2 WPIAL teams earn national recognition from High School Football America
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Monday, October 5, 2020 | 3:03 PM
North Allegheny’s Khalil Dinkins returns an interception for a touchdown past Central Catholic’s Eddy Tillman during the third quarter of their game Sept. 25, 2020, at Graham Field in Wilkinsburg.
Two WPIAL football teams are earning national attention.
North Allegheny and Pine-Richland were among four Pennsylvania schools receiving spots in the Top 100 rankings High School Football America released Sunday. North Allegheny was ranked 35th and Pine-Richland 85th in the first list for this season.
Also included was St. Joseph’s Prep of Philadelphia at sixth overall and suburban Harrisburg’s Central Dauphin at 65th.
As PIAA Class 6A teams, North Allegheny, St. Joseph’s Prep and Central Dauphin could run into one another in the state playoffs this fall. St. Joseph’s Prep is a two-time defending PIAA champion and Central Dauphin was runner-up last season.
Pine-Richland moved to Class 5A this season.
Pine-Richland is coming off a 43-0 victory over Penn Hills. North Allegheny defeated Mt. Lebanon, 14-11.
This week, North Allegheny (3-0, 2-0) visits Norwin (1-3, 1-3) on Friday, and Pine-Richland (3-0, 2-0) hosts Shaler (0-4, 0-2).
High School Football America’s top-ranked team was two-time defending Texas state champion North Shore of Houston. Also in the Top 5 were IMG Academy of Bradenton, Fla., Lowndes of Valdosta, Ga., Southlake (Texas) Carroll and St. Thomas Aquinas of Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
The website waited until now to publish its first national rankings because many schools delayed the start of their seasons.
St. Joseph’s Prep starts its season Saturday against Life Christian Academy.
Central Dauphin (2-0) visits Carlisle on Friday, a week after defeating State College, 35-13.
Here it is! The FIRST High School Football America 100 for 2020.
Read https://t.co/u88D0qKN7R pic.twitter.com/uDMWGwFMRg
— High School Football America (@HSFBamerica) October 5, 2020
Chris Harlan is a TribLive reporter covering sports. He joined the Trib in 2009 after seven years as a reporter at the Beaver County Times. He can be reached at charlan@triblive.com.
Tags: North Allegheny, Pine-Richland
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