Aliquippa, McKeesport collide again in WPIAL semifinals after 2OT battle last season

By: Chris Harlan
Thursday, November 17, 2022 | 4:31 PM

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For a year, McKeesport has wondered what might’ve been.

What if the Tigers had won that dramatic double-overtime semifinal game last season against Aliquippa? Would they have followed the Quips’ path as WPIAL and PIAA champions?

Nobody knows.

“It’s something that’s kind of left a bad taste in our mouths,” McKeesport coach Matt Miller said. “We thought we’d had it won a couple of times and came up a little bit short.”

McKeesport missed a field goal on its first overtime possession, lost a fumble in the second OT, and Aliquippa won 27-21.

The teams meet again Friday in the WPIAL playoffs. Same round. Same stadium. No. 1 seed Aliquippa (10-0) faces No. 5 McKeesport (11-1) at 7 p.m. in a WPIAL Class 4A semifinal at Canon-McMillan.

Aliquippa is trying to reach the WPIAL finals for the 15th year in a row, but Miller said his Tigers have grown a little weary of watching everyone else celebrate.

“Hopefully, we can get our chance here sometime soon,” he said.

Last year’s loss reopened old wounds. McKeesport has lost in the playoffs to the eventual WPIAL champion five times in the past eight seasons. On four occasions, the other team also reached the PIAA finals.

“That’s happened to us several times,” Miller said. “Teams that knock us out of the playoffs end up going on to win WPIAL and state championships.”

In many ways, this feels like a true rematch since both teams are similar to last season.

McKeesport has a pair of 1,000-yard rushers in quarterback Jahmil Perryman and running back Bobbie Boyd. The Tigers are coming off a 41-21 win over Armstrong despite 12 fumbles in a rain-soaked quagmire.

The Tigers’ offense averages 35 points per game and its defense allows 7.6.

“We have to control the ball,” Miller said. “We can’t put the ball on the ground. It was really adverse conditions (last week), but we have to win the turnover battle.”

Aliquippa sophomore Tiqwai Hayes has rushed for 1,483 yards and 23 touchdowns, while junior quarterback Quentin Goode has thrown for 1,586 yards and 17 TDs. The Quips are coming off a 41-7 win over Montour.

They average 40.6 points on offense and allow 9.7 points on defense.

“We have to be physical,” Quips coach Mike Warfield said. “We need to maintain our physicality in all phases of the game.”

In last year’s semifinal, Boyd scored twice on a 47-yard run and a 65-yard interception return. Hayes had three rushing touchdowns that covered 1, 25 and 2 yards.

Tied 21-21 after regulation, neither team scored in the first overtime. Aliquippa turned the ball over on downs at the 3, and McKeesport missed a 24-yard field goal.

In the second OT, McKeesport’s possession ended with a lost fumble. Aliquippa won with a 9-yard touchdown pass from Goode to tight end Jayace Williams, now a junior.

“It was back and forth,” Warfield said. “They started off hot and then we got our run.”

It also likely provided a confidence boost for Aliquippa, proving that the small school with a Class A enrollment could compete with the best in Class 4A. McKeesport lost despite holding leads of 14-0 and 21-14.

“Reflecting back on the season after we won the state game, I think that game did give us a boost,” Warfield said. “That gave us some confidence that we could compete on this level.”

Aliquippa and McKeesport were ranked first and second in the WPIAL for much of this season, so another close game or overtime finish wouldn’t be too surprising.

“We are kind of mirror images of the teams we were last year,” Miller said. “They’re big and fast and we’re fast. On paper it looks like a great matchup for sure.”

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, McKeesport