WPIAL: Strength of PA Football

Five years ago, I was involved in a discussion with my future brother-in-law, at the time, regarding the strength of eastern Pennsylvania high school football versus their western adversaries. He is a 1981 Berwick graduate and experienced first-hand one of the greatest dynasties in all of prep gridiron history over the course of approximately twenty-years. Berwick won six state titles in the range of ten years in Class AAA. George Curry, former head coach of the Dawgs, featured teams with such standouts as Bo Orlando (former NFL safety), Jake Kelchner (former West Virginia quarterback) and the much heralded Notre Dame signal caller Ron Powlus of the mid-90s. The Bulldogs have not won a championship since 1997; however, BHS still holds the designation of being crowned the most of any school in the PIAA’s 23-year football tournament history (tied with Southern Columbia with 6).

Although I did not agree with my brother-in-law ‘s take that the western half is inferior to the closer one would get to the Atlantic. I had to do some research into his claim. My findings pointed to a certain district which has given the state much acclaim on the national level for many decades. That district is the Western Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic League or the WPIAL.

District 7 (WPIAL) has been the home of future star athletes Johnny Unitas, Mike Ditka, Joe Namath, Joe Montana, Tony Dorsett, Bill Fralic, Dan Marino, Ty Law, LaVar Arrington, and Darelle Revis just to name to a few.  Since the PIAA playoffs began in 1988, the WPIAL has come away from the 4 classifications as the title holder 32-times. That’s a winning percentage in the state finals of 34.8% in all 92 championship contests which have been played since 1988. Maybe even more staggering is the fact that the WPIAL has been the representative of the western half 71.9% including this year’s state championship contests. There has been a District 7 team in the ‘big game’ 68 of the tournament’s 92 games played.

Championships by District

District	Titles	Last	Champ. Game Trips
1. WPIAL	32	2010	68
2. District 4	11	2009	21
3. District 11	10	2010	18
District 1	10	2004	18
District 2	10	1997	15
6. District 3	8	2009	15
7. District 10	7	2008	14
8. District 12	2	2010	5
9. District 6	1	1999	6
District 8	1	1989	2
11. District 9	0	---	2
District 5	0	---	0

Entering this past weekend, the WPIAL had the opportunity for the 7^th time (1990, 1993, 1998, 2001, 2002, 2007) to have been represented in the state championship game in each of the four classications. However, three of the schools were defeated in the Western Finals leaving the two-time defending champion Clairton Bears (15-0) as the lone ambassador in the playoffs’ final weekend.  In the tournament’s twenty-three years of existence, there has only been one campaign that a WPIAL team has not won a state title. In 1992, three District 7 teams advanced to the title contest and all three were turned away.

Although I believe the argument over who has the better brand of football will always be a hot topic amongst Pennsylvanians. There is no debate over which district has been and most likely always will be the best football factory for years to come – the WPIAL.

This past Friday, Clairton defeated Sharpsville 30-8 to extend their win streak to 46-games which ties the WPIAL record with Braddock who accomplished the feat between 1955-1960. Just an hour and a half away from Youngstown, Clairton’s head coach Tom Nola has produced a power house year-after-year.  On the national landscape, Clairton is currently tied with Don Bosco Prep in New Jersey as the country’s longest active win streak.

The Bears have now advanced to their fourth straight state finals. Clairton has found much success through their defensive scheme and play making ability on offense.

This year, Clairton has held the opposition to just an average of 3.9 points per game. That’s #1 in the state, no matter which classification you are looking at. Last year it was the same format. The Bears defense took home top honors by allowing their opponents to just 4-points in their sixteen matchups. While I’m mentioning these facts, Clairton also was #1 in points allowed in 2009 as well (3.8).
 
The offense has fashioned itself after the big-play ability of junior Tyler Boyd who has run for 2182 yards (12.7 ypc) and has scored 46-touchdowns this season. The Bears’ quarterback Capri Thompson has gained 451 yards via the ground and also has thrown for 1701 markers.

Clairton (15-0) will take on Southern Columbia (14-1) in the Class A Final on Friday afternoon from Hershey (1 p.m.).  The Tigers won five-straight championships between the years of 2002-2006. Southern Columbia High School is located in Catawissa which is near Bloomsburg. The Tiger program would like nothing more than to claim their spot as the winningest program in tournament history. A win would give Southern their 7^th championship.

PIAA Championships
1. Berwick (AAA) & Southern Columbia (A) - 6
3. Mount Carmel (AA) - 5
4. Central Bucks West (AAAA) - 4
5. Rochester (A), Thomas Jefferson (AAA), Allentown Central Catholic (AAA), Pittsburgh Central Catholic (AAAA) – 3

Back-to-Back-to-Back Championships
5 – Southern Columbia (A - 2002-2006)
4 – Berwick (Class AAA – 1994-1997)
3 – Central Bucks West (Class AAAA – 1997-1999)
*Clairton has the opportunity to win their third straight championship this Friday.

2011 PIAA State Championships at Hershey
Class A – Southern Columbia (D4, 14-1) vs. Clairton (WPIAL, 15-0) on Friday at 1 p.m.
-The WPIAL has won at least one championship 22 of the 23 years that the tournament has been in existence. Clairton seeks their third straight title as Southern Columbia is after their record setting 7^th championship.

Class AA – Lancaster Catholic (D3, 15-0) vs. Tyrone (D6, 14-1) on Saturday at 12 p.m.
-There has only been one champion from District 6 (Tyrone, 13-6, over Mount Carmel in 1999) in the history of the tournament. The Golden Eagles will try and make it #2. For the first time ever, there is 3 District 3 schools in the Finals.

Class AAA – Archbishop Wood (D12, 13-1) vs. Bishop McDevitt (D3, 13-2) on Friday at 7 p.m.
-Neither, Bishop McDevitt nor Archbishop Wood has won a PIAA state title in football.  McDevitt was the alma mater of NFL running backs Rickey Watters and LeSean McCoy. Wood has been championed numerous times with Philadelphia Catholic League titles.

Class AAAA – Central Dauphin (D3, 14-1) vs. North Penn (D1, 13-2) on Saturday at 6 p.m.
-North Penn won their lone championship in 2003. Central Dauphin is seeking their first championship.