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The great debate: South Fayette or Aliquippa No. 1 in PIAA Class AA?
Bobby Cashaw (No. 88) attempts to pave a path for Kaezon Pugh (No. 23) as he clears out Roman Denson (No. 4) but Pugh is caught from behind by Matt O'Rourke (No. 21). Pugh rushed for 111 yards but that was not enough as Aliquippa fell to South Fayette, 31-22, for the second time in two years during the WPIAL Class AA championship game.
Celeste Van Kirk/Observer-Reporter South Fayette’s Mikey Speca gets tackled by Burgettstown’s Bryan Krynak during a WPIAL Class AA playoff game at South Fayette stadium on Friday, Nov. 6, 2015.
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Apparently a 43-game winning streak doesn’t do much to silence critics these days. South Fayette certainly has a few. People don’t see the same passing attack it had with Brett Brumbaugh under center and a close win over Seton-La Salle raised a few eyebrows.
That led some to believe Aliquippa would be the top-seeded team for the WPIAL Class AA playoffs, but that didn’t happen. The Lions (11-0) received the top seed and has played like it, outscoring its first two opponents 117-13, but that still hasn’t silenced people.
PennLive.com ranked Aliquippa (11-0) ahead of South Fayette in its Class AA state rankings after the Quips beat Seton-La Salle in the WPIAL quarterfinals. We’ll see where the two teams stand Friday night.
The Lions will play fifth-seeded Steel Valley (10-1) and Aliquippa has sixth-seeded Freeport (10-1). The winners meet at Heinz Field next Saturday.
PennLive’s logic certainly isn’t flawed. The Quips defeated the Rebels, Beaver Falls, Mount Pleasant and Beaver, while the Lions narrowly defeated Seton and played in a conference that was down this year. In my opinion, you can’t blame South Fayette for an opponent’s flaws and I’m not a believer in comparing common opponents.
A win over Steel Valley would probably catapult the Lions to the top and if it doesn’t then Aliquippa’s name and reputation carry serious weight.
Let’s make a case for both:
• South Fayette returned five starters from last season’s WPIAL and PIAA championship games. They make up a defensive front that was the only one in the WPIAL to give Steel Valley and Beaver serious issues. Watch the tape. It doesn’t lie.
• Hunter Hayes. He doesn’t have the BCS offers or national attention of Aliquippa’s Kaezon Pugh, but Hayes is the key to the Lions’ defense and look at the numbers. His season totals aren’t high because South Fayette wanted sophomore quarterback Drew Saxton to get acclimated to varsity football, but when he gets 20 carries, few backs put up bigger numbers. Hayes finished second in the WPIAL last year with 2,103 rushing yards and 33 touchdowns.
• Defense. South Fayette has two shutouts, including one over Steel Valley, and has held every opponent to 14 points or less. On the other hand, Aliquippa allowed Mount Pleasant to score 38, Beaver Falls had 21 and Keystone Oaks scored 26.
• Pugh is a rare talent. He probably doesn’t have the speed to play running back at a BCS school, but runs with a physical, angry style. Pugh (6-2, 215) has ran for 1,6000 yards and 21 touchdowns, while averaging 10.7 yards per carry. Good luck tackling him, but if we see a South Fayette/Aliquippa WPIAL title game again, the Lions are allowing less than three yards per rush. But they haven’t faced a back like him this year.
• Aliquippa is no longer one-dimensional. Quarterback Sheldon Jeter threw for 268 yards and three touchdowns in the Quips’ win over Beaver Falls. He’s completed 57.6 percent of his passes for 1,159 yards and 15 touchdowns with only three interceptions. By all accounts, he’s the best quarterback Aliquippa has had in years.
• The Quips have the edge in strength of schedule. Wash High proved last week that it’s important, but unlike South Fayette, the Prexies never faced adversity through 10 games. The Lions had a tough game against Seton-La Salle, where they had to come back from a halftime deficit. After what Aliquippa did last week to the Rebels, it might make you wonder what South Fayette really has.
• Forty-three consecutive wins. That’s tied for fifth-longest in the country and SF is the two-time defending state champions. You could say the past is the past, but you have to beat the best to be called the best. The Lions have enough back to aruge they deserve the state’s top ranking until they lose.
Neither team has an easy road to Heinz Field. Steel Valley is filled with athleticism and has an underrated 4-3 defense that can cause matchup problems with opposing lines. Freeport quarterback Ryan Weigold is the best high school quarterback I’ve seen all season and the Yellowjackets’ defense is legit.
It’s likely that both programs will meet at Heinz Field for the fourth time in six years. We’ll see where the debate goes from there.