By: Don Rebel

Tuesday, December 12, 2023 | 7:27 PM

Six PIAA champions have been crowned with five of the teams winning in convincing fashion.

Four of the champions are repeat winners with St. Joseph’s Prep in 6A, Belle Vernon in 3A, Southern Columbia in 2A and Steelton-Highspire in A successfully defending their state crowns.

The other two winners, Imhotep Charter in 5A and Aliquippa in 4A, reached the state championship game a year ago and lost, making their title runs this year even sweeter.

The run is two straight for the St. Joe’s, Belle Vernon and Steelton-Highspire, while Southern Columbia now has won seven straight 2A state championships.

Three of the newly minted champions did so with perfect records. Imhotep Charter finished 15-0, Aliquippa 14-0 and Steelton-Highspire picked up the most wins this season with a record of 16-0.

The combined record of the new champions was 86-3. The three losses were: St. Joe’s Prep to IMG Academy of Florida in Week Zero, 17-14, Belle Vernon to Thomas Jefferson in Week 4, 24-19, and Southern Columbia to Mount Carmel in Week 7, 42-30.

The list of champions by district and how many they now have all-time includes:

• District 12 had two champions in St. Joseph’s Prep and Imhotep Charters, giving D-12 18 state titles, all in the last 14 years.

• District 7 had two champions with Aliquippa and Belle Vernon giving the WPIAL 58 champions, the most of any district in the 45-year history of the state playoffs.

• District 4 once again had Southern Columbia. D-4 has had 19 champions, which is second all-time, with the Tigers winning 14 of the 19.

• District 3 had Steelton-Highspire, which became the 15th champion all-time for D-3. It was the Steamrollers fifth state title.

Finally, five of the six top-ranked teams won state gold this past week with the lone exception being No. 2 Southern Columbia coming back to edge No. 1 Westinghouse in Class 2A.

Here are the final Trib HSSN rankings in each of the six classifications. Teams are listed with overall record, last week’s ranking and district.

Class 6A

1. St. Joseph’s Prep (13-1) (1) (D-12): The Hawks will begin 2024 as the defending PIAA 6A champions after beating North Allegheny in Week 15, 45-23.

2. North Allegheny (13-2) (2) (D-7)

3. Harrisburg (12-2) (3) (D-3)

4. Central Bucks South (13-2) (4) (D-1)

5. Manheim Township (12-1) (5) (D-3)

Out: None

Class 5A

1. Imhotep Charter (15-0) (1) (D-12): The Panthers will begin 2024 as the defending PIAA 5A champions after beating Peters Township in Week 15, 38-13.

2. Peters Township (15-1) (2) (D-7)

3. Strath Haven (13-2) (3) (D-1)

4. Cocalico (11-2) (4) (D-3)

5. Chester (12-2) (5) (D-1)

Out: None

Class 4A

1. Aliquippa (14-0) (1) (D-7): The Quips will begin 2024 as the defending PIAA 4A champions after beating Dallas in Week 15, 60-14.

2. Dallas (15-1) (2) (D-2)

3. Bishop McDevitt (13-1) (3) (D-3)

4. Selinsgrove (13-1-1) (4) (D-4)

5. Monsignor Bonner-Archbishop Prendergast (10-3) (5) (D-12)

Out: None

Class 3A

1. Belle Vernon (13-1) (1) (D-7): The Leopards will begin 2024 as the defending PIAA 3A champions after beating Northwestern Lehigh in Week 15, 38-7.

2. Northwestern Lehigh (15-1) (2) (D-11)

3. Wyomissing (12-2) (3) (D-3)

4. Hickory (11-3) (4) (D-10)

5. Martinsburg Central (12-1) (5) (D-6)

Out: None

Class 2A

1. Southern Columbia (15-1) (2) (D-4): The Tigers will begin 2024 as the defending PIAA 2A champions after beating Westinghouse in Week 15, 21-20.

2. Westinghouse (13-1) (1) (D-8)

3. Dunmore (12-3) (3) (D-2)

4. Beaver Falls (9-6) (4) (D-7)

5. Farrell (11-2) (5) (D-10)

Out: None

Class A

1. Steelton-Highspire (16-0) (1) (D-3): The Steamrollers will begin 2024 as the defending PIAA Class A champions after beating Fort Cherry in Week 15, 42-8.

2. Fort Cherry (15-1) (2) (D-7)

3. South Williamsport (11-3) (3) (D-4)

4. Redbank Valley (12-2) (4) (D-9)

5. Lackawanna Trail (13-1) (5) (D-2)

Out: None