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Bishop Guilfoyle hammers Belmont Charter, advances to Class 1A Title Game

Tagged under: District 12, District 6, Gameday Hub, News, pfn, Playoffs

| November 28, 2025

One week after Bishop Guilfoyle gave up over 300 yards of offense to a very athletic Westinghouse team, they were faced with a similar foe in the Class 1A East semifinal. Belmont Charter had showcased their elite speed and athleticism in defeating a tough Lackawanna Trail squad and they were seemingly up to the challenge of facing the defending state champs this week. The Marauders were ready however, and they capitalized on several Tiger mistakes as it was Bishop Guilfoyle winning it 35-0 over Belmont Charter to advance to the 1A state final next week at Cumberland Valley. Guilfoyle RB/QB Jake Kissell ran for a score and threw for 3 scores, and QB Justin Wheeler ran for a score.

Belmont Charter won the toss and elected to receive. Guilfoyle was very careful kicking the ball off all night due to the speed of Belmont RB Shyneem Newsuan on returns. Starting at their own 20, Belmont got going with their quick offense as Newsuan and QB Nafis Watkins went to work early. Newsuan had 3 carries for 15 yards on the opening drive and Watkins went 4 for 4 including a big 35-yard catch and run to WR Moise Fleurival. Unfortunately, the Tiger drive stalled at the Guilfoyle 16 when a pass on 4th-and-6 fell incomplete when Guilfoyle DB/QB Justin Wheeler broke it up. Guilfoyle then went to work, and it was Wheeler who stole the show early. As the Marauders drove into Belmont territory, Wheeler broke free for a 43-yard TD run that made it 7-0 for Guilfoyle with 4:32 left in the 1st quarter.

Belmont was not intimidated however, and on their next drive they again drove into Guilfoyle territory before a penalty pushed them back behind midfield. The drive stalled after 6 plays and Belmont punted it away. Guilfoyle took over at their own 29, and as the 1st quarter gave way to the 2nd the Marauders lost yardage on 3 straight plays and had to punt it away. Belmont’s next drive was a 3-and-out due to a big sack of Watkins by Guilfoyle Defensive Linemen Jesse Georgiana and Declan Peterson. Taking over with good field position at their own 48, Guilfoyle executed a 7-play drive that was capped when Kissell hit TE Connor Okonak for a 13-yard TD that made it 14-0 Guilfoyle with 3:53 lest in the first half.

The Marauder defense continued to dominate the line of scrimmage on Belmont’s next drive, another 3-and-out that gave the ball back to Guilfoyle at their own 47. The Marauders then struck immediately with some trickery. Belmont had been keying on stopping the run most of the first half, so Wheeler pitched it to Kissell who then hit WR Tyson Lestochi on the HB option pass for a huge 53-yard TD and the score was 21-0 for Guilfoyle with only 1:35 left in the half.

When Belmont had another quick 3-and-out on their next drive, Guilfoyle had the ball at the Belmont 48 with some time left on the clock. Wheeler had a big 33-yard run and got out of bounds to stop the clock, but the next 3 plays gained no yardage. K Carter Boland then came on to attempt a 38-yard field goal, but the kick was blocked and Belmont took over at their own 23. Watkins attempted a pass on 1st down but it was intercepted by DB Jack Gioiosa to end the half.

Guilfoyle received the 2nd half kickoff, which was an onside attempt by Belmont that was recovered cleanly by the Marauders. They used a run by Wheeler and 3 runs by Kissell to get down to the Belmont 34, but on 3rd down there a pass from Kissell was intercepted by Belmont DB Tahir Tucker at the 7 and returned to the 27. Belmont then got a big 16-yard run from Newsuan and a Watkins to Tucker connection for 25 yards. A holding penalty on the next play negated a nice run by Newsuan, but then on the next play Watkins was intercepted by Guilfoyle LB Evan Schimminger and returned to the Belmont 43. Guilfoyle then executed a very deliberate drive spanning 10-plays that ended with a 12-yard TD run from Kissell that increased Guilfoyle’s lead to 28-0 with 1:27 left in the 3rd quarter.

Belmont started their next drive at their own 20, and disaster struck immediately when a handoff to Newsuan was fumbled and recovered by Guilfoyle DE Parker Knorr at the Belmont 17. As the 3rd quarter gave way to the 4th, Guilfoyle had the ball and it was Kissell again who hit Gioiosa for a 13-yard TD that gave Guilfoyle a 35-0 lead and invoked the mercy rule with 11:55 left. Belmont had 2 more 3-and-out drives in the game and Guilfoyle pulled their starters to essentially run out the clock and seal the 35-0 win.

Belmont Charter finished their season at 10-2. Bishop Guilfoyle improved to 13-2 and advanced to the PIAA Class 1A state title game, to be played against Clairton on 12/4 at 1pm from Chapman Field in Cumberland Valley.

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