Previewing the PIAA playoff matchups for Beaver Falls, Aliquippa
Now that Beaver Falls and Aliquippa have won WPIAL championships, they will next begin their quest for state titles.
Both the Tigers and Quips play semifinal games of the PIAA playoffs at 7 p.m. Friday.
Beaver Falls (9-5) will take on Pittsburgh City League champ Westinghouse (12-0) at West Allegheny High School’s Joe B. DiMichela Stadium.
Aliquippa (12-0) faces District 4 champ Selinsgrove (13-0-1) at Central Cambria High School in Ebensburg.
Following are scouting reports of those games:
BEAVER FALLS vs. WESTINGHOUSE
In the WPIAL 2A playoffs, 10th-seeded Beaver Falls knocked off the No. 7, No. 2, No. 3 and No. 1 seeds enroute to winning its sixth WPIAL title in program history. Now as they move on to the state tournament, the Tigers get Westinghouse, which made it to the PIAA championship game last year. The Bulldogs did lose to perennial power Southern Columbia, but they were the first Pittsburgh City League team to reach the state finals in 25 years.
In recent seasons, Westinghouse has been the best team in the Pittsburgh City League with four titles over the past five years. Over the past two years, the Bulldogs have compiled a 26-1 record.
Much of Westinghouse’s success can be credited to fifth-year coach Donta Green, the executive director of the Trade Institute of Pittsburgh who was honored by the FBI in May at FBI headquarters in Washington D.C. for his service to multiple community organizations.
Last week in the PIAA quarterfinals, Westinghouse overcame an early 14-0 deficit at Farrell and beat the Steelers 38-20 in a game played at Farrell. In that game, Bulldogs quarterback Khalil Green, a junior, threw for three touchdowns and ran for another.
One of Westinghouse’s strengths is an experienced offensive line – three seniors, two juniors – led by tackle Raymon Poindexter (5-foot-11, 285 pounds), a four-year starter.
Last week in the WPIAL 2A championship, Beaver Falls again displayed its resiliency and never-say-die mindset with a 14-12 come-from-behind win over reigning WPIAL champ Steel Valley.
Remember, Steel Valley had beaten Beaver Falls, 34-14, in the 2022 WPIAL final when the Tigers committed four turnovers.
But that wasn’t the case this year. This year, BF committed only one turnover.
That turnover, a fourth-quarter fumble by running back Da’Talian Beauford, appeared to be the game-changing play. It was returned by defensive tackle Rasaum Hough 78 yards for a touchdown that gave Steel Valley a 12-6 lead with 5:33 left in the fourth quarter.
But with just 44 seconds left in the game, Beauford scored on a 4-yard TD run to make it 12-12. Then coach Nick Nardone, as he’s often done this year, decided to go for the two-point conversion. It was Beauford who got the call and delivered as he scored to give the Tigers their second WPIAL title in the last four years.
Beauford leads Beaver Falls with 978 rushing yards and 14 TDs (12 rushing, two pass receptions).
Like Westinghouse, one of the Tigers’ strengths is also a veteran offensive line that starts four seniors – Damian Lee (6-0, 285) among them -- and a sophomore.
Two weeks ago when the Tigers upset Washington in the semifinals, 28-26, Nardone told a sports reporter “You want to give a definition of never quit? Talk about the 2023 Beaver Falls Tigers because of everything that went wrong tonight. They could’ve quit and turned on each other. They never quit. They kept fighting.”
After the win over Steel Valley, Nardone said “If you would look up family in the dictionary, you’d see a picture of this 2023 team. It’s hard to put into words, but this team has been through so much. This team has just so much resiliency, these kids never put their heads down. They’re battle tested.”
The Beaver Falls vs. Westinghouse winner moves on to the PIAA 2A championship game at 1 p.m. Friday, Dec. 8 at Cumberland Valley High School’s Chapman Field. In the other PIAA 2A semifinal, it’s Dunmore vs. Southern Columbia, the reigning state champs.
ALIQUIPPA vs. SELINSGROVE
When Aliquippa steps on the field for the 25thPIAA playoff game in Quips history – they are 17-7 in those games -- it will face a program that’s also had its share of post-season success over the years.
While the Quips have won 20 WPIAL titles, the Seals have won 15 championships in District 4, which is located in north central Pennsylvania.
Selinsgrove, located about 50 miles north of Harrisburg, is making its first appearance in the state playoffs since 2015, but it did win the PIAA Class 4A title in 2009 with a team that went 15-0.
This year, the Seals have been a juggernaut that’s outscored its opponents on average, 43-12. They have scored 60 or more points once, 50 or more points twice and 40 or more points six times, mostly recently last week in the PIAA quarterfinals when they beat Juniata, 44-14.
The man who makes Selinsgrove go is Tucker Teats, a senior running back/outside linebacker. He’s a three-sport star who also wrestles and plays baseball.
Teats, who’s 5-foot-9 and 187 pounds, ranks among the District 4 leaders in several offensive categories. He’s first in rushing yards (2,237) and first in rushing touchdowns (32). He’s first in kickoff returns (28.6 yards per return) and third in punt returns (19.7 ypr). He’s first in all-purpose yards with 3,161. In all, he’s scored 40 touchdowns. Beside his rushing TDs, he’s also caught four TD passes, returned an interception for a TD, and scored three times on kick returns.
The Seals also have a capable quarterback in Mark Pastore, a senior who averages 116.4 passing yards per game. He’s thrown 21 TD passes and only five interceptions. Last week in the win over Juniata, Pastore threw two TD passes and ran for a 20-yard touchdown. His main target is junior wide receiver Gavin Bastian, who’s caught 49 passes for 768 yards and nine TDs.
Defensively, junior D-end Devon Mitchell leads the team with seven sacks.
Meanwhile, Aliquippa can make it to the PIAA championship game for the 10th time if it beats Selinsgrove.
Like the Seals, the Quips are a scoring machine that averages 40.7 points per game.
As always, Aliquippa racks up chunks of yards with its running game. But it also has gotten strong quarterback play from Quentin Goode.
Tikey Hayes, a junior who’s a Penn State recruit, has already established himself as one of the greatest running backs in Aliquippa history. Last week in the 35-21 win over McKeesport in the WPIAL 4A final, Hayes “only” rushed for 114 yards. But he’s now the Quips’ all-time leading rusher with 5,485 yards. He’s rushed for 1,759 yards and 21 TDs this season.
Hayes didn’t score against McKeesport but all-purpose back Brandon Banks, a Pitt recruit, ran for two scores and returned a fumble 39 yards for a TD. Goode, who’s completed 60 percent of his passes this season, threw for two TDs.
The Aliquippa defense limited McKeesport’s strong running attack to 119 yards on 30 attempts. Fullback Keith Spell, who had tortured defenses in recent weeks, was held to 55 yards on 11 carries.
Defensively, Aliquippa put the clamps on McKeesport’s strong running, limiting the Tigers to 119 yards on 30 attempts. Running back Keith Spell, a 6-foot-2, 245-pound bruiser who rushed for 171 yards in a semifinal win over Montour, only rushed for 55 against the Quips.
The Aliquippa vs. Selinsgrove winner moves on to the PIAA 4A championship game on Thursday, Dec. 7 at Cumberland Valley High School’s Chapman Field. In the other PIAA 4A semifinal, it’s Dallas vs. Bishop McDevitt, the reigning state champs who beat Aliquippa last year in the championship game.
This article originally appeared on Beaver County Times: Previewing the PIAA playoff matchups for Beaver Falls, Aliquippa
