WPIAL Class 4A football breakdown: Aliquippa ready for another heavyweight fight

By: Michael Love
Saturday, August 20, 2022 | 8:47 PM

Purchase Photo Options

In winter 2020, Aliquippa challenged the PIAA assertion, under the competitive-balance rule, that it should move up from Class 3A to Class 4A.

Despite their best efforts, including the fact they were already voluntarily playing up in Class 3A, the Quips were bumped up one class and into a grouping that included heavyweights Belle Vernon, McKeesport and Thomas Jefferson.

Aliquippa not only survived, it thrived, making the WPIAL title game in the covid-affected 2020 season before falling to Thomas Jefferson.

The Quips rolled in 2021, winning 12 in a row after an early season nonconference loss to Central Valley. They breezed through the Parkway Conference, blanked Laurel Highlands in the WPIAL quarterfinals and outlasted McKeesport in the semifinals before topping Belle Vernon, 28-13, to claim the program’s 18th WPIAL crown.

Aliquippa capped its season with its fourth PIAA championship, 34-27, in Hershey.

In January, the Quips successfully rebuffed another competitive-balance challenge as a contingent of coaches, administrators and former players such as Ty Law lobbied the PIAA on their behalf.

Aliquippa now enters the 2022 season hoping to capture back-to-back Class 4A titles and follow Thomas Jefferson’s lead after the Jaguars did it in 2016-2017 and again in 2019-2020.

But the competition and pressure is expected to be sizeable with McKeesport and Thomas Jefferson, both semifinalists last year, ready to make a challenge in a deep Class 4A field along with the likes of newcomers Central Valley and North Catholic.

“When we were in Class 5A, we thought 5A was the toughest one, and then all these teams started moving around,” said McKeesport coach Matt Miller, who, with the help of players such as senior standout running back and safety Bobby Boyd, hopes to see his Tigers improve on last year’s 9-3 overall record.

“We like the challenge in 4A. You have Belle Vernon dropping down (to Class 3A), but teams like North Catholic and Central Valley will be ready. It should be competitive top to bottom. For us, I’ve been pleased with the work we’ve done to be where we are. We have some guys in new positions, and they’ve picked it all up fast. With the talented young men and great leaders we have, I am really excited for the season to get started.”

Bill Cherpak is back for his 28th season at Thomas Jefferson, and he hopes to lead his Jaguars to the program’s 11th WPIAL title and sixth since 2015.

Cherpak also is eight wins away (292-50) from 300 career victories with TJ.

“Overall, we had a pretty good summer of work, but now we have to make it count,” Cherpak said. “It’s hard to predict how we can do this season because while we do have some good players returning, there are some who have never played varsity before. That is the challenge, finding the right mix.

“The returning guys are hungry as they embrace being one of the predicted top teams every year. They don’t take it for granted. They also understand and talk about how they felt they failed last year in their goal of getting to the title game and winning another title.”

WPIAL Class 4A saw the most changes of any class in the WPIAL under the new alignment for the 2022 and 2023 seasons.

Along with Belle Vernon, Plum, Beaver, West Mifflin, Knoch and Greensburg Salem exited the classification.

Central Valley, which breezed through its 2021 schedule to win WPIAL and PIAA Class 3A titles, now is an instant contender in Class 4A.

North Catholic hopes for a solid start to its time in Class 4A after finishing as WPIAL runner-up to the Warriors last year. The Trojans, who last won a WPIAL title in 2013 (Class A), bring a strong reputation to the table and will be tested in the Greater Allegheny Conference and also in a nonconference clash with Aliquippa on Sept. 9.

“We’re really excited to be moving up and have these new opportunities, playing a lot of local schools, and once we settle in, build some really nice rivalries,” North Catholic coach Pat O’Shea said. “The competition in 4A overall, it’s just week after week after week, no matter what conference you’re in or whatever crossovers you’ve got. It is at a real high level. I told the kids how cool it is to play some of these historic teams and programs.”

Also moving into Class 4A are Ambridge, West Allegheny, Kiski Area, Connellsville and Latrobe, and they join other classification mainstays Blackhawk, Chartiers Valley, New Castle, Armstrong, Laurel Highlands, Ringgold, Hampton, Highlands, Indiana, Mars and Trinity.

Hampton, the defending Greater Allegheny Conference champion, Laurel Highlands, New Castle and Armstrong also were WPIAL quarterfinalists last year.

While there were changes to the team makeup of Class 4A, change also came to 10 teams with new head coaches.

Perhaps the most high-profile of the moves came at Mars, as former Pine-Richland coach Eric Kasperowicz returns to the high school coaching ranks after a one-year hiatus.

“It is an awesome feeling to really get rolling,” Kasperowicz said. “The kids have been working hard and are excited for a good year. I don’t know much about our conference having been up in Class 6A and 5A for so long, but I know there are a lot of reputable programs. It will be a challenge, but it will be fun, too.”

The Planets are hoping to bounce back from an uncharacteristic 2-8 season. The Mars school board in January voted to open the head coaching position, ending Scott Heinauer’s 30-year tenure with the program.

Heinauer won more than 200 games with the Planets.

Scott Sciullo is the new head coach at Hampton, replacing Jacque DeMatteo, who stepped down after 14 seasons with the Talbots to focus on family, including watching his son, Matt, compete in college on the track team at Duquesne.

Sciullo, a Shaler graduate, enjoyed a standout football career at Marshall before being drafted in 2003 by the Indianapolis Colts.

The former Deer Lakes coach most recently served as an assistant with DeMatteo at Hampton and knows it will be a stiff challenge to repeat in the Greater Allegheny Conference against the likes of North Catholic, Kiski Area, Highlands and Armstrong.

“We lost a lot of seniors, but we also got a lot of kids back who have all-conference experience,” Sciullo said. “We have a lot to prove, and we want to prove it. We’re excited about our league because each team is similar. No game will be easy as every team in the conference wants to be where we were last year.”

Other coaching moves saw Dan Knause move from Chartiers Valley to Trinity. Aaron Fitzpatrick takes over a Colts program hoping to move up the ranks in the Parkway Conference.

After 10 seasons, there is a new coach at New Castle as Stacy Robinson takes over for Joe Cowart.

Tri-coaches — Jace McClean, Mick Lilley and Chad Lembo — are in charge at Connellsville, while Matt Bonislawski (Highlands), Brad Wright (Indiana), Ron Prady (Latrobe) and Marcus McCullough (Ringgold) will test their coaching mettle in new homes.

THE FAVORITE

1. Aliquippa (13-1)

The Quips added to their record total of WPIAL titles last year, capturing their 18th crown and first since being moved up to Class 4A before the 2020 season. Aliquippa, the No. 2 seed for the 2021 playoffs, toppled No. 1 Belle Vernon, 28-13, for WPIAL gold. It was Aliquippa’s first title since 2018 in Class 3A. The Quips have reloaded this fall and hope to make it two in a row as a number of challengers in a revamped class will try to knock them off.

Preseason rankings

2. Thomas Jefferson (8-3)

3. McKeesport (9-3)

4. Central Valley (15-0)

5. North Catholic (12-1)

THE STARS

Rodney Gallagher

Laurel Highlands, Sr., QB/WR/DB

The Mustangs standout was celebrated in late May as he chose to take his talents to West Virginia University over two dozen other Division I offers including finalists Penn State, Notre Dame and Virginia Tech. The dangerous dual threat threw for more than 1,300 yards and rushed for more than 1,100 last year with 38 combined touchdowns as Laurel Highlands went 8-4 overall and made the WPIAL quarterfinals.

Cameron Lindsey

Aliquippa, Jr., LB/RB

The Quips star is revving up his high school career and continues to field Division I offers. The list includes Pitt, Penn State, West Virginia and Cincinnati. The four-star all-state linebacker helped Aliquippa capture the Class 4A state title over Bishop McDevitt (34-27) with an interception returned 34 yards for a touchdown. He finished the season with 86 tackles, two picks, and two forced fumbles.

Cadin Olsen

Armstrong, Sr., QB

The University of Pennsylvania verbal commit threw for the third-most yards in the WPIAL last year with 2,501 to go along with 28 touchdowns. He hopes to again be a running threat like in 2021 when he scampered for 830 yards and 16 scores. Olsen was voted the Willie Thrower Award winner in April as the WPIAL’s top quarterback last season.

Lamont Payne

Chartiers Valley, Sr., CB/WR

The two-way standout for the Colts didn’t wait long to make his college choice, picking Penn State early in his junior season from a list of numerous Division I offers that included West Virginia, Syracuse and Rutgers. He hopes to again show the Nittany Lions just what type of player they are getting.

Jayvin Thompson

Central Valley, Sr., WR/LB/S

Thompson knows titles as the veteran performer started at safety on three straight WPIAL Class 3A championship teams. He hopes the Warriors can make it four straight this season as it moves up and into a deep Class 4A. Thompson made 40 tackles last year, and he returned an interception for a touchdown in a dominant 52-15 WPIAL title victory over North Catholic.

DON’T MISS

10.7: Hampton at North Catholic

The Talbots ran the table to win last year’s Greater Allegheny Conference title before falling to Thomas Jefferson in the WPIAL quarterfinals to finish 11-1 overall. The Trojans were undefeated in Class 3A before running into buzzsaw Central Valley in the WPIAL Class 3A title game.

10.28: Thomas Jefferson at McKeesport

The final game of the regular season for both teams could very well decide the Big 7 Conference championship. The Tigers and Jaguars both were WPIAL semifinalists a year ago. McKeesport won both meetings the past two seasons (20-14, 42-28) since the teams became conference foes.

10.28: Central Valley at Aliquippa

This date in the high school football schedule is loaded with top matchups, and the two Parkway Conference heavyweights will continue their high-intensity rivalry. Central Valley has won four in a row, including the 2019 WPIAL Class 3A title game and last year’s nonconference matchup, 21-12. It was the Quips’ only loss in 14 games.

Michael Love is a TribLive reporter covering sports in the Alle-Kiski Valley and the eastern suburbs of Pittsburgh. A Clearfield native and a graduate of Westminster (Pa.), he joined the Trib in 2002 after spending five years at the Clearfield Progress. He can be reached at mlove@triblive.com.