Plethora of skill could help Pine-Richland defend WPIAL Class 5A title

By: Chris Harlan
Wednesday, August 6, 2025 | 6:01 AM

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Editor’s note: Trib HSSN will publish team-by-team previews for one conference per day until the start of the high school football season Aug. 22.

Pine-Richland will embrace the old football adage that the best defense is a good offense as an early season strategy.

Especially since the Rams have a talented offense that should be better than most others. The defending WPIAL Class 5A champions return their leading passer, rusher and receiver from a unit that averaged 35 points per game.

The defense, however, has holes to fill.

“Having those guys on offense this year is going to do us well,” Pine-Richland coach Jon LeDonne said. “We lose some key components on defense, and it may take us a little longer to get going.”

Pine-Richland went 11-1 last season, won its second WPIAL title in three years under LeDonne and reached the state semifinals. This year, the Rams could become the first team to win consecutive 5A titles.

The offense starts with quarterback Aaron “Oobi” Strader, a 5-foot-11 junior with Syracuse among his college offers. Strader passed for 1,755 yards and 20 touchdowns as a sophomore last season, his second playing quarterback for the Rams.

“Another year of growth and maturity for Oobi at the quarterback position is really going to propel the offense,” LeDonne said. “He’s making decisions faster.”

Strader tossed four touchdowns in a game twice last year and had a 100-yard rushing effort that showed his athleticism. He also got stronger since last year, maybe making him a bigger part of the run game.

“This offense is about to be the most unstoppable offense that the WPIAL has seen in a while,” Strader said.

Talented skill-position players surround him.

Florida State-bound senior Jay Timmons, a wide receiver and defensive back, led the team with 755 receiving yards on 40 catches last season. The Rams also added Penn State-bound junior Khalil Taylor, who transferred from Seton LaSalle in July but still needs to complete the WPIAL eligibility process. Taylor had 51 catches for 932 yards.

Taylor scored 22 touchdowns and Timmons had 12.

Strader said Taylor’s arrival makes an already good offense even better.

“This will make our offense click even more than it already is,” Strader said. “We have a lot of chemistry on the team. A player like (Taylor) can make our offense even more dynamic.”

In the backfield, senior Maclane Miller returns at running back after rushing for 1,303 yards and 15 touchdowns last year. Miller, who has a college offer from Clarion, shouldered 232 carries.

Pitt-bound tackle John Curran, a 6-3, 295-pound senior, anchors the offensive line.

The defensive side of the ball is less settled after more than half of the starters graduated. Gone are five of the top six tacklers, with only senior linebacker Grant Pillar (5-10, 185) returning. Pillar’s 83 tackles ranked third.

“Pillar came on strong last year, so he’s going to be the heartbeat of our defense,” LeDonne said.

Timmons is a standout in the secondary after intercepting four passes and forcing three fumbles. Junior defensive lineman Dajour Webb returns after making 47 tackles, along with brother Dajaun Webb, an all-conference defensive back with two interceptions.

But gone from the defense is a trio of three-year starters, including leading tacklers Sam Heckert and Tanner Cunningham. They combined for more than 200 tackles last year.

“So, it might take us a little while defensively to get rolling,” said LeDonne, adding that coaches would need camp to figure out who plays where.

“We’re mixing and matching some things right now,” he said. “People look good without pads on. Once you get pads on, it’s a completely different game. We’re focusing in on a couple of key positions and trying to find some answers.”

Pine-Richland

Coach: Jon LeDonne

2024 record: 11-1, 5-0 in Class 5A Northeast Conference

All-time record: 417-292-13

SCHEDULE

Date, Opponent, Time

8.22 at Findlay (Ohio) 7

8.29 at Central Catholic, 7

9.5 Seneca Valley, 7

9.12 at North Hills*, 7

9.19 Plum*, 7

9.26 at Fox Chapel*, 7

10.3 at Penn Hills*, 7

10.10 at Latrobe, 7

10.17 North Allegheny, 7

10.24 at Shaler*, 7

* Conference game

STATISTICAL LEADERS

Passing: Aaron Strader

94-173, 1,755 yards, 20 TDs

Rushing: Maclane Miller

232-1,303 yards, 15 TDs

Receiving: Jay Timmons

40-755 yards, 8 TDs

FAST FACTS

• Pine-Richland will travel to western Ohio to play Findlay in Week Zero, a matchup with the high school alma mater of former Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger. Findlay is 45 miles south of Toledo.

• Jon LeDonne is 33-8 with two WPIAL titles and one state championship in three seasons as Pine-Richland coach. His career record is 81-48 in 11 seasons with previous stints at Shaler and Penn Hills, where he won WPIAL and PIAA titles in 2018.

• Returning players John Curran (OT), Aaron Strader (QB), Maclane Miller (RB), Jay Timmons (DB) and Dajaun Webb (DB) earned first-team all-conference honors. Linebacker Grant Pillar (at-large) made the second team defense.

• Pine-Richland has the unique distinction of winning football championships in five classifications: Class 6A (2017, ’18), Class 5A (’20, ’22, ’24), Class 4A (2014), Class 3A (‘03) and Class 2A (1969, ’70).

• Pine-Richland has nine WPIAL titles, which ties for sixth-most in district history with Central Catholic.

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: Pine-Richland