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.
Twelve teams qualify for the 5A playoffs. The top three teams from each of the three conferences are guaranteed playoff spots. The final three wild card spots are decided by the WPIAL selection committee, rather than by a formula as was the case in prior cycles. This proved to the benefit of the Allegheny Six Conference last season when five teams got in with Moon and South Fayette both earning Wild Cards. The Allegheny Six Conference has put a team in the WPIAL finals in seven straight seasons. Upper St Clair won the regular season title last year but was bested by Peters Twp in the playoffs en route to a Championship rematch with Pine-Richland. 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
2024 Result: 9-1, Lost to Pine-Richland in WPIAL Championship Game
All-Time: 295-338-16 (94th in wins, 77th in win%)
Championship Pedigree: 2023 WPIAL Champions
The Indians captured their first WPIAL Championship in school history in 2023 and followed it up with another run to the WPIAL finals where they lost to Pine-Richland. Peters had one of the stingiest defenses in 5A, allowing just 10 points per game. This year’s unit will be led by the best pass rushing tandem in the WPIAL in Pitt-commit Reston Lehman and Stanford-commit Lucas Shanafelt. Offensively, Peters boasts an explosive passing attack on the back of senior QB Nolan DiLucia (a Villanova-commit). DiLucia threw for 1903 yards and 18 TDs last season, adding 475 yards and 3 scores on the ground. DiLucia will spread the ball around and had 6 receivers last year with over 100 yards. While the top two graduated, Lucas Rost (195 yards, 2 TDs) and Jeremy Poletti (188 yards, 1 TD) both return. The aforementioned Lehman (146 yards, 3 TDs) and Shanafelt (108 yards, 1 TD) will also play some tight end. Rising senior Cole Neupaver (257 yards, 2 TDs) is the top returning rusher and figures to step in to the lead back role.
Upper St Clair
2024 Result: 10-0, Allegheny Six Conference Champions, lost in semifinals to Peters Twp
All-Time: 505-200-8 (24th in wins, 2nd in win%)
Championship Pedigree: 7 WPIAL Championships (1974, 1975, 1988, 1989, 1992, 1997, 2006), 2 State Championships (1989, 2006)
The 2024 season was a revenge tour for Upper St Clair. A year after going 8-2 but missing the playoffs on a 3-way tiebreaker, USC dominated their opponents en route to an undefeated regular season. The Panthers offense, which averaged 33 points per game, hit a brick wall in the Peters Twp defense in the semifinals and fell to their conference rivals 7-3. Senior QB Ethan Hellman returns after throwing for 960 yards and 15 TDs. He returns leading receivers Nico D’Orazio (302 yards, 4 TDs) a Brown-commit and Bryce Jones (205 yards, 3 TDs). The Panthers were a run-heavy outfit last year and bring back a pair of 600-yard rushers in senior Dante Coury (629 yards, 4 TDs) and junior John Banbury (602 yards, 4 TDs). Additionally, sophomore Josh Snyder ran for 331 yards in limited work and should see an increased workload this season. In the trenches, Mason Geyer and junior Ryan Robbins both have offers from FCS schools.
Moon
2024 Result: 5-4, Lost to Penn Hills in first round
All-Time: 366-474-19 (67th in wins, 93rd in win%)
Championship Pedigree: 1998 WPIAL Champions
Moon earned a Wild Card last season, reaching the playoffs for the fourth time in six years. The Tigers lost a thrilling shootout to Penn Hills by 3 points in the opening round but return a number of players this season and will look to challenge for the conference title. The Tigers play a hard-nosed brand of ground-and-pound football. Their top three rushers Paul Bronaugh (471 rushing yards, 200 receiving yards, 8 total TDs), Kyden Kulvanish (425 yards, 3 TDs), and Navy-commit Braeden Stuart (247 yards, 3 TDs) all return for their senior seasons. Quarterback Andrew Cross (940 yards, 10 TDs) and leading reeiver Jared Moyer (242 yards, 2 TDs) are also part of the loaded senior class. Defensively, Kent State-commit Daiveon Taylor is a game-wrecker at outside linebacker and DB Jayden Revis, son of Hall of Famer Darrelle Revis, has offers from Temple and Akron.
South Fayette
2024 Result: 6-4, Lost to Penn-Trafford in first round
All-Time: 516-371-39 (23rd in wins, 32nd in win%)
Championship Pedigree: 6 WPIAL Championships (1936, 1964, 2010, 2013, 2014, 2018), State Championships (2013, 2014)
Last year was the first season at the helm for Marty Spieler who replaced legendary coach Joe Rossi. He led the Lions back to the playoffs for the first time since 20120. South Fayette earned a Wild Card spot after starting the season 6-0. It was a tale of two seasons as the hot start gave way to some struggles against the top teams in the conference for the young South Fayette squad. The good news is dual-threat QB Drew Welhorsky (1695 passing yards, 14 TDs; 850 rushing yards, 13 TDs) returns for his senior season. Welhorsky gets back two of his top four receivers including junior Alex Deanes (402 yards, 2 TDs) and senior Ray Schuler (170 yards, 1 TD). South Fayette will need to find a counterpart to Welhorksy in the ground game as their top two running backs graduated. The Lions, traditionally known for their skill position players, have one of the top lines in 5A. They have three players with D1 offers, starting with Minnesota-commit Anthony Charles at defensive end, offensive lineman Mason Green, and two-way lineman Colton Astorino. With last year to build upon, expect the Lions to be solidly in the middle of the pack and potentially win their first playoff game since moving up to 5A in 2020.
Bethel Park
2024 Result: 8-2, Lost to Pine-Richland in the 5A quarterfinals
All-Time: 492-404-31 (26th in wins, 40th in win%)
Championship Pedigree: 2008 WPIAL Champions
The Black Hawks have made the playoffs in four straight seasons and reached the semifinals in two of the last three years. Bethel looked the part of one of the top teams in 5A with an explosive offense through 7 games last season. They lost a 14-10 thriller to Upper St Clair in Week 7 then a back-and-forth 31-28 game to Peters Twp in the season finale which cost them a first round bye. The Black Hawks were not deterred and ran through Latrobe and Woodland Hills en route to the semis. They were the highest-scoring team in 5A last season (40 points per game) but will need to find a new quarterback to helm the offense. Brayden Bruckner took a handful of snaps as the backup last season. Second-leading rusher David Dennison (362 yards, 3 TDs) returns after averaging over 7 yards per carry and should be the focal point of the offense. Dennison will be able to run behind senior lineman Santino LaMolinare who has offers from several FCS schools. Bethel Park also graduated their top five receivers, leaving junior Santino Nowozeniuk (180 yards, 2 TDs) as the top returning target. With the amount of talent in this conference, Bethel Park will need to reload quickly to stay competitive. The up-and-coming player to watch for Bethel Park is junior safety Will Sabatos who has an offer from Miami (OH).
Baldwin
2024 Result: 0-10, Missed playoffs in 5A
All-Time: 340-430-27 (76th in wins, 87th 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 five years and 6 games total. The winless 2024 campaign followed a cycle of two 1-9 campaigns with their only wins coming against City League Brashear in the Route 51 Rivalry. Sophomore QB Noah Mickolay started last season as a freshman, throwing for 599 yards and 2 TDs and running for 202 yards and 3 TDs. The Highlanders also get back leading receiver Noah Saccani (297 receiving yards, 112 rushing yards, 3 total TDs). Baldwin will be searching for an elusive win to end their 19-game losing streak as they build their program for the future.
