WPIAL Streaks Entering 2026

The 2026 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. The WPIAL won two State Championships last year with Avonworth winning their first in school history and Clairton winning their fifth PIAA crown. One of the most impressive streaks Aliquippa and Thomas Jefferson who have both reached the playoffs in 31 straight years. Aliquippa needed a Wild Card to continue that streak, but made the most of it and ran the table to another WPIAL title. Aliquippa’s incredible run of 16 straight championship game appearances came to an end in 2024 but their 2025 Championship added another banner to the Quips historic collection.

Here’s a look at the current streaks for WPIAL teams entering 2026 – 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 2025 season on a high note and are carrying winning streaks into 2026. There were only two WPIAL teams that claimed State titles, so this list is rather short.

Overall Wins

1t. Avonworth – 15
1t. Clairton – 15

Avonworth went 15-0 en route to winning the 3A WPIAL and State Championships. The Lopes received a first round bye which is why they only played 15 games. Clairton won the WPIAL and State Championships in 1A but lost their Week 0 game to Imani Christian (who lost to Avonworth in the WPIAL 3A Finals). However, if you don’t count losses in the State playoffs….

WPIAL Wins

1. Central Catholic – 21
2. Avonworth – 17
3t. Peters Twp – 13
3t. Clairton – 13
5. Seton LaSalle – 12
6. Aliquippa – 4

Central Catholic lost two games last season, but both were against La Salle College HS so neither counted as a loss to a WPIAL team. The Vikings are the two-time defending WPIAL Champions and have not lost to a WPIAL team since losing to Pine-Richland in Week 1 of 2024. Avonworth went undefeated last season and is also back-to-back WPIAL Champions. The Lopes lost to Northwestern Lehigh in the 2024 State Finals and their last loss to a WPIAL opponent was in Week 9 of 2024 (by 20 points to Beaver). Interestingly, Avonworth got revenge two weeks later and flipped the script with a 20-point win over Beaver. WPIAL 5A Champions Peters Twp‘s last loss was to Pine-Richland in the 2024 Championship Game. Clairton lost their Week 0 game to Imani Christian before rolling through the rest of their schedule and winning the 1A title. Seton LaSalle also lost their Week 0 game (to North Catholic) before their run to the WPIAL 2A title. Aliquippa‘s streak is only four games after they lost to Montour in Week 8.

Conference Wins (Regular Season Only)

1t. Fort Cherry – 23
1t. Clairton – 23
3. Central Catholic – 18
4. Imani Christian – 17
5. McKeesport – 16
6. Pine-Richland – 14
7t. Woodland Hills – 12
7t. Seton LaSalle – 12
9. Elizabeth Forward – 10
10. Peters Twp – 9
11. Trinity – 8
12. California – 7
13t. Laurel – 6
13t. Avonworth – 6

The 2020 season saw South Fayette’s incredible 64-game conference winning streak come to an end in Week 3 against Peters Twp, which remains the longest conference winning streak in WPIAL history. South Fayette does move back down to 4A this season where they went unbeaten in conference play over four seasons. Last year was a season of streaks being snapped. The current leaders in conference wins are both 1A teams – Fort Cherry and Clairton. Imani Christian is no longer the sponsor of their co-operative agreement (Propel Braddock Hills is now the primary school with Imani still participating via co-op). Fort Cherry, Clairton, and Central Catholic;s streaks stretch back to 2022. McKeesport‘s last conference loss came in Week 9 of 2022 and the Tigers have gone unbeaten the last three seasons. Pine-Richland‘s streak also stretches back to September of 2023 when they lost the Jon LeDonne Bowl to Penn Hills.

Losses

On the flip side, there are a number of schools that are carrying lengthy losing streaks into 2026 and have not tasted victory in some time.

Total Losses

1. Baldwin* – 29
2t. Springdale – 25
2t. Valley – 25
4. McGuffey – 20
5. Brownsville – 19*
5. Knoch – 12
6. Union – 9

The longest losing streak in the WPIAL is now held by Baldwin whose last win came against City League Brashear in the Route 51 Rivalry Game in Week 0 of 2023. However, Baldwin has opted to play an independent schedule in 2026 so the Highlanders will not be facing WPIAL competition. On the flip side of the independent option is Brownsville who left the WPIAL in 2022 to play an independent schedule. The Falcons have gone 0-8 the last two years playing independently and their last win was a 36-30 overtime victory over City League Carrick in 2023. Two teams from the Alle-Kiski Valley, Springdale and Valley now share the longest losing streaks among WPIAL teams with their last wins coming in 2023. Springdale’s last win was over Summit Academy and Valley’s came against Uniontown (who was playing as an independent at the time). McGuffey was a playoff team in 2A in 2023, but the Highlanders struggled with their move up to 3A and went 0-10 both years in the higher classification. McGuffey will be heading back to 2A this year while Knoch will be moving down from 4A to 3A and lands in a conference with Valley. Union is also moving back down to 1A after a winless season in 2A.

Conference Losses

1. Uniontown* – 26
2. Springdale – 26
3. Valley – 24
4t. Baldwin* – 23
4t. Fox Chapel – 23
6. Mapletown – 16
7. Brownsville* – 14
8t. McGuffey – 13
8t. Burgettstown – 13
10. Ligonier Valley – 9
11t. Albert Gallatin* – 8
11t. Laurel Highlands – 8
13t. Knoch – 7
13t. Union – 7
15t. Ambridge – 6
15t. Franklin Regional – 6
15t. Carlynton – 6

The 2024 season saw Ringgold end a 43-game conference losing streak which dated back to 2018. Last year, Summit Academy (who did not play in 2020) won their first conference game since 2019 with a win over Rochester. Summit’s streak reached 25 games before their Week 5 win. Indiana also snapped a conference losing streak that dated back to 2022 this past season when they beat Knoch.

It is worth noting that three teams who played independent schedules the last few years and are now returning to the WPIAL (Uniontown, Albert Gallatin, and Brownsville) left the WPIAL with long conference losing streaks still in tact. Those teams have been added to the list since they are returning to the WPIAL this season. Baldwin, who went winless once again, is moving to play an independent schedule in 2026. Butler (who lost 18 straight conference games before leaving the WPIAL) is playing as a pseudo-independent. Springdale has the longest conference losing streak among teams that have been continuously active in the WPIAL. Both Springdale and Valley last won conference games in 2021 (Springdale made the playoffs that year!). Overall, 14 teams went winless in conference play in 2024. Realignment will help some of these streaks come to an end as several of these teams are now in conferences together.

Playoffs

The first section covered streaks relating to single games. Now, we look at the broader picture of season-by-season streaks. There are 9 teams that reached the postseason in every year of the last decade. Only two teams did not make a playoff appearance in the last decade after Hopewell ended their drought this past season. Arguably one of the most impressive streaks in WPIAL history was Aliquippa‘s run of 16 consecutive trips to Heinz Field/Acrisure Stadium. That run came to an end in 2024 when the Quips lost to Thomas Jefferson in the semifinals. The streak was all the more impressive considering Aliquippa is 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. The Quips rectified the situation and returned to the Championship Game last season.

Championship Game Appearances

1. Central Catholic – 7
2t. North Allegheny, Pine-Richland, Avonworth – 4
5t. Peters Twp, McKeesport – 3
7t. Seton LaSalle, Clairton – 2
9t. Aliquippa, Imani Christian, Steel Valley, Laurel – 1

Central Catholic now has the longest streak of Championship Game appearances with seven. The Vikings have faced North Allegheny each of the last four years. Speaking of rematches, Pine-Richland and Peters Twp have faced off in the last three 5A title games. Avonworth is the two-time defending 3A Champions after losing in consecutive years to Belle Vernon. McKeesport has reached three straight 4A Championship Games but haslost them all. Seton LaSalle and Clairton both won WPIAL titles last year after losing in the Championship Game the year prior.

Playoff Qualification Streaks

1t. Aliquippa – 31
1t. Thomas Jefferson – 31
3. McKeesport – 28
4. Central Catholic – 23
5. North Allegheny – 22
6. Clairton – 20
7. Washington – 15
8. Pine-Richland– 13
9. California – 10
10t. Penn-Trafford – 9
10t. Elizabeth Forward – 9

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 31 straight seasons entering 2025. Upper St Clair also saw a 23-year playoff streak come to an end in 2023 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 program to have made the playoffs every year this century, with their streak dating to 1998. Two of the Top 10 streaks did come to an end last year with Belle Vernon missing the playoffs for the first time in 16 years and Mt. Lebanon missing for the first time in 11 years.

Postseason Appearance Droughts

1. Brownsville – 21*
2. Albert Gallatin – 13*
3t. Valley – 12
3t. Yough – 12
5. Uniontown – 10*
6t. Connellsville – 9*
6t. Hempfield – 9
6t. Ringgold – 9
6t. Northgate – 9
6t. Riverview – 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 Scotties made it back to the playoffs six times in the last seven 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 5-year playoff run. Carlynton snapped a 22-year postseason drought in 2024, making the playoffs for the first time since 2001. Last year, Hopewell ended a 12-year playoff drought which was the longest active streak in the WPIAL.

With the return of the Fayette County independents to the WPIAL, the longest playoff drought now belongs to Brownsville who have not made the playoffs since 2000, but played independently from 2022-2025. For purposes of our records, their 21-year streak was on hold since they were not eligible for the playoffs while independent. Other schools with streaks that were “on hold” due to playing independent schedules include Albert Gallatin (independent from 2019-2025), Uniontown (independent from 2020-2025), and Connellsville (independent from 2024-2025). Valley and Yough last qualified for the playoffs in 2013 and are the teams with the longest continually active droughts.

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 6 of the last 7 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 in 2023. In 2024 South Allegheny won a playoff game for the first time since 1986 (a 37-year drought). Last season three teams ended a decade-plus drought. Chartiers-Houston won their first playoff game since 2000 in their 14th appearance (the 13 straight losses was the most of any team with a playoff victory drought). Shaler won their first playoff game since 2009 when they beat Kiski (who hasn’t won a playoff game since 1990). Finally, Hopewell who ended the longest playoff qualification drought last year, knocked off Southmoreland in the opening round (who has never won a playoff game). The teams that have gone at least a decade without a playoff victory are listed in the table below:

Header image from avonworthfootball.com