2025 WPIAL Class A championship game by the numbers: Clairton 8, Laurel 6

By: Bill Hartlep
Saturday, November 22, 2025 | 2:24 PM

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Clairton 8, Laurel 6

Clairton 0-8-0-0—8

Laurel 0-0-0-6—6

Scoring summary

C: Brandon Murphy 12 pass from Jeff Thompson (Donte Wright run)

L: Nathan Hill 5 run (run failed)

Team statistics

L … C

First downs 9…13

Rushes-yards 32-65…43-175

Passing yards 29…82

Passing Comp-Att-Int 4-10-0…7-14-1

Total offense plays-yards 42-94…5-257

Punts (number-avg.) 4-38.5…1-13.0

Fumbles-lost 1-1…0-0

Penalties-yards 3-20…11-94

Possession time 20:15…27:45

Individual statistics

Rushing: L: Kolton Carlson 10-26; J.J. McBride 4-23; Jack Miles 7-13; Nathan Hill 6-11, 1TD. C: Deon Lovelace-Pompey 18-74; Donte Wright 10-58; Michael Ruffin 7-37; team 1-6.

Passing: L: Luca Santini 4-9-0, 29 yards; Carlson 0-1-0. C: Thompson 6-13-1, 61 yards, TD; Wright 1-1-0, 21 yards.

Receiving: L: Miles 2-15; McBride 1-7; Carlson 1-7; C: Taris Wooding 2-31; Wright 2-7; Murphy 1-12, TD; Lovelace-Pompey 1-11.

Adding to the list

Clairton kept pace with Aliquippa on Saturday after winning its 15th WPIAL championship.

The Bears, who claimed their first title since 2019, are second in WPIAL history, trailing only Aliquippa’s 21. The Quips won the Class 4A championship over McKeesport last week and beat Oil City, 28-6, in the PIAA quarterfinals Friday night.

New Castle and Thomas Jefferson each have 11 titles, followed by Jeannette and Central Catholic with 10. Pine-Richland will try for its 10th title Saturday night against Peters Township.

The Bears’ other WPIAL titles came in 2019, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2012, 2011, 2010, 2009, 2008, 2006, 1989, 1954, 1931 and 1929.

They have won five district titles under 12th-year coach Wayne Wade.

Bears vs. Spartans

Clairton got the best of Laurel for the seventh time in the programs’ nine-game history.

It was the fifth time the teams have met in the playoffs. Clairton now holds a 2-1 edge in WPIAL championship meetings.

Laurel won 14-12 in 1980, and Clairton avenged the loss 27-20 in 1989 as current Bears coach Wayne Wade quarterbacked the team to victory.

Bears defense shows its teeth

Clairton’s defense made headlines this season by posting nine straight shutouts.

The unit allowed just 74 points this season, though 55 came in the past two WPIAL playoff games.

On Saturday, Clairton held Laurel to just 94 total yards on 42 plays, an average of 2.24 per play. Laurel also managed just six points, more than 32 points less than its average.

Key stat

33 — Total yards accumulated by Laurel senior Kolton Carlson. Clairton limited the big-play threat to 26 yards on 10 carries and one catch for 7 yards on three targets.

Carlson led the Spartans this season with more than 800 rushing yards and early 700 receiving yards. He had more than 400 yards from scrimmage and scored five touchdowns in three playoff games.

Celebrity sighting

Former Steelers linebacker Vince Williams was the honorary captain and joined captains from Clairton and Laurel for the coin toss prior to the game.

Williams was drafted in the sixth round by the Steelers in 2013 and played linebacker for them from 2013-20 before retiring in 2021.

In 121 career games, he had 333 tackles, including 20.5 sacks.

Next up

Clairton will play District 10 champion Greenville (12-1), a 36-28 winner over District 9 champ Port Allegany, in the PIAA Class A semifinals next weekend.

Clairton will be searching for its fifth state title, with the most recent coming in 2012. The Bears have played in the PIAA championship game seven times.

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: Clairton, Laurel