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‘Hungry’ JJ Work leads Aliquippa to 4th-quarter rally over Mars

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Saturday, September 13, 2025 | 12:44 AM

JJ Work felt like he’d already let his teammates down once, so the Aliquippa running back was determined not to let that happen again.

A week ago, Work couldn’t play because of an off-the-field school issue. This week, he barreled into the end zone for two fourth quarter touchdowns Friday night as No. 4 Aliquippa rallied for a 19-6 nonconference win over No. 2 Mars.

The Quips (2-1) were held scoreless through the first three quarters but reached the end zone three times in the fourth, including a go-ahead touchdown by Work with only 23 seconds left.

“I let my team down — I couldn’t play — but I made a statement today,” said Work, who rushed for 95 yards on 19 carries and scored on runs of 4 and 9 yards.

Nearly all of Work’s carries came after halftime.

His first touchdown run, a 4-yarder with 10 minutes left, forced a 6-6 tie. He later gave the Quips their first lead — 13-6 — by scoring on a 9-yard run with 23 seconds remaining. The 5-foot-10, 185-pound back rushed for 86 yards in the second half with 78 in the fourth quarter.

Work ran like someone carrying a little extra motivation.

“I saw that all week,” Aliquippa coach Mike Warfield said. “He was hungry and he played well. He has good vision and he’s tough.”

So, Work’s big night didn’t surprise him.

“When his attention is there and when he’s focused, he’s full go,” Warfield said.

Aliquippa senior safety Qa’lil Goode tacked on a 43-yard pick-six in the closing seconds to seal the victory. That was one of three turnovers forced by the Quips. Goode also recovered a first-quarter fumble, and sophomore Anthony Ingram intercepted a second-quarter pass.

The finish was a gut-wrenching outcome for a Mars team that entered the fourth quarter with a 6-0 lead. Senior wideout Gabe Hein had outleaped two defenders for a 44-yard touchdown catch just before halftime.

The loss was the first for Mars (3-1).

“That one hurt a lot,” Mars coach Eric Kasperowicz said. “Our defense played tremendous. I thought we controlled most of the game, up until that last drive. … When you’ve got a team on the ropes, you’ve got to be able to hit that knockout punch. We weren’t able to do that tonight. We let them hang around.”

Mars quarterback Colin Yurisnec completed 14 of 20 passes for 147 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions. The Planets lost a fumble on their first possession of the game and had a third-quarter possession end in Aliquippa territory with a failed fourth-down conversion.

“We continued to shoot ourselves in the foot,” Kasperowicz said. “That’s on me as a coach. I’ve got to figure out a way to get these guys over the hump and put a team away.”

Aliquippa was stunned at home last week by Avonworth and didn’t like the idea of losing two in a row. The last time the Quips lost consecutive games was in 2008.

But that seemed like a possibility after the Quips failed to score on any of their first seven possessions. Eventually, they leaned on their running game late and scored on their last two drives.

“We went to the locker room at halftime and went to the drawing board,” Work said. “We just came out, put pressure on their necks and kept driving it down the field.”

Mars made a goal-line stand in the third quarter, halting a 58-yard drive at the 1-yard line to preserve its 6-0 lead.

But in the fourth, the Quips broke through with consecutive touchdown drives covering 39 and 67 yards. They ran the ball 11 times combined on those drives — mostly with Work — and Goode caught a key 14-yard pass on a third-down conversion.

“We just had to figure it out,” Goode said. “We got rolling and they couldn’t stop us.”

Warfield said the late rally didn’t show him anything he didn’t already know about his team. But he thought it might’ve shown the players what they’re capable of themselves.

“I knew we could do it,” Warfield said. “There’s a different between me knowing and them knowing. Now, they know.”

Chris Harlan is a TribLive reporter covering sports. He joined the Trib in 2009 after seven years as a reporter at the Beaver County Times. He can be reached at charlan@triblive.com.

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