Home WPIAL 2020 WPIAL Preview: 4A Greater Allegheny Conference

2020 WPIAL Preview: 4A Greater Allegheny Conference

by Ian

This will be a completely different season of high school football than anyone has ever experienced. Recently, in response to the Governor’s recommendation, the PIAA decided to push back the start of the season by two weeks to engage in further discussions regarding a safe return to play for fall sports. Even though there is uncertainty about this season of high school football, there are many coaches and players who have worked their tails off to get ready for this season, and we felt their efforts deserved to be highlighted. Therefore, we are rolling ahead with our 2020 WPIAL Season Previews. This year, our WPIAL coverage is sponsored by the Small Player Big Play App, which provides schools the opportunity to fundraise by live-streaming their games and events. Check out their Twitter page and get the app for free on Apple or Andriod devices.

The Greater Allegheny Conference is back! Or, as many of us had dubbed it on Twitter long ago, “GACrazy” because of how the teams in the middle of the pack often beat each other and there were often 3-way and 4-way ties at the end of the season. This conference reunites a lot of traditional rivals from the Alle-Kiski area that were previously scattered across conferences. Four of the eight teams in the conference are moving down from 5A to 4A (Mars, Hampton, Armstrong, and Plum). The other four played in 4A last year with two in the Big Eight Conference (Indiana and Greensburg Salem) and two in the Northwest Eight Conference (Knoch and Highlands). Interestingly, five of the eight teams in this conference have yet to make the playoffs since the PIAA moved to 6 classifications in 2016 (Hampton, Highlands, Indiana, Knoch, and Plum).

The playoff format in 4A will be dependent on the State Tournament. If the PIAA hosts a state tournament, eight teams will make the 4A playoffs. If the PIAA does not host a state tournament, only four teams will make the playoffs. In an 8-team bracket, the top two from each conference plus two Wild Card third place teams would make the playoffs. In a 4-team bracket, only the conference champions and one Wild Card would make the playoffs. Be sure to keep tabs on our WPIAL Football ELO Rankings and WPIAL Standings Page throughout the season. Teams are listed in their predicted order of finish.

Mars

WPIAL ELO Rank (4A): 4
WPIAL ELO Rank (Overall): 26

Twitter: @MarsHSFootball@FightnPlanets@studsect123

The Fighting Planets move back down to 4A after spending the last two seasons in 5A. Mars has made the playoffs in 15 consecutive seasons but the Planets have not won a playoff game since 2015 when they reached the AAA semifinals. Mars stumbled a bit down the stretch last season, losing to Fox Chapel and Kiski by a combined 5 points before being bounced from the playoffs by Peters Twp. A strong ground game has traditionally been the hallmark of the Mars program, and Teddy Ruffner returns after running for 1919 yards and 26 TDs. Ruffner has run for nearly 2900 yards so far in his high school career and with a big season could threaten the 5,000-yard mark. Rising junior Quinn Fuller took over the starting QB role midway through last season because of an injury to the starter and threw for 515 yards and 5 TDs. Mars has the talent to win the conference and Ruffner may very well lead the WPIAL in rushing this season.

Highlands

WPIAL ELO Rank (4A): 17
WPIAL ELO Rank (Overall): 44

Twitter: @HighlandsAthl@HHS_Students2

The Golden Rams have not made the playoffs since 2015, but showed tenacity last season. After an 0-4 start, Highlands won 3 of their next 5 games and only lost to conference champion South Fayette by 3 points. One of those victories came over New Castle, who was a playoff team. Their ability to compete with top teams down the stretch should be a momentum-builder into 2020, considering the young players that saw significant playing time. The arrow is pointing up for QB Chandler Thimons who threw for 1363 yards and 11 TDs last year as a freshman. Leading rusher Brock White (809 yards, 7 TDs) was only a sophomore last season. Additionally, second-leading receiver DJ Loveland (348 yards, 5 TDs) returns for his senior season. Two-way lineman Wahkeem Roman has D1 offers from Rutgers and Toledo. With their youth and experience at the skill positions, Highlands will keep building for the future but should be good enough this season to compete for a playoff spot.

Plum

WPIAL ELO Rank (4A): 11
WPIAL ELO Rank (Overall): 36

Twitter: @PlumFootball@rollstangs

The Mustangs move down from 5A, looking to make their first playoff appearance since 2015. Plum does have a legitimate D1 prospect leading the way this season in TE/LB Max Matolcsy who has offers from a number of MAC schools and military academies at the FBS level and Ivy League schools at the FCS level. Matolcsy was the Mustangs’ leading receiver last year with 527 yards and 6 TDs. Plum returns two QBs who split time last season in dual-threat Jake Miller (810 yards and 7 TDs passing and 338 yards and 1 TD rushing) and Ryan Hubner (759 yards and 8 TDs passing). Leading rusher Billy Guzzi (513 yards, 4 TDs) also returns for his senior season. Do-it-all offensive threat Reed Martin (339 receiving yards, 244 rushing yards, 10 total TDs) also returns for his senior season. All told, Plum returns quality playmakers across the board on offense and if they can find a way to improve a defense that allowed 38.8 points per game last year should be right in the thick of the mix for a playoff spot.

Greensburg Salem

WPIAL ELO Rank (4A): 14
WPIAL ELO Rank (Overall): 41

Twitter: @GS_SportsUpdate@GSHSsports@GSHSSection@gslionsbooth

After a 1-3 start to the season, Greensburg Salem won 4 of their final 6 games to secure their second straight playoff berth. The Lions will now look to take the next step and claim their first playoff victory since 2000. Greensburg Salem lost their dual-threat QB along with top two receivers and two of their top three rushers to graduation. Leading rusher Alex Briggs (648 yards, 5 TDs) returns for his senior season.

Knoch

WPIAL ELO Rank (4A): 15
WPIAL ELO Rank (Overall): 42

Twitter: @KnochFootball@KnochRadio

Knoch ran out to a 5-0 start last season and looked poised to make their first playoff appearance since 2014, but lost 4 of their last 5 games and missed the postseason on a tiebreaker. This was the second straight year that Knoch missed the playoffs because of a tiebreaking scenario. Two of the top three rushers from the Knights run-heavy attack graduated, leaving Keith Washington (458 yards, 2 TDs) to take over the lead back role. Knoch saw 15 seniors graduate from last year’s team and with just 9 rising seniors this year could make for a rebuilding campaign for the Knights.

Hampton

WPIAL ELO Rank (4A): 9
WPIAL ELO Rank (Overall): 34

Twitter: @talbotathletics@Hampton_Talbots@HHSstudsect@TALBOTBOOSTERS

The Talbots move down from 5A to 4A this season and are looking to make the playoffs for the first time in the 6-classification era. Hampton got off to a strong 2-1 start last season with wins over Armstrong and Shaler, but lost their final 7 outings. Matt DeMatteo started at QB as a sophomore last year, throwing for 413 yards and 4 TDs. His leading receiver Gage Galuska (286 yards, 2 TDs) returns for his senior season. The top four rushers on the team all graduated. If Hampton is going to make a playoff push, they will need to improve an offense that averaged just 13.6 points per game last season.

Armstrong

WPIAL ELO Rank (4A): 5
WPIAL ELO Rank (Overall): 30

Twitter: @AHSRIVERHAWKS@ArmstrongRiverH@ArmstrongStude2

Armstrong topped Indiana in Week 0 then lost their final 8 games, giving up at least 30 points in every contest. The Riverhawks hope that the move down from 5A to 4A not only improves their outlook but also reignites some traditional rivalries. Armstrong was formed by the merger of Ford City and Kittanning, with Kittanning having historically competed against teams like Highlands, Hampton, and Knoch. Senior QB Cole Brown scored 6 TDs last year and will be called upon once again to be the catalyst for the Riverhawks offense.

Indiana

WPIAL ELO Rank (4A): 19
WPIAL ELO Rank (Overall): 47

Twitter: @Indiana_indians

Indiana’s lone victory last season came against Ringgold. The Little Indians had the second-worst defense in 4A last season, allowing 43.9 points per game. To compound matters, their offense averaged just 9 points per game, the third-worst mark in the classification. Leading rushers Zach Harrington and Fox Van Leer were both sophomores last season and both found the end zone three times.

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