Bliss becomes All-Time D9 rusher as he leads Gators to fourth straight finals appearance
By HUNTER O. LYLE
KANE, PA – Against the greatest and most elite talent, there is no stopping them. Sometimes all you can hope for is to slow them down for as long as possible. Facing the most prolific team in District 9, Keystone found that sentiment invariably true as they went head-to-head with Port Allegany in the Class A semifinals.
In a night that saw their star running back Aiden Bliss rush for over 300 yards, tally over 2,000 for the season and become the All-Time D9 leader in rushing yards, Port’s ascension continued with a 53-23 rout of the Panthers, earning their place in the championship game for the fourth consecutive year.
“The expectation level that these kids have for Aiden is pure trust and loyalty. We don’t waiver at all. They don’t wonder if he has it. When you have 31 on your side, he just wills it,” said Port Allegany head coach Justin Bienkowski. “At the end of the day, everybody gets to see the football player, but the football player is (just a little) of Aiden Bliss. It’s the human, it’s the character, it’s the way he is, the way he acts, the way he carries himself. That’s why that record is going to be special and it just so happens that he’s got six letters that spell Gators across his chest.”
Anyone facing the Gators knew where the danger was coming from and there would be no deviation from Port out of the gates. Giving the ball to Bliss early and often, he wasted no time getting up field, pulling away for a quick 18-yard gain on his first touch of the afternoon. However, unlike in the regular season, where he could be counted on to break loose a massive gain sooner rather than later, the Panthers contained Bliss to relatively short gains.
With all eyes on No. 31, Keystone delivered extra attention in the form of gang tackles and low hits to force Bliss to the ground before he escaped through a gap downfield. However, even their best efforts could only do so much.
As Port chipped away at the distance between them and the endzone, a 16-yard rush from Bliss put them on the goalline. One snap later, he was in and the Gators were up 7-0. Doubling down on their immediate start, Port forced a fumble on Keystone’s first play of the day, recovered by none other than Bliss, before finding Kellen Veilleux in the endzone for a 15-yard touchdown pass to go up by 13.
On their first real possession of the game, the Panthers found production. After returning the kick to Port’s own 36-yard line, Keystone was led by their hyper-athletic quarterback, Dom Corcetti. Constantly running play-action snaps, Corcetti showcased his triple-threat arsenal to begin marching downfield. Collecting yards through the air and on the ground, the Panthers put themselves on the board with a Corcetti carry to end the first quarter.
Similarly, Port retaliated. Beginning to diversify their offense by looking for men downrange, the Gators crossed the gridiron in less than four minutes. Ultimately, Bliss came up with his second touchdown of the night on a 18-yard carry, surpassing the 2,000 rushing yard mark for the second season in a row.
Although they let up another Panther score – Corcetti connected with Landyn Reed for a 34-yard pass into the endzone – the Gators cushioned their lead with two more touchdowns before the half, both of which came from Bliss.
Immediately after the Keystone score, Bliss found his first major gain of the night, bursting into no-man’s-land for a 60-yard touchdown before the Port pushed the Panthers off the field with two minutes to go. Taking over with a sense of urgency, the Gators covered 73-yards to go up 35-13 entering halftime.
“We practice for endurance. That’s the heart of our team, so I know if I go out there and give it my all every single play, the guys next to me are going to do the same. I firmly believe there’s not a lot of teams that can hang with us if we do that,” said Bliss. “Slowly, you could feel a team break and we feed off of that. It’s a special process throughout a game.”
Entering the third quarter, Keystone looked ready to storm back into the game. Coming out with a pass-minded offense, the Panthers chunked out yards in bunches as they made their way to Port’s 16-yard line. Although their initial drive would be met with a wall – the Gators stopped them just one yard shy of a fourth-and-seven conversion – Keystone earned the first points of the second half by forcing a safety two snaps later.
Starting over at their own 48-yard-line, a pair of passes and two quarterback carries landed the Panthers back in the redzone, where Corcetti crossed the distance for a 14-yard touchdown.
“At first we were very tight. We needed to be on point at all times, but (when we started making errors), our guys just stayed resilient. They stay the course,” said Bienkowski. “They’re always calm, cool and collected and never get too high or too low.”
Despite their surge on offense, Keystone defense still had no answer for the Gators. Continuously bulldozing their way across the field, Port mixed in a number of names and options as they plotted ways through an overwhelmed opponent.
With just over a minute and a half left in the third, Bliss scored his fifth touchdown of the afternoon on a nine-yard run, then helping the defense to force the Panthers into a three-and-out. Collecting 61 yards on the Gators’ next touchdown drive, Bliss’s final score of the day etched his name in the history books.
Amassing a grand total of 7,332 yards, he passed Nick Stewart (Curwensville, 2014-2017) to become the All-Time Leading rusher in District 9.
“I’m just super grateful for all the people that have helped me along the way. God is my life and I can’t be more thankful enough for that. All glory to Him. I have a lot of special teammates, a lot of special coaches and mentors,” said Bliss. “It’s been a special ride throughout this and we have some things left to do but I can’t be thankful enough for the people in my life. It’s been amazing.”
After a pause in the game for the fans in Orange and Black to celebrate the moment, Keystone realized the inevitable. With no gas left in their tank, they were facing an unstoppable opponent who held an insurmountable lead. Running through the motions for the final eight and a half minutes, the inevitable came to fruition: the Gators were heading to the finals once again.
Bliss finishes with a season-high 329 rushing yards on 31 carries, scoring six times while coming away with a fumble recovery and interception on defense. Quarterback Brennan Fillhart ended with 77 passing yards and two touchdowns, connecting with Nick Wilfong and Veilleux in the endzone.
Up next, the Gators face another championship meeting with their rivals, Redbank Valley. Over the course of Port’s successful campaigns, which have garnered two D9 titles in three years, they have seen the Bulldogs twice, both in 2023 and 2024. However, while Bienkowski and Co. are eager to defend their throne come next Friday at 7 p.m., they are also happy to take it one step at a time.
“We’re going to enjoy (the win over Keystone) for the rest of Saturday. The coaching staff and I will meet tomorrow morning and we’ll start planning and getting to work on that,” said Bienkowski. “But we’re going to enjoy this one. Our goal all year long is to coach and play one more week. Continue to coach and play and these kids will continue to take us on a ride that we’re fortunate enough to be a part of.”
