COUNTDOWN TO KICKOFF 2014

The countdown to the start of the 2014 high school football season is underway. High School football training camps throughout Western Pennsylvania open up on Monday, August 11th as teams prepare for a new season starting Friday, August 29th and Saturday, August 30th. As has been the case in the fifteen previous years here at MSA Sports, the ONLY place to turn for original DAILY updates that help prepare fans for all the excitement of the 2014 high school football season in the WPIAL is ‘Countdown to Kickoff 2014’ ONLY here at www.msasports.net

ALL UPDATED:

——————————————————————————–

* This Week in the WPIAL and the Kennywood Preseason All-Star Team Presentation Show LIVE from Kennywood Park  (UPDATED)

MSA Sports ‘Countdown to Kickoff 2014 once again kicked off with a special edition of This Week in the WPIAL from Kennywood Park. Don Rebel, Josh Rowntree, Sean Meyers and Mike Azadian took an early look at the 2014 campaign, plus they visited with the players from the 2014 MSA Sports/Kennywood Park Preseason All-Star Team as they were honored during the presentation awards show by Kenny Kangaroo and MSA Sports.

This Week in the WPIAL: Special Preview Show – http://www.msasports.net/talkshows/this-week-in-the-wpial/s16e01

Preseason All-Star Football Team Awards Show – http://www.msasports.net/broadcasts/msa-sports-kennywood-football-preseason-all-star-team-awards-show

——————————————————————————- 

* Football Schedules for Every WPIAL and Pittsburgh City League High School  (UPDATED)

MSA Sports ‘Countdown to Kickoff 2014 will begin with the releasing of this seasons football schedules for every team in the WPIAL and the Pittsburgh City League. Just click the high school link at the top of the page and locate your favorite school. Then click on the football link on top of the page. Every game, whether it be non-conference or conference for all 124 teams in the WPIAL and 6 Pittsburgh City League teams is just a few clicks away.

——————————————————————————-

* New WPIAL Football Alignment  (UPDATED)

Every two years based on enrollment, the PIAA sets the cutoff for each classification while the WPIAL then sets up the new conference make-up based on those numbers. Here is a look at the new alignment in the WPIAL with 25 teams preparing for new sections.

http://www.msasports.net/articles/ctk-14-new-wpial-football-alignment

——————————————————————————–

* New Football Rules for 2013  (UPDATED)

Many fans may think they are an expert on the rules of high school football, making sure everybody in their section knows when they have witnessed a ‘bad call’. Well, you can study and truly become the expert in the stands by checking out the new rules for the upcoming 2011 season throughout the WPIAL and PIAA.

http://www.msasports.net/articles/ctk-14-high-school-football-rule-changes

——————————————————————————–

* 7:00pm Kickoffs  (UPDATED)

So will your favorite team kick off their Friday night games at 7:00pm or at 7:30pm? Find out which schools around the WPIAL will get the ball rolling on their Friday night fun with a 7:00pm kickoff for home games?

http://www.msasports.net/articles/ctk-14-700pm-kickoffs-in-wpial

——————————————————————————–

* A Look Back at the 2013 WPIAL Football Season (UPDATED)

2013 AAAA Football Flashback
The three year championship run of North Allegheny came to an end when the third place Tigers lost to Upper St. Clair in the Quarterfinals. USC would then lose for a second straight year in the Semifinals to Woodland Hills, who then lost to Pittsburgh Central Catholic in a November snow storm at Heinz Field. The title was the Vikings fourth overall and first since 2007 and a fourth straight title for the Northern Eight Conference. George Smith was back at McKeesport and the Tigers were back on top in the Foothills Conference. Despite a sub-500 record, Baldwin laid claim to the Class AAAA wild card.

http://www.msasports.net/articles/ctk-14-wpial-2013-quad-a-football-flashback

2013 AAA Football Flashback
It was another banner year for Parkway Conference. For the fifth straight year, the WPIAL Class AAA champion came from arguably the ‘toughest conference in the state.” West Allegheny won their second consecutive WPIAL championship and third in five years, giving head coach Bob Palko his record seventh crown. It came at the expense of another Parkway Conference team as the Indians ousted Central Valley in the finals. Hampton finished tied for fifth in the Greater Allegheny Conference and despite losing the tiebreaker to Hollidaysburg, the Talbots were rewarded with the Class AAA wild card.

http://www.msasports.net/articles/ctk-14-wpial-2013-triple-a-football-flashback

2013 AA Football Flashback
Are they in or are they out? Many were asking that question when eligibility questions arose at Washington High School, putting several of their victories and their playoff status in limbo heading into the final two weeks of the regular season. It turned out the Little Prexies only had to forfeit one victory and they finished second in the Interstate Conference. Kittanning surprised many en route to the Class AA Allegheny Conference championship, but there was no surprise at Aliquippa winning another Midwestern Conference title en route to a sixth consecutive trip to Heinz Field. The defending champion Quips could not deal with perfection though as the South Fayette Lions roared to a 16-0 season that included a Century Conference crown, WPIAL gold and a PIAA state championship.

http://www.msasports.net/articles/ctk-14-wpial-2013-double-a-football-flashback

2013 A Football Flashback
For whom the bell tools? It tolled for Cardinal Wuerl North Catholic in Class A in 2013. The Trojans said goodbye to their old school on Troy Hill by ringing the schools championship bell of the first time in WPIAL football. 2013 also marked the end of the line for the Big Bad Bears as the five-time defending champion Clairton Bears title run and district and state record 66 game winning streak ended in Week 4 after a loss to Monessen. on the flip side, a year after ending a WPIAL record 47-game losing streak, West Shamokin qualified for the football postseason for the first time in school history as they finished with the most wins in school history and a 6-4 overall final record.

http://www.msasports.net/articles/ctk-14-wpial-2013-single-a-football-flashback

——————————————————————————–

* Players to Watch in Each Classification (UPDATED)

Top talent in the WPIAL Class A:

http://www.msasports.net/articles/ctk-14-wpial-class-a-players-to-watch

Top talent in the WPIAL Class AA:

http://www.msasports.net/articles/ctk-14-wpial-class-aa-players-to-watch

Top talent in the WPIAL Class AAA:

http://www.msasports.net/articles/ctk-14-wpial-class-aaa-players-to-watch

Top talent in the WPIAL Class AAAA:

http://www.msasports.net/articles/ctk-14-wpial-class-aaaa-players-to-watch

——————————————————————————–

* Complete WPIAL/City League Saturday High School Football Schedule (UPDATED)

Everybody knows about the passion that is Friday night high school football in Western Pennsylvania. However let’s not forget the local teams that still tee it up “old school” under the sun on Saturday afternoons or under the lights on Saturday night.

http://www.msasports.net/articles/ctk-14-wpial-city-league-saturday-football-schedule

——————————————————————————–

* Complete Scrimmage Schedule – Week #1 (UPDATED)

Here is a rundown of all the local scrimmages to be played on Saturday, August 16th.

http://www.msasports.net/articles/ctk-14-wpial-city-league-week-one-scrimmages

——————————————————————————–

* Previews of Every Conference in Each Classification (UPDATED)

A look at the strengths and weaknesses of every team, including MSA Sports predictions for each of the 14 conferences.

Class AAAA:

Northern Eight Conference

http://www.msasports.net/articles/ctk-14-wpial-aaaa-northern-eight-conference-preview

Foothills Conference

http://www.msasports.net/articles/ctk-14-wpial-aaaa-foothills-conference-preview

Southeastern Conference

http://www.msasports.net/articles/ctk-14-wpial-aaaa-southeastern-conference-preview

Class AAA:

Parkway Conference

http://www.msasports.net/articles/ctk-14-wpial-aaa-parkway-conference-preview

Greater Allegheny Conference

http://www.msasports.net/articles/ctk-14-wpial-aaa-greater-allegheny-conference-preview

Big Nine Conference

http://www.msasports.net/articles/ctk-14-wpial-aaa-big-nine-conference-preview

Class AA:

Century Conference

http://www.msasports.net/articles/ctk-14-wpial-aa-century-conference-preview

Interstate Conference

http://www.msasports.net/articles/ctk-14-wpial-aa-interstate-conference-preview

Midwestern Conference

http://www.msasports.net/articles/ctk-14-wpial-aa-midwestern-athletic-conference-preview

Allegheny Conference

http://www.msasports.net/articles/ctk-14-wpial-aa-allegheny-conference-preview

Class A:

Black Hills Conference

http://www.msasports.net/articles/ctk-14-wpial-a-black-hills-conference-preview

Big 7 Conference

http://www.msasports.net/articles/ctk-14-wpial-a-big-7-conference-preview

Tri-County South Conference

http://www.msasports.net/articles/ctk-14-wpial-a-tri-county-south-conference

Eastern Conference

http://www.msasports.net/articles/ctk-14-wpial-a-eastern-conference-preview

Pittsburgh City League:

http://www.msasports.net/articles/ctk-14-pittsburgh-city-league-preview

——————————————————————————–

* New Head Football Coaches (UPDATED)

New Faces – New Places – New Hopes – New Dreams. Some are rookie head coaches replacing long-time legendary coaches while other veteran coaches are starting over at new venues. Some schools have a new football coach for the first time in decades while others continue to play roulette with their head coaching position.

http://www.msasports.net/articles/ctk-14-new-wpial-football-head-coaches

——————————————————————————-

* Complete Scrimmage Schedule – Week #2 (UPDATED)

Here is a rundown of all the local scrimmages to be played on Friday, August 22nd and Saturday, August 23rd.

http://www.msasports.net/articles/ctk-14-wpial-city-league-week-two-scrimmages

——————————————————————————–

* 2013 MSA Sports Preseason Elite 11 (UPDATED)

The MSA Sports Elite Eleven are the individuals MSA Sports believes are the best of the best, the top players in the WPIAL coming into the 2014 season.

http://www.msasports.net/articles/ctk-14-msa-sports-preseason-elite-eleven

——————————————————————————–

* MSA Sports Preseason Rankings (UPDATED)

Each and every Monday during the high school football season, Team MSA Sports will rank the top ten teams in each of the four WPIAL classifications. Here are the initial rankings in each class for 2014.

Top 10 – WPIAL Class AAAA

http://www.msasports.net/articles/ctk-14-msa-sports-preseason-top-ten-wpial-class-aaaa

Top 10 – WPIAL Class AAA

http://www.msasports.net/articles/ctk-14-msa-sports-preseason-top-ten-wpial-class-aaa

Top 10 – WPIAL Class AA

http://www.msasports.net/articles/ctk-14-msa-sports-preseason-top-ten-wpial-class-aa

Top 10 – WPIAL Class A

http://www.msasports.net/articles/ctk-14-msa-sports-preseason-top-ten-wpial-class-a