Aliquippa comes up short in PIAA 4A title game, falling to Bishop McDevitt 41-18

MECHANICSBURG — One win away from doing something no team in school history has done, the Aliquippa Quips couldn't take that final step into the record books Thursday in the PIAA Class 4A championship game, falling 41-18 to Bishop McDevitt in a rematch of the 2021 championship game.

The loss snapped the Quips' 25-game winning streak dating back to early in the 2021 season.

Though the loss is disappointing right now for the Quips, reaching the PIAA Class 4A state championship game in a year filled with adversity with no real home field due to "The Pit" being under construction is no small feat own its own for Aliquippa, which has head coach Mike Warfield rather proud of his senior class and his team overall.

"I'm extremely proud of the seniors. They sort of elevated the program to another level. They've basically started all four years, this is only my fifth year, so we've basically grown up together," Warfield said to the Times following the loss. "I owe a lot to them to the team's success during my tenure. I'm very, very proud of them.

"Of course, they're disappointed. They should be as competitors not just on the field. They've been motivation for kids off the field for what they've doing in the classroom. Maybe they don't understand that now as 17 and 18 year olds, but maybe they'll understand that better as they get older.

"They have nothing to be ashamed of."

After holding a +24 mark in turnovers coming into the game, the Quips couldn't avoid the costly turnovers in the loss, turning the ball over five times in the loss (three interceptions, two fumbles), four of which led to points for the Crusaders in the 23-point win.

Though Bishop McDevitt started out fast — again — in the state title game thanks to a 70-yard catch and run by senior wide receiver Tyshawn Russell on the Crusaders' first play from scrimmage for a 7-0 lead, the Quips never blinked and appeared to be gearing up to take over midway through the second quarter after a Brandon Banks interception along the McDevitt sideline.

Following a 10-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Quentin Goode to running back Cameron Lindsey on a play-action fake that made it a 7-6 game, the Quips started to march the football right down the field, leaning on star running back Tiqwai Hayes and standout backup running back John Tracy.

Tracy got going, ripping off a 22-yard run to get near midfield, and then Hayes followed with a 15-yard run as the "Trench Dawgz" took over up front for the Quips, but a bad pass on a screen play from Goode was intercepted by Bishop McDevitt's Ty Kephart, who raced 62 yards the other way for a first and goal for the Crusaders.

"That sort of stung a little bit. I don't think Quentin saw him there," Warfield said. "I think if he'd have saw him, he probably would have thrown it at his feet and took it as an incompletion. But he just didn't see him, and that stung a bit."

That interception ultimately changed the game in the Crusaders' favor as quarterback Stone Saunders found Russell for a 12-yard touchdown after the interception, and then on the next Quips possession, Bishop McDevitt star defensive lineman Riley Robell forced a fumble on a carry by Hayes, leading to Saunders finding Rico Scott for a 12-yard touchdown a few plays later, staking the Crusaders to a 20-6 lead at the half that they'd never relinquish.

Trailing by 14 points against the Crusaders wasn't an unfamiliar spot for the Quips, who trailed 13-0 in last season's PIAA class 4A title game before storming back for the 31-27 win.

"All year, we were down against CV [Central Valley] in the first go around. There was no message this time," Warfield said. "We just needed to execute a bit better. I thought our tempo was a bit slow today; we couldn't get it the way we wanted it. There was really no serious message other than having to play better, having to execute better coming out of the half."

There would be no storybook comeback this season though.

With the two-score lead coming out of the half, the Crusaders were in full control. Though Bishop McDevitt couldn't do anything offensively with the ball on the first possession of the second half, the defense forced a turnover again, leading to Russell's third touchdown catch from Saunders in the game — this one from 28 yards out — making it 27-6 Bishop McDevitt.

Robell then struck again for the Crusaders, knifing into the backfield off the snap to contact Goode as he attempted to hand off to Hayes, forcing the fumble leading to another Aliquippa turnover. Later in the quarter, Saunders found Russell again from 12 yards out on a slant route for his 100th career touchdown pass as just a sophomore, staking the Crusaders to a 34-6 lead, taking the wind out of the Quips' sails.

To Aliquippa's credit, they never quit under Warfield, battling back thanks to their defense.

"That tells you the mentality of our kids. We've been down before, maybe not quite that much, but we knew they were going to continuously fight," Warfield said. "We just couldn't find a spark at the right time. We always say it's a game of runs and they just had a steady run. It wasn't overflowing, it was just steady and we couldn't get ours going.

"The outcome is the outcome."

Following a failed fake punt by Tracy, Hayes picked off an overthrown pass by Saunders intended for Scott along the Aliquippa sideline and raced 55 yards to the end zone for the pick-6, making it a 34-12 game. Standout safety Donovan Walker then came up with an interception of his own on the next possession, giving the Quips some life.

Early in the fourth quarter, Goode finished off the drive after Walker's interception with a 1-yard quarterback sneak, making it a 34-18 game with 10:41 to go, giving the Quips hope.

That's when the Crusaders played a little bully ball against the Quips, something Aliquippa did to teams all year, leaning heavily on running back Marquese Williams — a Minnesota commit with head coach PJ Fleck in attendance. Williams ripped off a back-breaking 49-yard run, breaking a pair of tackles in the process, eventually finishing off the drive with a 3-yard run on 4th and Goal, making it 41-18.

That score held up until the clock hit triple zeroes, giving McDevitt head coach Joe Weachter his first-ever PIAA state championship, and first McDevitt state title in 25 years.

For Aliquippa, the loss snapped a 25-game winning streak under Warfield, and left the Quips painfully short of school history as they searched to not only be the first Quips team to ever finish a season undefeated with a WPIAL and PIAA championship, as well as go back-to-back with WPIAL and PIAA titles.

Russell finished with four catches for 121 yards and four touchdowns to earn Player of the Game honors for the Crusaders.

Contact Joshua Carney at jcarney@gannett.com or 724-681-9136. Follow Joshua on Twitter: @ByJoshCarney

This article originally appeared on Beaver County Times: Aliquippa comes up short in PIAA 4A title game, falling to Bishop McDevitt 41-18