Aliquippa Demolishes Dallas 60-14 In PIAA 4A Championship

MECHANICSBURG, Pa. — The Aliquippa Quips won their second PIAA State Championship in three years on Thursday, blowing the doors off the Dallas Mountaineers 60-14 at Cumberland Valley High School.

The Quips rushed for more than 400 yards in the offensive onslaught, adding five interceptions as they throttled the Mountaineers in nearly every aspect of the game. Junior running back and Penn State commit Tiqwai Hayes led the charge, rushing for three touchdowns and 222 yards on just 18 attempts in front of future head coach James Franklin, who showed up at the game via helicopter.

On the other side of the ball, sophomore defensive back QaLil Goode added three interceptions, returning one for a long score.

Aliquippa opened the scoring with a 91-yard touchdown drive, running the ball with authority before quarterback Quentin Goode—QaLil’s older brother—launched a 36-yard touchdown pass to receiver Brandon Banks. The younger Goode nabbed his first pick on the next drive, giving Aliquippa the ball in plus territory. That set up Hayes’ first touchdown of the night, a seven-yard tote to make it 16-0.

Dallas responded with a 67 second touchdown drive capped by quarterback Brady Zapoticky’s 39-yard pass to Gavin Lewis.

Quips Pour It On

Hayes made it a hat trick with touchdowns of 34 and 61 yards soon thereafter. Goode added his second interception of the night on the next drive, putting the Quips in the Mountaineers’ red zone, but Dallas defensive back Zach Paczewski responded with an interception of his own to slow Aliquippa’s roll—if only for a moment. Paczewski’s pick keyed another Dallas touchdown, as Dylan Geskey ran it in from one yard out to make it 32-14.

Goode’s 87-yard pick six put Aliquippa up 40-14 in the waning moments of the first half. Aliquippa forced a fumble on the ensuing kickoff, giving them another chance to score with just over a minute to play, but Dallas managed a tackle for loss on the last play of the half to quash the rally.

The Quips picked up where they left off in the third quarter, scoring a 15-yard rushing touchdown courtesy of Tracy. Aliquippa defensive back Arison Walker picked off a pass at his own eight to stop a long Dallas drive, and Banks immediately flipped the field with an 83-yard catch-and-run, setting up a nine-yard rushing touchdown by Tracy as the clock began to run.

That same story played out on the next series. Walker picked off a pass in his own end zone on the last play of the third quarter, and Tracy followed that with a 46-yard scoring rush on the next play.