2025 Trib HSSN football position-by-position breakdown: Scouting the defensive ends

By: Chris Harlan
Saturday, August 16, 2025 | 4:57 PM

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

1. Ashton Blatt

Central Catholic

Senior, 6-4, 230

Blatt is a dynamic pass rusher for a Central Catholic defense that celebrated a WPIAL Class 6A title last season. The North Carolina recruit had seven sacks among his 32 tackles and recovered a fumble for a touchdown. Coaches voted him second-team all-conference at defensive end. A consensus three-star college prospect, Blatt was ranked 38th among edge rushers nationally in the 2026 class by 247Sports. He committed to the Tar Heels and new coach Bill Belichick over offers from Pitt, Penn State, West Virginia, Boston College, Duke, Eastern Michigan, Georgia Tech, Indiana, Michigan State, Minnesota, Oklahoma, Sacramento State, Syracuse, Toledo, UCLA, Virginia, Virginia Tech, Wake Forest and Wisconsin.

Watch Ashton Blatt highlights

2. Lucas Shanafelt

Peters Township

Senior, 6-4, 235

Shanafelt earned second-team all-conference honors at defensive end last year with 27 tackles, five tackles for a loss and three sacks. His position will change this year as he slides over to outside linebacker, but he’ll maybe have more chances to make stops in the backfield. Recruiting outlets rate the Stanford recruit as a three-star prospect, and both Rivals and 247Sports rank him 96th among edge rushers nationally in the 2026 class. Shanafelt chose Stanford over Power 4 offers from Pitt, West Virginia, Duke and Purdue, along with other FBS and FCS schools. On offense, he caught 16 passes for 135 yards and a touchdown.

Watch Lucas Shanafelt highlights

3. Anthony Charles

South Fayette

Senior, 6-5, 197

Charles transferred from Bishop Canevin to South Fayette and experienced a breakout year with 24 tackles and five sacks last season. He received more than a dozen college offers in the months since and committed to Minnesota in June. He chose the Golden Gophers over Power 4 offers from Penn State, West Virginia, Cincinnati, Michigan, Michigan State, Syracuse and Wisconsin. A consensus three-star prospect, Rivals (76th) and 247Sports (86th) ranked him among the top edge rushers nationally in the 2026 class.

Watch Anthony Charles highlights

4. Joe Malone

Mt. Lebanon

Senior, 6-2, 235

The Ivy League recruit made 48 tackles, eight sacks and forced two fumbles a year ago. Coaches voted him second-team all-conference in Class 6A. He committed to Cornell over offers from Bucknell, Buffalo, Brown, Georgetown, Maine, New Hampshire, Lehigh, Richmond, Stony Brook and Toledo. He also caught nine passes and a touchdown.

Watch Joe Malone highlights

5. Aaron Loritts

Seton LaSalle

Senior, 6-2, 200

Loritts helped Seton LaSalle reach the WPIAL Class 2A finals last year. The Monmouth commit earned first-team all-conference honors at defensive end with 31 tackles including 11 tackles for a loss, five sacks and one interception he returned for a score. Akron, Albany, Robert Morris and Toledo also offered him. He added 16 catches and a touchdown.

Watch Aaron Loritts highlights

One to watch

Jackson Mickens

Southmoreland

Sophomore, 6-0, 215

Mickens emerged as one of the WPIAL’s top freshmen a year ago. Class 3A Interstate coaches voted him as first-team all-conference at defensive line and tight end. As an edge rusher, he had 45 tackles, 11 sacks and three forced fumbles. He added 35 catches and six touchdowns. Akron, Miami (Ohio) and Sacramento State have offered scholarships.

Watch Jackson Mickens 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.

Tags: Central Catholic, Mt. lebanon, Peters Township, Seton La Salle, South Allegheny, Southmoreland