5 thing we learned from Week 4 of WPIAL football season: Power shifts south in Class 5A

By: Chris Harlan
Saturday, September 21, 2024 | 9:10 PM

There could be a lot of football talk in the South Hills this fall, maybe while eating sandwiches stuffed with French fries and coleslaw.

“The Primanti’s in between Upper St. Clair, Bethel and us, it’ll be fun for those kids,” South Fayette coach Marty Spieler said. “They’ll have something to talk about.”

That’s because the Allegheny Six could claim to be the power conference in WPIAL Class 5A. After five weeks, that conference still has four undefeated teams with Bethel Park, Peters Township, South Fayette and Upper St. Clair at 5-0.

Peters Township is the defending WPIAL champion and state runner-up.

Spieler, a first-year coach and a 2000 Woodland Hills graduate, has seen the power cycle from one region in the WPIAL to another over the years.

“We had some battles at Woodland Hills with Penn Hills and Gateway,” Spieler said. “And then it moved to Penn-Trafford. Right now, fortunately, we’re going to have some exciting games traveling up and down (Route) 19.”

Pine-Richland (4-0) in the Northeast Conference is the only other undefeated team in 5A.

The top five teams in the Allegheny Six are 23-1 combined when including Moon (3-1). However, those perfect records will be blemished when they start conference play next week.

One noteworthy nonconference win was Upper St. Clair’s 45-7 decision over Big East-leading Franklin Regional in Week 2.

“I think the teams in our league are quality opponents,” Bethel Park coach Phil Peckich said. “I think everyone understands the depth, week in and week out. They all have quality coaching staffs. When you come out of this league, if you can stay healthy, you’re going to be battle tested.”

Record-setting kicks

When a team wants touchdowns, celebrating a bunch of field goals can be tough. But Pine-Richland kicker Grant Argiro had a night worth celebrating.

The senior kicked five field goals in a 43-7 win over Plum, converting attempts from 25, 34, 35, 44 and 46 yards. That matched a WPIAL and PIAA single-game record set by Peters Township’s Bob Milspaw in 1994.

Argiro also converted four extra points, giving him a WPIAL-record 19 kicking points. Milspaw was credited with the previous WPIAL record at 17.

“He’s at practice every day working on his craft,” Pine-Richland coach Jon LeDonne said. “He’s not just a kicker. He’s a captain on our team.”

Argiro had a sixth field goal try Friday from 54 yards that narrowly missed to the left.

Garden Spot kicker Martin Walker tied Milspaw’s field goal mark with five in a 2021 game, but nobody is known to have surpassed his 30-year-old record.

Making five field goals is a good season for most high school kickers. Argiro is a three-year varsity kicker for Pine-Richland and earned all-conference honors last season. He entered Friday having made 2 of 3 attempts this year.

LeDonne said his longest in practice was a 57- or 58-yarder, so he has confidence in him. Still, LeDonne surely hopes not to use him too much.

“You’d like those to be touchdowns,” LeDonne said. “At least you’re getting some points, so it’s a positive.”

Building a bridge

Ambridge improved to 3-1 with a win Friday over Greensburg Salem, which marks the Bridgers’ best start in almost a decade. The team’s progress isn’t just on paper.

“The kids have got a little pep in their step,” said Ambridge coach Sherman McBride, in his fourth season. “They’re playing four quarters of football. Even the other teams talk about how physical that we’ve been. We’ve been playing good ball.”

Their lone loss was in overtime to Hopewell.

In a five-year span before McBride arrived, Ambridge won a total of one game (1-44) from 2016-20. The Bridgers won two games in each of the past three seasons, small steps in the right direction.

McBride said a key was that eight of the team’s 17 seniors started for him as freshmen. But their work is far from over, said McBride, whose team starts Parkway Conference play next week.

“I always believe it’s not the start but the finish,” McBride said. “We still have this juggernaut of a conference to go through.”

Pitching a shutout

The Clairton Bears sure are looking like their championship versions from the past.

Clairton posted its fourth straight shutout Friday with a 60-0 victory over Frazier, but it was the fifth consecutive game that the team’s defense hasn’t allowed a point.

The only touchdown the Bears have given up this season was a fumble return touchdown to Steel Valley in a 30-7 victory in Week Zero. Since, they have defeated Serra Catholic, 43-0; Shady Side Academy, 55-0; and Greensburg Central Catholic, 47-0.

A perfect ending

The WPIAL is down to 18 undefeated teams, but it took some late-game heroics for New Castle to remain on that unbeaten list.

The Red Hurricanes had trailed by 12 points with less than four minutes left in their 42-32 victory over Knoch. The comeback started with a 74-yard kickoff return touchdown by Nate McKnight, who later scored on a 51-yard pass to give his team the lead with 2:02 left in the fourth quarter.

They also tacked on a late rushing touchdown to secure their first 4-0 start since 2002.

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.