2024 WPIAL Preview: 1A Tri-County South

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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.

California is the defending Tri-County South Champions and reached the quarterfinals last season. After the conference went winless in the playoffs in 2020 and 2021, the TCS has produced a playoff winner in each of the last two seasons. The interesting question this year will be if the 4th place team in the TCS gets bypassed by the WPIAL Committee in favor of a 5th place team from another conference for one of the Wild Card spots. The conference is mostly the same as last cycle except for swapping out Monessen for Avella. One of the best stories in the WPIAL last season was Jefferson-Morgan ending an 11-year playoff drought.  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.

California

2023 Result: 10-2, lost to Bishop Canevin in 1A quarterfinals
All-Time: 455-440-41 (36th in wins, 56th in win%)
Championship Pedigree: 1949 WPIAL Champions

The Trojans are the defending TCS Conference Champs and have made the playoffs in 8 straight seasons. Last year they were the only TCS team to win a playoff game, throttling Jeannette in the opening round. California was the top-scoring team in 1A last year, averaging nearly 44 points per game. The Trojans tend to run a ground-and pound offense and their top four backs all averaged over 7.5 yards per carry last season. Unfortunately three of them graduated, leaving senior RB Lee Qualk (560 rushing yards, 131 receiving yards, 13 total TDs) as the top returning rusher and receiver. The good news for California is that Qualk is an explosive athlete who averaged over 12 yards per carry and with a feature back workload could be in the running for the WPIAL rushing title. Rising juniors Landon Abercrombie (4 TDs), Malachi Peak (1 TD) and Logan Hartley (1 TD) are the other returning players who found the end zone last year. That trio figures to take on a bigger role in the Trojans rushing attack as they look to defend their TCS title.

Jefferson-Morgan

2023 Result: 6-5, lost to Fort Cherry in 1A first round
All-Time: 466-402-31 (30th in wins, 45th in win%)
Championship Pedigree: 2 WPIAL Championships (1973, 1974), predecessor school Jefferson tied for the 1951 WPIAL title

The Rockets were one of the breakthrough teams last season, making the playoffs for the first time since 2012. Building on the momentum of last season, the Rockets figure to be one of the top challengers to California in the TCS. JM brings back dual-threat QB Houston Guseman who threw for 908 yards and 11 TDs and ran for 738 yards and 9 TDs. Also returning to the backfield are rising juniors John Woodward (601 yards, 5 TDs) and Jaymison Robinson (208 yards, 2 TDs). The talented junior class also includes leading receiver Deakyn Dehoet (735 yards, 13 total TDs). Jefferson-Morgan has not won a playoff game since their 2006 run to the semifinals but they have the talent to break that streak this season.

West Greene

2023 Result: 8-3, lost to GCC in 1A first round
All-Time: 222-420-10 (108th in wins, 118th in win%)
Championship Pedigree: Never won a WPIAL Championship

The Pioneers returned to the playoffs last season, making their 5th appearance in the last 7 years. For a team that suffered through a 24-year drought, the recent run is certainly an impressive turnaround. West Greene had two 1000-yard rushers last season but both graduated, leaving a large hole to fill in the Pioneers backfield. Senior QB Lane Allison (984 yards, 16 TDs) does return, but his top three receivers all graduated. Senior WR Parker Burns (100 yards, 3 TDs) is the only other skill position starter to return. West Greene has done a good job in the past of letting underclassmen get significant playing time, so don’t be surprised if this is a bit of a rebuilding year with young starters to gain momentum for the future.

Bentworth

2023 Result: 3-7, missed playoffs in 1A
All-Time: 234-358-7 (105th in wins, 109th in win%)
Championship Pedigree: Never won a WPIAL Championship

The Bearcats made a push for the playoffs last season, beating Monessen early in the year and putting themselves in position to vie for a spot. Unfortunately, a two-point loss to Mapletown in Week 7 sunk their chances and they finshed just a game out of the postseason. Bentworth is one of five WPIAL teams to not make the playoffs during the six-classification era. The Bearcats lost two of their top four rushers to graduation. Junior RB Ben Hays (302 rushing yards, 421 receiving yards, 8 total TDs) was Bentworth’s leading scorer last season. Fellow rising junior Owen Ivcic ran for 144 yards and 1 score. On the outside, seniors Lucas Burt (699 yards, 5 TDs) and Anthony Washington (294 yards, 2 TDs) both return. Bentworth will need to find a quarterback this season, and have the offensive playmakers to contend for a playoff spot if they can also tighten up a defense that allowed 29 points per game.

Avella

2023 Result: 4-6, missed playoffs in 1A
All-Time: 359-500-26 (69th in wins, 99th in win%)
Championship Pedigree:  WPIAL Championships (1941, 1957, 1961,

The Eagles had a rough go of it in the Black Hills Conference and return to the Tri-County South where they made the playoffs in 2020. Avella is a small school in western Washington County and while they might be a better geographic fit for the Black Hills, their size and setting (mostly rural farmland) is more aligned with the other TCS schools. The Eagles did beat two conference opponents last season (Carlynton and Chartiers-Houston) but also had to forfeit to Bishop Canevin due to a roster shortage. The Eagles return two of their top four rushers in senior Broden Hamm (417 yards, 3 TDs) and sophomore Charles Rush (324 yards, 4 total TDs). Avella did have close non-conference wins over Mapletown and Bentworth last season and should be able to compete in the middle of the pack for the final playoff spot in the TCS this season.

Beth-Center

2023 Result: 3-7, missed playoffs in 1A
All-Time: 372-260-16 (63rd in wins, 29th in win%)
Championship Pedigree: 1975 WPIAL Champions

The Bulldogs moved down from 2A to 1A last cycle but missed the playoffs both years. Last season they won consecutive games over Carmichaels and Bentworth to get in position to challenge for a postseason berth but lost a casket match to Monessen in Week 9. Beth-Center’s offense is built around their ground game and while they lost their leading rusher to graduation, plenty of experienced players remain. Rising juniors Teagan Veatch (334 yards, 4 TDs and Cyncere Cruse (146 yards, 1 TD) and sophomore Homer Headlee (142 yards, 1 TD) all averaged over 5 yards per carry last year with Cruse averaging an incredible 11 yards per tote. Senior dual-threat QB Jonah Sussan returns after throwing for 142 yards and running for 255 yards and 5 TDs. Beth-Center averaged just 6 pass attempts per game last year, so the ground game is essential to their offensive success. In order to contend for a playoff spot this season, they will need to improve a defense that allowed 36 points per game, the highest in the conference and 5th most in 1A.

Carmichaels

2023 Result: 2-8, missed playoffs in 1A
All-Time: 517-389-38 (20th in wins, 34th in win%)
Championship Pedigree: 2 WPIAL Championships (1952, 1962)

The Mighty Mikes struggled down the stretch last year. After beating Mapletown in Week 4 to get to a 2-3 record, they dropped five in a row to end the season. Those losses included a 1-point loss to Monessen and an 8-point loss to Bentworth. Had they won both of those games, Carmichaels would have qualified for the playoffs for the third straight season. Dual-threat QB AJ Donaldson threw for 575 yards and 4 TDs and ran for 473 yards and 6 scores last year as a junior. His backfield partner William Murray (454 yards, 3 TDs) returns for his junior year. On the outside, leading receiver Brandon Yekel (276 yards, 1 TD) is a rising senior and Cannon Bupka (160 yards) will be a junior.

Mapletown

2023 Result: 3-7, missed playoffs in 1A
All-Time: 348-491-39 (71st in wins, 100th in win%)
Championship Pedigree: Never won a WPIAL Championship

After winning the conference title and claiming their first playoff victory in school history in 2022, Mapletown struggled to overcome several graduations and fell to the bottom of the league last year. Brock Evans is the top returning offensive player after running for 259 yards, adding 157 receiving yards, and throwing for 101 yards as a backup QB. Evans scored 6 total TDs for the Maples last season. Mapletown had a number of senior leaders graduate from last year’s squad so this season will likely be more of a rebuilding effort.

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