The Northern Conference features the defending WPIAL and PIAA Champion Penn Hills Indians. Penn Hills completed a perfect season last year and enter 2019 with the longest winning streak in the WPIAL at 16 games. Last season also saw Shaler break their WPIAL-leading 24-game losing streak. The Titans went on to make their first playoff appearance in seven years. Six of the eight Northern Conference teams qualified for the playoffs last year with Kiski earning the 6th place Wild Card.
The playoff format in 5A is mostly the same as last year. The playoffs will consist of 16 teams with the Championship Game played on Friday, November 22 at Norwin High School. The top 5 teams from each of the three conferences will make the playoffs. Additionally, one 6th place team will make the playoffs based on the Wild Card system. First and second place finishers will get a home game in the first round of the playoffs. The Wild Card system will also be used to determine which two third place teams get first round home games. All quarterfinal and semifinal games will be played at neutral sites. Be sure to check out our new WPIAL Football ELO Rankings and the rest of our WPIAL Season Previews. Teams are listed in their predicted order of finish.
Penn Hills
ELO Rating: 2473
5A Rank: 1
WPIAL Rank: 2
Twitter: @phqbclub, @PH_Athletics, @phtribe
The Indians completed a perfect season last year, storming to their 6th WPIAL title in school history and defeating Manheim Central 36-31 to win their second State Championship. Penn Hills had 25 seniors graduate from an absolutely loaded squad but should once again have one of the top secondaries in 5A with two D1 talents roaming the defensive backfield. Akeem Snell has offers from FCS and MAC schools while Anthony Grimes has an offer from William & Mary. Both players also play wide receiver with Grimes receiving all-section honors after putting up 417 yards and 5 TDs last year. Senior Eddie McKissick figures to step into the quarterback spot after sharing backup duties with rising junior Kahmi Naylor last year. In addition to Grimes and Snell, junior WR Richard Martin (288 yards, 5 TDs) also returns. With their top 5 rushers all graduated, junior Derrik Topek is the top returning back after averaging 6.8 yards per carry last year. This year’s squad may not be as stacked with talent across the board as last year’s team was, but it is still good enough to win the conference title and make a run at another WPIAL crown.
Mars
ELO Rating: 2039
5A Rank: 16
WPIAL Rank: 27
Twitter: @MarsHSFootball, @FightnPlanets, @studsect123
The Fighting Planets had a successful season in their first year in 5A. Their only regular season loss came against State Champions Penn Hills then they fell in the first round of the playoffs to a defensively-stout Woodland Hills team. It all starts in the trenches for Mars as DE/OT Michael Carmody is one of the top players in the state and has committed to Notre Dame. Drew Schlegel has D1 offers as a safety and is also used as an all-around offensive weapon, compiling 596 yards of total offense and 2 TDs last year. Junior RB Teddy Ruffner was the second-leading rusher last year in Mars’ run-heavy offense with 467 yards and 4 TDs and should see a dramatic increase in carries. Mars will need to find a new quarterback this season, along with a new receiving corps, but that should not be a huge issue for a team that traditionally favors a run-the-ball-and-play-defense approach.
North Hills
ELO Rating: 2115
5A Rank: 12
WPIAL Rank: 20
Twitter: @NHIndiansFB, @NorthHillsAandA, @NorthHills19
The Indians got off to a hot 4-0 start last year, but were set back by an injury to their star RB Tyler Brennan. They still managed to make the playoffs but were bounced in the first round by Penn-Trafford. Junior RBs Tyler Tomasic (586 yards, 1 TD) and Curtis Foskey (355 yards, 3 TDs) saw a lot of action when Brennan went down and should step in as the primary tandem this year. Watch out for senior Tommy McDonough who averaged 10 yards per carry in limited work last year. North Hills’ biggest issue last year was under center where they tried 6 different players at quarterback. Dylan Pawling, Jake Lewandowski, Max Sharp, and Luke Hulbert all return this season which should make for an interesting camp competition. Up front, Ronald Novosedliak leads the O-line and has a handful of offers from MAC schools.
Armstrong
ELO Rating: 2116
5A Rank: 11
WPIAL Rank: 19
Twitter: @AHSRIVERHAWKS, @ArmstrongRiverH, @ArmstrongStude2
Since the merger of Ford City and Kittanning in 2015, the Riverhawks have only missed the playoffs once. Last year they bounced back from a mid-season 4-game losing streak to win their last two games and make the playoffs. This year’s iteration of the Riverhawks has a solid group of rising seniors, led by RB Isaac Ridinger (520 yards, 5 TDs). Isaiah Price is an all-around threat who battled through injuries last season and still scored 6 times. Leading receiver Nick Russo also returns for his senior year.
Shaler
ELO Rating: 1985
5A Rank: 20
WPIAL Rank: 32
Twitter: @ShalerFB, @SA_Students1
The 2018 Shaler Titans were one of the best stories in the entire WPIAL. They entered the year on a 24-game losing streak, which they snapped in Week 0. After that, they continued their winning ways and earned their first playoff spot since 2011 thanks to a 1-point win over Hampton and a 3-point win over Armstrong. Senior QB Darin Mizgorski led the way last year with 1623 yards and 13 TDs. His top two receivers graduated but he does get back Joe Impavido (241 yards, 2 TDs). Jake Miller has some FCS offers as a linebacker and was also the team’s second-leading rusher (226 yards, 3 TDs) last year. Shaler will look to make their first back-to-back playoff appearances since 2008-2009.
Fox Chapel
ELO Rating: 2054
5A Rank: 14
WPIAL Rank: 24
Twitter: @FCSports_Stats, @football_chapel, @FxCAthletics, @FCStudentSec
The Foxes had the worst offense (13.8 points per game) and defense (36.5 points against per game) in the conference last season. However, they should have some consistency with returning starters this season. Senior QB Shane Susnak threw for 1128 yards and 8 TDs. He will be joined in the backfield by senior RB Sam Brown (523 yards, 8 TDs). On the outside, Joseph D’Cunha returns after averaging over 10 yards per catch and scoring twice last year.
Kiski
ELO Rating: 2022
5A Rank: 18
WPIAL Rank: 29
Twitter: @kiskifootball, @kasportsnetwork, @kaallday2018
Kiski backed into the playoffs last season. After starting the year 3-1, they dropped their last 6 games but earned the 6th place wild card in 5A. The Cavaliers graduated most of their top skill position players. Senior RB Peyton McCann (201 yards, 1 TD) is the top returning rusher. This figures to be a rebuilding year for Kiski as they break in a new crop of starters.
Hampton
ELO Rating: 1970
5A Rank: 22
WPIAL Rank: 35
Twitter: @talbotathletics, @Hampton_Talbots, @HHSstudsect, @TALBOTBOOSTERS
The move to 6 classifications has not been good for the Talbots. After making the playoffs in 4 straight years from 2012-2015, they have failed to make the postseason in each of the last 3 years. A narrow 3-point win over Kiski last year was all that prevented Hampton from going winless in conference play. Unfortunately for the Talbots, they will need to restock after their starting QB, top two rushers, and top two receivers all graduated. Max Smith is the top returning back and ran for 116 yards in limited work last year. Will Schuit (153 yards, 2 TDs) is the top returning receiver. Hampton’s defense was not bad last season, but their offense averaged just 14 points per game and were held under 7 points 5 times.
