The 2025 WPIAL football season is nearly upon us! We are previewing all 17 conferences in preparation for kickoff on August 22. 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.
Sixteen teams qualify for the 1A playoffs. The top three teams from each of the four conferences are guaranteed playoff spots. The final four wild card spots are decided by the WPIAL selection committee, rather than by a formula as was the case in prior cycles. The Black Hills was the toughest conference in 1A last season. Conference Champions Fort Cherry won their second straight WPIAL title. Bishop Canevin, Cornell, and Monessen all finished with at least 7 wins. The conference will get even tougher this year with all those squads returning key players plus a new coach at Serra Catholic and experienced players at Chartiers-Houston. 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
2024 Result: 10-0, Black Hills Conference Champions, WPIAL Champions, lost to Port Allegany in PIAA Semifinals
All-Time: 387-265-15 (54th in wins, 28th in win%)
Championship Pedigree: 2023 & 2024 WPIAL Champions
The Rangers captured their first WPIAL title in school history in 2023, and followed it up with a thrilling 21-20 victory over Clairton in the 2024 Championship. The Rangers came from behind and executed on 4th and goal to score the game-winning touchdown in the final minutes. Senior QB Matt Sieg has committed to Penn State and already has two 1000/1000 seasons under his belt as a dual-threat quarterback. Last year an injury limited his play at quarterback but he still threw for 1340 yards and 20 TDs and ran for 1840 yards and 33 TDs. The Rangers return a number of young skill position players around Sieg as complementary pieces on offense. Second-leading rusher Ryan Huey (744 yards, 13 TDs) and Eli Salvini (372 passing yards, 5 TDs, 491 rushing yards, 4 TDs) are both rising juniors. Salvini stepped into the QB role for Sieg early in the year before his hand injury healed. The Rangers did lose two of their top three receivers but return Evan Rogers (253 yards, 3 TDs), Nikolas Massey (167 yards, 2 TDs) and Nathan Wolfe (118 yards, 3 TDs). The biggest losses were in the trenches where four senior linemen graduated. If Fort Cherry can find linemen to step in and pave the way for Matt Sieg, the Rangers have the talent to contend for a WPIAL title for the third straight year.
Bishop Canevin
2024 Result: 10-2, lost to Clairton in 1A Semifinals
All-Time: 350-292-12 (71st in wins, 42nd 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 in the semis each of the last two seasons. Rising sophomore Trey Johnson played in a few games as the backup quarterback and threw 2 TD passes. The Crusaders have a solid mix of veteran experience and young talent on the 2025 roster. Leading rusher Myontae Mott (978 yards, 18 TDs) is only a junior. Ka’Vere Holeman (340 yards, 6 TDs) also returns to the backfield and watch out for junior Keilin Mitchell who averaged nearly 8 yards per carry last year. Leading receiver Demar Olds (867 yards, 13 total TDs) has offers from Akron and Kent State and might be the best receiver in 1A. Junior WR Justin Melvin (498 yards, 2 TDs) will bookend Olds and make defending Canevin’s offense a matchup challenge for any defense. On defense, junior EDGE Minikon Johnson is a West Virginia-commit and lineman Charles Butler has offers from several MAC schools. Sophomore DB Justin Saunders picked up an Akron offer. All in all, if Canevin can figure out the succession plan at quarterback, they should be right back in the mix to contend with Fort Cherry for both the conference title and WPIAL title.
Cornell
2024 Result: 8-2, lost to Fort Cherry in Quarterfinals
All-Time: 212-265-11 (110th in wins, 86th in win%)
Championship Pedigree: Never won a WPIAL title
The Raiders have made the playoffs four times in the last six years and advanced in three of those occasions. They made runs to the semifinals in 2019 and 2021, but fell to eventual WPIAL Champions Fort Cherry in a hard-fought 27-20 quarterfinal last year. The Raiders have one of the most exciting all-around players in the classification in William & Mary-commit Khylil Johnson. Last year Johnson was second on the team in rushing (922 yards), led the team in receiving (482 yards) and scored a team-high 27 TDs. Senior QB Mark Stuckey (1030 yards, 16 TDs) will make for a dynamic tandem with Johnson in the backfield. Watch out for junior Damarr Williams who ran for 102 yards last year, averaging 14 yards per carry. Cornell had the third-best defense in all of 1A, holding opponents to just 14 points per game. With a stout defense and explosive offensive playmakers, the Raiders should be right back in the mix for the conference title again this year.
Monessen
2024 Result: 7-3, lost to GCC in first round
All-Time: 693-401-47 (10th in wins, 14th in win%)
Championship Pedigree: 2 WPIAL Championships (1930, 1961)
The Greyhounds made the playoffs each of the last four seasons, including last year when realignment moved them from the Tri-County South to the loaded Black Hills Conference. Monessen has an electric group of young stars that are big-play capable at any moment. Senior Tyvaughn Kershaw ran for 1554 yards, added 247 receiving yards and scored a team-high 30 times (including defense and special teams). He also threw for 290 yards and 3 TDs as part of a quarterback rotation with rising junior Dennis Hawkins (1031 yards, 11 TDs). Kershaw has a D1 offer from UT Martin. Senior Tavian Taylor was the backup to Kershaw’s swiss army knife usage, racking up 200 rushing yards, 252 receiving yards, and 6 total TDs. Senior TE Rodney Johnson (176 yards, 2 TDs) provides another option in the passing game and is a beast on the defensive line.
Serra Catholic
2024 Result: 3-7, missed playoffs
All-Time: 246-352-6 (102nd in wins, 102nd in win%)
Championship Pedigree: 3 WPIAL Championships (1981, 2007, 2021)
Serra moved down from 2A to 1A last season but were never able to find their footing on either side of the ball. The Eagles defense allowed 33 points per game, the second-most in the conference. But it is a new day at Serra Catholic. Akeeme Robinson, better known as “Coach Keem”, who was the defensive coordinator during Serra’s historic run to the WPIAL title in 2021 returns as the head coach. The Eagles will need to replace a number of starters from last year’s team, but with Coach Keem back in the fold, it won’t be long before the Eagles are soaring once again. Sophomore QB Aden Corbett took a few snaps as the backup last season. Senior Brady Vrcic (154 yards, 2 TDs) is the top returning rusher.
Chartiers-Houston
2024 Result: 3-7, missed playoffs
All-Time: 387-389-18 (54th in wins, 60th in win%)
Championship Pedigree: 3 WPIAL Championships (1968, 1971, 1972)
The Bucs righted the ship last season after a winless 2023 campaign. Char-Houston got off the schnide early with dominant wins over Springdale and Mapletown. The wheels came off a bit down the stretch as they ran the gauntlet of conference play, losing their last five games where they averaged just 7 points per game. Both Aaron Walsh (783 yards, 5 TDs) and junior Brady Gotfredson (272 yards, 1 TD) saw time at quarterback last year. Walsh was also the team’s leading rusher with 303 yards and 7 TDs. Fellow rising senior Zeke Watkins (204 yards, 2 TDs) and sophomore Dominic Andreolli (238 yards, 6 TDs) also return to the Bucs backfield. On the outside, second-leading receiver JJ Moushlian (206 yards, 1 TD) is back for his junior season. Overall, Char-Houston has a strong core of rising juniors that will complement the senior leadership on this year’s squad. They should continue to improve since their winless 2023 but will once again have a tough road to hoe in the Black Hills Conference.
Burgettstown
2024 Result: 1-8, missed playoffs
All-Time: 460-512-39 (37th in wins, 71st in win%)
Championship Pedigree: 2 WPIAL Championships (1929, 1941)
Burgettstown lost the majority of their starters heading into 2024 and it resulted in a rough campaign for the Blue Devils. They won their first game, a Week 0 outing against Bentworth 11-6. From there, they lost their final eight games and were shut out three times. Burgettstown averaged just 9 points per game, the third lowest in 1A. The good news for Burgettstown is they only lost 7 seniors to graduation so they will have a number of contributors return. Leading rushers Colton County (385 yards, 4 TDs) and Brady Rightweiser (241 yards, 1 TD) both return. Junior Blake Neal split time at quarterback last season, throwing for 105 yards and 1 TD.
