A-K Valley high school football matchups for 2025 Week 9

By: Bill Hartlep
Wednesday, October 22, 2025 | 8:01 PM

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Here’s a look at the don’t-miss matchups for Week 9 in the A-K Valley:

Class 5A Big East

No. 3 Woodland Hills (7-2, 5-0) at Kiski Area (4-5, 3-2)

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

Last week: Woodland Hills 55, Franklin Regional 7; Plum 29, Kiski Area 12

Last year: Woodland Hills 24, Kiski Area 6

Kiski Area can clinch a playoff spot with a win against Big East-leading Woodland Hills. If Kiski Area loses to Woodland Hills and Armstrong defeats Franklin Regional, there will be a three-way tie for third place with the Cavaliers, Armstrong and Gateway. With a 1-1 record between the three, point differential will be employed — Kiski Area is at +6, Armstrong is -18 and Gateway is -10. … In last week’s loss, Kiski Area QB Landyn Artman threw for 178 yards and a score and also ran for a 2-yard TD. Andrew Finney caught an 85-yard TD pass. …Woodland Hills will try to finish an unbeaten run in the Big East and continue a six-game winning streak. In last week’s win, Carter Akins returned an interception 50 yards for a score and Jay Austin had a 75-yard kickoff return and 47-yard TD run. Taylor Reid ran for 140 yards and three touchdowns, and Scoop Smith caught an 89-yard TD pass from Cam Walter. … Woodland Hills leads the all-time series 14-3 with the last Kiski Area victory coming in 1992, 20-14.

Class 5A Northeast

Penn Hills (3-6, 2-2) at Plum (4-5, 1-3)

7 p.m. Friday, Mustangs Stadium, Plum

Last week: North Hills 17, Penn Hills 6; Plum 29, Kiski Area 12

Last year: Penn Hills 38, Plum 7

Plum will need a victory against Penn Hills to keep its hopes for fourth place and a wild card from the Northeast Conference. Penn Hills still has a shot at second place with a win at Plum. … Penn Hills has been unable to stack wins this season, alternating wins and losses the past seven weeks. Against North Hills last week, Richard Littlejohn gave the Indians an early lead with a 55-yard kickoff return. He also caught five passes for 55 yards. Doryan Peay ran for 107 yards on 15 carries. QV Jayshon Taylor threw for 140 yards and three interceptions. … Plum has posted back-to-back wins after four straight losses. Last week, QB John Nonnenberg threw for nearly 100 yards with TD passes to Sloan Humphries and Nico Signor. Elijah Jackson and C.J. Hart each ran for touchdowns. … Penn Hills is 34-5 all-time vs. Plum. The last Mustangs victory came in the opening round of the 2014 playoffs 17-6.

Class 4A Greater Allegheny

Knoch (0-9, 0-4) at No. 1 McKeesport (6-3, 4-0)

7 p.m. Friday, George L. Smith Field at Weigle-Schaeffer Memorial Stadium, McKeesport

Last week: West Mifflin 41, Knoch 16; McKeesport 76, Indiana 6

Last year: McKeesport 46, Knoch 14

Knoch will try to avoid its first 0-10 season when it plays McKeesport, a school it met for the first time last year. The Knights had 0-9 seasons in 1966 and ’70. Austin Friedline stood out in last week’s loss to West Mifflin after he opened the game with a 39-yard field goal and later added an 86-yard kickoff return for a score. … In McKeesport’s dominant showing last week, Kemon Spell ran for 110 yards and three touchdowns and also returned a punt 40 yards for a score. QB Matt Miller threw for 129 yards and three touchdowns. The Tigers’ losses have come to Class 5A title contenders Peters Township and Upper St. Clair and Class 4A Thomas Jefferson.

Class 3A Allegheny 7

Deer Lakes (2-7, 1-4) at Burrell (3-6, 2-3)

7 p.m. Friday, Buccaneer Stadium, Lower Burrell

Last week: Deer Lakes 29, Valley 14; Imani Christian 53, Burrell 7

Last year: Deer Lakes 56, Burrell 0

Burrell has clinched at least a share of fourth place in the Allegheny 7. The Bucs would be alive for a playoff spot with a victory over Deer Lakes. … If Deer Lakes wins, there would be a three-way tie for fourth place. The head-to-head tiebreaker would be 1-1 for all three schools. In the Gardner Point tiebreaker scenario, Burrell is -19, Deer Lakes is -27 and East Allegheny, which has already finished conference play, is -18. So the Lancers would have to defeat Burrell by four or more points to lock up fourth place. … Deer Lakes snapped a seven-game skid last week to earn its first conference win at Valley. QB Dante Mangieri threw for 226 yards, including 82- and 5-yard TD passes to Evan Moore. RB Ryan Love ran for 89 yards and a score. .. Burrell is looking to rebound from back-to-back losses. RB Trey Coury had the Bucs’ lone score last week on a 23-yard run. He ran for 64 yards on 16 carries. QB Antonio Perkins has rushed for nearly 1,300 yards and thrown for 696. … Burrell is 25-10 vs. Deer Lakes all time.

Valley (0-9, 0-5) at Highlands (6-3, 4-1)

7 p.m. Friday, Golden Rams Stadium, Natrona Heights

Last week: Deer Lakes 29, Valley 14; Highlands 38, McGuffey 12

Last year: Highlands 56, Valley 0

Highlands has hopes of nailing down second place and a potential home playoff game, whereas Valley is trying to avoid back-to-back winless seasons and 24 straight losses. The Golden Rams are also pulling for a victory and a Freeport upset of Imani Christian, putting the conference race into a three-way tie where all three schools would receive a section-winning plaque, per WPIAL policy. Because head-to-head between the three schools is 1-1, the tiebreaker point differential could be employed for playoff seeding. Highlands is at +21, Imani +20 and Freeport +39. … Highlands has caught fire after a 2-3 start with four straight wins. The Golden Rams have outscored opponents 143-60 in that stretch. QB Jamarkus Prager threw three touchdown passes to Jahmar Wright, and Tevin Owen-Cratsenberg ran for two scores last week. … Valley overcame a slow start and was within reach of Deer Lakes last week. Brendon Knuckles tossed a 26-yard TD pass to Shawn Wilkerson and a 65-yard TD pass to Raydon Thomas. But three interceptions proved costly. … The Golden Rams are 19-13 all-time vs. Valley.

Class 2A Allegheny

Ligonier Valley (1-8, 0-5) vs. Apollo-Ridge (6-3, 4-1)

7 p.m. Friday, Owens Field, Apollo

Last week: Steel Valley 49, Ligonier Valley 0: Apollo-Ridge 45, South Park 34

Last year: Apollo-Ridge 31, Ligonier Valley 28

A year ago this week, Apollo-Ridge was trying to avoid a winless season. Now, the Vikings have already secured a playoff berth and are still in contention for a conference title. A Vikings win and a Steel Valley win against South Allegheny would create a three-way tie for first place. … Ligonier Valley looks to finish strong by upsetting Apollo-Ridge. Freshman QB Levi Foust has rushed for 619 yards and six touchdowns. He has thrown for 423 yards and three touchdowns. … Last week for the Vikings, QB Alexander Clawson rushed for 91 yards and a touchdown and completed 6 of 8 passes for 162 yards and two touchdowns. Jaden McCray caught a 73-yard touchdown pass and ran a yard for a score. … Ligonier Valley holds a 3-2 series lead.

Class A Eastern

Frazier (5-4, 3-3) at Springdale (0-7, 0-5)

7 p.m. Friday, Springdale High School Athletic Field, Springdale

Last week: Frazier 35, GCC 33; Jeannette 50, Springdale 8

Last year: Frazier 48, Springdale 13

Springdale will try to end a 23-game losing streak against vastly improved Frazier, a team that has clinched fourth place and could be considered for a wild card. … Frazier has won three of its past four games and held off a GCC rally last week to move to 3-3 in the Eastern Conference. QB Brady Secrest threw two TD passes to Lincoln Dye and ran for a score, and Derek Diamond ran for two touchdowns. .. RB Corey Brooks scored on a 37-yard run, and Will Fowler added the 2-point conversion run for Springdale’s lone points last week. The Dynamos have lost the three previous games against the Commodores.

Leechburg (6-2, 4-1) at Greensburg Central Catholic (4-5, 2-4)

7 p.m. Friday, Centurion Stadium, Carbon

Last week: Leechburg 48, Brentwood 41; Frazier 35, GCC 33

Last year: GCC 20, Leechburg 16

Playoff-bound Leechburg erupted for 34 second-half points and held off a 21-point fourth quarter by Brentwood to down the Spartans. Tim Andrasy ran for 348 yards and five touchdowns on 39 carries. Tristan Zalenski had an 88-yard kickoff return for a touchdown. … GCC’s playoff hopes took a big hit last week. The Centurions have conference losses to Riverview and Frazier. Jerry Davis caught a touchdown pass from Samir Crosby and kicked two field goals in the loss. Crosby had two TD runs and scored on a fumble recovery on offense. … Leechburg can wrap up a second-place finish with a win at GCC or if the unplayed Springdale game is declared a forfeit. The Blue Devils have a good chance at starting the playoffs at home for the third time in five seasons. … The Centurions lead the all-time series 16-3, with Leechburg winning in 1995 and 2020-21.

Riverview (4-4, 2-3) at Jeannette (6-3, 4-2)

7 p.m. Friday, McKee Stadium, Jeannette

Last week: Clairton 66, Riverview 0; Jeannette 50, Springdale 8

Last year: Jeannette 34, Riverview 20

Riverview, like the rest of the Eastern Conference, fell victim to high-powered Clairton for its second straight loss. The Raiders’ faint playoff hopes depend on the Raiders defeating Jeannette, a school it has lost to all 11 times the two have met, then hope that Greensburg Central Catholic loses to Leechburg and Brentwood falls to Clairton. Riverview would finish fifth then hope for a wild card. … Jeannette clinched a playoff spot when Riverview lost to Clairton. The Jayhawks were met with little resistance against Springdale. Jayce Powell caught two touchdown passes and returned a punt for a score, and Nick Mendoza added two rushing TDs. The Jayhawks will try to take a four-game winning streak into the postseason.

Nonconference

Fox Chapel (2-7) at East Allegheny (2-7)

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

Last week: Shaler 35, Fox Chapel 14; Freeport 49, East Allegheny 19

Last year: Fox Chapel 16, East Allegheny 14

The Foxes will try to snap a six-game losing streak in their nonconference season finale. Fox Chapel earned a two-point victory over East Allegheny in 2024. Max Melocchi scored twice last week, on a 1-yard run and a 39-yard TD pass from Joe Geller. Geller threw for 115 yards. … East Allegheny wasn’t able to keep up with Freeport last week but had some big plays, including a 95-yard kickoff return by Ronte Lawrence. Cedric Mack threw two touchdown passes to D.J. Warren. The Wildcats have lost three of their past four games. … Fox Chapel played East Allegheny last season for the first time since 1971. The Foxes’ victory advanced the record against East Allegheny to 7-3-1 overall with the 12-12 tie coming in 1967 when the school was known as Westinghouse Memorial High School.

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, Burrell, Deer Lakes, East Allegheny, Fox Chapel, Frazier, Highlands, Kiski Area, Knoch, Leechburg, McKeesport, Penn Hills, Plum, Riverview, Springdale, Valley, Woodland Hills