Football
CTK 2015 – Class A Eastern Conference Preview
August 27, 2015
The landscape of the Eastern Conference changed drastically in 2014 as a result of realignment, as two strong AA teams, Greensburg Central Catholic and Jeannette, dropped down in classification. Those teams, combined with Clairton and Monessen, as well as historically successful Springdale, appeared to comprise perhaps the most top-loaded conference in the WPIAL. When the season concluded, though, there was no competition for the conference champion. Last season will always be remembered for the sheer and utter dominance displayed by the Clairton Bears. The team posted some of the most lopsided victories in recent memory, and the Bears culminated their season with a WPIAL Championship.
CTK 2015 – Class AA Allegheny Conference Preview
August 26, 2015
You could say variety has been a big part of the Allegheny Conference in recent years. Since 2010, five different teams have either won the conference title or tied for first place. During that time, the only team to win the conference outright or tie for first in more than one year is Freeport, which tied for first in 2011 and 2012. The other teams to win or tie were Ford City (2010), Shady Side Academy (2011), Burrell (2012), Kittanning (2013) and Highlands (2014). Who will win the conference this year? There are some differing opinions as to who is the team to beat, although Highlands probably gets the nod. But this is for sure: The conference has a different look this season.
CTK 2015 – Class AA Midwestern Athletic Conference
August 25, 2015
Often referred to as the MAC, it is an acronym for the Midwestern Athletic Conference. Maybe it should stand for Mighty Aliquippa Continues. The Quips have absolutely dominated the MAC this decade. Since 2010, Aliquippa has won five straight outright conference championships and has been rarely challenged in section going a staggering 38-0. Even when they lose star players to graduation, there is another young stud waiting in the wings to dawn the black and red and continue the tradition. But there are eight other MAC teams who feel the conference could stand for Maybe Aliquippa Can’t. Is that false hope in the dawning of a new season, or is there a Tiger or other cat of a different stripe ready to pounce and shock the Quips and the rest of the WPIAL nation?
CTK 2015 – Class AA Interstate Conference Preview
August 24, 2015
Repeat is not a word uttered often in the Interstate Conference. It has been a decade since a team has won the conference title outright (without ties) for two consecutive season. Washington could very easily buck the trend this year. It seems just about everybody is pegging Washington to repeat as conference champion. But can Washington or any other team from the Interstate go on to win a WPIAL title? That doesn’t happen often, either. Of the teams currently in the conference, there have been only four WPIAL champs the past quarter century. Washington won twice and Waynesburg and McGuffey won one each.
CTK 2015 – Class AA Century Conference Preview
August 23, 2015
In both 2013 and 2014, South Fayette not only reigned supreme over the Century Conference, but over the entire state of Pennsylvania in Class AA. The back-to-back PIAA champion Lions lost the catalyst to their dynamic offense, though, as Brett Brumbaugh has moved on to the next level. While the Lions still return an array of contributors with a championship pedigree, will they have enough to fend off the challenges of last year’s playoff qualifying teams like Seton-La Salle and Steel Valley, both of which boast top college prospects? Moreover, South Park, which finished in third last season, faces a number of questions after the Eagles longtime coach moved on from the program.
CTK 2015 – Week Two WPIAL Football Scrimmages
August 22, 2015
One scrimmage is in the books and one more is coming up this weekend as WPIAL and Pittsburgh City League football teams continue to prepare for the kickoff of the 2015 season. Scrimmage number two will take place for most teams on Friday 8/28 with three scrimmages on Saturday 8/29. Here is a rundown of ALL the second week scrimmages involving District 7 and District 8 high school football teams. All games are Friday, August 28th unless otherwise indicated. WPIAL vs Pittsburgh City League: Perry Commodores vs Pittsburgh Central Catholic Vikings AT Central Catholic High School at 6:00pm Laurel Highlands Mustangs vs Brashear Bulls AT Cupples Stadium at 6:00pm
CTK 2015 – Class AAA Big Ten Conference Preview
Before we get to whether Thomas Jefferson will win the conference again, and whether West Mifflin has another top tailback, there is one main question with this conference: What the heck is the name of the conference? For the past three seasons, this has been the Big Nine Conference. Great idea, since there were nine teams. But this conference also has had eight teams. During those years, it was the Big Eight. There were years it had seven. Thus, the name Big Seven. But Yough was added this year to make a 10-team conference. So, what now? We here at MSA Sports change with the numbers. Welcome to the Big Ten. Or should it be the Big 10 with numbers? Whatever, here is a look at the Big Ten, er, 10 Conference:
CTK 2015 – Class AAA Greater Allegheny Conference Preview
August 21, 2015
While West Allegheny and Central Valley have battled back and forth atop the Parkway Conference and Thomas Jefferson has reigned supreme in the former Big Nine Conference, the Greater Allegheny Conference has had a number of intriguing teams that have enjoyed success recently. Last year, Hampton captured the top spot, while perennial powerhouse Franklin Regional finished in second. Mars, a team which has been near the top of the standings in recent years, overcame key injuries to still contend and make a playoff run. Conference newcomer Gateway, which was a powerhouse for more than a decade in Quad-A, proved disappointing for most of its debut season.
CTK 2015 – Class AAA Parkway Conference Preview
August 20, 2015
It wouldn’t exactly be going out on a limb to predict that a team from the Parkway Conference will make the WPIAL Class AAA championship. After all, the past six Class AAA champs have come from the Parkway. In fact, over those six seasons, 10 of the 12 title game participants have come from the Parkway. It’s very likely that the Parkway will have another team in the championship game this year. But figuring out who that team will be isn’t easy.
CTK 2015 – Class AAAA Foothills Conference Preview
August 19, 2015
The Foothills Conference hasn’t had a repeat champion since Gateway in 2008-09. The trend may end this season. The Foothills is alive with Warriors. The Penn-Trafford Warriors. Coach John Ruane’s team made it to the WPIAL semifinals last year and many are pointing to the Warriors as the favorite to win their second consecutive conference title. Penn-Trafford has experience, skill and some size. McKeesport looks like Penn-Trafford’s top competitor. Plum’s program could continue to move upward under fourth-year coach Matt Morgan. The Mustangs have some key players back from last year’s team that finished 6-5 and won a playoff game. After Penn-Trafford, McKeesport and Plum, things look pretty open in the Foothills. Here’s a look at the teams in the conference:
CTK 2015 – Class AAAA Southeastern Conference Preview
August 18, 2015
After what happened in 2014, maybe there should be some consideration given to changing the WPIAL Class AAAA eight-team conference known as the Southeastern Conference with six schools south of the city of Pittsburgh and two in the eastern suburbs to the Eastsouthern Conference. The two east schools were beast a year ago after Penn Hills Week 9 upset of highly ranked rival Woodland Hills left the Indians and Wolverines as conference co-champs with 6-1 section records. While the same named SEC in the college ranks has been called the strongest in the nation, the same can not be said about the District 7 version. While teams from the Southeastern Conference won three WPIAL championships in a four year span from 2005 to 2008, it has hit a postseason drought since.
CTK 2015 – Class AAAA Northern Eight Conference Preview
August 17, 2015
A team from the Northern Eight Conference has won the WPIAL Class AAAA championship five consecutive seasons, and last year’s title game was a matchup of two Northern Eight teams – Pine-Richland and Central Catholic. The conference should be formidable again this season. Many are pegging the Northern Eight to have three of the top six or seven teams in Class AAAA – Pittsburgh Central Catholic, North Allegheny and Pine-Richland.
CTK 2015 – New WPIAL Football Coaches
August 16, 2015
New Faces - New Places - New Hopes - New Dreams. While there were two fewer coaching change this off-season then before the 2014 campaign, there were some big names that either hung up the whistle or changed sidelines for this upcoming season. Some of the changes include former championship winning coaches in Tom Loughran and Dave Vestal moving elsewhere while the legendary Joe Hamilton is out at Blackhawk. There are a lot of rookie head coaches getting their first crack, and some coaches who are just changing hats and addresses. Whatever the case, there are 19 coaching changes coming into this 2015 season. Here are the new football coaches that will be running the sidelines in the WPIAL this fall. CLASS AAAA:This Week on the MSA Sports Network – 08/16/2015
Our annual August ritual known as Countdown to Kickoff continues as we inch closer to the 2015 high school football season this week here on the MSA Sports Network. Every day in August, we have something new on our website to prepare you for a new season kicking off on 9/4/15. We also have Frontier League baseball with the Washington Wild Things hosting the Windy City Thunderbolts and the Gateway Grizzlies in six games at CONSOL Energy Field, plus find out the latest news and info from the race tracks during the weekly edition of Rappin' on Racin' ALL here at MSAsports.net Monday, August 17th:
CTK 2015 – MSA Sports Preseason ELITE ELEVEN
The Pittsburgh Central Catholic football team is being touted as one of the top 25 teams in the country in some national polls. The strength of the Vikings can be seen on this year’s MSA Sports Elite 11 team. Central Catholic has two players on this year’s preseason Elite 11 – Damar Hamlin and David Adams. Central Catholic is the only team with two players on the Elite 11. The team is made up of the top 11 players in the WPIAL, regardless of position, and is picked by the MSA Sports staff. Hamlin, a senior, and Adams, a junior, are both being recruited heavily by major colleges. But Central Catholic has a handful of other players with scholarship offers from Division I-A colleges.
CTK 2015 – WPIAL Quad-A Players to Watch
August 14, 2015
Countdown to Kickoff 2015 continues with a four-day look at some of the top high school football talent in the WPIAL for this upcoming season. As always, this list just scratches the surface. We ask for your help in building a complete rundown of candidates. You can nominate a top player by clicking on NOMINATE TOP PLAYERS and submitting their name. Here is a look at some of the players to watch this 2015 campaign in Class AAAA. OFFENSE: Quarterback: Brett Laffoon- Penn-Trafford Billy Kisner – Penn Hills Levi Metheny - Bethel Park Daniel Walters - Hempfield Eddie Jenkins - Mount Lebanon
CTK 2015 – WPIAL Triple-A Players to Watch
August 13, 2015
Countdown to Kickoff 2015 continues with a four-day look at some of the top high school football talent in the WPIAL for this upcoming season. As always, this list just scratches the surface. We ask for your help in building a complete rundown of candidates. You can nominate a top player by clicking on NOMINATE TOP PLAYERS and submitting their name. Here is a look at some of the players to watch this 2015 campaign in Class AAA. OFFENSE: Quarterback: Jimmy Pierce – Laurel Highlands Jacob Zilinskas – Indiana Running Back: Matt Rech – Hampton Terence Stephens – West Allegheny
CTK 2015 – WPIAL Double-A Players to Watch
August 12, 2015
Countdown to Kickoff 2015 continues with a four-day look at some of the top high school football talent in the WPIAL for this upcoming season. As always, this list just scratches the surface. We ask for your help in building a complete rundown of candidates. You can nominate a top player by clicking on NOMINATE TOP PLAYERS and submitting their name. Here is a look at some of the players to watch this 2015 campaign in Class AA. OFFENSE: Quarterback: Deion Liddell - Sto-Rox Duane Brown - Apollo-Ridge Deon Smith - East Allegheny Amos Luptak - Quaker Valley Noah Wolf - Freedom
CTK 2015 – WPIAL Single-A Players to Watch
August 11, 2015
Countdown to Kickoff 2015 continues with a four-day look at some of the top high school football talent in the WPIAL for this upcoming season. As always, this list just scratches the surface. We ask for your help in building a complete rundown of candidates. You can nominate a top player by clicking on NOMINATE TOP PLAYERS and submitting their name. Here is a look at some of the players to watch this 2015 campaign in Class A. OFFENSE: Quarterback: Lamont Wade - Clairton Jason Dambach - Riverside Frank Antuono - Neshannock Tommy Pellis - Greensburg Central Catholic
CTK 2015 – High School Football Rules Changes
August 10, 2015
The 2015 season will be here before you know it and of course there are always changes to the playing rules. These changes were adopted by the National Federation of High School Sports and will be in effect for this year. As has been seen in past years, player safety is a number one priority. Two of the major changes do just that. First, the definition of spearing has been clarified. Spearing is an act by any player who initiates contact against an opponent at or below the shoulders with the crown of the helmet. The crown has been defined as the top portion of the helmet.
