Aliquippa beats South Fayette, 44-38, in WPIAL final
The 2015 football season finale did not feature the Hollywood finish South Fayette envisioned. However, the Lions earned the respect and acclaim worthy of their back-to-back championships and 44-game winning streak.
After Aliquippa ended the Lions’ reign as two-time WPIAL and PIAA champions with a thrilling 44-38 triumph in the Class AA final at Heinz Field, Mike Zmijanac offered the highest compliments to rival coach Joe Rossi, his staff and players.
“That’s about as good a football game as I have every been in,” said the Quips head coach. “It takes a quality, wonderful program like South Fayette to bring out the best you.”
The Quips, who had lost three times to the Lions in Class AA finals since 2010, certainly needed their best effort and then some to topple South Fayette, which finished the season at 12-1 overall. Twice, they weathered comebacks from 14-point deficits and then they used a trick play to pull off the upset and secure their 16th WPIAL title in school history.
With 1:11 remaining, Sheldon Jeter tossed a swing pass to wide receiver Jassir Jordan, who heaved the ball downfield to Thomas Perry. The 5-foot, 7-inch junior hauled in the pass and scooted 47 yards into the end zone for the game-winning score.
“Hats off to (Zmijanac),” said Rossi. “Great call. He’s been around this business for a long time and that’s why they are successful.”
Under Rossi, the Lions have been successful, too. They have won three district titles in five years and reached the state finals three times in that span, winning two PIAA crowns. In three previous meetings against the Quips, the Lions won, 19-6, in 2010, and 34-28 and 31-22 the past two seasons. So neither Zmijanac nor his players were surprised that the Lions overcame a 14-0 deficit as well as a 38-24 disadvantage to push the Quips to their limits and the game to the final whistle.
“We knew we would be in a dogfight. We actually planned for that,” said Kaezon Pugh, who rushed for 179 yards and two touchdowns. “South Fayette is a very good team but we came to fight back, too.”
Zmijanac agreed. “We’re not surprised they came back,” he said. “Joe (Rossi) has done a fabulous job of organizing that. They have terrific players and we finally got a chance to beat them. They are terrific,” he added. “We had to score 44 points to beat them,” he emphasized.
The Class AA final, with its 82 total points, proved the highest scoring championship in the 100-year-old history of the WPIAL. Plus, the Lions set a new passing mark.
Drew Saxton completed 27 of 43 passes for a record 435 yards. Saxton outshined his predecessor, Brett Brumbaugh. The Duquesne freshman, who led the Lions to the WPIAL title two years in a row, passed for a title-game record 352 yards a year ago.
Saxton also tossed four TD aerials. Second-quarter scoring strikes at 11:04 and 3:49 to Ryhlan Culberson (17 yards and 14 yards) vaulted South Fayette into the lead, 21-14. While Dan Trimbur gave South Fayette a 24-22 halftime advantage with his 31-yard field goal, Saxton connected with Culberson and Nick Ponikvar for 15- and 65-yard touchdowns to deadlock the game at 38 with 4:05 to play.
Regarding Saxton and South Fayette’s aerial attack Zmijanac said that is thoughts were the same as they always have been. “They are terrific. Terrific program. Terrific players. Their sophomore quarterback took over for Brumbaugh pretty well. He threw it. They caught it. “There is no surprise that we were in that kind of game. I would have been surprised if this game did not go down to the wire either way.”
Rossi never doubted his team’s fortitude, even when they saw their top tailback exit the game with an injury. Hunter Hayes scored SF’s first touchdown of the game on a 2-yard run with 2:36 left in the first frame. Held to 38 total yards on 10 carries, he finished with 1,480 yards and 22 scores this season. He gained 3,483 career yards and finished with 55 touchdowns. The Lions also overcame the loss of two linemen for the game.
Noting that most programs would have packed it in when they found themselves down and out, Rossi said, “Our kids are championship caliber. We’ve been down at times but there’s no quitting. There never is. We battled back that was very impressive.
“We put up a fight. We never lay down for anybody,” he added. “That’s a good football team and they fight, which is great. Once we realized Hunter wasn’t able to give us what we needed, we turned to the pass. We have tremendous receivers. Those guys made some plays.”
Ponikvar made eight grabs for 184 yards while Culberson finished with 92 yards on six catches and Trimbur had 66 yards on five receptions to lead the Lions.
“Most teams would not have fought like (we did),” said Ponikvar. “We just did not quit until the clock hit zero. I think we showed everybody that there is no quit in our football team.
“Whether we are up by 50 or down by 50, we are going to come out and play the same game. No matter what the score said. We are still in this no matter what the score says.”
That type of determination pleased Rossi. “We are proud of the fight and the attitude. The fight in these kids,” Rossi said.
For 11 seniors, it was their last fight for South Fayette. In addition to Hayes and Ponkivar, Nick Sabo, Jake Berkovitz, Sidney Pinnix, Jasper Wolfe, who had a key interception in the game, Joey Franjione, Michael Allan, Nick Dabrowski, Rasaun Culberson, Zack Radinick and Jason Massey-Sears graduate.