The 2023 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 25. We are also thrilled to announce that the WPIAL Blitz Show will be back on the YouTube airwaves this season. Subscribe to the Sports Stream Premium channel with new shows dropping each Tuesday during the season!
This year, our WPIAL coverage is proudly presented by GoMVB Sports and Sports Solutions Marketing. High school athletes should check out GoMVB Sports – SSM for tips on how to beef up their social media presence to attract college coaches and college recruiters. The Sports Solutions network provides pay per view hosting and broadcasting for high school sporting events. More information is available via EasternPAFootball.com.
This will be the second season with an extremely tight playoff race in 5A. Due to the fact that the WPIAL 5A Champion enters the state bracket in the quarterfinals, only 8 WPIAL teams qualify for the playoffs. Only the top two teams in each conference are guaranteed a playoff spot with two of the three third place teams qualifying via a wild card. Last year, the Allegheny Six Conference was a murderer’s row of quality teams. Bethel Park won the conference and was the top overall seed in the playoffs. Upper St Clair finished second in the league but made a run to the WPIAL Championship Game.
The five remaining teams in 6A were the five that reached the postseason last year, which should make for a tight race this year. One playoff spot has been eliminated as the top four teams will qualify for the postseason. The WPIAL Champion will enter the PIAA playoffs at the quarterfinal stage. 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
The Panthers made it back to the WPIAL Championship game last season for the first time since 2011 but fell to eventual State Champions Pine-Richland. USC employed two quarterbacks last season and both return to the lineup. Junior Julian Dahlem is a dual-threat option and accounted for 971 passing yards and 16 TDs and ran for 3 more scores. On the other hand, sophomore Ethan Hellman is not much of a running threat but has a huge arm, throwing for 920 yards and 9 TDs as a freshman. Most of the top receivers graduated, so we may see the athletic Dahlem out wide this season where he can make plays in space. Second-leading rusher Mason Chambers (who also anchors the defense at middle linebacker) should see an increased role this season. Watch out for Evan Turner who averaged 9.1 yards per carry in limited work last season. The Panthers should also be strong in the trenches with Marco Carone and Nate Stohl who both have FCS offers. USC also boasts the best kicker in the WPIAL in Bennett Henderson who booted 10 field goals last season and has been knocking down kicks from distance since his freshman year.
Peters Twp
The Indians narrowly missed the playoffs last season, losing out on the third place wild card on Gardner Points to North Hills. Fortunately, they have the returning talent to challenge for the conference title this season. Senior QB Chris Cibrone missed some time with injury last year but still threw for 1963 yards and 19 TDs. Nolan DiLucia saw some time as a freshman last year and got the start when Cibrone was injured, throwing for 384 yards and 3 TDs. He has a chance to challenge for the WPIAL passing title this season as five of his top six receivers return. This senior class is loaded with receivers, led by Carter Shanafelt (354 yards, 6 TDs), Ethan Wertman (269 yards, 4 TDs), Nate Miller (212 yards, 1 TD), and Thomas Aspinall (185 yards, 3 TDs). Sophomore TE Reston Lehman only got a handful of catches last year but averaged an explosive 25 yards per reception and scored 3 times. He already has offers from a few MAC schools and should see his share of work this season. Peters Twp doesn’t run the ball much, but with their leading rusher graduating the weight of the backfield work will likely fall to Nicholas Courie and Vinny Sarcone.
Bethel Park
The Black Hawks are the defending conference champions and were the top seed in the 5A playoffs before injuries derailed their run in the semifinals. Bethel Park promoted offensive coordinator Phil Peckich to head coach after 5A Coach of the Year Brian DeLallo retired. The good news for Peckich is that two of his key offensive play-makers return. Junior QB Tanner Pfeuffer threw for 1507 yards and 14 TDs and ran for 9 more last season. Ryan Petras was the team’s leading receiver (578 yards), third-leading rusher (578 yards), and leading scorer (17 total TDs). Sophomore defensive end Clancy Orie has already attracted some D1 interest. Bethel Park has traditionally been a run-based team where multiple backs can do damage either on the ground or as receivers. This should continue to be the case with Pfeuffer and Petras keying the offense. Bethel Park should be right in the mix to defend their conference title and make a run at the playoffs again this season.
South Fayette
The Lions are coming off an up-and-down 2022 campaign. They missed the playoffs for the second straight season, the first time since 1993-94 that South Fayette did not make the playoffs in two consecutive years. The booming development projects in the community have brought in an influx of students to the district and they have struggled since moving up to 5A in 2020. The good news for Joe Rossi’s squad is they have a number of returning starters from the team that went 5-5 last year. South Fayette did not play many close games in 2022, with 4 of their 5 wins and 4 of their 5 losses coming by 14 points or more. Drew Welhorsky (210 yards, 2 TDs) started the season at QB as a freshman, but Nico Lamonde (838 yards, 7 TDs) took over midway through the season. Both players return this year with Lamonde entering his senior year as the presumed starter after he displayed dual-threat abilities, adding 277 yards on the ground. Offensive playmaker Nate Deanes also returns after leading the team in rushing (351 yards), receptions (21 for 201 yards), and scoring (14 total TDs). In addition to Deanes, the Lions top two receivers also return in Mike Gimigliano (222 yards, 2 TDs) and Dom Monz (221 yards, 2 TDs). This talented group of senior leaders should be able to keep the Lions right in the mix for a playoff berth.
Moon
Just a year removed from coming up short in the WPIAL Championship Game, Moon had to overcome significant roster turnover last season. Their only win came against Baldwin and the Tigers averaged just 9 points per game, the second-lowest in 5A. Senior QB Ethan Konieczka and sophomore Braeden Stuart split time under center last season. Leading rusher Nazir Brookins also returns for his junior season. Pounding RB Josh Bladel led the team in scoring with 4 TDs and will also be back for the Tigers. Moon will have to scratch and claw their way to stay in the postseason hunt this year.
Baldwin
The Fighting Highlanders had hoped that the move down from 6A to 5A would help build up their program which has been to the playoffs just once in the last nine years. Instead, they struggled through the 5A season with their only win coming against City League Brashear in the opener. Dual-threat QB John Kozar returns after throwing for 865 yards and 6 TDs and running for 203 yards and 2 scores. Leading rusher Andrew Sharp (794 yards, 9 TDs) also returns for his senior season. Leading receiver Keith Mincin (303 yards, 5 TDs) is also a rising senior. With that trio on offense, Baldwin will look to be more efficient offensively. They were held under 20 points in all but two games last season and need to find the end zone more often this year. If Baldwin is going to be competitive this season, they also need to shore up a defense that allowed 42 points per game last year (the second-most in 5A).
