NFHS
Twin Valley defeated Aliquippa during the semifinal round of the high school football playoffs in Pennsylvania on Friday to punch its ticket to the state championship. However, the final result is marred by controversy after the Quips appeared to recover a crucial onside kick at the end of the third quarter.
They did not get the ball back.
The confusing ruling from the officials completely flipped the high school football game on its head. Momentum completely swung in the opposite direction to begin the fourth quarter.
Twin Valley defeated Aliquippa.
Twin Valley High school is located in Elverson, Pennsylvania, about 50 miles northwest of Philadelphia. It enrolls approximately 1,100 students in Grades 9-12. Aliquippa Junior/Senior High School is located in Aliquippa, Pennsylvania, about 30 miles northwest of Pittsburgh. It enrolls approximately 430 students in Grades 7-12.
The two schools are separated by nearly 300 miles on opposite ends of the state.
Despite the distance between them and difference in class size, the Raiders and Quips both compete on the Class AAAA level of high school football competition in the Quaker State.
Aliquippa went 10-3 en route to the semifinal game on Friday. Twin Valley was undefeated at 13-0. They met in the middle at Donald M. Chapman III Stadium in Lewistown.
The Quips trailed the Raiders 28-24 after scoring a touchdown with just seconds left in the third quarter. Instead of booting the ball away on the ensuing kickoff, they decided to go with a surprise onside kick.
It worked!
Well, it appeared to work. It looked like an Aliquippa player jumped on the ball — after the ball had already traveled 10 yards — to recover the onside kick and get possession right back for the offense. The recovery seemed to be as clear as day. Quips ball, down by four.
Here is how it went down in real time:
“Illegal touching” was the call… I would of been going insane too https://t.co/JZjKg8fTY2 pic.twitter.com/bf1phixq16
— PA Today (@PA_TodaySports) November 29, 2025
Although the ball traveled more than 10 yards and appeared to bounce off of the turf, the officials ruled possession to Twin Valley. They also gifted the receiving team with an additional five yards for “illegal touching” by the kicking team. And then Aliquippa also received an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty for arguing with the referees about their seemingly incorrect decision.
Head coach Mike Warfield was furious.
“I had no problems with the referee crew tonight. They called a great game,” Warfield said. “But the official said that the ball has to hit the ground first, and we couldn’t recover it. That was the turning point of the game, and they got an extra five yards on top of it for illegal touching.”
There is no video replay during the Pennsylvania high school football playoffs so the call on the field will always stand. The Raiders got the ball on offense at the Quips’ 48-yard-line.
Twin Valley went on to beat Aliquippa 28-24 to reach its first-ever state championship game.