Mike Warfield has never been one to shy away from pressure-packed moments.
The Aliquippa coach led his alma mater to Acrisure Stadium in each of his first six seasons, winning four WPIAL championships under the bright lights usually reserved for the NFL’s Pittsburgh Steelers and NCAA’s Pitt Panthers.
The Quips also won three PIAA title games during that same span, as Warfield guided his players past statewide competition with enrollments well above what should be a Class 1A designation for the small Beaver County school district.
It wasn’t the deprivation of those types of moments, though, that Warfield said were most vexing during his season away from the Aliquippa program in 2024.
“I just missed the process,” he said. “The games are the games, winning or losing, that doesn’t matter to me. It’s just the process. I enjoy coming every day and just trying to figure things out; how we can get better. As a coaching staff, how we can put them in the right positions to be successful.”
Few WPIAL coaches in recent history have done so quite as effectively.
After running out to a 74-6 record to go along with his championship success during his first six seasons, Warfield said he was taking a “temporary leave of absence” from Aliquippa’s program just before the start of preseason camp last summer.
In his absence, interim coach Vashawn Patrick led the Quips to a 7-3 record.
Aliquippa eventually fell to Thomas Jefferson in the WPIAL Class 4A semifinals, which snapped a streak of 16 seasons in which the Quips reached the district final.
Warfield said he was in attendance at Heinz Field for each Aliquippa home game last season.
“Of course I watched every game, the games I didn’t go to, when I wasn’t traveling for work. I was definitely on Hudl watching the games,” Warfield said. “Coach Pat did a great job with the circumstances he was dealt with being told at close to the last minute that he had to take over.
“He was ready for it. He’s definitely our future.”
Warfield worked in law enforcement for 30 years, with stints working with Pennsylvania State Police, DEA and the U.S. attorney’s office to his credit. He said last year’s break from the grind of WPIAL football was much needed.
“I had retired, and then I just needed a split second to catch my breath,” Warfield said. “I’m getting at that age where I’ve got to start making decisions, wiser decisions, as far as my health was concerned, and how I’m going to live that second half coming down that second mountain.”
Senior outside linebacker and tight end Tekoah Gilbert said Warfield’s return has been beneficial in addition to having Patrick stay on as associate head coach.
“He’s always been a great coach, a great guy,” he said of Warfield. “He always gives us what we wanted, even if we didn’t ask for it. He’s just always been there for us as a coach and as a family.
“It’s no different at all,” Gilbert added. “This is work. We’ve just been working; working on and off the field. It’s been a grind. It’s been tough with both coaches.”
Senior running back and linebacker JJ Work agreed.
“It’s great having coach Mike back,” Work said. “He brings the team together. He’s a good coach. He brings you up when you’re down. He sees a lot. Even off the field, he’s still there for you. He’s not just a coach, he’s for everybody.
“Coach Pat is still doing everything he can,” he added. “He’s still a good coach. Having both of them — assistant coach, head coach — is a good coaching staff to lean on.”
Aliquippa has had to rely upon the experience of its coaching staff with some considerable talent to replace from a year ago.
That began with replacing standout four-year starting running back Tiqwai “Tikey” Hayes.
Now a freshman at Penn State, Hayes rushed for 7,085 career yards and 99 touchdowns during one of the most sensational four-year careers in recent WPIAL history. He rushed for 1,217 yards and 14 touchdowns last season.
Aliquippa is also dealing with the departures of leading receiver Arison Walker in addition to standout Power Four recruits Sa’Nir Brooks and Larry Moon, who transferred to St. Frances Academy in Baltimore and IMG Academy in Florida, respectively.
“Parents have to do what is best for their kids,” Warfield said. “We’ve never challenged a kid leaving. We wish them well, but it’s a good thing. We’ve got here now who wants to be here and we’re going to give it our best shot.”
Walker graduated after recording 24 receptions for 347 yards and six touchdowns a season ago.
“It’s been tough, but we’ve got to keep going,” Gilbert said. “We’ve got to keep progressing, getting better. We’ve got to get rookies better. We’ve got to put people in positions they’ve never played, people playing both sides of the ball. We’ve just got to keep putting our heads down and grinding it out.”
Warfield said the Quips will look to replenish their ground game by committee. He said Cleaster Longmire IV, Cameron Cannon, Avery Coleman and Work will all see work in the Aliquippa backfield this season.
“I feel like we’ve got some nice running backs coming up,” Work said. “We are all trying to make a name for ourselves. Each one of us is very different; one is fast and explosive, one is straight downhill ready to hit, and one can catch very good.”
Senior quarterback Marques Council will also look to carry a heavy burden as a catalyst for the Quips’ offense in his second season as a starter. He threw for more than 1,300 yards and 15 touchdowns in 2025.
“Our whole offense is dependent on him,” Gilbert said. “He’s a great leader. He’s nice mentally. He’s a great quarterback for our offense.
“I feel like it’s always going to be a target on our back just because we are Aliquippa.”
Wide receiver Qa’lil Goode will look to figure prominently into Aliquippa’s passing game along with Anthony Ingram.
“We’re definitely going to be that dominant force,” Work said. “Last year, we had a little setback. I think that woke a lot of kids up. We don’t have those big names to fall back on. We’ve each got to make our own names for ourselves. We are all putting in that work. I feel like we are going to come together and be a great team.”
That includes on the defensive side of the football.
Gilbert, Longmire IV, Work and Yarlee Bailey will play critical roles for the Aliquippa defense as linebackers, while Goode is expected to be a force in the secondary, Warfield said.
“We can be great,” Gilbert said. “We’ve got the potential to be a great defense. We’ve got the potential to be all around the field. Down to the line to the secondary, we look phenomenal.”
And that has Aliquippa riding high this preseason.
“There’s no excuses,” Warfield said. “The community won’t allow excuses. The coaching staff won’t allow us to make excuses or let the kids make excuses. It’s going to be challenging, but we’re going to show up Friday at 7 or whatever day it may be. We are going to give it what we have and let the chips fall where they may.”
Gilbert said he and his teammates are focused on adding another WPIAL and PIAA title to Aliquippa’s legacy.
“It’s a standard here,” he said. “We’ve got to lead up to that standard, build onto that standard as much as we can while we’re still here, while we still have got the legacy and the name that we have.
“State or bust, really, I’m not heading to nowhere else, that’s where my mind is.”
John is a copy editor and page designer at the Post-Gazette, but he's currently on strike. Email him at jsanta@unionprogress.com.