The WPIAL has released the new football alignments for the 2026-27 and 2027-28 school years.

There are many things that cause more consternation than the realignments that add more travel. Part of the reason the WPIAL can't get out of its own way on the odd geography is because it wants to have sections that allow them to have playoffs by classification, which makes sense.

Here are a few things that stick out about the new alignment:

• Thomas Jefferson and West Allegheny are coming up to Class 5A. The Jaguars should be well-positioned to make the jump. Bill Cherpak has been the Jaguars' coach for a long time and they have been successful at any level they competed at. But this section will be brutal. Peters Township, Upper St. Clair and Bethel Park were all excellent last season. Bob Palko is back at West A, but it may take a few years to get back to where they used to be during his first stint.
• McKeesport should break through and win Class 4A. The Tigers have excellent offensive weapons in Kemon Spell and Javien Robinson. The Tigers also chose to retain coach Matt Miller, which should help with continuity. With Aliquippa and TJ gone, there will be real urgency for McKeesport to win its first title in more than 20 years. Central Valley and North Catholic should be challengers.
• How will the independent schedule plan work? Albert Gallatin, Connellsville and Uniontown will all return to the WPIAL this season. The Fayette County schools all played a non-WPIAL schedule for the past two seasons. Albert Gallatin picked up a number of wins last season thanks to its new schedule. How much will that translate to sustained success in a competitive league? We shall see. ​

There's a look at the alignment below.

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.

Penn Hills will be losing one of its top players for next season. Carter Bonner announced on X Wednesday afternoon that he will play next season at powerhouse Saint Frances (Md.) Academy for his senior season. Bonner was limited to four games last season due to an injury.

The Indians struggled to a 3-7 record last season and finished 2-3 in the Northeast Conference. Penn Hills missed out on the playoffs when Plum returned a kick the Indians blocked for a touchdown in the final week of the season. Bonner played his freshman season at Shady Side Academy.

Bonner moved to Penn Hills during his sophomore season.

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.

Aliquippa will appeal to the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association's board to be allowed to play in Class 3A for the next two-year enrollment cycle. The Quips elected to play up when the PIAA expanded to six classes in 2016. Because of Aliquippa's success on the field, and the transfers who came into the program, the Quips were ultimately forced up to 4A in 2020 due to the PIAA's competitive balance formula.

Quips coach Mike Warfield has argued Aliquippa being forced up a class can be a player safety issue because of the school's smaller enrollment when competing against schools with deeper rosters. The Quips upset McKeesport in the WPIAL title game last season and thumped Oil City in the state playoffs before being bounced by Twin Valley.

There are a lot of good reasons why the Quips shouldn't be forced any higher than 3A. Aliquippa was already voluntarily playing about where its enrollment would put them. The Quips finished last season with 28 players, which is considerably less than many of their opponents. But it feels that Aliquippa's dominance will prevent a change.

Since going to 4A in 2020, Aliquippa is 4-1 in WPIAL championship games. The Quips lost a heartbreaker in overtime to Thomas Jefferson in 2020, but then knocked off Belle Vernon, Central Valley and McKeesport in the next three championship games. In 2024, the Quips fell in the semifinals.

Aliquippa's success hasn't stopped in Western Pennsylvania. The Quips reached the state championship game in three consecutive seasons, winning in 2021 and 2023. Aliquippa was nearly forced up to 5A last season, but challenged the PIAA in court and won an injuction.

Whether the Quips stay in 4A or 3A moving forward, the conversation surrounding the program this fall will likely be the same. Aliquippa will win, people will marvel at their sustained success and the fight over where they should be classified will start all over again.

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.

The 2025 NFL season has become known for the year of unlikely comebacks. Philip Rivers came out of retirement to try and help the Indianapolis Colts make the playoffs after being out of the league for five years. Pine-Richland graduate Ben DiNucci doesn't have quite as high of a profile, but was signed to the Denver Broncos practice squad ahead of the AFC Championship game next Sunday.

DiNucci was brought on board after it was announced Broncos' quarterback Bo Nix broke his ankle in Denver's overtime win over Buffalo Saturday. Jarrett Stidham will start in Nix's place in the AFC Championship game against the Patriots.

DiNucci, who played collegiately at Pitt and James Madison, made three appearances for the Dallas Cowboys in 2020. DiNucci's best season as a pro came in the XFL in 2023. He led the Seattle Sea Dragons to a 7-3 record and led the league with 2,671 passing yards. He also threw 20 touchdowns and 13 interceptions.

In Seattle's playoff game that season, DiNucci threw for 295 yards and three touchdowns, but the Sea Dragons lost 37-21 to the D.C. Defenders. DiNucci hasn't made an NFL squad in the years since he left Dallas. He has had a number of opportunities to try and earn a job. DiNucci was on the practice squad with the Broncos in 2023 and also had tryouts with the New Orleans Saints in 2024 and the Atlanta Falcons in 2025.

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

Trevor George battled through the challenges, and finding enough players, to lead a Class A football program during his time at Riverview. The Raiders coach will take on a new challenge next season. George was chosen as the next head coach at Blackhawk, according to Beaver County Radio. Riverview finished this past season 4-6.

George, a Carlynton graduate, was previously an assistant coach with the Cougars. Blackhawk finished last season 3-7. George was 17-38 during his time with the Raiders. George's best season came when Riverview finished 5-5 in 2023.

Riverview opened this past season by wining four of its first six games and was in position to a postseason appearance for the first time since 2016 after a win over Greensburg Central Catholic. The Raiders, however, couldn't steal a win on the road against Brentwood or Frazier. Closing the season with matchups against eventual state champion Clairton and playoff qualifier Jeannette didn't provide the Raiders with an opportunity to escape from the Eastern Conference.

Here is George's record with Riverview.

2025       4-6
2024       3-6
2023       5-5
2022.      4-6
2021       1-8
2020       0-8

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

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The news out of Oakmont is that there will be lights added to Riverside Park before the start of next football season. That means the Raiders will now join every other public school in the WPIAL in playing their home football games on Friday nights. After Western Beaver got lights before the start of the 2025 season, Riverview was the last public school in the Pittsburgh area to play on Saturday afternoons.

It's a disappointing change, but one that the parents wanted badly, so it was destined to happen. The Raiders' home atmosphere, being close to the Allegheny River and the Oakmont Bakery, provided a festive environment.

The only school still playing all of its home games on Saturdays is Summit Academy, a school for at-risk youth in Butler County. It doesn't guarantee that all games will be on Fridays in the Pittsburgh area. Due to a lack of officials, many districts around the state have been forced to move games to Thursday or Saturday nights.

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

Montrell Johnson was fortunate to have plenty of people in his corner. Johnson, a Highlands graduate, struggled with homelessness during his time in high school. 

After he committed to Saint Francis (Pa.) to play football during his senior year, the school announced it was dropping from the Division I Football Championship Subdivision level to Division III. Johnson, who played wide receiver for the Golden Rams and graduated in 2025, chose to go a different way and went back to work looking for a new school. Johnson spent time living with a high school teammate and his family while he attended community college.

Johnson announced this week he will play at Slippery Rock University. The Rock had a rare down season last year, finishing 6-5. SRU reached the Division II national semifinals in 2024 and made the playoffs every season from 2018 to 2024, with the lone exception coming during the COVID-19 year in 2020 where no season was played.

"I've chosen SRU because of their interest level in me as a student athlete," Johnson said. "Despite the year I've had with finding a home and not playing a snap of football since our loss to Imani Christian in the second round of the playoffs (in 2024) their coaching staff still has faith me in being a game-changing football player."

Johnson said that he lived with four or five different families while he was in high school. Over the past year, Johnson stayed sharp by working out with Tre Tipton. Tipton, a former Apollo-Ridge standout, played collegiately at Pitt. In the classroom, Johnson maintained a 3.0 GPA while attending community college.

"I'm most excited for getting the opportunity to play football again," Johnson said. "Most of us athletes don't realize that after high school another chance to put on the pads isn't guaranteed. You have to work for every single second of it. If you aren't willing to work for it, there are thousands of other athletes to replace you. You'll be sitting on the couch, regretting not putting in the work to earn a roster spot somewhere."

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

Mt. Lebanon graduate Eli Heidenreich helped the Navy football team avert a near disaster by falling on a fumble late in the fourth quarter on a failed tush push. Two plays later, Heidenreich continued to cement his legacy as Navy's greatest pass catcher. On fourth-and-goal, Heidenreich caught an 8-yard touchdown pass from Blake Horvath to help the Midshipmen beat Navy, 17-16, Saturday evening in Baltimore.

Heidenreich caught six passes for 72 yards, setting Navy's all-time record for receiving yards in a season. Heidenreich now has 877 receiving yards this season, which broke Rob Taylor's record of 818 yards, which had stood since 1967. 

Heidenreich's fumble recovery came during a tense stretch for Navy. The Midshipmen's offense struggled with turnovers throughout the contest. Navy had the ball second-and-goal when the Midshipmen attempted a tush push for Horvath. Horvath had the ball punched out of his hands and an Army defender nearly scooped the ball up.

Alec Tecza, another Mt. Lebanon graduate, batted the ball away from him before Heidenreich could fall on it. Tecza carried the ball nine times for 50 yards.

The win helped Navy win the Commander-in-Chief's trophy for the 18th time and the second consecutive season.

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.

The Clairton football team are kings of Pennsylvania Class A football again. But Bears coach Wayne Wade and his team understood the warning signs that could have derailed such an event.

For as excellent as the Bears' defense was -- Clairton limited Bishop Guilfoyle to minus-1 rushing yards during a 35-3 win over the Marauders in the Class A final Thursday at Cumberland Valley High School -- a few lapses could have sunk the season. Of all the results, the one that stands out the most is Clairton's 38-33 WPIAL quarterfinal win over Jeanette Nov. 7 at Franklin Regional High School.

The Jayhawks made the Bears work. It showed signs that Clairton would have a few brawls on its way to lifting any hardware. The Bears hadn't allowed any points to be scored against them since Aug. 31, during a 19-12 loss to Imani Christian. 

But after recording nine consecutive shutouts, Jeannette found ways to score points. Clairton, which had beat the Jayhawks 57-0 during the regular season, needed some luck to survive during a 38-33 victory in the playoffs. Jeannette was the only team to score more than 22 points against the Bears.

"If you look at the last few weeks, the Jeannette game, I think that was a letdown for us," Wade said following the Bears' 8-6 win over Laurel in the WPIAL title game. "We had beaten them 57-0 in the regular season and we kind of had a lull that week. I told the kids after that game we have to be laser-sharp with our focus."

The locomotive wouldn't truly get back to full speed until the Bears' 57-0 win over District 10 champion Greenville in the PIAA semifinals. In the WPIAL semifinals, Bishop Canevin had its moments, being only the second team to crack 20 points against Clairton. The Bears ultimately prevailed 42-22.

"The Bishop Canevin game, we gave them 14 points," Wade said. "There were a lot of penalties in that game. There were pass interference calls and stuff to help them move the ball. Our defense got back on track."

Clairton's defense was able to save its skin in the WPIAL championship game. Against a game Laurel team, the Bears had to force a fumble late in the fourth quarter to escape with an 8-6 win. Brandon Murphy forced the fumble and Donte Wright fell on it to seal the victory.

Once the Bears got into the state tournament, Clairton had no issues wrapping up its fifth state title. Deon Lovelace-Pompey gave the defense a splash play in the state title game by returning an interception 24 yards for a touchdown right after halftime.

The Bears' defense deserves its spot in history among the great all-time WPIAL defenses. The imperfections it smoothed out along the way help give it some character.

Forry Cherry senior Matt Sieg caught many offguard by committing to play football at West Virginia University Wednesday morning. The Rangers standout had originally committed to play at Penn State and many people believed he would follow James Franklin to Virginia Tech. But the desire to stay close to home led the Washington County star to Morgantown.

Sieg led the Rangers through the most successful period in their program's history. Fort Cherry won the WPIAL football championship in 2023 and 2024. The Rangers reached the PIAA final in 2023 before losing to Steelton-Highspire. During Sieg's career, he piled up 7,958 rushing yards, which broke the school record set by Mike Vernillo.

Sieg also passing for more than 4,600 yards in his career.

Sieg finished his career as the WPIAL's second all-time leading rusher beyond former Hopewell standout Rushel Shell, who went on to play at Pitt and WVU.

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.