2025 WPIAL Class 3A championship game by the numbers: Avonworth 30, Imani Christian 6

By: Jonathan Bombulie
Saturday, November 22, 2025 | 8:42 PM

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Avonworth 30, Imani Christian 6

Imani Christian 0 0 0 6 —6

Avonworth 7 10 13 0 —30

Scoring summary

A: Romello Harris 12 interception return (Calder Mahan kick)

A: Mahan 39 field goal

A: Luca Neal 67 run (Mahan kick)

A: Jaden Jones 40 interception return (Mahan kick)

A: Jaden Jones 37 pass from Carson Bellinger (kick failed)

IC: Gabe Jenkins 1 run (run failed)

Team statistics

IC…A

First downs 7…10

Rushes-yards 33-113…41-167

Passing yards 118…100

Passing Comp-Att-Int 5-21-4…4-6-0

Total offense plays-yards 54-231…47-267

Punts (number-avg.) 1-8…3-18

Fumbles-lost 1-0…1-1

Penalties-yards 9-75…5-35

Possession time 20:43…27:17

Individual statistics

Rushing: IC: Gabe Jenkins, 21-55, TD; David Davis 7-38; Anthony Portis 4-19; Robert Torres-Johnson 1-1. A: Luca Neal 12-105, TD; Dimitri Velisaris 12-43; Logan Krul 5-16; Abe Ferguson 7-4.

Passing: IC: Gabe Jenkins 5-20, 118 yards, 4 INT; David Davis 0-1. A: Carson Bellinger 4-5, 100 yards, TD; Luca Neal 0-1.

Receiving: IC: Daniel Stephens 2-4; David Davis 1-54; Mikal Hall 1-53; Robert Torres-Johnson 1-7. A: Luca Neal 3-63; Jaden Jones 1-37, TD.

Going fourth

Avonworth became the 27th team to win a fourth WPIAL championship. The Antelopes also won in 1959 and 2019 in addition to last year. The list of schools that have won four WPIAL titles includes Blackhawk, Burrell, Dormont, Duquesne, Masontown, McKeesport, North Braddock Scott, North Hills and Springdale.

Repeating yourself

Having defeated Central Valley, 17-0, in the finals last season, Avonworth became the third straight Class 3A WPIAL champ to repeat. Belle Vernon won in 2022-23 and Central Valley won three in a row from 2019-12.

Too late

Avonworth outgained Imani Christian by a reltively narrow margin, 267-231. Nearly 23 percent of Imani Christian’s offense — 53 yards — came on the final play of the game, a Hail Mary-style pass from Gabe Jenkins to Mikal Hall.

Small school

Imani Christian is one of the smallest football-playing schools in the WPIAL. According to PIAA figures for the current two-year cycle, Imani Christian has 33 boys in grades 9-11. A co-op with Propel Braddock Hills brings that enrollment number for football up to 120, but that is still within Class A parameters. The Saints play up in Class 3A voluntarily.

Beating the champs

Both Class 3A finalists defeated eventual WPIAL champs from other classes during the regular season. Avonworth beat Class 4A champ Aliquippa, 23-7, in Week 2. Imani Christian defeated Class A champ Clairton, 19-12, in Week Zero.

Key stat

8 — games this season, out of 13, where Avonworth allowed seven points or fewer. Imani Christian was averaging 43.5 points per game coming into Saturday

Celebrity captain

Former Steelers defensive end Aaron Smith joined captains from Avonworth and Imani Christian at midfield for the pregame coin toss.

Smith,a fourth-round pick out of Northern Colorado in 1999, played 13 years for the Steelers, won two Super Bowls and was named a member of the franchise’s all-decade team for the 2000s. He is also the boys basketball coach at Eden Christian.

Up next

Avonworth will take on District 6 champion Penn Cambria (12-2) in the state semifinals Friday or Saturday at a time and site to be determined. Penn Cambria beat Sharon, 12-7, in the quarterfinals Friday night.

Northwestern Lehigh, which defeated Avonworth in the state finals last year, will take on Camp Hill Trinity in the other semifinal.

Jonathan Bombulie is the TribLive assistant sports editor. A Greensburg native, he was a hockey reporter for two decades, covering the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins for 17 seasons before joining the Trib in 2015 and covering the Penguins for four seasons, including Stanley Cup championships in 2016-17. He can be reached at jbombulie@triblive.com.

Tags: Avonworth, Imani Christian