In the rugged world of WPIAL Class 5A football, there are no cupcakes, no pushovers, and there are certainly no certainties.
But if history is any indication, there is one thing that is about as close as it gets to a sure thing — Pine-Richland playing at Acrisure Stadium in late November for the WPIAL championship.
Since Jon LeDonne arrived on the scene in 2022 following a highly successful five-year stint at Penn Hills, the Rams have advanced to the WPIAL Class 5A title game on all three occasions, with a pair of WPIAL crowns in 2022 and 2024 sandwiched around a runner-up finish in 2023. Pine-Richland also won a state title in LeDonne’s first year at the helm, giving the reigning Northeast Conference champions a total of nine WPIAL titles and three state titles during their storied history.
With all that in mind, it might sound a bit outlandish to insist that this could be the Rams’ best team yet under LeDonne, but he certainly wouldn’t argue against it.
“What we have is far more athleticism than we’ve had here for the last several years,” LeDonne said. “But the one thing that is similar to that 2022 state championship team is the leadership from our senior group. … They’ve been playing together for 10-plus years in the youth leagues, and they’ve won a lot of games together. So they’re excited.
“You talk to their parents and everything, and you talk about the memories they built at the Pine-Richland program, down to the youth level. It’s exciting.”
You won’t find any team in the area with more returning talent at the skill positions than Pine-Richland, which features one of the top quarterbacks in the WPIAL in junior Oobi Strader. As a sophomore, Strader passed for 1,755 yards and 20 touchdowns with just four interceptions. Joining him in the backfield once again will be punishing senior running back Maclane Miller, who ran for 1,303 yards and 14 TDs a year ago.
As if that weren’t enough, top-notch receiver-defensive back Jay Timmons returns after catching 40 passes for 755 yards and 11 scores in 2024. The son of former Steelers linebacker Lawrence Timmons, he will team up with four-star junior and Penn State recruit Khalil Taylor to form arguably the most acclaimed receiving tandem in the WPIAL. Both players hold several Power Four scholarship offers, with Taylor ranked by Rivals as the No. 5 player in the state and No. 87 overall player in the nation in the 2027 class.
“He’s been with us for a week now,” LeDonne said in early August about Taylor, who transferred from Seton LaSalle in the offseason. “He’s locked in and has been focusing in on the playbook and getting to meet his teammates. … We’re excited about his potential. We’re going to work him in on both sides of the ball. And as we work him in, we’re going to put on a display.”
Defensively, this is one unit you don’t want to go blow-for-blow with. Senior middle linebacker Grant Pillar sets the tone with every punishing hit he delivers, and the rest of the lineup follows suit. Up front, junior defensive tackle Dajour Webb (6-1, 310) is a monster in the middle, and Pitt recruit John Curran (6-4, 290) is a hard-nosed guard who provides a sturdy presence as the anchor of the offensive line.
On the back end, players like Timmons, Taylor and Dajaun Webb provide LeDonne with an abundance of shutdown defensive backs to help keep a lid on opposing offenses. Simply put, you won’t find a more well-rounded team in the WPIAL this year than these Rams, regardless of classification.
“It’s good to have Timmons’ leadership in the defensive backfield,” LeDonne said. “We think we have some depth at the corner and safety positions.”
Already one of only three coaches to win WPIAL and PIAA titles at multiple schools, LeDonne continues to climb his way into the upper echelon of the greatest coaches to ever come through Western Pennsylvania. What he has done over the past eight years at Penn Hills and Pine-Richland is truly remarkable — and with the wave of momentum the Rams are riding into the 2025 season, it looks like LeDonne might just be getting started.
As for the rest of the teams in Class 5A, that sure is a scary thought to ponder.
“We said our goal is to compete for and win a state championship. And in order to do that here in Pennsylvania, you need to win the WPIAL championship,” LeDonne said. “We have that date circled on our calendar. We’re ready to get back to [Acrisure Stadium]. But this is a new team. It’s a new year. We can’t go bragging about what we did in the past. We have to focus on who we have here now.”
Elsewhere in the Northeast Conference, Penn Hills hopes to knock Pine-Richland off its lofty perch while attempting to secure its second conference title in four seasons under coach Charles Morris. Leading rusher Naytel Mitchell graduated after racking up 1,281 yards on the ground with 18 TDs last season, but the Indians should still have plenty of talented weapons to turn to on offense, including junior wideouts Carter Bonner and Tre Littlejohn.
At North Hills, the Indians will be playing with a bit of added motivation this year in honor of coach Pat Carey, who is taking a one-year leave of absence due to a serious health condition following an impressive 8-3 campaign in 2024. In his place, former defensive coordinator Brody Zangaro will be stepping in as interim head coach, along with a pair of returning all-conference picks in defensive back Josiah Mathis and defensive lineman Jalil McKinley-Jones.
With senior center Frank Grazulis back in the trenches after earning all-conference honors a year ago, Plum should have a steady presence in the middle, but the Mustangs will need more production out of the skill positions in order to make a postseason push this fall. Senior wideout Sloan Humphries also returns after catching a team-high 38 passes for 536 yards last season.
Senior quarterback Aaron Aversa is back for Shaler after leading the team in both passing and rushing as a junior, but the Titans still have a long way to go in order to contend for a playoff spot after posting an overall record of 3-7 last season. Junior fullback Sami Tapu is back alongside Aversa after rushing for 332 yards on 59 carries as a sophomore.
Coming off a last-place finish in 2024, Fox Chapel will hope to provide senior kicker Harran Zureikat with as many opportunities as possible to put points on the board. A Georgia recruit, Zureikat is ranked by some scouting services as the No. 1 kicking prospect in the country in the 2026 class.
Allegheny Six Conference
Although Peters Township finished in second place behind Upper St. Clair in last year’s Allegheny Six Conference standings, the Indians got their revenge with a 7-3 victory in the WPIAL semifinals on their way to a second consecutive WPIAL championship appearance. Unlike their WPIAL title win in 2023, though, Peters Township had to settle for silver following a 20-9 defeat against Pine-Richland. Now, with senior quarterback-safety Nolan DiLucia returning along with a pair of Power Four edge rushers in Reston Lehman (Pitt) and Lucas Shanafelt (Stanford), the Indians have to like their chances of making it back to Acrisure Stadium — and maybe even making their second trip to the state finals after a PIAA runner-up finish in 2023.
For proof that the Allegheny Six is the toughest conference of any classification in the state, just take a look at last year’s results. Five of the six teams finished .500 or better, while three of the six finished with at least 10 wins. In the end, it was Upper St. Clair that took home the conference title before its season came to an end in the WPIAL semifinal rematch against Peters Township. The Panthers have many notable players to replace, but tradition never dies at Upper St. Clair, where senior quarterback Ethan Hellmann will return to lead the offense alongside senior running back Dante Coury and all-conference center Mason Geyer.
After a 10-win season that included a trip to the WPIAL semifinals, Bethel Park lost a handful of standout players on both sides of the ball, including PUP all-stars JaVaughn Moore and Clancy Orie. But with coach Phil Peckich pulling the strings and the return of all-conference selections Bryan McGuire and Will Sabatos, the Black Hawks figure to be right in the mix once again come playoff time.
While some other teams in the Allegheny Six might be missing a bit of firepower this year, South Fayette seems to be on the upswing in its second season under coach Marty Spieler. The presence of senior quarterback Drew Welhorsky, who passed for 1,695 yards and 14 TDs while rushing for a team-high 850 yards and 13 scores in 2024, is a big reason why. Plus, junior Alex Deanes returns after catching 31 passes for 402 yards last fall.
Another team that always seems to find itself in the playoff hunt come November, Moon will lean heavily on multipurpose weapon Paul Bronaugh in hopes of making a deep postseason run. As a junior, Bronaugh rushed for 471 yards on 63 carries while catching 11 passes for 200 yards with eight total TDs. Senior quarterback Andrew Cross is also returning after passing for 940 yards and 10 TDs last season.
Stuck in the cellar in the Allegheny Six, Baldwin will face tough sledding while trying to improve on last year’s 0-10 finish. All-conference tailback Devin Taylor is gone after rushing for 719 yards in 2024, leaving the Highlanders in search of a new workhorse to rely on moving forward.
Big East Conference
The time is now for defending conference champion Woodland Hills, one of the area’s most tradition-rich programs that has now waited 16 years since capturing its last WPIAL title. Senior quarterback Cam Walter, the school’s all-time leading passer, and junior running back Zykir Moore, a North Carolina State recruit, are both back to full health after sustaining season-ending injuries in 2024. But the main attraction for the Wolverines is electric 5-6 wideout Scoop Smith, a two-time PUP all-star widely regarded as the top all-around athlete in the WPIAL. As a junior, Smith hauled in 38 catches for 653 yards to go with 352 yards rushing on just 27 carries while scoring 15 total TDs — including two on kick returns and one on a punt return.
Always a threat to contend for a conference title under veteran coach John Ruane, Penn-Trafford should be right back in the thick of the championship chase after a 9-3 finish last season. The biggest reason for optimism? The return of junior tailback Ben Grabowski. After rushing for 779 yards and 10 TDs while splitting time in the backfield with Tasso Whipple during a promising freshman campaign, Grabowski missed almost his entire sophomore season due to injury, but he is back and ready to take on a full workload this fall. Senior linebacker Jamison Yurt and senior defensive back Tyler Boss will help fortify the Warriors’ defense after receiving all-conference recognition in 2024.
After enduring a five-game losing streak early on in the season, Kiski Area battled back to win three of its last four games in 2024, finishing 4-6 overall while tying for fourth place in the conference. Sophomore Nick Anderson (6-4, 260) is a monstrous lineman who already holds a scholarship offer from Virginia Tech, and brothers Aven and Teegan Shirley are also back to lead the way on defense. A senior, Aven received all-conference recognition at defensive back last year, while Teegan was an all-conference linebacker.
Last season appeared to be a promising one for Latrobe, with a pair of Power Four recruits in quarterback-safety John Wetzel (Pitt) and running back-linebacker Alex Tatsch (Penn State). Tatsch started off on a tear before a season-ending injury derailed both his and the Wildcats’ championship aspirations, and now the team is in search of a new identity under first-year coach Tom McIntyre, a former offensive coordinator under coach Ron Prady.
For the first time since the arrival of coach Don Holl in 2016, Gateway missed out on the postseason en route to an overall record of 3-7 last fall. But with a revered coach like Holl steering the ship, it likely won’t be long before the Gators are back to their winning ways. Expect a big season from all-conference senior Shawn Moorefield, a gifted receiver-defensive back who caught 52 passes for 701 yards a year ago.
Senior center Troy Slezak is the only returning all-conference pick for Franklin Regional, which enters its fifth season under coach Luke Getsy following a 5-6 finish last fall. Priority No. 1 for the Panthers will be replacing running back Kyle Dupill, who posted back-to-back campaigns of 1,000-plus yards and 15 TDs before graduating.
It won’t be easy for Armstrong to improve on its last-place finish in the Big East, but the return of junior quarterback Jaydon Oliver does provide a glimmer of hope for the River Hawks. As a sophomore, Oliver passed for 1,763 yards and 15 TDs while leading the team with 579 yards rushing and six TDs on the ground.
Players to watch
Carter Bonner, Penn Hills, 6-3, 190, WR-DB, Jr. — A gifted receiver with elite athleticism, Bonner has received scholarship offers from a handful of Power Four schools, including Pitt, Penn State, West Virginia, Kentucky, Michigan State and Tennessee.
Nolan DiLucia, Peters Township, 6-2, 210, QB-DB, Sr. — One of the best pure passers in the area, DiLucia is a three-year starter who has guided the Indians to back-to-back WPIAL championship appearances, including their first title in 2023.
Scoop Smith, Woodland Hills, 5-6, 150, WR-DB, Sr. — Despite his small stature, you won’t find a more explosive playmaker in the WPIAL than this two-time PUP all-star, who racked up 1,005 yards from scrimmage on just 65 touches while scoring 15 TDs last season.
Oobi Strader, Pine-Richland, 5-11, 170, QB, Jr. — A poised, polished passer who is also a threat to break loose with his legs at any time, Strader threw for 1,755 yards and 20 TDs to go with just four interceptions while leading the Rams to a WPIAL title in 2024.
Jay Timmons, Pine-Richland, 5-11, 185, WR-DB, Sr. — The son of former Steelers linebacker Lawrence Timmons, this multifaceted playmaker recorded 40 catches for 755 yards while scoring 11 TDs as a junior.
Steve is a sports writer at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, but he's currently on strike. Email him at srotstein@unionprogress.com.
