WPIAL Streaks Entering 2024

The 2024 WPIAL football season is just days away from kicking off. You can check out all of our conference previews here and WPIAL Blitz Season Preview on YouTube. With this year being a realignment year, a number of marquee matchups have been added to the schedule. The biggest of them all is the Week 1 Showdown of State Champions between Aliquippa and Belle Vernon.  Impressive streaks for Aliquippa and Thomas Jefferson continued as they have both reached the playoffs in 29th straight year. Aliquippa incredibly made the WPIAL title game in 16th consecutive season.

Here’s a look at the current streaks for WPIAL teams entering 2024 – 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 in 2020 and 2021. We are only counting games actually played towards these streaks.

Wins

We start by looking at the teams that ended the 2023 season on a high note and are carrying winning streaks into 2024. There were only two WPIAL teams that claimed State titles, so this list is rather short.

Overall Wins

1. Aliquippa – 14
2. Belle Vernon – 10

Two of the five WPIAL teams to play in State Championship games claimed victory. Aliquippa won their 5th State title but it was the first time they completed a perfect season to win the statewide crown. Belle Vernon’s Week 4 loss to Thomas Jefferson in non-conference play was the only blemish on the Leopards record. These two are the only teams carrying long winning streaks into the 2023 season. However, if you don’t count the teams that fell in the State playoffs….

WPIAL Wins

1. Aliquippa – 27
2. Fort Cherry – 14
3. Peters Twp – 13
4. Belle Vernon – 8
5. North Allegheny – 7
6. Beaver Falls – 4

While two WPIAL teams captured state titles, Aliquippa is the three-time WPIAL 4A Champions. The Quips last loss to a WPIAL opponent came in non-conference play against Central Valley in 2021 (when the Warriors still played in 3A).  Fort Cherry and Peters Twp both ran the table in the 2023 regular season, but lost in the state finals. Belle Vernon is the two-time defending 3A State Champs both lost non-conference games to 4A opponents during both regular seasons. North Allegheny‘s lost the regular season meeting to Central Catholic but won the rematch in the WPIAL Championship. Beaver Falls finished 3rd in their conference but got hot in the playoffs to win the WPIAL title.

Conference Wins (Regular Season Only)

1. Aliquippa – 24
2t. Belle Vernon – 19
2t. Steel Valley -19
4. Avonworth – 13
5. Neshannock – 12
6t. Fort Cherry – 11
6t. California – 11
8t. Gateway – 9
8t. Clairton – 9
10. South Side Beaver – 8

The 2020 season saw South Fayette’s incredible 64-game conference winning streak come to an end in Week 3 against Peters Twp. In 2022, Central Valley’s Week 9 game against Aliquippa pitted two teams with the longest conference winning streaks against each other. Central Valley’s 27-game streak ended and Aliquippa took over the top spot. Aliquippa has continued atop the rankings since then, with their last conference loss coming in 2019 against Central Valley before the Quips were forced up to 4A. Belle Vernon and Steel Valley have not lost a conference game since 2020 and Avonworth was perfect in conference play during the last two-year cycle. Neshannock‘s last conference loss came against Beaver Falls in 2022, but the Lancers move down to 1A this year and will have a new slate of conference opponents.

Losses

On the flip side, there are a number of schools that are carrying lengthy losing streaks into 2024 and have not tasted victory in some time.

Total Losses

1. Ringgold – 25
2t. Fox Chapel – 21
2t. New Brighton – 21
4. Summit Academy – 17
5. Chartiers-Houston – 10
6. Charleroi – 9

Brownsville opted to play as an independent in 2022 but saw their losing streak stretch to 32 games before a thrilling overtime victory over Carrick last season. Derry entered last year atop the WPIAL rankings and not only snapped their streak but made the playoffs. Ringgold enters the season with the WPIAL’s longest losing streak which dates back to mid-2021. Fox Chapel and New Brighton both went winless during the last cycle and interestingly both lost playoff games to conclude their 2021 campaigns. Chartiers-Houston and Charleroi both won Week 9 games in 2022 but went winless last year.

Conference Losses

1. Ringgold – 40*
2. Summit Academy – 18
3. New Brighton – 14
4t. Baldwin – 13
4t. Fox Chapel – 13
6t. Valley – 12
6t. Springdale – 12
8t. South Allegheny – 10
8t. Indiana – 10
10. Hopewell – 9

The longest conference losing streak in the WPIAL rests with Ringgold, with two caveats. Ringgold defeated Uniontown in 2020, 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. Summit Academy (who did not play in 2020) has not won a conference game since 2019. It is worth noting that four teams currently playing independent schedules (Uniontown, Albert Gallatin, Brownsville, and Butler) left the WPIAL with long conference losing streaks still in tact. Uniontown lost their last 26 conference games, Butler lost their last 18, Brownsville lost their last 14, and Albert Gallatin lost their last 8 games. Of the rest of the Top 10, only Indiana and Hopewell won conference games during the last two-year cycle.

Playoffs

The first section covered streaks relating to single games. Now, we look at the broader picture of season-by-season streaks. There are 10 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 in 2020 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 – 16
2. Central Catholic – 5
3. Beaver Falls – 4
4. Belle Vernon – 3
5t. North Allegheny, Pine-Richland, Avonworth, Steel Valley – 2
7t. Peters Twp, McKeesport, Fort Cherry, South Side Beaver – 1

Arguably one of the most impressive streaks in WPIAL history is Aliquippa‘s current run of 16 consecutive trips to Heinz Field/Acrisure Stadium. 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 in 2020. Thomas Jefferson’s streak of 6 straight Championship Game appearances came to an end in 2021 when they lost to Belle Vernon in the semifinals. 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.

Central Catholic has reached 5 straight WPIAL finals but fell to Mt. Lebanon and North Allegheny the last three years. Beaver Falls has reached the WPIAL title game in every season since moving down to 2A. After losing in the 4A Championship Game in 2021, Belle Vernon moved down to 3A and won back-to-back WPIAL and State titles.

Playoff Qualification Streaks

1t. Aliquippa – 29
1t. Thomas Jefferson – 29
3. McKeesport – 26
4. Central Catholic – 21
5. North Allegheny – 20
6. Clairton – 18
7. Belle Vernon – 15
8. Washington – 13
9. Pine-Richland – 11
10. Mt. Lebanon – 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 29 straight seasons entering 2023. Upper St Clair also saw a 23-year playoff streak come to an end this past season in controversial fashion. The Panthers went 8-2 overall but due to conference tiebreakers and a limited 5A playoff field, finished 4th in their conference. Despite having better records and tiebreaker points than third-place finishers from other sections, they were not eligible for the postseason as a 4th place finisher. The WPIAL amended their Wild Card rules heading into 2024 as a result of this, and a similar situation that happened to Beaver in 2016. McKeesport is the only other programs to have made the playoffs every year this century, with their streak dating to 1998.

Schools with playoff streaks extending beyond the current six-classification structure include: Washington (13 years), Pine-Richland (11 years), and Mt. Lebanon (10 years). Other schools that have reached the playoffs in all seven years of the six-classification alignment include: California, East Allegheny, Gateway, and Serra Catholic.

Postseason Appearance Droughts

Brownsville – 21*
1. Carlynton – 22
2. Hopewell – 11
3t. Valley – 10
3t. Yough – 10
5. Bentworth – 8

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 Scotties made it back to the playoffs four times in the last five years. The 2021 season was also historic for Leechburg as the Blue Devils snapped a 32-year playoff drought that stretched back to 1988. Leechburg is now on a 3-year playoff run. Ellwood City saw their 11-year playoff drought end in 2023, along with Jefferson-Morgan‘s 10-year drought. Knoch and Waynesburg both made the playoffs for the first time since 2014.

The longest drought now belongs to Brownsville who have not made the playoffs since 2000, but the Falcons moved to playing an independent schedule in 2022 and are not eligible for the WPIAL playoffs. For purposes of our records, that puts their 21-year streak on hold since they are not eligible for the playoffs. Therefore, Carlynton tops the list of playoff droughts for teams playing a WPIAL schedule. They have not made the playoffs since 2001, though the Cougars did have a .500 season in 2011.

Five active WPIAL teams have yet to make a playoff appearance during the six-classification era. Hopewell‘s last postseason appearance came in 2012. Valley and Yough both qualified a year later in 2013. Interestingly all three of those teams will be in 3A this cycle. Connellsville, who last qualified for the playoffs in 2014, moved to play an independent schedule this season. Bentworth reached the playoffs in 2015 but have not made the postseason during the six classification era.

Playoff Victory Droughts

The recent years of the six classification era have been great for teams claiming historic playoff victories. In 2021 Laurel Highlands and Armstrong won their first playoff games in school history. Mapletown and Ligonier Valley crossed their names off the list in 2022 with the Maples winning for the first time in 9 tries. Ligonier Valley, which rejoined the WPIAL in 2020 after winning multiple District 6 titles, had never won a WPIAL playoff game until 2022. Last season, two of the three teams to have never won a playoff game squared off in a first round matchup. Deer Lakes defeated Southmoreland in resounding fashion 48-18 to win the first playoff game in Lancers history. That was just the fourth playoff appearance in Deer Lakes’ history.

Southmoreland has made the playoffs in 4 of the last 5 years after snapping a 40-year playoff drought but has lost all of their postseason appearances. Summit Academy, the school for adjudicated youth, is also 0-2 in the playoffs all-time.

There are 26 other schools that have not won a playoff game in over a decade. In addition to snapping their 32-year playoff drought, in 2021 Leechburg won their first playoff game since 1978, ending a 42-year drought which was the third-longest in the WPIAL. Latrobe ended the second-longest drought (53 years) with their overtime victory over Highlands in 2022 and won another playoff game last season. The 2023 playoffs saw Trinity (0-5 since 2007) and Western Beaver (0-7 since 2008) both end decade-plus skids in the postseason. 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?