A few short weeks ago, there were some who began to wonder whether the big bad Aliquippa Quips would even make the playoffs.
Just look at them now.
One week after its thrilling last-second comeback victory against No. 2 Trinity in the opening round, No. 7 Aliquippa put together an even more emphatic encore performance against No. 3 New Castle (9-3) at Ellwood City on Friday night. In the second showdown this season between two of the WPIAL’s most storied teams, the Quips (7-3) pitched a shutout to advance to the WPIAL Class 4A championship game with a 14-0 triumph.
“I’m a little excited,” said Aliquippa coach Mike Warfield. “The defense played well. Everybody was on their assignments today, and everybody tackled.”
Last year, Warfield took a one-year leave of absence, and the Quips had their record 16-year streak of WPIAL championship appearances snapped in the semifinal round. Now, they are right back on track — something that seemed downright unthinkable around the midway point of the season, when starting quarterback Marques Council went down with what appeared to be a season-ending knee injury and the team seemed to be fading out of title contention.
“I’m just happy the kids bought themselves seven more days,” Warfield said. “From where we were in the middle of the season, a lot of people counted us out.”
In the first meeting between the teams on Sept. 26, Council did not play, and the Red Hurricanes came out on top, 18-12. But this time around, Aliquippa’s defense made the necessary adjustments to keep New Castle’s stellar freshman quarterback Marino Graham in check while forcing several key turnovers.
“This is [Class] 4A football. They’re going to play us tough,” Warfield said. “They’re going to adjust to what we’re doing, we’re going to adjust to what they’re doing. But they played well.”
After Council’s midseason injury, the Quips had standout receiver Qa’lil Goode fill in at quarterback throughout the remainder of the regular season. But Council made a surprise return just in time for the postseason, providing a major boost to Aliquippa’s title hopes. Now, the Quips find themselves back in the big game for the 17th time in the past 18 years — right where they belong.
“If you keep working, good things happen,” Warfield said. “We have seven more days to prepare, and we’ll be there.”
Other Class 4A semifinal
The No. 1 running back in the nation in the 2027 class, McKeesport star Kemon Spell ran wild all over Thomas Jefferson with 315 yards and three TDs on 16 carries to fuel the No. 1 Tigers to a 28-3 win at Chartiers Valley. Fellow standout junior Javien Robinson also made a major impact, intercepting a pass in the end zone to set up a 97-yard TD run by Spell that gave McKeesport (9-3) a two-score lead at the half. Robinson finished with a pair of interceptions on the night.
After three consecutive wins in the rivalry by the No. 4 Jaguars (9-3), including one in last year’s WPIAL Class 4A championship game and another earlier this year when Spell aggravated an ankle injury early on and did not return, the Tigers finally turned the tide on Friday to punch their ticket to their third consecutive title game. McKeesport is seeking its first WPIAL championship in 20 years and fifth overall in school history.
Class 6A semifinals
Surprise, surprise — for the fourth year in a row, it will be Central Catholic and North Allegheny squaring off in the “Granddaddy of ’em all” after both powerhouse programs took care of business on Friday in their respective semifinal showdowns.
For the fourth time this season, junior running back Roman Thompson rushed for three TDs to power No. 1 Central Catholic (10-1) to a lopsided 44-7 victory against No. 4 Canon-McMillan (4-7) at West Mifflin. Thompson also teams up to form one of the top linebacker tandems in the state with Duke recruit Colsen Gatten, who caught an 80-yard TD pass from sophomore quarterback Owen Herrick in the win. Herrick passed for 217 yards and two TDs, while Chrys Black also rushed for 168 yards and a TD on nine carries for the Vikings.
As for No. 2 North Allegheny, there were many fans who expected a changing of the guard, with No. 3 Norwin (7-4) coming into Newman Stadium after an ultra-competitive first meeting earlier this season in hopes of clinching its first championship berth in school history. But the Tigers (8-3) had other plans, as senior Luke Rohan rushed for 181 yards and three TDs on 23 carries and Cameron Kushner caught three passes for 119 yards and two scores in a 35-17 win. Tristyn Tavares finished with 215 yards passing and a TD, while Giovanni Rothrauff rushed for 153 yards on 26 carries for the Knights.
Steve is a sports writer at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, but he's currently on strike. Email him at srotstein@unionprogress.com.
