Transfer Devin Harris eligible to quarterback Penn Hills in WPIAL playoffs

By: Chris Harlan
Wednesday, September 4, 2024 | 8:39 PM

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If Penn Hills makes the football playoffs as the Indians hope, quarterback Devin Harris is eligible to lead them.

The WPIAL has granted postseason eligibility to Harris, a junior who transferred from Shady Side Academy, said WPIAL executive director Scott Seltzer. The WPIAL held postseason eligibility hearings Tuesday for Harris, Penn Hills teammate Camryn Price and Greensburg Central Catholic transfer Thomas Lloyd.

Seltzer said the WPIAL board found Harris qualified for a postseason waiver under PIAA rules, but Price and Thomas did not. All three already were eligible for the regular season. Their schools can appeal the WPIAL decision to the PIAA.

Penn Hills coach Charles Morris said he was pleased for Harris but disappointed for Price, a junior lineman.

“I understand the competitive-balance issue (with transfers), but I just don’t want to see kids held back,” Morris said. “That’s my perspective. I understand the rules and I’m not going to challenge the rules. But for me, I’m all about creating opportunities for kids. Being a coach, our goal is to open up opportunities.”

Athletes who transfer after their sophomore season are postseason ineligible for one year under PIAA rules, unless they fit one of the defined criteria for a waiver.

“It stings a little bit,” Morris said. “Yes, I’m happy for Devin. But I wish we could do something where all of these kids get an opportunity.”

Harris and Price were previously classmates at Neighborhood Academy and played football at Shady Side Academy through a cooperative agreement between the schools.

The 6-foot, 160-pound Harris had 1,650 yards and 17 touchdowns as a sophomore. This season, he passed for 231 yards and a touchdown in Penn Hills’ opener against Susquehanna Township. He added 59 passing yards in last week’s game that was halted with more than 10 minutes left after a shooting near the Wolvarena.

Lloyd, a senior linebacker, transferred from Kiski School.

The WPIAL on Tuesday also denied postseason eligibility to four other transfers based on paperwork alone. Plum’s Chase Heard, Hempfield’s Stella Bossert, Central Catholic’s William Kontul and Aliquippa’s Josiah Boykin are postseason ineligible. Their schools can request an appeal hearing with the WPIAL board.

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.

Tags: Greensburg C.C., Penn Hills