North Allegheny, Pine-Richland, Westinghouse set for PIAA quarterfinal matchups

By: Bill Hartlep
Wednesday, November 23, 2022 | 1:17 PM

Purchase Photo Options

North Allegheny and Pine-Richland celebrated WPIAL championships Saturday and will now continue their seasons in the PIAA playoffs.

City League champion Westinghouse also remains in contention for a PIAA title and will face its toughest test this Saturday.

Here’s a look at the local teams playing in the PIAA quarterfinals this weekend:

Class 6A quarterfinals

North Allegheny (11-1) at State College (12-0)

7 p.m. Friday at State College’s Memorial Field

On the air: Audio on TribHSSN.TribLive.com

How they got here: North Allegheny defeated Central Catholic, 35-21, in the WPIAL championship game. District 6 champion State College earned 57-50 win over McDowell in triple overtime during last week’s PIAA first-round game.

Winner plays: Winner of the District 3 championship game between Manheim Township (9-3) and Harrisburg (9-2) in the PIAA semifinals Dec. 2-3 (site, time TBD)

Coaches: Art Walker, North Allegheny; Matt Lintal, State College

Players to watch: Khiryn Boyd, jr., WR/DB, North Allegheny; Finn Furmanek, sr., QB, State College

Factoids: North Allegheny’s lone loss came to Pine-Richland on Sept. 30. The Tigers average 27.4 points and allow 12.2. Khiryn Boyd shined against Central Catholic on Saturday with a 51- and 68-yard TD receptions from Logan Kushner. Kushner also ran for a 45-yard score and had 184 yards on the ground. North Allegheny won PIAA titles in 1990, 2010 and 2012, which was the Tigers’ most recent trip to the PIAA playoffs. … Michael Gaul caught a 13-yard TD pass from Finn Furmanek for the winning score, and Gaul also recovered a fumble on McDowell’s possession to seal the win. Donte Nastasi had two touchdown runs in overtime. State College reached the PIAA semifinals last season before falling to Mt. Lebanon, 49-28. The Little Lions lost to La Salle in the PIAA title game in 2009. Furmanek has led the State College offense this season with 1,476 passing yards and 15 touchdowns and 440 rushing yards and five scores. Freshman running back D’Antae Sheffey has run for 1,576 yards and 21 scores.

Class 5A quarterfinals

Cathedral Prep (8-2) at Pine-Richland (10-3)

7 p.m. Friday at Pine-Richland Stadium

How they got here: District 10 champ Cathedral Prep won its regular-season finale, 44-0, over Erie. Pine-Richland beat Upper St. Clair, 34-3, to win the WPIAL championship Saturday.

Winner plays: Winner of District 3 championship between Cocalico (9-4) and Exeter Township (12-0) in the PIAA semifinals Dec. 2-3 (site, time TBD)

Coaches: Mike Krahe, Cathedral Prep; Jon LeDonne, Pine-Richland

Players to watch: Luke Costello, jr., QB, Cathedral Prep; Ryan Palmieri, sr., QB/DB, Pine-Richland

Factoids: Cathedral Prep hasn’t played since beating Canisius in a nonconference game Oct. 28. Krahe, in his first season as the Ramblers’ head coach, helped Prep win three state titles as defensive assistant and coordinator between 2013-19. He replaced Mike Mischler, who resigned after 20 seasons. Cathedral Prep won state titles in 2000, ‘12, ‘16, ‘17 and ‘18. The Ramblers lost to Pine-Richland in the 2020 PIAA title game. Costello has passed for 1,184 yards and 15 touchdowns this season. Juniors Suhtaun Lewis and Dajoure Hollingsworth have paced the running game with more than 700 yards apiece. … Pine-Richland has won nine straight games after starting the season 1-3. The Rams have outscored opponents 400-192 and score an average of 30.8 ppg. LeDonne is in his first season leading the Rams after guiding Penn Hills for five seasons and building a 46-13 record with a WPIAL and PIAA title in 2018. In the WPIAL title game, Palmieri ran for two touchdowns and threw a 20-yard strike to Vasile Balouris. Ethan Pillar and Luke Rudolph also ran for scores. Pine-Richland reached the PIAA title game four times, winning in 2017 and 2020.

Class 2A quarterfinals

Farrell (10-1) at Westinghouse (12-0)

1 p.m. Saturday at Cupples Stadium

How they got here: Farrell won the District 10 title with a 26-0 win over Sharpsville last week. Westinghouse defeated Central Clarion, 44-8, in the PIAA first round.

Winner plays: Winner of the WPIAL championship game between Steel Valley (11-0) and Beaver Falls (11-1) in the PIAA semifinals Dec. 2-3 (site, time TBD)

Coaches: Anthony Pegues, Farrell; Donta Green, Westinghouse

Players to watch: Kabron Smith, jr., QB, Farrell; Keyshawn Morsillo, sr., QB, Westinghouse

Factoids: These teams are familiar with one another. Farrell beat Westinghouse, 24-7, in the PIAA first round last year. … Farrell won PIAA titles in 1995, ‘96, 2018 and ‘19. Smith has thrown for 1,854 yards and 22 touchdowns. Junior Brandon Chambers has run for 1,006 yards and nine scores, and senior Kylon Wilson has 527 rushing yards with 17 TDs. Chambers scored on a 33-yard run and a fumble return in the District 10 title game, as the Steelers won their seventh district title in eight years. Wilson was ejected and will not be able to play in the quarterfinals. … Westinghouse has outscored opponents 558-101. The Bulldogs average 48.5 points and allow just 8.4. They posted notable wins over Clairton, Steelton-Highspire and Butler during the regular season. The Bulldogs are 5-0 in the postseason, rolling past Perry, Allderdice, Chestnut Ridge, Berlin-Brothersvalley and Central Clarion by a combined score of 236-44. Morsillo has thrown for more than 2,200 yards and 39 touchdowns and also run for more than 600 yards with 16 scores. Senior Sincere Smith is his top target. He’s accumulated more than 1,100 yards and 19 scores through the air.

Bill Hartlep is the TribLive sports editor. A Pittsburgh native and Point Park graduate, he joined the Trib in 2004, covering high school sports. He held various editing roles before assuming his current position in 2019. He can be reached at bhartlep@triblive.com.

Tags: North Allegheny, Pine-Richland, Westinghouse