Trey Hopper hit A.J. Alston on a successful two-point conversion pass with 31 seconds to play to lift the Montour Spartans to a wild 36-35 victory over the defending Parkway Conference champion Aliquippa, 36-35, Friday night at Thomas J. Birko Memorial Stadium.
The Spartans, who remained unbeaten at 8-0 overall and 4-0 in Class 4A conference play, trailed 35-28 after Quips’ quarterback Marques Council Jr. found Arison Walker on touchdown passes of 47 and 35 yards on back-to-back drives.
But with Aliquippa in possession on fourth-and-3 at the Montour 26-yard line, the Spartans’ Nino DeMichele sacked Council, giving the Spartans one last opportunity with 2 minutes, 8 seconds remaining in the game.
Hopper, who completed 19 of 32 passes for 203 yards and two scores, hit Caden Halajcio for 16 yards on a fourth-and-2 play at the Spartans’ 44-yard line, keeping the drive alive.
A personal foul penalty against Aliquippa for a late hit out of bounds on a scrambling Hopper moved the ball to the Quips’ 20-yard line, and moments later Halajcio broke loose for 17 yards, putting the Spartans one step closer at the Aliquippa 2-yard line.
Halajcio then punched it in for the score to cut it to one at 35-34 with 31 seconds remaining.
The Spartans didn’t want overtime. This was their chance to finally knock off Aliquippa.
Hopper scrambled to his right and found Alston sitting all alone in the middle of the end zone to take a 36-35 lead.
Kaleb Platz picked off a pass to give the Spartans the win and drop the visitors to 3-1 in the conference and 5-2 overall.
“It feels awesome,” Halajcio said of the win over Aliquippa, which came into the game ranked No. 2 in the state by TribLive.com. Montour was ranked No. 4.
“We’ve been losing to them since I was a kid. It feels awesome to show them that we are the big dogs this year.”
Halajcio ran for 70 yards on 11 carries, mustering one touchdown. He also made a touchdown-saving tackle in the first quarter on the Quips’ standout running back Tiqwai Hayes, who ran for 221 yards and a touchdown on 20 carries.
Nevertheless, the Spartans outlasted to the Quips and were able to move the ball through the air in the first half.
Despite the Spartans’ success, the Quips made adjustments on defense, taking away the middle of the field and double-teaming Alston.
Hopper talked about getting back into rhythm after throwing a pick on his previous drive and finding Alston to win.
“I had to get my confidence after the pick,” Hopper said. “We really didn’t move the ball back in the second half, but we knew we had to pull through to win. My O-line did a great job protecting me and I tried to find open receivers.”
The Aliquippa adjustments in the second half led to the line and Halajcio taking over late in the fourth.
Montour center and senior captain Dante Baron talked about the line coming through.
“At the end of the game, we knew we needed good push,” Baron said. “We huddled up and we knew what needed to get done and we did it.”
Halajcio was elated to play a part.
“It felt great,” Halajcio said about punching in the last-minute score. “When they are keying in on all of our receivers, it opens up the run game. When they key in on the run game, it opens up the receivers. It’s really a team effort.”
The Spartans led 21-8 at one point and 21-15 at halftime.
Montour’s leading receivers were Alston, who caught two passes for 45 yards and a touchdown, and James Bundridge, who hauled in four passes for 60 yards.
Dominic Baron caught four passes for 50 yards, Daniel Batch had two receptions for 35 yards and a touchdown, and Platz had four receptions for 28 yards.
“First half, from the film we watched, we knew we had to take advantage of certain matchups,” Hopper said. “They adjusted to it, but we adjusted right back.”
Batch talked about DiMichele’s key sack of Council on fourth-and-short.
“We knew we needed a big stop,” Batch said. “Nino is like that; he’s a dog. He got back there and disrupted it and we are good at defending the pass.”
To start the game, Aliquippa forced a punt. A Hayes 26-yard run moved the Quips inside Montour territory. The Spartans forced a fourth-and-long situation, but Aliquippa went for it. Council was pressured and found Hayes, but in the open field, Halajcio made a touchdown-saving tackle.
The Spartans drove the ball into Quip territory after Hopper found Alston for 30 yards. Alston fumbled the football, but Batch recovered it.
Hopper then found Alston on second down at the Aliquippa 20, and although it appeared that Alston got a foot down for a touchdown, the official ruled him out of bounds.
The Aliquippa defense stuffed Platz on a fourth-and-short two plays later.
Hayes then broke one for 81 yards on the second play on Aliquippa’s next drive. Sa’nir Brooks punched it in for two to give the visitors an 8-0 lead.
After a few splash plays from Hopper to Platz and Baron, the Spartans found themselves in Aliquippa territory yet again.
The Quips forced a fourth-and-7. An offside penalty made it fourth-and-2 and the Spartans converted when Hopper found Bundridge over the middle for a first down, putting them at the 11-yard line on the last play of the first quarter.
Hopper then threw a fade to Alston, who went up and came down with it, making a highlight reel catch. Brayden Davin hit the extra point, making it 8-7.
After a Mark Dobrowsky blocked punt, the Spartans were in Quip territory.
Hopper then threw a dime to Batch for 24 yards to take the lead 14-8.
The Spartans defense forced another punt after Cole Midili took down Council in the backfield on fourth down.
Hopper launched one to Bundridge, putting the Spartans in the red zone.
On fourth-and-short, Platz ran one up the middle on a direct snap for a 12-yard touchdown.
The Quips responded quickly when Council connected with Qa’lil Goode for 24 yards, and Hayes ran one for 44 yards, putting them at the Montour 10-yard line.
Brooks punched it in for six on the next play, cutting it to 21-15.
Larry Moon III hauled in a pass for 31 yards, putting the Quips at the Montour 23. But Platz picked off a Council pass to preserve a 21-15 lead going into halftime.
The Quips marched right down the field on an 85-yard drive that was capped by a Brooks 9-yard touchdown run. Montour blocked the PAT, keeping it tied 21-21.
The Spartans were stopped on their next drive, but Davin pinned the Quips at their own 1-yard line.
Disaster then struck when Council fumbled the snap. Batch took it to the house for a 10-yard scoop-and-score, and the Spartans regained the lead, 28-21.
The Quips came back with a score of their own on a 47-yard play-action touchdown pass from Council to Arison Walker.
After an offside penalty on Montour, the Quips decided to go for two, and Council found Cleaster Longmire Jr. to take the lead 29-28.
The Quips then forced a Platz fumble, and Longmire recovered for the visitors. Council then heaved one to the back of the end zone and Walker hauled it in, getting a foot down. After a missed PAT, the Quips were up 35-28.
Penalties then derailed Aliquippa’s next drive. After getting a first down into Montour territory, an unsportsmanlike penalty moved the Quips back to their own 40.
Two consecutive personal foul penalties put them in the hole, and they eventually punted, giving Montour the ball at the Spartan 40.
Walker then picked off a Hopper pass, but the Spartans defense forced another punt with just under five minutes left.
Montour kept finding ways to get the ball back. The Spartans capitalized on Aliquippa’s 170 penalty yards and won the game on their last drive.
“He was open and he did his thing,” Batch said of Alston on the game-winning two-point conversion. “We knew we had to work hard. Trey was getting hit and he kept getting back up and that’s just something Montour does. We work hard and we get back up every single time.”
Photos by Mike Longo Jr.
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