WPIAL Streaks Entering 2021

The 2021 WPIAL football season is just days away from kicking off. With COVID creating a shortened season last year and smaller playoff field, a number of teams saw their postseason streaks come to an end. In just the last two years we have seen playoff streaks end for Woodland Hills (23 years), Bethel Park (19 years), and Franklin Regional (16 years). One of the most incredible streaks in the WPIAL also came to an end last year. South Fayette moved up from 4A to 5A and saw their 64-game conference winning streak (which dated back to 2011!) come to an end at the hands of Peters Twp. On the flip side, the 2020 realignment saw a number of teams qualify for the playoffs who had yet to make it in the six-classification era. Additionally, impressive streaks for Aliquippa and Thomas Jefferson continued as they have both reached the playoffs in 26 straight years and made the WPIAL title game in 13 and 6 straight years, respectively.

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Here’s a look at the current streaks for WPIAL teams entering 2021 – both the good and the bad of wins, losses, playoff streaks, and playoff droughts. Of note, due to the COVID pandemic there were a number of games cancelled last season. We are only counting games actually played towards these streaks.

Wins

We start by looking at the teams that ended the 2020 season on a high note and are carrying winning streaks into 2020.

Overall Wins

1. Central Valley – 12
2. Pine-Richland – 11
3. Thomas Jefferson – 5
4t. Central Catholic – 3
4t. Highlands – 3

The WPIAL claimed 3 of the 6 State Championships last season with Pine-Richland winning 5A, Central Valley winning 3A, and Thomas Jefferson claiming their second straight 4A state title. However, since Thomas Jefferson was upset in the regular season finale by McKeesport, the Jaguars have the shortest winning streak of the three State Champions. Central Catholic won the WPIAL 6A Championship and did not play their State Quarterfinal game against Erie McDowell due to COVID. Since the Vikings season did not end with a loss on the field, we are counting their winning streak as active. Among teams that did not make the WPIAL playoffs, Highlands was the only team to win their last three regular season outings.

WPIAL Wins

1. Central Valley – 18
2. Beaver Falls – 10
3t. Pine-Richland – 9
3t. Jeannette – 9
5t. Thomas Jefferson – 3
5t. Central Catholic – 3
5t. Highlands – 3

While three WPIAL teams captured state titles, Central Valley, Thomas Jefferson, and Central Catholic were the only ones to repeat as WPIAL champions. Of those teams, Central Valley is the only one that is carrying a winning streak back to mid-2019 as their last loss to a WPIAL opponent came against Thomas Jefferson in a non-conference game. As mentioned above, Thomas Jefferson and Central Catholic both lost regular season games in 2020, shortening their win streaks. Beaver Falls and Pine-Richland both went unbeaten in WPIAL play last year with their last defeats coming in the 2019 playoffs. Jeannette lost their Week 1 game to Clairton but got revenge on the Bears in the WPIAL final.

Conference Wins (Regular Season Only)

1. North Catholic – 19
2t. Penn-Trafford – 16
2t. Central Valley – 16
4. Clairton – 12
5. Beaver Falls – 10
6t. Pine-Richland – 9
6t. California – 9
8t. Peters Twp – 8
8t. Gateway – 8
8t. Elizabeth Forward – 8

The 2020 season saw South Fayette’s incredible 64-game conference winning streak come to an end in Week 3 against Peters Twp. The last loss for Joe Rossi’s Lions prior to that had been in Week 8 of 2011 back when they were playing in AA. The streak extended over 4 years of play in AA and 4 years of play in 4A before coming to an end when South Fayette moved up to 5A. Thomas Jefferson also saw their 21-game conference winning streak snapped when they lost to McKeesport in the regular season finale. All told, the teams that were listed in the Top 5 in this category last year all suffered at least one conference loss in 2020. The top four entering 2021, North Catholic, Penn-Trafford, Central Valley, and Clairton all have gone unbeaten in conference play over the last two seasons. It is worth noting that Penn-Trafford’s game against Gateway was cancelled last year so both teams finished 2020 unbeaten in conference play.

Losses

On the flip side, there are a number of schools that are carrying lengthy losing streaks into 2021 and have not tasted victory in some time.

Total Losses

1. Uniontown – 34
2. Northgate – 32
3. Ambridge – 23
4. Ellwood City – 17
5t. Brownsville – 14
5t. Waynesburg – 14
7. Deer Lakes – 12
8. Riverview – 11
9t. Bethel Park – 8
9t. Shaler – 8
9t. Knoch – 8

Uniontown initially opted out of the 2020 season but then decided to field a team and took the field for just two games. They are now moving to play an independent schedule in 2021, following the Albert Gallatin route to try to rebuild their program. The Red Raiders have not won a game in over four years with their last victory coming in Week 7 of 2016 against Fayette County rivals Laurel Highlands. The Red Raiders have the longest active losing streak in the state, after York County Tech won a game last season.

With Uniontown only playing two games last season, Northgate quickly closed the gap. Fort Cherry, who entered 2020 with the third longest streak, faced off against Northgate in Week 4 in a battle of two of the longest losing streaks in the state. Fort Cherry ended their streak at 21 games while Northgate’s struggles continued and the Flames have not won a game since beating Sto-Rox in Week 4 of 2017. Ambridge and Ellwood City have not won games since the 2018 season.

Conference Losses

1. Ambridge – 34
2. Uniontown – 26*
3. Northgate – 25
4. Ringgold – 23*
5. Waynesburg – 22
6. Ellwood City – 16
7t. Connellsville – 11
7t. Brownsville – 11
9t. Knoch – 10
9t. Deer Lakes – 10

While Uniontown has the longest overall losing streak, Ambridge has not won a conference game during the 6-classification era. Their last win over a conference opponent came in Week 9 of 2015. The move down to 3A did not help much as the Bridgers lost all of their games by 30+ points, though their season finale against winless Quaker Valley was cancelled. Northgate and Waynesburg did not win a conference game during the prior two-year cycle and went winless last year. Ringgold defeated Uniontown last year, but Uniontown was classified as an “independent” after deciding not to compete in the WPIAL for the 2020 season, so the Rams streak of conference losses stayed alive. Additionally, Ringgold’s 2019 loss to West Mifflin was retroactively change to a forfeit because West Mifflin used an ineligible player, but the result on the field was a loss, so for our purposes Ringgold’s streak is judged based on on-field results. Northgate, Waynesburg, and Ringgold all won their last conference games in 2017. Ellwood City and Connellesville last won conference games in 2018.

Playoffs

The first section covered streaks relating to single games. Now, we look at the broader picture of season-by-season streaks. There are 11 teams that reached the postseason in every year of the last decade. Only four teams did not make a playoff appearance in the last decade. With the smaller playoff fields last season due to the COVID-shortened season, four teams saw their decade-plus playoff streaks snapped. Bethel Park’s streak ended at 19 years, Franklin Regional at 16 years, Avonworth at 12 years, and West Mifflin at 10 years. It is worth noting that if 2020 had a normal playoff structure, Bethel Park and West Mifflin still would have seen their streaks end.

Championship Game Appearances

1. Aliquippa – 13
2. Thomas Jefferson – 6
3. Pine-Richland – 4
4t. Central Catholic – 2
4t. Central Valley – 2
4t. Clairton – 2
4t. Peters Twp – 2
4t. Sto-Rox – 2
9t. North Allegheny, Elizabeth Forward, Beaver Falls, Jeannette – 1

Arguably one of the most impressive streaks in WPIAL history is Aliquippa‘s current run of 13 consecutive trips to Heinz Field. The Quips are a 1A-sized school that played in AA until the 2016 realignment when they opted to play in 3A then were forced up into 4A last year. The two teams with the longest streaks met in the 2020 4A title game with Thomas Jefferson winning a thriller over Aliquippa. The last time Aliquippa did not appear in a WPIAL title game was in 2007 when they lost in the semifinals to a Jeannette team led by Terrelle Pryor.

Pine-Richland reached the 6A WPIAL final in three straight seasons but is moving down to 5A last year and winning the WPIAL and PIAA Championships. Central Catholic and Central Valley are two-time defending WPIAL Champions in 6A and 3A. Clairton beat Sto-Rox in the 2019 title game then lost to Jeannette in the final last season. Sto-Rox reached consecutive finals in different classes after moving up to 2A last year, but lost both. Peters Twp likewise lost in back-to-back WPIAL Championship Games. Interestingly, only 4 of the 12 teams that reached the Championship Games in 2020 did not make it the prior season.

Playoff Qualification Streaks

1t. Aliquippa – 26
1t. Thomas Jefferson – 26
3. McKeesport – 23
4. Upper St Clair – 21
5. Central Catholic – 18
6. North Allegheny – 17
7. Mars – 16
8. Clairton – 15
9t. South Fayette – 12
9t. Belle Vernon – 12
11. Washington – 10

In 2019, Woodland Hills missed the playoffs for the first time since 1995, breaking a 23-year streak. The prior year, 1994, was the last time Aliquippa and Thomas Jefferson missed the postseason. Both of their streaks sit at an impressive 26 straight seasons entering 2021. McKeesport and Upper St Clair are the other two programs who have made the playoffs every year this century with McKeesport’s streak dating to 1998 and Upper St Clair’s to 2000.

Central Catholic and North Allegheny, who met in the 6A title game last year, have playoff streaks dating to the early 2000s. Mars has the longest active streak for a school that has never won a WPIAL title and their deepest run since 2005 was two trips to the semifinals. Clairton has absolutely dominated the smallest classification, winning 10 WPIAL titles and 4 State titles in the last 15 seasons.

Schools with playoff streaks extending beyond the current six-classification structure include: Washington (10 years), North Catholic (9 years), Pine-Richland (8 years), Mt. Lebanon (7 years), and Jeannette (7 years). Other schools that have reached the playoffs in all four years of the six-classification alignment include: California, Gateway, OLSH, and Serra Catholic.

Postseason Appearance Droughts

1. Leechburg – 32
2. Brownsville – 20
3. Carlynton – 19
4. Uniontown – 11
5. Ellwood City – 9

The 2019 season was an historic year as Southmoreland snapped their 40-year playoff drought and qualified for the postseason for the first time since 1979. The longest playoff drought now belongs to Leechburg, which narrowly missed the postseason in 2019 when they lost a triple-overtime game to Greensburg Central Catholic by just one point. If the Blue Devils had been victorious in that game, they would have snapped their 30-year drought.

The second-longest drought is Brownsville who has not made the playoffs since 2000. The Falcons had a strong team at the turn of the century, reaching the AAA WPIAL final in 1997 and the AA semifinals in 1998 and 1999 before a first round exit in 2000. Since then, Brownsville has not even had a winning season and have not won more than 2 games in a season since 2005. Carlynton has gone through similar struggles, not making the playoffs since 2001, though the Cougars did have a .500 season in 2011. Uniontown is the only other WPIAL program that did not reach the postseason at least once in the past decade, and with the Red Raiders opting to play an independent schedule their drought will continue.

Teams with playoff droughts dating beyond the six-classification era but less than a decade include:

9 years (2011): Ellwood City
8 years (2012): Burrell, Hopewell, Jefferson-Morgan, South Allegheny
7 years (2013): Valley, Yough
6 years (2014): Connellsville, Indiana, Knoch, Waynesburg

Other schools that reached the playoffs in 2015 but have not made the postseason during the six-classification era include: Ambridge, Bentworth, Deer Lakes, Highlands, and Laurel Highlands. It is worth noting that three teams did make the playoffs for the first time in the six-classification era last season, all of them teams that moved down from 5A to 4A – Chartiers Valley, Hampton, and Plum.

Playoff Victory Droughts

While only four schools have playoff qualification droughts lasting longer than a decade, many more schools have been waiting a long time to taste postseason success. Five WPIAL schools have never won a postseason game. Laurel Highlands has the most playoff appearances (10) without a victory, followed by Mapletown‘s 0-7 postseason record. Southmoreland just snapped a 40-year playoff drought but has lost both of their postseason appearances. Summit Academy, the school for adjudicated youth, is also 0-2 in the playoffs all-time. Armstrong was formed in 2015 by the merger of Kittanning and Ford City and has lost all 3 of their playoff games since the merger. Before the merger, Ford City last won a playoff game in 2010 and Kittanning had lost 12 in a row since their last playoff victory in 1975.

There are 27 other schools that have not won a playoff game in over a decade. Elizabeth Forward ended their playoff victory drought last season, winning their first postseason game since 2000 and making their first trip to a WPIAL final in school history. The teams that have gone at least a decade without a playoff victory are listed in the table below:

Conclusion

Which WPIAL streaks will continue this season? Which will be broken? The WPIAL’s full playoff vision for this cycle will come to fruition as some conferences will be able to qualify 4 or 5 teams for the playoffs.