2018 WPIAL PREVIEW: 5A SECTION 1
Even though some of the teams in 5A have lost of some key starters from last season, there are always new players that can come play at the Varsity level and make an impact for their team.
Baldwin: Baldwin did not win a single game in their section last season. Baldwin has to basically play the same teams again this season. Perhaps the Highlanders can surprise everybody and become the bounce back team.
Bethel Park: The Blackhawks moved down to 5A after playing football in 6A. The starting quarterback for the Bethel Park, Anthony Chiccitt, threw 999 yards last season and was 1 yard short from throwing 1,000 yards last season. Anthony will be a junior this season and we should see him rise this season. He has a chance of making a big name for himself this season as he has a full year of Varsity experience under his belt. Bethel Park lost some key starters this season as James Krandel and Tanner Volpatti are no longer with the team as they are both in college now. Volpatti rushed for 1,213 yards last year and James Krandel was one of the starting cornerbacks for the team.
Chartiers Valley: Head coach Dan Knause will enter his second year at CV and wants to bounce back from that 2-8 season last year. The Colts will look to find their way back into the WPIAL playoffs for the first time since 2015. The Colts have not had a record over .500 since 2009 when they were 8-2 overall. The Colts have not won a single playoff game since 2007 when they defeated Franklin Regional 28-21 in the first round of the playoffs. The Colts will have a new starting quarterback this season in Socrates Boulis. Boulis will only be a sophomore this season. He seems to be throwing the ball well and he is super-fast. The Colts have a new kicker in Adam Weiss; he has played soccer before. The Colts also have Troy Donofrio, Hunter Curran, Mike Rennie, Jayden Davis, Doug Krausa, Sean Banas and Connor Barrett returing for the Colts this year as all of them had a good amount of playing time last year.
Moon: Moon has lost their quarterback Cole Konieczka as he graduated last year. Moon has also lost their star punter Nick Sebastian. Sebastian was known as one of the best punters in the entire WPIAL. Moon's section record was 4-4 last year which was not that bad. Moon had some nice wins over North Hills and West Allegheny last season. But, they had some bad losses as well last season as they got whooped by Chartiers Valley, Upper St.Clair and Woodland Hills. One of the key starters that will return this season is cornerback Malcolm Johnson. Johnson will be a senior this year. He played his sophomore year of high school football at Gateway with Courtney Jackson, Jeremiah Josephs and Brady Walker and the rest of the Gators players. Johnson led the Tigers in interceptions last season and wants to continue to keep intercepting balls this season as well. Moon also have Ramone Dean and Brady Sunday on their team as they are looking have to a big impact for the Tigers again this season.
Peters Township: Peters will move down to 5A after playing football in 6A last season. Peters lost their starting quarterback in Jake Cortes. Cortes graduated last year and is playing football for the Pittsburgh Panthers. Peters Township might not have big time superstars on their football team like a Joey Porter Jr., a Phil Jurkovec, a Todd Hill or a Courtney Jackson, but, the Peters football team has players that can play the high school level and win games. Ryan Magiske led Peters in rushing yards last season and is ready to make some noise this year in his junior year of high school.
Upper St. Clair: Even though the Panthers lost their starting quarterback in Jack Hansberry, they have a new quarterback in Jason Sweeney. Hansberry is actually going to play linebacker at Pitt. Sweeney will be a senior this season. Sweeney has played linebacker a lot throughout his high school football career. Antonio Orsini and Antonio Thomas are both seniors and will both be leaders for the Panthers this season. Expect both of them to get even more playing time this season than they did last season. Upper St. Clair is actually one of the favorites to win their section this year. The Panthers will have to play South Fayette on Friday and it will be the first regular season game for both teams.
West Allegheny: West Allegheny is another team that people think will win their section this season. Some key starters that the Indians will have back this season are Mateo Vanadmia, Logan Rossi and Kam Kruze. This is the final season that Bob Palko will coach the West Allegheny Indians. I bet that the Indians want to give Palko one more WPIAL championship ring before he leaves and walks into the sunset. No matter who is on the team for West Allegheny, Bob Palko can always find a way to turn his players into stars.
Woodland Hills: The Wolverines have a new quarterback this season in Gavin Gurreri-Judson. Judson was passing the ball very well at his old school in New York. Mike Coleman will be back for the Wolverines this season as he will lead the defense once again for Woody High. Woodland Hills is trying to make the next step in trying to go back to the WPIAL championship game as they have not made it to the championship game for a while.