Welcome back to WPIAL Power Rankings. After a crazy Week 2 of football, there was some major movement in some classifications. Here are the Power Rankings after Week 2. Be sure to check back weekly to get updates. Be sure to follow me on twitter @WPIAL_Insider.
CLASS 6A
1) Central Catholic (1): 55-14. That was the score when the Vikings played North Allegheny. This was by far the most shocking score of 6A. The Vikes seem to be rolling early on.
2) Pine Richland (2): After a convincing win against Seneca Valley, I’m still very comfortable with PR at the #2 spot. Their matchup against Penn Hills this week should be the best of 6A.
3) Penn Hills (5): Don’t look now, but here comes Cam Tarrant and the Indians. They play #2 Pine Richland this week so we will see just where they are at on the spectrum. With Rick Squires and Julian Major on the outside, they can cause matchup nightmares for a lot of teams. We’ll see how they handle this Pine Richland test.
4) Hempfield (NR): After upsetting then #4 Mt Lebanon, Hempfield finds their way onto the scene. QB Justin Sliwoski looks like the real deal. We will see how the handle the pressure Central Catholic will bring this week.
5) North Allegheny (3): After suffering a terrible loss to Central Catholic 55-14, North Allegheny drops to #5. They have Shaler this week to rebound.
Dropped: #4 Mt Lebanon
On the bubble: Seneca Valley
Class 5A
1) Woodland Hills (1): Coach Novak gets his 300th win and Woody High still reigns #1 in 5A. They beat Fox Chapel 54-12 this week.
2) Upper St Clair (3): The Panthers move up top #2 after a convincing win against Moon. Maybe they really were a young team last year. They’re looking great early on. They have Baldwin up next.
3) Armstrong (NR): Zane Dudek is the real deal. After beating last week’s #2 McKeesport by one point, Armstrong showed they are contenders this year.
4) West Allegheny (4): They struggled a bit but they got the job done vs a strong North Hills team. NH has had some tough matchups early on. West A’s Week 6 game vs USC will be a big one.
5) Penn Trafford (5): It’s tough to drop McKeesport off this list but Penn Trafford deserves to be on and they’re only getting better as the season goes on. With a lot of new starters and great coaching, they will be a team to watch come playoff time.
Dropped: #2 McKeesport
On the bubble: McKeesport, Chartiers Valley, Gateway, Kiski
Class 4A
1) Thomas Jefferson (1): The Jags stay on top of 4A this week after smothering Trinity. They have Greensburg Salem next week.
2) South Fayette (2): The Lions blew out Ambridge 38-0 this week. I don’t see them facing many problems until their Week 6 (Game 7) matchup vs New Castle. Expect #1 and #2 in 4A to remain constant for a while.
3) West Mifflin (3): I caught a little bit of flack for having West Mifflin ranked #3 in 4A last week, but the fact of the matter is, their defense has yet to let up a point this year. They have allowed two points on the year after a safety. Defense wins championships.
4) New Castle (4): They took on last week’s #5 Highlands this week and beat them 29-26. It dropped Highlands from the Top 5 but validated the Hurricanes spot here. They take on Ambridge next week.
5) Belle Vernon (NR): It was tough to make this call, but I think Belle Vernon edges Ringgold for this week. The good news is they face each other this week, so we will really see who is deserving of this spot.
Dropped out: Highlands (5)
On the bubble: Ringgold, Highlands, Montour, Mars
Class 3A
1) Beaver (4): Wow, who would have thought Aliquippa would fall in the regular season? Darius Wise proved king in Class 3A and the Bobcats earned the top spot. They face #5 Quaker Valley next, which will be a tough matchup.
2) Aliquippa (1): I cant drop the Quips too far as they have looked more than impressive this year. The loss to Beaver breaks their 62 game regular season win streak. They get to rebound vs undefeated Freeport this week, that will also be a good matchup.
3) Central Valley (2): The Warriors did nothing to drop after beating EF 56-13, its just the fact Beaver showed just how great they are this year. CV will contend all season long. This Beaver Valley conference is absolutely insane.
4) Beaver Falls (3): They dominated Apollo Ridge this week 40-14. Once Malik Shepard comes back they will be straight.
5) Quaker Valley (NR): They beat a very tough Neshannock team out of conference this week. We will see who’s real between them and Beaver this week.
Dropped: Keystone Oaks (5): They did nothing to drop, I just feel like at this time QV is slightly better.
On the bubble: Keystone Oaks, Derry, Mt Pleasant, Hopewell, Freeeport
Class 2A
1) Steel Valley (1): The Ironmen rolled 50-0 this week. All 50 came in the first half. Coach Rod Steele has them rolling. They are fun to watch as well.
2) Wash High (3): They took it to Brownsville this week 48-7. The Prexies have had a strong start to the season. They have South Park next week.
3) Neshannock (2): They drop a spot this week after playing up a classification against Quaker Valley and losing. It was a close game as they lost 25-20, but they still will be a contender in 2A.
4) East Allegheny (4): After edging Brentwood 21-12, EA moves up a spot after South Side Beaver lost to Serra Catholic. They play Neshannock in two weeks which will be a bug non-conference game for both teams.
5) North Catholic (NR): After getting blown out by Neshannock in Week 1, North Catholic makes their debut in the Power Rankings.
Dropped out: South Side Beaver (4)
Class 1A
1) Clairton (1): They played closer than expected with Springdale but still blew them out 32-0. The Bears remain the premiere program in Class 1A.
2) Jeannette (2): The Jayhawks blew out Leechburg this week to improve to 3-0. That Week 9 matchup with Clairton is starting to look great.
3) Sto Rox (3): Sto Rox is quietly 3-0 and winning pretty convincingly. They play Wash High in 3 weeks. We will see just how god they are.
4) Fort Cherry (NR): They are 2-0 and beat Greensburg CC this week by 21. It will be interesting to see how the Tri-County South Conference ends this year.
5) Western Beaver (NR): They’re 3-0 right now and play OLSH next week. They replace Imani this week in the power rankings after the Greensburg CC loss effected Imani as well.
Dropped out: Greensburg Central Catholic (4), Imani Christian Academy (5)
On the bubble: Northgate, Rochester, Imani, Mapletown
