The 2025 WPIAL playoffs began last week with first round games in 1A through 5A. In 5A, 12 teams made the playoffs with the top four earning byes. The champion will be crowned at Acrisure Stadium on November 22 and enter the State brackets the following week in the semifinals. The top four teams in the 5A bracket received first round byes. The Allegheny Six Conference, which has put a team in the WPIAL finals in seven straight years, dominated the opening round going 3-0. Shaler scored a historic victory in the first round, winning their first playoff game since 2009. Three of the quarterfinal matchups are rematches of regular season games.
Check out this week’s edition of the WPIAL Blitz Show where we broke down all of the playoff matchups!
1. Pine-Richland (9-1) vs 8. Shaler (4-7)
Pine-Richland is the defending 5A Champions and has appeared in three straight WPIAL finals. A win would put the Rams through to the semifinals for the 12th straight season. Meanwhile, Shaler has never reached the semifinals. The Titans earned their first playoff victory since 2009 by beating Kiski 28-8 in the opening round. This is a rematch of the Week 9 game that decided the conference title where Pine-Richland won 49-17. The Rams highest-scoring offense in 5A (49.6 points per game) is led by dual-threat quarterback Aaron “Oobi” Strader who has thrown for 1996 yards and 27 TDs and run for 497 yards and 9 scores. He has a trio of talented receivers on the outside featuring Florida State-commit Jay Timmons (549 yards, 10 TDs), four-star junior Khalil Taylor (476 yards, 18 total TDs) and slot receiver Jalen Neals (470 yards, 5 TDs). Maclane Miller has been the workhorse out of the backfield, running for 838 yards and 12 TDs. Shaler’s offense relies heavily on their dual-threat QB Aaron Aversa (1018 passing yards, 10 TDs; 817 rushing yards 7 TDs) who accounted for three total touchdowns in the win over Kiski. Complementing Aversa out of the backfield is Avery Kinter who has run for 465 yards and 3 TDs. Aversa’s top receivers are Braedyn Witkowski (328 yards, 4 TDs) and Zach London (269 yards, 3 TDs).
4. Penn-Trafford (9-1) vs 5. Moon (8-3)
This quarterfinal is a rematch of the Week 2 game where Penn-Trafford came from behind in the fourth quarter to top Moon 25-24. That one-point victory ultimately earned Penn-Trafford a first round bye so the rematch is on their turf. The only previous playoff meeting between these schools came in the 2021 WPIAL Championship Game where Moon missed a game-tying field goal at the end of regulation. That was Penn-Trafford’s first WPIAL title in school history and the Warriors went all the way to the State Championship to claim the PIAA crown. That 2021 season was the last time Penn-Trafford made it to the semifinals whereas Moon made it to the penultimate round in 2023. Penn-Trafford has a balanced offensive attack behind a strong offensive line. Senior QB Nate Desmond has thrown for 1385 yards and 10 TDs, accompanied by a pair of underclassmen in the backfield. Junior RB Ben Grabowski (794 yards, 11 TDs) and sophomore Cody Yacamelli (747 yards, 12 TDs) who is the younger brother of Wisconsin’s Cade Yacamelli, both average over 7.5 yards per carry. On the outside, Nick Ponko (660 yards, 6 TDs) is Desmond’s top target in the passing game. Moon has a balanced offensive attack with dual-threat quarterback Andrew Cross at the helm. Cross threw for 976 yards and 12 TDs and ran for 470 yards and 6 TDs). In last week’s win over Armstrong Cross had two rushing and two passing touchdowns. Moon has 4 receivers with over 100 yards, led by Savario Vandetti (377 yards, 5 TDs). The Tigers have one of the best pass rushers in the WPIAL in Daiveon Taylor who is on pace to break the state sack record. In the regular season Moon used They will also use Taylor as a short-yardage back and their fourth quarter finisher to close out games. Last week Taylor was featured more in the ground game running for over 100 yards and two scores.
2. Peters Twp (10-0) vs 7. Bethel Park (7-4)
This is the first playoff meeting for Peters Twp and Bethel Park who have been conference foes since Bethel Park moved down to 5A in 2018. This is a rematch of the Week 9 meeting that was dominated by Peters Twp’s defense en route to a 35-0 victory. Peters Twp has reached the last two WPIAL finals, winning their only title in school history in 2023. Offensively, Peters Twp has been solid and efficient with Villanova-commit Nolan DiLucia throwing for 2150 yards and 20 TDs, primarily targeting PJ Luke (527 yards, 3 TDs). Their balanced offensive attack has relied on Cole Neupaver (1034 yards 17 TDs) to keep them on schedule in the ground game. The Indians have the stingiest defense in 5A, holding opponents to just 6.3 points per game. Peters has two D1 commits at defensive end who also contribute in the passing game – Stanford-Commit Lucas Shanafelt (441 yards, 6 TDs) and Pitt-Commit Reston Lehman (273 yards, 5 TDs). On the other side, Bethel Park has a high-flying, balanced offense that averaged over 36 points per game. The Black Hawks have a balanced attack led by senior QB Evan Devine (2054 yards, 22 TDs). Bethel Park also has a star at running back in David Dennison who has run for 1500 yards, added 346 receiving yards, and scored 24 times. On the outside, Santino Nowozeniuk (719 yards, 6 TDs) has been Devine’s favorite target.
3. Woodland Hills (8-2) vs 6. Upper St Clair (9-2)
This will be the 9th playoff meeting in the storied history of Woody High and Upper St Clair. The Wolverines are 5-3 all-time against the Panthers in the postseason. Woodland Hills is looking to get to the semifinals for just the second time in 9 years while Upper St Clair has been to the semis in two of the last three seasons. Woodland Hills won the Big East Conference for the second straight season. The Wolverines started the season losing two of three – a narrow loss to North Allegheny in the KDKA Kickoff Classic and a loss to Central Catholic in the Hall of Fame Classic in Canton, OH. In conference play, Woody High rolled past their opponents by an average margin of 30 points per game. The Wolverines are led by dynamic Miami OH-commit Scoop Smith who has racked up 750 receiving yards, 484 rushing yards, and 19 total TDs. Smith has been the leading receiver for QB Cam Walter (1502 yards, 14 TDs) who is the school’s all-time leading passer. The Wolverines also have a 1000-yard rusher in Taylor Reid (1071 yards, 16 TDs). On the defensive side of the ball, linebacker Zykir Moore is an NC State-commit. Upper St Clair was two narrow losses away from a conference title. They lost to Peters Twp 24-20 in one of the best games of the season and fell to Moon in double overtime, dropping the Panthers to third in the conference. The Panthers have one of the most explosive offenses in 5A, averaging over 40 points per game, led by the big arm of Ethan Hellmann (2355 yards, 32 TDs). Hellmann has a pair of talented receivers in Nico D’Orazio (648 yards, 11 TDs) and Bryce Jones (562 yards, 4 TDs) who have created matchup problems for opposing secondaries all season. Last week both running backs Dante Coury (690 yards, 12 TDs) and John Banbury (254 yards, 6 TDs) scored twice.
