Kiski Area, Shaler looking to snap lengthy winless droughts in WPIAL playoffs

By: Michael Love
Wednesday, October 29, 2025 | 6:30 PM

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The Kiski Area football team is hoping to break a long playoff-win drought when it travels to Shaler on Friday for a WPIAL Class 5A first-round game.

The Cavaliers have dropped 12 postseason games in a row since defeating Armstrong Central, 29-13, in 1990.

First-year Kiski coach Colyn Haugh said his team is primed to win Friday and advance to the quarterfinals while understanding the importance of snapping the streak to the overall history of the program.

“Our athletic director (Jake Nulph) is a big Halloween guy, and one of the messages he had for the team was that we’re going to go in there and be Michael Myers and create nightmares for them. We want to go up to Shaler and spoil everything,” Haugh said.

“It’s a home game for them, and we understand that they will be amped up and ready and that their stands are going to be packed. We also know that our fans are going to travel really well, and we’re going to have some success with that. The guys are champing at the bit to play this game.”

Haugh said he addressed with the players the fact that Kiski hasn’t won on the road this season (0-5).

“But I feel that is not going to affect us,” Haugh said. “That is the past and Friday is the present. This is the here and now.”

Kiski Area, 4-6 overall, opened its season with a 21-0 win over Knoch before dropping four straight games, including Big East Conference contests to Gateway (34-31) and Penn-Trafford (42-0).

But wins over Franklin Regional (14-7), Latrobe (34-13) and Armstrong (27-25) put them in position to secure a playoff berth despite losses to Plum and Woodland Hills to end the season.

The Cavaliers finished 3-3 in the conference, tied with Armstrong and Gateway for third place. Kiski Area secured the third automatic spot in a tiebreaker with the River Hawks and Gators.

“I am extremely proud of these guys. They did a heckuva job not succumbing to what happened in the beginning of the season,” Haugh said.

“We could’ve easily packed it in and said this season is over. But their mentality the whole season was going 1-0 each week. We didn’t look behind us or look too far ahead. We stayed grounded in the present and worked to take care of business in that week.”

Haugh said he talked to his players Tuesday about the importance of Friday’s game.

“It’s not important only the sense that it’s a playoff game or that we’re trying to end some playoff losing streak,” he said.

“It’s important because it’s the next game in front of us. Nothing is more important than the fact that it is what we are totally focused on and are preparing for. We have to take care of business Friday, and that starts by taking care of the process and the little things each day.”

Shaler also is experiencing a playoff-victory drought of its own. The Titans seek their first postseason win since taking down Mt. Lebanon, 23-21, in the 2009 WPIAL Quad-A first round.

Kiski Area and Shaler will meet in the playoffs for the first time. The Titans and Cavaliers have played 12 times in the regular season with Shaler holding an 8-4 advantage.

The Titans, 3-7 overall, are coming off a 49-17 loss to undefeated Northeast Conference champion and Class 5A top seed Pine-Richland.

The winner of Friday’s game will visit the Rams in the quarterfinals at 7 p.m. next Friday.

Shaler, which started 1-6, finished with three wins in the conference, beating North Hills, Fox Chapel and Plum to secure an automatic berth.

“It’s been a great learning process for the guys,” Shaler coach Jim Ryan said. “The goal, as the season goes on, is to get better as a team. I think our focus and our attention to detail has increased as we’ve gotten later into the season just because the kids were able to handle more as they improved. They are super excited for the opportunity Friday.”

Senior Aaron Aversa is a dual-threat quarterback for the Titans who has thrown for almost 1,000 yards and nine touchdowns while rushing for more than 800 yards and five scores.

Shaler also looks for sophomore Avery Kitner to run the football. He has accounted for four touchdowns.

“Shaler is a very good, well-coached team that flies around and gets to the ball on defense,” Haugh said.

“They do a lot of exotic stuff defensively. The thing that you see is that they are a very active team. We can’t expect that if we get an open hole to run that it will be open for very long. Our quarterback (Landyn Artman) is going to have to make some quick decisions. If he doesn’t, the defenders are going to be on our receivers. Defensively, they are all over the place, and offensively, they are going to keep you on your toes. They make sure you have to prepare for anything and everything.”

Ryan is similarly impressed with the throwing ability of Artman and other Kiski Area offensive weapons, including freshman running back Ashton Taylor and receivers in seniors Andrew Finney and Aven Shirley, junior Teagan Shirley and senior Lucas Vacanti.

“Kiski’s offense is very calculated,” Ryan said. “They know what they want to do. They have some guys who can make some big plays. They can chip away at you and then hit you with a big one. It is all by design. They have those weapons we want to make sure we are accounting for. They are a pretty solid football team.”

Michael Love is a TribLive reporter covering sports in the Alle-Kiski Valley and the eastern suburbs of Pittsburgh. A Clearfield native and a graduate of Westminster (Pa.), he joined the Trib in 2002 after spending five years at the Clearfield Progress. He can be reached at mlove@triblive.com.

Tags: Kiski Area, Shaler