Home WPIAL 2019 WPIAL Predictions Roundtable

2019 WPIAL Predictions Roundtable

by Ian

The 2019 WPIAL season kicked off with a number of “Week 0” games last week. Those games count towards overall record but do not count towards making the playoffs (which is determined by conference record only). With Week 1 games starting tonight – many of which will have playoff implications – I got together with some of the best high school football minds around to put out our predictions for the season. Links to my conference previews are also included so you can take a deeper look at the competition.

In addition to myself, our panelists this year are:

Josh Rowntree – TribLive High School Sports Network and 93.7 The Fan. Find him on Twitter at @JRown32
Josh Rizzo – Freelance writer who has been covering high school sports for many years. Find him on Twitter @J_oshRizzo
Steve Richey@BucFever422 on Twitter
AJWesternPAFootball.net contributor and author of WPIAL Football Zone. On Twitter @AJWPIAL

The WPIAL is broken up into 15 conferences over 6 classifications. Our panelists gave their predictions on conference champions as well as championship game matchups in each classification. Additionally, they provided some insight on other teams and storylines to watch.

Class 6A

Championship Predictions

Ian Rowntree Rizzo Steve AJ
Quad County Conference

PREVIEW

Pine-Richland Central Catholic Pine-Richland Pine-Richland Central Catholic
WPIAL 6A Championship over over over over over

Other Teams You Like

Ian: Two-time defending Champions Pine-Richland is the cream of the crop. Behind them, Central Catholic, last year’s regular season conference champions North Allegheny, and last year’s runner-up Seneca Valley are all good teams. Mt. Lebanon is the only team without a returning starter at quarterback.

Rowntree: Pine-Richland and Seneca Valley

Rizzo: North Allegheny

Steve: Seneca Valley and North Allegheny

AJ: Pine-Richland, Mt. Lebanon

Class 5A

Championship Predictions

Ian Rowntree Rizzo Steve AJ
Allegheny Eight Conference

PREVIEW

Peters Twp Upper St Clair Peters Twp Peters Twp Peters Twp
Big East Conference

PREVIEW

Gateway Gateway Gateway Penn-Trafford Gateway
Northern Conference

PREVIEW

Penn Hills Mars Penn Hills Penn Hills Penn Hills
WPIAL 5A Championship over over over over   over

Other Teams You Like

Ian: The Allegheny Eight Conference is LOADED. In addition to Peters Twp – Bethel Park, West Allegheny, Woodland Hills, Upper St Clair, and Baldwin are all quality teams. Penn-Trafford might be the 3rd best team in 5A but play in a conference with Gateway.

Rowntree: Bethel Park, McKeesport, Peters Township, West Allegheny

Rizzo: Penn-Trafford, West Allegheny, Upper St Clair

Steve: Gateway, Bethel Park, West Allegheny, Woodland Hills, Mars

AJ: Bethel Park, Penn-Trafford, McKeesport, Mars, Upper St Clair, West Allegheny

Class 4A

Championship Predictions

Ian Rowntree Rizzo Steve AJ
Big Eight Conference

PREVIEW

Thomas Jefferson Thomas Jefferson Thomas Jefferson Thomas Jefferson Thomas Jefferson
Northwest Eight Conference

PREVIEW

South Fayette South Fayette South Fayette South Fayette South Fayette
WPIAL 4A Championship over  over over over  over 

Other Teams You Like

Ian: Belle Vernon might be the second best team in 4A, but can they get to the title game? Montour returns a number of starters and could challenge South Fayette in the Northwest Eight.

Rowntree: Belle Vernon, Blackhawk, New Castle

Rizzo: Belle Vernon

Steve:Belle Vernon, Montour, New Castle

AJ: Belle Vernon, New Castle, West Mifflin, Montour, Blackhawk

Class 3A

Championship Predictions

Ian Rowntree Rizzo Steve AJ
Big East Conference

PREVIEW

North Catholic North Catholic North Catholic North Catholic North Catholic
Tri-County West Conference

PREVIEW

Aliquippa Aliquippa Aliquippa Aliquippa Aliquippa
WPIAL 3A Championship over over over over over

Other Teams You Like

Ian: North Catholic and Derry are the class of the Big East. Elizabeth Forward and Freeport were playoff teams last year but lost a number of starters while Burrell and Deer Lakes return most of their skill players. Central Valley was the only team to beat Aliquippa last year and should be a factor again this year. Beaver Falls should also be a playoff team.

Rowntree: Beaver Falls, Elizabeth Forward, Derry

Rizzo: Beaver Falls, Central Valley, Derry

Steve: Central Valley, Keystone Oaks, Derry, Beaver Falls

AJ: Central Valley, Elizabeth Forward, Keystone Oaks

Class 2A

Championship Predictions

Ian Rowntree Rizzo Steve AJ
Allegheny Conference

PREVIEW

Avonworth  Shady Side Academy Avonworth Avonworth Steel Valley
Interstate Conference

PREVIEW

Washington Washington Washington Washington Washington
Midwestern Conference

PREVIEW

Riverside Riverside Riverside Riverside Riverside
Three Rivers Conference

PREVIEW

Burgettstown Burgettstown Burgettstown Burgettstown Burgettstown
WPIAL 2A Championship over over over
over overv

Other Teams You Like

Ian: Washington is the clear favorite. Steel Valley has a very small roster this year and a new coach. Seton LaSalle should challenge for the Three Rivers Conference title. McGuffey should be very good once again. Watch out for Southmoreland who has a chance to make the playoffs for the first time since 1979.

Rowntree: Charleroi, McGuffey, Steel Valley

Rizzo: Shady Side Academy, Avonworth, South Side Beaver

Steve: Steel Valley, McGuffey, Charleroi, Seton LaSalle, Freedom

AJ: Avonworth, Charleroi, Seton LaSalle, McGuffey, Freedom

Class 1A

Championship Predictions

Ian Rowntree Rizzo Steve AJ
Big Seven Conference

PREVIEW

Sto-Rox Laurel Laurel Sto-Rox Laurel
Eastern Conference

PREVIEW

Clairton Jeannette Jeannette Clairton Clairton
Tri-County South Conference

PREVIEW

West Greene West Greene California West Greene West Greene
WPIAL 1A Championship over over over over over

Other Teams You Like

Ian: The StoRox-Laurel game should decide the Big Seven Conference. Sto-Rox has a great passing game and Laurel has a great running game. Jeannette and GCC should both contend for playoff spots. West Greene and California look like the best teams in the TCS. West Greene’s Ben Jackson might lead the WPIAL in rushing. Never bet against Clairton, though.

Rowntree: Clairton, OLSH, Sto-Rox, Rochester, Greensburg CC

Rizzo: OLSH, Greensburg Central Catholic, Sto-Rox

Steve: Rochester, Jeannette, West Greene, Clairton, Sto-Rox

AJ: Jeannette, Rochester, Sto-Rox, Monessen, OLSH

Storylines to Follow

Ian: Will Southmoreland make the playoffs for the first time since 1979? (I hope so!). In 6A, will Pine-Richland win their third straight WPIAL title? The WPIAL and D12 are once again on the same half of the PIAA playoff bracket, which means another potential matchup between PR and the New York/New Jersey/Maryland All-Star team of St. Joe’s Prep in the semifinals. In 5A, there are a number of good teams but can anyone topple Gateway? Penn-Trafford and Peters Township played a great quarterfinal last year and a rematch in the playoffs this year would be incredible. Thomas Jefferson and Belle Vernon look like the top teams in 4A, but you can never count out South Fayette who has won an incredible 57 straight conference games. 3A is all about Aliquippa but don’t sleep on Central Valley who beat the Quips in Week 9 last year. Can my alma mater North Catholic get back to Heinz Field for the first time since the legendary 2013 team? Washington is the class of 2A but who is the next best team? Burgettstown, Avonworth, McGuffey, and Seton LaSalle all have a chance to make a deep playoff run. Clairton looks to regain their supremacy in 1A once again but will face a solid Jeannette team and improved GCC squad. Don’t sleep on Leechburg who brings back a number of players from last year’s team that won 5 games. Sto-Rox and Laurel look to be the best of the Big Seven. West Greene and California are the best teams in the TCS but can either make noise in the playoffs?

Rowntree: How good can Gateway be? They’re as skilled as it comes on the perimeter. Bob Palko taking over Mt. Lebanon. Can he lead a 6A team to success. Can anyone keep Thomas Jefferson or South Fayette away from Heinz Field. Belle Vernon might be able to. Where will Aliquippa’s biggest competition come from? Might be Central Valley, which looked strong in Week Zero.

Rizzo: How many WPIAL teams will win state crowns? None are slam-dunk locks and several paths to titles are blocked by juggernauts. Whoever wins 6A will likely have to deal with St. Joe’s Prep in semifinals. Southern Columbia has 2A locked down.

While I know WPIAL has threatened to pull out of PIAA to go down to four classes, I have to say I’ve warmed to the six classes. Last season’s WPIAL finals group was one. Yes, 4A as TJ and South Fayette, but South Side Beaver making a run to the final in 2A was fun, as was the Eastern Conference juggernauts — Jeannette and Clairton — being knocked out by OLSH and Rochester. I thought six classes wouldn’t be fun, but I like it. Tradition be damned.

Steve:   Interesting to see how the 22 new coaches do at their respective schools. It seems most classifications are top heavy this season.

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