2nd-half surge leads Montour to pivotal Parkway victory over Aliquippa
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Saturday, October 18, 2025 | 12:32 AM
Montour’s Dylan Rogers celebrates after scoring on a 2-pt. conversion against Aliquippa on Friday, Oct. 17, 2025, at Heinz Field in Aliquippa.
Montour quarterback Brandon Bennett carries for a touchdown against the Quips on Friday, Oct. 17, 2025, at Heinz Field in Aliquippa.
Montour’s Zander Stern catches a touchdown pass against the Quips on Friday, Oct. 17, 2025, at Heinz Field in Aliquippa.
Montour’s Jacob Halbedl hoists Zander Stern after he scored, next to quarterback Brandon Bennett, during the third quarter against Aliquippa on Friday, Oct. 17, 2025, at Heinz Field.
Montour’s Zander Stern stiff-arms Aliquippa’s Anthony Ingram en route to the end zone for his second touchdown on Friday, Oct. 17, 2025, at Heinz Field in Aliquippa.
Montour’s Dylan Rogers blocks a punt by Aliquippa’s Avery Coleman in the end zone on Friday, Oct. 17, 2025, at Heinz Field in Aliquippa.
Montour quarterback Brandon Bennett carries against Aliquippa’s Raymond Miller on Friday, Oct. 17, 2025, at Heinz Field in Aliquippa.
Montour’s Archie Collins intercepts a pass intended for Aliquippa’s Raymond Miller on Friday, Oct. 17, 2025, at Heinz Field in Aliquippa.
Montour’s Archie Collins celebrates a tackle for loss against Aliquippa on Friday, Oct. 17, 2025, at Heinz Field.
Montour’s Archie Collins carries through the Aliquippa defense on Friday, Oct. 17, 2025, at Heinz Field in Aliquippa.
Montour’s Caden Halajcio eludes Aliquippa defenders en route to a fourth quarter touchdown on Friday, Oct. 17, 2025, at Heinz Field.
Montour’s Caden Halajcio celebrates with Jacob Halbedl after scoring a fourth quarter touchdown on Friday, Oct. 17, 2025, at Aliquippa.
Montour quarterback Brandon Bennett carries against Aliquippa on Friday, Oct. 17, 2025, at Heinz Field.
Montour quarterback Brandon Bennett celebrates after scoring against Aliquippa on Friday, Oct. 17, 2025, at Heinz Field.
Aliquippa quarterback QaLil Goode carries through the Montour defense on Friday, Oct. 17, 2025, at Heinz Field in Aliquippa.
Montour quarterback Brandon Bennett carries down the Aliquippa sideline on Friday, Oct. 17, 2025, at Heinz Field.
Aliquippa’s Akiva Woods carries through the Montour defense on Friday, Oct. 17, 2025, at Heinz Field in Aliquippa.
Montour’s Zander Stern intercepts a pass in the end zone against the Quips on Friday, Oct. 17, 2025, at Heinz Field in Aliquippa.
Inconsistency is a trait Montour doesn’t usually like, but this time the Spartans were glad their second half looked different than their first.
Sophomore quarterback Brandon Bennett tossed two touchdowns and rushed for another as Montour scored all 34 of its points after halftime to defeat host Aliquippa, 34-20, Friday night in a pivotal Parkway Conference win.
Asked to run more than usual, Bennett contributed 210 total yards and connected with junior Zander Stern on touchdown passes of 35 and 58 yards to erase memories of their scoreless start.
Down just 7-0 at half, the Spartans insisted in the visitor’s locker room that a win was well within their reach.
“When we first walked in there, I got with my linemen and told them, ‘We’ve got this, keep pushing. Don’t give up,’” Bennett said. “Then the coaches came in and got us fired up. We came together as a team and got it done in the second half.”
In a way, having held Aliquippa to one touchdown had Montour feeling OK.
“We felt good knowing we could stop them,” said Stern, who picked off a first-half pass in the end zone. “We knew we’d get our offense together.”
Montour’s special teams also found the end zone when senior Dylan Rogers recovered a punt he blocked in the third quarter, and later running back Caden Halajcio ran 37 yards for a clinching touchdown with 2:31 left in the fourth.
Halajcio led Montour with 113 rushing yards on 21 carries. Bennett ran 14 times for 85 yards.
“When you beat Aliquippa on their home field, that’s a big win for your program,” Montour coach Lou Cerro said.
The night started with a four-way tie for first place, but now Aliquippa (5-3, 2-2) trails Montour (6-3, 3-1), New Castle (7-2, 3-1) and West Allegheny (4-4, 3-1) by a game.
Only two teams in each Class 4A conference are guaranteed a playoff spot, with the others left hoping for a wild card.
“It’s tough,” Aliquippa coach Mike Warfield said of the loss. “We’re a team that’s used to winning. We lost twice this year at home. But we’ve got to dust ourselves off, get back up, get back on the horse and keep riding.”
The teams combined for five touchdowns in the final quarter, including an 80-yard kickoff return by Ray Miller that gave Aliquippa a 20-19 lead with 10:40 left.
Lester Longmire and Akiva Woods also scored for Aliquippa. But the Quips’ offense, playing a second straight game without its Ivy League-bound quarterback, labored to keep pace.
Aliquippa senior Qa’lil Goode, typically a wide receiver, completed 6 of 12 passes for 46 yards and three interceptions starting in place of the injured Marques Council Jr., who’s out for the season.
The Quips took a 7-0 lead on a 1-yard touchdown run by Longmire, capping a 75-yard drive in the first quarter. But another first-half chance was dashed when a 50-yard touchdown run by Goode was negated by penalty, and Stern intercepted Goode in the end zone five plays later.
“The pick late in the first half was huge for us,” Cerro said. “They were pounding us a little bit. I was surprised they threw the ball right there. Zander made a great play and kept them off the board. I think if they go up 14-0, we might have struggled in the second half.”
Montour starts only a few seniors, with Bennett among the many underclassmen playing major roles. Understandably, that youthfulness has led Montour to some inconsistency this season, with some good games and some bad.
“I feel like this was the best game of the year for sure,” said Bennett, who completed 5 of 9 passes for 125 yards and was sacked only twice.
“My quarterback has been growing up,” Cerro said. “He really played well tonight. We’re hoping he gets even better next week (against West Allegheny).”
Montour took the lead by scoring twice in the first six minutes after halftime. Stern caught a 35-yard touchdown pass on the Spartans’ first possession, and Rogers blocked a punt in the end zone less than two minutes later for a 13-7 lead.
The second half included five lead changes.
Aliquippa held a one-point lead after a 3-yard touchdown run by Woods early in the fourth quarter. Montour answered quickly with a 58-yard touchdown from Bennett to Stern less than a minute later.
Miller gave Aliquippa a 20-19 lead when he returned the ensuing kickoff 80 yards, yet Bennett answered with a decisive 23-yard touchdown run for a 27-20 lead with 8:16 remaining.
Bennett also had a 22-yard run on the go-ahead drive.
“That was part of the game plan this week to have him run the ball,” Cerro said. “He seized that moment.”
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.
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