The 2026 WPIAL football season is nearly upon us! Over the next few weeks we will be previewing all 18 conferences in preparation for kickoff on August 28. 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 cycle saw a massive influx into 3A, which is now one of the premier classifications in the WPIAL. Avonworth is the two-time defending WPIAL Champions and have made it to the finals in four straight seasons. The Lopes are coming off their first State Championship in school history. Moving down from 4A is defending WPIAL Champions Aliquippa who made four straight 3A title games from 2016-2019 before being forced up to 4A by the PIAA’s Success Formula. Also moving back into 3A is Belle Vernon who won the 2022 and 2023 WPIAL and State Championships. The WPIAL has dominated 3A on a statewide level as well, winning 8 of the 10 Championships in the 6 Classification Era. With the addition of 9 teams to the 3A ranks this season, the WPIAL will have four conferences and 16 teams will make the playoffs. The top three teams from each conference along with four Wild Card teams will qualify for the postseason.
The Allegheny Seven Conference is one of the best geographic sections in the WPIAL. All seven schools are located within 20 miles of each other. North Catholic returns to the Allegheny Seven after spending the last two years in the Western Hills Conference. Knoch also joins the league as the Knights move down from 4A. Imani Christian, who won the Allegheny Seven the last two years, was realigned into the Three Rivers Conference and East Allegheny dropped down to 2A. One interesting facet of realignment is that this conference includes both Knoch and Valley who were both 0-10 last year (though they have to wait until Week 8 to face off). 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.
North Catholic
2025 Result: 7-3, lost to Avonworth in Semifinals
All-Time: 490-332-32 (27th in wins, 29th in win%)
Championship Pedigree: 2013 WPIAL Champions, 2013 State Champions
North Catholic’s 2024 campaign ended with an all-out battle against Elizabeth Forward in the quarterfinals where the Trojans fell by a field goal. Last season North’s offense exploded to the tune of 44 points per game, the second-highest mark in 3A. After a 5-0 start to the season, North dropped two games to Imani Christian and Central Valley but bounced back to top Beaver in overtime and win a shootout against Hopewell in Week 9 to secure their third place finish. In the postseason, the Trojans stormed past Burrell and got their revenge on Elizabeth Forward to the tune of 55-32. In the semifinals, they fell to eventual WPIAL and State Champions Avonworth. North will have to replace the WPIAL’s leading passer as well as 4 of their top 6 receivers. Senior Will Waskiewicz (898 yards, 14 TDs) led the Trojans in receptions last year. Junior Nate Swisher was the team’s second-leading rusher (451 yards), added 136 receiving yards, and scored 6 TDs. Senior RB Anthony Greene (156 yards, 2 TDs) was a home-run hitter last year, averaging over 10 yards per carry in limited work. North’s move to the Allegheny Seven Conference should benefit them from both a travel and competitive standpoint. Even with the large senior class that graduated, expect the Trojans to be right back in the mix for the conference title this year.
Highlands
2025 Result: 7-3, lost to Central Valley in quarterfinals
All-Time: 305-269-7 (93rd in wins, 46th in win%)
Championship Pedigree: Never won a WPIAL title
Highlands got off to a slow start in 2025, narrowly beating Armstrong in Week 0 then losing 3 of their next 4 games. But the Rams flipped the switch when late September hit with a dominant win over Deer Lakes and one-point victory over Freeport put them on the path to the playoffs. Highlands cruised through the rest of the regular season and shut out Derry 14-0 in the opening round of the playoffs for their second straight playoff victory. This was the first time in over a decade (since 2013 and 2014) that Highlands won playoff games in consecutive seasons. Highlands has one of the most explosive players in the WPIAL in junior RB Tevin Owen-Cratsenberg (1605 yards, 26 TDs) who averaged over 8 yards per carry last season. Second-leading rusher Taiy Partlow (272 yards, 1 TD) also returns to the Rams backfield. With Owen-Cratsenberg in the backfield, Highlands has the talent to make a run at the conference title.
Burrell
2025 Result: 4-6, lost to North Catholic in the first round
All-Time: 303-289-9 (91st in wins, 53rd in win%)
Championship Pedigree: 4 WPIAL Championships (1967, 1968, 1986, 1995)
Burrell bounced back after a rough 2024 season to make the playoffs last year. The difference in last year’s campaign came down to 15 points. A non-conference 7-point victory over Mt. Pleasant gave Burrell a meaningful head-to-head win that was the decisive factor in the final playoff spot. In conference play, the Bucs beat East Allegheny by 1 (29-28) and Deer Lakes by 7 (48-41) in the final week of the season to earn the last wild card. Burrell’s offense runs through dual-threat junior QB Antonio Perkins who ran for 1872 yards and 27 TDs and threw for 746 yards and 1 TD last season. The Bucs also bring back senior RB Trey Coury (761 rushing yards, 151 receiving yards, 5 TDs) and middle linebacker Hobbes Omecinski. Burrell should be solidly in the mix for a playoff spot once again with Perkins and Coury leading the backfield. In order to take the next step and make a run at the conference title, they will need to improve a defense that allowed over 36 points per game, one of the highest marks in 3A.
Freeport
2025 Result: 7-3, lost to Avonworth in quarterfinals
All-Time: 598-362-46 (14th in wins, 19th in win%)
Championship Pedigree: Never won a WPIAL title
In 2023 the Yellow Jackets missed the playoffs for just the second time in the last seven seasons, but they turned things around the last two seasons with identical 7-3 records and first round playoff victories. In 2024 it was a win over Mt. Plesant and last year’s team defeated Beaver in a shootout. Freeport started the year 6-0 before dropping 3 of their last 4 games, including a Week 9 matchup with Imani Christian that could’ve forced a 3-way tie atop the conference. The 35-27 playoff victory over Beaver was the crowning achievement of the season. The Yellow Jackets will have to replace some veteran starters on offense, starting at quarterback where three-year starter Drew Ross graduated. Rising senior Danny King saw some time as a backup to Ross last season. King spent most of last year at receiver (134 yards) and is the only one of the top four receivers to return. Junior Paxton Cene (221 yards, 1 TD) was the second-leading rusher last season and averaged over 9 yards per carry. Freeport is a run-heavy team and will likely lean on Cene’s explosiveness to generate offense.
Deer Lakes
2025 Result: 2-8, missed playoffs
All-Time: 197-342-11 (114th in wins, 114th in win%)
Championship Pedigree: Never won a WPIAL title
The 2023 season was a historic year for Deer Lakes as they won their first playoff game in school history. The Lancers returned to the postseason in 2024 but fell in the opening round to North Catholic. Last year, Deer Lakes bookended their season with victories over Keystone Oaks and Valley, but in between dropped all eight outings. The good news for Deer Lakes is they have a number of young players who saw time last year that return to the lineup this season. Senior QB Dante Mangieri threw for 1178 yards and 9 TDs last season and gets back two of his top three receivers. Fellow seniors Evan Moore (234 yards, 3 TDs) and Colby Borowski (214 yards) both return on the outside for the Lancers. In the backfield, junior Roman Smith (281 yards, 1 TD) and the aforementioned Borowski (119 yards) were in the top three on the team in rushing. Overall, Deer Lakes will need to improve a defense that allowed nearly 34 points per game last season if they are going to compete for a playoff spot.
Knoch
2025 Result: 0-10, missed playoffs in 4A
All-Time: 318-345-13 (87th in wins, 69th in win%)
Championship Pedigree: 1978 WPIAL Champions
Last year’s winless campaign was a forgettable one for Knoch, who had to replace a large senior large senior class that graduated after 2024. The good news for the Knights is they are moving down from 4A to 3A and have both a much better travel schedule and a conference where they should be more competitive. Knoch’s closest games last year were a 2-point loss to Fox Chapel and a 7-point loss to Indiana. Their 12-game losing streak is the 4th-longest in the WPIAL entering this season. Knoch was the lowest-scoring team in 4A last year, averaging under 7 points per game. Their offense relied heavily on dual-threat QB Max Wiley who returns for his senior season, along with backfield counterpart Ethan Rouleau and tight end Carter Beres who found the end zone twice last year. The early-season schedule sets up well for Knoch who start with Summit Academy in Week 0 followed by non-conference games against McGuffey (winless last year) and Ambridge (1-9 last year).
Valley
2025 Result: 0-10, missed playoffs
All-Time: 268-297-9 (99th in wins, 72nd in win%)
Championship Pedigree: Never won a WPIAL title
The Vikings have fallen on hard times and are one of just two teams in the WPIAL to not make a playoff appearance during the 10 years of the 6-classification era. Valley won just 3 total games over the last four seasons and have not won more than 2 games in a single season since 2018. With Baldwin moving to play an independent schedule this year, Valley and Springdale are tied for the longest active losing streak in the WPIAL at 25 games. Last year Valley scored just 82 points all season, the second-lowest total in 3A. On the flip side, their defense allowed over 37 points per game. Valley’s closest games were a 6-point loss to East Allegheny and a 9-point loss to Quaker Valley.
