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Shaler clinches playoffs & ‘Route 8 Rivalry’; beat Hampton 16-12.

 
Tagged under: District 7, Gameday Hub, News, pfn

| October 23, 2026

GLENSHAW, PA– The Shaler Titans have clinched a playoff spot for the second consecutive year following their 16-12 win over Hampton on Friday night.

Shaler handled their new conference well this season. The Titans took three straight conference wins in what was seen as “must-win” games, with what is now a “winner-take-all” for the Greater Allegheny Conference title next week against McKeesport.

Both teams got off to uninspiring and ugly starts. Penalties and miscues plagued both teams all night long. In fact, the first score didn’t happen until 9:46 left in the second quarter when Shaler’s Alex Gaetano booted a 38-yard field goal to give Shaler a 3-0 lead.

But the Titans would add to their lead shortly after when quarterback Jayden Conrad spun for a 1-yard touchdown run to extend the Titans’ lead to 9-0. The extra point would be blocked.

Hampton would get the ball to start the second half, and what started out as a promising drive ended in just three points.

Avery Kinter, who was the best player on the field all night –which is not an opinion—responded with a Titan touchdown to extend the lead again to 16-3. Kinter found the holes that were created by his offensive line. That and some poor Hampton tackling was the key to his success all night long.

His coach was very pleased with his performance.

“He’s a great running back,” Jim Ryan said of Kinter. “He runs hard; he has vision. He’s a kid that you can rely on that can get us some yardage. He did a great job.”

Tension continued to build on the Hampton sideline and coaches’ booth after Kinter’s touchdown. Coaches and players were visible and vocally frustrated. The coaches in the booth saw multiple open passes that were missed by the Hampton offense.

Which was true. There were open receivers, but the quarterback took deep shots, often resulting in an incompletion.

Heath Borgo had some nice catches along the sideline in the later portions of the game. This included the lone touchdown for Hampton in the fourth quarter. However, those catches would be for nothing as Hampton took some costly penalties, killing the drive.

That was the theme of the game after all.

Nonetheless, Shaler was very pleased with their win over the school across the street. They should be. Hampton made it interesting late, but Shaler held strong to clinch their second consecutive playoff berth.

It means more to come out on top for these players and these communities. It’s not dubbed the “Route 8 Rivalry” for nothing. I mean, these schools are right across the street from each other, literally.

“It means a lot to us,” Avery Kinter said postgame. “People call it the ‘Route 8 Rivalry,’ and we just had to get [them] back from last year.”

Last year’s game ended in dramatic fashion with Hampton’s Jake Lucas kicking a 46-yard field goal to win the game at the buzzer.

As for Hampton… yeah.

Their playoff hopes are all but gone. Maybe the Ringgold and the Central Valley game get some consideration from the committee, but with Chartiers Valley and Blackhawk ahead of them, uh-huh.

I don’t see them leaving a 7+ win team out of the playoffs regardless of their strength of schedule. I just don’t.

Hampton will play for pride and back-to-back .500 seasons next week as they host Franklin Regional in the season finale. That has to be a “must-win” game to salvage what once was a promising-looking season.

As for Shaler, they travel to McKeesport for the Greater Allegheny Conference championship. With or without Spell, the Tigers are still pretty good. And Shaler is going to be prepared as ever for this David vs. Goliath matchup. Good for them, they’ve earned it.

“I’m just looking forward to playing hard,” Kinter said. “We’re going to have a good week of practice. Keep our heads down. Don’t get too cocky cause of this win. We’re just going to play hard.”

Play hard, they will. It’s their biggest test.

“Next opponent, next rep,” Ryan said. “Every opportunity that we have, we just focus on the next important thing at hand. We’re excited to play McKeesport, and we’ll be ready to go”

 
 
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