High school football roundup for Sept. 5, 2025: Class 3A No. 1 Avonworth takes down Aliquippa

By: Triblive
Saturday, September 6, 2025 | 12:25 AM

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Winning at Heinz Field is no small feat for opponents of the Aliquippa football team. The Quips had won their past 14 games at their home field before Friday night.

Dimitri Velisaris ran for 176 yards and two scores as Class 3A No. 1 Avonworth defeated Class 4A No. 3 Aliquippa, 23-7, in a nonconference matchup of WPIAL title contenders.

Luca Neal also caught a 53-yard touchdown pass from Carson Bellinger for the Lopes (3-0).

Aliquippa (1-1) scored when Marques Council found Josh Lay for a 25-yard TD pass late in the first half.

In other nonconference games Friday night:

Avella 35, Springdale 6 — Chas Rush threw for one touchdown and returned a punt 64 yards for another as Avella (3-0) beat Springdale (0-2) in nonconference play. Bryce Wright added two touchdowns for Avella. Corey Brooks scored on a 54-yard run in the fourth quarter for the Dynamos.

Belle Vernon 25, Central Valley 22 — Curtis Wade threw for 165 yards and two touchdowns to Nick Mahalko as Class 4A Belle Vernon (1-1) defeated Class 3A Central Valley (0-3). Mahalko caught four passes for 111 yards. Ethan Shearer rushed for 186 yards and two touchdowns and Braddock Ambrose threw for 126 yards for Central Valley.

Bentworth 45, Charleroi 0 — Ben Hays ran for 155 yards and three touchdowns as Class A Bentworth (2-1) blanked Class 2A Charleroi (0-3). Preston Jaquay added 101 rushing yards and a touchdown for Bentworth.

Bethel Park 56, Armstrong 28 — Evan Devine threw for 367 yards and three touchdowns and ran for another as Bethel Park (2-1) beat Armstrong (1-2) in nonconference play. David Dennison had nine catches for 143 yards and added three touchdowns for Bethel Park. Will Sabatos had seven grabs for 159 yards.

Bishop Canevin 21, Steel Valley 6 — Myontae Mott ran for 148 yards and a touchdown and caught a scoring pass from Brady Wagner as Class A No. 3 Bishop Canevin (1-2) defeated Class 2A No. 1 Steel Valley (1-2).

Brentwood 41, Sto-Rox 0 — Cedric Davis threw for 109 yards and three touchdowns and added 87 rushing yards as Class A Brentwood (1-2) blanked Class 2A Sto-Rox (0-3). Nicky Wardzinski rushed for 106 yards and two touchdowns for Brentwood, which outgained Sto-Rox, 302 yards to 70 yards.

Canon-McMillan 37, South Fayette 28 — Ty Jansma tossed for 243 yards and three touchdowns to lead Class 6A Canon-McMillan (1-2) to the win against Class 5A South Fayette (2-1). Drew Welhorsky threw for 181 yards and three touchdowns for South Fayette.

Chartiers Valley 42, Indiana 6 — Chartiers Valley (2-1) beat Indiana (0-3) in nonconference play.

Chartiers-Houston 35, Mapletown 28 — Aaron Walsh rushed for 286 yards and four touchdowns, including three in the fourth quarter, to lead Chartiers-Houston (2-1) to the nonconference win at Mapletown (1-2). Chartiers-Houston trailed entering the final quarter, 28-13. Carson Vanata ran for 278 yards and two touchdowns for Mapletown.

Cornell 35, Riverview 21 — M.J. Stuckey threw for 251 yards and three touchdowns as Cornell (2-1) defeated Riverview (2-1) in nonconference play. Khylil Johnson caught four passes for 132 yards and a touchdown and added two rushing TDs for the Raiders.

Elizabeth Forward 53, East Allegheny 13 — Ryan Messina threw for 200 yards and three touchdowns as Class 3A No. 4 Elizabeth Forward (3-0) beat East Allegheny (0-3) in nonconference play. Elizabeth Forward’s defense scored four touchdowns.

Fort Cherry 55, West Greene 8 — Matt Seig threw for 179 yards and four touchdowns and ran for one TD to lead Class A No. 1 Fort Cherry (3-0) to the nonconference win over West Greene (0-3). Sieg became Fort Cherry’s all-time passing leader with 4,533 yards, passing head coach Tanner Garry’s record of 4,502 yards. Evan Rogers caught two touchdown passes for Fort Cherry and Eli Salvini added two rushing TDs.

Frazier 31, Carmichaels 14 — Derek Diamond rushed for 175 yards and a touchdown as Frazier (2-1) beat Carmichaels (1-1) in nonconference play. Brady Secrest threw for 92 yards and one touchdown and ran for 86 yards and another TD for Frazier.

Fox Chapel 20, Knoch 18 — Harran Zureikat kicked a 22-yard field goal with nine seconds left to give Class 5A Fox Chapel (2-1) the win at Class 4A Knoch (0-3). Joe Geller threw for 203 yards and two touchdowns to Max Melocchi, who caught five passes for 165 yards. Fox Chapel recorded consecutive wins for the first time since the 2021 season.

Greensburg Central Catholic 35, Apollo-Ridge 16 — Bobby Smithnosky threw for 154 yards and three touchdowns to lead Class A Greensburg Central Catholic (2-1) to the win against Class 2A Apollo-Ridge (1-2). Alexander Clawson threw for 156 yards and a touchdown for Apollo-Ridge.

Greensburg Salem 26, Valley 10 — After spotting Valley a 10-point lead, Greensburg Salem (2-1) scored the next 26 points in its nonconference win. Greensburg Salem’s defense scored twice in the third quarter — on a safety and a 60-yard interception return by Aden Krug. Zay Adams scored on a first-quarter touchdown run for Valley (0-3).

Hampton 25, Shaler 24 – Jake Lucas kicked a 46-yard field goal as time expired as Class 4A Hampton (2-1) overcame a 14-point fourth-quarter deficit to defeat Class 5A Shaler (0-3). Willie Haselrig ran for 101 yards for Hampton. Aaron Aversa threw for 155 yards and a touchdown and ran for 235 yards for Shaler.

Hopewell 49, Ambridge 2 — Nasir Wade rushed for 118 yards and two touchdowns as Class 3A No. 3 Hopewell (3-0) defeated Class 4A Ambridge (0-3). James Armstrong threw two touchdown passes and ran for one more for Hopewell, which led 35-0 at the half.

Imani Christian 41, Beaver 3 — Gabe Jenkins threw for 135 yards and two touchdowns to Robert Torres-Johnson and ran for 118 yards and one TD to lead Class 3A No. 2 Imani Christian (3-0) to the nonconference win at Beaver (1-2). Torres-Johnson caught three passes for 118 yards.

Jefferson-Morgan 26, Burgettstown 10 — In a nonconference game, Jefferson-Morgan (3-0) defeated Burgettstown (1-1).

Laurel 43, Riverside 0 — Luca Santini threw for 142 yards and two touchdowns as Class A No. 4 Laurel (3-0) defeated Class 2A Riverside (1-2). Kolton Carlson caught two touchdown passes and ran for another in the win.

Leechburg 26, Serra Catholic 0 — In nonconference play, Tim Andrasy rushed for 216 yards and two touchdowns as Leechburg (2-1) shut out Serra Catholic (0-3). Nick Hilty scored on a 58-yard run and Jaxon Vargo ran in from 1-yard out for the Blue Devils’ other scores.

Mars 13, North Hills 10 — Colin Yurisinec threw for 105 yards and a fourth-quarter touchdown to Gabe Hein as Class 4A No. 4 Mars (2-0) beat Class 5A North Hills (0-3).

Monessen 20, Beth-Center 3 — Kaier Payne threw for 193 yards and three touchdowns to lead Monessen (3-0) to the nonconference win against Beth-Center (0-3).

Montour 35, Trinity 27 — In nonconference play, Caden Halajcio rushed for 164 yards and a touchdown as Class 4A No. 5 Montour (2-1) beat Trinity (1-2). Brandon Bennett threw for 131 yards and two touchdowns for Montour. Jonah Williamson threw for 138 yards and ran for 107 yards and three touchdowns for Trinity while teammate Owen Gardner added 125 rushing yards and one TD.

Neshannock 26, Ellwood City 20 – Ethan Beaman scored on an 8-yard pass with 13 seconds left, and Anthony Eakin ran for 125 yards and two touchdowns as Class A Neshannock (2-1) overcame a 14-point halftime deficit to beat Class 2A Ellwood City (1-2).

New Brighton 38, Northgate 0 — Class 2A New Brighton (3-0) shut out Class A Northgate (0-3).

New Castle 32, Highlands 0 — Marino Graham threw for three touchdowns and ran for another to lead Class 4A New Castle (2-1) to victory at Class 3A Highlands (1-2).

North Allegheny 35, Penn Hills 0 — Luke Rohan ran for 114 yards and one touchdown and caught a scoring pass from Brady Brinkley as Class 6A No. 2 North Allegheny (3-0) shut out Class 5A Penn Hills (0-3). Brinkley threw two scoring passes and ran for another.

North Catholic 65, Blackhawk 49 – Logan Schade ran for 345 yards and four touchdowns for Class 3A No. 5 North Catholic (3-0) while teammate Joey Felitsky threw for 249 yards and four touchdowns in a win over Class 4A Blackhawk (1-2). Brayden McCarthy rushed for 298 yards and three touchdowns for the Cougars.

Peters Township 35, Mt. Lebanon 0 — Nolan DiLucia threw for 288 yards and one touchdown as Class 5A No. 2 Peters Township (3-0) shut out Class 6A Mt. Lebanon (0-3). Cole Neupaver added 45 rushing yards and two touchdowns and caught a scoring pass for Mt. Lebanon.

Pine-Richland 49, Seneca Valley 20 — Class 5A No. 1 Pine-Richland (2-1) won big over Class 6A No. 4 Seneca Valley (1-2). Andrew Loebig threw for 185 yards for the Raiders.

Seton LaSalle 39, OLSH 7 — Kymar Freeman rushed for 127 yards and a touchdown to lead Seton LaSalle (2-1) to the nonconference win against OLSH (1-2). Seton LaSalle limited OLSH to 61 total yards of offense.

Shenango 24, Mohawk 0 — Caleb McConnell threw for 168 yards and one touchdown and ran for 82 yards and two TDs to lead Class A Shenango (1-2) to the shutout at Class 2A Mohawk (1-2). Bobby Fadden tossed for 139 yards in the loss.

South Allegheny 53, Carlynton 0 — In nonconference play, Alijah Cook threw for 218 yards and three touchdowns as Class 2A No. 3 South Allegheny (3-0) downed Carlynton (1-2).

South Park 27, Keystone Oaks 14 — In nonconference play, Quintin Napier rushed for 140 yards and two touchdowns to lead Class 2A No. 2 South Park (3-0) to the win at Keystone Oaks (0-3).

South Side 26, Beaver Falls 6 — Andrew Cornfield ran for 149 yards and three touchdowns and caught a 40-yard scoring pass from Will Morgan to lead Class A South Side (2-1) to the win against Class 2A Beaver Falls (0-3).

Upper St. Clair 49, Franklin Regional 6 — Ethan Hellman threw five touchdown passes to lead Class 5A No. 4 Upper St. Clair (3-0) over Franklin Regional (0-3) in nonconference play. Upper St. Clair led at halftime, 42-0. Jet Taylor scored on a 5-yard run for the Panthers.

Washington 44, Union 6 — Tristain Reed threw for 171 yards and one touchdown and rushed for 102 yards and two TDs as Class 2A No. 4 Washington (2-1) defeated Union (0-2) in a nonconference game. Ameer Nelson caught three passes for 118 yards for Washington, which scored 30 second-half points.

Waynesburg Central 27, California 20 — Teagen Crouse threw for 161 yards and three touchdowns as Class 2A Waynesburg Central (2-1) scored 20 points in the fourth quarter to defeat Class A California (2-1). Malachi Peak rushed for 118 yards and a touchdown for California.

West Allegheny 65, McGuffey 7 — Brodie Cornell scored three touchdowns — on a 48-yard run, a 33-yard punt return and a 66-yard pass from Donovan O’Connor — as Class 4A West Allegheny (1-1) beat Class 3A McGuffey (0-3). O’Connor threw for 121 yards and two touchdowns and teammate Roman Perella ran twice — both for touchdowns — for 106 yards.

West Mifflin 41, Baldwin 0 – Armand Hill ran for 152 yards and four touchdowns, and Class 4A West Mifflin (1-2) scored 27 points in the second quarter on way to shutting out Class 5A Baldwin (0-3).

Western Beaver 41, Rochester 6 — Amari Marshall rushed for 100 yards and one touchdown as Class 2A No. 5 Western Beaver (3-0) defeated Class A Rochester (0-3). Braeden Mayo and Avon Pressley added two touchdowns each for Western Beaver.

Independent

Albert Gallatin 28, Connellsville 14 — Tee Guesman ran for two touchdowns as Albert Gallatin (3-0) defeated Connellsville (1-2) in nonconference play.

Butler 48, Meadville 34 — Nicholas Baggetta threw for 188 yards and two touchdowns and rushed for 158 yards and four touchdowns for Butler (3-0) in its nonconference win against Meadville (1-2). Jordan Lawrence ran for 213 yards and three touchdowns for Meadville.

Uniontown 34, Brownsville 27 — Uniontown (2-1) defeated Brownsville (0-3) in an independent matchup.

City League

Allderdice 45, Perry 6 — In City League play, Allderdice (2-1, 1-0) defeated Perry (0-3, 0-1).

University Prep 56, Carrick 12 — University Prep (1-2) downed Carrick (0-3) in nonconference play.