The 2022 WPIAL football season is nearly upon us! Over the next few weeks we will be previewing all 17 conferences in preparation for kickoff on August 26. We are also thrilled to announce that the WPIAL Blitz Show will be back on the YouTube airwaves this season. Follow the Sports Stream Premium channel with new shows dropping each Tuesday during the season!
This year, our WPIAL coverage is proudly presented by Sports Solutions Marketing. The Sports Solutions network provides pay per view hosting and broadcasting for high school sporting events. More information is available via EasternPAFootball.com.
The 2022 season is a realignment year in Pennsylvania. New classification and conference alignments were announced back in the spring. Once again this cycle, the 5A Classification in the WPIAL will have 18 teams that are split into three conferences. But 5A is not without some new faces. Four of the 18 teams will be new to 5A this season. Three of those new teams have moved down from 6A (Baldwin, Hempfield, and Norwin) and Plum moved back up after spending two seasons in 4A.
The biggest change to 5A this season is in the playoff format. The WPIAL Champion had previously entered the PIAA bracket in the semifinals, which allowed room for four rounds of WPIAL playoffs and the WPIAL Championship counted as the state quarterfinal. This cycle, the WPIAL Champion enters the PIAA bracket in the quarterfinals, which shortens the WPIAL playoffs by one week. Because of this, only 8 teams will qualify for the WPIAL 5A playoffs. This means just the first and second place teams from each of the three conferences plus two of the three third place teams will qualify for the postseason.
The Allegheny Conference features a Moon team that was the top seed in last year’s playoffs. West Allegheny has left the conference and moved down to 4A and been replaced by Baldwin who is moving down from 6A. Be sure to keep tabs on our WPIAL Standings Page throughout the season and follow our WPIAL Twitter account @WPIAL_Blitz. Teams are listed in their predicted order of finish.
Upper St Clair
WPIAL ELO Rank (5A): 7
WPIAL ELO Rank (Overall): 15
2021 Result: 6-5, Lost to Fox Chapel in the First Round
The Panthers have made the playoffs in 22 straight seasons, the fourth-longest streak in the WPIAL. However, it has been five years since they last reached the semifinals. Last year USC was upset by Fox Chapel in the opening round of the playoffs after they narrowly missed out on claiming the conference title with just a 3-point loss to Moon. In recent years, USC has earned the “Cardiac Cats” moniker after playing in numerous nail-biting games that featured second-half comeback victories. This year’s team features a strong senior class poised to make noise in 5A. Brady Erdos returns at quarterback after throwing for 817 yards and 7 TDs last season. Leading receiver Aidan Besselman (412 receiving yards, 141 rushing yards, 6 total TDs) also returns and has offers from nearly the entire Ivy League, along with a number of other FCS institutions and a few MAC schools. Second-leading rusher Jamaal Brown (328 yards, 3 TDs), who averaged over 5 yards per carry will take on the lead back role and has a number of college offers from FCS schools and military academies. With returning starters across the board on offense and one of the best kickers in the WPIAL in junior Bennett Henderson (who booted 11 field goals last year), the Panthers look poised to make a deep run this season.
Peters Twp
WPIAL ELO Rank (5A): 4
WPIAL ELO Rank (Overall): 6
2021 Result: 7-5, lost to Pine-Richland in WPIAL quarterfinals
The Indians are in the midst of a historically great run. They reached the WPIAL title game in consecutive seasons in 2019 and 2020 then made it back to the quarterfinals last year, falling in a tight game to Pine-Richland. Peters was the only 5A team to beat eventual State Champions Penn-Trafford. Junior Chris Cibrone saw some work in relief at QB last year and will likely take the helm this season. Joining him in the backfield will be leading rusher Rich Woods (618 yards, 5 TDs). On the outside, Carter Shanafelt (295 yards, 3 TDs) and Brendan McCullough (142 yards, 1 TD) are the top returning receivers.
South Fayette
WPIAL ELO Rank (5A): 10
WPIAL ELO Rank (Overall): 19
2021 Result: 4-6, missed playoffs for the first time in 13 years
The Lions have struggled since moving up to 5A last cycle. Last season, they got off to a 4-1 start to the season but dropped all 5 of their conference games. South Fayette continued to have a stellar passing attack but struggled defensively. The Lions had five players with over 250 receiving yards, but four of them graduated. The load of the offense will fall to junior Nate Deans who led the team in rushing (602 yards), is the top returning receiver (318 yards), and led the team with 7 TDs. Senior RB Christian Brandi (225 yards, 3 TDs) was a solid complement to Deans last year, but for an up-tempo offense like South Fayette, their success will ultimately be determined by new starters at quarterback and receiver.
Bethel Park
WPIAL ELO Rank (5A): 8
WPIAL ELO Rank (Overall): 17
2021 Result: 5-6, Lost to Woodland Hills in First Round
The Blackhawks returned to the playoffs last year after missing the postseason in 2020, which broke a 19-year streak of playoff appearances. It was an up-and-down season overall. After starting just 1-3 in non-conference play, Bethel rebounded to win their first three conference games and put themselves in position to battle Moon for the Conference title in Week 8. They fell to the Tigers then to neighboring rival Upper St Clair in the season finale before being bounced by Woodland Hills in the playoffs. Ryan Petras saw action all over the field lat year as a freshman, tallying 171 receiving yards, 161 rushing yards, 5 total TDs, and even attempting a few passes. Petras’ explosiveness with the ball in his hands will likely make him the focal point of Bethel Park’s offense this season. Tight end Aidan Currie (271 yards) is the top returning receiver. On defense, linebacker Gavin Moul is the heart of the unit with some Patriot League offers.
Moon
WPIAL ELO Rank (5A): 6
WPIAL ELO Rank (Overall): 8
2021 Result: 12-1, Lost to Penn-Trafford in WPIAL Championship Game
The Tigers are coming off their best season in over 20 years. Moon ran through the regular season with an undefeated record and reached the WPIAL final for the first time since 1998. They fell to Penn-Trafford in heart-breaking fashion by just three points, missing a potential game-tying field goal as time expired. Moon lost 23 seniors to graduation, including most of their starting lineup. The Tigers had 7 players run for at least 100 yards last season, but six of them graduated leaving just junior Josh Bladel (112 yards, 1 TD) to take over the workload in the backfield. Similarly on the outside, 6 of their top 7 receivers graduated leaving senior Anthony Antoniades (84 yards) as the top returning player.
Baldwin
WPIAL ELO Rank (5A): 6
WPIAL ELO Rank (Overall): 28
2021 Result: 2-8, missed 6A playoffs on tiebreaker
The Highlanders move back down to 5A after two years in 6A. They have not won a playoff game since 1991, one of the 10 longest droughts in the WPIAL, but will look to turn that around with a move back to 5A. Baldwin did beat both Norwin and Hempfield last year. Two underclassmen both saw time at quarterback last year. John Kozar was the more successful of the two, throwing for 378 yards and 5 TDs and running for 113 yards and 1 TD. Andrew Sharp (598 yards, 4 TDs) led the Highlanders in rushing and Davonte Jones (135 yards, 3 TDs) led the team in receiving last year – and both were just sophomores. The future is bright for Baldwin with returning starters at the skill positions but they will need to improve a defense that was the worst in 6A, giving up nearly 40 points per game.
