Trib HSSN May Madness: Steve Breaston, Woodland Hills vs. Jonathan Baldwin, Aliquippa

By: Don Rebel
Monday, May 18, 2020 | 9:00 AM

Over the course of the next month and a half, May Madness will determine who fans believe is the WPIAL Athlete of the Century.

HSSN has put together two 32-player brackets, one for the boys and one for the girls, of WPIAL alums. Outside of a few exceptions, the field is made up of former district players who excelled in more than one sport.

Each weekday, May Madness will have one matchup each on the boys and girls bracket with a little background info on each athlete found in a daily tale of the tape.

Starting at 9 a.m. Monday and running through 9 a.m. Tuesday, you can vote on the HSSN twitter page on the two athletes featured in this first-round matchup.

Check the HSSN website at noon Tuesday for the matchups’ final results.

Here is the contest for the boys; Round 1, Day 12:

Steve Breaston vs. Jonathan Baldwin is a big school vs. small school battle between two athletes from two iconic district schools that have enjoyed tremendous success this century.

Steve Breaston — Woodland Hills Class of 2002

(Football, basketball, track and field)

• 2001 Pittsburgh Tribune Review Terrific 25 football all-star team member.

• 2001 Gatorade Pa. football player of the year.

• Rivals.com ranked him as the third best “athlete” in the country and was ranked the third best skill athlete and Northeast player of the year by Super Prep.

• As a quarterback, Breaston rushed for 2,545 career yards and scored 37 touchdowns.

• As a senior, Breaston threw for 600 yards, rushed for 1,718 yards and threw or ran for 34 touchdowns with 10 of those scoring runs coming on touchdowns run of 50 yards or more.

• In his junior and senior seasons combined, Breaston accounted for more than 5,000 all-purpose yards, including a pair of punt returns for a score in his senior season against McKeesport.

• Breaston helped Woodland Hills win its third WPIAL Class AAAA championship in four years with a 41-6 rout of Central Catholic in the first year the games were played at Heinz Field in 2001. Breaston rushed for 219 yards on 15 carries, including an 87-yard run on the third play of the game. The Wolverines finished 14-1 after losing in the mud at Hershey to Neshaminy, 21-7, in the state championship game.

• He played two years of basketball at Woodland Hills and was on the track team his final two years. As a junior, he won the WPIAL 300-meter hurdles championship and took gold as a senior in the 400-meter race. He also finished fifth in the high jump.

• He was inducted into the WPIAL Hall of Fame in 2010.

• Breaston played college football as a wide receiver at Michigan and played in the NFL for Arizona, Kansas City and New Orleans.

Jonathan Baldwin — Aliquippa Class of 2008

(Football, basketball, track and field)

• 2007 Pittsburgh Tribune Review Terrific 25 all-star team member.

• 2007 SuperPrep All-American and Northeast player of the year.

• Was ranked as one of the top high school wide receivers in the country as a senior, including No. 3 by SuperPrep, No. 5 by Rivals.com and No. 6 by Scout.com.

• Was on the Aliquippa football team for three years and combined for 62 receptions for 1,083 yards and 14 touchdowns in his junior and seniors seasons.

• Helped Aliquippa to an undefeated football regular season in 2006 as a junior before the Quips lost to Jeannette in the quarterfinals.

• As a senior, the team finished 9-3 and reached the Class AA semifinals where it again lost to Terrelle Pryor and Jeannette in a wild 70-48 semifinal game. It was the last time Aliquippa did not advance to the WPIAL finals to date.

• Baldwin had several Division I offers in basketball after he averaged nearly 22 points, 8.5 rebounds and 2 blocks in his senior season and was a member of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review Terrific 10 all-star team.

• Helped Aliquippa win back-to-back WPIAL basketball championships in his sophomore and junior seasons in 2006 and 2007. The 2007 team lost to Prep Charter, 68-66, in the PIAA Class AA championship game.

• Was a member of the Aliquippa track and field team as a junior and senior. He won WPIAL gold as a member of the 1,600 relay team that set a district record with a time of 42.47 seconds. He also earned state bronze in the 2008 PIAA 100-meter with a time of 10.94.

• Baldwin played college football as a wide receiver at Pitt before playing in the NFL as a wide receiver for Kansas City, San Francisco and Detroit.

Check out the updated brackets here.

Steve Breaston – @SBreaston15
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Jonathan Baldwin – @Showtimecb4414

— TribLive HSSN (@TribLiveHSSN) May 18, 2020

Tags: Aliquippa, Woodland Hills