The 2025 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 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.
The top four teams will qualify for the postseason. The WPIAL Champion enters the PIAA playoffs at the quarterfinal stage. Other than Mt. Lebanon’s 2021 run to the state title, 6A has been dominated by Central Catholic and North Allegheny in recent years. Those two have met in WPIAL Championship Game in three straight seasons and look like the teams to beat once again. Central Catholic broke through last season, claiming their first title since 2020 and made a run all the way to the State finals where they fell to the New York/New Jersey/Maryland All-Star Team. 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.
Central Catholic
2024 Result: 8-2, WPIAL 6A Quad County Conference Champions, WPIAL 6A Champions, PIAA Runners-Up
All-Time: 597-333-44 (13th in wins, 12th in Win%)
Championship Pedigree: 9 WPIAL Championships (2003, 2004, 2007, 2013, 2015, 2016, 2019, 2020, 2024), 4 State Championships (1988, 2004, 2007, 2015)
The Vikings have been to the WPIAL Championship Game in six straight seasons and in 11 of the last 12 years, dating back to the four classification era. After coming up short in the finals for three straight seasons, the Vikings finally overcame rivals North Allegheny last year to claim the WPIAL crown. To defend their title, the Vikings will need to replace their starting quarterback, three of their top four rushers, and their top two receivers. The strength of this year’s Central team will be on defense, specifically at the linebacker unit where three players have D1 offers. Senior Colsen Gatten, a Duke-commit leads the way on the inside with North Carolina-commit Ashton Blatt ranked as the top edge rusher in the state on the outside. Junior Roman Thompson has offers from several MAC schools and is one of the top-ranked wrestlers in the state. Zachary Gleason returns to anchor the secondary after a solid sophomore season and has offers from Pitt, Wisconsin and several other ACC schools. On the lines, the Vikings have five players with D1 offers. Junior Jimmy Kalis might be the best of the bunch with offers from Georgia, Alabama, Clemson, Oregon, Michigan, Penn State, and nearly every other major school. Fellow juniors James Halter (Ohio State, Penn State, Pitt, WVU and other ACC schools) and Jon Sassic (Pitt, WVU, NC State, and some MAC schools) also boast high-profile offers. Senior Matt Bowers is a Princeton-commit and Angelo Pugliano has offers from MAC schools. Offensively, the Vikings may turn to sophomore QB Owen Herrick who has a Syracuse offer but hasn’t seen much varsity playing time. Second-leading rusher Jayden Alexander (442 yards, 6 TDs) returns along with sophomore sensation Chrys Black who was used all over the offense last season and has offers from several D1 schools. On the outside, the top returning receivers are Max Roman (519 yards, 5 TDs) and Maceo Watkins (355 yards, 3 TDs) who has offers from UNLV, Navy, and Akron. All in all, the Vikings defense should be good enough to hold the fort until the young players on offense can gel together. This team absolutely has the talent to contend not only for a WPIAL title but make some noise in the statewide bracket.
North Allegheny
2024 Result: 9-1, lost to Central Catholic in WPIAL Championship
All-Time: 471-260-14 (32nd in wins, 11th in win%)
Championship Pedigree: 5 WPIAL Championships (2010, 2011, 2012, 2022, 2023), State Championships
The Tigers have reached the WPIAL finals in three straight seasons, winning the title in 2022 and 2023 before falling to Central Catholic last season. Last year’s team had the top defense in 6A (holding opponents just a shade under 17 points per game) and their only losses came against Central Catholic. North Allegheny returns several key starters from their runner-up squad and will look to make the finals for the fourth straight season. Junior QB Brady Brinkley threw for 1210 pass yds and 10 TDs and ran for 496 yards and 7 TDs. Senior Senior QB Jackson Failla also saw some time last year and threw for 377 yds, 5 TDs. Regardless of who plays quarterback, they will have the comfort of returning last year’s leading rusher, senior Luke Rohan (707 yards, 8 TDs). The Tigers lost their top four receivers to graduation but have an up-and-coming star in Monmouth-commit Korry Pitts who will also anchor the defensive backfield. In the trenches, Pitt-commit Lincoln Hoke is the son of former Steeler Chris Hoke and one of the top linemen in Pennsylvania.
Mt. Lebanon
2024 Result: 3-7, Lost to North Allegheny in WPIAL semifinals
All-Time: 628-304-30 (12th in wins, 6th in win%)
Championship Pedigree: 8 WPIAL Championships (1966, 1970, 1980, 1981, 1983, 1984, 2000, 2021), 1 State Championships (2021)
Replacing a legendary coach is never easy, and after Bob Palko left Mt. Lebanon in 2022, Mike Collodi resigned after one season. Former Keystone Oaks and Seton LaSalle coach Greg Perry took over last year and after a slow start, rebounded to close the regular season with consecutive 42-20 wins over Hempfield and Norwin to get the Blue Devils back into the playoffs. The Blue Devils will look to build on that late-season momentum and ride a senior class with four D1 commits to challenge the powerhouses of 6A. Dual-threat QB Patrick Smith (1610 passing yards, 12 TDs; 1091 rushing yards, 15 TDs) committed to Penn to play linebacker. Defensive end Joe Malone committed to Cornell and saw some time as a tight end last year (132 yards, 1 TD). Princeton-commit Grayson Beck is the anchor of the linebacking corps while two-way lineman Jackson Kraemer has committed to Villanova. Rising senior Kris Kambitsis was used in the ground game and passing attack, racking up over 400 yards of total offense and 3 TDs.
Seneca Valley
2024 Result: 3-6, Lost to Central Catholic in WPIAL semifinals
All-Time: 275-320-11 (97th in wins, 80th in win%)
Championship Pedigree: Never won a WPIAL Championship
Seneca Valley ended a two-year playoff drought thanks to a 1-point victory over Canon-McMillan in Week 6. The previous season, the Raiders had missed the playoffs due to a 3-point loss to Mt. Lebanon. The margin has been razor thin for Seneca Valley the last few seasons. In order to make a run at the playoffs this year, they will need to improve on offense after averaging just 14.6 points per game, the lowest mark in 6A. The Raiders return most of their playmakers from last year’s team. Dual-threat QB Andrew Loebig threw for 646 yards and 7 TDs and ran for 265 yards and 3 scores. Leading rushers Chase Mazanek (584 yards, 2 TDs) and Cayden Parker (532 yards, 3 TDs) both return. Parker has offers from several MAC schools as a defensive end. Leading receiver Brayden Wise (208 yards, 2 TDs) also returns, along with Vanderbilt-commit Adam Gehm who is a monster at defensive end and will see some snaps on offense at tight end.
Hempfield
2024 Result: 4-6, Missed playoffs
All-Time: 309-348-13 (89th in wins, 75th in win%)
Championship Pedigree: Never won a WPIAL title
A year after going 1-9 in 5A, Hempfield proved to be a competitive foe in 6A and had themselves in position to contend for a playoff spot when the calendar flipped to October. After a wild and thrilling overtime victory against Canon-McMillan (that included an interception in the end zone turned into a fumble and a touchdown to tie the game at the end of regulation) Hempfield also topped Norwin for their second conference win. The Spartans needed just a win over Seneca Valley or Mt. Lebanon to earn a playoff spot but came up short in both outings. Senior QB Dom Detruf (1703 yards, 14 TDs) is the top returning signal-caller in 6A. He returns leading receiver Jack Kopas (558 yards, 4 TDs) and leading rusher Aidan Stinebiser (576 yards, 5 total TDs). In order to compete for their first playoff appearance since 2016, Hempfield will need to improve a defense that allowed 33 points per game last year, the highest mark in 6A. The Spartans will look to Harvard-commit Brock Heisler at defensive end to set the tone on that side of the ball.
Canon-McMillian
2024 Result: 3-7, Missed playoffs
All-Time: 401-549-43 (50th in wins, 97th in win%)
Championship Pedigree: Never won a WPIAL Championship
The 2022 season was Canon Mac’s best year in decades, finishing with a 6-4 record (their best since 2008). After a large senior class graduated the Big Macs managed to be competitive last year but came up just shy of the playoffs. Canon Mac beat Mt. Lebanon by a field goal in overtime but the following week lost to Hempfield in overtime. They followed that with a 1-point loss to Seneca Valley but two weeks later beat Norwin by a single point. If either the Hempfield overtime loss or Seneca Valley loss had gone the other way, Canon Mac would have made the playoffs. Now, they prepare for an emotional 2025 campaign as head coach Mike Evans is on a leave of absence to undergo treatments for cancer. Former Bethel Park coach Brian DiLallo is serving as the interim coach for the Big Macs. Rising junior Ty Jansma stepped into the starting quarterback role last season, throwing for 1668 yards and 6 TDs. His leading receivers Ethan Campoli (536 yards, 1 TD) and Roman Cimarolli (337 yards, 2 TDs) both return. Two-way talent TJ Sabatucci, a Buffalo-commit, plays tight end and defensive end and racked up 226 yards and 3 TDs last season as a red zone threat. The Big Macs lost their leading rusher to graduation but they have the advantage of running behind Ben Gottschalk, who landed a Morehead State offer.
Norwin
2024 Result: 2-8, Missed playoffs
All-Time: 401-613-36 (50th in wins, 109nd in win%)
Championship Pedigree: Never won a WPIAL title
Hopes were high for Norwin last season, moving up from 5A to 6A. But the Knights never found their footing and went winless against 6A competition. Despite their down season, Norwin has a talented young core on offense, led by dual-threat QB Tristyn Tavares (1388 passing yards, 9 TDs, 308 rushing yards, 8 TDs). Leading rusher Giovanni Rothrauff (607 yards, 2 TDs) returns for his junior season. On the outside, Tavares’ top three receivers are all rising seniors – Jake Knight (422 yards, 4 TDs), Zack Pawling (348 yards, 1 TD), and Cooper Wilson (197 yards, 1 TD). Norwin has the returning talent on offense to compete, but will need to improve a defense that allowed 32.5 points per game (the second-most in 6A).
