The Parkway Conference has produced the last 6 AAA Champions and has sent at least one team to the WPIAL final in 9 consecutive years. The conference is once again loaded with talented teams, but with Central Valley and West Allegheny both losing a significant amount of seniors to graduation, the door is open for anyone to make a run for the conference crown.
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.
All helmet images are courtesy of the PA Helmet Project.
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Montour
@MontourFootball & @MHSFootball_
The Spartans finished third in the Parkway last year and played Central Valley closer than anyone in the WPIAL not named “West Allegheny.” Montour is loaded with experience QB Randall Labrie and leading rusher David Haseleu both return for their senior seasons. Both accounted for over 1000 yards last season with Labrie throwing for 1161 and 8 TDs and Haseleu rushing for 1070 and 19 TDs. Second and third-leading receivers Zach Herskovitz and Tyler Carswell also return to what should be a loaded Montour offense. Central Valley and West Allegheny both have to replace a big senior class, which should open the door for Montour to compete for (and possibly win) the Parkway crown.
Central Valley
@CentralValleySD
The defending AAA Champions have been an absolute powerhouse since the merger of Center and Monaca in 2010. In 5 years of WPIAL play they have made the semi-finals each year, won two titles and reached Heinz Field another time. Chris Callaghan returns for his senior season after throwing for 1314 yards and 13 TDs while splitting QB duties last season. Second-leading receiver Kurt Reinstadler (618 yards, 9 TDs) also returns. The Warriors will have to find a new running back this season after their top 5 rushers graduated.
West Allegheny
@WestASports & @WASportsNetwork
The Indians quest for a 3-peat came up just short last season as they fell to Central Valley in the WPIAL title game. That was the first time head coach Bob Palko had lost a game on the Heinz Field grass. That team graduated 22 seniors, winners of two WPIAL titles. West Allegheny does get two of their top three rushers back from last season in Terence Stephens (912 yards, 18 TDs) and Whitney White (655 yards, 10 TDs). They will be the focal points of the Indians offensive attack as Bob Palko searches for a replacement at quarterback. West Allegheny’s top 6 receivers from last season also graduated. Luckily for Palko, West Allegheny has won with running the ball and playing defense before and there is enough talent in Stephens and White to compete for the conference title.
New Castle
@NCTogether
The Hurricanes returned to the playoffs for a seacond consecutive season in 2014 thanks to winning their last three games. This made up for losing their first four, but issues persisted – particularly on the defensive side of the ball. New Castle allowed all but one opponent to score at least 25 points on them and their only comfortable win came over winless Hopewell. Their other 3 wins were all close games – a 6-point victory over Moon, a 5-point win over Ambridge and a 1-point win over Chartiers Valley. Those 12 points were the difference between the playoffs and a disappointing season. Leading rusher Daylyn Glenel returns for his senior season and figures to be the focal point of the offense.
Ambridge
@BridgerFootball
The Bridgers have been right on the verge of making the playoffs the last few seasons but haven’t been to the postseason since 2005. Big things are expected of junior QB Austin French who threw for 1397 yards and 19 TDs last year. Fellow juniors Diaquan Alston and Romnn Shell were the team’s top two rushers last year, combining for nearly 800 yards and 5 TDs. Ambridge will have to find a new group of WRs for French to throw to, but this experienced backfield trio could lead Ambridge to their first playoff berth in a decade.
Moon
@moonareafb & @MoonTigerSports
After a 6-year playoff drought, the Tigers have reached the postseason in each of the last two years. The Tigers will have to replace dual-threat QB Alaksei Yaramus who led the team in passing and rushing last season. Matt Dunning was the second-leading rusher and will return for his senior season along with RB Noah Angelo and WR/RB Draper Gilliam. Moon had its isses on offense last season, scoring over 21 points only twice. Moon traditionally has been a run-oriented team and with a new QB coming in for 2015 that will likely be the approach once again.
Chartiers Valley
@CVSDcolts
The Colts got off to a solid 2-2 start in 2014 but failed to win another game, including a 1-point loss to New Castle and 5-point loss to Ambridge at the end of the season. Char-Valley was a playoff staple before moving to the Parkway Conference where they have reached the playoffs just once in the last five years. Dual-threat QB Jake Collins returns for his senior year after throwing for 741 yards and 8 TDs and rushing for 567 yards and 5 TDs last year. Second-leading receiver Jared Nelson and third-leading rusher Dom Pocci also return. The biggest question for the Colts is on defense where they were the 4th-worst in AAA last year, giving up 39.8 points per game.
Hopewell
What happened to Hopewell? This was a proud program that had 4 quarterfinal appearances and one run to Heinz Field between 2008 and 2012. Since then, the bottom has fallen out on the Vikings. They failed to win a conference game in 2013 (going 1-8 overall) then failed to win a game period last year. They were one of 6 teams in the entire WPIAL to give up over 400 points in 9 regular season games last year and held only two opponents under 47 points. Their second and third-leading rushers Mirko Loncar and Chuck Metz, along with leading receiver Griffin Curry all return this season as they try to get Hopewell back on track.
Blackhawk
@BlackhwkCougars
It has been a tumultuous offseason for Blackhawk after 30-year head coach Joe Hamilton retired in January. The 73-year old Hamilton was the second-winningest coach in WPIAL history, behind only Upper St Clair’s Jim Render. For the program, Blackhawk has only been to the playoffs once in the last six years after reaching Heinz Field twice in the mid-2000s (2006 and 2008). The new coach will be starting from the ground up as the only returning offensive skill player is leading receiver and second-leading rusher Austin Javens. The Cougars were decent defensively last year but had the 4th-worst offense in AAA.
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