A-K Valley high school football matchups for 2025 Week 7

By: Bill Hartlep
Wednesday, October 8, 2025 | 6:54 PM

Here’s a look at the don’t-miss matchups for Week 7 in the A-K Valley:

Class 5A Big East

Armstrong (3-4, 2-1) at Kiski Area (3-4, 2-2)

7 p.m. Friday, Richard Dilts Stadium, Allegheny Township

Last week: Woodland Hills 50, Armstrong 14; Kiski Area 34, Latrobe 13

Last year’s meeting: Kiski Area 21, Armstrong 14

Kiski Area, which is 3-4 all-time against Armstrong, needs a victory to get into the playoff conversation with a head-to-head win over the River Hawks. The Cavs have won two straight after dropping four in a row. QB Landyn Artman shined in last week’s win, throwing for 267 yards and five touchdowns. Teegan Shirley caught three passes for 97 yards and two scores, and Aven Shirley had three catches for 71 yards and a TD. … Armstrong has earned two late conference victories — over Latrobe on a field goal with 3 seconds left and a 29-28 win at Gateway. The River Hawks struggled to slow the Woodland Hills passing attack last week. Offensively, they were led by QB Jaydon Oliver, who threw for 180 yards and a score, and Quinn Olsen, who caught nine passes for 74 yards.

Class 5A Northeast

Plum (2-5, 0-3) at Fox Chapel (2-5, 0-3)

7 p.m. Friday, Burke Stadium, Fox Chapel

Last week: North Hills 14, Plum 13; Franklin Regional 21, Fox Chapel 10

Last year’s meeting: Plum 49, Fox Chapel 10

Plum lost a fourth straight game last week and will try for its first conference victory with a Northeast matchup Friday. Elijah Jackson and C.J. Hart each ran for touchdowns last week. Jackson rushed for 112 yards on 20 carries. QB John Nonnenberg threw for 95 yards and two interceptions. … Fox Chapel also is hunting its first conference win. The Foxes jumped out to a 10-0 lead on Franklin Regional last week on a 64-yard run by Gianni Fusaro and a WPIAL-record 57-yard field goal from Harran Zureikat. … Plum leads the all-time series with Fox Chapel, 17-14-1, with the 3-3 tie coming in 1980. The schools first met in 1961, Fox Chapel’s inaugural season, with Plum taking home a 7-0 victory. That game was the final contest played at Aspinwall Stadium, located on the western side of the Highland Park Bridge, a facility now used for youth baseball.

Class 4A Greater Allegheny

Knoch (0-7, 0-2) at Hampton (3-4, 1-1)

7 p.m. Friday, Fridley Field, Allison Park

Last week: Mars 56, Knoch 0; Hampton 35, Indiana 7

Last year’s meeting: Knoch 38, Hampton 14

Knoch is searching for its first victory after being shut out for the second time in the past three weeks last Friday. Max Wiley and Kade Sundei combined to pass for 76 yards, and the running game was held to 14 total yards against the top-ranked Fightin’ Planets. … Hampton snapped a three-game skid last week as Evan McAneny ran for 148 yards and two scores on 26 carries. Jack Halli added touchdown runs of 10 and 53 yards. The Talbots are looking to keep pace with the top teams in the Greater Allegheny: Mars (6-1, 2-0) and McKeesport (4-3, 2-0), who play each other this week. … Knoch and Hampton have been evenly matched with the all-time series knotted at 28-28-1 in the rivalry that dates to 1966. The 7-7 tie came in 1987.

Class 3A Allegheny

No. 2 Imani Christian (7-0, 3-0) at Deer Lakes (1-6, 0-3)

7 p.m. Friday, Lancer Stadium, West Deer

Last week: Imani Christian 61, East Allegheny 0; Beaver 45, Deer Lakes 7

Last year’s meeting: Imani Christian 48, Deer Lakes 0

Imani Christian continues to fire on all cylinders, averaging 44.8 points while allowing just 5.4. The Saints have outscored Allegheny opponents 160-7 through three games. Last week, Anthony Portis ran for 255 yards and three scores on 15 carries. The Saints also rely on a trio of Division I commits in Gabe Jenkins (Penn State), David Davis (Penn State) and Will Gorman (Youngstown State). … The Lancers are trying to snap a six-game skid after beating Keystone Oaks in the season opener. They have been outscored 152-21 over the past four weeks. Ryan Love ran for 47 yards and a touchdown in last week’s nonconference loss to Beaver. … Deer Lakes and Imani Christian met for the first time last season.

Valley (0-7, 0-3) at East Allegheny (1-6, 1-3)

7 p.m. Friday, Joseph Churchman Memorial Stadium, North Versailles

Last week: Burrell 41, Valley 21; Imani Christian 61, East Allegheny 0

Last year’s meeting: East Allegheny 41, Valley 26

Valley is coming off its highest output of the season. Raydon Thomas returned a kickoff 84 yards for a touchdown, and Shawn Wilkerson caught a pair of touchdown passes from Brendon Knuckles in the loss to rival Burrell. The Vikings are trying to snap a 22-game losing streak. … East Allegheny has lost back-to-back games after beating Deer Lakes, 14-7, in Week 4. The Wildcats are led by QB Cedric Mack, who has thrown for more than 1,000 yards. … East Allegheny is looking for a seventh straight win over Valley. The Wildcats own a 10-3 series lead. The last Valley victory over EA came in 2013, 47-12. … There was a fire at Churchman Stadium’s concession stand Sunday, so it’s not known if warm refreshments will be available to fans.

Class 2A Allegheny

Apollo-Ridge (5-2, 3-0) at No. 1 South Allegheny (7-0, 4-0)

7 p.m. Friday, Gladiator Stadium, Liberty

Last week: Apollo-Ridge 18, Steel Valley 14; South Allegheny 62, Shady Side Academy 21

Last year’s meeting: South Allegheny 41, Apollo-Ridge 29

Apollo’s Owens Field has hosted plenty of thrillers in its 106 football seasons, and Friday’s Vikings win with 2 seconds left over Steel Valley was the latest. Going into the season, an argument could have been made that Apollo-Ridge had the area’s toughest schedule, with eight of 10 opponents making the 2024 playoffs. Suddenly, however, A-R finds itself in a first-place tie with South Allegheny as it prepares to head to Liberty Borough. Last week, Alex Clawson threw for 183 yards and two scores, including the winning 13-yard TD pass to Zac Myers. Clawson, Myers and Preston Clemens combined to rush for more than 100 yards. … South Allegheny has been rolling offensively, averaging 49.0 ppg. Over the past three weeks, the Gladiators have scored 56, 62 and 62 points. Last week, Alijah Cook completed 9 of 15 passes for 169 yards and five touchdowns, including three to his brother Drew. … South Allegheny holds a 5-2 edge in the series. This will be Apollo-Ridge’s first visit to South Allegheny’s new, on-campus stadium, as the Gladiators played in Glassport for many years.

Class A Eastern

Leechburg (5-1, 3-0) at No. 2 Clairton (5-1, 4-0)

7 p.m. Friday, Tyler Boyd Stadium, Clairton

Last week: Leechburg 48, Frazier 14; Clairton 51, Springdale 0

Last year’s meeting: Clairton 44, Leechburg 7

Leechburg is on the verge of extending its school record for consecutive playoff appearances to five. But the Blue Devils will have to do something they have never done — defeat Clairton. The Blue Devils upped their average to 35.1 ppg last week with a mercy-rule victory over Frazier. QB Jaxon Vargo completed 3 of 5 passes for 100 yards and three touchdowns. Timmy Andrasy ran for 163 yards and two scores, and Nick Hilty ran for 100 yards and a score and also caught a 48-yard TD. … Clairton has posted five straight shutouts since a 19-12 loss to Imani Christian in the season opener. Last week against Springdale, the Bears were led by a deep group of running backs that combined for seven touchdowns. Brandon Murphy and Ty’rell Armstrong each scored twice on their only carries. Armstrong also returned a fumble 30 yards for a score. … The Bears are 30-0-1 against Leechburg, with the 6-6 tie coming in 1992.

Riverview (4-3, 2-2) at Frazier (3-4, 1-3)

7 p.m. Friday, Frazier Stadium, Perryopolis

Last week: Brentwood 27, Riverview 14; Leechburg 48, Frazier 14

Last year’s meeting: Riverview 55, Frazier 20

Riverview remains in a crowded middle of the pack in the Eastern Conference, tied for third with Jeannette (4-3, 2-2) and Brentwood (3-4, 2-2). The Raiders fell behind 20-0 last week at Brentwood before Connor Kmetz found Rio Stotts and Max Kratt for touchdowns. The Riverview defense, however, couldn’t stop Brentwood QB Cedric Davis, whose fourth touchdown run sealed the win. … Frazier defeated Brentwood two weeks ago but has lost three of its past four games. The Commodores average 22.2 ppg but have allowed nearly 40 ppg. Last week, QB Brady Secrest scored on a 1-yard run and threw a 4-yard TD pass to Chase Fulmer. … Riverview is 7-0 against Frazier, including playoff victories in 1995 and ‘98.

Class A Eastern

Springdale (0-5, 0-3) at Greensburg Central Catholic (3-4, 1-3)

7 p.m. Friday, Centurion Stadium, Carbon

Last week: Clairton 51, Springdale 0; Jeannette 37, GCC 22

Last year’s meeting: GCC 51, Springdale 0

A week after postponing its game against Leechburg, short-handed Springdale fell to No. 2 Clairton. The Bears put up 34 points in the first quarter. The Dynamos have lost 21 in a row. They are allowing 46.8 points a game. … GCC has dropped two in a row to move to the outskirts of the playoff race and likely has to win out to have a chance at the postseason. Samir Crosby had a big second half last week when he moved to quarterback and rushed for 211 yards and a touchdown and also passed for 137 yards and a score. He had an 80-yard TD run. Bobby Smithnosky, who went from QB to receiver, ran for a TD and caught a scoring pass. … GCC leads the series 15-5.

Nonconference

Hopewell (5-2) at Freeport (6-1)

7 p.m. Friday, Freeport Area Athletic Stadium, Buffalo Township

Last week: Hopewell 63, McGuffey 0; Highlands 28, Freeport 27 (OT)

Last year’s meeting: Freeport 35, Hopewell 25

Hopewell features one of the more dynamic offensive players in the WPIAL in QB James Armstrong, who has thrown for more than 1,500 yards and 17 touchdowns and run for another 600 and 11 scores. The Vikings have won back-to-back games and outscored Quaker Valley and McGuffey by a combined 111-0. … Freeport takes a break from conference play after last Friday’s setback against Highlands. The Yellowjackets were trying for their first undefeated regular season since 1990. Yellowjackets senior Amos Glenn is the third-leading scorer in the WPIAL with 22 touchdowns (138 points) over seven games. The Freeport record is 205 points in a season, set by Jeff Christy in 1985. QB Drew Ross threw for 150 yards and three touchdowns in last week’s one-point loss to Highlands. … Freeport has won all three games against Hopewell, collecting victories last year and in 1942 and ‘43.

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: Apollo-Ridge, Armstrong, Clairton, Deer Lakes, East Allegheny, Fox Chapel, Frazier, Freeport, Hampton, Hopewell, Imani Christian, Kiski Area, Knoch, Leechburg, Plum, Riverview, South Allegheny, Springdale, Valley