Oct 31, 2025 By Rob Burchianti 4 min read

California and Frazier once were rivals in the Tri-County South Conference and the two will renew that rivalry tonight when the WPIAL football playoffs get underway.

The sixth-seeded Trojans (9-1) remain in the TCS where they won the conference title this season. California’s lone loss was to Class 2A playoff team Waynesburg Central, 27-20.

No. 11 Frazier now resides in the Eastern Conference where it finished fourth behind Clairton, Jeannette and Leechburg. The Commodores (6-4) won four of their last five games to earn a wild-card spot.

Their Class A first-round game kicks off at 7 p.m. at California.

Three other area teams have qualified for the postseason and are also in action tonight also with 7 p.m. kickoffs.

Southmoreland (9-1), under a first-year head coach in Dustin Shoaf, is seeded seventh in Class 3A and hosts No. 10 Hopewell (6-4) at Russ Grimm Field.

Waynesburg Central (5-5) is seeded 13th in Class 2A and travels to No. 4 South Allegheny (9-1).

Jefferson-Morgan (8-2), which finished third in the Tri-County South behind California and Bentworth, is seeded 13th and will play at No. 4 Laurel (9-1).

California and Frazier have a vast difference in coaching experience with the Trojans guided by veteran Ed Woods while the Commodores are led by Tony Battaglini in his first year.

Battaglini has much respect for Woods.

“With Ed Woods over there, he’s done it for such a long time, you know they’re going to be well coached, they’re going to run the ball and play good defense,” Battaglini said. “They’re pretty good up front. I saw (Noah) Layhue just set their record for sacks.

“They’re very good. This is going to be a huge challenge for us.”

Woods is impressed at how quickly Battaglini has turned around a Commodores program that had produced a total of four wins in the preview four seasons.

“Looking forward to playing those guys,” Woods said. “They’re doing a great job for his first season and they will continue to improve and build up that program. I’m friends with their defensive coordinator (Jeff Ogrodowski) so we will have fun coaching against each other.”

The game will feature two of the top running backs in the WPIAL in Frazier’s Derek Diamond and California’s Malachi Peak.

Diamond finished third in the regular season in rushing with 246 carries for 1,657 yards (6.7 average) and has scored 16 touchdowns.

Peak was eighth with 189 carries for 1,490 yards (7.9 average) and has scored 20 touchdowns.

The Commodores like to put the ball up a bit more than the Trojans with quarterback Brady Secrest who completed 80 of 152 passes for 1,128 yards and 13 touchdowns. His favorite target is Chase Fulmer who was fifth in the WPIAL with 48 receptions for 589 yards (12.3 average).

California averages 37.7 points per game while allowing just 9.7. Frazier scores 28.9 points per game while giving up 33.7 although a 72-0 loss at second-seeded Clairton skewed the Commodores’ numbers greatly.

In the other matchups, Southmoreland averages 31.1 points per game while allowing 9.1 and Hopewell averages 39.4 while allowing 19.4; Waynesburg averages 27.5 while allowing 23.9 and South Allegheny averages 45.4 while allowing 12.2; and Jefferson-Morgan averages 37.2 while allowing 15.5 and Laurel averages 40.4 while allowing 8.8.

The Scotties’ offense is led by the two-pronged rushing attack of Averyon Darnell and Jackson Mickens along with quarterback Dawson Wolfe who has connected on 77 of 146 throws for 1,068 yards and 11 touchdowns. Dawson had thrown to a number of receivers with Makel Darnell being a top target. Cam Lee has two kickoff returns for scores. Liam Smith has kicked seven field goals and 32 extra points.

The Vikings are led by Nasir Wade with 1,252 rushing yards and 14 touchdowns and James Armstrong who has completed 108 of 183 passes for 2,015 yards and 19 touchdowns while also running for 14 scores.

The Raiders’ top offensive weapon is quarterback Teagen Crouse, a two-way threat whose top receiver is Jack Ricciuti. Crouse has completed 96 of 172 passes for 1,671 yards and 11 touchdowns. Ricciuti has 41 receptions for 843 yards.

The Gladiators are led by running back Joey Gamret who’s scored 14 touchdowns, quarterback Alijah Cook who has completed 84 of 144 passes for 1,241 yards and 23 touchdowns, and Drew Cook who has 43 receptions for 745 yards and has scored 18 TDs.

Jefferson-Morgan is led by one of the WPIAL’s most dangerous offensive players in Deakyn DeHoet who has scored 176 points this season with 28 touchdowns and four two-point conversions. DeHoet has picked up 816 yards on the ground and 748 yards on 32 receptions for 1,534 total yards.

The Rockets also feature running back John Woodward, who racked up 944 rushing yards and 15 touchdowns, including two on kickoff returns (DeHoet has one), and quarterback Triton Farabee who has 60 completions in 85 attempts for 1,065 yards and 14 TDs.

The Spartans are led by Nathan Hill who has scored 15 touchdowns, quarterback Luca Santini who has completed 64 of 115 passes for 1,098 yards and 18 TDs, and Kolton Carlson who has 28 catches for 562 yards.