Aliquippa is set to make a coaching change for the second season in a row.
WPIAL and PIAA-winning head coach Mike Warfield is set to return as the Aliquippa head coach after taking a leave of absence from the Quips last season, Keith Barnes of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported.
It’s a massive move in the WPIAL landscape after the Quips went 8-3 last season and didn’t make the WPIAL championship game for the first time in 17 seasons. Warfield’s assistant Vashawn Patrick served as the Quips’ head coach last season.
Warfield was initially hired by Aliquippa in 2018 and in his six seasons at the helm, the Quips went 74-6 and won the 2018 WPIAL 3A title and three straight WPIAL 4A titles between 2021-23 — and three PIAA titles in four appearances.
Aliquippa capped off a 14-0 campaign with a dominant 60-14 win against Dallas High School in the WPIAL 4A title game in 2023, and Warfield was named the Steelers High School Coach of the Year and a nominee for the NFL Don Shula Coach of the Year.
It was the first Aliquippa squad to go unbeaten and claim WPIAL and PIAA titles — which is surprising considering the illustrious history of the Quips program.
“I think it means more to the kids because this was something they wanted to accomplish,” Warfield told the Pittsburgh Union Press, with the publication naming him Coach of the Year. “It was a challenge for them. And, you know Aliquippa kids, when you challenge them, they’re going to try to step up to the plate and make it happen. This is something that they’ve wanted and I’m happy and so proud of them to go out and work every day to reach that goal.”
Warfield, who starred at Aliquippa in the 1980s before attending Catawba College and playing quarterback, arrived at Aliquippa after spending time at rival Central Valley as an assistant in the 2010s.
Warfield has not only continued — and built upon — the legacy of Aliquippa football but he’s been a proponent of emphasizing the academics and off-the-field success of the program.
Warfield took some time away from the Quips, but his return is a shot in the arm for an Aliquippa squad that will look to bounce back in 2025.
