Best in Show: PUP high school football rankings (Sept. 28)

Each week the Pittsburgh Union Progress will issue its high school football rankings throughout the season, with all rankings voted on by the PUP sports staff.

Class 6A

1. Central Catholic (5-1)

2. North Allegheny (5-1)

3. Norwin (4-2)

4. Hempfield (4-2)

5. Canon-McMillan (3-3)

The skinny: No movement here this week, but defending WPIAL champion Central Catholic strengthened its grip on the top spot following a 21-6 win at North Allegheny. Hempfield rebounded from its two-game stretch against the top two teams with a 38-27 win against Canon-McMillan.

Class 5A

1. Pine-Richland (5-1)

2. Peters Township (6-0)

3. Upper St. Clair (5-1)

4. Woodland Hills (4-2)

5. Penn-Trafford (5-1)

The skinny: Reigning WPIAL champion Pine-Richland remains on top. The Rams’ lone loss came to Central Catholic in Week 1. However, a strong case can also be made for Peters Township, which won its showdown with Upper St. Clair, 24-20.

Class 4A

1. Thomas Jefferson (5-1)

2. McKeesport (3-3)

3. Mars (5-1)

4. Montour (4-2)

5. New Castle (5-1)

The skinny: Aliquippa falls out of the PUP rankings for the first time ever after an 18-12 loss to New Castle dropped the Quips to 3-2. Speaking of New Castle, the Red Hurricanes storm into the Top 5 with a big Parkway Conference clash with Montour coming Friday.

Class 3A

1. Avonworth (6-0)

2. Imani Christian (6-0)

3. Elizabeth Forward (5-1)

4. North Catholic (5-1)

5. Hopewell (4-2)

The skinny: Imani Christian was mighty impressive last week, bouncing back from 16 points down to defeat North Catholic, 36-16. Hopewell rebounded from back-to-back losses with a 48-0 win at Quaker Valley.

Class 2A

1. South Allegheny (6-0)

2. Seton LaSalle (5-1)

3. Western Beaver (6-0)

4. Steel Valley (4-2)

5. Washington (5-1)

The skinny: Shout out to top-ranked South Allegheny, which improved to 6-0 for the first time in 59 years after routing Ligonier Valley, 62-14. The Gladiators appear to have a good shot of being 9-0 heading into their regular-season finale against Steel Valley.

Class 1A

1. Fort Cherry (6-0)

2. Clairton (5-1)

3. Bishop Canevin (4-2)

4. Neshannock (4-1)

5. Jefferson-Morgan (6-0)

The skinny: Just as was the case in Classes 6A, 5A, 3A and 2A, the top five teams remain the same in the WPIAL’s smallest classification. There are no big showdowns this week, but it will be a different story next week when Fort Cherry hosts Bishop Canevin.

City League

1. Westinghouse (6-0)

2. University Prep (3-2)

3. Allderdice (4-2)

The skinny: Westinghouse thumped then-No. 2 Allderdice, 44-16, in what was a rematch of last year’s City League championship. How good is University Prep? We’ll find out the next two weeks when the Wildcats play Allderdice and Westinghouse.