Best in Show: PUP high school football rankings (Oct. 26)

Below are the final Pittsburgh Union Progress high school football rankings for the 2025 regular season, with all rankings voted on by the PUP sports staff.

Class 6A

1. Central Catholic (9-1)

2. North Allegheny (7-3)

3. Norwin (7-3)

4. Canon-McMillan (5-5)

5. Mt. Lebanon (2-8)

The skinny: Central Catholic once again won the Class 6A conference regular-season title and earned the No. 1 seed in the playoffs after going unbeaten in conference play for the third year in a row. While the odds are that the Vikings and North Allegheny will meet in the title game for a fourth consecutive season, it’s no lock considering the Tigers dropped two conference games, the latest being a 21-18 loss Friday to a Seneca Valley team that wasn’t one of the four teams that qualified for the playoffs.

Class 5A

1. Pine-Richland (9-1)

2. Peters Township (10-0)

3. Woodland Hills (8-2)

4. Penn-Trafford (9-1)

5. Moon (7-3)

The skinny: It was a wire-to-wire No. 1-ranking for Pine-Richland, which sat in the top spot the entire regular season. The Rams were handed one loss, but that was to Class 6A No. 1 Central Catholic. The top five teams found themselves in the same positions Saturday when the brackets were released. Will we see Pine-Richland vs. Peters Township in a championship rubber match? Peters Township defeated Pine-Richland in 2023, but the Rams avenged that loss a year ago in the final. Woodland Hills is hoping to reach the final for the first time since 2013.

Class 4A

1. McKeesport (7-3)

2. Thomas Jefferson (8-2)

3. Mars (8-2)

4. New Castle (8-2)

5. Trinity (6-4)

The skinny: There was no movement in the rankings in the two largest classes, but there is in Class 4A with Trinity joining the mix. Deservedly so. Trinity rallied from a 1-4 start by winning its final five regular-season games to edge Thomas Jefferson for the Big Six Conference title and earn the No. 2 seed in the playoffs. Of Trinity’s four losses, three were to Class 5A playoff teams and the other was to Class 4A playoff qualifier Montour.

Class 3A

1. Avonworth (10-0)

2. Imani Christian (10-0)

3. Elizabeth Forward (9-1)

4. Central Valley (6-4)

5. North Catholic (7-3)

The skinny: Avonworth began the season on top and closed the regular season on top. It was the second unbeaten regular season in two years for the Antelopes, whose conquests include Class 4A playoff qualifiers Thomas Jefferson and Aliquippa in addition to the four other playoff teams from the Western Hills Conference (Central Valley, North Catholic, Beaver and Hopewell). The Antelopes are the reigning WPIAL champs and are hoping to reach the final for a fourth consecutive season. North Catholic enters the rankings after a 44-36 win Friday at Hopewell.

Class 2A

1. Seton LaSalle (9-1)

2. South Allegheny (9-1)

3. Western Beaver (9-1)

4. Apollo-Ridge (7-3)

5. Steel Valley (7-3)

The skinny: Just when it looked as if South Allegheny would finish regular-season play unbeaten and claim the No. 1 seed in the playoffs, Steel Valley pulled the rug from underneath the Gladiators Friday by upsetting them, 33-12. While South Allegheny fell to only No. 2 in these rankings, they were given the No. 4 seed in the playoffs after tying Steel Valley and Apollo-Ridge for the Allegheny Conference title. That opened the door for Seton LaSalle, the 2024 WPIAL runner-up that rose to No. 1 in the rankings and earned the No. 1 playoff seed.

Class 1A

1. Fort Cherry (10-0)

2. Clairton (9-1)

3. Bishop Canevin (7-3)

4. Laurel (9-1)

5. South Side (8-2)

The skinny: Fort Cherry and Clairton were quite the 1-2 punch in the regular season, as two-time defending champion Fort Cherry was ranked No. 1 and Clairton No. 2 all the way through. Those two appear to be on a collision course to meet in the final for the second year in a row. But Bishop Canevin, Laurel and South Side will have a say in things, too, and those three also were seeded Nos. 3, 4 and 5 in the Class 1A bracket.

City League

1. University Prep (7-2)

2. Westinghouse (6-4)

3. Allderdice (4-5)

The skinny: Congrats to University Prep, which blanked Westinghouse, 26-0, Saturday to capture its first City League championship since 2016. The Wildcats, who opened the season ranked third in the PUP rankings, ended Westinghouse’s three-year reign as champions. Both teams will move on to the PIAA playoffs.