Beaver Falls High School coach Ryan Matsook paused when talking about the 313 yards Cody Cook had just rushed for against a solid Jeannette defense.

The Tigers had just knocked off the two-time defending Jayhawks, 35-28, in a WPIAL Class AA semifinal to punch their ticket to the title game at Heinz Field for a second consecutive year. Cook's numbers were spectacular -- so were those of running mate Todd Thomas, who gained 117 yards on 16 carries against Jeannette.

Beaver Falls rushed for 445 yards in the contest and never punted. All of which meant one thing to Matsook: The offensive line did a whale of a job. And that's why he broke off talking about Cook.

"Cody gets a lot of the credit, and rightfully so, and so does Todd, but nobody says anything about the line and those guys were outstanding," Matsook said.

They will have to be exceptional again beginning at 1:30 p.m. Saturday when Beaver Falls takes on rival Aliquippa in the WPIAL Class AA final at Heinz Field. The winner advances to the PIAA playoffs next weekend.

It will be the second meeting between the two teams and both squads have improved since Beaver Falls won Sept. 11 at Aliquippa, 27-12.

If the Tigers are to take the rematch, the offensive line will play a key role. The starting linemen are: left tackle Ron Boxen, 6 feet 6, 305 pounds; left guard Ryan New, 6-1, 225; center Nick Horinka, 6-1, 295; right guard Chris Elkins, 6-3, 240; right tackle Andrew Wiltse, 6-1, 245; tight end Kendall Dreher, 6-1, 210; and tight end Evan Chiappetta, 6-0, 180.

Against Jeannette, the right side of the line -- Elkins and Wiltse -- did an outstanding job of opening holes for the backs. On the game-winning, 78-yard, 13-play drive in the fourth quarter, eight of the plays were to the right side and that included a screen pass to Cook for 12 yards on a fourth-and-9 play.

"That's really interesting because we've been accused of running more to the left this season," Matsook said. "We just found something that worked and stayed with it, but in the playoffs you do try to go away from your tendencies some."

After reviewing video of the game, Jeannette coach Ray Reitz had nothing but praise for the Beaver Falls linemen.

"Those guys up front did a nice job against us," he said. "The better team won the game."

Surprisingly, Elkins and Dreher are the only returning starters on the line for Beaver Falls from last year's WPIAL final, in which the Tigers lost to Terrelle Pryor and Jeannette, 61-12. But that doesn't mean the rest of the starting linemen were inexperienced when this season began.

Boxen, who is an outstanding student, had an ankle injury that sidelined him after he had started a few games last year. And Wiltse started before going down with a knee injury. Boxen did get on the field in the championship game last year, as did most of the Beaver Falls players.

"Boxen has had an excellent season for us and Ryan New dedicated himself and probably put on 20 pounds since last year," Matsook said. "Nick Horinka might be the strongest kid on the team. He finished second in the [Midwestern Athletic Conference] weightlifting contest last winter after lifting for only about a month because he had a cyst removed from his back.

"Chris Elkins is a weight room freak and another guy who's real strong and Andrew Wiltse has been steady for us. And Evan Chiappetta isn't all that big but he's tough and gives us another good receiver."

Perhaps the best compliment Matsook gave his linemen was that he doesn't have one guy the Tigers run behind when they need a yard for a first down.

"We'll go different places depending on what's working for us that game," Matsook said. "We feel that any of those guys are capable of opening a hole if we need a yard.

"When we played Moon [the fifth week of the season], the line just did a great job handling all the intricate blitzes and things that [Moon coach Mark Capuano] uses. If they could handle that, they can handle anything."

And while Beaver Falls' strong suit has been running the ball, the offensive line has done a good job of pass protection. Quarterback Anthony Omogrosso has thrown for more than 1,000 yards.

"Those guys have just done an outstanding job at anything we've asked them to do," Matsook said.

Which is why Beaver Falls is in the title game.Class AA final

• What: Aliquippa (10-2) vs. Beaver Falls (12-0).

• When: 1:30 p.m. Saturday.

• Where: Heinz Field.

• TV: FSN Pittsburgh (Tape delay at 10 p.m.).