Week 4 football roundup: Aliquippa hands Mars 1st loss on last-second TDs; Union/A-C Valley rolls to 4-0
For two straight weeks, Mars football had a penchant for winning with late heroics. A last-second touchdown in Week 2 and a blocked field goal that would’ve forced overtime in Week 3 had the Planets riding high at 3-0.
But Friday night, it was Aliquippa who was up for some dramatics, scoring with 23 seconds left on a JJ Work 9-yard touchdown run for the game-winning score, then adding the insurance on Qa’Lil Good’es 43-yard interception return for a TD.
Final score: Quips 19, Planets 6.
Sacred Heart commit Gabe Hein caught two passes for 54 yards and a touchdown, which came just before halftime on a 44-yard strike, and Smyth Dunaway led the Planets (3-1) with seven grabs for 63 yards. Quarterback Colin Yurisinec was efficient, going 14 of 20 for 147 yards and his TD to Hein, but he tossed two INTs.
Jameson Garvin led Mars with 12 carries for 40 yards.
Aliquippa tied the game, which featured two blocked extra points and a missed one, on Work’s first touchdown with 10:08 left in the game.
Union/A-C Valley 36, Cameron County — Logan Skibinski scored on runs of 60 and 2 yards, and the Falcon Knights stayed perfect on the season.
Skibinski sprinted for his first score less than three minutes into the game, then added another midway through the third to ice the game. Trent Fleming caught a 17-yard pass from Andrew Kifer in between those scores (Fleming caught a two-point conversion as well).
Max Gallagher cemented Union/A-C Valley’s 4-0 record with TD runs of 8 and 3 yards in the fourth quarter.
Skibinsik and Gallagher both eclipsed 100 yards; the former ran 15 times for 144 yards, and the latter finished with 138 stripes on 25 touches.
Gallagher added nine tackles on defense. Fleming finished with four grabs for 34 yards, while Kifer was 7 of 12 for 69 yards and an interception.
Norwin 56, Seneca Valley 13 — SV’s Andrew Loebig was able to throw for a touchdown and run for another, but not before the Knights built a 35-0 lead in the first half and walked away with this one.
The Raiders’ QB finished 13 of 18 passing for 144 yards and added nine carries for 31 stripes. Danny Drennan finished with two catches for 54 yards, and Rory O’Shea had two for 52. Tight end Adam Gehm caught the only TD pass.
North Catholic 49, Quaker Valley 0 — The Trojans (4-0, 1-0) made it four straight wins while scoring at least 47 points, earning their first WPIAL section win of the season as well. North Catholic had a 42-0 lead by halftime, getting the mercy rule invoked for the second half.
Joe Felitsky threw five touchdown passes in the first half and had 209 yards through the air. Will Waskiewicz caught three touchdown passes and Logan Schade rushed for 102 yards and a score.
Montour 41, Knoch 8 — The Knights’ offensive struggles continued as they fell to 0-4 on the season. It’s the third game Knoch has scored 10 or fewer points. The Knights trailed 28-0 at halftime and did not score until the fourth quarter.
Caden Halajcio had 18 carries for 193 yards and three touchdowns for Montour. Quarterback Brandon Bennett threw for 100 yards and a touchdown.
