Aliquippa doesn’t really view itself as a football program but rather as more of a brotherhood.

“We’ve been playing since knee-high,” Aliquippa senior Qa’lil Goode said. “We’re not related, but we are brothers.”

That familial sense is one of the key reasons why the Quips have been so successful. On Saturday, the No. 7 seed in the WPIAL Class 4A playoffs pulled off its third upset of the tournament, this one against No. 1 McKeesport, for a 21-12 victory at Pine-Richland and the school’s WPIAL-record 21st title.

This one, though, may have been its biggest surprise.

It was the first time the No. 1 seed failed to win the Class 4A title since 2021, when — of course — No. 2 Aliquippa stunned Belle Vernon 28-13 at (then) Heinz Field. The Quips are the lowest-seeded team to win a title in the

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