Yale QB Commit Marques Council Jr. Lifts Aliquippa to WPIAL Class-4A Championship Title
GIBSONIA, Pa. — The past two seasons have been a whirlwind for Aliquippa’s starting quarterback, and current Yale commit, Marques Council Jr. as he now leaves the title-rich program with at least one more championship.
After falling short in last year’s semifinal round and not knowing if he would even play in the playoffs this year after a late-season injury, Council was the key factor in the Quips’ 21-12 victory in the Class-4A Championship against McKeesport as he threw for 123 yards and two touchdowns and ran for 47 yards and one score.
“It’s a blessing,” Council said after winning the Class-4A Championship. “It feels amazing. We fell short last year so just to be able to come back and win it all is just all God’s doing.”
After he started the Quips’ scoring efforts with a 24-yard rushing touchdown, Council was apart of the game’s biggest play in which he turned a fourth-and-long from the Tigers’ 24-yard line into a game-icing touchdown when he tossed a moon ball into the end zone that was hauled in by senior wide receiver Qalil Goode.
“I keep saying, when you see 14 (Goode) in space, no matter who is down there, you got to give him a chance,” Council said. “He made a great play for me.”
The win was not an easy one for Council and the 21-time WPIAL champion Aliquippa Quips as they entered the game as the No. 7 seed and faced an uphill battle going against top-seeded McKeesport and five-star running back Kemon Spell.
After Council’s offensive unit went three-and-out to start the game, Spell showed why he is the top-ranked running back recruit in the Class of 2027 as he went 68 yards for the game’s opening score.
Despite the solid opening play and an additional score later in the game by Spell, the Quips defense rose to the occasion and shut down the former Penn State commit when it mattered most. Spell rushed 19 times for 142 yards and two touchdowns but lost two fumbles.
“There is still a lot of game left,” Council said about going down early. “He scored, so what? We still got a lot of game left and we showed that. We kept our heads up and we kept fighting.”
While Council is committed to Yale, his journey as Aliquippa’s quarterback is not over yet as the Quips will play Oil City, the District 10 champs, in the quarterfinal round of the PIAA state playoffs next week.
That opportunity to keep rolling and winning is everything for Council as all he wants to do is win with the group that he is with.
“It means everything to me,” Council said. “That’s all I want to do before I leave is just win so I am going to just do everything that I can, whatever I can do, anything in my will to win. I am going to do it.”
