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. The Big Six (formerly “Big Seven”) Conference saw Connellsville opt to go the independent route and Latrobe moved up to 5A. Belle Vernon rejoins the league after spending the last two years in 3A where they won two State Titles. Two teams that were traditionally part of this league (McKeesport and West Mifflin) were moved to the Greater Allegheny Conference to balance the 4A sections. This iteration of the Big Six Conference can be divided in half. The top three teams (Belle Vernon, Thomas Jefferson and Trinity) are all coming off successful seasons whereas the bottom three (Laurel Highlands, Chartiers Valley, and Ringgold) are looking to bounce back from subpar campaigns.
The biggest changes in 4A happened at the state level. To start, the PIAA moved the WPIAL Champions back from entering the state bracket in the semifinals to entering in the quarterfinals. This means that there will only be three weeks available for the WPIAL playoffs which has two significant impacts. First, only 8 teams will make the WPIAL playoffs in 4A (much like in 5A the last two years). Second, the 4A Championship will not be held at Acrisure Stadium since it will be a week earlier than the other four classifications who get to enter the state bracket in the semifinals. 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.
Belle Vernon
2023 Result: 13-1, WPIAL & PIAA 3A Champions
All-Time: 366-241-7 (64th in wins, 25th in win%)
Championship Pedigree: 2 WPIAL Championships (2022, 2023), 2 State Championships (2022, 2023)
The Leopards are the two-time defending 3A State Champions and now move back up to 4A where they played prior to 2022. Belle Vernon lost 15 seniors to graduation but because most of their games last season were blowouts, they were able to have younger players see some action. Rising senior Curtis Wade saw some time as the backup quarterback, throwing for 219 yards and 3 TDs and running for 209 yards and 2 score. Fellow senior Anthony Crews had a breakout performance in the State Championship game last year with two first quarter touchdowns. On the season, Crews ran for 410 yards, had 389 receiving yards, and scored 11 times. Kole Doppelheuer (832 rushing yards, 176 receiving yards, 14 total TDs) is Belle Vernon’s top returning rusher. With the three-pronged attack of Crews, Doppelheuer, and Wade behind Belle Vernon’s always stout line play, the Leopards are poised to challenge Thomas Jefferson atop the conference.
Thomas Jefferson
2023 Result: 0-10, Missed playoffs in 5A
All-Time: 505-214-7 (23rd in wins, 3rd in win%)
Championship Pedigree: 10 WPIAL Championships (1980, 2004, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2019, 2020), 5 State Championships (2004, 2007, 2008, 2019, 2020)
Last year saw TJ’s streak of 11 straight semifinal appearances come to an end when they lost to Montour in the quarterfinals. Last year’s runner-up McKeesport moved out of the conference but Route 51 rival Belle Vernon returns. Thomas Jefferson has made the playoffs every year since 1994, and has the talent to be a challenger for the WPIAL title once again. Luke Kosko is a Cincinnati-commit in baseball and also has some D1 offers for football. He split time at QB last year, throwing for 996 yards and 9 TDs. The Jaguars will have to replace some players around Kosko as 6 of the top 7 receivers and the top 3 rushers all graduated. Senior WR Brayden White (330 yards, 3 TDs) is the top returning player on the outside. Junior RB Emmett Forte (142 yards, 1 TD) is the top returning rusher. Fellow juniors Zach Villa and Sameer Mainali got a handful of carries last year while rising senior Gavin Miller averaged over 8 yards per carry in limited work. TJ has employed a backfield-by-committee approach in the past, and whoever runs the ball will have the opportunity to run behind Pitt-commit Shep Turk.
Trinity
2023 Result: 0-10, Missed playoffs in 5A
All-Time: 388-531-37 (52nd in wins, 97th in win%)
Championship Pedigree: 1948 WPIAL Champions
The Hillers were one of the surprise teams of last season. Once the calendar flipped to October, they won 3 of their last 4 games – including a massive upset of Thomas Jefferson. The Hillers went on to topple North Catholic in the first round of the playoffs before falling to McKeesport in the quarterfinals. Junior dual-threat QB Jonah Williamson threw for 1860 yards and 13 TDs and ran for 1012 yards and 12 TDs. has attracted some D1 offers from Lehigh and Robert Morris. In addition to Williamson, Nico Mauro (247 yards, 3 TDs) and Mekhi Bouman (120 yards, 2 TDs) both return to the Hillers backfield. Trinity will have to replace their top three wideouts who all graduated, leaving 6’4″ Anthony Giorgi (120 yards) as the top returning receiver. Williamson is an electric talent who will keep Trinity in the hunt for the playoffs.
Laurel Highlands
2023 Result: 0-10, Missed playoffs in 5A
All-Time: 207-365-7 (110th in wins, 115th in win%)
Championship Pedigree: Never won a WPIAL title
The Mustangs won just two games last season – the Week 0 opener against neighboring rival Uniontown and a narrow victory over Ringgold. Junior QB Noah Lion (418 yards, 5 TDs) split time at the position last season but figures to take on the role full-time this year. The Mustangs star Antwan Black has numerous offers including Penn State, Pitt, WVU, and Michigan State. Despite missing some time with an injury last season, Black still managed to lead the team in receiving (319 yards), was second in rushing (240 yards) and led the team in scoring (8 TDs). In addition to Black, leading rushers Parker Hoff (243 yards, 2 TDs) and Tristen Baker (204 yards, 1 TD) are both rising seniors. In order to make a run at a playoff spot this season, Laurel Highlands will need to shore up a defense that allowed 34 points per game last year.
Chartiers Valley
2023 Result: 0-10, Missed playoffs in 5A
All-Time: 248-371-5 (100th in wins, 107th in win%)
Championship Pedigree: Never won a WPIAL title
The Colts move over from the Parkway Conference to the Big Seven. Last year they rebounded from an 0-4 start to beat Blackhawk and New Castle, setting up a Week 9 game against Ambridge with a playoff spot on the line. Char Valley beat Ambridge to make the playoffs for just the second time in eight years. Michael Lawrence saw a little bit of time as the backup QB last season and will step into the starting role this year. Second-leading rusher Tayshaun Lewis (157 yards, 1 TD) is the top returning back.
Ringgold
2023 Result: 0-10, Missed playoffs in 4A
All-Time: 248-296-12 (100th in wins, 83rd in win%)
Championship Pedigree: 1982 WPIAL Champions
The Rams have gone winless each of the last two seasons and enter 2024 on a WPIAL-leading 22-game losing streak. Their last win came in Week 4 of 2021 against Uniontown. Their closest game last season was a 2-point loss to Laurel Highlands in Week 8. That was Ringgold’s only result closer than 20 points. They were the only 4A team to average fewer than 10 points per game and allowed over 46 per game on defense. Ringgold has a lot to improve on both sides of the ball in order to be competitive in 2024.
