News, notes, scores, photos and videos from Week 9 of the high school football season.
If there is one thing that’s certain about Steel Valley senior Da’Ron Barksdale, he definitely plays with a chip on his shoulder.
Traveling to Glassport for a grudge match against top-ranked South Allegheny on Friday night, though, that chip on his shoulder swelled to the size of a boulder.
As he so often does, Barksdale rose to the occasion under the bright lights and put his team on his back when they needed him most, rushing for a trio of touchdowns to lead the Ironmen (7-3, 5-1) to a pivotal 33-12 road win against the Class 2A No. 1 Gladiators (9-1, 5-1). With the win, Steel Valley, Apollo-Ridge and South Allegheny will now finish in a three-way tie atop the Allegheny Conference.
“This is what we wanted,” said Barksdale, a Pitt recruit. “We were waiting for this, since the first week [of the season]. They were talking a lot.”
The Gladiators had spent much of the season on top of the PUP’s Class 2A rankings, and with good reason. South Allegheny came into the game outscoring its foes by an average of nearly 40 points per game, and a win would have clinched the first undefeated regular season in school history while also bringing the Gladiators their first outright conference title since 1986.
Not so fast, said the Ironmen.
“One thing about it, they were never humble with it,” Barksdale said. “If they were humble, we would have had a lot more respect with it. It felt good to ruin somebody’s night.”
After falling behind, 6-0, Barksdale put Steel Valley on the board with an 11-yard TD run to give the Ironmen an early 7-0 lead. He would follow with a 19-yard TD run, then an 87-yard interception return for a TD by Ashad Dye gave Steel Valley a 21-6 cushion going into the break.
“Our message was to keep pushing,” Barksdale said. “They were only down by two touchdowns at the half, so we didn’t get too comfortable. That was the big thing.”
South Allegheny scored to cut the deficit to 21-12, but another TD run by Barksdale stretched the lead back to two scores at 27-12. The Ironmen then got another huge play from their defense, this time from Lamrion Rucker, who scooped up a fumble and returned it 60 yards for a TD to put the finishing touches on the 33-12 victory.
“We will [see them again], most likely. I can’t wait,” Barksdale said. “Now they’re going to have more meaning for playing us. For us, it’s going to be another day in the office.”
NORTH CATHOLIC OUTLASTS HOPEWELL IN SHOOTOUT
In a high-stakes showdown between two of the WPIAL’s most explosive offenses, North Catholic senior quarterback Joey Felitsky out-dueled Hopewell sophomore sensation James “Booboo” Armstrong, completing 20 of 23 passes for 312 yards with three TDs to lead the Trojans (7-3, 4-2) to a thrilling 44-36 road win. Nasir Wade rushed for 147 yards and three TDs in the loss for the Class 3A No. 5 Vikings (6-4, 2-4), who will now miss out on the Class 3A tournament after a fifth-place finish in the loaded Western Hills Conference.
SETON LaSALLE CLAIMS CENTURY CONFERENCE
In a battle for the outright Class 2A Century Conference championship, Seton LaSalle outlasted Washington (8-2, 5-1) for a 27-14 home victory behind a potent rushing attack, as the Rebels (9-1, 6-0) racked up 343 yards on the ground en route to securing the likely No. 1 seed for the upcoming WPIAL tournament. Kymarr Freeman led the way for Seton with 26 carries for 279 yards and a pair of scores in the win.
NEW CASTLE CLINCHES PARKWAY CROWN
Freshman quarterback Marino Graham turned in another sensational outing for Class 5A No. 4 New Castle (8-2, 4-1), completing 14 of 23 attempts for 231 yards and three TDs with no interceptions while leading the Red Hurricanes to a 41-17 comeback victory against Blackhawk (3-7, 1-4) after trailing at the half, 17-13. With the win, New Castle clinches a share of the Parkway Conference title with Montour, but the Red Hurricanes claim the tiebreaker via their 34-14 win over the Spartans on Oct. 3.
PUP BITES
• Both quarterbacks passed for more than 300 yards and three TDs in Hempfield‘s 42-38 win against Gateway, as Spartans QB Dom Detruf and Gators QB Mayson Mitchell took turns lighting up the scoreboard at Gateway’s Antimarino Stadium. In the end, it all came down to who had the ball last — and that was Detruf and Hempfield, with the Spartans scoring the game-winning touchdown on a 4-yard run by J.M. Landa with 48 seconds remaining.
• It wasn’t even his most eye-popping performance of the season, but Western Beaver junior Wyatt Sparbanie had another game to remember on Friday. A speedy tailback who rushed for seven scores in a game earlier this season, Sparbanie rushed for 264 yards and four TDs on only six carries to go with a 26-yard reception in a 50-0 rout against Freedom.
• Although it won’t be enough to get Seneca Valley into the playoffs, the Raiders at least managed to end their 2025 season on a high note, handing North Allegheny its second consecutive defeat while the once-mighty Tigers appear to be headed into a downward spiral. A 52-yard pick-six in the fourth quarter by Danny Drennan would prove to be the difference in the the 21-18 victory for Seneca.
THREE STARS
*** — Kemon Spell, McKeesport. The Tigers’ coveted five-star prospect only needed six carries to rumble for 143 yards and three TDs in a 57-0 win over Knoch.
** — Matt Sieg, Fort Cherry. Days after re-opening his recruitment, Sieg rushed for 245 yards and four TDs on just 12 attempts to lead the Rangers to a 49-8 romp against Serra Catholic.
* — Gabe Hein, Mars. A speedy senior wideout, Hein hauled in 11 receptions for 216 yards and a pair of TDs while adding on a 75-yard punt return TD for good measure in the Planets’ 42-7 win against Indiana.
SIGHTS AND SOUNDS
SCOREBOARD
CLASS 6A
Quad-County Conference
Central Catholic 45, Canon-McMillan 10
Norwin 14, Mt. Lebanon 7
Seneca Valley 21, North Allegheny 18
CLASS 5A
Allegheny Six Conference
Moon 24, South Fayette 21
Peters Township 35, Bethel Park 0
Upper St. Clair 56, Baldwin 8
Big East Conference
Armstrong 41, Franklin Regional 14
Penn-Trafford 42, Latrobe 14
Woodland Hills 28, Kiski Area 0
Northeast Conference
Pine-Richland 49, Shaler 17
Plum 20, Penn Hills 14
CLASS 4A
Big Six Conference
Chartiers Valley 38, Ringgold 0
Thomas Jefferson 58, Laurel Highlands 7
Trinity 34, Belle Vernon 21
Greater Allegheny Conference
Hampton 15, West Mifflin 13
Mars 42, Indiana 7
McKeesport 57, Knoch 0
Parkway Conference
Aliquippa 57, Ambridge 7
Montour 34, West Allegheny 13
New Castle 41, Blackhawk 17
CLASS 3A
Allegheny 7 Conference
Burrell 48, Deer Lakes 41
Highlands 45, Valley 0
Imani Christian 53, Freeport 7
Interstate Conference
Derry 47, Yough 20
Elizabeth Forward 41, Mount Pleasant 7
Southmoreland 38, Greensburg Salem 0
Western Hills Conference
Avonworth 49, Beaver 7
North Catholic 44, Hopewell 36
Quaker Valley 21, McGuffey 0
CLASS 2A
Allegheny Conference
Apollo-Ridge 28, Ligonier Valley 14
Shady Side Academy 15, South Park 6
Steel Valley 33, South Allegheny 12
Century Conference
Seton LaSalle 27, Washington 14
Waynesburg 43, Sto-Rox 6
Midwestern Conference
Ellwood City 25, Beaver Falls 24
Mohawk 35, Riverside 24
New Brighton 6, Union 2
Western Beaver 50, Freedom 0
CLASS 1A
Big 7 Conference
Laurel 14, Neshannock 7
South Side 35, Rochester 0
Black Hills Conference
Fort Cherry 49, Serra Catholic 8
Monessen 30, Cornell 28
Eastern Conference
Clairton 53, Brentwood 0
Frazier 57, Springdale 6
Greensburg Central Catholic 36, Leechburg 7
Jeannette 36, Riverview 0
Tri-County South Conference
Bentworth 35, Avella 0
Beth-Center 26, West Greene 21
California 36, Jefferson-Morgan 14
Carmichaels 54, Mapletown 0
Non Conference
Albert Gallatin 34, Weir, W.Va., 6
Central Clarion 21, Butler 14
Central Valley 35, North Hills 31
Chartiers-Houston 56, Northgate 20
Fairmont, W.Va. 42, Connellsville 7
Fox Chapel 37, East Allegheny 22
Hempfield 42, Gateway 38
Our Lady of the Sacred Heart 23, Keystone Oaks 8
Southern Garrett, Md. 33, Uniontown 13
Toronto, Ohio 54, Brownsville 22
Wheeling C.C., W.Va., 48, Brashear 20
Steve is a sports writer at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, but he's currently on strike. Email him at srotstein@unionprogress.com.
