WPIAL sets brackets for 2024 soccer championships

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania – The Western Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic League (WPIAL) has set its round times for the WPIAL/UPMC Sports Medicine Football Championships presented by Noble Environmental on Saturday. 65 teams qualified in the six classifications. The rankings were announced exclusively on the WPIAL/KDKA Radio Selection Saturday Show, presented by PennWest University, beginning Saturday afternoon at 1:00 p.m.

The teams competed in one Class 6A section, three different Class 2A sections, Class 3A, Class 4A and Class 5A, and four Class 1A sections. In Class 6A, the top four teams qualified for the WPIAL football championships, while the top three teams plus additional wild cards punched their ticket in Classes 1A, 2A, 3A and 5A. In Class 4A, the top two teams plus two wild cards compete in the postseason.

In Class 6A's only sectional, Central Catholic (8-2, 6-0) captured its second straight sectional title and third in six seasons.

In Class 5A, the section champions were Pine-Richland (8-1, 5-0) in Section I, Woodland Hills (8-2, 6-0) in Section II and Upper St. Clair (10-0, 6). -0) in Section III. Woodland Hills and Upper St. Clair broke nine- and seven-season losing streaks, respectively, while Pine-Richland has five section titles in six seasons.

Class 4A section winners included McKeesport (6-4, 5-0) in Section II, Thomas Jefferson (10-0, 5-0) in Section III and a three-way tie between Aliquippa (6-2, 4-0 ). 1), Montour (8-1, 4-1) and West Allegheny (4-3, 4-1) in Section I. Aliquippa has won a share of its fifth straight section championship, while McKeesport's are three and five in a row in seven years for Thomas Jefferson. Montour and West Allegheny's portions of Section I mark the first time they have topped their section since 2012 and 2016, respectively.

In Class 3A, Imani Christian Academy (10-0, 6-0) won Section II, Elizabeth Forward (7-3, 5-0) won Section III and Avonworth (7-3, 5-1), Beaver (8th). -2, 5-1) and Central Valley (5-5, 5-1) shared Section I. This is the third straight section championship for Avonworth, three in five seasons for Elizabeth Forward and four in six seasons for Central Valley. Before this season, Beaver and Imani Christian Academy last won their sectionals in 2009 and 2017, respectively.

The Class 2A section champions were South Park (9-1, 6-0) in Section I, Ellwood City (9-0, 7-0) in Section II and Seton LaSalle (9-0, 6-0) in Section III . All three schools endured lengthy stretches of sectional championship glory, as Seton LaSalle and South Park last won in 2017 and Ellwood City's title is its first since 1997.

In Class 1A, the section champions were Clairton (10-0, 7-0) in Section I, Jefferson-Morgan (10-0, 7-0) in Section II, Fort Cherry (10-0, 6-0) in Section III and Neshannock (9-1, 6-0) in Section IV. Fort Cherry and Neshannock are both repeat champions, while Clairton has five in six seasons. Jefferson-Morgan's title is his first since 2006.

In last season's WPIAL Football Championships, North Allegheny defeated Central Catholic in Class 6A (44-41), Peters Township defeated Pine-Richland in Class 5A (43-17), Aliquippa defeated McKeesport in Class 4A ( 35-21) and Belle Vernon topped Avonworth in Class 3A (26-0), Beaver Falls topped Steel Valley in Class 2A (14-12) and Fort Cherry topped Class 1A Top of South Side (42-28).

The WPIAL/UPMC Sports Medicine Football Championships presented by Noble Environmental begin Friday, Nov. 1, with first-round games in all classifications except Class 6A. Championship games for Classes 4A and 6A will be played on Saturday, November 16th at Norwin High School and the championship games for Classes 1A, 2A, 3A and 5A will be played on Saturday, November 23rd at Acrisure Stadium. The WPIAL- Champion of each classification qualifies for the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association (PIAA) football championships beginning November 22 and 23 in the quarterfinal round for Class 4A and Class 6A and the semifinal round for Class 1A, Class 2A, Class 3A and Class 5A on November 28th and 29th. All championship games will take place Dec. 5-7 at Cumberland Valley High School.

CLASS 6A CHAMPIONSHIP CAPSULE
Start date: Friday, November 8th
Championship info: Saturday, November 16 at Norwin High School – 6:05 p.m
Number of qualifiers: 4
The four best seeds: #1 Central Catholic (8-2, 6-0), #2 North Allegheny (9-1, 5-1), #3 Mt. Lebanon (3-7, 3-3), #4 Seneca Valley (3- 6, 3-3)
Final 2023: North Allegheny 44, Central Catholic 41

CLASS 5A CHAMPIONSHIP CAPSULE
Start date: Friday, November 1st
Championship info: Saturday, November 23rd at Acrisure Stadium – 8:00 p.m
Number of qualifiers: 12
The four best seeds: #1 Pine-Richland (8-1, 5-0), #2 Upper St. Clair (10-0, 6-0), #3 Peters Township (9-1, 4-1), #4 Woodland Hills ( 8-2, 6-0)
Qualifying teams: Bethel Park, Franklin Regional, Greater Latrobe, Moon, North Hills, Penn Hills, Penn-Trafford, Peters Township, Pine-Richland, South Fayette, Upper St. Clair, Woodland Hills
Final 2023: Peters Township 43, Pine-Richland 17

CLASS 4A CHAMPIONSHIP CAPSULE
Start date: Friday, November 1st
Championship info: Saturday, November 16 at Norwin High School – 12:05 p.m
Number of qualifiers: 8
The four best seeds: #1 Thomas Jefferson (10-0, 6-0), #2 Montour (8-1, 4-1), #3 McKeesport (6-4, 5-0), #4 Aliquippa (6-2, 4- 1)
Qualifying teams: Aliquippa, Belle Vernon, Mars, McKeesport, Montour, Thomas Jefferson, Trinity, West Allegheny
Final 2023: Aliquippa 35, McKeesport 21

CLASS 3A CHAMPIONSHIP CAPSULE
Start date: Friday, November 1st
Championship info: Saturday, November 23rd at Acrisure Stadium – 5:00 p.m
Number of qualifiers: 12
The four best seeds: #1 Imani Christian Academy (10-0, 6-0), #2 Central Valley (5-5, 5-1), #3 Elizabeth Forward (7-3, 5-0), #4 Beaver (8-2 , 5-1)
Qualifying teams: Avonworth, Beaver, Central Valley, Deer Lakes, Elizabeth Forward, Freeport, Greensburg Salem, Highlands, Imani Christian Academy, Mt Pleasant, North Catholic, Southmoreland
Final 2023: Belle Vernon 26, Avonworth 0

CLASS 2A CHAMPIONSHIP CAPSULE
Start date: Friday, November 1st
Championship info: Saturday, November 23rd at Acrisure Stadium – 2:00 p.m
Number of qualifiers: 13
The four best seeds: #1 Seton LaSalle (9-0, 6-0), #2 South Park (9-1, 6-0), #3 Ellwood City (9-0, 7-0), #4 Steel Valley (7-3 , 5-1)
Qualifying teams: Carlynton, Ellwood City, Keystone Oaks, Mohawk, Our Lady of the Sacred Heart, Riverside, Seton LaSalle, South Allegheny, South Park, Steel Valley, Washington, Waynesburg Central, Western Beaver
Final 2023: Beaver Falls 14, Steel Valley 12

CLASS 1A CHAMPIONSHIP CAPSULE

Start date: Friday, November 1st

Championship info: Saturday, November 23rd at Acrisure Stadium – 11:00am

Number of qualifiers: 16

The four best seeds: #1 Fort Cherry, #2 Clairton, #3 Bishop Canevin, #4 Neshannock

Qualifying teams: Bentworth, Bishop Canevin, Brentwood, California, Clairton, Cornell, Fort Cherry, Greensburg Central Catholic, Jeannette, Jefferson-Morgan, Laurel, Leechburg, Monessen, Neshannock, Rochester, South Side

Final 2023: Fort Cherry 42, South Side 28



BY THE NUMBERS

• 128: The number of schools that boast at least one WPIAL football champion.
• 109: The number of seasons the WPIAL has crowned a football champion. Wilkinsburg was the first in 1914.
• 85: The number of points scored in last year's Class 6A championship game, a league record. North Allegheny defeated Central Catholic 44-41, their combined 85 points surpassing the 82 in the 2015 Class 2A title game – a 44-38 win for Aliquippa over South Fayette.
• 70: The number of seasons between Rochester's first and second WPIAL football titles, representing the longest gap for any school between their first two championships. The Rams shared the crown with Westinghouse in 1921 after a 0-0 tie and captured their second WPIAL championship in 1991 with a 20-7 victory over South Side in the Class 1A final. The schools that could break that record this year are California (75 years, 1949), Ellwood City (99 years, 1925) and Trinity (76 years, 1948).
• 51: The number of teams in the 2024 fields that qualified for the WPIAL football championships last season.
• 20: The number of WPIAL football championships won by Aliquippa, a league record. The Quips won in 1952, 1955, 1964, 1984, 1985, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1991, 1996, 2000, 2003, 2008, 2011, 2012, 2015, 2018, 2021, 2022 and 2. 023.
• 10: The number of schools that have qualified for the WPIAL football championships and are looking for their first title.
• 5: Longest streak of consecutive WPIAL football championships achieved by Clairton. The Bears won five straight Class 1A titles from 2008 to 2012.
• 3: The number of championship game rematches played during the 2023 WPIAL Football Championship. The same two teams met in the Class 2A, Class 3A and Class 6A finals in both 2022 and 2023. Both Belle Vernon and North Allegheny defended their championships against Avonworth and Central Catholic, respectively, while Beaver Falls got revenge over Steel Valley in Class 2A.
• 2: The number of schools that won their first WPIAL football championship last season. In Class 5A, Peters Township captured its first WPIAL football title with a 43-17 victory over Pine-Richland, while Fort Cherry defeated South Side 42-28 in the Class 1A final. Both the Indians and Rangers were making their third appearance in a WPIAL championship game.

CLASS 6A MASTER
Section I: Central Catholic (8-2, 6-0)

CLASS 5A MASTER
Section I: Pine-Richland (8-1, 5-0)
Section II: Woodland Hills (8-2, 6-0)
Section III: Upper St. Clair (10-0, 5-0)

CLASS 4A MASTER
Section I: Aliquippa (6-2, 4-1); Montour (8-1, 4-1); West Allegheny (4-3, 4-1)
Section II: McKeesport (6-4, 5-0)
Section III: Thomas Jefferson (10-0, 5-0)

CLASS 3A MASTER
Section I: Avonworth (7-3, 5-1); Beavers (8-2, 5-1); Central Valley (5-5, 5-1)
Section II: Imani Christian Academy (10-0, 6-0)
Section III: Elizabeth Striker (7-3, 5-0)

CLASS 2A MASTER
Section I: South Park (9-1, 6-0)
Section II: Ellwood City (9-0, 7-0)
Section III: Seton LaSalle (9-0, 6-0)

CLASS 1A MASTER
Section I: Clairton (10-0, 7-0)
Section II: Jefferson Morgan (10-0, 7-0)
Section III: Fort Cherry (10-0, 6-0)
Section IV: Neshannock (9-1, 6-0)

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