5 things to watch in Week 4 of high school football

By: Chris Harlan
Friday, September 19, 2025 | 7:50 AM

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The website MaxPreps.com predicted McKeesport would not only win a WPIAL title this year but also add a state championship.

That prognostication came early last month, and the Tigers may very well celebrate their first PIAA title in 20 years come December. But an ankle injury to McKeesport junior Kemon Spell sure makes Class 4A feel wide open nowadays, at least for as long as the Penn State-bound running back stays sidelined.

Aliquippa enters Week 4 ranked No. 1 by TribLive HSSN, but no team has yet established itself as a clear-cut favorite. But give credit to the WPIAL schedule makers for giving teams that chance in nonconference play.

The next matchup of ranked teams in Class 4A comes Friday when No. 5 Montour (3-1) hosts No. 4 Mars (3-1) in a 7 p.m. nonconference game at Birko Memorial Stadium.

This is the eighth all-time meeting between the teams and Mars holds a 4-3 advantage. When they get together, the offenses usually show up. On average, they’ve combined for 54 points in their previous seven matchups.

Consider that Mars had nearly entered this week undefeated and maybe the WPIAL’s top-ranked team.

The Planets were leading 6-0 after three quarters last week before Aliquippa responded with two rushing touchdowns in the fourth. The Quips’ go-ahead score came with only 23 seconds left and then tacked on a pick-six for a 19-6 win.

Some of the other top games in 4A have felt similarly close.

Thomas Jefferson scored with 52 seconds left in Week 2 to defeat a McKeesport team that played most of the game without Spell. A late pick-six gave the Jaguars a 16-7 nonconference win.

In Week 2, Montour found itself in a battle with Big Six foe Trinity. The Hillers were holding onto a one-point lead in the third quarter before Montour pulled out a 35-27 nonconference victory.

Credit Avonworth for also shaking up the classification. The Antelopes play in Class 3A, yet they defeated Aliquippa and Thomas Jefferson in back-to-back weeks. They topped the Quips, 23-7, and the Jaguars, 41-14.

In the latest TribLive HSSN rankings, Aliquippa is first, Thomas Jefferson second, McKeesport third, Mars fourth and Montour fifth.

For what it’s worth, MaxPreps also predicted PIAA titles for St. Joseph’s Prep (Class 6A), Roman Catholic (5A), Northwestern Lehigh (3A), Southern Columbia (2A) and Westinghouse (A).

Graduation takes its toll

Unlike in professional football or even the college ranks, high school rosters turn over entirely every four years.

Sometimes that turnover comes with surprising results. Twenty-two WPIAL teams that qualified for the playoffs in 2021 have a one or a zero in the wins column this season.

That list includes a trio of WPIAL champions from four years ago.

Some are the victims of brutal nonconference schedules and can likely right the ship starting Friday. But it does serve as a reminder that success can be fleeting.

Mt. Lebanon (0-4), Serra Catholic (0-4) and Central Valley (1-3) all won WPIAL titles in 2021. Two of the three — Mt. Lebanon and Central Valley — won state titles that year, too.

The other playoff qualifiers from four years ago off to slow starts are Seneca Valley (1-3), Franklin Regional (0-4), Armstrong (1-3), North Hills (0-4), Belle Vernon (1-2), Indiana (1-3), Ambridge (0-4), East Allegheny (0-4), Burrell (1-3), McGuffey (0-4), Ligonier Valley (0-4), Sto-Rox (0-4), Beaver Falls (0-4), Mohawk (1-3), Rochester (0-3), Springdale (0-3), West Greene (0-4), Mapletown (1-3) and Carmichaels (1-2).

No place like home

Shaler visits the Wolvarena on Friday for a nonconference game against host Woodland Hills.

What makes that game noteworthy is Shaler’s quirky schedule. The team plays six of its first seven at home with this week’s game being the only contest away from Titan Stadium until mid-October. In fact, Shaler has only three road games in total this season.

Contributing to that arrangement is an Oct. 3 game against Central Catholic that the WPIAL scheduled as a home game for the Vikings. However, Central Catholic doesn’t own a stadium, so that Week 6 game will be played at Shaler instead.

Shaler improved to 1-3 with a 27-20 victory last week over Plum. The Titans were competitive each week with losses to Butler, 32-26 in overtime; South Fayette, 35-27; and Hampton, 25-20.

Keep the lights on

This will be the busiest Friday night of the entire football season. That’s because there is only one game on Saturday’s schedule this week.

Burgettstown hosts Chartiers-Houston at 2 p.m. Saturday. Counting all WPIAL and City League teams, including those playing independent schedules, there are 73 games on Friday’s schedule.

The Saturday schedule has dwindled over the years as more teams favor Friday nights under the lights.

Leaving the City

One of the more unusual matchups Friday sees defending City League champion Westinghouse visit Butler, a WPIAL member playing an independent schedule.

The surprising factor is the discrepancy in enrollment size. Westinghouse is the smallest City League school and plays in Class A. Butler is the third-largest school in the WPIAL and classified in 6A.

The PIAA counts 127 boys at Westinghouse while Butler has 833. Westinghouse won this matchup, 28-17, last season.

Staff writer Don Rebel contributed.

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: Aliquippa, Burgettstown, Butler, Central Valley, Chartiers-Houston, Mars, McKeesport, Montour, Mt. lebanon, Serra Catholic, Shaler, Thomas Jefferson, Westinghouse, Woodland Hills