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Back on Top: Aliquippa Makes History

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

| December 8, 2023

Mechanicsburg – Aliquippa again rules 4A football. 

The Aliquippa Quips are one of Pennsylvania’s most tradition-rich football programs. Earlier during the 2023 season, they won their 20th WPIAL title.

They’ve also won four state titles in 1991, 2003, 2018 and 2021. However, none of the previous four state-champion squads were undefeated.

On Thursday night, Aliquippa made history with a 60-14 rout of District 2’s Dallas Mountaineers to finish a perfect 14-0 and win the school’s fifth state championship.

The victory helped solve the sting of a 41-18 loss to Bishop McDevitt last season in the state final.

“There’s no pain without growth,” said Aliquippa head coach Mike Warfield. “It was painful last year, but we accepted it. We grew from it, and you saw the results of not wasting a second and always working to improve. I’m proud of the kids and our entire community. This is a program, and we have support from the school board, superintendent, and Quip Nation. We’re a program.”

No prior Aliquippa team had ever gone undefeated and won a PIAA football title. The Quips not only went undefeated with a state title – they made it look easy.

“It’s the first time in Aliquippa history, which is special,” said Warfield. “I told the kids last week that we were in the same position as last year with a chance to go undefeated. We weren’t going to get superstitious. We were just going to work hard for it, and that’s what the kids did tonight. They deserve this moment.”

Aliquippa put together three first-half scoring drives of at least 91 yards and exploded for 580 yards of total offense.

On their initial drive, the Quips drove 91 yards in seven plays capped off with back-back 30-plus yard plays as Jon Tracy ran 30 yards before Quentin Goode tossed a 36-yard touchdown pass to Brandon Banks.

Little brother QaLil Goode intercepted Brady Zapoticky’s pass at the Dallas 45-yard line. Three plays later, Tiqwai Hayes scored on a 7-yard run. Cameron Lindsey ran 35 yards to open the drive.

The Mountaineers would respond on the following drive as Zapoticky connected with Gavin Lewis on a 39-yard touchdown pass.

Starting on their 4-yard line to kickoff, their next possession made no difference as the Quips continued to gash the Dallas defense, and nine plays later scored on Hayes’s 34-yard touchdown.

The Penn State commit scored his third touchdown of the night when he broke loose for a 61-yard run early in the second quarter. Hayes led all rushers with 222 yards on 18 carries, scoring thrice.

“I had some good blocks from my offensive line and my receivers tonight,” Hayes said. “All I had to do was make my man miss on a couple of those runs, and that’s what I could do. This team as a whole wanted to submit our legacy. Our 2024 class is the best. They submitted their legacy with this season being the first team to go undefeated.”

After the schools traded interceptions, the Mountaineers scored their second touchdown as Dylan Geskey capped a 7-play 39-yard drive with a 1-yard run. Geskey rushed for 48 yards on 14 carries.

Aliquippa’s secondary continued to daze and confuse the Dallas offense. In the first half, super sophomore QaLil Goode intercepted his second of three passes and raced 85 yards for a touchdown.

The Quips, which intercepted five passes in the game, led 40-14 at halftime. QaLil Goode intercepted three of those balls while Arison Walker picked off two passes for Aliquippa.

Leaving no doubt about their superiority, the Quips scored two quick third-quarter touchdowns to invoke the PIAA’s running clock with 6:11 remaining in the stanza.

Jon Tracy, who rushed for 136 yards on eight carries, capped a 5-play 58-yard drive with a 15-yard run.

Arison Walker intercepted a pass, and Pittsburgh recruit Cameron Lindsey ran in a 9-yard score following Quentin Goode’s 83-yard completion to Yale commit Brandon Banks.

Banks caught three passes for a game-high 124 yards, while Goode 5-of-12 passes for 149 yards with a touchdown and an interception.

“The last two years, one of the only things we had our minds on was going undefeated and winning a state championship,” Quentin Goode said. “We knew it was go big or go home, so we’re going to try to make the most out of it. Right off the start, we knew that we had to come out with our foot on the gas and make plays. You saw last week with Bishop McDevitt that they let Dallas hang around, and look what happened. We need to start fast, and that’s what we did.”

Immediately succeeding Walker’s second interception, Tracy scored on a 46-yard to close the scoring.

Aliquippa’s senior class now has three WPIAL titles, two state championships, and the school’s first undefeated state championship season.

Game Highlights:

Aliquippa 60 Dallas 14

Score by Quarters

Dallas – 7 7 0 0 – 0

Aliquippa – 24 16 13 7 – 60

Scoring Summary

First Quarter

A – Brandon Banks 36 yd pass from Quentin Goode, (Tiwai Hayes rush), 8:04

A – Hayes 7 yd run, (Hayes to Mekhi Green), 5:28

D – Gavin Lewis 39 yd pass from Brady Zapoticky, (Rowan Laubach pat), 4:22

A – Hayes 34 yd run, (Jon Tracy rush), 1:04

Second Quarter

A – Hayes 61 yd run, (Goode to Jayace Williams), 9:15

D – Dylan Geskey 1 yd run, (Laubach pat), 4:30

A – QuLil Goode 85 yd interception return, (Goode rush), 1:20

Third Quarter

A – Tracy 15 yd run, (pass failed), 9:09

A – Cameron Lindsey 9 yd run, (Malachi Shegog pat), 6:11

Fourth Quarter

A – Tracy 46 yd run, (Deshaun Ansa pat), 11:49

Individual Stats

Rushing: D – Geskey 18-48, Nate Malarkey 1-6, Zapoticky 8-(-6). Totals: 27-48. A – Hayes 18-222, Tracy 8-136, Lindsey 4-58, Council 2-5, Avery Coleman 1-3, Cleaster Longmire 2-(-1), Team 4-(-3), Quentin Goode 1-(-8). Totals: 40-412.

Receiving: D – Zach Paczewski 5-67, Lewis 3-64, Nate Malarkey 1-6. A – Banks 3-124, Jayace Williams 1-19, Josh Lay 1-16, Arison Walker 1-6, Cincere McCracken 1-3.

Passing: D – Zapoticky 9-for-24, 137 yards, 1 TD, 5 INT. A – Quentin Goode 5-for-12, 149 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT, Marques Council 2-for-2, 19 yards.

Interceptions: D – Paczewski. A – QaLil Goode (3), Arison Walker (2).

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