Times' HS notebook: Aliquippa lands pair of transfers, Tiqwai Hayes headed to Super Bowl LVIII

Less than two weeks after the PIAA rejected an appeal from Aliquippa’s football team to remain in Class 4A, there’s big news on the transfer front.

The Quips are reportedly getting two transfers, and these two transfers are all-star caliber athletes who project as major-college prospects.

Defensive back Larry Moon and running back Sa’Nir Brooks – who are both freshmen -- have both left Pittsburgh Central Catholic and have transferred to Aliquippa.

In both their bios on their Twitter accounts, it clearly reads “Aliquippa High School.”

Moon and Brooks currently live together in Aliquippa, less than a mile from Aliquippa’s campus.

Moon, a 5-foot-11, 170-pound cornerback, already has multiple scholarship offers including offers from Pitt, Penn State, West Virginia, Tennessee, Wisconsin, Maryland, Michigan State and Miami (Fla.)

Brooks, who’s 5-10 and 185 pounds, missed most of his freshman season at Central Catholic with an injury. But he already has a scholarship offer from Akron.

The news of the Moon/Brooks transfers comes shortly after the PIAA ruled that Aliquippa will be bumped up from Class 4A to 5A based on the PIAA’s “competitive balance” rule that went into effect in 2018. The rule takes into account a team’s success and number of transfers it brings in over a two-year period. The PIAA moves up teams that advance deep in the WPIAL and state playoffs and have three or more transfers in a two-year period.

Over the past two years, Aliquippa went 27-1 with two WPIAL Class 4A titles and two appearances in the state championship game. The Quips also had five transfers although none of them hardly played and contributed little to the team’s success.

Aliquippa, which has Class 2A enrollment, is in the process of requesting an injunction which could block the PIAA’s decision.

While Aliquippa (14-0) enjoyed great success the past season, Central Catholic also fared well. The Vikings won the Class 6A Tri-County Five Conference and finished with a 10-2 overall record after losing to North Allegheny, 44-41, in the 6A WPIAL championship game.

Moon told “Pittsburgh Sports Now” that he’s transferring to Aliquippa because of “the direction the education is going” in Aliquippa.

The WPIAL is expected to announce new conference alignments for the next two-year cycle at its board of directors meeting on Feb. 19.

“TIKEY” HAYES REPRESENTS STEELERS ON SUPER BOWL SATURDAY

Aliquippa running back Tiqwai “Tikey” Hayes won’t be attending Sunday’s game between the Kansas City Chiefs and San Francisco 49ers, but he will be in Las Vegas for Super Bowl LVIII activities on Saturday.

Hayes, a junior who’s a Penn State recruit, was selected by the Pittsburgh Steelers to represent them as part of the inaugural "Nike Next Ones" program. He’ll be one of 32 high school players from across the country – one from each NFL city – as well as one international player chosen to go to Las Vegas.

“I’m so excited, and honored,” Hayes said. “It’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. I’ve never been to Las Vegas before.”

“We appreciate the Steelers choosing Tikey,” said Aliquippa coach Mike Warfield. “It’s great that he’s going to have this experience. It’s priceless.”

While in Las Vegas, Hayes will take part in various activities including “combine-like” position drills with former and current NFL players. The event will take place at nearby Bishop Gorman High School.

The “Nike Next Ones” experience ends with dinner, a musical performance and a stay at Nike’s Hotel LVIII, a place for Nike athletes during Super Bowl weekend.

For the all-expenses-paid trip, Hayes is allowed to take one guest. He’ll take his brother, Richard Lowe. They’ll fly to Las Vegas on Saturday morning and return home early on Sunday.

“So, I’ll be able to watch the Super Bowl with my family,” said Hayes, a Chiefs fan who obviously hopes K.C. repeats as Super Bowl champs.

This past season, Hayes was named the Pennsylvania Sports Writers’ Class 4A Co-Player of the Year after rushing for 2,129 yards and 26 touchdowns. He’s now 10th on the WPIAL’s all-time rushing chart with 5,886 career yards.

BASKETBALL PLAYOFF PICTURE BASICALLY CRYSTAL CLEAR

With just one week left in the regular season, the playoff picture for boys and girls basketball teams in the Beaver County Times’ coverage area is pretty much in focus.

Ten local boys teams have clinched: Moon in 5A; Lincoln Park, Beaver, Central Valley and Quaker Valley in 4A; Our Lady of the Sacred Heart, Ellwood City and Beaver Falls in 3A; Aliquippa in 2A; and Rochester in 1A.

Three local teams still have not been mathematically eliminated: Sewickley Academy and South Side in 2A, and Cornell in 1A.

Ten local girls teams have clinched: Lincoln Park in 5A; Blackhawk and Central Valley in 4A; Beaver Falls, Ellwood City and Our Lady of the Sacred Heart in 3A; Aliquippa, Freedom, Rochester and South Side in 2A.

Four local girls teams are still mathematically alive: Moon in 5A; Quaker Valley, Hopewell and Beaver in 4A.Both the boys and girls teams from Lincoln Park and Aliquippa will enter the WPIAL playoffs as section champs.

The WPIAL will announce playoff pairings, dates and sites on Monday, Feb. 12.

WPIAL WILL HOST GIRLS WRESTLING CHAMPIONSHIPS

On Saturday, Feb. 17 at North Allegheny High School, the WPIAL will conduct its first official girls individual championship.

And there’s a chance that a girl from the BCT coverage area will earn a medal, possibly a first-place gold medal.

In the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s girls wrestling rankings, Moon’s Haley Smarsh ranks first in the 130-pound weight class while Beaver’s Emma Cunningham ranks fifth at 130.

No other local girl is among the top five in any weight class.

According to PA-Wrestling.com, Smarsh has a 16-0 record with 12 pins while Cunningham is 17-9 with 12 pins.Canon-McMillan, North Allegheny and Trinity are considered the top girls wrestling teams in the WPIAL.

The PIAA will hold its historic first girls wrestling championship alongside the boys event at Hershey’s Giant Center on March 7-9.

Remember that on May 17, 2003, girls wrestling was officially sanctioned as a sport by the PIAA. Pennsylvania is now the 38th state in the country to do so.

There are 119 schools in Pennsylvania that have girls wrestling teams, including 18 in the WPIAL. The Beaver County area schools that offer the sport to girls are Moon and Beaver. West Allegheny has a girls club wrestling team which isn’t sanctioned by the PIAA.

This article originally appeared on Beaver County Times: Times' HS notebook: Aliquippa lands pair of transfers, Tiqwai Hayes headed to Super Bowl LVIII