South Fayette wins second straight WPIAL football title
South Fayette players celebrate after they defeated Aliquippa, 31-22, for their second straight WPIAL Class AA championship.
Jake Relihan leaps into the arms of Brett Brumbaugh as Logan Sharp and Ray Eldridge rush to join the celebration after South Fayette defeated Aliquippa, 31-22, for its second straight WPIAL Class AA championship.
Once was not enough for the South Fayette football team. So the Lions did it again. They repeated at WPIAL Class AA champions. And they captured their second straight title by duplicating victory against Aliquippa at Heinz Field.
In 2013, the Lions won a thriller over the Quips, 34-28. In 2014, on Nov. 21, they downed the Quips, 31-22, in an equally exciting battle between two undefeated clubs.
Brett Brumbaugh spearheaded the offensive attack. He threw for three touchdowns and 352 yards. He completed 24 of 35 passes.
Nick Ponikvar hauled in six aerials for 157 yards. Eighty-seven of them came 62 seconds into the second half on a critical scoring strike that stretched South Fayette’s lead to 21-6.
Ryan Schmider grabbed eight passes for 79 yards.
Dan Trimbur and Jake Relihan pulled in 13- and nine-yard touchdown passes from Brumbaugh. Trimbur also kicked a 36-yard field goal to cap South Fayette’s scoring with 6:29 to play.
Trimbur’s TD coupled with a 46-yard scoring run by Hunter Hayes afforded the Lions a 14-0 advantage midway through the first frame. With five seconds left in the quarter, however, Anthony Barton cut the margin to 14-6.
After the Lions’ lead ballooned to 28-6 with 2:07 left in the third quarter, the Quips made it a contest. Stephon McGinnis grabbed a 58-yard touchdown pass from Darrien Fields with 34 seconds to play in the frame. The Quips also cut into the margin on a two-yard TD run by McGinnis with 3:59 to play. They recovered an onside kick but could not convert, turning the ball over on downs.
Hayes led South Fayette’s rushing attack, rolling up 109 yards. Kaezon Pugh pounded out 111 yards on 24 carries for the Quips, who finished the season 12-1 overall.
The Lions improved to 13-0 overall and advanced to the PIAA playoffs. They will face either Karns City (10-1) or Chestnut Ridge (10-2) in the quarterfinals at a site and time to be determined.