The Southeastern Conference is loaded with teams that have a rich tradition of success. However, last season was a bit of a wake-up call as the conference went just 1-5 in the playoffs (Woodland Hills won the lone game) and perhaps more surprisingly went 4-4 in interclassification games against the AAA Parkway Conference. Not only did the conference go .500 against a conference from a lower classification, but the top 3 teams in the Southeastern all lost. In a battle of conference champions, Central Valley beat Penn Hills, Woodland Hills lost to West Allegheny, and Upper St Clair lost to Montour.
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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Woodland Hills
@WHFootballNet & @WoodyHigh
The Wolverines have reached the playoffs in 19 straight seasons and should easily make it 20 this year. They return a number of highly recruited players, including 1100-yard rusher Miles Sanders (a Penn St commit who is one of the highest-ranked recruits in the state). QB Jeremiah Jones (842 passing yards, 7 passing TDs, 367 rushing yards, 6 rushing TDs), RB Jo-El Shaw (587 yards, 11 TDs) have a number of scholarship offers from FBS Power Conference schools and TE Stephen Puhl has drawn interest from some FCS schools. Woodland Hills was a solid defensive team last year, posting 4 shutouts. Strangely enough, it was their offense that let them down at the end of the season. After averaging 38.5 points per game through the first 8 weeks, they averaged just 18.7 over their last 3 games, two of which were losses to Penn Hills and Central Catholic in the quarterfinals. The Wolverines have the talent to be right back at the top of the conference this season and should be in the hunt for their fifth trip to Heinz Field in the last seven years.
Penn Hills
@phqbclub
The Indians were one of the biggest surprises of Quad-A last season, rebounding from a hard-fought loss to Bethel Park to win the Southeastern Conference title by beating archrival Woodland Hills in the season finale. Dual-threat QB Billy Kisner (a Toledo commit) returns for his senior season after throwing for 448 yards and 5 TDs and rushing for 1019 yards and 12 TDs. The Indians also return third-leading rusher Henton Mathis (578 yards, 6 TDs) and junior Frederick Squires who led the team in receiving last year as a sophomore. Penn Hills has talent at the skill positions that they have shown off on the summer 7-on-7 circuit and they should be right in the mix for the conference title once again.
Upper St Clair
@USCstats
Jim Render’s Panthers were bounced from the WPIAL playoffs in the first round last year, the first time they failed to win a playoff game since 2009. USC has made the playoffs for 15 straight seasons and reached the semi-finals in three of the last four. Senior Gunnar Lund and junior Jackson Geisler figure to compete for the starting quarterback job after splitting time as back-ups last season. Whoever wins the job will have the comfort of leading receiver Doug Wagner (407 yards, 2 TDs) and leading rusher Thomas Vissman (855 yards, 6 TDs) returning. Vissman is a rising junior and will have Pitt commit Brandon Ford plowing the way for him on the offensive line.
Mt Lebanon
@MtLebanonSports
The Blue Devils returned to the playoffs last season after a rare miss in 2013, but they have not made it past the quarterfinals since 2005. Dual-threat QB Eddie Jenkins returns for his senior season after throwing for 1287 yards and 12 TDs and rushing for 614 yards and 8 TDs. David Harvey was the third-leading rusher last year as a sophomore and figures to be the feature back in the Blue Devils option offense. Leading receiver Nick Tommasi (611 yards, 5 TDs) returns for his senior season along with Patrick Kimball who led the team in yards per reception (17.7) last season. Guard Paul Grattan has scholarship offers from Toledo and a number of FCS schools including Duquesne, Villanova and St Francis.
Bethel Park
@BPFootball00
Black Hawks fans were treated to a number of close games last season as Bethel Park finished third in the Southeastern Conference race despite being the only conference team to beat Penn Hills. Their season ended suddenly at the hands of Altoona in the first round of the playoffs, but the talent is there to make a deep run this season. QB Levi Metheny returns for his senior year and his fourth year as a starter after passing for 1156 yards and 10 TDs as a junior. Tight End Jacob Dixon returns for his senior season and second-leading rusher Terron Murphy figures to have an increased role in the backfield as a junior. Bethel Park’s biggest issues last year were on defense. The Black Hawks can score with anybody but will need to shore up their defense to make a run at the conference title.
Baldwin
@BWHighlanders & @MyBWAthletics
The Highlanders have only made the playoffs once in the last five seasons. First and foremost, Baldwin will have to find a replacement at quarterback after multi-year starter Doug Altavilla graduated. Leading receivers Nick Altavilla (726 yards, 7 TDs) and Brandon Schleicher (388 yards, 2 TDs) both return for their senior seasons. Baldwin will need to start the season strong because of the WPIAL’s calculation of playoff spots in Quad-A, their Week 2 non-conference game against Butler could prove to be the difference between the Highlanders making the playoffs and staying home. Baldwin lost to Butler last season which ultimately kept them out of the playoffs.
Canon-McMillan
@BigMac_Football & @CanonMacSports
The Big Macs enter 2015 riding a 13-game losing streak. Their forgettable 2014 season saw them trot out the 2nd-worst offense and 3rd-worst defense in Quad-A (the second-straight year they finished with those exact ranks). There is some hope for 2015 as a lot of underclassmen got significant playing time last year. The Big Macs tried 3 different options at QB last year with juniors Jordan Smith and Dom Eannace and Sophomore Jordan Castelli splitting time. Eannace had the best numbers of the group, throwing for 489 yards and 5 TDs while Smith settled in as the teams second-leading receiver. Leading rushers Bryan Milligan (442 yards, 3 TDs) and Brennan Handyside (390 yards, 1 TD) are both rising juniors.
Peters Twp
After a 2-2 start to 2014, the bottom fell out on the Indians and they dropped their last 5 games, missing the playoffs for the first time since 2009. The Indians had a porous defense that gave up the 4th-most points in Quad-A. Leading rusher TJ Kpan (510 yards, 6 TDs) and second-leading receiver Clayton Yeates (286 yards, 3 TDs) both return for their senior season as Peters Twp tries to find a replacement for 1200-yard passer Cory Owen under center.
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