WPIAL Class 4A final by the numbers: Aliquippa 35, McKeesport 21

By: Bill Hartlep
Friday, November 24, 2023 | 11:15 PM

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Aliquippa 35, McKeesport 21

McKeesport 7-7-0-7 — 21

Aliquippa 7-14-6-8 — 35

Scoring summary

A: Cameron Lindsey 39 fumble return (Malachi Shegog kick)

M: Richard Beermann 73 kickoff return (Nathan Kendrick kick)

M: Garrett Tarker 3 run (Kendrick kick)

A: Lindsey 2 run (Shegog kick)

A: Demarkus Walker 23 pass from Quentin Goode (Shegog kick)

A: Lindsey 12 run (run failed)

M: Kemon Spell 28 pass from Tarker (Kendrick kick)

A: Michael Gaskins 9 pass from Goode (Brandon Banks pass from Goode)

Team statistics

M … A

First downs 12 … 17

Rushes-yards 30-119 … 41-199

Passing yards 106 … 157

Passing Comp-Att-Int 5-12-3 … 8-14-0

Total offense plays-yards 42-225 … 55-356

Punts (number-avg.) 1-16.0 … 3-29.0

Fumbles-lost 1-1 … 2-0

Penalties-yards 6-40 … 12-100

Possession time 20:52 … 27:02

Individual statistics

Rushing: M: Keith Spell 11-55, Kemon Spell 4-23, Garrett Tarker 4-17, Anthony Boyd 6-14, Anthony Cromerdie 2-10; A: Tiqwai Hayes 17-113, John Tracy 12-43, Cameron Lindsey 7-36, Cleaster Longmire Jr. 2-20, Quentin Goode 1-(-11)

Passing: M: Tarker 5-12-106-3INT-1TD; A: Goode 8-14-157-0INT-2TD

Receiving: M: Kemon Spell 2-43, Boyd 1-38, Colton Kotouch 1-16, Cromerdie 1-9; A: Demarkus Walker 2-33, QaLil Goode 1-41, Jayace Williams 1-28, Arison Walker 1-20, Brandon Banks 1-18, Michael Gaskins, 1-9, Lindsey 1-8

700 club

For just the second time in WPIAL history, two teams with more than 700 all-time victories met for a district championship.

Aliquippa is the current WPIAL leader in all-time victories with 781 after Friday’s 35-21 victory over McKeesport.

The Tigers, who finished their season 11-2, have 722 all-time wins.

The first such matchup of 700-club teams came in 2020 when Jeannette won its 10th WPIAL title with a 45-14 win over Clairton in the Class A final. The Bears had surpassed 700 wins earlier that season and now have accumulated 725 victories.

The Jayhawks (777 wins) had the WPIAL’s all-time wins lead until Aliquippa surpassed them this season.

Other members of the WPIAL 700 club include New Castle (756), Washington (742), Greensburg Salem (711) and Beaver Falls (705), which won the WPIAL Class 2A title Friday and can add to that total in the PIAA playoffs.

Quips happy at Heinz (Acrisure)

Aliquippa played in the WPIAL championship game for the 16th straight season and captured its third straight title at Acrisure Stadium (formerly Heinz Field).

The Quips have now won a WPIAL-record 20 district championships: 1952, ‘55, ‘64, ‘84-‘85, ‘87-‘89, ‘91, ‘96, 2000, ‘03, ‘08, ‘11-‘12, ‘15, ‘18, ‘21-‘23.

Those chasing the Quips for most league titles include Clairton (14), New Castle (11), Jeannette (10) and Thomas Jefferson (10).

Stat of the game

It’s likely not a coincidence that Aliquippa won by 14 points and scored 14 points off turnovers.

In the first quarter, Arison Walker forced a fumble against McKeesport QB Garrett Tarker, and Aliquippa’s Cameron Lindsey returned it 39 yards for a touchdown and a 7-0 lead.

In the second quarter, QaLil Goode intercepted Tarker and returned it 18 yards to the McKeesport 40. Three plays later, Quentin Goode found Demarkus Walker for a 23-yard TD and a 21-14 lead.

Snappy Steeler

Pittsburgh Steelers long snapper Christian Kuntz, a Chartiers Valley graduate, was the honorary captain for the WPIAL Class 4A championship and was on the field for the pregame coin toss.

Kuntz, who played at Duquesne, has spent time with four NFL organizations, including the past three seasons with the Steelers.

Up next

Aliquippa will play in the PIAA Class 4A semifinals on Dec. 1 or 2 against District 4 champion Selinsgrove (13-0-1), a 44-14 winner over Juniata.

The Quips defeated Allentown Central Catholic in the PIAA semifinals last season before falling to Bishop McDevitt, 41-18, in the state final.

Highlights

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: Aliquippa, McKeesport