Fox Chapel Herald notebook: WPIAL football realignment doesn’t favor Foxes

By: Josh Rizzo
Saturday, March 21, 2026 | 11:01 AM

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The changes to how the WPIAL handles football scheduling didn’t move in the direction Fox Chapel hoped it might. When new conferences were announced last week, things were still set up strictly by classification.

The Foxes had proposed a system that would shake things up for teams and move things away from a classification-based system and more on one that emphasized geographical rivals and competitive balance.

The Foxes will instead find themselves in a conference with Connellsville, Franklin Regional, Gateway, Latrobe, Penn-Trafford and Woodland Hills. The Falcons are returning to the WPIAL after playing an independent schedule for two years.

Last season, Fox Chapel was in a conference with schools that were mostly north, but will now be aligned with teams out east.

Shady Side Academy was placed in one of the more interesting conferences in Class 3A. The Bulldogs will be in with Avonworth, Propel Braddock Hills, South Park, West Mifflin and Knoch.

Fox Chapel and Shady Side Academy both missed the playoffs last season. The Foxes finished 3-6, while the Bulldogs were 4-6.

Haigh debuts

Fox Chapel graduate Jeremy Haigh has played a few games for Wagner baseball this season. Haigh has scored a run and drawn three walks in seven plate appearances. Wagner is 4-13 this season and 3-3 in conference.

Kartsonas in spring

Jack Kartsonas, a Fox Chapel resident who played at University Prep and Vincentian, got a late start to make the roster of a professional baseball team. Kartsonas, 25, has made one appearance for the Tampa Bay Rays during this spring training.

He threw one inning and recorded a strikeout. Kartsonas, who started at Division III John Carroll, later went on to pitch at Kent State and West Virginia.

During Kartsonas’ only season with the Mountaineers, he earned all Big-12 honors. He was 6-4 with a 4.07 ERA.

He made nine starts and appeared in 20 games for West Virginia, which made the NCAA Super Regionals before being bounced by eventual champion LSU.

Yofan on ride with Redhawks

Fox Chapel graduate Eli Yofan is a reserve guard for the Miami (Ohio) men’s basketball program. He’s been a part of a Redhawks team that was a major topic of conversation about if they deserved a spot in the NCAA Tournament after finishing the regular season undefeated but not winning the Mid-American Conference Tournament.

The Redhawks played in the First Four on March 18, running away from SMU, 89-79. Yofan didn’t appear in the game, but will see his team have more opportunities as it earned a No. 11 seed and was scheduled to take on Tennessee in the first round.

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