Aliquippa High School football coach Mike Zmijanac delivers a message to his players every year.

The WPIAL's most successful teams over the past 20 years.
School	Record	Win pct.
1. Aliquippa	202-46-1	811
2. Upper St. Clair	187-50-1	786
3. Blackhawk	174-55-4	747
4. Jeannette	162-54-3	740
5. North Hills	169-57-4	735
6. Farrell	164-56-3	735
7. Rochester	173-62-2	730
8. Washington	166-61-1	728
9. Monessen	153-59-4	708
10. Clairton	151-65-3	689
11. Woodland Hills	141-70	668
12. Belle Vernon	143-70-3	662

"I always tell them, 'We've won before you got here and we're going to win after you leave. So if you want to win while you're here, jump on.' "

This isn't idle motivational coachspeak, either, because no one in the WPIAL has won over the past two decades like Aliquippa.

A number of teams in the WPIAL are considered traditional powers. But the Post-Gazette decided to crunch the numbers and see who had the strongest program the past 20 years. When the cards were put on the table, Aliquippa had a royal flush.

The Quips record in the past 20 years is 202-46-1. They are the only team in the WPIAL with a winning percentage of more than .800 in the past two decades. Upper St. Clair is second at .786 (187-50-1). Blackhawk is third, Jeannette fourth and North Hills fifth.

The 2005 WPIAL season begins tonight and Aliquippa plays host to cross-river rival Ambridge. The Bridgers aren't just trying to knock off one of the WPIAL's best programs. They're trying to beat the top dog.

"We tell the kids that they're representing the school and the community, but they're also representing the people that played before them," Zmijanac said. "Many of our players have fathers, uncles, brothers and cousins who have played before them. And if they don't compete at the same level as those guys, they're going to hear about it."

During the past two decades, Aliquippa has won an impressive eight WPIAL championships, more than any other team in the league. Although the Beaver County school regularly graduates around 50 boys these days, Aliquippa still has produced a number of talented players over the years.

From 1986-88, Sean Gilbert starred for the Quips. He played linebacker but eventually became a defensive lineman and played 11 seasons in the NFL.

Ty Law was a standout receiver/running back/defensive back who helped the Quips to the 1991 PIAA Class AA championship. He is still in the NFL with the New York Jets.

In 2000, Josh Lay was the Quips' star, playing quarterback and defensive back and leading them to the WPIAL Class AA title. He now plays defensive back at Pitt.

	Steve Mellon, Post-Gazette Aliquippa football coach Mike Zmijanac, being doused with ice after winning the WPIAL Class AA title in 2003, has an eight-year record of 85-15. Click photo for larger image.

Two years ago, Darrelle Revis played running back, receiver, quarterback and defensive back and led Aliquippa to the PIAA title. He's now in the same Pitt secondary with Lay.

"It's just a case of us having a lot of good players and guys knowing what to do with them," Zmijanac said. "It's the same reason why teams like Upper St. Clair, Rochester and North Hills keep winning."

Aliquippa has kept winning despite a shrinking enrollment. The Quips played in Class AAA until 1990 when they dropped to Class AA.

"We graduated 38 boys in our senior class last year and 21 played football," Zmijanac said. "This year, we have 39 senior boys and 14 playing. If you put that ratio at a big school like Butler, you'd probably have 450 kids playing football."

Zmijanac has been Aliquippa's coach the past eight seasons and has an impressive 85-15 record. But he has been involved with the Quips for a long time. He is a 1960 Aliquippa graduate who became a football assistant under Don Yannessa in the late '70s. Aliquippa's program was bad in the '60s and early '70s, but Yannessa started the winning trend in the late '70s and continued it into the '80s before leaving to become Baldwin's coach in '89. From '85-88, Yannessa had a 44-6-1 record. Yannessa is now in his third season as Ambridge's coach.

After Yannessa, Frank Marocco coached Aliquippa for eight years and was 73-25.

"I think what we accomplished when I was there and what Mike has accomplished is all about program, program, program. Once you establish that tradition, it just keeps building," Yannessa said. "But you know what else is a big factor? The pressure the kids get from their counterparts and the people who played before them. Mike has done a smart thing of bringing in a lot of guys on the coaching staff who played there. They continue to pursue that tradition."