Westmoreland WPIAL football coaches disappointed, dealing with new alignment

By: HSSN Staff
Saturday, January 20, 2018 | 10:19 PM

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Not everyone likes what the PIAA did to high school athletics the past two years by expanding the classifications from four to six classes in some sports.

And not everyone is happy with how the WPIAL decided the makeup of new conferences.

The majority of area football coaches are disappointed, but they know there is nothing that can be done about it except prepare for the games on the schedule.

“It is what it is,” Hempfield coach Rich Bowen said. “Sure, I'd like to see a conference where you don't have to drive an hour to an hour-and-half for games. We'll be eating right after school for road games and leaving around 3:30.”

After Altoona left the WPIAL for District 3 and Peters Township, Bethel Park, Penn Hills and Shaler dropped to Class 5A, only nine WPIAL teams will compete in Class 6A.

“I wouldn't mind if they would consider joining the 6A teams with the 5A teams,” Bowen said. “At least that would keep rivalries with Latrobe, Connellsville, Penn-Trafford and Norwin. We're losing crowds because the distances the schools have to drive, and it's hurting the sport.”

Hempfield's closest conference game is Norwin. Longer trips will be to Butler, Seneca Valley, Pine-Richland and North Allegheny.

Class 5A expanded from 18 to 24 teams. The Big East Conference lost Kiski Area and Armstrong and added Albert Gallatin, which moved up from Class 4A. Mars also moved up to Class 5A.

According to some coaches, the WPIAL did a good job with the three Class 5A conferences.

Kiski Area and Armstrong are in a conference with Fox Chapel, Shaler, Hampton, Mars, North Hills and Penn Hills.

In the Class 4A Big 10 Conference, Indiana moves in. Albert Gallatin and Uniontown moved out. Uniontown dropped to Class 3A.

Greensburg Salem coach Dave Keefer said adding Indiana was the smart thing to do. He couldn't see South Fayette being added because of distance.

“Sure, the Indiana to Trinity trip is long for those teams, but that's once every other year,” Keefer said. “Indiana has been consistent over the years. Adding them is a good for the conference. It made sense geographically.”

In Class 3A, the Interstate Conference was split in half. Joining Derry, Mt. Pleasant, Elizabeth Forward and Yough in the Interstate is Uniontown, Cardinal Wuerl North Catholic, which is moving up from 2A, and Deer Lakes, Burrell and Freeport from the Allegheny Conference.

Where did the other Interstate Conference teams go? McGuffey and Southmoreland dropped to Class 2A, while South Park and Waynesburg moved to the Beaver Valley Conference with Aliquippa, Central Valley, Beaver Falls, Hopewell, Quaker Valley and Keystone Oaks.

The only thing disappointing Derry coach Tim Sweeney is not having McGuffey in the conference.

“We developed some bad blood between the schools the past two seasons,” Sweeney said. “I'm going to miss beating them.

“There is nothing we can do about the conference except prepare for the teams on the schedule. I'm sure the conference will be competitive. We really don't worry too much about our opponents, we focus on ourselves. We've won 20 games the past two years, and we probably could have done that in the Beaver Valley Conference.”

Yough football coach Scott Wood added he likes the new conference.

“We've already started watching the new teams on film, trying to learn what they like to do offensively,” Wood said. “We played Freeport last year, and it has some good players returning. Cardinal Wuerl will be tough, and Burrell and Deer Lakes are competitive.”

Southmoreland, with new coachDave Keefer — not the one from Greensburg Salem — is dropping to 2A along with McGuffey, Washington, Frazier, Beth-Center, Charleroi, Carmichaels and Brownsville.

There is hope the Scotties can develop a rivalry with Frazier, which borders them to the west, and Charleroi.

Paul Schofield is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach him at pschofield@tribweb.com or via Twitter @Schofield_Trib.

Tags: Greensburg Salem, Hempfield Area, Yough