High school football gets back underway tonight in western Pennsylvania. Here's some big storylines this year.
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- It's the first Friday night of the high school football season in western Pennsylvania!
With plenty of big storylines for teams throughout the WPIAL and the Pittsburgh area, it's going to be an exciting season.
Here are some of the biggest storylines to look forward to.
Aliquippa gets back to business
After an offseason of legal fights and court battles, it's back to business for Aliquippa.
The defending champions in 4A made their case in court as to why they shouldn't be bumped up to 5A and they won that battle.
They'll kick off their season next week against Belle Vernon and will be doing so with an interim coach on the sidelines.
Earlier this year, head coach Mike Warfield announced he was taking a personal leave of absence. In his six seasons leading the Quips, Warfield had a record of 74-6.
Assistant coach Vashawn Patrick will now be leading the team.
Aliquippa has made it to the WPIAL championship game for 16 straight seasons and have won three PIAA state titles in the last six years.
Last season, Aliquippa went 14-0 and won the 4A title. The Quips finished their first perfect season in school history with a dominant 60-14 win over Dallas in the title game.
North Allegheny and Belle Vernon aiming to threepeat
Two teams in the WPIAL are looking to make it three straight championships this year.
North Allegheny has won the last two 6A titles and with a third in a row this year, they would become only the third team to win three straight championships in the largest classification.
Belle Vernon won back-to-back WPIAL championships and PIAA state championships in class 3A and due to a bump in enrollment, will now be playing in 4A.
After losing a lot of talent to graduation, including standout running back Quinton Martin, will the Leopards be able to keep their run of success going in a higher classification? Time will tell.
Penn State's WPIAL pipeline
James Franklin has done a good job of recruiting the top talent in the WPIAL to play at Happy Valley and several big names in the area will be headed to Penn State next year.
Aliquippa running back Tiqwai 'Tikey' Hayes has rushed for nearly 6,000 yards and has a good chance of ending up 2nd on the WPIAL's all-time list.
While he won't be joining Hayes at Beaver Stadium next year, McKeesport sophomore running back Kemon Spell made headlines earlier this month when he already announced a commitment to Penn State.
The young rusher has been ranked as the top-rated running back in the country, according to one listing.
Other Penn State recruits in the WPIAL this year include Latrobe linebacker Alex Tatsch, North Catholic tight end and defensive lineman Brady O'Hara, Central Catholic defensive back Xxavier Thomas, and Imani Christian linebacker Dayshaun Burnett.
Two teams taking the field tonight with heavy hearts
When the Taylor Allderdice Dragons and the Southmoreland Scotties each take the field tonight for their respective games, they'll be doing so with heavy hearts. Longtime Allderdice coach Jerry Haslett died late last month.
He took over as football coach in 2009 and led the team to its first City League Championship in 50 years when they won in 2017.
Mark Matson has been promoted to head coach in the wake of Haslett's death.
At Southmoreland's home game tonight, hearts will be heavy, as well. Head Coach Tim Bukowski's father passed away earlier this week following a battle with cancer.
Funeral services are being held this morning and Bukowski will be on the sidelines with his team.
Earlier this week, he told the Tribune-Review that his dad would always come to the games early to get a top-row seat at Russ Grimm Field.
Eyes on the record books
Fort Cherry's Matt Sieg seems destined to end up in Pennsylvania's high school record books.
The junior quarterback has already rushed for more than 4,300 yards and passed for nearly 3,000 yards in just two seasons. Sieg's stats could surpass those of Jeannette's Terrelle Pryor, one of the best all-time WPIAL players.
Only one player in state history has ever ran for 5,000 yards and passed for 5,000 yards and Sieg is on a path to become the second to do so.
Sieg helped lead Fort Cherry to its first-ever WPIAL title last year.
Tonight's Game of the Week on KDKA+ and CBS News Pittsburgh
The lights will be bright tonight in Robinson Township as the Montour Spartans play host to Central Valley for the Steelers High School Showcase Game of the Week.
Central Valley has been a powerhouse in the WPIAL since the school formed in 2009 as a merger between Monaca and Center. They have won five WPIAL titles and two PIAA state titles in 14 years.
Montour is improving in recent years and hope to continue their upward trajectory this year.
From 4-7 in 2021 to 7-5 in 2022, and 10-2 last year, progress has been the name of the game recently for the Spartans and longtime head coach Lou Cerro.
"I feel amazing, man," said lineman Mark Dombrowsky. "We worked all summer for this."
Tonight's game at Thomas J. Birko Memorial Stadium will be kicking off at 7 p.m. live on KDKA+ and streaming on CBS News Pittsburgh.
More highlights tonight during the KDKA News at 11:00
KDKA is your home for high school football and tonight during the KDKA News at 11:00, catch all of the highlights from some of the biggest and best games of the night.
From Upper St. Clair and North Allegheny to Moon and Norwin, we've got you covered all throughout the Pittsburgh area this Friday night.
