5 things to watch in Week 3 of high school football: Playoff races begin as conference play kicks off

By: Chris Harlan
Thursday, September 11, 2025 | 12:01 AM

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The push for the playoffs starts now.

Football teams in 12 WPIAL conferences will play their conference openers Friday or Saturday, beginning a seven-week sprint to the postseason. Conferences with eight teams — the Midwestern, Eastern and Tri-County South — have seven consecutive conference games ahead.

The Big East, Northeast, Allegheny 7, Western Hills, Century, Allegheny, Black Hills and Big Seven also start conference play here in Week 3. Five others join conference play later in the season.

One of the top Week 3 conference matchup pairs No. 5 Penn-Trafford (3-0) and No. 4 Woodland Hills (1-2) in a Big East clash of ranked teams in Class 5A.

Elsewhere, No. 2 North Allegheny (3-0) and No. 3 Hempfield (3-0) meet in an undefeated Class 6A matchup at NA’s Newman Stadium.

No. 1 South Park (3-0) visits No. 5 Steel Valley (1-2) in the Class 2A Allegheny.

But before jumping into league play, let’s look at which of the 17 conferences have fared the best out of conference.

The answer maybe isn’t too surprising, but Class 5A Allegheny Six teams have combined to go 12-6 against nonconference opponents in the first three weeks.

Class 6A teams are 12-9. That’s a turnaround from a year ago when they went 7-13 with one game cancelled.

The Big Six in 4A is 11-6.

Also finding success so far are teams in the Interstate (13-5), Black Hills (12-8), Western Hills (12-9), Allegheny (11-9), Eastern (12-10) and Tri-County South (12-11). Those conferences all have winning records after three weeks.

The others are the Midwestern (11-12), Allegheny 7 (9-12), Big Seven (8-13), Greater Allegheny (7-11), Parkway (7-9), Century (7-14), Big East (7-14) and Northeast (6-12).

Room to run?

The WPIAL has a new leading rusher.

Blackhawk’s Brayden McCarthy took over the top spot last week with a 21-carry, 298-yard effort in a 65-49 loss to North Catholic. For the season, the 6-foot, 180-pound junior has 639 yards and eight touchdowns on 55 carries.

This week, his Cougars run into a defense that has allowed one rushing touchdown in three games.

Southmoreland (3-0) has wins over Valley, 40-0, East Allegheny, 49-7, and Laurel Highlands, 54-7. The only runner to cross the goal line against the Scotties defense was Laurel Highlands’ Nicholas Crouch on a 3-yard run. East Allegheny scored its touchdown passing.

Blackhawk (1-2) hosts Southmoreland in a nonconference game at 7 p.m.

Saturday night lights

One of the best games of the week isn’t on Friday. Instead, Bishop Canevin hosts Laurel at 7 p.m. Saturday in a nonconference game at Dormont Stadium.

Both teams are ranked in Class A with Bishop Canevin (1-2) third and Laurel (3-0) fourth. The Spartans have an undefeated record, but the Crusaders have maybe played the tougher schedule, so far.

Canevin started its season with losses to Canada’s Clarkson North, 35-28, and Seton LaSalle, 22-7. The team defeated Steel Valley, 21-6, last week.

The Crusaders got a boost when junior quarterback Brady Wagner was deemed eligible for the regular season. Initially ruled ineligible by the WPIAL, attorneys representing Wagner’s parents and the PIAA reached an agreement this week allowing him to continue to play.

Wagner, a Mt. Lebanon transfer, played the past two games under a temporary restraining order issued by a federal judge.

Laurel has victories over Ellwood City, 43-13; Mohawk, 36-6; and Riverside, 43-0.

In Week 3 last year, Canevin won, 48-23.

Another top-ranked battle

The WPIAL gets a second matchup of No. 1 vs. No. 1.

Two weeks after Central Catholic and Pine-Richland squared off, Avonworth hosts Thomas Jefferson at 7 p.m. Friday in another clash of top-ranked teams. Thomas Jefferson (3-0) is ranked No. 1 in WPIAL Class 4A and Avonworth (3-0) is first in 3A.

The first top-ranked battle of the season went to Central Catholic, 34-20.

Thomas Jefferson is coming off a 16-7 win over McKeesport. Avonworth defeated Aliquippa, 23-7, last week.

A year ago, TJ rolled past Avonworth, 44-7, in Week 3.

Waiting for a win

North Hills is still searching for its first win under interim coach Brody Zangaro, and the Indians don’t have an easy matchup this week.

The top team in WPIAL Class 5A, Pine-Richland visits North Hills’ Martorelli Stadium at 7 p.m. Friday. But North Hills threatened to pull an upset in this game last year.

The Indians were within six points of Pine-Richland at halftime and trailed by only three in the third quarter. The Rams ultimately won 29-24.

North Hills’ record fell to 0-3 after losing last week to Mars, 13-10, in heartbreaking fashion. A penalty negated what would’ve been a game-winning touchdown for the Indians, and a potential tying field goal with no time left missed.

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.