The 2024 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 23. 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 and watch our live broadcasts on Monday nights or on replay any time.
This is a realignment season but some statewide changes have caused some shakeups in the WPIAL. Beginning with this two-year cycle, the PIAA changed the way students who attend charter or homeschools are counted. This enabled a lot of private schools to slide down in classifications while increasing the enrollment numbers for nearly every public school. This enabled Serra Catholic to move down from 2A to 1A while moving Carlynton up from 1A to 2A. In the WPIAL, 16 teams will make the 1A playoffs. The top three from each conference are guaranteed a playoff spot and the final four spots will be given to wild cards selected by the WPIAL Committee.
Fort Cherry is the defending WPIAL Champions after claiming their first title in school history. With the aforementioned Serra Catholic moving down to 1A, this conference also features Serra and Bishop Canevin as strong title contenders. Fort Cherry will have their work cut out for them to repeat as champions. Serra took the place of Carlynton who moved up to 2A this cycle. Additionally, the WPIAL swapped Avella and Monessen, moving Avella to the Tri-County South and Monessen into the Black Hills. All in all, 6 of the 7 teams in the conference made the playoffs last year. This conference has a wide geographic footprint stretching from Monessen and McKeesport (Serra) in the east to Burgettstown and McDonald (Fort Cherry) in the west. 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.
Fort Cherry
2023 Result: 15-1, Black Hills Conference Champions, WPIAL Champions, PIAA runners-up (lost to Steelton-Highspire in the State Championship Game)
All-Time: 373-264-15 (61st in wins, 30th in win%)
Championship Pedigree: 2023 WPIAL Champions
The Rangers captured their first WPIAL title in school history, defeating South Side 42-28. They went on to beat Redbank Valley in the state semis before falling to three-time State Champs Steelton-Highspire in the state title game. Fort Cherry brings back star QB Matt Sieg who was just the second player in WPIAL history to achieve the 1000/1000 feat twice. If he can do it again this season, he would be the first player to ever reach the mark three times. Sieg threw for 1670 yards and 20 TDs last year and ran for 2389 yards and 29 scores. He added 4 more touchdowns between defense and kickoff returns, bringing his grand total for the year to an incredible 63 touchdowns. Sieg has 15 D1 offers including Penn State, Pitt, WVU, Wisconsin, and USC. Leading receivers Shane Cornali (672 yards, 7 TDs) and Braydon Cook (343 yards, 2 TDs) both return for their senior season. Additionally, junior Evan Rogers (324 yards, 7 TDs) adds even more depth to the Rangers receiving corps. In the backfield, senior Nate Heirendt (467 yards, 8 TDs) and sophomore Ryan Huey (219 yards, 3 TDs) will join Sieg in the Rangers rushing attack. With the Erby brothers graduating from Steelton-Highspire and the amount of talent Fort Cherry has returning, the Rangers should be among the favorites to win the State Championship this season.
Bishop Canevin
2023 Result: 10-2, lost to Fort Cherry in 1A Semifinals
All-Time: 341-289-12 (73rd in wins, 44th in win%)
Championship Pedigree: 2 WPIAL Championships (1990, 2021)
Brick by brick, the Crusaders rose out of the ashes of 2018 and 2019 to put themselves among the 1A elite. Canevin won the 2021 WPIAL title, lost in the finals to Union in 2022 then fell to eventual Champions Fort Cherry in the semis last year. Conference rival Fort Cherry was the only team to beat Canevin last year, once in the regular season and once in the playoffs. The Crusaders boasted one of the best defenses in 1A, holding opponents to just 11 points per game. Senior Kole Olsewski (2180 yards, 36 TDs) returns at quarterback for the Crusaders. For his first two years he split time at the position and took on the role full time last year. Second-leading receiver Jayden Lindsey (615 yards, 8 TDs) is the only one of Canevin’s top five receivers to return. The Crusaders top two rushers also graduated, leaving underclassmen Myontae Mott and Ka’veer Holman as the top returning backs. The Crusaders defense is anchored by Air Force-commit Henry Barbisch at defensive end.
Serra Catholic
2023 Result: 4-6, lost to Western Beaver in 2A first round
All-Time: 243-345-6 (102nd in wins, 102nd in win%)
Championship Pedigree: 3 WPIAL Championships (1981, 2007, 2021)
Serra, amongst other private schools, benefitted from the PIAA’s changes to enrollment calculations and were able to move from 2A down to 1A this cycle. The Eagles had been a solid 2A squad, making the playoffs in 8 straight seasons and winning the 2021 WPIAL title. Rising senior Quadir Stribling is one of the top passers in the WPIAL after throwing for 2488 yards and 27 TDs last year. Stribling gets back his leading receiver De’reon Washingon (965 yards, 14 TDs) who could be a threat to win the WPIAL receiving title. Leading rusher Mason Jones (429 rushing yards, 4 TDs, 214 receiving yards, 2 TDs) also returns for his senior season. With the returning talent, Serra should be right in the mix for the conference title with Fort Cherry and Canevin. In order to contend with the heavy hitters, Serra will need to improve a defense that allowed over 28 points per game last year and will rely on a secondary led by D’Angelo Stewart who has an Akron offer.
Cornell
2023 Result: 8-3, lost to Rochester in 1A first round
All-Time: 203-262-11 (111th in wins, 92nd in win%)
Championship Pedigree: Never won a WPIAL title
The Raiders have alternated making and missing the playoffs over the last five seasons. They made runs to the semifinals in 2019 and 2021, but fell to Rochester in overtime last year. Cornell will lean on their ground game this year as leading rusher Khylil Johnson (1117 yards, 13 TDs) was only a sophomore last year. Johnson averaged over 10 yards per carry and will be the feature back once again. Senior Ashton Jones (114 yards) also returns to the backfield and will complement Johnson. Leading receiver Mikey Keyes (451 yards, 7 TDs) also returns to give Cornell multiple dynamic playmakers in their offense. The Raiders have enough talent to contend for a playoff spot once again this year.
Monessen
2023 Result: 4-7, lost to South Side Beaver in 1A first round
All-Time: 686-397-47 (10th in wins, 14th in win%)
Championship Pedigree: 2 WPIAL Championships (1930, 1961)
The Greyhounds made the playoffs each of the last three seasons in the Tri-County South, but realignment has moved them to the significantly more challenging Black Hills Conference. Monessen has an electric group of young stars that are big-play capable at any moment. Junior Tyvaughn Kershaw ran for 741 yards, added 168 receiving yards and scored a team-high 10 times. He also threw for 208 yards and 3 TDs as part of a 3-man quarterback rotation. That group also included rising sophomore Dennis Hawkins (690 yards, 6 TDs) and senior Daniel Dozier (259 yards, 1 TD). Tight end Rodney Johnson (206 yards, 5 TDs) is the top returning receiver and also a beast on the defensive line.
Burgettstown
2023 Result: 5-5, lost to Union in 1A first round
All-Time: 459-504-39 (35th in wins, 69th in win%)
Championship Pedigree: 2 WPIAL Championships (1929, 1941)
Since moving down to 1A in 2020, the Blue Devils have made the playoffs each of the last three seasons but have not won a playoff game since 2018. Burgettstown lost the majority of their starters at offensive skill positions to graduation. Sophomore QB Blake Neal attempted a few passes as a backup last year, and if he does step in he may be asked to run more than throw in Burgettstown’s run-heavy attack. The top three rushers graduated, leaving Travis Coles (2 TDs) and junior Colton County (1 TD) as the top returning backs.
Chartiers-Houston
2023 Result: 0-10, missed playoffs in 1A
All-Time: 384-382-18 (5rd in wins, 60th in win%)
Championship Pedigree: 3 WPIAL Championships (1968, 1971, 1972)
The Bucs are coming off a winless season as they look to right the ship this year. Unfortunately, the other bottom teams in the conference have departed (Avella moved to the Tri-County South and Carlynton moved up to 2A). The new teams entering the conference are significantly better squads so it will be an uphill struggle for Char-Houston. The Bucs were the lowest-scoring team in 1A last year, averaging just 9 points per game. Junior Aaron Walsh did a little bit of everything for the Bucs last year. Walsh was the leading passer (573 yards, 2 TDs), leading rusher (278 yards), had the second-most receptions (13 catches for 98 yards), and was the Bucs leading scorer (6 total TDs). Second-leading rusher Zeke Watkins (222 yards, 2 TDs) is also a rising junior. The Bucs do have a strong junior class that saw significant playing time last year which should be beneficial in breaking their losing streak this season.
