PUP WPIAL Playoffs Week 1 Rewind (Class 2A/1A): South Allegheny storms past Waynesburg, setting up marquee matchup against Washington in quarterfinal round

It took nearly 40 years for South Allegheny to finally snap its agonizing drought without a playoff win last season.

The Gladiators didn’t have to wait nearly as long to secure another one.

Playing inside its state-of-the-art home stadium for the final time this season on Friday night, No. 4 South Allegheny (10-1) delivered a spooky Halloween-style smackdown to visiting Waynesburg in the first round of the WPIAL Class 2A tournament, sending the No. 13 Raiders (5-6) packing by way of a 61-13 rout. The win marks the Gladiators’ only second playoff victory since 1986.

“It feels really good,” said third-year South Allegheny coach Brian Hanson. “We want to test ourselves with the upper-echelon teams year in and year out. May the best team win.”

Star senior wide receiver Drew Cook caught a pair of touchdowns to go with a punt return TD, and junior running back Joey Gamret and freshman running back Marcel Boxley each tallied a pair of scores. Elsewhere, freshman tight end Tyrone Claytor caught a TD of his own, while senior Hakim Harrell also found the end zone on a kick return TD.

“We’ve got to play clean football. That’s the biggest thing,” Hanson said. “Getting our guys to value each down and worry about their assignments. We can turn singles into home runs.”

It sure is strange how quickly things can change — especially considering the mood inside the Gladiators’ downtrodden locker room after a 33-12 defeat in the regular-season finale against Steel Valley last week. Not only did that loss cost South Allegheny a chance at its first-ever undefeated season — it also cost the team the outright Allegheny Conference title, the No. 1 seed for the postseason and a first-round bye.

But in the end, Hanson, his staff and his players came away with a newfound perspective on the season and what their goals truly are.

“We really weren’t tested. We didn’t trail at any point during the season,” Hanson said. “The Steel Valley game, it was a blessing. We said we can take this two different ways. We can tuck our tails between our legs and go into the playoffs and just feel happy that we got a share of the title, or say thank goodness that it happened now and that we saw the warts we had and got better because of it.”

Now, moving forward, the Gladiators will be thrust into a WPIAL quarterfinal showdown with No. 5 Washington, one of the area’s most prestigious programs that has long been considered a consistent championship contender. South Allegheny, on the other hand, will be looking to go further into the playoffs than it has gone in nearly 50 years.

What better way to do it than by knocking off a powerhouse like the Little Prexies?

“It’s probably going to be a pretty smash-mouth type game,” Hanson said. “[Washington] coach [Mike] Bosnic, I’ve known for a while now. He’s going to try to establish the run and play sound defense. It’s going to be who can win in the trenches. We respect them. Just play our game and use our weapons.”

South Allegheny’s Tyrone Claytor helped the Gladiators advance to the WPIAL Class 2A quarterfinals with a 61-13 win against Waynesburg on Friday, Oct. 31, 2025, at South Allegheny High School. (Mike Darnay/Mon Valley Independent)

MORE CLASS 2A

• After a scoreless first half, both teams came to life in the fourth quarter, with No. 8 Mohawk outlasting No. 9 Our Lady of the Sacred Heart (5-6) for a dramatic 17-14 home victory. Warriors quarterback Bobby Fadden tossed a pair of 10-yard TD passes to Joe Nail, the second of which tied the game with 45 seconds left, before Andrew Lloyd drilled a 22-yard field goal with two seconds remaining to lift Mohawk (6-5) to the nail-biting win. Fadden finished 13 of 21 for 139 yards and two TDs with 72 yards rushing on 19 carries.

• Host Apollo-Ridge ran all over No. 10 Riverside (5-6) en route to a 28-7 triumph, led by 119 yards on 10 carries from quarterback Alex Clawson and 84 yards on 11 carries from Preston Clemens. Jayden McCray and Zac Myers each added 63 yards apiece on the ground, with McCray punching in four TDs for the No. 7 Vikings (8-3), who rushed for 368 yards as a unit in the victory.

• Tyler Smiley completed 24 of 36 passes for 269 passes and two TDs, while Dom Hogue hauled in 10 receptions for 148 yards and a TD and DaiLonn Currie caught 11 passes for 102 yards and the other score for No. 6 Ellwood City (7-4) in a 35-13 home win against No. 11 Keystone Oaks (4-7).

CLASS 1A

• Fort Cherry superstar Matt Sieg added another milestone to his legendary career, surpassing former Rangers running back Mike Vernillo to become the school’s all-time leading rusher while moving into second place on the WPIAL’s career rushing leaderboard. A heralded dual-threat quarterback who didn’t throw a single pass on the evening, Sieg carried the ball seven times for 161 yards and two TDs to propel top-seeded Fort Cherry to a 48-14 win against No. 16 Avella (6-5). Sieg now has 7,665 career rushing yards for the Rangers (11-0), who also received 95 yards and a trio of TDs on the ground from Eli Salvini.

• Jino Mozzocio completed 6 of 8 passes for 132 yards and a TD while rushing for 43 yards and two additional scores, leading No. 9 Neshannock (8-3) to a lopsided 49-14 road win at No. 8 Leechburg (7-4). Tim Andrasy ran for 102 yards and a TD on 20 carries in the defeat for the Blue Devils.

• Luca Santini completed 5 of 10 attempts for 80 yards and two TDs for No. 4 Laurel (10-1), while Kolton Carlson ran for 91 yards and a TD on eight carries and J.J. McBride rushed nine times for 62 yards and a score to help power the host Spartans to a 35-0 victory against No. 13 Jefferson-Morgan (8-3).