Top-ranked Seton LaSalle returns to WPIAL Class 2A final after topping Washington

By: Brennan Valladares
Friday, November 14, 2025 | 11:33 PM

With under five minutes left in the WPIAL Class 2A semifinals Friday night, Washington was slowly walking down Seton LaSalle for a chance to overcome a one-point deficit.

Quarterback Tristan Reed was electric all night, throwing for 209 yards and a touchdown. Facing third-and-10, he found his star wideout, Ameer Nelsen — who finished the game with four catches for 116 yards — for a 14-yard gain. The Prexies then turned to the run game after the first down, hoping to grind their way to a win.

Reed handed the ball off to Trenton Grooms who ran up the middle, but the ball was poked loose, and Seton LaSalle recovered with under four minutes to play.

With the momentum back on the Rebels’ side, Kia Jones knew exactly where to go.

“So me and Aaron (Loritts) we do this play a lot,” Jones said. “It’s like bread and butter whenever we call this play.

“Me and him, we have a connection. He knows where the ball is going to go. I know where to place the ball. So soon as I seen the safety bite down, it was like, ‘it’s there.’”

And it sure was there, as Jones aired out an 81-yard bomb to Loritts, who took his lone reception to the end zone to seal No. 1 Seton LaSalle’s 27-19 win over No. 5 Washington at Peters Township’s Confluence Financial Partners Stadium.

Jones finished the game with six completions for 131 yards. And when his team needed a big play, he turned to his most trusted teammate.

“I trust Aaron a lot,” he said. “… Whenever we run that play, that’s the guy.”

The Rebels (11-1) will take on No. 3 Steel Valley in the WPIAL championship Nov. 22 at Acrisure Stadium. They finished as WPIAL runners-up last season after falling to South Park, 21-14.

Seton LaSalle received the kickoff to start the third quarter while trailing 19-13. On the first play of the half, Kymarr Freeman got a handoff. He picked up 10 yards, but that would be his only touch of the second half after he injured his ankle. Even then, Freeman amassed 128 yards on the ground and one touchdown.

“I just tweaked my ankle a little bit,” Freeman said postgame, “but I’m going to be back next week for sure.”

Jones took over the next 12 plays of the drive. He rushed for 58 yards (89 total for the game) and threw for 18 to lead the Rebels down the field. Then, Will Martin bulldozed his way into the end zone to tie the game before the extra point.

Washington (10-3) took over with 4:24 left in the third. The Prexies went 40 yards in 10 plays, setting themselves up at the Rebels’ 13-yard line heading into the fourth. On a trick play, JaQuay Heyman received the snap and threw a screen to Reed. Reed turned up field but was stripped at the 2-yard line.

The Rebels recovered but were forced into a three-and-out. Reed had a chance at redemption, but Grooms’ fumble led to Loritts’ game-sealing touchdown.

“There’s no ‘I’ in team,” Freeman said of his teammates stepping up in his absence. “It’s the people around you that make the team, man. Even when you can’t do the best, they’ll do the best for you.”

In addition to the first-half touchdowns by Reed and Nelson in the first half, Jamarie Walker scored on a 20-yard run to give the Prexies a 19-7 lead in the second quarter.

Deondre Hill ran in a 14-yard touchdown to bring Seton LaSalle within six before the half.

Tags: Seton La Salle, Washington