Vashawn Patrick has been a part of hundreds of wins at Aliquippa, but Friday night’s victory against Avonworth likely will be one he never forgets.
For starters, there was the hour-and-a-half weather delay.
And then there was the fact that the defending WPIAL and PIAA Class 4A champion Quips rather shockingly fell behind Avonworth by 14 points.
But what made the victory most special was this.
It was V-Pat’s first “W” as Aliquippa’s head coach.
Aliquippa, ranked No. 1 in Class 4A, overcame a slow start and miserable weather to defeat Class 3A No. 3 Avonworth, 46-20, in front of a large crowd — well, at least until the rain began thundering down just before the half — at Avonworth’s Lenzner Field.
At long last Aliquippa finished a game. The Quips entered the night as one of only four WPIAL teams to not have a check in the win or loss column this season. They chose to scrimmage instead of playing a game in Week 0, and their game last week against Belle Vernon was suspended in the first half due to weather. Friday’s game also was affected by Mother Nature, but it wasn’t enough to rain on Patrick and Aliquippa’s parade.
“I’m happy. I’m overjoyed. I’m more happy for the kids,” Patrick said. “We went through a little adversity and we just kept playing, and we came out victorious.”
Patrick was thrust into the head coaching role in July when Mike Warfield announced he was taking a leave of absence. Warfield had guided the Quips to four WPIAL championships and three PIAA titles over the previous six seasons. In stepped Patrick, a 2000 Aliquippa grad and former standout player for the Quips who spent the previous 16 seasons as an assistant under Mike Zmijanac and then Warfield.
Technically, this wasn’t Patrick’s first win as Aliquippa head coach. He filled in for Warfield one night two seasons ago when the latter was ill, and he guided the Quips to a regular-season win over North Catholic. But Friday’s victory was Patrick’s first as the unquestioned leader of the program.
“It’s my first year taking over the program,” Patrick said, smiling. “It’s a blessing.”
The milestone win was not lost on the Aliquippa players, who presented Patrick with the game ball after the game.
“He got his first dub,” senior Arison Walker said. “That’s big for him and that’s big for us. And we’re getting ready for next week starting tomorrow.”
Walker chuckled when a reporter suggested Walker and his teammates wanted to really make Patrick earn the win. It’s rare that Aliquippa, which won its 15 consecutive game and 26th regular-season game in a row, falls behind an opponent by two scores. But that’s exactly what happened Friday on the road against an excellent Avonworth team that reached the WPIAL Class 3A final in each of the past two seasons.
After forcing a three-and-out on Aliquippa’s first offensive possession, Avonworth drove down the field and took a surprising 7-0 lead courtesy of Bryce Metz’s 1-yard touchdown plunge. And then, in a flash, the game was halted as lightning flashed in the sky. At the time, the break seemed to favor Aliquippa, considering Avonworth had all the momentum. But when the teams returned to the field, Metz scored on another 1-yard run to increase the Avonworth advantage to 14-0 win 2:23 left in the first quarter. By that time, the “overrated” chants coming from the raucous Avonworth student section were becoming loud and frequent.
“Avonworth came out and punched us in the mouth. But we adapt. That’s what we do,” said Walker, one of Aliquippa’s two returning all-state players. “ There are tough games. We just have to bounce back. And we just came out playing and did what we had to do.”
Did they ever. A little over two minutes into the second quarter, Tikey Hayes, Aliquippa’s all-time leading rusher who went over 6,000 career yards in the game, scored on a 22-yard run to put the Quips on the board. Two minutes later, Hayes found the end zone on a 48-yard dash. Not long after that came a 25-yard Hayes touchdown run that extended the Aliquippa lead to 21-14. And then, with the rain beginning to fall heavily, Hayes’ backup, gifted sophomore Sa’Nir Brooks, busted loose for a 62-yard touchdown run on the final play of the half to give the Quips a commanding 27-14 lead.
“We knew they were a good team coming in. And we were going to get their best shot,” Patrick said. “Once we settled in, we played Aliquippa football.”
After digging that 14-0 hole, Aliquippa would score 40 unanswered points before Avonworth scored a touchdown with 2:09 left in the game.
Patrick said the win didn’t feel much different than the many he captured as a player and assistant coach. Patrick never won a WPIAL football championship in his playing days, but he did claim two WPIAL basketball titles. In his 16 seasons as a football assistant, the Quips reached the WPIAL final every single year. Patrick is also a longtime assistant of Sherman McBride’s on the Aliquippa track team and serves as an assistant under Dwight Lindsey on the Aliquippa girls basketball team.
“I never thought I’d be a head coach,” said Patrick, who applied for the position in 2018 when Warfield got the job. “I love coaching the kids. Just to be able to take over, it’s a blessing. Especially to do it at my alma mater.”
As an assistant under Zmijanac and Warfield, Patrick said he learned a lot from both highly successful coaches over the years.
“With Coach Zmijanac, just learning to be firm, being on time and being punctual,” Patrick said. “With Coach Warfield, just having the compassionate side of everything. Just taking myself out of the equation and doing what’s best for the kids.”
Friday, those kids came through in a big way to help their coach pick up his first win. And just as was the case when Warfield took over six years earlier, the Aliquippa football program appears to be in good hands.
“They’re very much alike,” Walker said. “Coach Mike [Warfield] instilled a lot in Coach Pat for being a head coach. I knew he’d be ready for this. We’re just excited for what this journey is going to look like. We can’t wait.”
Brad is a sports writer at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, but he's currently on strike. Email him at beverett@unionprogress.com.