2025 HSSN football position-by-position breakdown: Scouting the quarterbacks

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Sunday, August 10, 2025 | 7:27 PM


Starting today, TribLive HSSN will break down the top players at one position per day until Week Zero. Here is a look at the top quarterbacks for the 2025 season.

1. Matt Sieg

Fort Cherry

Senior, 6-0, 180

Sieg and Jeannette great Terrelle Pryor are the only players in WPIAL history to amass 4,000 career yards both rushing and passing. With his senior season still ahead, Sieg has thrown for 4,177 yards and rushed for 6,176. Only nine others rushers in WPIAL history have reached the 6,000-yard milestone. Recruiting websites rate the Penn State recruit as a four-star talent at safety. He led Fort Cherry to a second straight WPIAL Class A title last season. He completed 57% of passes (89 of 156) for 1,350 yards and 20 touchdowns despite being limited for several weeks by a broken thumb. He rushed for 1,840 yards and 32 TDs on 240 carries. A multi-sport athlete, Sieg won WPIAL gold in track the past two seasons in the 400 relay.

Watch Matt Sieg highlights

2. Nolan DiLucia

Peters Township

Senior, 6-2, 210

In two seasons as Peters Township’s quarterback, DiLucia has thrown for 5,656 yards and 55 touchdowns. The Villanova recruit won a WPIAL Class 5A title as a sophomore and led the Indians back to the championship game as a junior. An accurate passer, DiLucia completed 64% of his throws (174 of 270) for 2,525 yards last season. He tossed 25 touchdowns to eight interceptions and earned first-team all-conference honors. He added 506 rushing yards and five TDs on 92 carries. A two-way player, DiLucia is an outstanding safety. He ranked third on the team with 45 tackles last season. His other Division I offers came from Cornell, Fordham, Lehigh, Miami (Ohio), Penn, Princeton, Towson and Yale.

Watch Nolan DiLucia highlights

3. Aaron “Oobi” Strader

Pine-Richland

Junior, 5-11, 170

Strader took a big leap from his freshman to sophomore seasons, becoming the clear leader of one of the WPIAL’s top offenses. After a WPIAL runner-up finish in 2023, Strader quarterbacked the Rams to a Class 5A title last year. He completed 54% of his passes (94 of 173) for 1,755 yards, 20 touchdowns and four interceptions, earning first-team all-conference honors. His longest TD pass was a 99-yarder. He tossed two in the WPIAL final at Acrisure Stadium. An elusive quarterback, Strader rushed for 384 yards and four touchdowns. He lists his first Power 4 offer from ACC school Syracuse, along with Akron, Central Michigan, Hampton, Kent State, Miami (Ohio), Sacramento State and Youngstown State. His brother, Penn Hills graduate Raion Strader, is a junior cornerback at Auburn.

Watch Aaron Strader highlights

4. Jonah Williamson

Trinity

Senior, 6-2, 200

Williamson followed a terrific sophomore year with an average junior one. That surely has the Harvard recruit eager for a big senior year. He passed for 1,860 yards and 13 touchdowns as a sophomore while also rushing for 1,012 yards, earning conference offensive player of the year honors in the Class 4A Big Seven (now the Big Six). Last year, he passed for 1,059 yards and six TDs and rushed for 814 yards. He showed his athleticism by scoring 24 rushing touchdowns in two seasons. He also received college offers from Buffalo, Cornell, Dartmouth, Fordham, Lafayette, Lehigh, New Hampshire and Robert Morris.

Watch Jonah Williamson highlights

5. Patrick Smith

Mt. Lebanon

Senior, 6-2, 220

The Penn recruit plays quarterback and linebacker, a rare combination among the WPIAL’s biggest schools. His aggressiveness on defense shows when he’s behind center, too. A true dual-threat quarterback, Smith passed for 1,610 yards and rushed for 1,091, earning first-team all-conference honors last year. He tossed 12 touchdowns and ran for 15, his longest a 74-yarder. He also drew Ivy League offers from Brown, Columbia and Cornell. He showed his arm strength with a third-place finish in the javelin at the WPIAL championships in May. His brother, Jack, pitches for Harvard.

Watch Patrick Smith highlights

One to watch

James Armstrong

Hopewell

Sophomore, 6-3, 215

The WPIAL has a talented sophomore quarterback class led by Armstrong, who already has a scholarship offer from Pitt. The left-handed QB passed for 1,372 yards and 11 touchdowns last season to earn first-team all-conference honors in Class 3A. He completed 91 of 187 passes while also rushing for 746 yards and 15 TDs on 205 carries. Akron, Delaware State and Sacramento State also have offered him scholarships.

Watch James Armstrong highlights

• • • • •

Position breakdowns

QB | RB | WR | TE | OL | DL | DE | LB | CB | S | K

Chris Harlan is a TribLive reporter covering sports. He joined the Trib in 2009 after seven years as a reporter at the Beaver County Times. He can be reached at charlan@triblive.com.

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