PIAA Class 1A Title Game Preview: Clairton Bears

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

Davin Ridall | December 3, 2025

CLAIRTON BEARS vs BISHOP GUILFOYLE MARAUDERS

PIAA District 7 – Class 1A
WPIAL 1A Section 1
Head Coach: Wayne Wade

OVERVIEW

After being handed their only loss of the season in the state quarterfinals by Fort Cherry a season ago, Clairton has finally found their way back to the big stage. The Bears are certainly no stranger to the big game, as they will be playing in their eighth state final since 2008, including their four straight championships from 2009 through 2012. After opening the season with a 7 point home loss to Imani Christian, Clairton hasn’t looked back, finishing the regular season with 9 consecutive shutout victories (1 being a forfeit), averaging a whopping 65 points per game over that span.

This year’s title game will actually be a rematch of two previous state title games. Back in 2014, Bishop Guilfoyle edged out Clairton by a final score of 19-18, if you can remember Penn State graduate Lamont Wade, he rushed for 212 yards in that game. They also met a second time in 2016, where Bishop Guilfoyle took Clairton down again 17-0, that being Clairton’s first time being shut out in 13 years. So how does Clairton get the victory this time around? They do say third time’s the charm but it’s going to take more than just a saying to get the job done.

How they got to the title game:

2025 Clairton Schedule

Key Players:

• Sr QB Jeffery Thompson: This kid knows how to sling it with the best of them, over 2,200 yards so far this season, along with 34 touchdowns and only 6 interceptions.
• Sr RB Deon Lovelance-Pompey: He’s done an excellent job of filling the hole that Drahcir Jones left following his graduation, with just under 1,000 rushing yards on the season along with 15 touchdowns, the lead engine behind Clairton’s rushing attack.
• So LB Brandon Murphy Jr: Finished second on the team in tackles as a freshman last season, currently leads the team in total tackles, averaging 8 per game, along with 14 tackles for loss on the season.

Keys to Winning

Offense: Get the rushing attack going early and use it to control the clock. Clairton’s only loss this season was to Imani Christian back in week 1, and in that game Lovelance-Pompey was held to just 9 carries for 15 yards. In fact, their leading rusher was Micheal Ruffin who had 25 yards on 7 carries. As long as the Bears can get their rushing attack in a rhythm early, their offense will be in good shape.

Defense: Keep Guilfoyle’s rushing attack in check, that’s been a big weapon for them all season long. The Marauders have two very talented rushing quarterbacks in senior Jake Kissell and sophomore Justin Wheeler, so the Bears are going to need to make sure to contain those two. Another obvious key on defense would be to just hold their opponent off the scoreboard all together, which isn’t anything new to the Bears considering they have 11 shutouts this season.

Offensive starters

QB Jeff Thompson

RB Deon Pompey

WR Donte Wright

WR Michael Ruffin

WR Taris Wooding

WR Brandon Murphy

TE Tahvaz Armstrong

LT Avaughn Pompey

LG Kasch Hammond

C Chad Carpenter-Law

RG Quintin Thompson

RT D’Kota Harris.

Defensive Starters

NG Avaughn Pompey

DT D’Kota Harris

DT Kahmani Parrotte

LB Brandon Murphy

LB Tahvaz Armstrong

LB Darren Pinson

LB Deon Pompey

DB Donte Wright

DB Taris Wooding

S Jaece Booker

Roster:

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