Aliquippa.
Thomas Jefferson.
In the world of WPIAL high school football, few schools can even sniff the success attained by those two programs, who have combined to win 30 WPIAL titles. Aliquippa’s 20 titles are most all time, while Thomas Jefferson is tied for fourth with 10.
The perennial powers will meet for only the third time ever on Friday when they square off with a spot in the WPIAL Class 4A championship on the line, and the magnitude of the matchup is not lost on either coach.
“For the kids, this is the type of game that you want to play in,” said Thomas Jefferson coach Bill Cherpak, who is in his 30th season. “It’s two really good teams with great traditions and history. It’s a great high school football game to be a part of.”
“Two storied programs going head to head for a spot in the championship. There are so many emotions surrounding this game,” added Aliquippa coach Vashawn Patrick, who is in his first season.
The previous two meetings between the schools came in WPIAL championship games 40 years apart. Thomas Jefferson beat Aliquippa, 28-8, to win the Class 2A championship in 1980. The Jaguars then went overtime to defeat Aliquippa, 35-28, in the Class 4A final in 2020.
Showdown No. 3 comes four years later at Chartiers Valley. And it’s an intriguing matchup to say the least. Thomas Jefferson is the No. 1 seed and at 11-0 is the only unbeaten team in Class 4A. No. 4 Aliquippa (7-2) comes in as the lower seed, but the Quips have some major history on their side as they have advanced to the title game 16 consecutive seasons. They have the title of three-time defending WPIAL champions, as well.
Controlling the line of scrimmage will be paramount for teams who do a fantastic job of running the ball. Thomas Jefferson features sophomore running back Tyler Eber (1,574 yards, 24 touchdowns), while Aliquippa counters with senior Tikey Hayes (933 yards, 14 touchdowns) and sophomore Sa’Nir Brooks (618 yards, 10 touchdowns).
“They have a terrific offensive line and a great back,” Patrick said. “They mix in the pass, but try to stay ahead of the sticks with the run game.”
Eber has been a workhorse. His 270 carries on the season are the most of any player in the WPIAL. His biggest workload to date came last week when he carried the ball 48 times for 235 yards and two touchdowns in a 28-7 quarterfinal win against West Allegheny.
“He’s been so rock solid and steady,” Cherpak said. “It’s funny because I did not realize he had 48 carries. We probably would have rotated in some other guys if we did. I mentioned that to Tyler and he said, ‘I didn’t mind. I’m fine. I could have carried it more.’ He’s just a workhorse. He loves it.”
Thomas Jefferson’s run game is complemented by a passing attack that features quarterback Luke Kosko (1,565 yards, 19 touchdowns) and wide receiver Brayden White (53 catches, 936 yards, 11 touchdowns).
In Hayes and Brooks, Aliquippa has the top duo of running backs in the WPIAL. Hayes is a Penn State recruit who is nearing 7,000 career yards. Hayes has been dealing with a hamstring injury for most of the season, but looked great last week when he ran for 176 yards and three touchdowns on 22 carries in a 34-14 win against Trinity. Brooks, who has several FBS offers, sat out that game with an injury, but Patrick said that he will be good to go Friday.
“It’s a better combination that most colleges have,” Cherpak said. “They have great team speed. Great athletes. It’s a totally different style of play than we usually see. Our biggest thing is to not give up big plays. We need to make them go on 10 or 12-play drives.”
Aliquippa quarterback Marques Council, who is in his first year as a starter, has thrown for 1,217 yards and 14 touchdowns. His favorite receiver has been Arison Walker, who has 24 receptions for 347 yards and has scored six touchdowns.
Aliquippa is down three starters who are ineligible for the playoffs due to transfer rules — linebackers Daiveon Taylor and Joseph Work and defensive back Raymond Miller. Taylor is a sophomore who verbally committed to West Virginia.
McKeesport (7-4), the No. 3 seed, takes on No. 7 Mars (6-5) at Gateway in the other semifinal. McKeesport is trying to reach the final for the second year in a row after losing to Aliquippa in last year’s final, while Mars is hunting its first championship berth since losing to Seton LaSalle in the Class 2A final in 2002.
This is a matchup of Greater Allegheny Conference teams that have come on strong following 1-4 starts. Since those early struggles, McKeesport has reeled off six wins in a row and Mars has won five of six. Mars’ only loss in that time was a 28-7 home defeat to McKeesport on Oct. 11. McKeesport ran wild in that game, with Kemon Spell, Anthony Cromerdie and Anthony Boyd combining to rush for more than 300 yards and four touchdowns.
“We had to grow into it,” McKeesport coach Matt Miller said. “We were very young up front and we knew that. I told them, ‘We’re going to be good. We’re just not good yet.’ I think we’ve been playing better football the last couple of weeks. We’ve been getting better every week.”
McKeesport has won each of its past six games by at least 20 points, the latest being a 34-11 quarterfinal triumph against No. 6 Belle Vernon, which captured WPIAL and PIAA Class 3A titles the previous two seasons. Spell, a sophomore running back and Penn State recruit, ran for 274 yards and two touchdowns to push his season totals to 1,336 yards and 21 touchdowns.
Speaking of big rushing performances, Mars got one of those last week from Eric Kasperowicz Jr., who fueled the Planets’ wild 48-42 upset win at No. 2 Montour. Kasperowicz Jr. rushed for 192 yards and each of his six touchdowns came in the second half, including three in the final 4:16. The last of those scores came on a 21-yard run that put the Planets in front with just 14 seconds left. On the season, Kasperowicz Jr. has rushed for 1,287 yards and 20 touchdowns.
“Just like us, they’ve improved every week, and he’s one of the main reasons for that,” Miller said.
Mars continues to start freshman Nate Walker at quarterback. He completed 22-of-27 passes for 211 yards and one interception last week.
Class 6A
North Allegheny (9-1) is two wins away from becoming the first team to three-peat as WPIAL Class 6A champions, but the No. 2-seeded Tigers are no shoe-in to even reach the final. First they must get through visiting No. 3 Mt. Lebanon (3-7), which showed a lot of fight before falling to North Allegheny, 28-21, on Oct. 4.
“We did some things defensively that give us promise going into Friday,” first-year Mt. Lebanon coach Greg Perry said. “I think the kids know they can compete. NA has that aura and they’re going for that third [championship] in a row. And until someone beats them, they’re the champion.”
In that previous meeting, North Allegheny raced to a 28-7 lead behind a touchdown pass and run by Brady Brinkley and a pair of Luke Rohan touchdown runs. But Mt. Lebanon made things interesting as Patrick Smith tossed a pair of touchdowns, one coming late in the third quarter and the other with 3:29 left in the game. North Allegheny held a 286-279 edge in total yardage, while Mt. Lebanon owned a 15-12 advantage in first downs.
Mt. Lebanon was 1-7 overall and 1-3 in conference play before rallying to claim a playoff berth behind consecutive 42-20 wins against Hempfield and Norwin to close the regular season. Smith, a junior and first-year starter who also plays linebacker, leads Class 6A in rushing with 972 yards and 14 touchdowns. He has been terrific the second half of the season, throwing for eight touchdowns and just one interception while running for 825 yards and 11 touchdowns in Mt. Lebanon’s last five games. Smith passed for 130 yards, rushed for 112 and accounted for three touchdowns in the loss to North Allegheny last month.
“Patrick has to have a game and we have to slow down their run game. We can’t allow them to have 13- or 14-play drives,” said Perry, whose Blue Devils last reached the final during their PIAA championship season in 2021.
North Allegheny rushed for 207 yards in the earlier meeting, the bulk of that coming from Rohan, who ran for 148 yards on 23 carries. The Tigers, whose only loss was to Central Catholic on Sept. 27, are averaging 186 yards per game on the ground this season. Rohan leads the team with 604 yards and Brinkley is behind him with 505 yards. Brinkley has also passed for 1,053 yards and nine touchdowns.
While it’s not hard to imagine Mt. Lebanon pulling the upset, No. 4 Seneca Valley (3-6) is considered a major longshot to beat No. 1 Central Catholic (8-2) when the teams meet in the other semifinal at West Mifflin. Central Catholic hammered Seneca Valley, 60-7, on Oct. 18. It was Central Catholic’s seventh win in a row against Seneca Valley. If the Vikings are able to extend that to eight, they will find themselves in the final for the sixth year in a row.
Central Catholic has won eight straight since beginning the season 0-2. All of the wins have come by double-digits and all but one of them by at least 25 points. Jy’Aire Walls has thrown for 1,927 yards and 21 touchdowns, while Elijah Faulkner has rushed for 866 yards and 11 touchdowns. Walls threw for 254 yards and accounted for four touchdowns (three passing, one rushing) in the earlier meeting. Wide receiver-defensive back Xxavier Thomas is a Penn State recruit and wide receiver-linebacker Bradley Gompers a Duke recruit. Thomas leads the team with four interceptions and Gompers is second in tackles with 56, including 10 for loss.
Seneca Valley went 0-3 in the regular season against the other Class 6A playoff qualifiers. After falling to Central Catholic, Seneca Valley was defeated by North Allegheny, 38-0, in the regular-season finale. Andrew Loebig (592 yards, six touchdowns) is Seneca Valley’s top passer, while Cayden Parker (536 yards) and Chase Mazanek (517) are the leading rushers. The Raiders are seeking their first championship berth since 2018.
Brad is a sports writer at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, but he's currently on strike. Email him at beverett@unionprogress.com.