Aliquippa trailed at halftime and was being outplayed by Beaver Falls. But Aliquippa coach Mike Zmijanac didn't rant and rave. He did not come up with a great change in Xs and Os.

"You know me. I didn't yell," Zmijanac said. "I just said, 'Play better and play harder.' "

Sometimes, the simplest idea works best.

Aliquippa played just a little better than Beaver Falls in the second half, and now the Quips are just a little better than Beaver Falls in the conference standings.

Aliquippa scored the final 14 points to defeat visiting Beaver Falls, 33-27, in a showdown between two of the top teams in WPIAL Class AA. The win gave No. 2-ranked Aliquippa a 3-1 record overall and a 3-0 mark in the Midwestern Athletic Conference. Third-ranked Beaver Falls is now 3-1 overall and in the conference.

Aliquippa got the winning touchdown with 5:23 left when Rasheem Jones scored on a 2-yard quarterback sneak.

"We didn't change anything at halftime," Zmijanac said.

Second-year Beaver Falls coach Ryan Matsook was visibly upset afterward.

"I'm just disappointed," Matsook said. "I told the kids, 'We were in a heavyweight fight and we got knocked out in the 10th round.' "

This was another chapter in the Beaver Falls-Aliquippa saga that has carried over from basketball to football. The two schools have had some classic basketball games in recent years, and the game last night was a pretty good one to watch, too. Aliquippa has been a perennial power in football, and Matsook now seems to have Beaver Falls' program on the rise.

"It's only a rivalry when both teams are good. It's not a rivalry when one team stinks," Zmijanac said.

When asked if he learned anything about his team by beating Beaver Falls, Zmijanac said, "I learned something about us and Beaver Falls. They're both pretty darn physical teams. They beat the heck out of each other for four quarters. But that's the kind of game I expected."

Beaver Falls took a 27-19 lead in the third quarter when Kendall Dreher caught an 18-yard touchdown pass from halfback Todd Thomas, who lined up at quarterback. But Aliquippa tied it after the ensuing kickoff, driving 88 yards in 11 plays for a touchdown. Darron Cox capped the march with a 9-yard run and also ran for the two-point conversion to make it 27-27.

Beaver Falls started to lose field position in the fourth quarter, and it hurt dearly. Pinned at its own 13, Beaver Falls punted, and Cox returned it 23 yards to the 13. Jones scored the winning touchdown two plays later.

Cox, a senior, had his best game of the season with 165 yards on 14 carries. Aliquippa finished with 215 yards rushing.

The Quips needed a strong running game because Jones, who threw for 458 yards in the first three games, was only 8 of 18 for 112 yards. Senior Jonathan Baldwin, ranked among the top receivers in the country, came into the game tied for third in the WPIAL in receptions with 16. But he faced double coverage most of the night and had only three catches for 17 yards.

"They tried stopping me, but it really doesn't matter," Baldwin said. "If I'm not doing it, we have other guys who come to play."

Like Cox, who also had a 66-yard touchdown run on the first play of the game.

"No one player is bigger than all of us," Zmijanac said. "It doesn't say Baldwin or Cox on their jerseys. It says Aliquippa. If this was an individual thing, we'd be playing tennis."

Beaver Falls' Thomas, who came in with 389 yards rushing, was hobbled all night by a right ankle injury suffered on Beaver Falls' third offensive play.

He finished with 28 yards on 15 carries and completed 2 of 5 passes for 29 yards.

"[Thomas' injury] altered our play-calling all night," Matsook said.

Beaver Falls' first-half touchdowns came on a 26-yard pass from Carter to Kenny Cottman, a 6-yard pass from Carter to Dreher and a 52-yard interception return by Dak Mobley.

Aliquippa, which trailed, 20-13, at halftime, got a 12-yard touchdown pass from Jones to Jamar Anderson in the second quarter.

Aliquippa also scored on the first play of the second half when sophomore Rashad Kenney took a short pass and turned it into a 55-yard scoring play.

"Two of their touchdowns, we were lined up wrong on defense," Matsook said. "You can't do that against them."