BRIDGEVILLE, Pa. — Two of the all-time great teams to ever grace the field in WPIAL football in Thomas Jefferson and Aliquippa, who have a combined 30 titles, met for just the third time in a Class 4A semifinal battle with a trip to the championship game on the line.
A dominating first half, along with a tough ground game powered No. 1 Thomas Jefferson to a 38-21 victory over No. 4 Aliquippa to advance to its first title game since 2020.
The loss snaps Aliquippa’s championship game appearance streak of 16 and ends its bid for a fourth-straight title. TJ will face No. 3 McKeesport, who beat Mars 35-7.
It was a game that would be decided in the trenches and Thomas Jefferson had its way all night long. Sophomore running back Tyler Eber once again was fed at a high clip with 42 carries for 211 yards and three touchdowns behind its powerful offensive line, including Pitt commit Shep Turk.
As Eber set the tone on the ground, senior wide out Brayden White found the end zone on an explosive run-after-the-catch for 88 yards. He finished with three receptions for 121 yards and added a late-game interception that all about sealed the game and ended any hopes for the Quips to mount a comeback.
Thomas Jefferson’s opening drive motored into the red zone with Eber breaking off lengthy runs of 21 and 19 yards for the Jaguars. On third-and-goal from the five, the Quips defense came up with a critical interception by Larry Moon III, a highly-coveted four-star recruit, as he secured the deflected pass.
The big defensive stand for Aliquippa would be all that went right in the first 23 minutes of the game. A quick three-and-out from Aliquippa resulted in a punt that would be blocked by Kane Eggerton, setting up TJ with prime field position at the Quip 24.
Four plays later, Eber was into the end zone on a 7-yard run to open the scoring.
TJ went right back to work shortly thereafter and it did not take long for the Jaguars to double to score. Kosko’s pass on the third play found his trustee receiver in White just past the sticks as he turned up field with a massive run-after-the-catch while breaking tackles for an 88-yard touchdown t make it 14-0.
Touchdown Thomas Jefferson and it’s a big one. Brayden White catches it just beyond the sticks and takes off for a big play after the catch.
Penalties and special teams miscues continued to haunt the Quips as they were tagged with nine total penalties.
After a dropped snap on a fourth-down punt attempt, TJ was set up with another golden opportunity. It took three plays before Eber was once again sprawling into the end zone for a 1-yard touchdown to make it 21-0 TJ with just over a minute left in the first quarter.
The Jaguar defense held Aliquippa to a mere 36 yards on the ground all while boasting two Power Four running backs in Penn State commit Tiqwai Hayes and sophomore Sa’Nir Brooks who holds a Pitt offer, among others.
Another fourth down meant another punt for the Quips. This one would be dropped by Malachi Shegog who would be hit by Matt Martinis and lose the ball as Lucas Petterson took it in for the short score and extend TJ”s lead to 28-0.
Thomas Jefferson scores again and it comes on another Aliquippa punting miscue.
With 55 seconds to go in the first half, Aliquippa finally found the end zone as quarterback Marques Council located a wide open Hayes for a 22-yard touchdown.
Aliquippa carried the momentum from its late-half score into the third as the Quips moved quickly down field with another big gainer through the air to Hayes for 54 yards. A play later, Hayes punched it in on the ground to make it 28-13.
As the Quips found some life, Thomas Jefferson slowly took any hope away with a lengthy seven minute drive that was capped off with an 8-yard Eber touchdown run.
A Qa’Lil Goode 33-yard touchdown reception would be all the more Aliquippa would get as its long success at reaching the championship game came to an end. Council finished the game completing 14-of-33 passes for 223 yards and two touchdowns, while throwing an interception to White on its second-to-last drive of the game.
The 4A title game between Thomas Jefferson and McKeesport is set for next Saturday with a 12:05 kick at Norwin High School.
