In a new feature this season, we’ll be posting a quick recap of the all the WPIAL High School Football action. Consider this your one-stop shop for final scores and a brief blurb on either the importance of each game to the overall standings or some notes on outstanding player performances. Thanks to the fine folks at Taps n’at in Derry, who are sponsoring all of our WPIAL content this year. As always, don’t forget to check out our WPIAL Standings Page which will be updated at the end of the night after both Friday and Saturday’s games conclude.
Class 6A Quad County Conference
Mt. Lebanon 43, Canon-McMillan 29
After a slow start where Canon-Mac controlled the field position game, Lebo broke it open in the second half.
North Allegheny 56, Norwin 14
North Allegheny was all over Norwin in all three phases of the game and flat out dominated.
Central Catholic 20, Seneca Valley 14
Seneca Valley hung tough but every time they got close Central would stretch out their lead.
Pine-Richland 49, Hempfield 0
A charity concert by Earth, Wind and Fire pushed this game to Saturday afternoon and Pine-Richland started their State title defense in dominating fashion.
6A vs 5A Non-Conference
Baldwin 58, Butler 13
Baldwin completely over-matched Butler, holding a 58-0 lead at one point in the third quarter.
Class 5A Allegheny Eight Conference
Upper St. Clair 16, Peters Twp 14
Jim Render got his 400th career victory, becoming just the 25th coach nationwide to reach that mark. Upper St Clair went up 16-0 after a safety then held off a furious comeback by Peters in the 4th quarter.
West Allegheny 41, Chartiers Valley 7
Bob Palko kicks off his final season of coaching West Allegheny with a blowout victory.
Bethel Park 41, Woodland Hills 20
The Black Hawks announced their arrival to 5A by running all over Woody High.
Class 5A Big East Conference
McKeesport 57, Connellsville 7
Connellsville ended a long losing streak by beating Uniontown last week, but McKeesport was clearly better tonight.
Gateway 27, Penn-Trafford 7
In a rematch of last year’s 5A WPIAL Championship game, Gateway came out on top again.
Franklin Regional 45, Plum 7
The Panthers scored 42 first half points to roll into conference play.
Class 5A Northern Conference
Armstrong 29, Hampton 15
Isaiah Price scored 3 times to lead the Riverhawks past Hampton.
North Hills 42, Fox Chapel 24
Tyler Brennan scored 5 times and had 271 rushing yards to get the Indians their first conference win of the season.
Kiski Area 31, Shaler 14
Kiski opened a new stadium this year and has been impressive on their new home turf.
Class 5A Non-Conference
Penn Hills 50, Latrobe 13
The Indians looked the part of one of the 5A favorites, riding 4 TD passes from Hollis Mathis to victory.
Mars 23, Moon 13
In a battle of outer space, Moon tied the game early after recovering a blocked punt for a TD but Mars was too much and pulled away in the second half.
5A vs 4A Non-Conference
Laurel Highlands 39, Albert Gallatin 13
In a showdown between Fayette County rivals, the Mustangs prevailed behind Conner Basinger’s 5 total TDs.
Class 4A Big Eight Conference
Thomas Jefferson 62, Ringgold 0
Thomas Jefferson’s quest for a 4th straight WPIAL title got off to a roaring start. Mike Zmijanac’s debut at Ringgold was vastly different than his tenure at Aliquippa.
Greensburg Salem 41, Trinity 13
The Lions took a 14-0 halftime lead and ran it out to a victory that should go a long way in the playoff race.
West Mifflin 35, Indiana 0
Indiana’s introduction to the Big Eight Conference was not a warm welcome.
Class 4A Northwest Eight Conference
South Fayette 35, Beaver 7
South Fayette has still not lost a conference game since 2011, welcoming Beaver to 4A with 5 TD passes from QB Jamie Diven.
Blackhawk 48, Knoch 12
Blackhawk christened their new stadium with a pounding of Knoch.
New Castle 17, Montour 11
Montour kicked a field goal to open the scoring but after a pick-6 by New Castle was never able to re-take the lead.
Class 4A Non-Conference
Belle Vernon 43, Ambridge 0
This game was called early due to lightning. Ambridge has the longest active losing streak in the WPIAL, now at 22 games.
4A vs 3A Non-Conference
Keystone Oaks 49, Highlands 42
A contrast of styles in this shootout. KO RB Michael Daure ran for 6 TDs and Highlands WR Johnny Crise had over 300 yards receiving.
Class 3A Big East Conference
Elizabeth Forward 33, Deer Lakes 14
Elizabeth Forward got out to a 24-0 halftime lead and cruised from there.
Derry Area 19, Freeport 13
Derry fumbled at the goal line at the end of regulation but scored first in OT then kept Freeport out of the end zone to secure the win.
North Catholic 41, Burrell 7
The Trojans ran out to a 41-0 halftime lead and put in their second string to play out the mercy rule in the second half.
Yough 42, Uniontown 30
Yough RB Dustin Shaof led the WPIAL in rushing last year and ran for 299 yards on just 15 carries tonight and scored 3 times.
Class 3A Tri-County West Conference
Aliquippa 55, Waynesburg Central 0
Aliquippa is still Aliquippa.
Beaver Falls 48, South Park 31
The Tigers went winless in conference play last year but come out in a big way to start this season.
Quaker Valley 18, Central Valley 0
The defending 3A State Champs kept their streak going with a win to start the season.
Class 3A Non-Conference
Hopewell 21, Mount Pleasant 19
Hopewell won the Battle of the Vikings.
Class 2A Allegheny Conference
Avonworth 33, Valley 13
The Derek Johncour and Turner Grau show continued to roll for the Lopes.
Apollo-Ridge 21, Summit Academy 0
Apollo-Ridge QB Jake Fello threw a touchdown pass in the first half then ran for a 52-yard score in the second half to lead the Vikings to victory.
Steel Valley 41, East Allegheny 12
Steel Valley picks up where they left off – dominating in conference play.
Class 2A Interstate Conference
Beth-Center 44, Carmichaels 8
The former Tri-County South rivals met again as Carmichaels moves up to 2A and runs into the buzzsaw of Beth-Center’s rushing attack.
Frazier 36, Southmoreland 17
Southmoreland beat rival Mt. Pleasant for the first time since 1995 last week but ran into a freight train in Frazier and Julian Muccioli who scored twice.
Charleroi 64, Washington 33
Charleroi was one of the highest-scoring teams in 2A last year but got upset in the playoffs when they turned the ball over 6 times. They came back with a vengeance and took out their frustrations on defending WPIAL Champions Washington thanks to their explosive offense.
Class 2A Midwestern Conference
Freedom 63, Shenango 0
Freedom welcomed Shenango to 2A with a crushing defeat. Jake Pail had 3 TD runs and Freedom scored two defensive touchdowns.
Mohawk 45, New Brighton 0
New Brighton retired Po James (Class of 1968) #33 jersey at halftime tonight, and ironically gave up 33 first half points to Mohawk. (Shout-out to @NBVicePrincipal for that one)
Riverside 45, Neshannock 14
Riverside jumped out to a big lead early and cruised to a victory over one of their main challengers for the Midwestern Conference crown.
Class 2A Three Rivers Conference
Burgettstown 20, Seton LaSalle 6
Burgettstown trailed 6-0 at the end of 3 quarters, but scored 2 touchdowns in the final 3 minutes to beat the Rebels.
Fort Cherry 20, Carlynton 14
A wild ending in this one. In the last 41 seconds of regulation there were 3 turnovers (a 4th down stop and 2 interceptions). Both teams scored in the first OT then Carlynton missed a Field Goal in the 2nd OT. Fort Cherry scored a TD to win.
South Allegheny 34, Brentwood 13
South Allegheny lost a number of close games last year, and didn’t leave this one up to chance.
Class 2A Non-Conference
Shady Side Academy 58, Brownsville 6
Shady Side looked the part of one of the 2A favorites.
Serra Catholic 24, Ellwood City 14
After a tie game at halftime, Serra stretched their lead while Ellwood City was plagued by penalties.
South Side Beaver 35, Western Beaver 15
South Side Beaver RB Jake Botkin ran for over 150 and scored all 3 of his TDs in the first half to lead the Rams to a 2-0 start.
2A vs 1A Non-Conference
McGuffey 48, Northgate 0
McKinley Whipkey made the most of his 9 carries, running for 141 yards and a TD.
Class 1A Big Seven Conference
Cornell 24, Union 0
Cornell got their first win since 2012 at the end of last season and kept the momentum going tonight.
Rochester 26, Laurel 14
Rochester scored on offense and defense and forced a turnover on special teams to top Laurel.
OLSH 46, Sto-Rox 6
OLSH started off their defense of their Big Seven Conference title in strong fashion.
Class 1A Eastern Conference
Jeannette 38, Leechburg 0
The defending 1A State Champions picked up where they left off with a convincing win over Leechburg.
Greensburg Central Catholic 35, Riverview 0
Max Pisula threw for 2 TDs and ran for 2 more to lead the Centurions to victory.
Imani Christian 38, Springdale 0
This game was called at halftime due to the afternoon heat and humidity. Imani QB Israel Reed was the WPIAL’s leading passer after Week 0 and threw for 132 yards and 2 TDs and added another TD on the ground.
Class 1A Tri-County South Conference
Chartiers-Houston 43, Jefferson-Morgan 12
After a winless 2017, the move down to 1A proves beneficial for Char-Houston as they get back in the win column.
Monessen 30, California 20
In one of the biggest upsets of the night, Monessen topped the defending Tri-County South champions.
West Greene 41, Bentworth 6
The Pioneers reached the playoffs for the first time since 1993 last year and are off to a solid start in their quest to get back to the postseason.
Class 1A Non-Conference
Clairton 1, Mapletown 0
Mapletown forfeitted due to lack of players.
Bishop Canevin 40. Avella 18
Johnathan Ruffing ran for 3 TDs and threw for another to lead the Crusaders past Avella on Saturday night.
Don’t forget to check out our WPIAL Standings Page to see how these games impacted the conference standings and the race for the playoffs!
