Aliquippa gets big day from Tiqwai Hayes, wins Class 4A state title: Pennsylvania high school football 2023 rewind

Penn State recruit Tiqwai Hayes ran for 220 yards and three touchdowns as Aliquippa won the 2023 PIAA Class 4A state championship

Aliquippa running back Tiqwai Hayes gets away from a Dallas defender during the 2023 PIAA Class 4A state championship game. Aliquippa won 60-14 and Hayes ran for 22 yards and three touchdowns. / Paul Burdick, SBLive Sports

As we get ready for the beginning of the 2024 Pennsylvania high school football season, we wanted to take a look back at 2023 to see how the season ended in each of the state’s six classes with a rewind recap of the state championship game.

In this edition, we will take a look at the 2023 PIAA Class 4A state championship game, which saw Aliquippa win the state title with a 60-14 win over Dallas.

Aliquippa 60, Dallas 14

Aliquippa found the end zone on each of its first four possessions in the 2023 PIAA Class 4A state championship game and ran away from Dallas for a 60-14 victory.

Junior running back Tiqwai Hayes, a Penn State commit, put on a shiow in the first half as Penn State head coach James Franklin watched from the sideline.

Hayes scored on a seven-yard run to make it 16-0 midway through the first quarter.

And then the highlights started.

On his second touchdown run - a 34-yarder late in the first quarter, Hayes took the handoff and went through the hole to his right.  About seven yards into the run, a Dallas safety thought he had a chance to make the stop, but Hayes pushed him off with ease and scooted the rest of the way untouched for the score.

"Honestly, I don't even know what was happening in that moment," Hayes said. "The safety, that was my man, I knew he was going to be unblocked. I knew that I had to make a move and try to run him over, so that's exactly what I did."

His third touchdown run was an even more impressive one, as the 61-yard score featured multiple cutbacks to turn around defenders and then ended when he sprinted away into the end zone as he outraced a herd of Dallas defenders to give Aliquippa a 32-7 lead early in the second quarter.

Hayes had 179 yards rushing and three touchdowns on just 15 carries in the first half and finished with 222 yards and three scores on 15 carries, touching the ball just three times in the second half as the Quips had the game in hand and enforced a running clock.

John Tracy ran the ball eight times for 136 yards and two touchdowns for the Quips and Cameron Lindsay added 58 yards and a score on four carries. Quentin Goode threw for 149 yards and a touchdown.

The Aliquippa defense forced six turnovers - five interceptions and a fumble - with QaLil Goode picking off three passes, one of which he returned for a score. Arison Walker had the other two interceptions.

2023 PIAA Class 4A state semifinal results

Aliquippa 52, Selinsgrove 32
Dallas 26, Bishop McDevitt 23

-- Ryan Isley  | ryan@scorebooklive.com | @sblivepa