WPIAL’s biggest games produce some big blowouts — 5 things we learned in Week 7

By: Chris Harlan
Sunday, October 12, 2025 | 8:32 PM

A slate of big games in Week 7 led to more big blowouts than big battles.

Seven games matched opponents with undefeated conference records, and only one was decided by fewer than three touchdowns. Southmoreland held off Mt. Pleasant, 14-0, on Friday to stay atop the Interstate Conference standings.

Elsewhere, the biggest games were mostly big letdowns for the losing side.

• In the Greater Allegheny, McKeesport built a 25-point halftime lead over Mars and won 56-31. Tigers running back Kemon Spell scored four of his six touchdowns before the break but his longest — an 86-yard punt return — came after the break.

Spell also gave Penn State fans some bad news when the nation’s top-ranked running back wavered on his commitment to the Nittany Lions.

• In the Big Six, Trinity and quarterback Jonah Williamson outscored Chartiers Valley by 26 points over the final three quarters for a 42-18 win. Williamson, a Harvard recruit, rushed for four touchdowns.

• In the Eastern, Clairton’s defense posted a sixth straight shutout in a 48-0 win over Leechburg. The Bears held a 41-point halftime lead, and a different player scored each of their seven touchdowns.

• In the Black Hills, Fort Cherry never trailed in a 56-19 victory over Bishop Canevin. The Rangers pulled away by scoring six of the game’s final seven touchdowns, including an 85-yard interception return by Matt Sieg. The Fort Cherry quarterback/safety scored five touchdowns.

• In the Big 7, South Side’s defense gave up a lone first-quarter touchdown in a 35-7 victory over Neshannock. The Rams scored 35 unanswered points.

• In the Allegheny, South Allegheny built a 20-point halftime lead and ran away with a 35-0 win over Apollo-Ridge.

All combined, the seven winning teams outscored opponents 286-75.

‘House takes rare loss

Westinghouse’s City League dominance was interrupted by a familiar foe.

The Bulldogs lost a regular season City League game for the first time since 2019. The same opponent that beat them six years ago — USO — got them again. USO defeated Westinghouse, 20-14, on Friday behind two passing touchdowns from Daimere Adair. The loss snapped a streak of 27 consecutive regular season wins over City League opponents.

As a result, USO (5-2, 4-0) draws the No. 1 playoff seed and faces No. 4 Brashear (1-7, 1-3) in a City League semifinal. No. 2 Westinghouse (5-3, 3-1) draws No. 3 Allderdice (4-4, 2-2) in the other semifinal.

USO is a combination of players from University Prep, Sci-Tech and Obama Academy.

Westinghouse last lost to USO, 32-22, on Sept. 5, 2019. However, the Bulldogs later defeated USO, 12-2, when the teams rematched in the City League finals.

Parkway traffic

The Parkway is as congested as ever.

A year ago, the Class 4A conference finished with a three-way tie for first place.

This year, there’s now a four-way tie between Aliquippa, New Castle, Montour and West Allegheny with two weeks left in the regular season. West Allegheny defeated New Castle, 24-14, on Friday to create the logjam at the top.

All four teams have a 2-1 record in conference.

Keep an eye on Montour. In the next two weeks, the Spartans visit Aliquippa and host West Allegheny.

Imperfect results

Two teams with fast starts ran into road bumps Friday as Western Beaver and Jefferson-Morgan each took its first loss.

Jefferson-Morgan (7-1, 4-1) saw an 18-game regular season winning streak snapped with a 35-13 loss to Bentworth (6-2, 4-1) in the Tri-County South. The Rockets hadn’t lost a regular season game in more than two years, but Bentworth’s Ben Hays, the WPIAL’s leading rusher, ran for five touchdowns.

Western Beaver’s loss was maybe more unforeseen.

Mohawk (3-5, 2-3) was off to a rough start this fall but the Warriors ran away with a 40-20 victory over the Golden Beavers (7-1, 4-1). Mohawk scored the first three touchdowns and led 19-0 after a 35-yard interception return by Bobby Fadden.

Only six WPIAL teams remained undefeated after Week 7: Fort Cherry, South Allegheny, Avonworth, Southmoreland, Imani Christian and Peters Township.

No more zero

Sto-Rox hasn’t had much reason lately to celebrate, but the Vikings surely could Friday after an 8-6 win over Carlynton. The win snapped a 14-game losing streak that tied for the fourth-longest active in the WPIAL.

Yet they weren’t the only team to get a much-needed win. Northgate and Perry also earned first victories here in Week 7. Northgate defeated Summit Academy, 22-12. Perry topped Carrick, 14-12.

Chris Harlan is a TribLive reporter covering sports. He joined the Trib in 2009 after seven years as a reporter at the Beaver County Times. He can be reached at charlan@triblive.com.

Tags: Aliquippa, Bentworth, Carlynton, Carrick, Clairton, Fort Cherry, Jefferson-Morgan, McKeesport, Mohawk, Montour, New Castle, Northgate, Perry, South Allegheny, South Side, Southmoreland, Sto-Rox, Summit Academy, Trinity, University Prep, West Allegheny, Western Beaver, Westinghouse