Welcome to WPIAL Championship weekend! The title games kick off with the 1A Championship at 11:00am on Saturday, November 22 at Heinz FieldAcrisure Stadium. The 2A Championship Game is scheduled for 2:00pm but logistically will start about a half hour after the 1A game ends. Seton LaSalle is back in the Championship Game for the second straight season. Steel Valley is making their 6th Championship Game appearance in the last decade. This is the second playoff meeting in two years for these teams after Seton beat Steel Valley in the semis last year.
Check out this week’s edition of the WPIAL Blitz Show where we previewed all of this week’s Championship Games!
1. Seton LaSalle (11-1) vs 3. Steel Valley (9-3)
How They Got Here
Seton LaSalle is back in the Championship Game after coming up a touchdown short against South Park last year. The Rebels had to replace a number of starters from last year’s team. Their only loss came in Week 0 against 3A semifinalist North Catholic. Seton beat 1A semifinalist Bishop Canevin in Week 1 (who then turned around and beat Steel Valley the following week). The Rebels offense found their stride when they hit conference play and other than two 27-point outings against Washington, scored over 40 points in every game since Week 3. Seton started the playoffs with a dominant win over Mohawk then came from behind in the second half to beat conference rival Washington. The Rebels forced four second-half turnovers to keep the Prexies off the board and get back to the title game for the second straight season.
Steel Valley came into the season as one of the favorites but also had a slow start to the year. The Ironmen lost to Westinghouse in the KDKA Kickoff Classic then to Bishop Canevin in Week 2. In between, they did score a 21-6 win at Washington over the Little Prexies. A Week 6 hiccup against Apollo-Ridge where they lost on the final play of the game put Steel Valley’s conference title hopes in a precarious situation, but they came through with a dominant victory over unbeaten South Allegheny in the final week of the regular season to force a three-way tie atop the Allegheny Conference. Steel Valley won the three-way tie via tiebreaker points and was rewarded with a first round bye. They knocked off two teams from the Midwestern Conference (Ellwood City and conference champions Western Beaver) to get back to the finals. This was the third straight year that Steel Valley knocked Western Beaver out of the playoffs.
Recent History
The only playoff meeting between these two teams came when Seton LaSalle knocked out Steel Valley in the semifinals last year. Seton won that game 27-13, slowing down Steel Valley’s high-powered rushing attack. Though they have only met in the playoff once, these two programs are very familiar with each other as they played in the same Century Conference in AA for a number of years.
Both of these teams have seen dramatic improvements in their programs over the last few seasons. Seton LaSalle is just 3 years removed from an 0-10 season in 2022. The Rebels showed steady improvement going 5-5 in 2023 then dropping to 2A and going 10-0 last year and 9-1 this year. Steel Valley hit their nadir in 2020 when they went 1-5 but bounced back with undefeated regular seasons in 2021 and 2022 (when they won the WPIAL title). Steel Valley is making their third Championship Game appearance since 2020.
Championship Pedigree
Both teams have been successful in WPIAL Championship Games over time, though both lost the last time they played at Acrisure Stadium. Seton LaSalle is 5-1 in title games and was a powerhouse when they joined the WPIAL from the Pittsburgh Catholic League winning back-to-back titles in 1979 and 1980. The Rebels also captured WPIAL crowns in 1990, 2002, and 2004. They have never won a State title but reached the Championship Game in 1990 and 2002. Steel Valley won three of their six WPIAL titles in the 1980s, winning in 1982, 1988, and 1989. This will be the Ironmen’s 6th title game appearance since the move to six classifications in 2016. Steel Valley’s “Mercy Boys” won the inaugural WPIAL and PIAA 2A Championship, winning every game by mercy rule. The Ironmen lost to Washington in the title game the following year but rebounded to knock off South Side Beaver in 2018. Steel Valley faced Beaver Falls in consecutive years in 2022 and 2023, winning the first and losing the second on a two-point conversion after a game-tying score late in the fourth quarter.
Dramatis Personae
Both teams are run-heavy offenses that have hit big plays in the passing game at key times. Seton LaSalle’s attack is led by Kymarr Freeman (1607 yards, 24 TDs) who ran for 150 yards and 2 TDs against Mohawk and 134 yards and 1 TD in the first half against Washington. Freeman left the semifinal game at halftime with an injury, which could be a key factor for Seton’s offense in the title game. Kia Jones Jr took over the quarterback role in the middle of the season, throwing for 995 yards and 10 TDs and running for 526 yards and 6 scores. In the second half against Washington, Jones shouldered the load of the rushing attack with Freeman sidelined. In addition to Freeman and Jones, Deondre Hill has run for 537 yards and 6 TDs. Seton’s leading receiver is Matthew Brodzinski (361 yards, 3 TDs). The Rebels defense is led by two FCS commits at outside linebacker – Monmouth-commit Aaron Lorittis and Duquesne-commit Will Martin. Lorittis was on the receiving end of two TD passes from Jones against Mohawk and scored the decisive touchdown on an 81-yard catch-and-run that stretched the Rebels lead over Washington from 1 point to 8. In addition to Lorittis and Martin, watch out for sophomore linebacker Elijah Hickman who already has several D1 offers.
Steel Valley’s run-heavy offense has been borne by the legs of Pitt-commit Da’Ron Barksdale (1960 yards, 31 TDs). Barksdale started the season at quarterback but shifted to just the running back role as Tyson Barron (524 yards, 6 TDs) stepped in behind center. The Ironmen ground game has been so dominant that Barron only averages about 8 pass attempts per game, primarily targeting Tyrell Breland (450 yards, 3 TDs). In the quarterfinals against Ellwood City, Barksdale put on a show, running for 213 yards and 5 TDs and throwing a 33-yard pass. He followed that up against Western Beaver with a five touchdown performance. Barksdale ran for 266 yards and 4 TDs and added a 55-yard punt return for a touchdown. If Steel Valley is going to slow down Seton’s offense, they will need big performances from their defensive leaders – sophomore Rayvon Price (14 TFLs, 9 sacks) and seniors Lamrion Rucker (12 TFLs, 8 sacks) and Amir Randall (9 TFLs, 9 sacks). Ashad Dye (5 INTs) and Da’Ron Barksdale (4 INTs) anchor the back end of the Ironmen defense.
