Shaler downs Kiski Area for 1st playoff victory since 2009

By: Sean Saputo
Friday, October 31, 2025 | 11:31 PM

Previous Next

Shaler took advantage of home field in the opening round of the WPIAL Class 5A playoffs, defeating Kiski Area, 28-8, on Friday for its first postseason victory since 2009.

“This is unbelievable, it’s everything you work for,” Shaler coach Jim Ryan said. “These kids, the community, these moments are what make the hard times worth it.”

It was a long journey for Shaler to get that postseason win, as the last one was a 23-21 victory over Mt. Lebanon in the WPIAL 4A first round.

Not only was the playoff victory drought a difficult one, the 2025 season had its ups and downs for the Titans.

Through three games, Shaler sat 0-3 with all three losses by eight points or fewer. It wasn’t until victories late in the season against North Hills and Fox Chapel — the Titans’ second and third wins — that Shaler clinched a postseason spot and second place in Class 5A’s Northeast Conference, despite the 3-7 record.

“You learn those hard lessons early on, and you’d rather do it in the nonconference game,” said Ryan. “Honestly, I don’t think we would be here right now had those not happened, and it shows the resiliency of these kids.”

Aaron Aversa highlighted the first half for Shaler, tossing a 7-yard touchdown in the first quarter to Braedyn Witkowski and then tacking on a 2-yard rushing touchdown in the second quarter to give the Titans a 14-0 lead at the half.

Aversa scored a second rushing touchdown in the second half from 1 yard to close the scoring.

“He’s a leader, he’s a student of the game and he’s focused on everything he does,” said Ryan. “He’s the total package when it comes to being a quarterback and the definition of a senior leader.”

Kiski Area (4-7) had three golden opportunities to strike in the game that could’ve changed the momentum.

Two of the opportunities were a 45-yard pass and a 23-yard pass that were dropped in the end zone, and the third was an interception in the end zone by Witkowski.

“There were a lot of plays left out there,” said Kiski Area coach Colyn Haugh. “We had big plays in which we put the ball on the turf. We couldn’t capitalize in those moments. Last week we didn’t have the opportunities for those big plays, this week we did.”

Come the second half, the passing game sparked the Cavaliers as sophomore Landyn Artman threw for 196 yards and a 25-yard touchdown to Andrew Finney in the final 24 minutes of play, showing the bright future he has in front of him.

“He is one of those kids when he is on, he is really good,” said Haugh. “He’s battling through those ups and downs, and when he gets it all together, he’s going to be a very good quarterback in the league and people are going to look at him with a serious future.”

Shaler earned a date with top seed and defending Class 5A champion Pine-Richland. The Titans lost to the Rams, 49-17, in the regular-season finale.

“Football is one of those things where you have to stay sharp and on it,” said Ryan. “They are one of the best teams in 5A, but we had a whole week of practice, live action tonight and with that being said, I think it can give us a little bit of an advantage.”

As for Kiski Area, there is certainly a bright future ahead.

“What we are excited about is the fact we are a young program,” said Haugh. “We have a lot of young guys on offense outside the receiver group, but we have a great group coming up. If we continue to grow, we can have a potent offense and a lot of young guys that are going to make an impact. We are a team of football players.”

Tags: Kiski Area, Shaler