Winners crowned in WPIAL Class 1A, 2A, 3A and 5A high school football championships

PITTSBURGH — Four WPIAL teams left Acrisure Stadium as champions on Saturday.

Click here to watch Skylights coverage of the Class 1A, 2A and 3A Championships.

In Class 3A, Avonworth showed up for the school’s fourth straight WPIAL Championship game.

Their opponent, Imani Christian, was playing in a WPAL championship for just the second time in school history.

These two teams met last season in the semi-final.

Avonworth would strike first with defense.

The saints set up a screen, and Romello Harris broke it up with a leaping interception for an easy pick-six.

The antelopes were off and running, up 7-0, then up 10-0 late in the first half. It looked like Avonworth was going to run out the clock.

But Luca Neal had other ideas. He broke through the line, and no one was going to catch him. Then, 67 yards later, Avonworth would go into the locker room with a 17-0 lead over Imani.

In the second half, the Saints were trying to make something happen, but the Avonworth defense was swarming.

Jared Jones stretched out to get the interception, and he took it back the other way. It was the second pick-six in this championship game.

The antelopes were rolling 24-0.

Jared Jones wasn’t just getting it done on defense. He was a scoring threat on offense as well.

Carson Bellinger only threw five passes on the day, but a certain one counted the most — a 37-yard score to make it 30-0 Antelopes.

Imani Christian played it to the end. Gabe Jenkins found the end zone in the fourth quarter to prevent the shutout.

But it’s Avonworth raising the trophy again, finishing an unbeaten season in 3A with a 30-6 win.

“We treat our kids as a family,” Avonworth head coach Duke Johncour said. “We preach it all the time. I told them in the locker room, love always wins, and these kids love each other. They spend all the time in the world together. They’re good examples, they work in the weight room and they bought into what we do. We won’t overkill them with a ton of summer stuff and that kind of thing, and they bought into what we do.”

In Class 2A, Seton LaSalle fell short of a WPIAL title last season, losing to South Park in the championship game.

The Rebels returned for another shot at a championship. This season, their opponent was Steel Valley.

Scoreless in the first half, the pace picked up dramatically to start the second half, and it began with the kickoff.

Steel Valley’s Tyrell Breland found the hole, turned on the speed and was gone. The Ironmen were up 7-0 after 85 yards.

Seton LaSalle fumbled quickly, and Steel Valley would cash in. Da’ron Barksdale made a run, breaking tackles and plowing through defenders on his way to the end zone, putting Steel Valley up by 14.

The game turned right here.

Will Martin got an interception to put Seton LaSalle in scoring position, and he would finish the job himself a few plays later. Seton LaSalle was on the board, down by seven.

With less than five minutes to go, the Rebels needed a score to tie. Another wildcat to Martin, and the Rebels tied it up at 14.

In the final minute of the game, the Rebels got the ball back. Will Martin took the direct snap and found the end zone.

This one seals the deal for Seton LaSalle. They finish off Steel Valley and win the 2A Championship, 21-14.

“You know, when we’re down in situations or we make a mistake, we pick each other up, and we’re like, we’re gonna win this game,” Martin said. “It doesn’t matter how far we get down. Whatever happens, we know, like, the outcome of it, we know we’re gonna stick together and have pride in each other and love each other as brothers.”

In Class 1A, Laurel was looking to win its first WPIAL Championship since 1980.

The team they beat in that game was Clairton.

And those two teams locked it up to start the championship Saturday at Acrisure Stadium.

The Clairton Bears were looking for their first WPAL title since 2019.

In the second quarter, Jeff Thompson lofted a perfect pass to Brandon Murphy to break the scoreless tie.

Clairton decided to go for two, and Donte Wright wouldn’t be denied. He powered his way through and put the Bears up 8-0 at the half.

In the fourth quarter, Laurel was fighting to tie the game up. Nathan Hill powered through the line and made it 8-6 Clairton.

Laurel was going for two to tie the game, and the Clairton defense was able to shut it down to hold on to a two-point lead.

Laurel had a final chance to get the game-winning score, but Brandon Murphy forced a fumble. Donte Wright got the recovery, and Clairton got to celebrate with the trophy — their first since 2019 and their 15th as a school.

“Anytime we’re down here and we’re able to win a championship, it’s huge,” Clairton head coach Wayne Wade said. “We’re second in the WPIAL with 15 titles. I think this is my fifth title as a head coach, and it never gets old.”

Click here to watch Skylights coverage of the Class 5A Championship.

In Class 5A, Pine-Richland got off to a fast start against Peters Township.

Jay Timmons took a handoff and had an easy run to the end zone. The Rams failed on the two-pointer, leaving them up 6-0.

Pine-Richland was driving again later in the quarter, and this time the Peters defense stood up.

Jeremy Poletti came in with the perfect position to get the interception, but the indians’ offense sputtered again.

In the second quarter, Oobie Strader went back to pass and couldn’t find anyone, so he kept it himself and strolled into the end zone.

Another two-pointer fails, and it’s 12-0.

Later in the quarter, a pass from Strader came in to Khalil Taylor with a great catch in the corner of the end zone.

The Rams were at the half 19-0.

In the second half, Peters Township finally generated a splash play on offense.

Cole Neupaver found the seam and exploded through the hole, running for his life. Ge gets Peters on the board, 19-6.

Early in the fourth quarter, it was Neupaver again. He bounced to the outside near the sideline. He plowed past the defense to get to the end zone, making it 19-13 Rams.

Later, Peters Township came all the way back with the go-ahead score from Neupaver again. Peters Township took the lead with the extra point, 20-19.

In the next drive, Peters Township forced the turnover. James Spratt came in with the recovery. Peters Township pulls off an amazing comeback 20-19 to win the 5A crown.

Our Skylights RE/MAX Select Realty Player of the week is Will Martin from Seton LaSalle.

Martin put the team on his back, trailing 14-0 in the second half. He got the interception that changed the momentum, then scored three touchdowns in the Rebels’ victory in the 2A Championship.

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