The Eastern Conference has produced the last two WPIAL Champions. In 2013 it was the North Catholic Trojans. Realignment in 2014 shifted perennial powerhouse Clairton into the Eastern Conference where the Bears won their 7th WPIAL title in the last 9 years. Clairton is absolutely loaded with returning players, including the WPIAL’s leading rusher and one of the top junior prospects in the nation in Lamont Wade. The Bears will be out for blood this year after a one-point loss in the State Championship Game ended their historic 2014 season where they shattered the State scoring record.
Make sure to bookmark my WPIAL Standings Page (the only one available with all tiebreakers listed!). I should note that teams are organized in this preview based on my predicted order of finish.
You can check out all of my WPIAL Conference Previews here.
All helmet images are courtesy of the PA Helmet Project.
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Clairton
@CCSDathletics
After a “down” year in 2013 (by Clairton standards) where the Bears “only” lost 1 regular season game and reached the WPIAL semifinals, they roared back with a vengeance in 2014. Clairton shattered the PIAA scoring record of 860 points (set by Terrelle Pryor’s 2007 Jeannette team by nearly 100 points, finishing the season with 958 points scored. Unfortunately, those two points were the difference between heartbreak and legends as the Bears fell by 1 point to Bishop Guilfoyle in the PIAA Championship Game. Clairton absolutely obliterated WPIAL competition last season, pitching shutouts in 6 of 9 regular season games and only allowing one team (Neshannock) to score more than twice against them. Junior Lamont Wade led the WPIAL in rushing and scoring last season with 2765 yards and 47 TDs while also being rated as one of the top defensive backs in the nation for the Class of 2017. Wade alone accounted for 316 points, more than 90 of the 124 WPIAL schools. Wade actually started the season backing up Harrison Dreher who missed 5 games of his junior year due to injury but still rushed for 837 yards and 18 TDs. Leading receiver 6’5″ Aaron Matthews returns for his senior season after recording 773 yards and 18 TDs. Junior Noah Hamlin will also be a threat at the other receiver position after averaging over 23 yards per reception. Clairton has made the playoffs in 9 straight seasons and won the WPIAL title in 7 of them. The Bears are the clear favorites to win the Class A title again this season.
GCC
@GCCHSFootball
The Centurions joined their rivals Jeannette in moving from AA to A last season and also reached the playoffs, extending their streak of postseason appearances to 12 years. They made the playoffs by the skin of their teeth, basically riding a 3-point victory over Monessen in Week 1 to a playoff berth. GCC had the 4th-worst offense in the conference, only breaking 21 points 3 times in 10 games. QB Tom Pellis returns for his senior season after throwing for 725 yards and 3 TDs. His top 3 targets all return in WR JP Pellis, RB Sam Nowicki and TE Jake Weir. Leading rusher Brian Pervarnik also returns for his senior season after rushing for 616 yards and 10 TDs. Junior Alvin Ross transferred from Frazier after leading the Commodores with 1028 rushing yards and 13 TDs. With this many key contributors returning GCC should be right in the mix for a playoff spot once again.
Jeannette
@JhawkAthletics
The Jayhawks moved down to Class A last year and lost only twice all season – to Clairton in the regular season and Neshannock in the quarterfinals. The Jayhawks had an explosive offense that finished 5th in Class A, scoring 48+ in 7 of their 11 games. Second-leading rusher Kareem Hall returns for his junior season after rushing for 594 yards and 13 TDs. Fellow junior Giovonne Sanders may take over the dual-threat QB role in Jeannette’s option offense after averaging 9.7 yards per carry last year as a pure running back. Second-leading receiver Swade Redman also returns for his senior season.
Springdale
@DynamoSS14
The Dynamos reached the playoffs for the 12th time in 13 seasons thanks to a pair of 14-12 victories over Monessen and GCC. Those wins were part of a 4-win streak in October that propelled Springdale to the playoffs. Second-leading rusher Joel Wunnenberg and leading receiver TE Eric Lovic are the lone returning skill position players for Springdale. The Dynamos have been able to sustain success on a run-the-ball-and-play defense model that will likely continue into the future after they held 6 opponents under 14 points. Despite 2014 being the first time Springdale and Monessen were in the same conference, there is a strong rivalry building as the Dynamos knocked Monessen out of the playoffs 6 times from 2003 to 2011 and won the decisive game last year that kept Monessen out of the playoffs.
Monessen
@Hounds_Football
The Greyhounds had the 3rd best offense in the conference last season, but missed the playoffs because of a 3-point loss to GCC and a 2-point loss to Springdale. While Springdale thrived in October, Monessen folded, dropping their last 4 games after a 4-1 start (including a game to Mapletown from the Tri-County South). In September, Monessen averaged 32.6 points per game which dropped precipitously to 10 points per game in October. On the flip side, their defense went from allowing 14.8 points per game to 37.5 (though that average is wieghted by Jeannette and Clairton putting up 52 and 60 respectively). Monessen will have to find a new quarterback but he will have plenty of contributors as leading rusher Demond Jordan and leading receiver Lavelle Rush both return for their senior seasons.
Riverview
@RaiderPrideFB
The Raiders have not been to the playoffs since 2007, but did some good things last season, closing with a 3-1 record in October. Junior Jake Hanus will step in under center after seeing spot duty last season. Leading receiver and third-leading rusher Nasan Tibbens returns after averaging 10.1 yards per carry as a sophomore. Despite posting a 4-5 overall record, Riverview was not involved in many close games. Their only one-possession game was a loss to GCC. The Raiders actually had the 4th best offense in the conference last year but had a middle-of-the-road defense which doomed their season.
Serra
@Serra__Eagles
Through 8 weeks, the Eagles did not have much to show for their 2014 season, except for a heart-breaking 1-point loss to West Greene. But a 2-point victory over Wilkinsburg in the season finale ended the longest current losing streak in the WPIAL at 28 games. Serra also “improved” on the defensive side of the ball, allowing about a touchdown less per game (48.8 points against in 2014 after allowing 54.2 per game in 2013). Serra still had the worst defense in the entire WPIAL, but now that they have won a game the monkey is off their back. Jason Cerniglia threw for 1127 yards and 10 TDs last year and rushed for another 412 yards and 4 TDs. Leading rusher Jordan Pulkownik was only a sophomore and accounted for over 600 yards of total offense. Serra’s returns enough offensive skill to continue to score points but they will not get out of the basement of the Eastern Conference until they learn to play defense.
Wilkinsburg
The Tigers finished 2014 with the worst offense in the conference and the 4th-worst in Class A. The lone bright spot in 2014 was a Week 1 victory over Leechburg. It was all downhill from there, including a Week 9 loss to last-place Serra Catholic. Wilkinsburg has not made the playoffs since 2001 and fielded a team of just 21 players last year. The Tigers boasted a wide-open offensive attack that featured a 1400-yard passer. Leading rusher Nigel Noel and second-leading reveiver TE Dremar Everette will be juniors and leading receiver Xavier Reed returns for his senior year.
Leechburg
The Blue Devils have not been to the playoffs since 1988, but did pull off a surprising upset of Springdale in Week 2 last year. Besides that and the obligatory win over Serra Catholic, Leechburg suffered through an offense that couldn’t score more than twice in a game and a defense that couldn’t stop anyone. Leechburg’s depth is terrifyingly thin this season after 13 seniors graduated from a team that had just 28 players. QB JB Burtick returns for his junior season.
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