The 2025 WPIAL season is now in the home stretch with just four games to go before the playoffs. Conference play fully kicked off last week for every section across the WPIAL. Only 9 teams remain undefeated heading into Week 6. Upper St Clair and North Catholic suffered their first losses in unbeaten showdowns with Peters Twp and Imani Christian. Additionally, North Allegheny lost their first game in a Championship Rematch against Central Catholic.
On this week’s edition of the WPIAL Blitz Show, we were fortunate enough to interview New Castle Head Coach Fred Mozzoccio, fresh off the Canes upset of Aliquippa. We also recapped all of the Week 5 action, ran through all of the conference standings and discussed this week’s WPIAL Blitz Statewide Rankings. Our WPIAL Blitz Show Player of the Week from Week 5 was Western Beaver RB Wyatt Sparbanie. In the Golden Beavers victory over conference foe Riverside, Sparbanie stole the show under Western Beaver’s new lights, running for 265 yards and 7 touchdowns. Check out his highlights on Hudl. We’ll be back on Monday night at 9:30 this week for another great show! Tune in on the SSP Network on YouTube.
As playoff races start to heat up, be sure to check my WPIAL Standings Page here on the site, which I’ll keep updated with all of the tiebreakers. Without further ado, here are the Week 6 Games of the Week!
6A Game of the Week
Hempfield (1-2, 4-2) at Norwin (1-1, 4-2)
Central Catholic and North Allegheny have set themselves apart in the 6A playoff race, leaving the final two spots to be decided amongst five teams. Hempfield has a win over Canon-Mac while Norwin defeated Seneca Valley. A win here will go a long way to separating either of these teams in the murky middle of the Quad County Conference. Hempfield has not made the playoffs since 2016 and Norwin has not been to the postseason since 2017 so both teams are seeking history this year. Both teams have offenses led by quality quarterbacks. Hempfield’s Dom Detruf has thrown for 1258 yards and 14 TDs and run for 184 yards. On the other side, Norwin’s Trystan Tavares has thrown for 597 yards and 9 TDs and run for 513 yards and 8 scores. Detruf has spread the ball around and has six receivers with over 100 yards on the season. His top targets have been Jack Kopas (356 yards, 7 TDs) and Henry Mutschler (217 yards). Tavares has just three receivers with over 100 yards, led by Potter Brozeski (138 yards, 3 TDs) and Jake Knight (136 yards, 2 TDs). For the Spartans, Aidan Stinebiser (434 rushing yards, 199 receiving yards, 7 total TDs) has been the lead back in the ground game. The rushing attack is what will likely separate these teams as Norwin’s Giovanni Rothrauff (798 yards, 6 TDs) has been the workhorse for the Knights offense and will be relied upon to keep Hempfield’s offense off the field.
5A Game of the Week
Woodland Hills (2-0, 4-2) at Armstrong (2-0, 3-3)
Woody High started conference play in a big way with a dominant win over Penn-Trafford. Armstrong asserted themselves as a challenger last week when they topped Gateway 29-28. The winner here will hold the outright lead in the Big East Conference. Woodland Hills’ explosive offense is averaging 35 points per game, led by Miami (OH) recruit Scoop Smith who has 311 receiving yards, 260 rushing yards, and 11 total TDs. Last week Scoop had a kick and punt return touchdown and he is easily the most dangerous returner in the WPIAL. Cam Walter (746 yards, 7 TDs) helms the offense with Taylor Reid (604 yards, 10 TDs) the Wolverines workhorse out of the backfield. Armstrong has bounced back after a few losses without starting QB Jaydon Oliver (687 passing yards, 4 TDs; 220 rushing yards, 3 TDs) in the lineup. Oliver returned in Week 4 to lead the way and the Riverhawks have the WPIAL’s leading receiver Quinton Olsen (599 yards, 7 TDs) on the outside. Additionally, Theron Cupec (266 yards, 3 TDs) and big play target Kayden Lewis (238 yards, 2 TDs) give Armstrong a trio of receivers that should be a good test for Woody High’s talented secondary. On the ground, Costa Couknas (552 yards, 6 TDs) has given Armstrong a balanced offensive attack.
4A Game of the Week
Montour (1-0, 4-2) at New Castle (1-0, 5-1)
New Castle is coming off a huge victory over Aliquippa last week and now has to go through the two other co-champions from last season (Montour and West Allegheny). Both teams average about 27 points per game. New Castle’s defense has been outstanding this year, shutting out four opponents in six games. Montour leans heavily on their ground game led by Caden Halajcio (781 yards, 10 TDs) with change-of-pace back Archie Collins (175 yards, 4 TDs) who averages over 12 yards per carry. When Montour takes to the air, Brandon Bennett has thrown for 940 yards and 8 TDs, primarily targeting Zander Stern (423 yards, 6 TDs). New Castle has turned to Freshman QB Marino Graham who accounted for all 3 TDs in their win over Aliquippa. On the season, Graham has thrown for 716 yards and 10 TDs and led the Canes with 548 rushing yards and 7 TDs. Graham’s top receivers have been Kai Cox (295 yards, 5 TDs) and Chase Lemmon (197 yards, 5 TDs).
Thomas Jefferson (1-0, 5-1) at Trinity (1-0, 2-4)
Both teams secured wins in tough games to start conference play. Thomas Jefferson capitalized on a late turnover to score the go-ahead touchdown to beat Belle Vernon. Trinity, who had a brutal non-conference schedule, battled past Ringgold. Thomas Jefferson is the defending conference and WPIAL Champions but Trinity did beat TJ two years ago. Thomas Jefferson’s offense has relied almost entirely on junior RB Tyler Eber who has run for 665 yards, added 105 receiving yards, and scored 15 times. TJ doesn’t throw the ball much, but when they do the connection of QB Harrison Kolling (465 yards, 4 TDs) to Jaxon Kolling (160 yards) has been the primary connection. Trinity has an absolute game-breaker at quarterback in Harvard-commit Jonah Williamson who has thrown for 909 yards and 12 TDs and run for 540 yards and 9 TDs. Trinity does have a solid group of playmakers around Williamson, primarily his backfield counterpart Owen Gardner (526 yards, 3 TDs). On the outside, Williamson has the ability to spread the ball around between Braden Berdar (231 yards, 5 TDs) and Ayvari Chandler (220 yards, 2 TDs).
3A Game of the Week
Highlands (2-1, 3-3) at Freeport (3-0, 6-0)
In the Allegheny Seven Conference playoff race Imani Christian, Freeport, and Highlands have separated themselves from the pack. Imani and Freeport are both 6-0 on the season and won’t meet until Week 9. Highlands played Imani to a relatively close (by Imani’s standards) 27-7 defeat last week. Highlands will lean heavily on RB Tevin Owen-Cratsenberg (493 yards, 11 TDs), especially in the red zone. The Golden Rams do have a balanced offensive attack with Jamarkus Prager (615 yards, 2 TDs) at the helm and a pair of talented recievers in Marqis Johnson (164 yards, 1 TD) and Jahmar Wright (163 yards, 2 total TDs). Freeport’s attack is led by the dynamic duo of Drew Ross and Amos Glenn, both of whom have made plays in all three phases of the game. Glenn is a threat to score any time he gets his hands on the ball and is the WPIAL’s leading scorer with 20 total touchdowns this season in combination of offense and special teams. Glenn is the feature back and has run for 555 yards. Senior QB Drew Ross is a dual-threat who has thrown for 411 yards and 4 TDs and run for 205 yards. He has found the end zone four times. When the Yellow Jackets aren’t feeding the ball to Glenn, Ross tends to target WR Owen Neistein (171 yards 3 TDs) on the outside.
2A Game of the Week
Steel Valley (2-0, 4-2) at Apollo-Ridge (2-0, 4-2)
With South Allegheny off to a roaring 6-0 start, this game will determine the top challenger to the Gladiators atop the Allegheny Conference. Steel Valley’s offense runs through Pitt-commit Da’Ron Barksdale. The Ironmen have used him all over the field and he has put up 843 rushing yards, 72 receiving yards, and 16 total TDs. Barksdale has even played some quarterback this year, throwing for 211 yards and 2 TDs. In Week 3, Steel Valley brought in Tyson Barron (235 yards, 3 TDs) at quarterback to split time with Barksdale. While Steel Valley is a run-heavy squad, when they do take to the air Tyrell Breland (314 yards, 2 TDs) has been the top target. On the other side, Apollo-Ridge does everything they can to get the ball into the hands of Swiss Army Knife Jaden McCray (476 receiving yards, 146 rushing yards, 11 total TDs). The Vikings have a dual-threat in QB Alex Clawson (708 yards, 4 TDs; 195 rushing yards, 2 TDs). Apollo-Ridge has four players with over 100 rushing yards. In addition to McCray and Clawson, Zac Myers (227 yards, 1 TD) and Preston Clemens (204 yards 2 TDs) have been used in the ground game.
1A Game of the Week
Fort Cherry (2-0, 5-0) at Cornell (2-1, 4-2)
Fort Cherry is the two-time defending WPIAL Champions and holds the longest active winning streak against WPIAL opponents (34 games) and longest active conference winning streak (20 games). However, Fort Cherry got quite the test from Cornell in the playoffs last year when they eked out a 27-20 victory in the quarterfinals. This is the KDKA Radio Game of the Week with full coverage on 100.1 FM and 1020 AM and through the Audacy app. Fort Cherry has limited the amount of touches early in the season for Penn State-commit Matt Sieg who has thrown for 389 yards and 8 TDs and run for 496 yards and scored 11 total TDs. Fort Cherry has been so dominant that Sieg has averaged just 5 pass attempts per game but he still averages a touchdown on about 30% of his touches. The Rangers have complemented Sieg in the run game with Eli Salvani (263 yards 8 TDs) and Christian Yanosko (238 yards 3 TDs). In the rare instances when they do take to the air, Sieg’s top target has been Evan Rogers (198 yards 3 TDs). On the other side, Cornell has an athletic stud in William & Mary-commit Khylil Johnson. He is Mr. Do It All for the Raiders and is their leading rusher (640 yards), leading receiver (334 yards), and leading scorer (9 total TDs). Johnson has also thrown 2 TD passes this season. Cornell has a quality quarterback in MJ Stuckey (822 yards, 13 TDs). In addition to Johnson’s do-it-all abilities, Terrance Collington has been a jack-of-all-trades with 201 rushing yards, 164 receiving yards, and 4 TDs.
