Aliquippa Gets Defensive To Win 21st WPIAL Title
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Shane Lux | November 15, 2025
Gibsonia – Aliquippa limited McKeesport to 141 rushing yards as the tradition-rich Quips won their 21st title, 21-12 over the Tigers.
Underdogs? That’s what some have said after Aliquippa finished the regular season 6-3 and were given a modest 7th seed in the WPIAL playoffs.
But nobody should’ve ever doubted the Quips, as after victories over Trinity and New Castle, Aliquippa earned its right to battle the WPIAL favorites Saturday afternoon at Pine-Richland High School.
“I told the kids when we started the playoffs that everybody is counting us out,” said Aliquippa head coach Mike Warfield. “Everyone had us at the local funeral home. We went out there and played free and fast and came out on top.”
Many in the preseason tapped McKeesport as the likely favorites to capture their first district crown in two decades, as 5-star junior tailback Kemon Spell leads the Tigers.
Warfield, on the other hand, returned as head coach for the Quips following a 1-year hiatus.
“I wasn’t gone gone”, said Warfield. “I just took a little break from the everyday responsibilities. Coach Pat did a great job. He is excellent, and you know me, just coming back, it’s just that I miss the kids. The preparation: I missed Saturdays through Thursdays and was with the coaches, trying to figure out how we could put these kids in the best situations to win. That’s what I miss. We had a fantastic week of practice.”
Warfield guided Aliquippa through a season of ups and downs, and the WPIAL final was no different.After taking the football to open the game, the Quips’ first two offensive plays went for negative yardage, and a punt followed the third.
On McKeesport’s initial snap, Kemon Spell showed why he’s one of the best players in the United States as he raced 68 yards for a touchdown, giving the Tigers the early 6-0 lead.
“It’s a game of runs,” Warfield said. “4A is a good classification, everybody’s good, just like anything. Everybody gets a run; he had his run early, and then we had our game as far as tackling the whole night—the rest of the game. We didn’t blink. And that’s one thing I said to him. At practice yesterday, the only thing I could guarantee you is that everything wasn’t gonna go our way. He might get a run here. He might get a run there. He might catch a pass, or they might catch a pass. But if we keep playing for four quarters. We’ll be fine.”
However, shortly thereafter, a change took place, Aliquippa began to settle in, and though trailing by 6, took control of the game on the following possession, driving 84 yards in 15 plays, scoring on quarterback Marques Council’s 24-yard touchdown run, putting the Quips ahead 7-6 in the final minute of the opening stanza.The Quips then recovered a fumble at their 36-yard line early in the second quarter and pushed their lead to 14-6 when Josh Lay caught a 3-yard touchdown pass from Council on 4th-and-goal.
Council began the drive with a 54-yard completion to Cleaster Longmire.
Marques Council completed 9-of-14 passes for 124 yards, two touchdowns, and an interception, while rushing for 47 yards on six carries.
The Tigers got themselves right back into the game when Akeem Cochran returned the ensuing kickoff to the Quips’ 26-yard line.
Six plays later, Spell pounded home his second touchdown of the afternoon with a 6-yard run; his failed two-point rush kept Aliquippa in front 14-12 midway through the second quarter.
McKeesport then had a golden chance to take the lead heading into the locker room when Taier Swindle intercepted Council at the Tigers’ 42-yard line.
They proceeded to drive to Quips’ 10-yard line, where they faced a 4th-and-4 with less than a minute to play in the half.
The Aliquippa defense stood tall and stuffed Nicholas Beerman for no gain, and took their lead into the locker room.
Simply put, in the second half, the Quips dropped the hammer; they limited Spell to only 26 yards on seven carries, sacked Tigers’ quarterback Matthew Miller five times, and held the vaunted McKeesport ground game to only 11 yards on 14 carries.
“They tackled today, and they kept tackling today,” Warfield said. “That was important, that was the key. We knew if we blinked or took one play off that he could take it the distance. Not just him, but anybody, they had an excellent team. We beat a great football team today.”
Kemon Spell led the Tigers with 142 yards on 19 carries, including 12 for 116 in the first half.
Though Aliquippa twice drove into the red zone on its opening two possessions of the second half, turning the ball over on downs, the Quips’ defense recovered a fumble, forced two three-and-outs, and got a game-sealing interception by Akiva Woods in the closing seconds.
The insurance marker came when the Quips took over at the Tigers’ 45-yard line with 7:49 to play.
Faced with a 4th-and-9 at the 24-yard line, Marques Council took the snap, scrambled around, and launched a pass into the back of the end zone, where QaLil Goode made a leaping catch in the back corner to put Aliquippa ahead 21-12 with 2:15 to play.
QaLil Goode finished the game with five receptions for 51 yards and the touchdown.
“Everybody was doubting us as the seventh seed,” Goode said. “We were like the black sheep; we had to come back and win it all. When people doubt us, we love proving them wrong. That final play, it was just streaks. I was in the back of the end zone, and I knew I had to get it. I locked eyes with the safety for a second; it was just a matter of going up and jumping higher. I knew I was going to outjump him, because that’s what I’m out there for.”
Following Woods’ interception, the Aliquippa faithful celebrated their school’s WPIAL record 21st title.
The Quips now advance to the state tournament, where they’ll play District 10 champion Oil City next weekend.
Game Highlights:
Aliquippa 21 McKeesport 12
Score by Quarters
Aliquippa – 7 7 0 7 – 21
McKeesport – 6 6 0 0 – 12
Scoring Summary
First Quarter
M – Kemon Spell 68 yd run, (kick blocked), 9:59 – 1-68
A – Marques Council 24 yd run, (Reinado Romero pat), 0:49 – 15-84
Second Quarter
A – Josh Lay 3 yd pass from Council, (Romero pat), 8:44 – 5-64
M – Spell 6 yd run, (rush failed), 6:19 – 6-26
Fourth Quarter
A – QaLil Goode 24 yd pass from Council, (Romero pat), 2:15 – 10-45
Individual Stats
Rushing: A – Joseph Work 21-57, Akiva Woods 10-48, Council 6-47, Cameron Cannon 2-4, Avery Coleman 1-14, Longmire 2-5, Team 2-0. Totals: 44-175. M – Spell 19-142, Akeem Cochran 2-10, Nicholas Beerman 2-4, Matthew Miller 7-(-16), Will Smith 1-1. Totals: 31-141.
Receiving: A – Lay 2-13, Goode 5-51, Gavin Wilcox 1-6, Cleaster Longmire 1-54. M – Javen Robinson 2-51, Abraham Miller 1-1, Spell 1-3, Cortez Stinson 1-10.
Passing: A – Council 9-for-14, 124 yards, 2 TD, 1 INT. M – Spell 1-for-1, 37 yards, Miller 4-for-6, 28 yards, 1 INT, Team 0-for-1.
Interceptions: M – Taier Swindle. A – Woods.
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