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
AJ – WesternPAFootball.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 | 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 | Peters Twp | Upper St Clair | Peters Twp | Peters Twp | Peters Twp |
Big East Conference | Gateway | Gateway | Gateway | Penn-Trafford | Gateway |
Northern Conference | 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 | Thomas Jefferson | Thomas Jefferson | Thomas Jefferson | Thomas Jefferson | Thomas Jefferson |
Northwest Eight Conference | 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 | North Catholic | North Catholic | North Catholic | North Catholic | North Catholic |
Tri-County West Conference | 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 | Avonworth | Shady Side Academy | Avonworth | Avonworth | Steel Valley |
Interstate Conference | Washington | Washington | Washington | Washington | Washington |
Midwestern Conference | Riverside | Riverside | Riverside | Riverside | Riverside |
Three Rivers Conference | 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 | Sto-Rox | Laurel | Laurel | Sto-Rox | Laurel |
Eastern Conference | Clairton | Jeannette | Jeannette | Clairton | Clairton |
Tri-County South Conference | 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.