5 things we learned from 2nd week of WPIAL football playoffs: Remarkable Aliquippa streak ends

By: Chris Harlan
Saturday, November 9, 2024 | 9:24 PM

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It took a big win by another elite program to snap Aliquippa’s amazing WPIAL championship streak.

Aliquippa had reached the WPIAL finals 16 years in a row, but that incredible run ended Friday night with a 38-21 loss to fellow titan Thomas Jefferson in the Class 4A semifinals. This will be the first time since 2007 that Aliquippa won’t play in the WPIAL finals.

The streak was older than some of the players competing in Friday’s game.

“Sixteen years in a row? That’s pretty amazing,” Thomas Jefferson coach Bill Cherpak said. “They’re the benchmark. They’re a great team, a great program, and they are always going to be.”

The Quips’ streak spanned three classifications.

Aliquippa reached the Class 2A finals eight years in a row (2008-15) under coach Mike Zmijanac. When the PIAA expanded football to six classifications in 2016, the Quips voluntarily moved to 3A and reached the finals four years in a row, with Mike Warfield taking over as coach in 2018.

In 2020, the PIAA competitive-balance rule forced the team up to 4A. There, it reached the finals four more times.

Aliquippa won eight WPIAL titles in that 16-year span. However, the Quips on Friday ran into an opponent with its own impressive championship history.

Thomas Jefferson has reached the WPIAL finals for the 13th time since 2003. The Jaguars have won nine titles in that span.

Friday’s game was a semifinal, but the teams’ histories made it feel bigger.

“That was a championship atmosphere,” first-year Aliquippa coach Vashawn Patrick said. “When you’re playing a team like TJ, that has been in championships year-in and year-out, every time you step on the field it’s like the battle of the titans.”

The last time Aliquippa lost a WPIAL semifinal, it came against another all-time titan.

Former Jeannette star quarterback Terrelle Pryor was on the field for that Aliquippa loss in 2007. Pryor rushed for 331 yards and five touchdowns and threw for two more scores in a 70-48 victory that set a WPIAL record for combined points in a playoff game.

This time, Thomas Jefferson blocked two first-half punts and got three rushing touchdowns from sophomore Tyler Eber to win.

“I honestly believe this is such a historic game,” TJ senior lineman Shep Turk said. “It was just awesome to play in it.”

Thomas Jefferson advanced to play McKeesport in the finals Nov. 16 at Norwin.

Aliquippa was disappointed to be staying home, but Patrick insisted streaks are meant to be broken. He added: “We’re going to come back next year ready, strong and even better.”

Three in a row

Central Catholic and North Allegheny, who each won Friday, will meet in the WPIAL 6A final for the third year in a row. By doing so, they’ll make history.

Never have two teams in the WPIAL’s largest classification met in three straight finals.

Penn Hills and Butler played two consecutive 3A title games in 1977-78, and North Hills and Gateway met in back-to-back 4A finals in 1985-86. Class 4A was the WPIAL’s largest classification from 1980 until 2016, when football expanded to six classifications. The sport had three classes starting in 1932.

North Allegheny is a two-time defending champion in 6A. The Tigers defeated Central Catholic, 35-21, in 2022 and 44-41 last season. Norwin will host this year’s 6A final at 6:05 p.m. Saturday.

No. 1 Central Catholic advanced to the finals by defeating No. 4 Seneca Valley, 38-14, on Friday. North Allegheny beat No. 3 Mt. Lebanon, 48-14, in the other semifinal.

Chance for redemption

Seven teams were given a second chance Friday to beat an opponent that had beaten them in the regular season. Only two succeeded: Avonworth and Jeannette.

No. 5 Avonworth got five rushing touchdowns from brothers Nico and Luca Neal in a 42-21 victory over No. 4 Beaver in 3A.

The outcome was a reversal from two weeks earlier when Beaver won 34-14.

No. 13 Jeannette is the highest-seeded team remaining in the playoffs after defeating No. 5 Greensburg Central Catholic, 29-23, in Class A. The Jayhawks lost to GCC, 44-27, on Oct. 4.

A couple of other rematches were close.

Imani Christian came back from a 14-0 halftime deficit to Highlands and won 31-17 in Class 3A. Fort Cherry escaped an early 12-0 hole to defeat Cornell, 27-20, in Class A.

Still going strong

The Allegheny Six was arguably the WPIAL’s strongest conference in the regular season, a reputation that continues in the playoffs.

Three of the four remaining playoff teams in Class 5A are from that conference: Upper St. Clair, Peters Township and Bethel Park. None of the WPIAL’s other conferences has more than two surviving teams, excluding Class 6A, which has only one conference.

Overall, 14 of the 18 conferences have at least one team still in contention. The only conferences eliminated were the Big East in 5A, the Parkway in 4A and the Big 7 and Tri-County South, both in Class A.

This is the first time since 2019 that no Parkway Conference teams reached the 4A finals.

Good byes

Coaches often debate whether starting the playoffs with a bye week is good. This year, the byes were mostly good. The 13 teams with byes went 11-2 against teams without a bye.

The only losses were by Beaver and Woodland Hills.

Chris Harlan is a TribLive reporter covering sports. He joined the Trib in 2009 after seven years as a reporter at the Beaver County Times. He can be reached at charlan@triblive.com.