2025 WPIAL Class 2A championship game by the numbers: Seton LaSalle 21, Steel Valley 14

By: Bill Hartlep
Saturday, November 22, 2025 | 5:57 PM

Purchase Photo Options

Seton LaSalle 21, Steel Valley 14

Steel Valley 0-0-14-0—14

Seton LaSalle 0-0-7-14—21

Scoring summary

SV: Tyrell Breland 84 kickoff return (Andrew Tenney kick)

SV: Da’Ron Barksdale 21 run (Tenney kick)

SLS: Will Martin 8 run (Jeremy Rose kick)

SLS: Martin 6 run (Rose kick)

SLS: Martin 11 run (Rose kick)

Team statistics

SV…SLS

First downs 16…18

Rushes-yards 43-220…45-293

Passing yards 128…7

Passing Comp-Att-Int 7-15-1…2-8-0

Total offense plays-yards 58-348…53-300

Punts (number-avg.) 4-24.2…2-34.5

Fumbles-lost 0-0…2-2

Penalties-yards 19-127…4-40

Possession time 27:22…20:38

Individual statistics

Rushing: SV: Da’Ron Barksdale 33-144, TD; Tyson Barron 8-70; Ashad Dye 2-6. SLS: Kymarr Freeman 18-129; Kia Jones 14-100; Will Martin 10-47, 3TDs; Deondre Hill 3-17.

Passing: SV: Barron 7-14-1, 128 yards; SLS: Jones 2-8, 7 yards.

Receiving: SV: Tyrell Breland 3-46; Da’Ron Barksdale 2-50; Ricardo Scott 1-19; Torian Barnett 1-13. SLS: Martin 1-7; Aaron Loritts 1-0.

Climbing the list

Seton LaSalle moved into a tie for 15th place in WPIAL history with its sixth district championship Saturday.

The Rebels, who also won titles in 2004, 2002, 1990, 1980, 1979, are now tied with Beaver Falls, Braddock, Farrell, North Allegheny, South Fayette and Steel Valley.

The Rebels are now 6-1 in WPIAL championship games. Their lone loss came last season to South Park, 21-14.

Showing his Will

Seton LaSalle senior Will Martin stood out in a big way Saturday, scoring all three of the Rebels’ touchdowns.

The 6-foot-3, 215-pound wide receiver/linebacker, a Duquesne recruit, ran for 47 yards on 10 carries, mostly out of the wildcat, and had touchdown runs of 8, 6 and 11 yards. He also caught a 7-yard pass. Defensively, he had four tackles, including two for loss.

Battle of the Century

Seton LaSalle and Steel Valley were former Century Conference rivals from 2002-15 in Class 2A. After Saturday’s win, the Rebels now have a narrow advantage in the all-time series, leading 14-13.

Seton LaSalle has won both postseason meetings between the schools.

Barksdale’s final ride

Saturday’s loss marked the final high school game for Steel Valley senior running back/defensive back Da’Ron Barksdale.

The Pitt commit ran for 144 yards, including a 21-yard touchdown.

He finished this season with 2,104 rushing yards and 32 touchdowns. In three playoff games, he scored 11 touchdowns.

He surpassed 100 yards in all 13 games this season for the Ironmen.

Key stat

19 — Number of penalties committed by Steel Valley (for 127 yards) in Saturday’s loss. Several infractions thwarted drives. Seton LaSalle, on the other hand, was penalized just four times for 40 yards.

Steeler back on the field

Former Steelers defensive lineman Chris Hoke was the honorary captain for the WPIAL Class 2A championship and joined captains for Seton LaSalle and Steel Valley at midfield for the pregame coin toss.

Hoke was signed by the Steelers in 2001 as an undrafted free agent. He played 114 games over 11 seasons with the Steelers, accumulating 112 tackles. Hoke retired after the 2011 season and now works an analyst for KDKA-TV.

Up next

Seton LaSalle will play District 10 champion Farrell (11-2) — a 32-14 winner over Richland — in the PIAA Class 2A semifinals next week.

The Rebels are seeking their first state championship. They finished as the PIAA runners-up twice, falling to Bethlehem Catholic, 43-7, in 1990 and Mt. Carmel, 18-13, in 2002.

Bill Hartlep is the TribLive sports editor. A Pittsburgh native and Point Park graduate, he joined the Trib in 2004, covering high school sports. He held various editing roles before assuming his current position in 2019. He can be reached at bhartlep@triblive.com.

Tags: Seton La Salle, Steel Valley