Skill returns, but Aliquippa has holes to fill in quest for WPIAL 3-peat

By: Chris Harlan
Friday, August 11, 2023 | 11:06 PM

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In a tradition-rich football town with 19 WPIAL titles, change doesn’t come easily for everyone.

Aliquippa has a beautiful new stadium, modern lights and top-notch artificial turf. But to build it, the school first had to tear down its crumbling stadium that had stood for almost a century. If the Quips were to struggle this fall, Aliquippa coach Mike Warfield jokingly says he knows exactly what fans will blame.

“They should’ve kept that old stadium,” Warfield said, laughing. “That’s why they lose. They’ve got that new pretty stuff.”

No worries, since the Quips intend to win.

This fall, they’ll try to earn their third consecutive WPIAL Class 4A title, but the stadium wasn’t the only change since last season. The roster was changed considerably by graduation, especially the loss of three linemen who started on both sides of the ball.

There aren’t as many 300-pounders at practice nowadays, but what the team does have is an abundance of very good skill-position talent, starting with running back Tiqwai “Tikey” Hayes.

“This team reminds me of our first year (in 2018),” Warfield said. “We were solid at specialty guys and had a good quarterback, but our line was young. We relied more on speed than power.”

The Quips won WPIAL and PIAA 3A titles that year. They won another state title in 2021 and were the state runners-up last season. They finished 13-1 overall in each of the past two seasons.

They don’t have as many big bodies up front, but the Quips still plan to run the ball. This year’s offense starts with Hayes, a junior with more than 3,700 career rushing yards. He scored 33 times a year ago.

“He’s bigger, stronger, faster,” Warfield said. “That kid doesn’t take a play or a (practice) rep off. I don’t care if he’s not a senior, he’s our leader right now.”

The 6-foot-1, 198-pound Hayes has close to 20 college offers, including Pitt, Penn State and West Virginia, along with Michigan, Ohio State and others.

Senior running back John Tracy, who had 827 rushing yards and scored 11 touchdowns, also returns. Starting center Braylon Wilcox (6-0, 245) and right tackle Kamari Matthews (6-4, 330) return up front.

The defense is led by senior linebacker Cameron Lindsey, a Pitt recruit. Lindsey made 60 tackles and recovered two fumbles last season when the Quips held seven opponents to a touchdown or less.

Senior cornerback Brandon Banks, another Division I recruit, is committed to Yale.

However, the Quips graduated six starters on defense, including safety Donovan Walker, now a freshman at Ohio. They also lost five starters from the defensive front seven, including their entire line.

“Nobody is going to feel sorry for you,” Warfield said. “We’re going to have to (replace them) by committee. We’ll see what we have. Once we start hitting, we’ll figure it out.”

Starting quarterback Quentin Goode is back for his senior year after passing for 1,935 yards and 23 touchdowns last year. Warfield said the team intends to also rotate in sophomore quarterback Marques Council, who threw 23 passes a year ago.

Warfield listed nearly a dozen wide receivers and tight ends who could be involved in the passing game. Banks had 24 catches last season, most among returning receivers. Arison Walker, a junior, is next with 15.

But the team’s big question is on the line of scrimmage, after Jason McBride (6-2, 298), Naquan Crowder (6-3, 341) and Neco Eberhardt (6-2, 285) all graduated. Their size let the Quips compete with anybody in Class 4A.

Defensively, the three combined for 164 tackles.

“At their graduation, I was smiling and crying at the same time,” Warfield said. “But it’s a new challenge. That’s what life is all about.”

Aliquippa

Coach: Mike Warfield

2022 record: 13-1, 7-0 in Class 4A Parkway Conference

All-time record: 769-328-22

SCHEDULE

Date, Opponent, Time

9.1 Armstrong, 7

9.8 at North Catholic, 7

9.15 Montour*, 7

9.22 at West Allegheny*, 7

9.29 at Ambridge*, 7

10.6 Blackhawk*, 7

10.13 at New Castle*, 7

10.20 Chartiers Valley*, 7

10.27 at Central Valley*, 7

*Conference game

STATISTICAL LEADERS

Passing: Quentin Goode

118-228, 1,935 yards, 23 TDs

Rushing: Tiqwai Hayes

252-1,981 yards, 30 TDs

Receiving: Donovan Walker*

35-591 yards, 6 TDs

*Graduated

FAST FACTS

• Aliquippa’s new stadium will be named “Heinz Field” after a $1.3 million donation from Kraft Heinz. The Quips have reached the WPIAL finals 15 years in a row, so they’re very familiar with the North Shore stadium that used to have that name.

• PIAA enrollment figures list Aliquippa with 118 boys. That’s two more boys than Cornell and three fewer than Beth-Center, who both compete in Class A football. The Quips were voluntarily “playing up” to Class 3A before the PIAA competitive-balance rule forced them up another classification to 4A in 2020.

• Mike Warfield is 60-6 in five seasons with three WPIAL titles, two PIAA championships and one state runner-up finish.

• Returning players Quentin Goode (quarterback), Tiqwai Hayes (running back) and Cameron Lindsey (linebacker) earned first-team all-conference honors last season. Warfield was named the Parkway coach of the year.

• Aliquippa has more WPIAL football titles (19) than any other school. The next closest are Clairton (14), New Castle (11), Jeannette (10) and Thomas Jefferson (10).

Chris Harlan is a TribLive reporter covering sports. He joined the Trib in 2009 after seven years as a reporter at the Beaver County Times. He can be reached at charlan@triblive.com.

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