‘Devastating loss’ as BVA falls to Aliquippa

By ASHLEY CHASE

MVI Sports

A Friday night classic between two of the top teams in Class 4A sent top seed Aliquippa to its 13th straight WPIAL championship game with a 33-25 victory over No. 4 Belle Vernon Area.

This game had everything — touchdowns, interceptions, fumbles, a kick returned for a touchdown and more — in front of a fairly large crowd of fans at “The Pit.”

The Leopards (6-2) started strong, grabbing the early momentum and building a 13-0 lead over the unbeaten Quips (9-0).

“We knew this was going to be probably the toughest game of the year,” said Leopards head coach Matt Humbert, “but we also really liked our chances in this matchup.”

Belle Vernon freshman Quinton Martin took a handoff on the second play from scrimmage and ran it 53 yards for a touchdown that gave his squad a 6-0 lead.

Aliquippa’s first offensive possession ended quickly as a Vaughn Morris pass went through two sets of hands and into those of Leopards junior Logan Cunningham. Belle Vernon couldn’t turn the turnover into points and handed the ball back to the Quips.

Belle Vernon’s defense stood tall and forced an Aliquippa punt. That’s when Leopards junior Devin Whitlock went to work. Whitlock used his speed to motor down the field 64 yards for a touchdown, giving BVA a 13-0 lead with 2:53 left in the first quarter.

The Leopards defense got to the Quips once again, forcing a fumble recovered by Cole Weightman. But the ensuing offensive drive for Belle Vernon was all Aliquippa defense, sacking Whitlock for a 10-yard loss, then sacking him a second time and forcing a fumble recovered by the Quips.

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