2025 WPIAL 5A football championship breakdown: Pine-Richland vs. Peters Township

By: Chris Harlan
Thursday, November 20, 2025 | 8:41 PM

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WPIAL Class 5A football championship

No. 1 Pine-Richland vs. No. 2 Peters Township

8 p.m. Saturday, Acrisure Stadium

On the air: Audio stream: TribLive HSSN; TV: KDKA+; Radio: KDKA (1020 AM, 100.1 FM); Video stream: NFHS Network

Winner plays: The District 3 champion in a PIAA semifinal Nov. 28 or 29. Solanco (11-1) and Bishop McDevitt (10-1) play Friday at Warwick in the District 3 finals.

WPIAL titles: Pine-Richland 9 (2024, ‘22, ‘20, ‘18, ‘17, ‘14, ‘03, 1970, ’69), Peters Township 1 (2023)

Pine-Richland (11-1)

Player to watch: Khalil Taylor

The junior wideout and defensive back scored six touchdowns in the Rams’ first two playoff games and reached the end zone four different ways. Taylor has scored on interception returns of 104 and 7 yards, a 90-yard kickoff return, an 87-yard punt return and receptions of 37 and 30 yards. The former Penn State commit added Georgia and Ohio State offers in recent weeks.

Statistical leaders

Passing: Aaron “Oobi” Strader 134-211, 2,139 yards, 33 TDs

Rushing: Maclane Miller 137-1,249 yards, 13 TDs

Receiving: Jay Timmons 33-595 yards, 10 TDs; Khalil Taylor 31-543 yards, 15 TDs

How they got here: After a first-round bye, No. 1 Pine-Richland defeated No. 8 Shaler, 41-10, in the quarterfinals; and No. 5 Moon, 34-24, in the semifinals.

Probable starting lineup

Coach: Jon LeDonne

Offense

QB, 1, Aaron “Oobi” Strader, 5-11, 175, jr.

RB, 7, Maclane Miller, 5-9, 195, sr.

WR, 4, Jay Timmons, 5-11, 185, sr.

WR, 0, Khalil Taylor, 6-0 185, jr.

WR, 13, Jalen Neals, 5-10, 190, sr.

HB, 19, Tyler Hays, 6-2, 215, sr.

LT, 58, Dajour Webb, 6-2, 330, jr.

LG, 77, John Curran, 6-4, 300, sr.

C, 66, James Curran, 6-1, 210, sr.

RG, 76, Dylan Turcan, 6-3, 326, sr.

RT, 79, Brayden Price, 6-6, 280, sr.

Defense

DT, 58, Dajour Webb, 6-2, 330, jr.

DT, 99, Dylan Michael, 5-10, 205, so.

DE, 8, Hans Meijer, 5-11, 200, sr.

DE, 23, Rhett Valenty, 6-0, 205, so.

MLB, 18, Grant Pillar, 5-10, 185, sr.

OLB, 21, Ryan Curren, 6-2, 170, so.

OLB, 10, Colton Andrighetti, 5-10, 185, jr.

CB, 3, Da’jaun Webb, 5-11, 170, sr.

CB, 0, Khalil Taylor, 6-0, 185, jr.

S, 11, Nico Aiello, 6-1, 170, jr.

S, 4, Jay Timmons, 5-11, 185, sr.

Special teams

K, 93, Alex Mestre, 5-9, 190, so.

P, 0, Khalil Taylor, 6-0, 185, jr.

Notable: Pine-Richland and Peters Township will meet in the WPIAL finals for the third year in a row. Pine-Richland won 20-9 last season and Peters Township won 43-17 in 2023. … The teams also met in the 2020 finals and Pine-Richland won 35-0. … The Rams are no strangers to WPIAL championship games. They’ve missed the finals in either Class 5A or 6A only once since 2017. … Pine-Richland went undefeated in the Northeast Conference and outscored opponents 279-59. … Overall, the Rams averaged 47.6 points per game and allowed 13.4. … The team’s only regular season loss was to Class 6A champion Central Catholic, 34-20, on Aug. 29. … Grant Pillar has a team-high 82 total tackles, including 20 tackles for loss and seven sacks. … Colten Andrighetti has 80 tackles, 18½ tackles for loss and six sacks. … Khalil Taylor and Dajaun Webb each have three interceptions. … Taylor transferred from Seton LaSalle where he played in last year’s WPIAL finals with the Rebels. … Jay Timmons is an Ohio State commit and ranked as the fifth-best cornerback prospect nationally. He is the son of former Steelers linebacker Lawrence Timmons. … QB Aaron Strader has FBS offers from Akron, Kent State, Syracuse and Temple. … This is Jon LeDonne’s fourth season as Pine-Richland’s coach. His teams have won three WPIAL titles, including one at Penn Hills in 2018.

Peters Township (12-0)

Players to watch: Reston Lehman and Lucas Shanafelt

The two seniors form arguably the top outside linebacker tandem in the WPIAL. Combined, they’ve totaled 13 sacks, 28 tackles for loss, five interceptions, four forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries. They’ve also combined for 43 catches, and each has four receiving touchdowns for a tight end-friendly offense. Lehman is a Pitt linebacker recruit. Shanafelt is Stanford-bound.

Statistical leaders

Passing: Nolan DiLucia 152-237, 2,449 yards, 22 TDs

Rushing: Cole Neupaver 244-1,314 yards, 19 TDs

Receiving: P.J. Luke 31-560 yards, 4 TDs

How they got here: After a first-round bye, No. 2 Peters Township defeated No. 7 Bethel Park, 42-14, in the quarterfinals; and No. 6 Upper St. Clair, 31-9, in the semifinals.

Probable starting lineup

Coach: T.J. Plack

Offense

QB, 17, Nolan DiLucia, 6-2, 210, sr.

RB, 8, Cole Neupaver, 5-10, 185, sr.

WR, 3, P.J. Luke, 6-0, 175, sr.

WR, 1, Jeremy Poletti, 5-10, 150, sr.

WR, 2, Lucas Rost, 5-11, 180, sr.

TE, 14, Reston Lehman, 6-4, 240, sr.

TE, 0, Lucas Shanafelt, 6-4, 235, sr.

LT, 75, Tony Lepri, 6-1, 260, jr.

LG, 72, Max Cortes, 6-5, 280, sr.

C, 56, Alex Klein, 5-10, 230, sr.

RG, 51, Noah Griffith, 5-10, 255, jr.

RT, 77, Gavin Hollander, 6-3, 245, jr.

Defense

NT, 6, Jackson Hardcastle, 6-2, 200, sr.

DT, 52, Keenan Doran, 6-0, 195, sr.

DT, 50, Gabe Kita, 5-10, 175, sr.

MLB, 33, James Spratt, 6-1, 215, sr.

OLB, 14, Reston Lehman, 6-4, 240, sr.

OLB, 0, Lucas Shanafelt, 6-4, 235, sr.

CB, 3, P.J. Luke, 6-0, 175, sr.

CB, 1, Jeremy Poletti, 5-10, 150, sr.

S, 8, Cole Nuepaver, 5-10, 185, sr.

S, 2, Lucas Rost, 5-11, 180, sr.

S, 17, Nolan DiLucia, 6-2, 210, sr.

Special teams

K, 40, Anthony Maiello, 5-10, 160, sr.

P, 14, Reston Lehman, 6-4, 240, sr.

Notable: Peters Township never reached the WPIAL finals before 2019, but now the Indians are making their fifth appearance in seven years. … Peters Township’s defense held opponents to 6.9 points per game, which led WPIAL Class 5A teams. The Indians posted five shutouts, including a 35-0 nonconference win over 4A finalist McKeesport. … In the Allegheny Six, they outscored opponents, 172-37. … The Indians offense averaged 34.6 ppg. … RB Cole Neupaver has rushed for 412 yards and eight touchdowns combined in three playoff games. … QB Nolan DiLucia has 8,489 career passing yards, ranking him fifth all-time in WPIAL history. DiLucia is closing in on Gateway’s Brad Birch (8,496) and Sto-Rox’s Lenny Williams (8,508). … Lucas Rost leads the team in both solo tackles (50) and interceptions (five). … Gabe Kita has 10 tackles for a loss and a team-high seven sacks. … This is T.J. Plack’s 10th season as Peters Township’s coach.

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: Peters Township, Pine-Richland