Breaking down changes to the 2022-23 WPIAL football alignment

By: Bill Hartlep
Tuesday, July 12, 2022 | 8:01 AM

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The WPIAL released new section alignments for the next two-year cycle in all sports, and changes will be implemented starting this fall.

This summer, the Tribune-Review will break down changes for each of the WPIAL sports.

Here’s a look at the upcoming WPIAL football season:

2021 WPIAL championships

Class 6A: Mt. Lebanon 47, Central Catholic 7

Class 5A: Penn-Trafford 24, Moon 21

Class 4A: Aliquippa 28, Belle Vernon 13

Class 3A: Central Valley 52, North Catholic 15

Class 2A: Serra Catholic 35, Beaver Falls 12

Class A: Bishop Canevin 42, OLSH 7

Notable changes

• Each of the WPIAL’s six football classifications will have a bit of a new look this fall, as enrollment changes forced teams to move up and down throughout the WPIAL.

The biggest change came in Class 6A, as just five teams will compete in the classification. Baldwin, Hempfield and Norwin all dropped to 5A, leaving Canon-McMillan, Central Catholic, defending champion Mt. Lebanon, North Allegheny and Seneca Valley. Each team will play the other in conference play and will fill out a schedule with nonconference games. The top four will qualify for the playoffs.

• In addition to Baldwin, Hempfield and Norwin joining Class 5A, Plum moved up from 4A and will slot into the Big East with Franklin Regional, Gateway, Hempfield, Norwin and Penn-Trafford.

Also, Woodland Hills moved from the Big East to the Northeast Conference. The Wolverines chose to play up despite a Class 3A enrollment.

• Class 4A has several additions — West Allegheny, Kiski Area, Connellsville and Latrobe all dropped from 5A, and Ambridge, Central Valley and North Catholic moved up from 3A.

The Parkway Conference will now feature Aliquippa, Ambridge, Blackhawk, Central Valley, Chartiers Valley, Montour, New Castle and West Allegheny.

Central Valley, the two-time reigning WPIAL and PIAA 3A champion, moved up with a growing enrollment.

Aliquippa, which won WPIAL and PIAA titles in 4A last season, won an appeal to the PIAA’s competitive balance ruling this winter that would have bumped the Quips up to 5A. Aliquippa has a Class A enrollment but had played up in 3A before the competitive balance rule success points bumped the Quips up to 4A.

North Catholic, which was a Class 3A finalist last season, will be an immediate contender in the Greater Allegheny Conference.

• Class 3A also gained a WPIAL title contender. While powerhouse Central Valley moved up, Class 4A runner-up Belle Vernon dropped down to 3A. Along with Greensburg Salem, the Leopards will join Elizabeth Forward, Mt. Pleasant, South Allegheny and Southmoreland in the Interstate.

Beaver, West Mifflin and Knoch also dropped down from 4A to 3A, while Shady Side Academy bumped up from 2A thanks to a co-op with Neighborhood Academy. Seton LaSalle also moved up in class and will be part of the Northwestern Conference, along with South Park, which moved over from the Interstate.

• New to Class 2A are Burrell, Derry, Yough and Keystone Oaks, which all dropped down from 3A. Also, Imani Christian moved up from Class A.

Western Beaver moves over to join the MAC, while Brentwood and Sto-Rox will compete in the Century, as Class 2A switches from a four-conference format with 27 teams to three conferences with 23 teams.

Defending WPIAL Class 2A champion Serra Catholic has a Class A enrollment but decided to stay up in 2A.

• Class A grew from 24 teams to 30 and will move from three conferences to four.

Dropping down were Frazier, Beth-Center, Carlynton, Chartiers-Houston, Laurel, South Side and Summit Academy.

The new Section 4 will include Laurel, Northgate, Rochester, Shenango, South Side, Summit Academy and Union.

In addition, WPIAL champion Bishop Canevin slides into the Big Seven from the Eastern.

Playoff qualifiers

6A: 5 teams, 1 section, 4 qualifiers

5A: 18 teams, 3 sections, 8 qualifiers

4A: 22 teams, 3 sections, 13 qualifiers (3 byes)

3A: 19 teams, 3 sections, 12 qualifiers (4 byes)

2A: 23 teams, 3 sections, 14 qualifiers (2 byes)

A: 30 teams, 4 sections, 16 qualifiers

Playoff format

• The top four teams in Class 6A, top 12 in 3A, top 13 in 4A, top 14 in 2A and top 16 in Class A qualify for the WPIAL playoffs. In Class 5A, the top two teams in each conference and two wild cards qualify.

The top four teams in conferences with seven teams or less and the top five in conferences with eight teams will qualify.

Tiebreakers will be decided via head-to-head competition, Gardner points system, WPIAL point-differential system and then coin flip.

• The WPIAL Class 6A and 5A championships will be held the weekend of Nov. 18-19.

• The WPIAL 4A-A championships will be held the weekend of Nov. 25-26.

Leaving the WPIAL

Mired in a 21-game losing streak, Brownsville decided to leave the WPIAL after last season and will play an independent schedule.

The Falcons were 0-7 with one forfeit last season, and were outscored 319-32. They were 0-5 in the Class 3A Interstate and had one conference win over the past four seasons.

Fellow Fayette County teams Albert Gallatin (2019) and Uniontown (2021) also left the WPIAL in recent years to play an independent schedule.

Albert Gallatin was 6-2 last fall. Uniontown was 2-4 and snapped a 35-game losing streak.

Key dates

Aug. 8: Heat acclimatization begins

Aug. 15: First practice date

Aug. 20: First scrimmage date

Aug. 26: Week Zero

Oct. 29: Football pairings meeting

Nov. 4: WPIAL playoffs begin

Nov. 18-19: WPIAL Class 6A championships

Nov. 25-26: WPIAL Class 5A-A championships

Dec. 8-10: PIAA championships

2022-23 alignment

Class 6A

Section 1: Canon-McMillan, Central Catholic, Mt. Lebanon, North Allegheny, Seneca Valley

Class 5A

Section 1: Baldwin, Bethel Park, Moon, Peters Township, South Fayette, Upper St. Clair

Section 2: Franklin Regional, Gateway, Hempfield, Norwin, Penn-Trafford, Plum

Section 3: Fox Chapel, North Hills, Penn Hills, Pine-Richland, Shaler, Woodland Hills

Class 4A

Section 1: Aliquippa, Ambridge, Blackhawk*, Central Valley, Chartiers Valley, Montour, New Castle, West Allegheny

Section 2: Armstrong, Hampton, Highlands, Indiana*, Kiski Area, Mars, North Catholic

Section 3: Connellsville, Latrobe, Laurel Highlands, McKeesport, Ringgold, Thomas Jefferson, Trinity

Class 3A

Section 1: Avonworth, Beaver, Hopewell, Quaker Valley, Seton LaSalle, South Park, West Mifflin

Section 2: Deer Lakes, East Allegheny, Freeport, Knoch, Shady Side Academy, Valley

Section 3: Belle Vernon, Elizabeth Forward, Greensburg Salem, Mt. Pleasant, South Allegheny, Southmoreland

Class 2A

Section 1: Apollo-Ridge, Burrell, Derry, Imani Christian*, Ligonier Valley, Serra Catholic, Steel Valley, Yough

Section 2: Beaver Falls, Ellwood City, Freedom, Mohawk, Neshannock, New Brighton, Riverside, Western Beaver*

Section 3: Brentwood, Charleroi, Keystone Oaks, McGuffey, Sto-Rox, Washington, Waynesburg Central

Class A

Section 1: Clairton, Frazier, Greensburg C.C., Jeannette, Leechburg, Riverview, Springdale

Section 2: Bentworth, Beth-Center, California, Carmichaels, Jefferson-Morgan, Mapletown, Monessen, West Greene

Section 3: Avella, Bishop Canevin, Burgettstown, Carlynton, Chartiers-Houston, Cornell, Fort Cherry, OLSH

Section 4: Laurel, Northgate, Rochester, Shenango, South Side, Summit Academy, Union

*Cooperative sponsorship

Bill Hartlep is the TribLive sports editor. A Pittsburgh native and Point Park graduate, he joined the Trib in 2004, covering high school sports. He held various editing roles before assuming his current position in 2019. He can be reached at bhartlep@triblive.com.