McKeesport’s Millers seek to join WPIAL-winning father/son combos — 5 things to watch in Week 12

By: Chris Harlan
Friday, November 14, 2025 | 12:53 PM

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As a football coach’s son, McKeesport senior Matthew Miller has held a lot of different jobs before becoming the team’s starting quarterback.

“He’s been the waterboy, the ballboy and all these other things,” said his father, Matt Miller, who’s in his 10th season as McKeesport’s coach. “He’s been around the program since I took over. He wants to get into coaching himself eventually, so this has been a really cool thing.”

The Millers have an opportunity to accomplish a rather rare feat by winning a WPIAL football title as a father/son and coach/quarterback combination. Top-seeded McKeesport (9-3) faces No. 7 Aliquippa (8-3) in the WPIAL Class 4A final at 12:05 p.m. Saturday at Pine-Richland.

Among the winning pairs, Bob and Tyler Palko accomplished the feat at West Allegheny. Dan and Tyler Bradley won a WPIAL title together at Our Lady of the Sacred Heart. In 1981, Rich Bowen was Serra Catholic’s quarterback for his father, Dick, when the Eagles won the WPIAL.

There were likely others in the league’s 111-year history, but maybe not many.

A former starting linebacker, this was Matthew Miller’s first year as McKeesport’s quarterback, a big job on a team tabbed as preseason favorites. The Tigers have a run-heavy offense, but Miller provided balance by passing for 886 yards and 10 touchdowns.

He threw a 61-yard touchdown pass in the quarterfinals and tossed two TDs in the regular-season finale.

“It’s been a lot of fun having him,” Matt Miller said. “I think I’m harder on him than I am on anybody. He knows that. But he knows how to deal with me.

“He says, ‘Hey dad, let’s get the play in.’ He has a calming effect on me.”

Matt Miller, the father, played football for McKeesport coach George Smith in the early 1990s and was back serving as an assistant when the Tigers won a WPIAL title in 2005.

The team is chasing its first WPIAL title in 20 years after runner-up finishes the past two seasons. This year, the Tigers have leaned on star running back Kemon Spell, a junior with a team-high 30 touchdowns.

But having a quarterback with a strong grasp on the offense has helped.

“With him not playing defense, we stay in and watch a little bit of film on Wednesdays,” Matt Miller said. “We’re able to go over stuff and explain the game plan, so to speak. It’s been a really cool experience.”

McKeesport started in August ranked No. 1 in the WPIAL and website MaxPreps picked the Tigers as preseason favorites for a state title. That a lot of pressure for a first-year quarterback.

“Nothing seems to faze him,” Matt Miller said. “He’s not emotional. Just real levelheaded. More like his mother.”

Teams on the move

Washington has a WPIAL Class 2A semifinal on Friday, and Central Valley has reached the final four in 3A.

But the two perennial playoff teams could both be in new classifications come next season.

Updated PIAA enrollment data has Central Valley moving to Class 4A for the 2026 and ’27 seasons, but Wash High’s future is still undecided. The Prexies’ enrollment qualifies them for Class A, but they could choose to voluntarily stay in 2A.

Wash High coach and athletic director Mike Bosnic said that decision is still being discussed. Schools have until Dec. 1 to tell the PIAA they want to voluntarily “play up.”

Central Valley has 285 boys in grades 9 through 11, the years used by the PIAA to determine enrollment. The cutoff between Class 3A and 4A is 282, leaving the Warriors just over the line.

Washington’s male enrollment dropped from 179 to 131 in two years. The dividing line between Class 2A and A is 142 boys.

The PIAA releases updated enrollments every two years as a key part of its realignment process. In all, 20 WPIAL football teams are poised to change classifications next season.

Site under construction

Pine-Richland’s stadium will host the WPIAL football championships for the first time when the Class 4A and 6A finals are held there on Saturday.

WPIAL had used Norwin since 2021 for the title games not held at Acrisure Stadium. But Norwin’s stadium is undergoing a $25.4 million demolition and rebuilding, so the WPIAL needed an alternate site.

The WPIAL championship schedule is dictated by the PIAA playoffs. The WPIAL Class 4A and 6A champions enter the state bracket in the state quarterfinals, so those two district finals must be held a week early.

The WPIAL Class 5A, 3A, 2A and A finals are Nov. 22 at Acrisure Stadium.

Golden year for Western

Western Beaver keeps adding milestones to an already historic season. The latest is an appearance in the WPIAL semifinals for the first time in 30 years.

Second-seeded Western Beaver faces No. 3 Steel Valley in a Class 2A semifinal at 7 p.m. Friday at Dormont Stadium. It’s the Golden Beavers’ first semifinal since 1995, a year after they won a WPIAL title.

Western Beaver played Friday night home games under the lights for the first time this season after installing lights above Rich Niedbala Field.

Another historic rematch

Central Catholic and North Allegheny will make WPIAL history Saturday when they meet in the Class 6A final for the fourth year in a row.

Never have the same two teams met in four straight championship games. The only other time it happened three years in a row was when Aliquippa and South Fayette squared off in the Class 2A finals in 2013, ’14 and ’15.

North Allegheny won the first two matchups in 2022 and ’23. Central Catholic won last year.

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.

Tags: Central Catholic, Central Valley, McKeesport, North Allegheny, Pine-Richland, Washington, Western Beaver