Alignment keeping coaches on their toes
Mike Melnyk feels like a rookie football coach instead of the five-year veteran he is at Mt. Lebanon High School.
That’s because all things are new in the WPIAL this season: New classifications. New conferences. New opponents.
“Unique this year is that we have six new teams on the schedule. It’s all new, so in that regard it’s like being a first-year had coach,” Melnyk said. “There is more that we don’t know.”
What Pennsylvania football fans, coaches and players do know is that there are now six classifications, and while there are fewer teams qualifying for the playoffs, there also are fewer teams in some conferences.
For example, Class 6-A features only two sections of seven schools, and the top four in each division will gain a post-season berth. Class 5-A as well as 4-A comprise 18 teams in two sections. Class 3A boasts 23 teams in three conferences, and the top two in those conferences, along with two wild cards, qualify for the playoffs.
While the top four classifications will play for WPIAL titles Nov. 18 at Heinz Field, Class 2-A, which is divided into three conferences of eight teams each, and Class 1-A, which boasts 25 schools in three sections, will hold a 16-team postseason tournament that culminates in championship action Nov. 25 or 26 at Joe Walton Stadium, located on the Robert Morris University Campus in Moon Township.
“It’s nice to be down to eight teams so there are no first-round blowouts, but at the same time there is something about making the playoffs,” said Greg Perry, who coached Keystone Oaks to its first playoff appearance in five years last season. The Golden Eagles moved up a classification, from AA to AAA.
“There is a lot of hype, excitement and talk in the community,” Perry said. “It promotes school spirit and improves the morale of the players when you qualify for the playoffs. We got an extra week of practice. That’s so important when you are trying to build up a program.
“Making the playoffs helps a program as opposed to hurt it,” he continued. “Many kids don’t get to play after high school. It’s great if they can experience a chance to play in the playoffs before moving on.”
For the larger WPIAL schools, the path to a PIAA championship eased a bit.
“Actually, with our class,” said Melnyk, “they have eliminated a playoff game. Coming out of the WPIAL has gotten easier because you enter in the PIAA quarterfinals.”
However, Melnyk cautioned there is nothing easy about the drive for the district crown.
“Once you get out of the conference, you know that you will be getting a quality opponent right from the get-go,” he said of the reduction from a 16- to an eight-team tournament.
Jim Render, who has coached in four state finals and has captured five WPIAL titles, noted the difficulty of the competition in Class 5A, in which Upper St. Clair will compete. The Panthers play West Allegheny in the middle of the season, on Oct. 7, and end with back-to-back away games with Hampton on Oct. 21 and Woodland Hills on Oct. 28. Plus, their crossover game is McKeesport on Oct. 14. In between they will face Fox Chapel, Baldwin, Moon and Chartiers Valley.
“When you look at 5A and talk about people like West-A, North Hills and McKeesport, it’s a lot tougher than 6-A,” Render said, but he believes the Panthers will do well. “We’ve had some good rivalries with these teams and played in some good games in the past. So I think we will fit in fine.”
Regardless of whom they will face, the Blue Devils will be prepared, said Melnyk.
“I’ve always been of the philosophy that you play who they schedule you for,” he said. “We’ll line up and we will play. We will go play where and who they tell us to play without complaint.”
Bishop Canevin’s Darren Schoppe agreed. His Crusaders will complete in Class 1-A in a conference that boasts powerhouses such as Clairton, Greensburg Central Catholic and Jeannette, along with Imani Christian, Leechburg, Riverview and Springdale.
“From top to bottom, it’s an especially good and legitimate conference. It is what it is,” Schoppe said. “We are happy to be competing in a great conference. When you play, you know it’s going to be a challenge every week.”
At Chartiers Valley and Keystone Oaks, there are no complaints, either. The two schools, like Bethel Park and Upper St. Clair, have only gratitude, particularly for new features at their facilities. They will compete on newly laid turf surfaces. The Golden Eagles, like many schools, too, have a new scoreboard.
“New turf, new scoreboard,” Perry pointed out. “Who doesn’t have it? It’s exciting.”
Niel Loebig agreed. He said that his players at CV are excited about the renovated facility, which eventually will include a new high school and middle school buildings.
“I’m happy for the players, especially the seniors for them to be playing on a new field,” he said. “I’m not sure about population growth in the community, but these are old facilities, so it’s keeping up with the Joneses, so to speak.”
For all the coaches, it will take time. Because of new opponents, they will spend a lot of long nights viewing videos.
“On one hand,” Perry said, “we are excited to play other teams. It’s been the same way for so long. Sometimes change is good, but you wonder if it’s good for everything else. We don’t know what we are getting in the conference. There will be a lot of film we have to watch so we know what to expect.”
And Perry hasn’t even factored in traveling to schools like Apollo-Ridge, Burrell, Deer Lakes, Freeport and Valley.
“We’ve got long bus rides and the logistics of getting there is not good for fans. Plus,” he added with a hardy laugh, “they are always telling us to hydrate the kids. That’s a real problem when it’s a 95-minute bus ride and there are not a whole lot of rest stops along Route 28.”