Jul 12, 2022 5 min read

What’s in a name?

When it comes to football stadiums, South Fayette High School coach Joe Rossi doesn’t necessarily think about them much. It’s more or less about the memories of the place.

So he greeted the news of Heinz Field becoming Acrisure Stadium with indifference.

“It’s crazy,” he said. “People getting all bent out of shape. It’s big news now and probably for the first Steelers game but it won’t be a big thing after a while.”

Rossi and his South Fayette Lions were big things for a time when the North Shore facility was dubbed Heinz Field. Rossi guided the Lions to four WPIAL championships in 2010, 2013, 2014 and 2018. In 2013-14, the Lions also won two PIAA titles at Hersheypark Stadium.

“Those were phenomenal experiences,” Rossi said.

Whatever the stadium’s name, the Lions, nor any WPIAL team classified in the 5A or 6A level, will have an opportunity to play in the home park of the Steelers and Pitt. The league’s largest classifications will likely play at a high school facility because Acrisure Stadium will be unavailable for those championship games to be played Nov. 18-19 because of the PIAA playoff brackets.

“It’s hard,” said Rossi, “because those were always good moments. The ‘Highway to Heinz’ has always meant something even in high school. It’s something you always look back on and not being able to play there will be a big thing.”

Nevertheless, Class 5A squads like SF, and 6A teams, will want to end their 2022 campaigns on a positive note regardless of where they play.

“The site doesn’t lessen the goals,” Rossi said. “Everybody who suits up this season is working on winning a championship. It’s the goal for all teams.”

The ultimate goal is a state title. Winning a PIAA championship this autumn will also be a little different.

The state finals have moved from Hershey to Cumberland Valley High School. All six classifications will compete on Chapman Field on the CV campus in Mechanicsburg. The recently renovated facility seats 8,045 and features new turf, a JumboTron and media center.

The WPIAL will play four championship games at Acrisure Stadium Nov. 25 or 26.

Pitt and the Steelers both have road games Thanksgiving weekend, leaving the stadium free for the WPIAL Class A, 2A, 3A and 4A finals. Pitt visits Miami on Nov. 26. The Indianapolis Colts host the Steelers in a Monday night game Nov. 28.

Last year, the WPIAL rented Heinz Field for two days and held five title games. The Class 6A final, which saw Mt. Lebanon thump Central Catholic, 47-7, was played at Norwin High School.

Because the PIAA revises its brackets and divisions every two years, the state football playoffs for 2022 and 2023 have the WPIAL Class 5A and 6A champions entering in the quarterfinal round while the four other WPIAL winners begin their PIAA quest in the state semifinals.

The PIAA semifinals are scheduled for Dec. 2-3 with the championships Dec. 8-10.

Heinz Field hosted the WPIAL finals every year since the stadium opened in 2001 with the exception of 2020 because of COVID-19 restrictions that year. Those finals were held at North Allegheny’s Newman Stadium and North Hills’ Martorelli Stadium.

Before Heinz Field, the WPIAL held its championship contests at Three Rivers Stadium, which was razed to make way for the Steelers’ current home.

On July 11, the Steelers announced that Acrisure would replace Kraft Heinz as the naming rights holder for the stadium. Acrisure is a Michigan-based financial tech insurance company.

The 2022 high school football season begins Aug. 8 with heat acclimatization week. After two weeks of training camps, teams can play their first game Aug. 26. The season officially starts Sept. 2. The WPIAL playoffs begin Nov. 4.

The WPIAL will have a new look this football season after enrollment numbers have changed the alignment of conferences.

The league’s largest classification sports the biggest adjustments.

In Class 6A there will be only five teams: defending champion Mt. Lebanon along with North Allegheny, Seneca Valley, Central Catholic and Canon-McMillan.

The teams will play each other once and fill out the remainder of the schedule with cross-over games, mostly with Class 5A rival squads.

The top four teams qualify for the playoffs, which begin Nov. 4. The WPIAL finals will be held either Nov. 18 or 19 at a site to be determined.

Baldwin, Hempfield and Norwin have dropped down to Class 5A. While the Spartans and Knights compete in the Big East Conference, the Highlanders will be matched with neighboring rivals such as Bethel Park, Peters Township, South Fayette and Moon in Section 1.

Eight of the 18 teams in the three sections advance to the WPIAL playoffs. The Class 5A championship contest will be played either Nov. 18 or 19 at a site to be determined.

Chartiers Valley competes in Class 4A in Section 1 with Aliquippa, Ambridge, Blackhawk, Central Valley, New Castle and West Allegheny.

Of the 22 teams in the three sections, 13 will advance to the 4A playoffs. Three will receive first-round byes.

Seton LaSalle, which is now coach by former Bethel Park product Tim Storino, will compete in Section 1 in Class 3A with Avonworth, Beaver, Hopewell, Quaker Valley, South Park and West Mifflin.

Of the 19 teams in the three sections, 12 will qualify for the playoffs with four receiving first-round byes in the Class 3A tournament.

The WPIAL finals for Class A through 4A will be played the weekend of Nov. 25-26.

The first official day of practice for the 2022 season is Aug. 15. First scrimmages are Aug. 20. Most teams will play their first games Aug. 26.