Guido: Lots to look forward to in new year in A-K Valley

By: HSSN Staff
Wednesday, January 3, 2018 | 11:23 PM

Happy New Year to all of our readers — print and online.

Each high school sports year is unique, and 2018 should be no different.

Let's take a look at what's in store for the coming year:

• Can Burrell wrestling extend its steak of WPIAL team titles?

The Bucs are at 11 and have been ranked at or near the top of Class AA so far this season.The team playoffs begin Jan. 30 and the WPIAL title match is slated for the weekend of Feb. 2-3.

But first, Burrell is looking to extend its streak of consecutive section dual match victories.

The streak is at 100 with matches against Cardinal Wuerl North Catholic and Valley pending.

The most recent Burrell section loss was against Mt. Pleasant on Jan. 8, 2003.

Here's something to ponder:

Most of the ninth-graders at Burrell weren't born when the last section loss occurred.

Saddam Hussein was still in charge in Iraq and quarterback Tommy Maddox had just led the Steelers to a come-from-behind playoff victory against, of all teams, the Cleveland Browns.

• The WPIAL football alignments for the next two seasons could be out as soon as Jan. 15.

There will be some very interesting conference setups and playoff structures.

In Class 3A, will Burrell, Freeport and Deer Lakes be aligned with schools in the Beaver Valley such as Aliquippa, Quaker Valley and Beaver Falls, or with schools in Westmoreland County such as Derry, Mt. Pleasant and Yough?

Playoff qualification will be all over the place with different classifications having such a varied number of teams. The WPIAL will have to determine how many teams from each of the conferences will qualify and how many weeks/rounds each tournament will last.

One thing is certain this coming season: With the new alignments, Peters Township, Shaler and Bethel Park will become the first WPIAL schools to play in all six classifications at one time or another.

• Kiski Area's long-awaited, on-campus football stadium will be opening this season.

The exact date is unknown but will become evident when the game schedules come out, perhaps as early as Feb. 19.

With Kiski Area leaving Davis Field, it now means Springdale's venerable Veterans Memorial Field, opened in 1938, will be the Alle-Kiski Valley's second-oldest stadium, coming behind Apollo's Owens Field, which opened in 1919.

Also, nearby Armstrong will have its new, on-campus football stadium ready for the fall.

• 2018 also will mark the 100th season of Leechburg football.

The school opened in 1893, but didn't sponsor football until 1919.

• Our neighbors to the north in PIAA District 9 also will see vast changes this coming football season as Keystone Shortway Athletic Conference will be disbanded and teams will play at-large schedules throughout the district.

I've always thought the Keystone Shortway was a cool name for a sports conference.

When Interstate 80 was built, it was called the Keystone Shortway, but you don't hear that referenced much anymore.

• Apollo-Ridge and Deer Lakes will each mark their 50th football seasons in 2018. The 50th anniversary of both of those school districts openings will be in 2019.

• Will Leechburg softball be able to extend its streak of 31 straight seasons in the WPIAL playoffs?

• Can Burrell softball make the playoffs for a 13th consecutive season?

• Will Deer Lakes be able to sustain its great softball run, making the WPIAL finals five of the last six seasons?

• And how about Plum baseball maintaining its lofty status? The Mustangs have made the WPIAL playoffs 15 of the past 16 seasons, missing only in 2006.

• The girls volleyball season this fall will open with a local defending state champion — Freeport in Class AA. Although the Yellowjackets will graduate some great talent, Freeport could be poised for another run.

George Guido is a Valley News Dispatch scholastic sports correspondent. His column appears on Wednesdays.

Tags: Armstrong, Burrell, Deer Lakes, Freeport, Kiski School