WPIAL’s Central Valley tops Class 3A rankings
Linebacker Josiah Trotter and defensive end James Heard both have a number of major-college scholarship offers and are ranked among the top players in the country at their positions, while senior offensive lineman Brad Harris also has FBS offers. Defensive back Omillio Agard is ranked the No. 31 sophomore in the country by 247sports.com.
Central Catholic is No. 2 and LaSalle College, another perennially strong team is No. 3. LaSalle and St. Joseph’s both play in the Philadelphia Catholic League. LaSalle has linebacker Abdul Carter, who has committed to Penn State, and Rutgers running back recruit Sam Brown.
No. 4 Central York lost to St. Joseph’s in last year’s Class 6A title game and returns only two starters on defense. But the offense features highly-touted quarterback Beau Pribula, a Penn State recruit who last season threw for 2,156 yards, 34 touchdowns and rushed for 519 yards.
Class 5A
Governor Mifflin, near Reading, returns 10 defensive starters from a team that lost a heartbreaker to Pine-Richland in the PIAA semifinals last year (48-44), and Governor Mifflin starts the season No. 1.
Although the defense should be good, Governor Mifflin features senior Nick Singleton, ranked the No. 8 running back in the country by Rivals.com. Singleton rushed for 1,303 yards in only nine games last season and has 4,267 career yards. He already has committed to Penn State.
It was a tough call to rank Governor Mifflin or Imhotep Charter of Philadelphia No. 1. Imhotep, which lost in the PIAA Class 4A championship three consecutive years from 2016-18, did not play last fall because of COVID-19 and instead played a four-game schedule in the spring. Imhotep is loaded with talent. Rivals ranks outside linebacker Enai White the No. 1 senior in the state and No. 9 OLB in the country. White has narrowed his list of colleges to Alabama, Georgia, Ohio State and Texas A&M.
Imhotep also has linebacker Keon Wylie, who has committed to Penn State, and offensive guard Emir Stinette, a Rutgers recruit. Rahmir Stewart is ranked among the best junior defensive backs in the country.
Imhotep opens the season Friday against Central Catholic at Woodland Hills’ Wolvarena, as part of the Western Pa. vs. Everyone Showcase.
Gateway is the only WPIAL team in the Class 5A top five.
No. 4 Cathedral Prep of Erie used two forfeit wins in the PIAA quarterfinals and semifinals to make it to last year’s title game, where it lost to Pine-Richland. It was not one of coach Mike Mischler’s best Cathedral Prep teams. Mischler, who won three consecutive Class 4A titles from 2016-18, seems to have a legitimate top five team this year.
No. 5 Upper Dublin forfeited to Cathedral Prep in last year’s PIAA semifinals.
Class 4A
It’s hard not to put Thomas Jefferson No. 1 after the Jaguars won the past two PIAA titles. Although it wouldn’t be a shock if Thomas Jefferson made another PIAA title run, the Jaguars did lose a number of key players to graduation. And No. 1 Bishop McDevitt of Harrisburg is loaded.
McDevitt finished 6-0 last season, but did not make the District 3 playoffs because of the District 3 playoff system. But there should be no quirk to keep the Crusaders from going far this season, as 10 starters return on both sides of the ball.
One of those starters is Marquese Williams, who is ranked the No. 9 junior running back in the country by Rivals. He was bothered by an injury most of last year, but ran for more than 1,100 yards two years ago as a freshman. McDevitt also has two receivers (Kamil Foster and Mario Easterly) who have FBS scholarship offers. A key, though, will be quarterback, where freshman Stone Saunders will be the starter. But Saunders already has a Michigan offer.
Three WPIAL teams are in the top five — No. 2 Thomas Jefferson, No. 3 Belle Vernon and No. 5 Aliquippa. The No. 4 team is Jersey Shore, which lost in the PIAA title game last year to Thomas Jefferson, 21-14.
Class 3A
Central Valley forced the mercy rule on 11 of 12 teams last year on its way to a PIAA title. Central Valley won’t be as strong this season, but the Warriors still have plenty of talent and start the season No. 1.
But many are talking about a team from the eastern side of the state in this classification. North Schuylkill, a District 11 team, finished 8-0 last season but didn’t have a chance at a state title because District 11 officials opted not to participate in the PIAA playoffs. North Schuylkill has 16 returning starters from a team that averaged 466 yards and 43 points a game.
North Schuylkill has quarterback Jake Hall, an all-state selection last year who threw for 1,783 yards and 25 touchdowns in eight games. Josh Chowansky ( 1,260 yards rushing) also returns at running back along with four offensive linemen.
No. 3 Neumann-Goretti has three players ranked by Rivals among the top 17 seniors in the state. They are receiver Kevin Thomas (West Virginia recruit), linebacker Anthony Johnson (Rutgers) and defensive back Raleigh Collins (West Virginia). Neumann-Goretti did not play last fall, instead opting to play a few games in the spring.
Wyomissing lost six allstate players from a team that lost to Central Valley in the PIAA title game, but Wyomissing is still expected to be high competitive.
District 10 teams Hickory and Grove City are both expected to be strong and could be just as good as a few of the teams in the top five.
Class 2A
Southern Columbia is ranked No. 1. What else is new?
The Tigers have won four consecutive PIAA Class 2A titles, five in six years and 11 overall under Jim Roth, the winningest coach in Pennsylvania history. They have a 60game winning streak and need only seven wins to break Clairton’s state record streak of 66.
Gavin Garcia returns for his senior season after rushing for 1,921 yards in 12 games and being named Pennsylvania’s Class 2A Player of the Year. Sophomore Garrett Garcia (Gavin’s brother) also returns, but he is not a running back. He was the team’s leading tackler last year. Derek Berlitz was all-state at defensive end.
No. 2 Farrell features big, experienced linemen, but also a standout running back in Anthony Stallworth.
No. 5 Sto-Rox is the only WPIAL team in the top five.
Class 1A
Receiver-defensive back Mekhi Flowers helped Steelton-Highspire to the PIAA title last year and was selected the state’s Class 1A Player of the Year. Flowers, who has committed to Penn State, is a senior, but he no longer plays for Steel-High. He transferred to Central Dauphin East.
But Steel-High is primed for another run at a state title. A number of other starters return, including quarterback Alex Erby, who completed 158 of 259 for 2,489 yards last year as a freshman. Linebacker Jaeion Perry is another outstanding sophomore who made all-state last year as a freshman.
Old Forge lost to SteeltonHighspire, 39-36, on the final play in last year’s PIAA quarterfinals, and Old Forge starts the season at No. 2.
Clairton (No. 4) is the only WPIAL team in the top five.