TRIBUNE-REVIEW • 3
THE FAVORITE
1. Central Catholic (12-2)
The Vikings return several
key players from a WPIAL
championship team a year ago
that battled, but just came up
short in the state semifinals
against one of the top teams in
the country in St. Joe’s Prep.
Preseason rankings
2. North Allegheny (10-2)
3. Seneca Valley (4-7)
4. Mt. Lebanon (7-5)
5. Baldwin (5-6)
* RECORDS FROM 2019
THE STARS
DORIEN FORD
Baldwin, sr., OT/DT
Rivals has Ford as the No. 25
defensive tackle in the country
and the No. 10 senior in the
state. Pitt, Penn State and West
Virginia are among the schools
that have offered scholarships.
KHALIL DINKINS
North Allegheny, sr., WR/OLB
Khalil is the son of former City
League standout Darnell Dinkins.
Khalil had nearly 400 yards on
receptions last year and averaged
nearly 25 yards per catch.
NATE HOKE
North Allegheny, sr., LB/TE
The 6-foot-3, 225-pound inside
linebacker committed to BYU.
He’s the son of former Pittsburgh
Steelers defensive lineman
Chris Hoke. He made 69 tackles,
including 17 for a loss, last year.
EDDY TILLMAN
Central Catholic, sr., RB
Tillman is only 5-8, 165 pounds
but can run like the wind. He
rushed for 2,047 yards and scored
26 touchdowns in the Vikings’
run to WPIAL gold last year.
ETHAN WEST
Seneca Valley, sr., RB/OLB
West was dominant on both
sides of the ball for Seneca Valley
last year. He was an all-conference
linebacker and led the
team in rushing and receiving.
DON’T MISS
9.25 North Allegheny
at Central Catholic
This game slated for Graham
Field might decide the Class 6A
regular-season champion.
9.25: Canon-McMillan
at Baldwin
If Central Catholic, North Allegheny,
Mt. Lebanon and Seneca
Valley do not lose their grip on
the top half of 6A, this game
could turn out to be huge to
determine the “best of the rest.”
10.23 Mt. Lebanon
at Seneca Valley
The Blue Devils and Raiders met
twice last year. Mt. Lebanon
edged visiting Seneca Valley,
26-20, in Week 3, then the host
Blue Devils won again in the 6A
quarterfinals 35-14.
CLASS 6A BREAKDOWN
Central Catholic’s Eddy Tillman ran for 2,047 yards and scored 26 touchdowns last season.
NA, CENTRAL CATHOLIC
CREAM OF SHRINKING CROP
Number of schools falls,
margin of victory grows
in largest classification
The expansion to six classifications
four years ago has been a
bonanza for many of the WPIAL
classes. Close regular season battles
for playoff berths have led to
some nail-biting moments in the
postseason.
That has not been the case
for the WPIAL’s largest classification.
While the number of teams
in Class 6A continues to shrink,
the margin of victory in both
the regular season and district
playoffs is on the rise.
“The way I see it, 6A is not
going anywhere because of the
amount of 6A teams on the other
side of the state,” North Allegheny
coach Art Walker said. “So
it is not a choice we can make.”
Here are some of the numbers
to back up the shrinking class
and the growing competitive imbalance.
In 2016 and 2017, Class 6A had
14 teams broken down into two
seven-team conferences. The last
two years, it was one nine-team
conference. This year, there are
only eight Class 6A teams, again
battling in one conference.
Penn Hills, Peters Township,
Bethel Park and Shaler dropped
to 5A in the 2018 realignment,
and Altoona returned to playing
a District 6 schedule.
In the most recent
alignment
earlier this year,
Pine-Richland
fell to 5A, Butler
school officials
decided to play
an independent
schedule outside
of the WPIAL and
Baldwin is moving
up from Class 5A.
But as the teams shrink, the
competitive nature of games in
Class 6A also is dwindling.
In 2016, there were 42 regular
season conference games in
Class 6A. The average margin of
victory in those games was 21.1
points per game.
The winning margin was even
greater in the 6A playoffs that
season. In seven postseason
games, the average margin of
victory was 22.4 points, including
a 42-7 win by Central Catholic
over Seneca Valley in the first
WPIAL 6A title game.
The regular-season numbers
rose, but the playoff numbers
went down in 2017 and 2018.
In 2017, the average margin of
victory in the regular season was
24.7 but fell to 19.4 in the district
playoffs.
In 2018, the average margin
in the 36 regular season games
was 23.9, while in
the five WPIAL
postseason games
it shrunk to 16.4.
Last fall saw the
highest numbers
in average margin
of victory in
Class 6A in both
the regular and
postseason.
The regular season
average was 29.1 points per
game and the playoff margin of
victory was 23.4. Only four out
of 36 regular season games were
decided by single digits. This despite
the most competitive and by
far the closest 6A district championship
game in which Central
Catholic edged Pine-Richland,
10-7, at Heinz Field.
“I wish we would go back to
four classifications,” Mt. Lebanon
coach Bob Palko said.
“Six-A is not even close to the
old Quad-A. (I’m) not a fan of six
classifications.”
Once again this season, there
appear to be gaps between the
elite and the good teams and then
the teams that might struggle.
With Pine-Richland now in
Class 5A, Central Catholic and
North Allegheny continue to be
the class of the classification.
Of the eight teams currently in
6A, the last time a team other
than the Vikings or Tigers won
a WPIAL football championship
in the highest class was when
Mt. Lebanon won district gold
20 years ago in 2000.
“As long as NA and Central
are in 6A, Western Pennsylvania
has a chance in the states,” said
Palko, who is beginning his second
year at Mt. Lebanon.
The Blue Devils and Seneca
Valley are ready to battle to remain
in the top half of the class.
The new kid on the block,
coaching-wise, comes from the
new team in the class this year
in Baldwin.
The Highlanders got a taste of
the postseason last year as they
finished 5-6 overall. New coach
Tim Sweeney knows it won’t be
easy in moving up to 6A, but he
only has one thing on his mind
heading into this fall.
“Our focus is and needs to remain
on Baldwin football and
what we are trying to do,” he
said.
by DON REBEL
“As long as NA and
Central are in 6A,
Western Pennsylvania
has a chance in the
states.”
BOB PALKO
MT. LEBANON COACH