High school football roundup for Sept. 26, 2025: New Castle beats No. 1 Aliquippa for 1st time since 1987

By: Triblive
Saturday, September 27, 2025 | 12:41 AM

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It had been nearly 40 years since New Castle celebrated a victory over Aliquippa.

That changed Friday night.

Freshman Marino Graham threw for 179 yards and one touchdown and ran for 105 yards and two TDs as New Castle upset top-ranked Aliquippa, 18-12, in a Class 4A Parkway Conference football game at Taggart Stadium in New Castle.

Chase Lemmon scored on a 26-yard pass, and Graham scored on runs of 1 and 4 yards for the Red Hurricanes (5-1, 1-0), who have won four straight games.

Aliquippa fell to 3-2 overall and 0-1 in the Parkway Conference.

New Castle’s last win over the Quips was a 16-14 victory in the 1987 regular season. Aliquippa then defeated the Red Hurricanes, 26-13, in the 1987 WPIAL Class AAA championship game and stretched its winning streak to 10 games over the former rival over the past 38 years.

In other matchups Friday night:

Class 6A

Mt. Lebanon 41, Seneca Valley 20 — Pat Smith ran for four touchdowns and threw for one more to lead Mt. Lebanon (1-5, 1-2) to the Class 6A win at Seneca Valley (2-4, 0-2). Joe Malone and Samuel McAuley also scored for the Blue Devils. Andrew Loebig threw for 124 yards and a score and also ran for a touchdown for Seneca Valley.

Class 5A

South Fayette 49, Baldwin 13 — Tyson Wright and Anthony Charles scored defensive touchdowns in South Fayette’s 35-point second quarter in its Allegheny Six Conference win at Baldwin (0-6, 0-1). Drew Welhorsky threw for 113 yards and two touchdowns for South Fayette (5-1, 1-0). Baldwin’s Max Galentine completed four passes — all to Noah Saccani — for 192 yards and a touchdown.

Armstrong 29, Gateway 28 — Costa Couknas and Jaydon Oliver ran for fourth-quarter touchdowns as Armstrong (3-3, 2-0) slipped past Gateway (2-4, 2-1) in the Big East Conference. Couknas ran for 100 yards while Oliver threw for 234 yards and one touchdown. Mayson Mitchell threw for 225 yards and two touchdowns for Gateway while teammate Julian Dancear rushed for 118 yards.

Woodland Hills 33, Latrobe 9 — Scoop Smith caught two touchdown passes, added a rushing TD and returned a punt 85 yards for a touchdown as No. 4 Woodland Hills (4-2, 2-0) defeated Latrobe (2-4, 1-2) in Big East Conference play. Dom Scarton threw for 137 yards, and Mitch Horner booted field goals of 38, 34 and 33 yards for Latrobe.

Pine-Richland 63, Fox Chapel 3 — Maclane Miller ran for 158 yards and three touchdowns as No. 1 Pine-Richland (5-1, 3-0) downed Fox Chapel (2-4, 0-3) in the Northeast Conference. Aaron Strader threw for 235 yards and three touchdowns for Pine-Richland, which outgained Fox Chapel, 528 yards to 65 yards. Harran Zureikat kicked a school-record 54-yard field goal for Fox Chapel, 1 yard short of the WPIAL record.

Class 4A

Chartiers Valley 62, Laurel Highlands 7 — Chartiers Valley (5-1, 1-0) defeated Laurel Highlands (2-4, 0-1) in a Big Six Conference game.

Trinity 48, Ringgold 14 — Jonah Williamson threw for 201 yards and four touchdowns and ran for 158 yards and two TDs to lead Trinity (2-4, 1-0) over Ringgold (3-3, 0-1) in the Big Six Conference. Braden Berdar caught seven passes for 161 yards and three touchdowns for Trinity while teammate Owen Gardner rushed for 106 yards and one TD. Demetri Lowe caught seven passes for 106 yards and a touchdown in the loss.

Indiana 21, Knoch 14 — Jason Strack threw for two touchdowns and ran for one more as Indiana (3-3, 1-0) beat Knoch (0-6, 0-1) in Greater Allegheny Conference play. Max Wiley and Carter Beres scored on touchdown runs for the Knights.

Mars 46, West Mifflin 0 — Ayden Yocum rushed for 242 yards and four touchdowns to lead No. 3 Mars (5-1, 1-0) to the Greater Allegheny Conference win over West Mifflin (1-5, 0-1).

McKeesport 46, Hampton 7 — Kemon Spell ran for 120 yards and three touchdowns as No. 4 McKeesport (3-3, 1-0) beat Hampton (2-4, 0-1) in the Greater Allegheny Conference.

Montour 28, Blackhawk 7 — Brandon Bennett threw for 232 yards and three touchdowns to lead No. 5 Montour (4-2, 1-0) to the Parkway Conference win against Blackhawk (2-4, 0-1). Zander Stern caught nine passes for 129 yards and two touchdowns for Montour.

West Allegheny 70, Ambridge 0 — Donovan O’Connor completed all five of his passes for 101 yards and two touchdowns as West Allegheny (2-3, 1-0) downed Ambridge (1-5, 0-1) in the Parkway Conference. West Allegheny outgained Ambridge, 417 yards to 11 yards.

Class 3A

Avonworth 34, Central Valley 6 — Carson Bellinger threw for 151 yards and three touchdowns for top-ranked Avonworth (6-0, 2-0) in its Western Hills Conference win at Central Valley (2-4, 2-1). Dimitri Velisaris added 157 rushing yards and two touchdowns for Avonworth. Braddock Ambrose threw for 135 yards and ran for Central Valley’s only touchdown.

Beaver 42, McGuffey 6 — In the Western Hills Conference, Jonah Justice had 95 rushing yards and a score and Jax Weiss ran for two touchdowns as Beaver (3-3, 2-1) beat McGuffey (0-6, 0-3).

Hopewell 48, Quaker Valley 0 — James Armstrong threw for 188 yards and four touchdowns and ran for 71 yards and one TD to lead Hopewell (4-2, 1-2) over Quaker Valley (3-3, 0-2) in Western Hills Conference play. Nasir Wade led Hopewell’s ground game with 178 rushing yards and two touchdowns.

Class 2A

South Allegheny 62, Ligonier Valley 14 – Joey Gamret ran for 139 yards and four touchdowns as South Allegheny (7-0, 4-0) beat Ligonier Valley in the Class 2A Allegheny Conference. Greyson Daugherty had 103 receiving yards and a touchdown for Ligonier Valley, which fell to 0-6 overall and 0-3 in the conference.

Steel Valley 42, Shady Side Academy 6 — Da’Ron Barksdale ran for 139 yards and two touchdowns and caught a scoring pass from Tyce Barron as No. 4 Steel Valley (4-2, 2-0) defeated Shady Side Academy (3-2, 1-2) in an Allegheny Conference game. Javon Jackson threw for 162 yards and ran for Shady Side Academy’s only touchdown.

Charleroi 45, Sto-Rox 26 — Charleroi (1-5, 1-2) beat Sto-Rox (0-6, 0-3) in a Century Conference game.

Keystone Oaks 42, Carlynton 18 — Owen Gearhart threw for 159 yards and two touchdowns and added two rushing TDs to lead Keystone Oaks (3-3, 3-0) to the Century Conference win against Carlynton (1-5, 0-2).

Beaver Falls 12, Freedom 7 — In the Midwestern Athletic Conference, Xavier Clark threw for 128 yards and one touchdown and ran for another score as Beaver Falls (2-4, 2-1) beat Freedom (3-3, 1-2).

Mohawk 28, Union 21 — Bobby Fadden threw for 117 yards and two touchdowns and ran for 86 yards and two TDs, including the winning score on a 52-yard run with 3:20 left in the game, as Mohawk (2-4, 1-2) beat Union (0-5, 0-3) in the Midwestern Athletic Conference.

New Brighton 14, Ellwood City 12 — Carter Jackson threw two touchdown passes as New Brighton (4-2, 1-2) beat Ellwood City (3-3, 2-1) in a Midwestern Conference matchup. Tyler Smiley threw for 195 yards and both Ellwood City touchdowns.

Western Beaver 48, Riverside 19 — Wyatt Sparbanie ran for 265 yards and six touchdowns, including five in the second half, as No. 3 Western Beaver (6-0, 3-0) defeated Riverside (3-3, 2-1) in the Midwestern Athletic Conference. Mason Holler rushed for 139 yards and three touchdowns for Riverside, which led at halftime, 19-13.

Class A

Laurel 50, Northgate 0 — In the Big 7 Conference, No. 4 Laurel (5-1, 2-0) blanked Northgate (0-6, 0-3).

Neshannock 48, Shenango 7 — Anthony Eakin ran for 183 yards and four touchdowns to lead Neshannock (4-1, 2-0) to the Big 7 Conference win at Shenango (2-4, 1-2). Jaeshaun Williams returned the opening kickoff 86 yards for a touchdown for Shenango before Neshannock scored the next 48 points.

Bishop Canevin 32, Chartiers-Houston 0 — In the Black Hills Conference, Myontae Mott ran for two touchdowns and caught another as No. 3 Bishop Canevin (4-2, 2-0) defeated Chartiers-Houston (3-3, 1-2).

Cornell 47, Serra Catholic 18 — MJ Stuckey threw for 247 yards and three touchdowns as Cornell (4-2, 2-1) defeated Serra Catholic (1-5, 0-2) in the Black Hills Conference. Khylil Johnson added 187 rushing yards and three touchdowns for the Raiders.

Fort Cherry 42, Burgettstown 9 — Matt Sieg and Eli Salvini ran for two touchdowns each as top-ranked Fort Cherry (6-0, 3-0) beat Burgettstown (1-4, 0-3) in the Black Hills Conference.

Frazier 28, Brentwood 21 — Frazier (3-3, 1-2) defeated Brentwood (2-4, 1-2) in an Eastern Conference matchup.

Avella 20, Beth-Center 17 — Charles Rush threw for one touchdown and scored on a 2-yard run in the fourth quarter as Avella (5-1, 2-1) beat Beth-Center (1-5, 1-2) in Tri-County South play. Bryce Wright ran for 125 yards and one touchdown and caught a 47-yard TD pass for Avella.

Bentworth 35, Carmichaels 6 — In the Tri-County South, Ben Hays rushed for four touchdowns to lead Bentworth (4-2, 2-1) to victory at Carmichaels (1-4, 0-3).

California 53, Mapletown 0 — In the Tri-County South, Malachi Peak ran for 83 yards and two touchdowns as California (5-1, 3-0) defeated Mapletown (1-5, 0-3). California led 41-0 at the half.

Jefferson-Morgan 40, West Greene 6 — In the Tri-County South, Jefferson-Morgan (6-0, 3-0) downed West Greene (1-5, 1-2).

Norwin 21, North Hills 17 — Giovanni Rothrauff rushed for 190 yards and two touchdowns as Class 6A No. 3 Norwin (4-2) defeated Class 5A North Hills (1-5). Kelly McCarthy tossed for 118 yards and two touchdowns for North Hills.

Penn-Trafford 33, Plum 14 — Cody Yacamelli ran for 115 yards and four touchdowns as Penn-Trafford (5-1) beat Plum (2-4) in nonconference play. Semaj Robinson scored on a 30-yard pass, and Austin Kolankowski booted two field goals for Plum.

South Side 21, Monessen 7 — Andrew Corfield ran for two touchdowns as Class A No. 5 South Side (5-1) beat Monessen (4-2) in a nonconference matchup. Tavian Taylor scored on a 44-yard pass from Kayden Kolbeck for the Greyhounds.

Washington 48, South Park 7 — In nonconference play, Tristan Reed threw for 113 yards and one touchdown, ran for a TD and returned an interception 52 yards for another score as No. 5 Washington (5-1) beat South Park (3-3).

Albert Gallatin 63, Allegany, Md. 56 – Tee Guesman ran for 285 yards and seven touchdowns as Albert Gallatin moved to 6-0 with a nonconference victory.

Butler 44, Connellsville 27 — In nonconference play, Mark Klemz ran for 150 yards and three touchdowns as Butler (4-2) overcame an early 14-point deficit to beat Connellsville (1-5). Nicholas Baggetta threw for 157 yards and two touchdowns for Butler. Caden Matthews tossed for 163 yards and a touchdown for Connellsville.

Martins Ferry (Ohio) 59, Uniontown 13 – Uniontown (2-4) fell short against Martins Ferry (Ohio) in a nonconference contest.

City League

University Prep 30, Brashear 7 — In a City League contest, University Prep (3-2, 2-0) beat Brashear (0-6, 0-3).

Wheeling Central Catholic (W.Va.) 41, Perry Traditional Academy 8 — In nonconference play, Wheeling Central Catholic (4-1) shut out Perry (0-6).