No. 9 Beaver Falls at No. 8 McGuffey: Highlanders Host Tigers in 8-9 Opener

By Keystone Clutch Sports

Game info: WPIAL Class 2A first round. No. 9 Beaver Falls at No. 8 McGuffey. Friday, Nov. 6, 2026, 7 p.m. ET, at McGuffey’s Highlander Stadium.

The matchup

McGuffey (7-3) is the No. 8 seed and Beaver Falls (6-3) is the No. 9 seed, records per TribLive. Both teams won on Oct. 30. McGuffey beat Chartiers-Houston 56-27 and Beaver Falls beat New Brighton 40-14 (TribLive Oct. 30 summaries). The winner plays at No. 1 Bishop Canevin on Friday, Nov. 13, at 7 p.m., per the Butler Eagle bracket.

Players to watch

• McGuffey’s Caleb Simons Jr. (No. 2): 1,206 rushing yards on 80 carries before Oct. 30, KCS Calculated, Verified.
• McGuffey’s Dennis Furmanek Jr. (No. 7): 834 rushing yards this season, Unverified (KCS McGuffey page).
• Beaver Falls’ Anthony Scott (No. 5): 18 carries for 129 yards and 2 TDs against New Brighton. Verified (TribLive Oct. 30 summary) KCS season line on file: 51 carries for 282 yards, Verified (partial season; see notes).
• Beaver Falls’ Isaiah Sellers (No. 12): 14 carries for 118 yards and a TD against New Brighton, plus a 70-yard fumble return for a TD. Verified (TribLive Oct. 30 summary) KCS season line on file: 39 carries for 205 yards, Verified (partial season).
• Beaver Falls’ Rodney Slappy and Keyshawn Jamison: connected on a 23-yard TD pass against New Brighton. Verified (TribLive Oct. 30 summary)

Analysis: Our take

Keys to the game (analysis, not fact)

• McGuffey’s run game: Simons is over 1,200 rushing yards, so Beaver Falls has to tackle well in space.
• Beaver Falls had two backs over 100 yards on Oct. 30 and scored on defense, which gives the Tigers more than one way to score.
• Field position and turnovers matter in an 8-9 game between two teams that won comfortably the week before.

Big Moments, Big Pressure, Big Performance.