Trib HSSN football player of the week for Sept. 28, 2025

By: Don Rebel
Sunday, September 28, 2025 | 9:32 PM

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Trib HSSN football player of the week: Jonah Williamson

School: Trinity

Class: Senior

Height/weight: 6-foot-2, 212 pounds

Position: Quarterback, defensive back

#Earned: As conference play was finally set to begin in Week 5 for all 18 teams in Class 4A, Trinity was a team trying to remain confident heading into its Big Six Conference opener despite three straight losses and a 1-4 overall record. Three-year starting quarterback Jonah Williamson led with words during the week and with actions Friday night. The senior completed 10 of 15 passes for 201 yards and four touchdowns: three to junior wide receiver Braden Berdar (29, 30 and 65 yards) and one from 25 yards to senior wideout Javis Pugh. While lighting up the Ringgold defense with his arm, he also hurt them with his legs, rushing for 158 yards on 18 carries with scores of 1 and 32 yards as the Hillers ended a three-game skid and opened up conference play with a convincing victory over the Rams, 48-14.

Background: Williamson will continue his academic and football career next fall at Harvard. For the season, Williamson has completed 57 of 88 for 883 yards and 13 touchdowns. He also leads the team in rushing with 535 yards on 77 carries for an average of 6.94 yards per carry. Williamson has scored nine touchdowns and leads the team in scoring. As a junior, he threw for 1,059 yards, was second in rushing with 814 and led the team in scoring. His best season was his sophomore campaign in which he threw for 1,860 yards and 13 touchdowns, rushed for a team high 1,012 yards and scored a team-leading 12 touchdowns. Williamson is a three-sport star at Trinity, playing guard on the basketball team and catcher on the baseball team.

What coach says: “Jonah has the ability to take over a game with his arm and legs,” Trinity coach Dan Knause said. “He did this on Friday night. He was a true dual threat on every snap, which is hard to defend. He makes everyone around him better. We distribute the ball to a lot of guys, but our offense runs through Jonah.

“His legs and arm complement each other. Early in his career, it was his ability to run, but now his arm is what makes us go. We attack if teams load the box. His football IQ is elite for a player in high school. He loves the game and has become a student of the game.

“Jonah has started since he was a freshman. His ability to recognize defensive coverages and fronts is at a coach’s level right now. He’s a product of reps and relentless film study.”

“Jonah is a special young man. When adversity strikes, he always responds. His teammates feed off of his leadership. He challenges others to be the best versions of themselves. Jonah’s leadership resonates in our locker room because he is the hardest working guy, and his mental and physical toughness is on display every day.

“Jonah is currently No. 1 academically in his class. He is a three-sport athlete, which is rare, but we celebrate this because he makes Trinity athletics better. He is a kind and caring young man, and he’s the ultimate competitor on the field, court or diamond. He supports our special education classrooms during his non-academic class periods. Overall, Jonah is going to Harvard for a reason. His time management, work ethic and maturity make him an elite person, student and player. We are grateful to have him in our program because he makes others around him better. Jonah is a great representative of our program and the whole Trinity community. No matter how much success he has, he remains a humble and hungry young man.”

WPIAL Week 5 Honorable Mention

Dominic Detruf: Hempfield

It was a see-saw first half of the season for Hempfield, which burst out of the gates with three straight wins before getting hammered by the two Class 6A elite teams, North Allegheny and Central Catholic. That made the bounce-back Friday more enjoyable for the Spartans as they picked up their first 6A win. Quarterback Dominic Detruf completed 26 of 34 passes for 350 yards and four touchdowns — three to Lucas Simmons and one to Jack Kopas — as Hempfield defeated Canon-McMillan, 38-27.

Jaydon Oliver: Armstrong

Armstrong and Gateway struggled in nonconference action with a combined 1-6 record heading into 5A Big East Conference play. However, both teams turned things around with the Gators sitting at 2-0 and the River Hawks at 1-0 in conference heading into their Week 5 contest. Hawks junior quarterback Jaydon Oliver was 11 of 21 passing for 234 yards with a touchdown pass and two scoring runs, including a game-winning 31-yarder as Armstrong edged Gateway, 29-28.

Wyatt Sparbanie: Western Beaver

This season, Western Beaver has enjoyed the pomp and circumstance of Friday night football with permanent lights coming to Industry. The brightest light of them all has been running back Wyatt Sparbanie. The junior carried the ball 20 times in the 2A Midwestern Athletic Conference battle for first place against Riverside for 265 yards and seven touchdowns — 75, 8, 8, 19, 40, 34 and 18 yards — as the Golden Beavers beat down the Panthers, 48-19 to improve to 6-0.

M.J. Stuckey: Cornell

In a Week 4 loss to Bishop Canevin, Cornell quarterback M.J. Stuckey struggled to find success, and his team lost big to the Crusaders, 44-7. Playing in full throttle bounce-back mode, Stuckey found success often in a Black Hills Conference game at Serra Catholic. The senior completed 10 of 17 passes for 247 yards and three touchdowns — a 74-yard strike to Khylil Johnson, a 39-yard connection to Isaiah Dawson and a 78-yard hook up with Terrance Collington — as the Raiders cruised past the Eagles, 47-18.

2025 HSSN Players of the Week

Week 4: David Dennison, Bethel Park

Week 3: Scoop Smith, Woodland Hills

Week 2: Joey Felitsky and Logan Schade, North Catholic

Week 1: James Armstrong, Hopewell

Week Zero: Gabriel Jenkins, Imani Christian

Tags: Trinity