WPIAL Sportsmen/PSN WPIAL & City League Week 1 Rankings

The first full 2021 WPIAL/City League high school football season is in the books.

On a weekly basis, the team at WPIAL Sportsmen will providing us with material such as their weekly rankings for all football classifications, as well as the Top 10 overall teams in Western Pennsylvania.

After a number of big matchups, here are the updated WPIAL Sportsmen/PSN Rankings following Week 0 results.

WPIAL 6A:
1) Central Catholic– Central handled Penn Hills will little resistance. As we said last week, if they score 17 points it will be hard to beat this team because the defense ain’t giving up much this year. Next up: Pine-Richland.

2) Mt. Lebanon– Impressive in another dominant performance against Upper St. Clair. They can run, they can pass and they play strong defense. Big game against Peters this week.

3) Seneca Valley– Big come from behind win against Pine-Richland. As we mentioned last week, this will be a team to reckon with at the end of the season.

4) North Allegheny- Got pounded by PIckerington Central Ohio, 35-0. The running game wasn’t working and the passing game was non-existent.

5) Canon Mac- Played touch against Peters but ran out of gas and Peters pulled away late.

WPIAL 5A:
1) Moon– Another great performance this time against Montour, 35-6. This is a championship caliber team.

2) Penn-Trafford- Strong performance against Norwin. They will always be well coached with big-time playmakers.

3) South Fayette– With an offense that can run and pass plus a defense that looks physical and fast, Coach Rossi has a legit contender.

4) Pine-Richland– Lost another tough game to another 6A team on the last drive of the game against Seneca Valley and now sits at 0-2.

5) Peters Township- Big win against 6A Canon Mac. This team is loaded with talent and continues to find different ways to win.

DROPPED OUT: Woodland Hills, Penn Hills and Gateway

WPIAL 4A:
1) Thomas Jefferson– Looked impressive in handling Gateway, who we had as the #2 team in 5A. Talent plus a well coached team will be tough to beat.

2) McKeesport– Big win and dominant defensive performance against 5A Woodland Hills.

3) Belle Vernon– Hammered last weeks #5 Chartiers Valley, 49-14. This team has everything they need to make a run.

4) Aliquippa- Strong performance in a big win against Beaver Falls. As we told you, the QUIPS will be a major player in 4A.

5) Laurel Highlands– Another solid performance and big win this time against Southmoreland. This team has to build confidence early because the schedule in October is brutal.

DROPPED OUT: Chartiers Valley

WPIAL 3A:
1) Central Valley- Beat 4A Blackhawk, 58-35. This game was scheduled on short notice with little to none preparation.

2) North Catholic- Beat up Ambridge, 41-0. Next up a very talented 4A Blackhawk team.

3) Avonworth– Destroyed Apollo-Ridge, 46-0. Cruising into the 9/17 game against Sto-Rox.

4) Keystone Oaks– Team plays strong defense. They haven’t given up a touchdown this season.

DROPPED OUT: South Allegheny and Elizabeth Forward

WPIAL 2A: 
1) Sto-Rox– Wins 82-0 (WOW). Next up- McGuffey

2) Serra Catholic– Statement win over 3A East Allegheny. This team has athletes everywhere and will be tough to beat.

3) Washington– Another blowout win, 69-0 against Jefferson-Morgan. The one negative for Washington High is their regular season schedule every year is the worst in the WPIAL and it does not prepare them for the playoffs. They always have big talent, but are never tested.

4) Laurel- Got past Shenango, 21-13. Another steady, solid performance.

5) Neshannock– Beat South Side Beaver, 27-0 in a dominant performance.

DROPPED OUT: Beaver Falls.

WPIAL 1A:
1) Bishop Canevin- Wasn’t ranked last week because Week 0 game was canceled at halftime and we needed to see more. After their pounding of Carlynton, 50-0, we now have them at #1. They have 2 electric players on offense in Xavier Nelson and LaSae Lacks. Most importantly, the defense is dominant and can win a championship. We trust our eyes and our eyes tell us Bishop Canevin is the real thing.

2) Rochester– Got past New Brighton, 27-20. A lot of star-studded talent on this team.

3) Clairton- Tough loss to 2A Steel Valley, 14-12. Still one of the top teams in 1A and still remains a lot of peoples favorite to win 1A.

4) Greensburg C.C.– After getting blown out in Week 0 by 5A Upper St. Clair, they bounce back with a strong performance and win against 2A Seton LaSalle. Watch out for this team in 1A, they will make a lot of noise.

5) California- Got it done in a back and forth game against Beth-Center, 36-30. Very weak schedule the rest of the way and could run the table in the regular season.

6) Springdale- Beat up on Shady Side Academy, 40-12. We will be watching closely as they continue to tune up for the 9/17 game against Bishop Canevin.

City League:
1) Westinghouse- This game was canceled because of COVID-19.

2) Perry- Beat Uniontown, 34-0. Dominant performance by the defense and they have athletes on the offense to score.

3) Brashear- Got handled by a strong Erie McDowell team, 38-14. Next, they have Westinghouse. A team with so much talent and hope to do big things is facing a real possibility of starting the season 0-3.

4) USO- Good win against Sharon, 21-14.

5) Allderdice- Another blowout loss, this time to Oak Glenn, 46-0.

The Moon Tigers celebrate their victory over the Ambridge Bridgers Friday. — MATT POPCHOCK / PSN

WPIAL’S TOP 10 TEAMS
1) Central Catholic
2) Mt. Lebanon
3) Thomas Jefferson
4) Westinghouse
5) Moon
6) Seneca Valley
7) Penn-Trafford
8) South Fayette
9) North Allegheny
10) Pine-Richland

Dropped Out: Gateway, Woodland Hills and Penn Hills