Aliquippa football head coach Mike Warfield to take leave of absence

ALIQUIPPA — Aliquippa head football coach Mike Warfield is slated to take a leave of absence due to personal reasons. The W.P.I.A.L. Edition first reported the news Monday morning.

Since taking over as head coach of the Quips football program in 2018, Warfield has guided Aliquippa to a 74-6 record, while also helping the program capture three straight WPIAL titles during the 2021-23 seasons in his six seasons at the helm.

The Quips are coming off of a WPIAL and PIAA championship run posting an undefeated record of 14-0 and a 7-0 record in WPIAL Class 4A Parkway conference play, marking the first time that the program has completed an undefeated season.

Due to his success with the Quips program, Warfield was named the Beaver County Times' Coach of the Year after the 2021 and 2022 seasons.

This year, Warfield was also honored by the Pittsburgh Steelers as the organization's nominee for the Don Shula NFL High School Coach of the Year award after his efforts to guide Aliquippa back to the PIAA Class 4A Championship game.

With Warfield taking a leave of absence, assistant coach Vashawn Patrick is set to take over as the interim head coach.

Throughout the offseason, Aliquippa has been in the news with the PIAA as it was forced to move up a classification to 5A due to the PIAA competitive balance rule.

After a Beaver County judge ruled against the Quips playing in the 5A classification, the PIAA is once again pursuing legal action in the Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court with a hearing date set for Tuesday to look to overturn the ruling favoring Aliquippa staying and competing in 4A.

Update: 6 p.m.

The Beaver County Times obtained a letter from Aliquippa head coach Mike Warfield officially announcing his leave of absence from the Aliquippa football program this upcoming season.

Warfield previously signed a one-year contract extension for the 2024 season but now will instead take a leave of absence.

Warfield said in the letter, "My health is good, my family is good and I'm good."

The longtime Quip head coach would later go on to confirm that associate head coach Vashawn Patrick will be taking over now as the interim head coach and Jaleel Fields will serve as the associate head coach.

Warfield also says that he will still be around the football program and will continue to oversee many aspects of it.

"Please understand that I'll be available for continued support, as I am not going anywhere. I will continue to be the overseer of the Aliquippa Quarterback Club activities and fundraisers. I will also be fully engaged in the ongoing PIAA court proceedings."

This is a developing story. The Beaver County Times will update as more information becomes available.

This article originally appeared on Beaver County Times: Aliquippa football head coach Mike Warfield to take leave of absence