Football teams gearing up for Saturday scrimmages
By:
Wednesday, August 15, 2018 | 11:09 AM
After nearly nine months of waiting, WPIAL and City League football teams are ready to put on the pads and collide with players in a different colored jersey.
The first set of scrimmages, and the only one for those playing a Week Zero game, are Saturday morning throughout western Pennsylvania.
It’s a full-speed chance for coaches to see if the offseason work, time spent in heat acclimation workouts and the first week of official practices have paid off.
There are several interesting scrimmage matchups to behold, including Penn Hills, newly minted in 5A, hosting 6A North Allegheny and Ringgold, under the direction of former Aliquippa boss Mike Zmijanac, at home against fellow 4A member Montour.
Other scrimmages include Steel Valley at West Mifflin, Central Catholic at McKeesport, Pine-Richland at Woodland Hills, Mt. Lebanon at West Allegheny and University Prep at Clairton.
Defending WPIAL 5A champion Gateway will pay a visit to 4A heavyweight Belle Vernon on Saturday at 10 a.m.
A number of scrimmages feature teams that had been conference rivals for many years. With the change to six conferences and moves up and down the classification ladder, those rivalries remain alive in the scrimmages.
Below is the list of the scrimmages. The start time is 10 a.m. unless otherwise noted.
Allderdice, Westinghouse at Shady Side Academy
Ambridge at Cardinal Wuerl North Catholic
Armstrong at Sharon
Berlin Brothersvalley at Ligonier Valley
Ellwood City at Laurel
Farrell at Union Area, noon.
Frazier, Bishop Canevin at Monessen
Greensburg Central Catholic at Derry
Greensburg Salem at Greater Latrobe
Grove City at New Castle
Jeannette at Valley
Jefferson-Morgan at Beth-Center
Kiski Area at Butler
Montour at Rinngold
Morgantown, W.Va. at Laurel Highlands
Neshannock at Sharpsville
North Allegheny at Penn Hills, 9:30 a.m.
North Hills at Plum
Peters Township at Seneca Valley
Pine-Richland at Woodland Hills
Pittsburgh Central Catholic at McKeesport
Rochester at Beaver
Serra Catholic at OLSH
Seton-LaSalle at Central Valley
Shenango at Wilmington
Slippery Rock at Mohawk
South Allegheny at Elizabeth Forward
South Fayette at Chartiers Valley
South Park at Thomas Jefferson
Springdale at Chartiers-Houston
Sto-Rox at Perry, Cupples Stadium
University Prep at Clairton
Waynesburg Central at Albert Gallatin
Michael Love is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Michael at mlove@tribweb.com or via Twitter @MLove_Trib.
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