Farrell Runs Over Seton LaSalle Into State Final
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Shane Lux | November 29, 2025
Ellwood City – Farrell advances to the state championship for the first time since 2019 with a 40-19 victory over Seton LaSalle.
It’s been a long time coming. But after defeating their third consecutive district champion, Farrell is heading to the state title, where they’ll meet a familiar foe in District 4 champion Southern Columbia.
“It means a lot, and there’s a lot of emotions because I know all the hard work,” said Farrell head coach Anthony Pegues. “The kids are really focusing on doing what they have to do. Sometimes it doesn’t always come out the way you want it to. But they were focused, did what they had to do, and now we’re moving on.”
For the Steelers, the path to Cumberland Valley’s Chapman Stadium started with a first-round PIAA playoff win in mercy-rule fashion over District 9 champion Karns City. They followed that up by taking care of District 6’s Richland before dismantling WPIAL champion Seton LaSalle.
As for facing Southern Columbia, if the ’90s are any indication, we should be in for a heck of a football game.
In 1995 and ’96, Farrell defeated the Tigers 6-0 and 14-12 to win back-to-back state titles. Current Steelers head coach Anthony Pegues quarterbacked Farrell to the 1995 state title.
Now he’s the head coach, and his son, Aaron, the starting quarterback, has a chance to keep it in the family by doing what his father did.
“30 years ago, when I was the quarterback of this team, we played Southern Columbia for a state championship,” said Pegues. “That’s funny that it happened this way, and now it comes full circle. Now, 30 years later, my son (Aaron) gets to play Southern Columbia for a state championship. They have the same head coach, Coach Roth, who was there when I was in high school. They’re the kingpin in AA, so we wouldn’t want it any other way. To get a state championship, it’s going to have to go through them, so that’s the way it’s going to be.”
It won’t come easy; however, District 4 has won eight consecutive state titles, including seven in a row by Southern Columbia from 2017 to 23.
On Saturday afternoon, Farrell started fast and ended even better to clinch their spot in the state final.
“We knew we could be explosive offensively, Pegues said. “We figured if we could jump out on them early with our defense, it was going to be hard to come back. You have to give them credit, they fought and climbed back into the game, but we made the plays when we had to.”
As the case all season, senior tailback Juelz Johnson helped lead the way as his 66-yard gain on the third snap of the game led to his 1-yard touchdown two plays later, giving the Steelers an 8-0 lead just two minutes into the contest.
“We know if we start fast that it’s going to be hard to slow us down,” Johnson said. “So when we do start fast, we know it’s difficult for any team to slow us down. We feel like we’re the only team that can slow us down. So when we got that fast start, we knew what it was.”
The Rebels put a 38-yard drive together late in the opening quarter, reaching the Farrell 10-yard line. On the fourth down, it was Johnson who blocked Jeremy Rose’s 27-yard field goal attempt.
Farrell then drove 85 yards in 13 plays with Aaron Pegues tossing a 24-yard touchdown pass to Dorean Cain.
On the ensuing Seton LaSalle drive, his twin, Dey’Mar, intercepted Kia Jones and raced 77 yards for a touchdown as the Steelers went ahead 24-0 thanks to Johnson rushing in all three conversions.
“The kid (Dey’Mar) made a heck of a play, he didn’t back off and made a great play off the tipped ball,” Pegues said. “Once he got into the open field, you weren’t going to catch the kid. The twin brothers, eight and nine, both had a heck of a game today, and I’m so proud of the kids.”
The Rebels were able to get on the scoreboard before halftime, when they capped a 56-yard drive with Jones scoring on a 13-yard run with 1:11 to play.
Farrell led 24-6 at intermission.
A week ago, Seton LaSalle had rallied from a 14-0 third-quarter deficit to defeat Steel Valley 21-14 to win the WPIAL title.
When they took over at Farrell’s 48-yard line with 6:47 to play in the third quarter, they did their best to try to repeat history.
Nine plays later, Will Martin, who scored all three touchdowns against the Ironman, hammered home a 3-yard run on 4th-and-goal, pulling the Rebels to within 24-13 with 4:05 to play in the third quarter.
Just seconds later, they recovered an onside kick at the Steelers’ 47-yard line. Kymarr Freeman scored on a 1-yard run 12 plays later, pulling Seton LaSalle to 24-19 with 11:08 to play.
“That’s what marks a good team. I told them all day there’s going to be some adversity, and it’s up to you to fight through it,” said Pegues. “They needed to stick together. When the adversity came, my guys didn’t waver. They fought through it and played well.”
Freeman led the Rebels with 136 yards on 28 carries.
However, Farrell showed the heart of a champion and drove 79 yards in nine plays, overcoming a pair of holding penalties as Johnson scored on a 6-yard touchdown reception from Pegues with 6:36 on the clock.
“The pass from Aaron to Juelz Johnson was pretty much the game-winner and was one of the big plays we needed to make,” said Pegues. “My guys were resilient, and next week we’re going for the gold.”
Aaron Pegues had another soild game for the Steelers, completing 8-of-12 passes for 73 yards with a pair of scores, while adding 33 rushing yards.
Johnson had a 29-yard gain on the drive, while Jason Marshall added a 21-yard run.
The Steelers pushed their lead to 32-19 thanks to Johnson rushing in his fourth 2-point conversion of the game. Farrell made all five 2-pointers in the contest.
“We went for a couple of drives and didn’t get any points,” said Johnson. “So I told my guys just stay calm, calm down. We scored 24 straight points, now let’s go out and score more.”
After forcing a three-and-out, who else but Juelz Johnson put the icing on the cake when he immediately ripped off a 49-yard touchdown run, securing Farrell’s spot in the state final next Friday afternoon.
“I was coming to the sideline having just scored before, and I told guys I think I got another one in me, I can break, I got it. I did it, and that’s what happened. With Southern Columbia next week, we wouldn’t have it any other way.”
Johnson, who is the all-time touchdown leader at Farrell High School, rushed for a game-high 240 yards. He easily went over 2,000 yards for the season, needing only 27 to get there coming in.
So with that said, Farrell will now take on Southern Columbia at Cumberland Valley’s Chapman Stadium next Friday afternoon. Kickoff is slated for 1 pm.
Game Highlights
Farrell 40 Seton LaSalle 19
Score by Quarters’
Seton LaSalle – 0 6 7 6 0 19
Farrell – 8 16 0 16 – 40
Scoring Summary
First Quarter
F – Juelz Johnson 1 yd run, (Johnson rush), 10:00 – 5-80
Second Quarter
F – Dorean Cain 24 yd pass from Aaron Pegues, (Johnson rush), 6:23 – 13-85
F – Dey’Mar Cain 77 yd interception return, (Johnson rush), 3:41
S – Kia Jones 13 yd run, (rush failed), 1:11 – 7-56
Third Quarter
S – Will Martin 3 yd run, (Jeremy Rose pat), 4:05 – 9-48
Fourth Quarter
S – Kymarr Freeman 1 yd run, (pass failed), 11:08 – 12-47
F – Johnson 6 yd pass from Pegues, (Johnson rush), 6:36 – 9-79
F – Johnson 49 yd run, (Nemo Jones from Pegues), 4:35 – 1-49
Individual Stats
Rushing: S – Freeman 28-136, Jones 11-45, DeOndre Hill 2-15, Aaron Loritts 1-8, Martin 6-3. Totals: 48-207. F – Johnson 22-240, Jason Marshall 3-37, Pegues 9-33. Totals: 34-310.
Receiving: S – Martin 3-49, Ronald Polk 2-22, Loritts 2-12, Freeman 2-1. F – Jones 3-27, Johnson 3-16, Dorean Cain 1-24, Jadon King-Vincent 1-6.
Passing: S – Jones 9-for-16, 84 yards, 1 INT. F – Pegues 8-for-12, 73 yards, 2 TD.
Interceptions: F – Dey’Mar Cain.
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