It's the most wonderful time of year. No, it's not Christmas. It's the WPIAL football championships, with finals in Class 4A and Class 6A slated for Saturday at Pine-Richland.

After analyzing the ramifications of the PIAA biennial realignment on football conferences, our Post-Gazette High School insiders Keith Barnes and Mike White delve into the matchups as McKeesport and running back Kemon Spell, who have been to the finals each of the last two years, hope to avenge a 2023 finals loss to the Quips, who have been bolstered by the return of quarterback Marques Council. In the Class 6A final, familiar foes meet as defending champion Central Catholic once again squares off with North Allegheny.

They then look deeply at the Friday slate of eight semifinal matchups in Class 1A, Class 2A, Class 3A and Class 5A, featuring rematches from the regular season from Western Hills Conference foes Avonworth-North Catholic and Peters Township-Upper St. Clair from the Allegheny Six.

As a bonus, they look at the PIAA Class 1A game featuring Westinghouse and District 5 champion Meyersdale

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.