Shaler moves in right direction with win over nemesis North Hills

By: Josh Rizzo
Sunday, October 19, 2025 | 11:01 AM

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The North Hills game has never been an easy night for the Shaler football team. The Indians inflicted plenty of pain on the Titans over the past 13 seasons.

Shaler senior wide receiver Jonathan Saban insisted that meant they had a different approach at practice leading up to their Northeast Conference battle this season. The Titans were laser focused.

“There’s no talking in between drills,” Saban said. “We wanted everything to be done with precision and minimal errors.”

Titans quarterback Aaron Aversa threw for 130 yards and a touchdown and ran for another to help the Titans beat North Hills, 17-14, on Oct. 9 at home. It halted a 13-game losing streak for Shaler against North Hills that dated to a 26-14 Titans’ win on Sept. 23, 2011.

The Indians didn’t have too many close calls during that stretch, outscoring Shaler 452-131 during those meetings. The closest Shaler came to beating North Hills was a 19-12 loss in 2019.

Titans coach Jim Ryan took over the program in 2017 and wanted to see Shaler knock off another milestone.

“It’s definitely one of those goals we’ve been striving for,” Ryan said. “We’ve come close on a couple of occasions. It’s a step in the right direction.”

The win was certainly a step forward for Shaler (2-6, 2-1) to find a spot in the WPIAL Class 5A playoffs for the first time since 2019. If the Titans beat Fox Chapel and Penn Hills beat North Hills, Shaler would have its ticket punched to the postseason.

Results from the Titans’ game with the Foxes were too late for this edition.

Shaler learned plenty of hard lessons during the first three weeks of the season. The Titans opened the season with an overtime loss to Butler, kicking off a stretch of three losses that came by eight points or fewer.

Shaler also lost to South Fayette by eight and dropped a one-point decision to Hampton.

“I think we learned the lesson after we lost to Butler and Hampton,” Saban said. “Those were games we thought we would win, and we weren’t as locked in during practice as we needed to be. We got what we deserved from that.”

Aversa has developed into a dual threat for Shaler. He has 874 passing yards and 608 rushing yards this season. He is tied with Jayden Conrad for a team-high four touchdowns.

“He is a true leader,” Ryan said. “He wants to win and get better with his teammates. I think that speaks for itself. He continues to get better with making reads and making things happen when things don’t go to plan.”

After the slow start, the Titans bounced back with a win over Plum before entering a brutal stretch of games that included Woodland Hills, Penn Hills and Central Catholic.

The Titans were limited to 21 points in three consecutive defeats.

Ryan said he always felt like Shaler would turn things around.

“Despite the close losses, it’s the next-rep mentality,” Ryan said. “It’s the chemistry we have, the buy-in and the care we have for one another and the kids toward us. We’re hoping it catches fire from there.”

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