Nov 26, 2021 5 min read

Matt Humbert exorcised a demon of sorts when his Belle Vernon football team finally vanquished rival Thomas Jefferson in the postseason last week.

Still, there was a game last year against a different team that has haunted Humbert ever since.

His squad will get a shot at redemption for that as well on the big stage when the Leopards take on Aliquippa in the WPIAL Class 4A championship game at Heinz Field on Saturday. Kickoff is 3 p.m.

The Leopards were 0-2 under Humbert in the WPIAL playoffs against the Jaguars until a convincing 21-7 win last week propelled them toward a rematch with the Quips, who defeated visiting Belle Vernon in last year’s semifinals, 33-25.

“I think we took that loss – or I keep saying we but maybe it was me – I took that loss harder than any loss we’ve had over the past few years,” Humbert said. “I just felt like we collectively did a lot of things that put us behind the eight ball.

“I hate the coach who says, ‘Well, we shot ourselves in the foot.’ No, Aliquippa won it. They earned it. We didn’t. But we had opportunities. I think that was the most unsettling thing about that.”

Belle Vernon (11-0) enters the game as the Big Eight Conference champion and the undefeated No. 1 seed. The Leopards are in the final for the second time in three years.

Yet that pales in comparison to No. 2 Aliquippa (10-1), the Parkway Conference champion, which is competing in a district championship game for the 14th year in a row while playing up in classification for most of that streak.

“They’re very cookie-cutter to what they were last year,” Humbert said of the Quips, who lost a 35-28 thriller to TJ in the 2020 final. “They’re very big up front and athletic on the perimeter.

“Defensively, they love to play a lot of man coverage and plug and blitz a lot of guys. We’ve got to be able to withstand them bringing the house and locking up our receivers. And they’re aggressive, they swarm to the ball. That’s what we have to be prepared for.”

Belle Vernon’s defense, led by linebacker Cole Weightman, will have its hands full, according to Humbert.

“Offensively, the thing that makes Aliquippa dangerous is they’re so darn multiple,” Humbert explained. “There are games where they’ll be in Power-I and running iso-counter the whole night. Then the next game they’re in four-wide the entire time.

“They’re multiplicity is what makes them scary. They have the great back (Tiqwai Hayes) and running game but I think what makes them the most dangerous is their passing game. The quarterback (Quentin Goode) has just as good of an arm if not better than any quarterback we’ve seen so far.”

The Leopards’ offense is led by electrifying dual-threat quarterback Devin Whitlock and talented running back Quinton Martin along with a surprisingly effective offensive line.

“We’re undersized and we have guys that weren’t playing there at all last year,” Humbert pointed out about his front line. “We have only one kid on our offensive line that played there last season. They’ve done a hell of a job just letting us coach them hard and responding to that pressure. We’re going to need another big night from them Saturday for sure.”

Whitlock had touchdown runs of 22 and 79 yards in the win over TJ and Martin added a 19-yard scoring run.

“Devin is the tinder for the fire,” Humbert said. “He’s the one that ignites everything. But there are a lot of people around him that are very complementary. There was a lot of great blocking last week to allow him to score those two touchdowns.

“Another key for us against Aliquippa though is we’ve got to get Quinton running downhill early. We’ve got to get him established and not just rely on Devin’s feet. We’ve got to make sure that ‘Q’ has the touches early on that he needs.”

Humbert tipped his cap to the Quips’ amazing streak and commended coach Mike Warfield and his staff.

“Mad respect for Aliquippa because they are who they are franchise-wise,” Humbert said. “You can’t argue with their accomplishments, with what they’ve done.

“They’re well coached also. They put their players in good situations.”

The Leopards’ trek to Heinz Field in 2019 resulted in a 41-7 loss to Thomas Jefferson but Humbert feels that his team’s familiarity with the showcase will help his players in their return trip.

“I think it’s big just from an operational logistics standpoint,” Humbert said. “There’s so much that goes into that game. I think being there before helps you out a little bit. There are a lot of things that can distract you from the game plan.

“A lot of those kids remember that trip down there. We’re just hoping to kind of get the bad taste out of our mouth from 2019.”