Five things we learned from Week Zero of WPIAL football

By: Chris Harlan
Saturday, August 27, 2022 | 8:57 PM

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When the Woodland Hills defense made a valiant goal-line stand in the fourth quarter Saturday, the result was a win for the Wolverines but also a much-needed win for WPIAL football.

The league prides itself on playing maybe the best brand of high school football in the nation, but it took a beating this weekend against teams not from here. Combined, WPIAL teams went 1-8 against opponents from Ohio, West Virginia, New Jersey and Eastern Pennsylvania.

The WPIAL’s lone win was a nail-biting 28-24 victory by Woodland Hills over York William Penn in Chambersburg. The Wolverines stopped West Virginia-bound running back Jahiem White at the goal line with 6 seconds left.

As a result, the WPIAL avoided a zero in Week Zero.

“I’m glad we hung on,” Wolverines coach Tim Bostard said. “Western Pennsylvania football is known all across the country, and it’s one of the things we take pride in. I think everybody wants to play against the WPIAL. So, when you travel out of town to play somebody else, you always want to come back with a win.”

Others weren’t so fortunate.

• Central Catholic lost 42-10 in a matchup with Cleveland-area power St. Edward, the defending Ohio state champion in the largest classification. The teams played Friday at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium in Canton.

• Pine-Richland hosted another Ohio school with similar results. Pickerington North defeated the Rams, 42-0, in coach Jon LeDonne’s debut.

• Defending WPIAL Class A champion Bishop Canevin also traveled to Chambersburg for the same multi-game event as Woodland Hills. The Crusaders lost to Steelton-Highspire, 21-14, on Friday.

• Union, which scrambled this week to find a Week Zero replacement for Mohawk, lost to Canton (Pa.), 31-18. Canton is a school in Bradford County.

• Three other teams from the WPIAL scheduled cross-border matchups with West Virginia schools. Imani Christian lost to Linsly School, 43-0; Ambridge lost to Wheeling Central Catholic, 24-7; and West Greene fell to Cameron, 41-31.

• The WPIAL had one more chance for an out-of-state win Sunday morning when Thomas Jefferson lost in New Jersey to Millville (N.J.), 41-10.

Week Zero is the only week on the WPIAL schedule when schools get to pick their own opponents. Some schools, such as Woodland Hills, traditionally find an opponent not from Western Pennsylvania.

“You want to play tough competition,” Bostard said. “Coming up here, I accept it as a challenge, playing a 6A school that’s a perennial playoff team.”

Waiting for a ‘W’

After a year away from the WPIAL, new Mars coach Eric Kasperowicz had a victorious return to Friday night football, but the vast majority of his first-year colleagues must wait for their first wins.

Thirty coaches made their debut Friday night, and only eight won. That short list of winners included Kasperowicz, the former Pine-Richland coach, whose new team defeated Montour, 34-26.

The other new coaches to win were South Allegheny’s Darwin Manges, New Castle’s Stacy Robinson, Latrobe’s Ron Prady, Keystone Oaks’ Steve McCormick, Highlands’ Matt Bonislawski, Hampton’s Steve Sciullo and Connellville tri-coaches Jace McClean, Mick Lilley and Chad Lembo.

Ready for a turnaround

How’s this for a rematch reversal?

A year ago, West Allegheny finished its regular season with a 46-10 loss to Moon in Week 9. The Indians didn’t qualify for the playoffs, so that lopsided Allegheny Six loss was West A’s season finale.

In the 10 months since, West A moved from Class 5A to 4A. Now in different conferences, the teams scheduled a Week Zero rematch, and West A won 41-0.

Quarterback duel

A 300-yard passing night is still rare in the WPIAL. Last season, there were only about a dozen, yet already two quarterbacks reached that milestone Friday.

What’s more unusual is they occurred in the same game. Penn-Trafford’s Conlan Greene and Canon-McMillan’s Mike Evans combined for nearly 650 yards in a high-scoring Week Zero clash.

Greene completed 23 of 30 passes for 335 yards. Evans went 13 for 22 for 309 yards. Each quarterback threw four touchdowns.

Penn-Trafford won 35-38.

Back to business

Central Valley still owns the state’s longest active winning streak, which stands at 26. The Warriors, who haven’t lost since the 2020 state finals, continued their winning ways with a 43-20 win over Trinity.

However, Week Zero wasn’t kind to all defending WPIAL champions. Aliquippa held a scrimmage instead of a game, but the five other defending champs went 2-3 on Friday.

Penn-Trafford celebrated a 35-28 win over Canon-McMillan, but Mt. Lebanon, Serra Catholic and Bishop Canevin started their WPIAL title defense with a loss.

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.