WPIAL Class 4A preview: Teams again chasing defending champion Aliquippa

By: Michael Love
Sunday, August 18, 2024 | 6:01 AM

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No team in the WPIAL or throughout the state could come up with a game plan to stop Aliquippa from claiming all the gold last season.

The WPIAL top-seeded Quips defeated No. 2 McKeesport, 35-21, at Acrisure Stadium, then marched to Cumberland Valley where they overwhelmed District 2 champion Dallas, 60-14, for their fifth PIAA title.

In the wake of its 2023 dominance, the PIAA, under its competitive-balance rule, told Aliquippa it would move up to Class 5A.

The school district presented a lawsuit against the PIAA protesting the move, and a Beaver County judge in April granted Aliquippa an injunction to remain in Class 4A this season.

Despite the battle in the courtroom, Quips interim coach Vashawn Patrick said his players just wanted to play football.

“They weren’t too concerned with what was going on around them,” he said. “They just wanted to work to get better each day and be ready to show up Friday at 7 p.m. against whoever we’re scheduled to play.”

Coach Mike Warfield, 74-6 in six seasons at the helm, took a leave of absence last month for work-related commitments.

“Mike and I had discussed this previously, but it was a surprise to the kids,” Patrick said.

“The kids were great through the transition as well as the coaching staff. It has been business as usual, making sure we are working out, practicing well and putting ourselves in the best position to win a championship.”

Aliquippa hopes it has the right formula to defend its WPIAL and PIAA crowns, but Patrick knows it won’t be easy with the likes of Montour, Mars, McKeesport, Thomas Jefferson and others looking to knock them off.

“Class 4A is a stacked classification,” Patrick said. “So many of the teams have great coaching staffs and talented kids. They are going to be so well-prepared if and when they cross paths with us. We expect everyone’s best every time we step on the field. We just want to match that intensity and be ready to play each time.”

Aliquippa doesn’t have a Week Zero game. It will instead open its season Aug. 30 at home against Belle Vernon. Games against Avonworth, Mars and Penn Hills precede the Parkway Conference opener against New Castle on Sept. 27.

McKeesport, Mars and Montour punched their tickets to the Class 4A semifinals a year ago.

McKeesport wants to be in the mix again after making its run to the title game.

The Tigers hope to feed off the effort of sophomore running back and defensive back Kemon Spell, a recent Penn State verbal commit.

Planets senior running back and defensive back Eric Kasperowicz, one of team’s leading tacklers and a multi-purpose yardage leader last year, returns for what he hopes is a big season.

Montour coach Lou Cerro expects his team to be right there again with the return of eight starters on offense and nine on defense.

“We have a lot of returning starters that played a lot of high-leverage games,” Cerro said. “The starters have high expectations. We have some depth, which also is a plus.”

Belle Vernon returns to Class 4A after a two-year stint in Class 3A. The Leopards hope to make some noise this season despite losing several key players, including Quinton Martin (Penn State), from a team that rolled to WPIAL and PIAA Class 3A championships a year ago.

Belle Vernon coach Matt Humbert said his players understand the challenge.

Last year, the Leopards prepared for their conference slate with games against Class 4A foes Laurel Highlands, McKeesport and rival Thomas Jefferson as well as Class 5A Penn-Trafford.

“With our nonconference schedule being so robust over the past couple of years, we’re just used to that caliber of team,” Humbert said. “We now will get some of those rivalries back with games against Trinity and the Battle for the Bridge with Ringgold. (Being in Class 4A) wasn’t too distant in the past where we haven’t been with all of those guys.”

Knoch, with senior quarterback Codi Mullen at the helm of an experienced group, also is back in Class 4A after two seasons in Class 3A. The Knights’ stay in the WPIAL playoffs last year was shorter than expected with a first-round upset loss to No. 12 South Park.

“It’s going to be a challenge for us back up in 4A,” Knoch coach Tim Burchett said. “Every week will be a great test. … It’s good for the schools, the fans and for the players.”

West Mifflin, led by sophomore Armand Hill, who broke out last year as a running and defensive threat for the Titans, and Jaiden Brown-Demery, a newly minted Akron verbal commit, made it to the Class 3A quarterfinals as the No. 6 seed before being eliminated by No. 3 Elizabeth Forward.

While those three teams return to Class 4A, gone to Class 5A are Latrobe, Kiski Area and Armstrong, while North Catholic, Highlands and Central Valley dropped down to Class 3A.

Mainstay Thomas Jefferson always is a factor in the classification, and veteran coach Bill Cherpak hopes his players, fronted in the trenches by Pitt commit Shep Turk, are able to make a run this season.

The Jaguars own 10 WPIAL titles but have not raised the championship trophy since winning four in five years from 2016-20.

Last year, TJ, as the No. 6 seed, rolled past No. 11 Kiski Area in the first round, but was not able to solve No. 3 Montour in the quarterfinals as the Spartans scored a 51-21 home victory.

“Honestly, it’s Aliquippa and everyone else with what they have coming back and the influx of talent,” TJ coach Bill Cherpak said.

“That’s just reality. McKeesport will be good, but they also lost a lot. The way the WPIAL has it now, it is really challenging at the beginning of the season, so you want to get through that first part unscathed and as injury free as possible to get into the conference games. Class 4A is impressive, top to bottom, and it’s not going to be an easy task to get through and be in position to win a title.

“I feel like we should be pretty competitive. Our goals are always the same in the conference, WPIAL and states. A difference this year is we’re coming off a blowout loss in the playoffs, and that is something we’ve never really had. Montour is a good team, and they took it to us in every phase. The bitterness of last season is still fresh with everybody.”

With 18 teams, the second lowest of the six WPIAL classifications, Class 4A will have an eight-team playoff bracket. The top two teams from each of the three conferences will qualify, along with two wild cards.

“The margin of error is a little higher with only two, possibly three making it from your conference,” Humbert said.

“It’s going to be a great challenge to be one of those eight teams to make it to that bracket.”

Also back for another two-year run in Class 4A are Ambridge, Blackhawk, New Castle, West Allegheny, Hampton, Indiana, Chartiers Valley and Laurel Highlands.

Three other new coaches — Blackhawk’s Jake Wickline, New Castle’s Fred Mozzocio and Ringgold’s Robert Heller — will join Patrick in leading their new teams into battle for the first time.

Wickline, who served as an assistant at Beaver in 2023, is the fourth coach at Blackhawk since the legendary Joe Hamilton retired after the 2014 season.

Mozzocio also was hired as New Castle’s athletic director and track and field coach. The New Castle graduate went 101-35 in 12 seasons through last fall at neighboring Neshannock.

Heller hopes to turn around a struggling Rams program. Ringgold was one of six teams to go winless in 2023, and it has lost 25 consecutive games.

Heller, a Ringgold graduate and standout athlete for the Rams, was an assistant with the team in 2018 under then-coach Mike Zmijanac.

PRESEASON RANKINGS

1. Aliquippa (14-0 last season)

The Quips were moved up to Class 5A in the offseason then returned to Class 4A. Despite the offseason upheaval, the team hopes to again rise to the top of the heap in the WPIAL and PIAA.

2. Montour (10-2)

3. Mars (10-3)

4. McKeesport (11-2)

5. Thomas Jefferson (9-3)

THE STARS

Antwan Black Jr.

Laurel Highlands, Jr., WR/RB/DB

The rising junior took advantage of opportunities all over the field last year for the Mustangs. He caught 24 passes for 363 yards and a touchdown, ran for two scores and returned an interception more than 100 yards for a score. Black owns scholarship offers from Pitt, West Virginia, Toledo and Penn State.

Tikey Hayes

Aliquippa, Sr., RB/DB

The 6-foot, 210-pound Penn State commit accumulated 2,137 yards and 26 touchdowns on 242 workhorse carries for the WPIAL and PIAA champion Quips. He averaged 8.8 yards a carry. He collected 222 yards and three touchdowns on 18 rushes in the 60-14 state title game victory over Dallas.

Armand Hill

West Mifflin, So., RB/DB

The Titans standout back broke out last year as a starter with 1,528 yards and 15 touchdowns on 114 carries. Hill, who already owns several Division I offers, including Pitt and Penn State, added seven interceptions to lead the Western Hills Conference.

Kemon Spell

McKeesport, So., RB/S

Spell didn’t feel the need to wait any longer to make his college decision. He gave a verbal commitment late last month to Penn State. The 5-foot-10, 195-pound running back had 13 Division I offers at the time of his decision. Spell tallied a combined 10 touchdowns on offense and made 67 tackles, three fumble recoveries and picked off three passes on defense.

Shep Turk

Thomas Jefferson, Sr., OL/DL

Turk used the combination of conditioning, agility training, weight room work and play study to help him get ready for the 2023 season with the goal of helping the Jaguars challenge for a WPIAL title. Turk’s skill in the trenches on both sides of the ball garnered attention from several Division I colleges. In the end, Turk said Pitt is it, giving a verbal commitment to the Panthers in May.

DON’T MISS

9.27: Belle Vernon at Thomas Jefferson

While in different classifications last year, the Leopards and Jaguars maintained their rivalry with a nonconference contest won by Thomas Jefferson, 24-19. They are back in the Big Six Conference and ready to renew pleasantries.

10.11: McKeesport at Mars

The Tigers and Planets missed each other in the 2023 regular season and playoffs, but the Class 4A heavyweights won’t be able to do the same this year as they are two of the favorites in the Greater Allegheny Conference.

10.18: Aliquippa at Montour

The Spartans lost only one game in the regular season last year and it was to the Quips, 42-18, at Aliquippa’s Heinz Field. Montour hopes for revenge as it hosts this year’s Parkway Conference clash.

Michael Love is a TribLive reporter covering sports in the Alle-Kiski Valley and the eastern suburbs of Pittsburgh. A Clearfield native and a graduate of Westminster (Pa.), he joined the Trib in 2002 after spending five years at the Clearfield Progress. He can be reached at mlove@triblive.com.

Tags: Aliquippa, Belle Vernon, Laurel Highlands, Mars, McKeesport, Montour, Thomas Jefferson, West Mifflin