'Cardiac Quips' Aliquippa knocks off No. 2 Trinity in WPIAL 4A football quarterfinals
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WASHINGTON — When it comes to the postseason, anything can happen, especially with your starting quarterback returned from injury.
With Aliquippa senior quarterback Marques Council back under center, the team used a game-winning drive with less than a minute to play to defeat No. 2 Trinity in the quarterfinals of the WPIAL Class 4A playoffs, 21-14.
After Trinity had a bad snap on a punt, it set No. 7 Aliquippa (7-3) up with great field position in opponent territory.
Following an illegal block in the back, Council threw his best pass of the night, connecting with Josh Lay for a 40-yard game-winning touchdown with 20 seconds to play to give Aliquippa the lead.
Coming back from injury is never easy. Returning in a do-or-die playoff game is even more pressure on a player.
But with the trust of his teammates, Council knew that he could make the play when it mattered the most, throwing his second game-winning touchdown of the season.
“I have full trust in my teammates to go up and make the play,” Council said. “The two-minute drill is something that we work on in practice every day. The line blocked great and at the end of the day, we won the game.”
On top of the late-game heroics by the Aliquippa offense, outscoring its opponent 14-0 in the fourth quarter, it was the team’s defense that helped put the offense in the position to succeed.
Trinity quarterback Jonah Williamson had two total touchdowns on the night, with his second providing a huge momentum swing on 4th & 9 midway through the third quarter, connecting with sophomore wide receiver Owen Samogala for a 25-yard score.
Following the touchdown, the Aliquippa defense locked in.
Aliquippa forced Trinity to a three-and-out late in the third quarter, had the Hillers pushed out of field goal range to begin the fourth quarter due to pre-snap penalties and forced Trinity to punt, which set up the game-winning drive.
For the exclamation point, the defensive line came up with a pair of sacks on the final two plays to ice the game.
“Trinity’s quarterback Jonah Williamson is good and their running back Owen Gardner had some good runs as well,” Aliquippa head coach Mike Warfield said. “It is tough when you have a quarterback who can throw and run. We had some breakdowns, but when the fourth quarter came, the guys played what they were taught.”
With the win, Aliquippa will now face Parkway Conference foe No. 3 New Castle on Friday, November 7, at a site and time to be determined.
This article originally appeared on Beaver County Times: Aliquippa upsets Trinity in WPIAL 4A high school football quarterfinals
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