Football title games return to Heinz Field
After a one-year hiatus for the COVID-19 pandemic, the WPIAL is returning to Heinz Field for its football championships this fall.
Dates have yet to be determined, but the WPIAL is most likely looking at Nov. 26-27, WPIAL executive director Amy Scheuneman said Monday after a board of directors meeting. Scheuneman said the Class 6A championship, which will most likely a week earlier Nov. 19, will be at a yet-to-be-determined high school stadium.
“We are going back there,” Scheuneman said. “The schedule is yet to be determined. It could be four games there, or it might be five. We
have to work out the details with Heinz Field.”
There is a possibility that the five remaining championships will be played at Heinz Field over a two-day period the following weekend. The other option is to hold four games at Heinz Field on the same day, with the leftover championship game played at a high school stadium.
“The board feels strongly about the championship experience there and the opportunity to play in that facility was of value to our student-athletes, so they wanted to go back there and provide that,” Scheuneman said. “Heinz Field obviously is very welcoming. They have an entire wall dedicated to our champions and value high school athletics, and we appreciate their support.”
Along with the updates on championship sites for football, the WPIAL also approved championship dates and sites for the rest of its fall sports. Notably, the WPIAL boys and girls soccer championships will return to Highmark Stadium Nov. 5-6 after a year away from the venue.
“That’s one we really value,” Scheuneman said. “That facility, from a soccer standpoint — it’s a beautiful stadium, and the teams love playing there. It was just a matter of opening back up and being able to get in there.”
For boys golf, the Class 2A individual championships will be Sept. 20 at Allegheny Country Club, while the Class 3A individual championships will be Oct. 5 at Nemacolin Country Club. On the girls side, the Class 2A and Class 3A individual championships will be played Oct. 7 at Hannastown Country Club.
The Class 2A and Class 3A team golf championships for boys and girls are scheduled for Oct. 14 at Cedarbrook Golf Club.
Girls team tennis championships will move to Washington & Jefferson Oct. 20, as will the field hockey championships Oct. 30. Boys and girls cross country championships will return to California University of Pennsylvania Oct. 28, and girls volleyball championships will be played Nov. 6 at Robert Morris University.
“[We were looking for] premier venues, like a college atmosphere,” Scheuneman said. “We wanted to elevate some of those sports to have the same experience as other higher-profile sports.”
Woodland Hills
The WPIAL board censured the Woodland Hills administration and placed the Woodland Hills field hockey program on one-year probation for violating PIAA bylaws regarding boys playing for girls teams. The school had been using boys on its field hockey team for the past four years.
Greensburg Salem also had been using boys on its girls lacrosse team this past year, and the WPIAL censured and probated the Greensburg Salem administration at a previous board meeting.
“Greensburg Salem was looking for a co-op, and we accepted that plan for them to not allow those male students to participate on their girls team,” Scheuneman said. “As far as Woodland Hills, they are not going to allow those boys to participate on their field hockey team in the future. Again, both have taken the stance that they will not continue with what transpired this year.”
Monessen
The WPIAL deemed Monessen to be in good standing and ended the school district’s probationary period after a brawl at a boys basketball game against Clairton in 2018. Both schools initially received a five-year probation from the board. Scheuneman said Clairton has yet to submit a request to end its probationary period.
Seton LaSalle
The WPIAL denied a request from Seton LaSalle to reconsider sanctions imposed on the school in March for alleged recruiting violations. Seton LaSalle head coach Mauro Monz, who has since resigned, and assistant coach Jason Pinkston each were handed one-year suspensions by the WPIAL, and the football program was placed on two year of probation.