The 2026 Pennsylvania High School football season is finally upon us. When it comes to Western Pennsylvania, the WPIAL saw two teams - Class 3A Avonworth and Class 1A Clairton -- bring home state championships last season. Pittsburgh Central Catholic made it to the 6A final before falling to La Salle College in a rematch of their contest to open last season.

The Antelopes -- who have reached the state final in consecutive seasons -- will have a new crop of contenders to deal with after they ran the table and finished 15-0 last year. Aliquippa won its appeal to the PIAA and will again be aligned in Class 3A. Avonworth beat the Quips in non-conference play last year. Propel Braddock Hills, a new co-op that will include Imani Christian, which challenged the Antelopes for the WPIAL crown last season.

There are plenty of games and storylines that should provide color over the next few months. Here's a look at a few games of interest to open the season.

Hopewell seeks to cement status as contender
The Vikings didn't just make a cameo in the WPIAL Class 3A playoffs in 2025. Hopewell fought through a difficult Western Hills Conference to earn a playoff bid for the first time in 13 years. The Vikings then beat up Southmoreland in the first round before bowing out to Imani Christian. 

There will be high expectations for Hopewell, which returns junior quarterback James "BooBoo" Armstrong. Armstrong recently committed to Penn State and led a dynamic offense last season. Hosting the defending state champions to open the season will be a good stress test for where the Vikings are at.

Avonworth returns star receiver Jaden Jones and have reached the WPIAL final in every season since 2021.

Central Catholic seeks premiere victory
Life in the six-class world of PIAA football has been unkind to Pittsburgh Central Catholic. The Vikings won their fourth state championship in 2015, when they won the 4A crown by knocking off Parkland. Since then, PCC has reached the state final three times -- in 2016, 2024 and 2025 -- but have struggled to find success against the Philadelphia powerhouses.

​The Vikings will have their resolve tested in the season opener against Bergen Catholic (N.J.). Bergen Catholic finished last season 8-3 and reached the semifinals of the New Jersey state playoffs before losing to Don Bosco. Vikings junior quarterback Owen Herrick is a hotly-touted prospect.

PCC would like a win over an out-of-state power to jump start its state title ambitions.

Gateway wants fast start
Gators coach Don Holl was disappointed that Gateway was left out of the Class 5A playoffs last year thanks to the WPIAL's convoluted tiebreaker system. The Gators had a difficult time finding footing during its 3-7 season, starting a freshman quarterback. Mayson Mitchell gained valuable experienced after being thrown into the fire, including leading Gateway to a Big East Conference win over Kiski last season at home.

The Gators will try to replicate that success again against the Cavaliers. Kiski went down to Class 4A for the next two-year enrollment cycle. The Cavaliers are also breaking in a new coach in former Highlands standout Brayden Thimons.

Other things to watch for

Knoch, which finished 0-10 last season, will hope to end a 12-game losing overall with a win over Summit Academy. The Knights, a school for at-risk youth, typically turns over 100 percent of its roster every season. ... Norwin will play at Penn-Trafford to open the season, making a different season for the Knights. Norwin will have six games at its rival's homefield due to construction at its stadium. ... The Wolvarena will again host a kick-off classic. The Wolverines will open against New Castle, while USO will take on Bishop Canevin and Westinghouse will attempt to beat Hickory. Clairton will take on District 10 power Farrell.

Josh Rizzo is the editor and publisher of Pittsburgh Preps and Colleges. Story ideas can be submitted to [email protected] or on X @J_oshRizzo.

Gavin Sunnafrank always wanted to be more involved with wrestling. The Summit Academy sophomore has two brothers who wrestle and he believed he may enjoy the sport too. But outside of wrestling at the youth level, Sunnafrank hadn't been involved in the sport much.

When Sunnafrank, an Erie native, landed with Summit Academy this fall, he chose to join the team and has found some success. After entering the Penn Hills Holiday Tournament with a 2-1 record, Sunnafrank significantly increased his win total during his run through the 172-pound weight division.

Sunnafrank collected three pins and a techincal fall to win a tournament for the first time in his life.

"I definitely need to work harder," said Sunnafrank, who is 6-2 on the season. "But this is a big boost for my confidence."

Summit Academy was one of three schools, along with Highlands and Washington, to have more than one wrestler bring home a championship. The Golden Rams had an event-high seven winners, while the Little Prexies also had two champions.

Summit Academy coach Arthur Stewart was proud of Sunnafrank's effort. During the champion match, Sunnafrank was taken down first by Riverview's Cole Brunn. Brunn was able to trap Sunnafrank on the edge of the mat going for a pin, but Sunnafrank worked his way out of bounds.

"It's all heart," Stewart said. "No one can coach heart. I can't coach heart. He has heart."

Sunnafrank defended another takedown attempt from Brunn before ending up on top. He was able to wrap up a pin 1 minute, 20 seconds into the first round.

"I had to listen to my coach," Sunnafrank said. "I don't even remember to be honest. I was on bottom. I got up and got out of there."

Sunnafrank collected four wins on the day. He pinned teammate Brent Toy in 1:19 in the first round before sticking Woodland Hill's Brendan Luptak in 1:51 to reach the semifinals.

Stewart said he was proud of his team's overall effort. Rocco Zugai also won a championship at 127 pounds. Zugai is a much more experienced wrestler than Sunnafrank. Zugai had a 15-11 record last season at Yough.

Sunnafrank said he wanted to make his dad and brothers proud. He wasn't sure if a championship was possible at the start of the tournament.

"I was thinking if I was going to do good or not," Sunnafrank said. "It felt good to wrestle my hardest."

Josh Rizzo is the owner and publisher of Pittsburgh Preps and Colleges. Any story ideas can be submitted to [email protected] or on X @J_oshRizzo.

The Penn Hills Holiday Wrestling Tournament saw Highlands win the team event. The Golden Rams had the most champions with seven.

Washington and Summit Academy also produced two winners. There will be more coverage later in the evening.

Here's a look at the rest of the winners:

107 pounds: Javeon Chambers (Highlands)*
114: Daemon Phipps (Penn Hills) pinned Caleb Mcfarlane (Allderdice), 1:47
121: Noah Patton (Washington) p. Levin Dickson (Highlands), :38
127: Rocco Zugai (Summit Academy) technical fall Evan Morgan (McKeesport), 16-1 4:48
133: Burton Babinsack (Highlands) p. Javen Woods (Allderdice), 1:32
139: Aiden Burford (Highlands) p. Levi Smith (Penn Hills), 1:53
145: Elijah Elser (Brashear) p. Dylan Mains (South Allegheny), :52
152: Caleb Patton (Washington) injury default Darnell Jackson (Penn Hills), 4:40
160: Kyren Vesaley (Highlands) injury default Alex Wylly (Riverview)
172: Gavin Sunnafrank (Summit Academy) p. Cole Brunn (Riverview), 1:20
189: Jayden Calhoun (Highlands) p. Tom Paternoster (Allderdice), :59
215: Joshua Battocchi (Highlands) p. Quentin Ainsco-Brevvard (Woodland Hills), 1:01
285: Caden Dadowski (Highlands) p. Kar'zell Daugherty (Washington), 1:30
*No tournament held, Chambers was winner of five-wrestler round robin