WPIAL football realignment: Good for some, not for others
The WPIAL realignment for the 2018 and 2019 football seasons was a mixed bag for area teams.
The realignment, released Monday, saw Class 6A pared to one 9-team conference, an extra conference added to Class 5A and 2A, Class 4A losing two teams, Class 3A cut down to two conferences and Class A remaining almost the same.
Other significant moves included:
- McGuffey dropping to Class AA and landing in the same conference as Washington.
- Carmichaels and Fort Cherry leaving the Tri-County South Conference for Class AA and being replaced by Bentworth and Chartiers-Houston.
- Waynesburg getting dealt arguably the worst hand, being placed in a Class AAA conference with such powers as Aliquippa, Beaver Falls, Central Valley, Quaker Valley and South Park.
- Class 5A having 24 teams, Class 4A 16, Class 3A 17, Class 2A 31 and Class A 23.
There are nine teams in Class 6A, which means those teams will play a lower-classification opponent in the non-conference schedule.
The Big 9 Conference is now an eight-team section, so it will be interesting to see if a name change is in order.
Fort Cherry head coach Jim Shiel was pleased the Rangers were placed in the same conference as Burgettstown and can renew rivalries with such teams South Side Beaver and Carlynton.
“It was as fair as they could make it,” said Shiel. “We knew we would be playing up but we’re not real close to staying in Class AA. We could be back down next cycle.”
Burgettstown head coach Rich Druga said he wasn’t sure what conference the Blue Devils would land in but is pleased with the outcome, even if it means not having Washington as a section opponent.
“It’s nice to have local teams like South Side Beaver,” said Druga. “We have a rich history with Carlynton, South Allegheny, and Burgettstown. The only team we don’t really know is Serra Catholic. We’ve played or scrimmaged Fort Cherry for decades. I think this is going to generate a great deal of excitement.”
Chartiers-Houston returns to the Tri-County South Conference for the first time in 13 seasons.
“There are a lot of local teams with us,” said C-H head coach Terry Fetsko. “The drives are not far and it’s a good fit for us. We’ve played Tri-County teams over the years and we hope we can be there for a few years. We want to get some of the rivalries back.”
Bentworth will be joining Chartiers-Houston in the conference and Bearcats head coach Ron Skiles said while he is glad to be there, he is going to miss some rivalry games.
“I really enjoyed playing Wash High,” he said. “I’ll also miss Carmichaels. Two years from now, who knows where we’ll be?”
McGuffey head coach Ed Dalton said he hopes the game against Washington is played at the end of the season.
“How many high school football games are sold out?” Dalton asked. “I really like playing that game. The geography is great for us. This is the league we all remembered from the past.”
The WPIAL did not release a playoff format, choosing to wait until the PIAA reveals its own next month.
The WPIAL also realigned the other fall sports. Most notable was WPIAL champion Waynesburg remaining in Section 3-AA in girls soccer. Mt. Pleasant and Southmoreland were added, replacing Charleroi and McGuffey, which dropped to Class A.
In boys soccer, Beth-Center moved up from Class A and McGuffey flipped from Section 3 to Section 1 in Double-A.