'Bittersweet' season: Six-team WestPAC leads to creative scheduling, road trips

Aug. 25—Six teams remain in the WestPAC, which translates into five dates on the football schedule.

That's led to some creative scheduling to find 10 opponents in what will be the final season for the conference.

Conemaugh Township and Conemaugh Valley will exit to the Heritage Conference next year. Berlin Brothersvalley, Meyersdale, North Star and Windber, four Somerset County rivals, will play in the Inter-County Conference in 2023.

"It is bittersweet but we're all going to be happy to have 10 games," Conemaugh Township coach Tony Penna Jr. said.

"That was a big thing for all of us, trying to fill those games."

The Indians added Claysburg-Kimmel, West Branch and Northern Bedford, three Inter-County Conference teams, to the 2022 schedule. The Week 10 Heritage Conference-WestPAC crossover games also fill a spot.

"The big concern was getting a full schedule with that limited number of schools, but that worked itself out," North Star coach Bob Landis said. "Bittersweet? Yeah, maybe. Four of those six schools are going to be playing together next year (in the Inter-County Conference), so I think it's just another year of high school football."

This season, North Star will play non-conference games at Keyser, West Virginia; West Branch, Glendale and Philipsburg-Osceola to fill the schedule.

Similarly, Berlin Brothersvalley, the preseason pick to win the final WestPAC crown according to a coaches' poll, added Moshannon Valley, Clear Spring, Maryland; District 7 Class 2A Brownsville and District 7 Class 3A Uniontown to the schedule in 2022.

"It's kind of bittersweet," Paul said. "On one end, we're seeing the last year of a conference, but on the other end we're looking forward next year to having a 10-game conference schedule."

Windber, picked second in the preseason poll, has a long road trip to District 3 Class 1A Fairfield as well as games against Tussey Mountain, Uniontown and Juniata Valley this fall.

"We've got such a crazy schedule," Windber coach Matt Grohal said. "We're going to play Fairfield in Week 1 in Chambersburg at 11:30 on a Saturday. We've picked up Uniontown and we've got two from the ICC. It's weird. We're still going to have that crossover with the Heritage for the Appalachian Bowl.

"Portage moving out already, that's our rival game," Grohal said of the Mustangs, who moved to the Heritage this season from the WestPAC. "To not have them on the schedule is a little weird. In time it will play out."

Conemaugh Valley will play Curwensville, Claysburg-Kimmel and Penns Valley this season, all Inter-County Conference schools.

Meyersdale will add Curwensville, Brownsville and Moshannon Valley, another ICC program.

A look at the WestPAC, according to preseason rankings in the coaches' poll:

Berlin Brothersvalley (33)The Mountaineers received four of the six first-place votes by coaches in the preseason poll.

Berlin Brothersvalley went 8-3 in 2021, with two of those losses coming against Windber and one against Southern Huntingdon.

Junior quarterback Pace Prosser ranked fourth in the area with 1,619 passing yards and at defensive back was among the leaders with four interceptions.

Ryan Blubaugh caught 52 passes for 692 yards, and he had 13 touchdowns and 80 points. Holby McClucas made 9.5 sacks, fourth-most in the area.

Windber (31)Defending conference champion and Appalachian Bowl winner Windber received one first-place nod after winning 10 games in 2021.

The Ramblers return four-year starting running back Johnny Shuster, who had 1,407 rushing yards, 28 touchdowns and 170 points last season. Shuster had five sacks on defense.

Conemaugh Township (22)The Indians welcome back 2,002-yard passer Tanner Shirley and speedy receiver Ethan Black, who caught 28 passes for 638 yards in 2021. Black also won the PIAA gold medals in the 100- and 200-meter dash events at Shippensburg in May.

North Star (15)The Cougars showed improvement over the second half of the schedule, picking up two wins and playing in three close losses.

Junior Connor Yoder returns after completing 86 of 167 passes for 1,307 yards, 17 touchdowns and eight interceptions. Yoder also rushed for 670 yards.

Conemaugh Valley (14)The Blue Jays took one first-place vote in the preseason poll. Coming off a 6-6 season that included a COVID-19 related forfeit loss, the Blue Jays have strong up front with an experienced offensive and defensive line.

Conemaugh Valley will look to replace 2,114-yard rusher Logan Kent and 1,084-yard rusher Nick Heltzel, who both graduated.

The Red Raiders gained experience during a difficult season and return 16 letterwinners, including seven starters on both offense and defense.

Senior Daulton Sellers passed for 518 yards and rushed for 564 yards last season, and junior Draker Sellers passed for 332 yards.

Mike Mastovich is a sports reporter and columnist for The Tribune-Democrat. He can be reached at 814-532-5083. Follow him on Twitter @Masty81.