A-K Valley high school notebook: Teams on the move in WPIAL football realignment

By: Michael Love
Monday, March 23, 2026 | 6:29 PM

Kiski Area and Knoch dropped, Fox Chapel moved and the Allegheny 7 Conference in Class 3A retained that dominant local flair.

Those are some of the highlights of the WPIAL’s football realignment for the 2026 and 2027 seasons.

The Cavaliers, under the direction of former Highlands and Westminster standout Brayden Thimons in his first season, made the Class 5A playoffs last fall. But they will look for a postseason return in Class 4A against Hampton, Indiana, McKeesport and Shaler in a section of just five teams.

Class 4A’s 16 teams have been divided into three sections.

Knoch, hoping for a fresh start after going winless in 2025, shifts down to Class 3A and will join the Allegheny 7 Conference with familiar foes Burrell, Deer Lakes, Freeport, Highlands and Valley. Imani, now Propel Braddock Hills, made a lateral move to another conference in Class 3A, and North Catholic joins the Allegheny 7, down from Class 4A.

Fox Chapel stays in Class 5A with Plum, but the Foxes will face a new lineup of conference teams in Connellsville, Franklin Regional, Gateway, Latrobe, Penn-Trafford and Woodland Hills in the Big East. FR and Fox Chapel played a nonconference game last year with the Panthers prevailing 21-10.

Plum, which made the WPIAL playoffs with the “Mustang Miracle” victory over rival Penn Hills in the regular-season finale, will still face the Indians in conference and also take on Armstrong, Moon, North Hills and Pine-Richland.

Apollo-Ridge hopes to build on last fall’s turnaround playoff season within a Class 2A conference that again will have it making some long trips. The Vikings will face Brownsville, Charleroi, East Allegheny, Ligonier Valley, South Allegheny and Steel Valley.

Leechburg made its fifth straight Class A playoff appearance in 2025, and the Blue Devils hope to keep the streak rolling this fall in the Eastern Conference against Riverview and Springdale, as well as defending WPIAL and state champion Clairton, Jeannette, Greensburg Central Catholic and former Eastern staple Serra Catholic.

Week Zero opponents revealed

In the wake of the WPIAL announcing its realignment for the next two seasons, the 13 A-K Valley football teams were charged with finding their opponents for the Week Zero games Aug. 28-29.

Emotions are expected to be high when Thimons leads Kiski Area into battle against Highlands. The Golden Rams and Cavaliers play for the first time since 2023 when they were members of the Greater Allegheny Conference in Class 4A.

Apollo-Ridge won’t face longtime Week Zero foe Leechburg, but the Vikings will maintain an all-A-K Valley matchup when they host Riverview at Owens Field.

Leechburg will host Carmichaels in its opener.

Fox Chapel and Freeport continue their Week Zero series with Allderdice and Indiana, respectively.

Athletic director Josh Shoop said Knoch had not yet finalized its Week Zero opponent as of Monday evening.

Yellowjackets, Bucs to continue rivalry

The Freeport and Burrell girls soccer teams met four times last year, twice in section play, with Freeport defeating Burrell for the WPIAL Class 2A title at Highmark Stadium and the Bucs returning the favor in the PIAA semifinals at Fox Chapel.

The staunch rivals will play at least twice this year as they again are paired up in Section 2-2A with Deer Lakes, Highlands, North Catholic, Oakland Catholic and Valley. Shady Side Academy, North Catholic and Knoch leave the section. Highlands is back after playing an independent schedule last fall.

Deer Lakes also returns to the section and its familiar foes after two years battling Mt. Pleasant for the Section 4-2A title. Playoff qualifier Oakland Catholic is down from Class 3A.

Fox Chapel, the 2025 Class 3A champion, hopes to defend, and it will start that run in a section with Armstrong, Connellsville, Gateway, Hempfield and Norwin.

Plum seeks an eighth straight section title in Class 3A, and it will go after it in a competitive Section 4 with Kiski Area, Franklin Regional, Latrobe, Greensburg Salem, Indiana and Penn-Trafford.

Springdale hopes to defend its Section 4-A title against Riverview, Apollo-Ridge, Greensburg Central Catholic and Steel Valley. Apollo-Ridge again will co-op with Leechburg, Shady Side Academy made the WPIAL playoffs in Class 2A last fall, and Riverview will shoot for a sixth straight playoff berth.

Boys soccer section locally exclusive

With the WPIAL’s realignment for boys soccer, Section 1-2A will be made up entirely of A-K Valley teams.

Playoff qualifiers North Catholic and Shady Side Academy departed, and Knoch, down from Class 3A, will join defending Class 2A champion Deer Lakes; 2025 playoff qualifier Highlands; and Burrell, Freeport, Leechburg and Valley.

Fox Chapel remains in Class 4A and will seek to defend its WPIAL title in Section 1 with Central Catholic, Connellsville, Gateway, Hempfield and Norwin.

Plum, a consistent playoff qualifier, drops to Class 3A and is a favorite in Section 3. The Mustangs, last fall’s Section 1-4A champion and a WPIAL semifinalist, will face Mars, Hampton, Penn Hills, Shaler and Woodland Hills in section play.

Kiski Area will play in Section 1-3A with Armstrong, Franklin Regional, Latrobe, Greensburg Salem, Indiana and Penn-Trafford.

Riverview, St. Joseph and Springdale again will do battle in Section 3-A along with Greensburg Central Catholic, Jeannette, Trinity Christian and Winchester Thurston. The Dynamos and Raiders were playoff qualifiers in 2025.

Prepping for six classes

WPIAL girls volleyball expands to six classifications as directed by the PIAA, and that means several teams will find themselves in new places this fall.

It is the 10th anniversary of the PIAA’s expansion to six classes for football, baseball, softball and boys and girls basketball.

Perennial playoff power Freeport will remain a Class 3A team and face Burrell, Deer Lakes, Highlands, Derry, Ligonier Valley and Neighborhood Academy. Burrell captured its first section title in 2025, claiming the outright Section 5-2A crown.

Plum and Fox Chapel are together in Section 1-5A with Armstrong, Gateway, North Hills, Penn Hills and Shaler, while Kiski Area is in Section 2-5A with Albert Gallatin, Connellsville, Franklin Regional, Latrobe, Indiana, Penn-Trafford and Uniontown.

Knoch will play Ambridge, Beaver, Blackhawk, Central Valley, Hampton, Lincoln Park and Oakland Catholic in Section 1-4A, while Valley is in Section 2-4A with Belle Vernon, East Allegheny, Elizabeth Forward, Greensburg Salem, Laurel Highlands, Ringgold and West Mifflin.

Apollo-Ridge, Springdale and Riverview are together in Section 2-2A, while 2025 playoff qualifiers Leechburg and St. Joseph will compete in Section 2-A with WPIAL Class A runner-up Serra Catholic.

Geist wins world silver medal

Knoch graduate, WPIAL track and field record holder and first-year Slippery Rock assistant track and field coach Jordan Geist earned a silver medal in the shot put at the World Athletics Indoor Championships on Sunday in Torun, Poland.

The former NCAA shot put national champion at Arizona, earned his first world championship medal. He recorded a successful toss of 21.64 meters (70.99 feet) on his first attempt. It stood as the best attempt until Tom Walsh from New Zealand threw further (71.59 feet) late in the competition.

Geist and Roger Steen gave the U.S. second and third place, respectively,

Geist finished his highly successful indoor season owning the third-best throw in the world: 22.04 meters (72.31 feet). He won the World Indoor Tour title and placed second at U.S Nationals.

Geist took on a coaching role with The Rock track and field teams before the start of the indoor season, joining parents Judy and Jim Geist. He helped two SRU men’s throwers set indoor school records.

Rock throwers earned eight shot put podium finishes at the PSAC Indoor Championships with the SRU contingent scoring 50 total points across the men’s and women’s shot put and weight throw events.

Michael Love is a TribLive reporter covering sports in the Alle-Kiski Valley and the eastern suburbs of Pittsburgh. A Clearfield native and a graduate of Westminster (Pa.), he joined the Trib in 2002 after spending five years at the Clearfield Progress. He can be reached at mlove@triblive.com.