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 5A Allegheny Six Conference is the only conference across the WPIAL to remain unchanged from last cycle. The Allegheny Six has put a team in the WPIAL Championship Game in six straight seasons. Peters Twp is the defending WPIAL Champions and also made the finals in 2019 and 2020. Upper St Clair were the runners up in 2022 and Moon narrowly lost in 2021. Going back to 2018, West Allegheny lost in the Championship in Bob Palko’s final season with the Indians.
The biggest changes in 5A happened at the state level. To start, the PIAA returned the WPIAL Champion to entering the state playoffs in the semifinals. In the last cycle, because the WPIAL Champion entered the state bracket in the quarterfinals, there were only enough weeks for three rounds of WPIAL playoffs so only 8 teams could qualify. This resulted in an 8-2 Upper St Clair team missing the playoffs last year. This cycle is a return to normalcy for 5A. In total, 12 teams will make the playoffs. The top 3 finishers in each conference will be guaranteed a playoff spot and the WPIAL Committee will select three Wild Card teams to round out the bracket. 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.
Peters Twp
2023 Result: 10-0, Won WPIAL Championship, lost to Imhotep Charter in PIAA finals
All-Time: 284-336-16 (95th in wins, 82nd in win%)
Championship Pedigree: 2023 WPIAL Champions
The Indians captured their first WPIAL Championship in school history last year and made an incredible run to the State finals. Last year’s team had a combination of an explosive passing game, power running game, and lockdown defense. The Indians held opponents to just 10 points per game and only two teams scored more than 20 against them. Peters lost 14 players to graduation but have enough returning talent to remain a contender. Junior QB Nolan DiLucia threw for 3131 yards and 30 TDs last season and is a contender for this year’s WPIAL passing crown. His breakout sophomore season landed him an offer from Miami (OH). DiLucia spread the ball around last season and had 7 different receivers with over 100 receiving yards. Of those, Nick McCullough (464 yards, 6 TDs) and tight end Mickey Vaccarello (115 yards, 2 TDs) are the only returning players. Vaccarello has committed to Stanford as a linebacker and McCullough has offers from a number of FCS schools. DiLucia is also the top returning rusher (489 yards, 8 TDs) after the team’s top two backs graduated. Watch out for rising senior Darius McMillon who averaged 7 yards per carry in limited work last season. On the defensive side of the ball, Reston Lehman is a force off the edge and has multiple collegiate offers from MAC schools.
Bethel Park
2023 Result: 4-6, Lost to Pine-Richland in the 5A quarterfinals
All-Time: 482-401-31 (26th in wins, 43rd in win%)
Championship Pedigree: 2008 WPIAL Champions
The Black Hawks edged out Upper St Clair for the last playoff spot on the strength of a head-to-head victory in Week 6. Bethel Park should be right in the mix again this season with nearly all of their offensive skill players returning. Senior QB Tanner Pfeuffer threw for 1888 yards and 21 TDs last season. All-around playmaker Ryan Petras led Bethel Park in receiving (734 yards) and was second in rushing (409 yards) and led the team in scoring (14 total TDs). Petras has offers from numerous FCS schools and military academies. Also returning in the backfield are leading rusher JaVaughn Moore (936 yards, 8 TDs) and David Dennison (38 yards, 6 TDs). On the outside, Jack Bruckner (485 yards, 4 TDs) and Mitchell Paschl (319 yards, 2 TDs) both return. In the trenches, Clancy Orie has committed to Navy. This is an experienced group of playmakers for Bethel Park that will look to take the next step forward and contend for a conference and WPIAL title.
Upper St Clair
2023 Result: 8-2, Missed playoffs in 5A
All-Time: 494-199-8 (24th in wins, 2nd in win%)
Championship Pedigree: 7 WPIAL Championships (1974, 1975, 1988, 1989, 1992, 1997, 2006), 2 State Championships (1989, 2006)
The Panthers went 8-2 last season but missed the playoffs after losing out on a 3-way tie with Moon and Bethel Park. The unfortunate situation prompted the WPIAL to make a small change in playoff qualifications this season where the Steering Committee will now select the Wild Card teams instead of them being bound by a predetermined formula. USC should be right in the mix again this season with junior QB Ethan Hellmann (1030 yards, 11 TDs) coming in as a multi-year starter. Offensive weapon Julian Dahlem led the Panthers in receiving (285 yards), was the second-leading rusher (284 yards) and second-leading scorer (8 total TDs). In addition to Dahlem, Hellmann gets back his top four receivers in Charlie Bywalski (214 yards, 4 TDs), Bryce Jones (191 yards, 3 TDs), and Van Hellmann (146 yards). Bywalski has a Bucknell offer and Van Hellmann has offers from military academies and FCS schools. The strength of this USC team should be in the trenches with a pair of Princeton-commits in Nate Stohl and Michael Albert.
Moon
2023 Result: 5-5, Lost to Peters Twp in the semifinals
All-Time: 361-469-19 (68th in wins, 93rd in win%)
Championship Pedigree: 1998 WPIAL Champions
Two years removed from a run to the WPIAL finals, Moon bounced back after missing the 2022 playoffs and made a run to the semis last season. After a slew of injuries at quarterback last season where five different players saw time, Moon switched to a wildcat offense midseason and won 5 of their last 7 games. The Tigers knocked off Gateway in the opening round of the playoffs on their ground game and defense. While the Tigers will try to develop a quarterback for this season (Andrew Cross is a rising junior), they have plenty of talent returning in the backfield. Senior RBs Nazir Brookins (807 yards, 7 TDs) and Tavis Lindsay (163 yards, 2 TDs) will be joined by juniors Paul Bronaugh (438 yards, 4 TDs) and Braeden Stuart (224 yards, 3 TDs). Moon figures to be a ground-and-pound team once again this season but will be able to play smashmouth football with anyone.
South Fayette
2023 Result: 4-6, Missed playoffs in 5A
All-Time: 510-366-39 (22nd in wins, 33rd in win%)
Championship Pedigree: 6 WPIAL Championships (1936, 1964, 2010, 2013, 2014, 2018), State Championships (2013, 2014)
The biggest news out of South Fayette this offseason was the retirement of long-time head coach Joe Rossi. Rossi’s tenure included four WPIAL Championships, two State titles, and an incredible 64-game winning streak against conference opponents that spanned from 2011 to 2020. The Lions will now be led by Marty Spieler who came to South Fayette after serving as Mt. Lebanon’s offensive coordinator under Bob Palko when the Blue Devils won the 6A WPIAL and State Championships. After 12 seniors graduated, South Fayette will need to work in new starters at a number of offensive skill positions. Junior Drew Welhorsky saw a handful of snaps as a backup QB last season. Welhorsky flashed some dual-threat abilities in his limited work, averaging over 1 yards per carry and throwing one touchdown pass. Talan Mizenko (259 yards, 2 TDs) is the top returning rusher, averaging over 6 yards per carry. On the outside, the top four receivers all graduated, leaving Aiden Martincic and Sylas Aitken as the top returning receivers. Overall, this figures to be a rebuilding campaign for South Fayette with a new head coach and not many returning starters.
Baldwin
2023 Result: 1-9, Missed playoffs in 5A
All-Time: 340-420-27 (75th in wins, 85th in win%)
Championship Pedigree: Never won a WPIAL title
The Highlanders have struggled mightily this decade. Since making the playoffs in 2019, Baldwin has won just 3 conference games over the last four years and 6 games total. The last cycle included two 1-9 campaigns with their only wins coming against City League Brashear in the Route 51 Rivalry. Junior QB Nico Macurack threw for 675 yards and 5 TDs and ran for 260 yards and 1 TD last season. Two of his top three receivers will return in Jaden Duttine (122 yards) and Noah Saccani (122 yards, 1 TD). Baldwin has a long way to go on both sides of the ball after posting the second-worst offense in 5A (16 points per game) and allowing the second-most points (39 points allowed per game).
