what decade was the most enjoyable and interesting?

[BradlyPitt]

looking back at the past, which decade would you say you enjoyed high school football the most?

for me I would say 2000 - 2009

we seemingly had a different champ every year at least in the highest classification, and it seemed there were multiple contenders across the state in most years, dynasties get old and boring unless your team is the dynasty

also we had a lot of high end prospects too, Terrelle Pryor was ranked the number 1 overall player in the country in 2007, it's more exciting to watch what is considered to be among the best in the country

I would say the worst decade was the past 10 years, the same private school champs along with "public" schools that clearly cheat almost every year, and there is definitely less talent in the state than there used to be

 

[2020sports]

oh man, the "mill towns" of the 60s and 70s?? prob better!!

 

[2020sports]

but seriously- I've "seen and lived" HS football from 1980 until 2024- 44 years so far!! The 80s and 90s were much better then the last 20 years, certainly in Western PA, imo

 

[northalleghenytiger]

2005-2015, the last 10 years of the golden age of 4 classifications. You had the NA dynasty. This was also before SJP had a monopoly on the state

Most games are also finally in HD in this timeframe

 

[BradlyPitt]

but seriously- I've "seen and lived" HS football from 1980 until 2024- 44 years so far!! The 80s and 90s were much better then the last 20 years, certainly in Western PA, imo

how were they better? is it nostalgia or are there reasons?

another reason the past 10 years weren't great is because the difference between the good teams and bad teams is greater than ever

a blowout used to be winning by 3 or 4 touchdowns, now a blowout is winning by 40 - 70 and it could be even worse than that as the bad teams are often down by 6 touchdowns before halftime

 

[BradlyPitt]

2005-2015, the last 10 years of the golden age of 4 classifications. You had the NA dynasty. This was also before SJP had a monopoly on the state

Most games are also finally in HD in this timeframe

aside from NA, what other reasons do you prefer this time period? what made 2005 - 2009 better than say 2000 - 2004?

 

[northalleghenytiger]

aside from NA, what other reasons do you prefer this time period? what made 2005 - 2009 better than say 2000 - 2004?

I’d say 2005-2009 had better parity/ maybe better teams than 2000-2004 strictly from a 4A Wpial perspective

4A Champs from 2000-2004:

Mt. Lebanon, Woodland Hills, Woodland Hills, Central Catholic, Central Catholic ( 3 teams, 1 state title amongst them)

The most interesting team here is 2000 Mt lebanon as they were the only winner that wasn’t favored in the wpial championship

4A Champs from 2005-2009

McKeesport, USC, Central Catholic, Bethel Park, Woodland Hills (5 unique teams, 3 state titles amongst them)

2008 bethel is the best story here with the massive upset vs gateway

 

[BradlyPitt]

that's a good point, those championship matches were more interesting and were considered to be toss ups going into those games

only Gateway in 2008 was the heavy favorite and as you mentioned they lost

I think the teams from 2000 - 2004 were absolutely better, I'm not high on any of those teams from 2005 - 2009, more state titles but the east was weak at that point

though I guess i would've been high on Gateway in 2008 if they won a state title as many expected, still the biggest upset ever imo

 

[northalleghenytiger]

that's a good point, those championship matches were more interesting and were considered to be toss ups going into those games

only Gateway in 2008 was the heavy favorite and as you mentioned they lost

I think the teams from 2000 - 2004 were absolutely better, I'm not high on any of those teams from 2005 - 2009, more state titles but the east was weak at that point

though I guess i would've been high on Gateway in 2008 if they won a state title as many expected, still the biggest upset ever imo

Not saying you’re wrong, but what are some of your reasons that the 2000-2004 teams were better that 2005-2009?

 

[RCH13co18]

I would say the talent increased. The state is now sending more kids to big time college programs than ever.

 

[BradlyPitt]

Not saying you’re wrong, but what are some of your reasons that the 2000-2004 teams were better that 2005-2009?

2004 Central Catholic is largely thought of as one of the best teams ever

2003 it was mostly the same team, just younger

those Woodland Hills teams were loaded, just had horrible luck with weather and matchups

now regarding 2005 - 2009

2005 Mckeesport had two losses, hard to think of them as one of the best based on that and most likely would've lost to Bishop Mcdevitt if they had a healthy Lesean Mccoy, and I don't think anybody would argue Bethehem Liberty was an overly strong east representative

2006 Upper St. Clair again they played Liberty, and on paper their roster was arguably the weakest to ever win the largest class

2007 Central Catholic looked really good on paper, but nobody would argue they were better than 2004

2008 Bethel Park was definitely a weak champ, and even Liberty's coach said this Liberty team was probably worse than the teams that got destroyed by Mckeesport and USC

2009 the wpial didn't even make the state championship, though Woodland Hills was very banged up when they lost to State College

 

[BradlyPitt]

I would say the talent increased. The state is now sending more kids to big time college programs than ever.

maybe out east I don't know, but definitely not in the WPIAL

 

[northalleghenytiger]

2004 Central Catholic is largely thought of as one of the best teams ever

2003 it was mostly the same team, just younger

those Woodland Hills teams were loaded, just had horrible luck with weather and matchups

now regarding 2005 - 2009

2005 Mckeesport had two losses, hard to think of them as one of the best based on that and most likely would've lost to Bishop Mcdevitt if they had a healthy Lesean Mccoy, and I don't think anybody would argue Bethehem Liberty was an overly strong east representative

2006 Upper St. Clair again they played Liberty, and on paper their roster was arguably the weakest to ever win the largest class

2007 Central Catholic looked really good on paper, but nobody would argue they were better than 2004

2008 Bethel Park was definitely a weak champ, and even Liberty's coach said this Liberty team was probably worse than the teams that got destroyed by Mckeesport and USC

2009 the wpial didn't even make the state championship, though Woodland Hills was very banged up when they lost to State College

I gotcha, might as well continue the 5 year time frame

2010-2014: North Allegheny, North Allegheny, North Allegheny, Central Catholic, Pine Richland (3 teams, 2 state titles)

This stretch is very good for NA fans such as myself, but not very entertaining for anyone else

2015-2019: Central Catholic, Central Catholic, Pine Richland, Pine Richland, Central Catholic ( 2 teams, 2 state titles)

Perhaps the worst stretch in wpial history, with only 2 teams winning, due to the change to 6 classes. Best story here is pine beating SJP

2020-2023: Central Catholic, Mt. Lebanon, North Allegheny, North Allegheny ( 3 teams, 1 state title)

we will see what happens next year, but 1 state title in 5 years is a record low. Mt. Lebanon beating Sjp is the best thing here

 

[steelcurtain55.]

I would say the talent increased. The state is now sending more kids to big time college programs than ever.

That's simply not true.

If you go back and look at the recruiting data of kids going to "power 5" schools now and compare it to 30-40-50 years ago, it's not even close.

It's why the last 3 coaches at PSU starting with JoePa, made the inroads to the DMV. There just isn't as much talent per capita as there was during the 70's/80's/90's in PA.

Another data point is look at the PSAC in the 80's and 90s and compare it today. The PSAC top to bottom was once considered the best D2 league in football. It's fallen down the pecking order in the last 20 years. The majority of those rosters were PA kids. Nowadays, you see PSAC teams seeping into the DMV/Ohio/NJ for talent at a rate, I've never seen before.

 

[steelcurtain55.]

https://www.saturdaydownsouth.com/sec-football/sec-states-produce-tons-of-fbs-talent/

https://andywittry.substack.com/p/heres-how-college-football-recruiting

 

[BradlyPitt]

we will see what happens next year, but 1 state title in 5 years is a record low. Mt. Lebanon beating Sjp is the best thing here

I don't think there is much of a chance for a wpial team to win 6A next year

NA and Central's roster last year were born a year too early

 

[northalleghenytiger]

I don't think there is much of a chance for a wpial team to win 6A next year

NA and Central's roster last year were born a year too early

The Wpial champion will likely lose to Harrisburg in the semis

SJP will win the state championship