Nov 9, 2019 4 min read

The WPIAL’s football alignment will not be the only sport impacted by the PIAA’s classification parameters for the 2020-2021 and 2021-2022 two-year cycle.

As reported a few days ago, a handful of area football teams will be changing classifications starting next year.

The following is a look at changes for area schools in the other sports.

• Peters Township baseball will move down to 5A.

• Beth-Center will drop to 2A in baseball and to 1A in boys soccer.

• Monessen and Jefferson-Morgan will move up to 2A in boys basketball and be among the smallest in the classification.

• Ringgold’s girls and boys basketball teams will move up to 5A.

• South Fayette girls cross country, which recently won the PIAA team championship, will move to 3A.

Washington baseball drops to 2A while the boys soccer team goes down to 1A.

• McGuffey girls move up to 2A in soccer and 3A in softball.

• Fort Cherry drops to 2A in boys basketball.

• Bentworth moves up to 3A in girls basketball.

• And Waynesburg is again eligible to wrestle in Class AA. The Raiders currently “wrestle up” in Class AAA.

Rocky Plassio, who was hired to succeed long-time coach Joe Maize at Peters Township, said he sees some pros and cons in the Indians moving down in classification.

“There are schools and people Peters Township is used to playing in our current section,” Plassio said. “In my opinion, it’s the toughest baseball section in the WPIAL.

“We’re going to lose some rivalries and I don’t know how a new section in Class 5-A would shape up. Bethel Park will (move down) with us. But we’ll lose Upper St. Clair, Baldwin, Canon-McMillan and Mt. Lebanon as section opponents.”

Mike Bosnic, athletic director at Washington, said the move down in baseball will still land the Prexies in a “competitive” section.

“That could be good for us,” Bosnic said.

The Prexies have struggled the last few years in competing in Class AAA and overall.

“I have talked with Anthony (Belcastro, Washington’s baseball coach) about the move and we think it could be helpful,” Bosnic added.

Bosnic said Washington’s soccer program needs to be examined and that will be done in the near future.

He suggested the Prexies, who struggled with having a sufficient number of participants in its coed program, have been approached by another school district about a potential cooperative agreement for soccer. That district was not identified.

Under current PIAA rules, cooperative agreements can only exist between district’s which border one another. The accepting school must take on half the enrollment figures of the other school, possibly – and likely – sending the accepting school to a higher classification.

However, the PIAA board waived that rule weeks ago for West Greene, which was allowed to form a cooperative sport agreement in boys’ soccer with Albert Gallatin, even though the two districts don’t touch.

“Right now, I don’t know what our soccer program is going to look like. The way we are doing it now is not working. It’s really stressful. Some games we don’t know if we can field a team. Some kids are running in a cross country meet and then playing every second of a soccer game. We have to do something, maybe a co-op or take it more serious and develop a feeder system.”

Monessen will find itself returning to Class AA basketball.

Coach Dan Bosnic said the Greyhounds’ focus will be on their program.

“We have to play where they (the numbers) put us,” he said. “We’ll get ready for whatever section we are in and do the best job we can.

“We’ll continue to focus on our kids and putting them in the best position we can to help them be successful and give them the opportunity to win games. Historically, we’ve played good non-section competition and that should help us with the change.”

Dennis Garrett, Jefferson-Morgan’s boys’ basketball coach, echoed Dan Bosnic’s sentiments.

“We were in Double-A a few years ago,” Garrett said. “It’s a little different and the competition is a little tougher. It’s going to be trying. But we’ll work to be competitive. We will compete.”