Gridiron tough: New season, new championship dreams for high school football teams

What does Western Pennsylvania high school football mean to you?

To some, it signifies the tough, blue-collar work ethic and attitude that has become synonymous with our region.

To others, it represents the dawn of a new school year, with a batch of unsung names and unfamiliar faces aiming to make their mark and cement their place in history alongside icons like Tony Dorsett, Dan Marino, Bill Fralic, LaVar Arrington and Aaron Donald.

But above all else, high school football serves as a reminder that a group of like-minded individuals with a common goal can achieve something that wouldn’t have been possible on their own. And when the season kicks off Aug. 28 with Week 1 — the WPIAL scrapped the Week 0 designation after a decade — there will be no shortage of must-see games and highlight-reel performances.

“If you’re a Pittsburgh kid and you grow up here and football is an important part of your life and your family, high school football is what makes it so cool,” said Central Catholic coach Ryan Lehmeier.

“Even watching that [Steelers preseason game], I’m sitting here and saying, ‘I coached a couple of them.’ I coached Levi Wentz at Pine-Richland, and when I was at Duquesne, I coached Christian Kuntz. It’s like, ‘Man, these kids all came from this hotbed in this part of the country.’ To have kids of that caliber, multiple kids in this little corridor of the country, it’s super cool. It’s something I don’t take for granted.”

Lehmeier, 38, is entering just his fourth season at Central but has already steered the Vikings to back-to-back WPIAL Class 6A titles and PIAA championship appearances. This fall, they are tabbed as the overwhelming favorite to complete a WPIAL championship three-peat. And although that would be nice, the ultimate prize has eluded the Vikings ever since the expansion from four to six classes in 2016.

Central’s most recent state championship came in the Class 4A final in 2015 when Terry Totten still roamed the sidelines. But if anybody has what it takes to end that drought, it’s this group. Loaded with premier players and prized prospects, you might have to look back several years to find another Western Pennsylvania team with this much talent.

It all starts up front, where Central has three of the top-rated linemen in the country in seniors James Halter, Jimmy Kalis and Jon Sassic. Halter (6-5, 275) is headed to Notre Dame next fall, while Kalis (6-8, 285) is bound for Ohio State and Sassic (6-6, 285) to Penn State.

“I think the game starts and ends at the line of scrimmage,” Lehmeier said. “That’s the foundation of the program. Being able to stop the run and run the ball.”

In the backfield, senior Roman Thompson is a Miami (Ohio) recruit who rushed for 26 touchdowns last season, while junior quarterback Owen Herrick passed for 2,318 yards and 20 TDs with just three interceptions. The Vikings boast a pair of elite running backs in junior Chrys Black, one of the state’s top recruits in the 2028 class, and senior Jayden Alexander, who is also a dynamic kick returner.

On defense, Zachary Gleason (West Virginia recruit) and Jordan Ray (Army) lead the way in the secondary, while Thompson is a tackling machine at middle linebacker behind a stout line anchored by senior Jaylen Smith and junior Demari Christmas. 

“We all know what we’re chasing,” Lehmeier said.

Another powerhouse program, North Allegheny, hopes to return to the WPIAL championship game for the fifth consecutive season with senior quarterback Brady Brinkley leading the charge. But don’t count out Canon-McMillan or Norwin. The Big Macs are led by senior quarterback Ty Jansma, who passed for 1,749 yards and 13 TDs in 2025, while the Knights feature senior running back Giovanni Rothrauff, who set the school’s all-time single-season rushing record with 1,577 yards a year ago.

Class 5A 

Year in and year out, Class 5A is viewed as the WPIAL’s strongest classification from top to bottom, and 2026 is no different.

In fact, there are several new teams crashing the Class 5A party, and it wouldn’t be a surprise to see one of them make it all the way to Acrisure Stadium in late November for Championship Saturday. If that happens, a big reason why will be the legendary coach it has running the show.

After stepping down at Mt. Lebanon following the 2022 season, Bob Palko returns to his old stomping grounds at West Allegheny, where he guided the Indians to eight WPIAL championships from 1995-2018.

Palko insisted he wasn’t retiring after leaving Mt. Lebanon, and now he’s making good on his promise.

“I’m just very grateful to be back,” Palko said. “I went to school here, and that’s great. My wife went to school here. She was raised here. I was raised here. My children were raised here. It’s home.”

Senior running back Brodie Cornell, who tallied 864 yards from scrimmage and 15 total TDs last year, will be counted on to lead the Indians both on and off the field. His older brother, Brock, was a standout player who graduated in 2025, and his father, Bryan, is the team’s defensive coordinator.

“Brodie is really a good player. He does all the right things,” Palko said. “But even him, you’ve got to develop him. There are things he has to get better at as a leader, as a player, as a running back.”

At Thomas Jefferson, which also moves up from Class 4A to 5A, coach Bill Cherpak has built arguably the most consistent program in the WPIAL over the past 30 years. The Jaguars have advanced to the semifinals in 26 of the past 28 seasons, and Cherpak is the only coach in history to win 10 WPIAL titles.

“I have a great relationship with Billy,” Palko said. “I saw him this summer, and I said, dude, when we play — I think we play at our place this year — I told him I’ll put a rocking chair on his sideline, and I’ll put a rocking chair on mine.

“He’s just good people. He does it right.”

Senior running back Tyler Eber already has more than 4,000 career rushing yards, and senior lineman Beckett Everley (6-5, 280) is back to make sure he has room to run. Another senior, Kane Eggerton, returns as the leading receiver. Also a standout linebacker, he should be an impact player on both sides of the ball.

“We have, I think, six three-year starters returning, so they have to be good,” Cherpak said. “I think there are going to be some kids who step up who have played before. They may not have been starters, but hopefully they stay healthy and come to play like we hope.”

At Pine-Richland, the Rams appear to have all the pieces in place to make another title run. They’re coming off a dramatic 20-19 defeat to Peters Township in last year’s WPIAL championship game after coughing up a 19-point halftime lead.

The Rams have reached the championship game in all four years under coach Jon LeDonne, winning two WPIAL titles and one state title. This could be their most loaded team yet during LeDonne’s tenure, with quarterback Oobi Strader in his fourth season as the starter and senior wideout Khalil Taylor as one of the top players in the country.

Strader is headed to Kent State, while Taylor, a four-star recruit, will play at Nebraska.

“It’s always a new team every year,” LeDonne said. “We have a different cast of characters here now. The goal remains the same — to win a championship. Not to beat a certain team or go undefeated or things like that.”

Like Palko, Eric Kasperowicz is returning home – to North Hills. And like Palko and Cherpak, he boasts quite a track record, claiming four WPIAL championships and two state titles at Pine-Richland from 2013-20.

Kasperowicz, who spent the past four seasons at Mars, starred at quarterback for North Hills in the mid-1990s while playing alongside the legendary Arrington.

Other teams to watch include Upper St. Clair, with towering senior tackle Ryan Robbins (6-7, 285), a Penn State recruit, anchoring the offensive line and senior linebacker John Banbury spearheading the defense. And watch out for Penn-Trafford, featuring a trio of big-time playmakers in senior wideout Nick Ponko, senior running back Ben Grabowski and junior running back Cody Yacamelli.

Class 4A 

With perennial stalwarts Aliquippa and Thomas Jefferson leaving Class 4A, the door is open for a new champion to emerge.

Many will tab McKeesport as the favorite after three consecutive appearances in the WPIAL final, all losses. Led by the nation’s top-ranked running back and Georgia recruit Kemon Spell, the Tigers look like the team to beat. But it remains to be seen how Spell and the rest of the roster will mesh with a new coaching staff — a hectic offseason saw longtime coach Matt Miller ousted and former assistant Tom Smith take the reins.

Despite missing four games, Spell rushed for 1,755 yards and scored 32 TDs as a junior last season. But there would be no better way to cap his spectacular career than by helping the Tigers end their 21-year title drought.

With senior wideout Javien Robinson heading to South Carolina, McKeesport has two future SEC players on this year’s team. And although Smith plans to employ the same flexbone offense that became synonymous with this program under his father, George, you can expect Robinson to make his presence felt whenever he touches the ball for the Tigers.

As for another proud program looking to end a lengthy championship drought, this could be Montour’s best team under Lou Cerro since the venerable coach guided the Spartans to their last WPIAL title 15 years ago.

Now entering his 34th season as a head coach — a dozen years at Seton LaSalle and the past 22 at Montour — Cerro will lean on a trio of talented playmakers led by a highly touted junior quarterback with several Power Four scholarship offers in Brandon Bennett.

As a sophomore, Bennett passed for 1,453 yards and 15 TDs to go with 414 yards and six scores on the ground. His top target, Zander Stern, returns after hauling in 45 passes for 776 yards and 11 TDs as a junior. And one player defenses will have to key on before every snap is versatile sophomore Archie Collins, a dynamic player capable of lining up out wide, in the slot or in the backfield.

“We’re moving [Collins] everywhere,” Cerro said. “As a freshman last year, we put a lot of eggs in his basket, but he responded.”

Among the other top contenders in Class 4A, New Castle features sophomore quarterback Marino Graham, who is hoping to build off a breakout freshman season alongside talented junior wideout Kai Cox. South Fayette could also make some noise after dropping down from Class 5A. For Kiski Area, junior lineman Nick Anderson (6-4, 270) is a mauler with offers from a handful of Power Four schools, and at Ringgold, senior wide receiver Demetri Lowe is a threat to score every time he touches the ball.

Class 3A 

This is the only classification with multiple defending WPIAL champions, as reigning Class 4A champ Aliquippa drops down to join the likes of Avonworth, Hopewell and the new-look Propel Braddock Hills — formerly Imani Christian — in the race for this year’s crown.

Aliquippa is in Class 3A for the first time since 2019 after a highly publicized stint in Class 4A that saw the Quips reach the WPIAL championship game five times and secure four WPIAL titles and two state titles despite their Class 2A-sized enrollment. An abundance of talent graduated from last year’s squad, but tradition never graduates at Aliquippa.

“We were basically trying to get to a level to play like-sized schools as far as enrollment, but the competition hasn’t changed,” head coach Mike Warfield said. “There are some really good teams in 3A, like in 4A. We can’t take anybody lightly.”

Although Aliquippa has reached a WPIAL championship game 17 times in the past 18 seasons and won nine titles, few are pointing to the Quips as the preseason favorite. 

That’s because defending WPIAL and PIAA champion Avonworth is in the midst of its own remarkable run under coach Duke Johncour. The Antelopes have won back-to-back WPIAL titles and reached four consecutive WPIAL finals along with two consecutive state championship games.

It might be a bit early to call Avonworth a dynasty, but these Lopes are a bona fide powerhouse with their eyes set on a WPIAL championship three-peat — and perhaps more.

“Each year presents its own excitements and challenges and hurdles,” Johncour said. “All different things. A lot of different emotions. We got a lot of key players back, and it’s exciting to see what this crew is going to bring. We graduated some unbelievable players, and they’ll be hard to replace, but that’s what high school football is all about. You don’t get to recruit your team. You recruit your hallways.”

Although do-it-all playmaker Luca Neal graduated along with three-year starting quarterback Carson Bellinger, the cupboard is far from bare. Senior running back Dimitri Velisaris returns after tallying 1,492 yards rushing and 24 TDs a year ago, and junior wideout Jaden Jones is back after setting a PIAA championship-record with 187 receiving yards in a 31-7 win against Northwestern Lehigh.

Jones, who holds offers from several Power Four schools, is ranked among the top wideouts in the state in the 2028 class.

“We try not to put too much on an individual and spread the wealth around,” Johncour said. “We have a good running game, we have a strong line and we have talented receivers. Whatever a defense gives us is what we’re going to take. That’s our approach.”

Propel will debut uniforms featuring an all-new color scheme to go with its new name, and the goal of winning its first WPIAL title remains. It took an undefeated record into last year’s WPIAL championship game before falling to Avonworth, 30-6. Stellar seniors Gabe Jenkins, Maurice Williams and Da’Juan Craighead are among the many weapons returning for coach LaRoi Johnson with revenge on their mind.

“I think the identity of our team will remain the same,” Johnson said. “Whenever you come that close, I think it always leaves a bitter taste in your mouth. We’ve been building this program, and we’re going to continue to build it. I think for sure the motivation is there, but we’ve been motivated since our inception as a program in 2012.”

As a junior, Jenkins played quarterback and passed for 1,763 yards and 29 TDs while rushing for 1,411 yards and 15 scores. This year, the Colorado recruit moves back to his previous role as a running back/receiver hybrid. On defense, he has the ability to line up at multiple positions.

“You never know what position he’s going to play,” Johnson said. “He might be the kicker, punter, a linebacker — We might line him up at defensive end. You don’t know where No. 1 will be. You just know he’ll be somewhere on that field, and he’ll be dangerous.”

As for Hopewell, the Vikings will be an intriguing team to watch with future Penn State quarterback and three-sport star James “Booboo” Armstrong at the forefront. Armstrong shined as a sophomore, passing for 2,217 yards and 21 TDs with only three interceptions. On the ground, he rushed for 739 yards and 17 additional TDs.

Class 2A 

After ending its 21-year championship drought last fall, defending champion Seton LaSalle has a great shot at going back-to-back in Class 2A.

The Rebels return their leading rusher in junior Kymarr Freeman, who racked up 1,321 yards and 21 TDs a year ago. Senior linemen Brody Dilla and Roman Levy pave the way for Freeman and junior Kia Jones, a speedy dual-threat quarterback who has several Power Four scholarship offers.

Seton’s stiffest competition might come from within its own conference.

Bishop Canevin, which voluntarily bumped up from Class 1A to 2A under second-year coach Rod Steele, returns senior running back Myontae Mott, who ran for 1,081 yards and 19 TDs last season, and leading receiver Justin Melvin, who caught 34 passes for 692 yards and eight scores.

The defense is led by four seniors: linebacker Minikon Johnson, edge rusher Lamier Wade, safety Alex Kirk and hulking lineman Charles Butler (6-6, 335).

“I think the team, as a whole, they understand what we’re teaching them,” Steele said. “You’re part of the team. You’ve got to execute your assignment, and if everybody can do that collectively, you have a winning product.”

Steele is entering his second season at Canevin after nine years at Steel Valley — that included a historic state championship in 2016 when the Ironmen won every game via mercy rule — and then six at West Mifflin.

“Western Pennsylvania is always known for producing some high-end football talent. … Hall of Fame players have come out of this region. It’s got a history of being blue-collar and tough. I just think that’s what really separates it.”

Steel Valley is always a threat to win it all under grizzled veteran coach Ray Braszo, but the Ironmen must find a way to replace the ultra-talented Da’Ron Barksdale, who is now at Pitt.

South Allegheny graduated two-sport star Drew Cook, but the Gladiators are in good hands with his younger brother, Alijah, returning at quarterback. Cook passed for 1,473 yards and 26 TDs as a sophomore.

Class 1A 

After 11 years of near-misses, Clairton’s Wayne Wade finally claimed his first PIAA championship as a head coach last season with a 35-3 rout of Bishop Guilfoyle in 2025.

He dismissed any talk of personal achievements. 

“It’s about the kids,” said Wade, who was an assistant for the Bears when they won four straight PIAA titles and a state-record 66 consecutive games from 2009-12. “It’s not chasing trophies. It’s not chasing championships. If they come, they come. But each season for me, it’s about the players in front of me and my coaching staff and how we can influence those guys, not only on the field but [also] to be young men off the field.”

Clairton must replace a handful of standouts on both sides of the ball, but its top all-around player is back in junior Brandon Murphy. Although he led the Bears with 39 receptions for 694 yards and 14 TDs a year ago, his biggest impact comes at linebacker. His forced fumble clinched a WPIAL championship for the Bears in a nail-biting 8-6 win against Laurel last season.

Quarterback Jeff Thompson graduated, but the presence of senior lineman D’Kota Harris (6-3, 300) up front should make things easier for freshman Keith Cravens under center.

At Fort Cherry, this year is the beginning of life after Matt Sieg. Now at West Virginia, Sieg graduated as the WPIAL’s all-time leading scorer after leading the Rangers to back-to-back WPIAL titles in 2023-24 and an overall record of 49-7 in his four years.

Fortunately, coach Tanner Garry has another Sieg to step in at quarterback, as freshman Colin Sieg takes the reins from his older brother.

“Colin is an inch or two taller than Matt is,” Garry said. “He’s a rangy kid. Super long. Still a good runner; it just looks a little bit different. He is a strider who kind of just glides around. And I think the biggest thing that stands out to me is that Colin is a very gifted passer. So we might have a little bit of a different look.”

Senior running backs Eli Salvini and Ryan Huey will provide plenty of experience in the backfield behind Sieg, having combined to rush for 1,557 yards and 31 TDs last season. 

“It’s a grind, but it’s a fun grind,” Garry said. “We’re in a unique situation because we’re replacing one of the most prolific WPIAL football players of all time.”

With 30 teams competing for the WPIAL Class 1A crown, other contenders are sure to emerge, just as Laurel did last year when it pulled off a stunning takedown of Fort Cherry in the semifinals. Along with the Spartans, other teams to watch include Washington, South Side and Jeannette.

City League 

University Prep is eager to prove that last year’s City League championship run, capped by an emphatic 26-0 victory against three-time defending champion Westinghouse, was no fluke.

The Wildcats return several key players, none more crucial than junior quarterback Dai’Mere Adair and senior defensive back Amir Pollard. 

Longtime coach Lou Berry said Adair has come a long way since his freshman year in his mental approach to the game, supplementing the physical tools he already possessed.

“We do have a quarterback who is capable of taking us to big heights,” Berry said. “It really comes down to who controls the line of scrimmage. That’s going to be our biggest challenge this season.”

After losing to University Prep in the City League championship game, Westinghouse fell in the PIAA Class 1A quarterfinals to District 6 powerhouse Bishop Guilfoyle, which also eliminated the Bulldogs in 2024. 

Westinghouse would be back in Class 2A this season for the state playoffs, where the Bulldogs lost in the PIAA championship game in both 2022 and 2023. This year, though, they would compete on the eastern side of the bracket, which could lead to an unprecedented WPIAL vs. City League matchup in the state championship game.

Junior quarterback Zahir “Zaza” Ismaeli and senior wideout K’shawn Hawkins provide an explosive combination on offense, while edge rushers Dai’Saun Blanchard, a senior, and Daejour Pinckney, a junior, are the focal points of a ferocious defense.

Among the three remaining teams in the City League, Allderdice, which went 4-6 a year ago, likely has the best chance to unseat University Prep from its throne. Meanwhile, Brashear and Perry hope to improve on their one-win seasons in 2025.

“We’re blessed to be in a position and an environment where everyone is so supportive and so excited about this particular sport,” Berry said. 

“I don’t take it for granted.”