Once thought to be done for the season due to a knee injury, Aliquippa quarterback Marques Council made a surprising return for Aliquippa’s playoff opener at Trinity on Friday.
“He came to me last week and said, ‘Coach, if we make it [the playoffs], I think I can play,’” Aliquippa coach Mike Warfield recalled.
The knee held up well and the arm looked good, and Council put his team on his back late in the game to help Aliquippa rally for a dramatic win.
Council connected with Josh Lay on a 39-yard touchdown pass with 20 seconds left to give No. 7 Aliquippa a 21-14 upset win over No. 2 Trinity in a WPIAL Class 4A quarterfinal.
The win was the fourth in five games for Aliquippa (7-3), which also eliminated Trinity, 34-14, in the quarterfinals a season ago. The Quips, who earned one of two wild-card spots in the Class 4A bracket, won a playoff game for the 20th year in a row.
Big Six Conference champion Trinity (6-5) took a 14-7 lead into the fourth quarter as the Hillers neared a trip to the semifinals for the first time since 1986. However, Aliquippa began to alter those travel plans when Akiva Woods scored on a 70-yard touchdown run to pull Aliquippa even at 14 with 6:09 remaining. Later in the quarter, Trinity had some problems getting off a punt, which gave Aliquippa the ball at around midfield with about two minutes left.
That set the stage for Council, who originally injured his knee in a win against Penn Hills on Sept. 19. Council played again two weeks later against West Allegheny but had not played in a game since.
“I just wanted to make sure he was not only ready physically but also mentally,” Warfield said. “He had been away for three or four weeks. We made sure to put him through workouts all week. And I think the rest helped. He looked good tonight. I’m happy for him.”
Council is a senior who outdueled a Trinity senior quarterback who will also be a rival of his in college. Council is a Yale recruit, while Trinity’s Jonah Williamson is headed to Harvard. Williamson accounted for both Trinty touchdowns, scoring on a 10-yard touchdown run and firing a 24-yard scoring toss to Owen Samogala.
Aliquippa will face Parkway Conference rival New Castle in next week’s semifinals. New Castle defeated the visiting Quips, 18-12, in conference play on Sept. 26, a game in which Council did not play.
“We’re not making excuses,” Warfield said. “We’ll be there Friday at 7.”
MORE CLASS 4A QUARTERFINALS
• No. 3 New Castle (9-2) stuffed visiting No. 6 Montour (7-4) on a 2-point conversion attempt with 20 seconds remaining and held on for a 14-13 home win. After Brandon Bennett connected with Zander Stern for a 14-yard touchdown to pull Montour within a point in the final minute, the Spartans elected to go for two. But Bennett scrambled to his left and fell to the ground at the 5-yard line as he tried to evade a defender. Freshman quarterback Marino Graham had another big game for New Castle, which earned its first playoff win since 2021. After his team trailed, 7-0, at the half, Graham threw touchdown passes of 56 yards to Damian Harrison and 65 yards to Chase Lemmon in the second half to help New Castle surge ahead. Bennett ran for Montour’s first touchdown in the opening quarter.
• Kemon Spell ran for 187 yards and four touchdowns on 19 carries to carry No. 1 McKeesport (8-3) to its sixth win in a row by defeating visiting No. 8 Chartiers Valley (7-4), 44-7. Spell opened the scoring with a 25-yard touchdown run in the first quarter before adding scoring runs of 31, 7 and 10 yards in the second half. Spell now has 27 touchdowns on the season. Matt Miller Jr. accounted for McKeesport’s other two touchdowns, rushing for a 16-yard score and connecting with Javien Robinson for a 61-yard touchdown. McKeesport rushed for 318 yards overall. Owen Weagraff threw a 55-yard touchdown to Julius Best for Chartiers Valley’s lone touchdown. McKeesport will meet No. 4 Thomas Jefferson in the quarterfinals. The Jaguars beat McKeesport, 16-7, Sept. 5 and also in last year’s championship game.
• No. 4 Thomas Jefferson (9-2) got another big performance from running back Tyler Eber to claim a 31-14 home win against No. 5 Mars (8-3). In a battle of the top two rushers in WPIAL Class 4A, it was Eber (who ranked second entering the game) who outdueled Mars’ Ayden Yocum. It was another workhorse performance for Eber, who ran for 135 yards on 38 carries and scored on a 40-yard touchdown run. Yocum finished with 44 yards on 14 carries and scored on a 44-yard touchdown catch from Colin Yurisinec. Yursinec was 7 of 33 for 245 yards and two touchdowns, his other scoring strike going to Gabe Hein. Kane Eggerton scored three touchdowns for Thomas Jefferson, two on passes from Harrison Kolling and another on a 98-yard interception return in the fourth quarter.
CLASS 5A FIRST ROUND
• After an offensive miscue put No. 4 Upper St. Clair (9-2) in an early hole, its offense came alive in leading the host Panthers to a 46-8 win against No. 11 Plum (5-6). Ethan Hellmann passed for 156 yards and two touchdowns, this after his interception was hauled in by Niko Signor and returned for a 37-yard touchdown to give Plum a 7-0 lead two minutes into the game. One of Hellmann’s touchdown tosses went to John Banbury, who also ran for a score. Dante Coury headlined the Upper St. Clair rushing attack with 73 yards and two touchdowns. The Panthers outgained Plum, 341-145. Upper St. Clair will play at No. 3 Woodland Hills (8-2) in the quarterfinals.
• David Dennison, the WPIAL’s leading rusher in Class 5A, scored on first-half touchdown runs of 12 and 1 yard to propel No. 7 Bethel Park (7-4) to a 38-7 win against visiting No. 10 North Hills (3-8). Dennison’s scores, which lifted his season touchdown total to 24, gave Bethel Park a 21-7 halftime lead after North Hills tied the score at 7. Tyler Miller and Kahanu’ola Kuewa also ran for touchdowns for Bethel Park, while Evan Devine passed for 176 yards, which included an 8-yard scoring toss to Jovian Smith. Austin Ellis connected with Joseph Lutz for a 7-yard touchdown to provide North Hills with its only score. Bethel Park advances to play at No. 2 Peters Township (10-0). The Indians defeated Bethel Park, 35-0, in the regular-season finale.
• Aaron Aversa accounted for three touchdowns in leading No. 8 Shaler (4-7) to its first playoff win since 2009 courtesy of a 28-8 triumph against No. 9 Kiski Area (4-7). Aversa tossed a 7-yard touchdown to Braedyn Witkowski to score the game’s opening points and went on to add touchdown runs of 2 and 1 yard. The Titans led, 14-0, at the half and held a 28-0 lead in the fourth quarter before Kiski Area ended the shutout when Landyn Artman threw a 25-yard touchdown pass to Andrew Finney. Kiski Area was seeking its first postseason win since 1990. Isaac McKay added a 60-yard touchdown run for Shaler, which will travel to No. 1 and defending champion Pine-Richland (9-1) in the quarterfinals. Pine-Richland won at Shaler, 49-17, last week.
• No. 5 Moon (8-3) stormed back from a halftime deficit to advance via a 48-21 home win against No. 12 Armstrong (4-7). Armstrong held a 14-6 halftime lead before Moon flipped the script and outscored the River Hawks, 42-7, in the second half. Andrew Cross accounted for four touchdowns for Moon, all in the second half. Cross scored on touchdown runs of 34 and 18 yards and threw touchdown passes of 19 yards to Braeden Stuart and 12 yards to Jayden Revis. Daiveon Taylor added touchdown runs of 46 and 23 yards for Moon, while Ryan Culligan returned an interception 46 yards for a touchdown to provide the game’s final points. It was the fourth straight win for Moon, which will play at No. 4 Penn-Trafford (9-1) in the quarterfinals.
CLASS 3A FIRST ROUND
• WPIAL passing leader Joey Felitsky put forth another monster performance, throwing for 437 yards and six touchdowns — all in the first half — to drive No. 5 North Catholic (8-3) into the quarterfinals following a 56-21 home win against No. 12 Burrell (4-7). Felitsky, whose 2,437 yards and 33 touchdowns in the regular season were more than any other WPIAL player, threw touchdowns to five different receivers Friday. Felitsky found Will Waskiewicz, Nate Swisher, Ryker Kennedy and Preston Simko for touchdowns before connecting with Tom Arth for his final two scoring tosses, the second of which gave North Catholic a 56-14 halftime advantage. Burrell’s Antonio Perkins, the top rusher in WPIAL Class 3A, ran for 218 yards and scored on runs of 97 and 73 yards. North Catholic will play at No. 4 Elizabeth Forward (9-1) in the quarterfinals. The Warriors beat North Catholic, 45-42, in last year’s quarterfinals.
• Nasir Wade scored three touchdowns to vault No. 10 Hopewell (7-4) to its first playoff win since 2012 following a 42-6 win at No. 7 Southmoreland (9-2). Wade finished with 112 yards and two touchdowns rushing on 17 carries. Wade also found the end zone on a 20-yard fumble return that helped give Hopewell a 21-6 halftime lead before adding touchdown runs of 2 and 41 yards in the second half. James Armstrong completed 8 of 14 passes for 91 yards and a scoring pass to Brody Rock. Armstrong also scored on a 31-yard touchdown run. Dawson Wolfe hooked up with Averyon Darnell for a 20-yard touchdown for Southmoreland, which finished with 116 total yards. The Scotties were seeking a first-ever WPIAL playoff win.
• Amos Glenn returned a punt 56 yards for a touchdown in the closing minutes of the third quarter to break open a tie game, and No. 8 Freeport (8-3) went on to beat visiting No. 9 Beaver (5-6), 35-27. After Glenn’s touchdown put Freeport in front, 28-21, Beaver managed only two field goals the rest of the way while Dawson Gaillot gave Freeport some insurance via a 45-yard touchdown run. Gaillot ran for two scores in the game, while Glenn and Drew Ross rushed for one apiece. Travis Clear had a hand in all three Beaver touchdowns, scoring on runs of 50 and 4 yards and finding Junior Marino for a 15-yard touchdown. Freeport advances to play at No. 1 and defending champion Avonworth (10-0) in the quarterfinals.
• No. 6 Highlands (8-3) captured its sixth win in a row after getting defensive in a 14-0 victory against visiting No. 11 Derry (6-5). Not only did Highlands hand Derry its first shutout loss of the season, but also one of Highlands’ touchdowns came on the defensive end when Marqis Johnson brought back an interception 10 yards for a touchdown on the opening series of the game. The game’s only offensive touchdown was scored when Tevin Owen-Cratsenberg found the end zone on an 8-yard run late in the first half. That play was set up by another interception. Derry was seeking its first playoff win since 2019. Highlands will play at No. 3 Central Valley (6-4) in the quarterfinals. The Golden Rams lost to Imani Christian in last year’s quarterfinals.
SCOREBOARD
WPIAL CLASS 5A
First round
Bethel Park 38, North Hills 7
Moon 48, Armstrong 21
Shaler 28, Kiski Area 8
Upper St. Clair 46, Plum 8
WPIAL CLASS 4A
Quarterfinals
Aliquippa 21, Trinity 14
McKeesport 44, Chartiers Valley 7
New Castle 14, Montour 13
Thomas Jefferson 31, Mars 14
WPIAL CLASS 3A
First round
Freeport 35, Beaver 27
Highlands 14, Derry 0
Hopewell 42, Southmoreland 6
North Catholic 56, Burrell 21
Brad is a sports writer at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, but he's currently on strike. Email him at beverett@unionprogress.com.