PENN HILLS, Pa. — Aliquippa was clutching onto a 16-game winning streak that carried over from its undefeated Class 4A WPIAL and PIAA title team when it met the Penn Hills Indians for the first time in history.
In a heavily penalized game and one that was decided in the trenches, Penn Hills outlasted Aliquippa, 21-13, to hand the Quips their first loss since 2022.
It also comes as the lowest point total for the Quips since scoring 12 points against Central Valley in 2021.
Penn Hills was led by senior quarterback Jay’mere Ellis, who completed 9-of-12 passes for 121 yards and two touchdown passes.
The Indians shut down running back Sa’Nir Brooks and a Quip ground game that was without star running back Tiqwai Hayes. The Quips were limited to 61 yards on 30 carries (2.03 yards per carry).
The first half of play was dotted with flags with both teams combining for 14 penalties. The game finished with 24 penalties overall resulting in 195 total yards. With the flow of the game altered, neither team found much of a push offensively through the first 24 minutes of gameplay.
When either team neared striking distance, something stood in its way, preventing points on the board. First, after a substantial opening drive by Penn Hills, kicker Angelo Baleno pulled a 40-plus-yard field goal to the left.
The Indians would once again drive into Quip territory, but it was Cleaster Longmire IV who picked off Ellis, setting up Aliquippa near midfield.
With the Quips slowly picking up yards, they found themselves sitting at the one-yard line. Quarterback Marques Council attempted the sneak and after the mosh pit broke open, the ball came out, rolling on the backside. Ellis returned the fumble for the Indians back to the 35, preventing a near touchdown for the Quips.
As time ticked away towards the halftime break, Penn Hills had one last opportunity to snap the stalemate. With five seconds to go, Ellis went for the one-on-one between wide receiver Carter Bonner and highly-coveted defensive back Larry Moon III. It was Bonner who won that matchup, hauling in an 11-yard touchdown reception to give the Indians a 7-0 lead heading into the locker room.
It took nearly the entire first half but Penn Hills strikes on an 11-yd connection from Ellis to Carter Bonner. Larry Moon was in coverage.
The start of the second half was much of the same as Penn Hills had all the answers in the trenches with 6-foot-3, 260-pound senior Donovan Burnett wreaking havoc in the backfield. Burnett totaled seven tackles and 3.5 tackles for loss in the win.
Penn Hills would then take advantage of a broken coverage as Ellis located senior Martel Palmer all by his lonesome near the 10-yard line. Palmer hauled in the high-arcing pass, turned and fought through contact from defensive back Arison Walker to burst into the end zone and complete a 34-yard touchdown pass.
Both teams still controlled the ground game defensively until Naytel Mitchell broke free for the Indians. The senior running back dashed left, spinning through tacklers as he hit green grass and scored on a 56-yard touchdown run to make it 21-0 Penn Hills.
As the clock shifted from the third to fourth quarter, Aliquippa orchestrated its best drive of the game outside of the goal-line fumble sequence. This time, Aliquippa capitalized as Council extended the play with his legs, set his feet and delivered a strong throw to Moon, who pulled in the 13-yard touchdown.
Aliquippa woke up even more as the game carried on. After a screen pass to Brooks for a large gain, Council utilized his legs with two key scrambles down to the one. Brooks was called upon again as he scored on the 1-yard plunge to bring the game within one score, 21-13, with a failed extra point.
The Quips would fall short on the final drive as Council finished the night completing 11-of-23 passes for 119 yards and a touchdown. He added 34 yards on the ground. Brooks finished with 29 rushing yards on 18 carries, along with 25 receiving yards on two receptions.
Penn Hills (2-3) returns to Northeast Conference play next week against Shaler. Aliquippa (2-1) now heads into Parkway Conference competition against New Castle back at The Pit next Friday.
