The 2025 WPIAL playoffs began last week with first round games in 1A through 5A. due to the WPIAL Champion entering the statewide bracket in the quarterfinals, only 8 teams made the playoffs. The champion will be crowned at Pine-Richland High School on November 15. The PIAA’s decision related to the WPIAL Champion entering the statewide bracket limited the number of weeks available for the WPIAL playoffs, shrinking the playoff field to only eight teams. The WPIAL 4A Champion enters the statewide bracket in the quarterfinals and will face either District 10 Champion Oil City or the District 9 Champion.
For the second year in a row, the #7 seed in the 4A playoffs upset the #2 seed in the opening round. Last year it was Mars topping Montour and this year it was Aliquippa knocking off Trinity to reach the semifinals for the 19th straight season. The semifinals feature two rematches of regular season games. The name of the game in 4A has been defense with the top four defensive teams in the classification reaching the semifinals.
Check out this week’s edition of the WPIAL Blitz Show where we broke down all of the playoff matchups!
1. McKeesport (8-3) vs 4. Thomas Jefferson (9-2)
at Chartiers Valley
This will be the fourth meeting in two years between McKeesport and Thomas Jefferson. TJ won both meetings last year, including in the WPIAL Championship, and won their early-season game this year when Kemon Spell did not play. The Jaguars are appearing in the semifinals for the 26th time in 28 years and are the defending WPIAL Champions. McKeesport has lost in the WPIAL finals the last two seasons. The Tigers three losses all came without star junior RB Kemon Spell in the lineup. Spell is the top-ranked junior RB in the nation and put up 1263 yards and 27 TDs this season despite missing a few games with an injury. Spell ran for 187 yards and 4 TDs in the opening round against Chartiers Valley. McKeesport runs a triple-option attack and usually doesn’t throw much but QB Matthew Miller (786 yards, 10 TDs) has been able to make plays through the air when he needs to. The Tigers have a D1 talent on the outside in WR Javien Robinson (317 yards, 5 TDs). Thomas Jefferson’s Tyler Eber (1743 yards, 31 TDs) carried the Jaguars to a WPIAL title last season with workhorse performances in the playoffs. In the opening round against Mars, Eber carried 38 times for 135 yards and a touchdown. But it was WR Kane Eggerton (311 yards, 7 TDs) who stole the show in the opening round. Thomas Jefferson hadn’t thrown the ball much this season but came out letting Harrison Kolling (916 yards, 9 TDs) throw against Mars. Eggerton led the way with 129 receiving yards, 2 touchdowns and added a 98-yard pick-six on the defensive side of the ball.
3. New Castle (9-2) vs 7. Aliquippa (7-3)
at Ellwood City
Both of these teams won hard-fought first round games to earn a rematch with their conference foes. For the second straight season, the 4A #7 seed upset the #2 seed as Aliquippa beat Trinity on a 4th quarter touchdown. New Castle beat Parkway conference co-champions Montour thanks to a defensive stand on a two point conversion at the death. This will be the third playoff meeting between these schools with New Castle winning in the 1942 AA Championship Game and Aliquippa winning in the 1987 AAA Championship Game. These are also two of the top three schools in the WPIAL All-Time wins list. New Castle had led the list for a long time but has fallen to third with 769 as Aliquippa rose to the top, now with 798. New Castle has one of the most exciting freshmen in the WPIAL in Marino Graham who threw for 1591 yards and 21 TDs and led the team in rushing with 854 yards and 13 TDs. Graham has a pair of talented receivers on the outside in Kai Cox (548 yards, 6 TDs) and Chase Lemmon (536 yards, 10 TDs). Aliquippa got Championship-winning head coach Mike Warfield back on the sidelines this season and are in the semifinals for the 19th straight season. The Quips season hit a road bump when Yale-commit Marques Council suffered an apparent season-ending injury. But Council suited up in the first round of the playoffs and attempted a handful of passes, including connecting with Josh Lay for the game-winning touchdown. Wide receiver Qa’lil Goode stepped in at QB when Council was out. On the season, Goode has totaled 180 passing yards; 383 receiving yards, 139 rushing yards, and 10 total TDs. The aptly-named JJ Work (797 yards, 10 TDs) has shouldered the load of the ground game and ran for 144 yards and a touchdown last week against Trinity. The aforementioned Josh Lay leads the Quips in receiving (505 yards, 2 TDs). In a game between two of the top defenses in 4A, keep an eye out home run-hitting RB Akiva Woods (414 yards, 5 TDs) who scored on a 70-yard run in the fourth quarter to tie the game last week.
