The 2024 WPIAL football season kicked off last week with teams playing self-scheduled Week 0 games. This week, the season gets into full swing as we enter the 9-week regular season where all games are scheduled by the WPIAL. Conference play will kick off in Week 3, but these games could matter for playoff qualification. One of the biggest changes this year is that the WPIAL Committee will select the last few wild card spots in each classification (except 6A). The Committee has said they will consider performance in non-conference games as part of their analysis for Wild Card selection. This means the race for the playoffs starts now.
On this week’s edition of the WPIAL Blitz Show, we talked with Draper Gilliam who does excellent work as the WPIAL Team Builder. He has designed a number of WPIAL teams for download on the College Football 25 game, including accurate rosters and stadiums. Our Week 0 Player of the Week was Greensburg Central Catholic QB Samir Crosby who led a second half comeback over Shady Side Academy. Crosby finished with 136 passing yards, 2 passing TDs, 341 rushing yards, 4 rushing TDs, and a 2-point conversion.
Clash of Champions
Belle Vernon at Aliquippa
The Clash of Champions features defending 4A State Champs Aliquippa hosting defending 3A State Champs Belle Vernon. Aliquippa has won 2 of the last 3 4A State Championships (falling in the state final in 2022) and Belle Vernon won the last two 3A State Titles. With Belle Vernon moving back up to 4A, this could be a preview of a playoff meeting between these two squads. These two teams also met in the 2021 WPIAL Championship Game, with Aliquippa winning en route to the state title. Both teams scrimmaged last week and Aliquippa has a new head coach with Vashaun Patrick taking over for the decorated Mike Warfield. Belle Vernon lost a lot of key starters to graduation and will need big plays out of Anthony Crews (who had over 800 yards of total offense and 11 TDs last year) and Kole Doppelheuer (1000 yards of total offense, 14 total TDs) as they step into bigger offensive roles. Aliquippa is led by Penn State-commit Tikey Hayes who looks to cap off a stellar high school career with yet another run at a state title. Hayes has racked up over 5800 yards and 79 TDs in his career and could become the 5th WPIAL player to ever top 7000 rushing yards. Marques Council will step in at quarterback. Aliquippa’s defense is loaded with talent including DBs Arison Walker and Larry Moon III. This is an awesome game to kick off the season with the two WPIAL teams that won state titles last season squaring off.
Inter-Classification Games of the Week
Central Catholic at Pine-Richland
Title contenders in 6A and 5A square off in the WPIAL opener for both teams. Central and Pine-Richland played out-of-state opponents last week to kick off their seasons. Central lost to recruiting powerhouse St Francis Prep (MD) while Pine-Richland defeated Hillard Davidson (OH). Jy’Aire Walls has stepped in at quarterback for the Vikings after WPIAL-leader Payton Wehner graduated. Leading rushers Elijah Faulkner and Amari Shields return to Central’s backfield. On defense, the Vikings are loaded with D1 talent with a linebacking corps led by Duke-commit Bradley Gompers, Colson Gatten (who has a number of D1 offers) and sophomore Roman Thompson. Penn State-commit Xxavier Thomas scored a receiving TD in the opener and is a dynamic defensive back and kick returner. Pine-Richland did it mostly on the ground against Hillard Davidson. Maclane Miller ran for 234 yards and 3 TDs. Dual-threat sophomore QB Aaron “Oobi” Strader threw for 74 yards in the opener and is a threat with his legs as well. Watch out for Jay Timmons (son of former Steeler Lawrence Timmons) on the outside who had 4 catches in Week 0.
McKeesport at Peters Twp
Both teams played at Acrisure Stadium last season with Peters Twp winning their first WPIAL title in school history and McKeesport falling to Aliquippa in the 4A title game. Peters’ run took them all the way to the State Championship where they fell to Imhotep Charter. In Week 0, McKeesport lost to Lake (OH) in double OT when Lake scored a 2-point conversion to win 36-35. Peters started slow against Washington County rival Canon-McMillan but pulled away in the second half to win 42-17. McKeesport’s triple option ground game was effective in their opener with the highly-recruited Kemon Spell running for 84 yards and 3 TDs. Anthony Boyd added 60 yards and a score on the ground. Anthony Cromerdie was the Tigers leading receiver and had 85 yards of total offense and a touchdown. While McKeesport’s offense revolves around their ground game, Peters does it through the air. Nolan DiLucia picked up right where he left off last season, throwing for 289 yards and a TD in the opener. His primary target was Nick McCullough who racked up 174 yards and scored twice. Nick Courie took over the lead back role and ran for 59 yards and a TD.
Bethel Park at Mars
These two teams both went to the playoffs in their respective classifications last year. Bethel Park fell in the opening round of the 5A playoffs while Mars reached the 4A semifinals. Both also had impressive Week 0 victories with Bethel pounding Seneca Valley 50-14 and Mars travelling to Florida and beating Boone 47-35. The passing game was impressive for both squads. Bethel Park QB Tanner Pfeuffer threw for 245 yards and 3 TDs and Mars QB Luke Goodworth threw for 384 yards and 5 TDs. JaVaughn Moore was the all-around star for Bethel, running for 112 yards, adding 81 receiving yards, and scoring 3 times. Jack Bruckner and Mitchell Paschl both had over 60 yards and a receiving touchdown for the Black Hawks. For Mars, Gabe Hein was on the receiving end of most of Goodworth’s passes, racking up 256 yards and 4 TDs. Eric Kasperowicz Jr led the Planets rushing attack with 117 yards and 2 TDs.
Thomas Jefferson at Central Valley
These two teams have a long history over the last 15 years of meetings in multiple WPIAL playoff and Championship Games. Both teams figure to be top contenders for their respective classification titles this year. Central Valley has moved back down to 3A and entered the season as the top-ranked team in the state. TJ, coming off an uncharacteristic quarterfinal exit in 4A, kicked off their season with a rout over Route 51 rivals Baldwin. Central Valley lost a hard-fought battle against former 4A Parkway Conference foe Montour. TJ was able to get a number of different players into the game. Luke Kosko threw for 91 yards and 2 TDs for the Jaguars. Tyler Eber led the way on the ground and had over 100 yards of total offense for the Jags, scoring twice. Emmet Forte also found the end zone twice for TJ. Central Valley’s passing game never quite got clicking against Montour’s tough secondary but Steven Rutherford did put up 110 yards through the air. Jance Henry led the way out of the Warriors backfield with 116 yards and 2 TDs.
5A Game of the Week
Penn Hills at Woodland Hills
Two old rivals from the eastern suburbs square off in Week 1. These two were formerly conference foes the last few cycles, but the WPIAL flipped Woody High and Plum this season. Now, the Wolverines are in the loaded Big East Conference. Both teams are coming off losses in season kickoff events. Woodland Hills lost a close game to Erie McDowell in the KDKA Classic (at the Wolvarena) and Penn Hills narrowly lost to Susquehanna Twp in the Rose Bowl Kickoff (in York, PA). The new-look Penn Hills offense thrived with Devin Harris at quarterback, throwing for 231 yards and 1 TD and adding 29 yards on the ground. On the ground, Naytel Mitchell ran for 137 yards and a score. Carter Bonner (72 yards, 1 TD) and Martel Palmer (70 yards) both had good games at receiver. Woodland Hills boasts one of the most dynamic duos in the WPIAL. Quarterback Cam Walter threw for 265 yards and 1 TD, breaking Woody High’s career passing record. Highly-touted receiver Scoop Smith reeled in 7 catches for 162 yards and 2 TDs. The Wolverines didn’t run the ball much, but Makail Connor and Ziggy Moore both averaged over 6 yards per carry and Moore scored twice. With the new WPIAL Wild Card rules, this game could prove important down the line in considerations for the 5A playoffs.
3A Game of the Week
Highlands at Elizabeth Forward
Both of these teams made the playoffs last season and opened their 2024 campaigns with 1-point losses on the final play of the game. Highlands fell to Armstrong in overtime when their two-point conversion attempt came up just short. Elizabeth Forward battled back against West Mifflin, scoring a touchdown as time expired to pull within 1, but fumbled the snap on the extra point. Highlands dual-threat QB Menage Lucas was the Rams star in the opener, throwing for 239 yards and 2 TDs and running for 193 yards and 3 scores. Elizabeth Forward brought back a number of starters from a team that reached the 3A semifinals last season. Quarterback Ryan Messina and all-around offensive weapon Charlie Nigut are their primary playmakers. In the opener against West Mifflin, Nigut ran for 146 tards and a touchdown and was on the receiving end of Messina’s touchdown pass as time expired. These two teams both figure to be in the running for their respective conference titles so this game should be a good measuring stick of two playoff-caliber squads.
2A Game of the Week
Washington at Steel Valley
Both these teams lost to Beaver Falls in the WPIAL playoffs last season. Washington fell to the Tigers in the semifinals and Steel Valley lost in the Championship Game. These are two of the top contenders for the 2A title this season and are both capable of deep playoff runs. Washington topped rival McGuffey 14-7 in Week 0 while Steel Valley fell to Clairton. In Wash High’s victory, dual-threat QB Tristan Reed was the catalyst. Reed threw for 115 yards and 2 TDs and ran for 58 yards. Both TD passes went to Caleb Patton who finished with 109 yards. The Prexies also returned dynamic RB Eddie Lewis and WR Jahvon Woods to skill positions. Steel Valley struggled to get things going offensively against Clairton. Star RB Donald Barksdale, who ran for 2000 yards last season, was held mostly in check offensively. Barksdale scored the only Steel Valley touchdown on a pick-six. The Ironmen will look to get their ground game back on track this week.
1A Game of the Week
Clairton at Serra Catholic
Clairton is coming off a big Week 0 victory over Steel Valley and looked the part of a top contender in 1A. Serra moved down from 2A to 1A this season but was run over by California’s ground game in their opener. Clairton’s defense stole the show against Steel Valley with DB Taris Wooding snagging 2 of the Bears 4 interceptions. Wooding also led the Bers in receiving with 74 yards. Offensively, QB Jeffrey Thompson threw for 208 yards and 1 TD, the touchdown going to D1 recruit ZaeMear Correll. Out of the backfield, Donte Wright and Drahcir Jones both ran for over 60 yards. Serra brought back a talented passing attack, led by 2400-yard passer Quadir Stribling and leading receiver De’reon Washington. Last season Washington had nearly 1000 yards and 14 TDs. He was on the receiving end of 2 touchdown passes in the opener but Serra’s offense just couldn’t keep up with California. Serra will need to improve their run defense after allowing California’s Lee Qualk to put up over 350 yards and 6 TDs in the opener. Despite the geographic proximity of these schools in the Mon Valley, they are in separate conferences this season with Clairton the clear favorites in the Eastern Conference and Serra competing with Fort Cherry and Bishop Canevin in the Black Hills Conference.
