Class 4A championship last season. The Tigers, who claimed their last title 20 years ago, won the Greater Allegheny Conference and finished 8-5 after losing to Thomas Jefferson, 28-7, in the WPIAL title game.
Spell is a Penn State recruit and one of the most highly recruited players from the WPIAL this century. Multiple recruiting services rank Spell the No. 1 running back in his class nationally, and Rivals ranks him as the No. 8 player overall. Spell (5 feet 10, 210 pounds) averaged a ridiculous 11.4 yards per carry on 142 totes last season, running for 1,617 yards and 24 touchdowns. He ran for 280 yards on just 15 carries against Mars in the WPIAL semifinals.
“He’s looking great,” Miller said. “He’s gotten bigger. He’s gotten faster. He’s really raring to go.”
McKeesport features another Power Four recruit in junior wide receiver Javien Robinson, an all-conference selection last season whose offers include Pitt, Syracuse and Rutgers.
Throwing the ball to Robinson will be a first-year starting quarterback with a familiar name. That would be senior Matt Miller Jr., son of the coach.
“He’s a coach’s kid and loves the game,” Dad said. “He’s a really smart, tough kid. He can spit it a little bit. What he’s going to bring is a coach on the field. He really understands what we do offensively.”
Seniors Kaedyn Daniels and Matt Sebella, junior Alex Winowitch, and sophomores Justin Powell and Joe Sebella are returning starters along the offensive line.
While Spell and Robinson earned all-conference recognition on offense last season, Daniels (a defensive end) and senior Mike Wright (an inside linebacker) were honored defensively.
Mars, which went 6-6 and reached the WPIAL semifinals last season, features one of the best and most experienced offensive lines in the classification. Seniors Sean Franklin, Colton Ewing and Adam Budzilek are all three-year starters and returning all-conference honorees. The Planets will need to replace running back Eric Kasperowicz, who rushed for 1,401 yards and 20 touchdowns.
Senior wide receiver-defensive back Gabe Hein earned all-conference praise last season when his 66 catches for 939 yards ranked among the best marks in the WPIAL. Sophomore quarterback Nate Walker passed for 1,081 yards and five touchdowns as a freshman. Another top returnee is senior running back-linebacker Zach Dentel, an all-conference pick on defense.
McKeesport isn’t the only team in the conference with a running back considered one of the nation’s best. West Mifflin has one of them, too. Junior Armand Hill is a West Virginia recruit who ran for 1,693 yards and 23 touchdowns last season, this after announcing his presence as a freshman when he ran for 495 yards in a game.
Hill is the main weapon for a West Mifflin team guided by first-year coach B.J. Pugh, a 1995 West Mifflin graduate and former quarterback at the school. Pugh will need to break in a new quarterback after last year’s starter, Zahir Ismaeli, transferred to Westinghouse. Junior wide receiver Sincere Degree returns, as do senior guard Saeon Coleman and junior defensive lineman Ellijah Rudolph, both all-conference picks in 2024 when the Titans finished 5-5.
If it is to improve on its 3-7 record from a season ago, Hampton will need to improve a defense that gave up 38.6 points per game, most in Class 4A. Senior tight end Ryan Scully is the team’s only returning all-conference pick, but the Talbots bring back leading rusher (senior Evan McAneny) and leading receiver (senior Willy Haselrig). McAneny ran for 829 yards and 10 touchdowns.
T.J. Wiley is the new coach at Knoch, which went 3-6 last season and must replace all-conference quarterback Codi Mullen. Wiley is a veteran head coach, having made previous stops at Penn-Trafford, Northgate, Deer Lakes, Vincentian and Bishop Canevin. Junior wide receiver-defensive back Ethan Rouleau was second on the team in receiving last season.
Winless in conference play the past two seasons, Indiana turned to Mark Zilinskas to become its new head coach. It’s the second stint at Indiana for Zilinskas, who previously coached there from 2002-15. Senior wide receiver-defensive back Trevon Joseph and junior lineman Darius Webb are two of the top players. Joseph made the all-conference team last season.
Parkway Conference
Aliquippa had its remarkable run of 16 consecutive WPIAL championship appearances end last season when the Quips were tripped up by Thomas Jefferson in the semifinals. A year later, the 20-time champions hope to begin a new championship streak, and they will do it with a familiar face leading the way.
Mike Warfield is back as coach after taking last season off. Warfield guided Aliquippa to four WPIAL titles and three PIAA titles in six seasons. The Quips return three all-conference players from last year’s squad that went 7-3. Senior lineman Tekoah Gilbert, senior wide receiver-defensive back Qa’lil Goode and junior running back-linebacker Cleaster Longmire all earned all-conference praise on defense. Goode is also the top returning receiver.
Senior quarterback Marques Council is a Yale commit who passed for 1,477 yards and 16 touchdowns last season. The Quips must replace their top two rushers, as Tikey Hayes is now at Penn State and Sa’Nir Brooks at St. Frances Academy in Maryland. Hayes ran for 6,882 yards in his Aliquippa career, sixth best in WPIAL history.
Montour was 8-0 last season before losing to West Allegheny in overtime in the regular-season finale and to Mars in a wild 48-42 shootout in the WPIAL quarterfinals. That came after the Spartans finished 10-2 and reached the WPIAL semifinals a season earlier.
Each of the team’s five all-conference recipients graduated, including quarterback Trey Hopper and favorite receiver AJ Alston. But the Spartans do return senior running back Caden Halajcio, who paced the team with 948 yards rushing and scored four touchdowns. Senior linebacker Cole Midili and senior defensive end Dylan Rogers are the top returning tacklers.
Standout senior lineman Cam Danna, an all-conference choice on offense and defense, will anchor the lines for West Allegheny, which went 6-5 and lost in the first round of the playoffs a season ago. Senior kicker Teagan Tomei was also an all-conference honoree.
Senior Brody Malatak returns at quarterback and junior Brodie Cornell looks to make an impact at running back after his brother, Brock, led the team with more than 1,000 yards on the ground last season.
New Castle bounced back from a 1-9 season by going 5-4 a season ago. Most of the success came early in the season, however, as the Red Hurricanes started 4-0 before dropping four of their final five games.
Senior wide receiver-linebacker Mason Cook and senior lineman Jayden Schaffer were selected all-conference on defense. Cook tied for the team lead with 48 tackles and added three sacks. Senior wide receiver-defensive back Chase Lemmon also returns after pacing the team in receiving with 34 catches for 393 yards.
Ambridge will look for more success after going 4-5 last season. This is a program that is only a few years removed from ending a 28-game losing streak. Senior D.J. Cain returns at quarterback.
Senior tight end-defensive lineman Jameson Feeley, an all-conference pick on both sides of the ball, is the top returnee for Blackhawk, which went 4-6 in coach Jake Wickline’s first season. Also returning is junior running back Brayden McCarthy, who rushed for a team-best 579 yards and eight touchdowns.
Big Six Conference
Perennial power Thomas Jefferson is on the hunt for another WPIAL title after winning its 11th last season. It was the 10th crown for coach Bill Cherpak, most in history.
Cherpak must replace some big contributors from that team that went 14-1 and reached the PIAA semifinals, among them quarterback Luke Kosko and wide receiver Brayden White. The running game should again be strong with the return of junior running back Tyler Eber and senior linemen Zane Sable and Dom Metz, all of whom were all-conference picks. Eber was one of the most productive rushers in the WPIAL, running for 2,276 yards and 33 touchdowns.
A strong junior class also includes wide receiver-linebacker Kane Eggerton and linemen Beckett Everley, Deacon Kamberis and Lucas Patterson. Senior Jeff Raible and sophomore Harrison Kolling have been battling out for the starting quarterback position.
A WPIAL quarterfinalist the past two seasons, Trinity will try to take another step this season, and the Hillers will do it with one of the most veteran quarterbacks in the WPIAL on their side. Senior Jonah Williamson returns after passing for 1,059 yards and six touchdowns and rushing for 814 yards and 12 touchdowns a season ago. He’s a Harvard recruit.
Other key players returning for Trinity are senior tight end-linebacker Anthony Giorgi and sophomore lineman Matthew Richards. Richards was an all-conference pick as a freshman.
Scott Bryer is one of three new coaches in this conference, and he has the biggest shoes to fill. Bryer takes over for Matt Humbert at Belle Vernon. All Humbert did in his 11 seasons was go 96-26 and lead the Leopards to back-to-back WPIAL and PIAA Class 3A titles in 2022-23. Bryer was an assistant on Humbert’s staff the past three seasons.
Returning for Belle Vernon is senior quarterback-defensive back Curtis Wade, who passed for 1,039 yards and 12 touchdowns while leading the Leopards to a 4-5 record last season. Wade was also second on the team in rushing with 365 yards and three touchdowns. Senior running back-defensive back DeAubre Lightfoot and senior wide receiver-linebacker Anthony DiCenzo are two other top returnees.
Steve Spence is the new coach at Chartiers Valley. Spence, previously an assistant at Washington & Jefferson, takes over a team that lost its final four games last season to finish 3-6. Back for the Colts are senior running back-defensive back Tayshaun Lewis and senior wide receivers Julius Best and Damien Holloway.
Laurel Highlands welcomes Aaron Raffle as coach after going 4-5 last season. Raffle is a 1991 Laurel Highlands graduate who coached George Mason’s club football team last season. Senior quarterback Noah Lion returns after passing for 635 yards and eight touchdowns in 2024.
A 2-8 season might not look like much, but it marked a big improvement for Ringgold last fall after the Rams entered the season on a 25-game losing streak. Junior wide receiver-defensive back Demetri Lowe returns for second-year coach Robert Heller. Lowe was an all-conference selection on both sides of the ball last season.
Players to watch
Tyler Eber, Thomas Jefferson, 5-11, 183, RB, Jr. — Workhorse back carried the ball 420 times for 2,276 yards and 33 touchdowns last season, including 33 carries for 158 yards and two touchdowns in the WPIAL final.
Qa’lil Goode, Aliquippa, 6-0, 150, WR-DB, Sr. — All-conference defensive back headlines what figures to be a terrific secondary and should be a frequent target of quarterback Marques Council.
Armand Hill, West Mifflin, 5-10, 185, RB, Jr. — West Virginia recruit ran for 1,693 yards and 23 touchdowns last season and enters his junior season with 3,219 yards and 43 touchdowns in his career.
Kemon Spell, McKeesport, 5-10, 210, RB-DB, Jr. — Considered the No. 1 running back in the country in the Class of 2027, Spell looks to build on a sophomore season that saw him run for 1,617 yards and 24 touchdowns.
Jonah Williamson, Trinity, 6-2, 200, QB, Sr. — Harvard recruit hopes to lead Trinity to a big season after passing for 1,059 yards, rushing for 814 yards and accounting for 18 touchdowns in 2024.
Brad is a sports writer at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, but he's currently on strike. Email him at beverett@unionprogress.com.