2018 WPIAL Preview: 5A Northern Conference

Over the last two years, 5A has produced some of the most exciting playoff games in the entire WPIAL. The realignment cycle added 6 teams to the 5A ranks, which resulted in 3 conferences with 8 teams in each. For this season, 16 teams will make the playoffs. This means the top 5 from each conference will automatically qualify for the postseason along with one sixth place team based on the Wild Card formula. Unfortunately, the downside of the increased number of teams is that the WPIAL 5A Championship will be played at Norwin High School rather than at Heinz Field. The 5A Classification is loaded with good teams that have strong football traditions which should make for a great season. The WPIAL, in their infinite wisdom, named both a 5A Conference and a 3A Conference the “Big East” for this cycle, rather than calling this group the”Foothills Conference.” Back in the 4-classification era, the AAAA Foothills Conference contained Penn-Trafford, McKeesport, Latrobe, and Connellsville, along with stints by Gateway and Plum.

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