PIAA high school football 2026: Top 10 games you don’t want to miss in Butler County this season
The long wait is (just about) over.
High school football season begins in just about a month, renewing hope for each of the 11 teams in the Butler County area.
Let us map out your 10 regular season Friday nights this fall you should definitely catch. All you need to do is gas up your car, bring some money for concessions and sit back.
College football fans usually have to wait until the final week of their team’s regular season to see it square off with its biggest rival. On the high school level, the Gremlins and Warriors are getting right to it.
Clay Kohlmeyer’s Moniteau team has its sights set on a .500 record. Joe Sherwin’s Karns City bunch returns a huge piece in quarterback Cole Johnston, who last season threw for 1,232 yards, ran for another 734 and accounted for 31 total touchdowns.
This is one of three intracounty clashes during the opening Friday night, the others being Seneca Valley’s visit to Mars and Summit Academy’s trip to Knoch.
Eric Kasperowicz took over for his alma mater this offseason, leaving Mars for North Hills. If you’re looking for a measuring stick of where Don Barclay’s Raiders stand, this is a pretty good one.
Under Kasperowicz, the Planets went 30-17, reaching a pair of WPIAL Class 4A semifinals. It stands to reason North Hills will see a quick turnaround with him in charge, but Seneca Valley will look to make it a little bit more of bumpy road.
The host Bulldogs are a perennial District 9 power. The Falcon Knights notched 10 wins last season for the first time since Union and A-C Valley merged into a gridiron co-op in 2016 and made a run to the D9 semifinals, where they lost to Redbank.
A trip to New Bethlehem will show if Union/A-C Valley, which graduated two 1,100-yard rushers in Max Gallagher and Logan Skibinski, is a contender once again.
The Golden Tornado will cross state borders to take on the Falcons, who call the Youngstown, Ohio, area home.
Austintown-Fitch hasn’t had a losing season since 2007, according to MaxPreps. Eric Christy’s crew posted a 7-3 mark a campaign ago, the program’s first winning season since 1997. If Butler returns to the WPIAL in a few years, matchups like this will probably go extinct.
It’s hard to pass up clashes between neighboring districts. And one with a fish trophy? Yeah, clear your schedule.
John Gaillot’s Yellowjackets (8-4 last season) watched their leading passer, rusher, receiver and tackler from last season graduate. T.J. Wiley has had a full offseason to get his Knights (0-10 last season) going. Making it even more interesting is these two are section foes once again.
This one is usually a heavyweight bout.
Sherwin’s bunch downed the three-time defending champion Wildcats for the District 9 Class 2A crown last season, one year after Central Clarion turned the Gremlins away on the same stage.
No matter who comes out on top here at Clarion University’s Memorial Stadium, don’t be surprised if the loser gets a chance for revenge in the postseason.
For the past two seasons, the Planets had to try to contain McKeesport tailback Kemon Spell, a Georgia commit and the No. 1 player at his position in the Class of 2027, per 247Sports. Mars is no longer in the same section as the five-star recruit but will have to take on another Division I pledge in league play.
The Cougars’ Bradyen McCarthy, a 1,900-yard rusher last season, recently committed to Sacred Heart.
The Golden Tornado’s mishmash gauntlet includes stops as far as Ohio, Erie and Hollidaysburg. All pretty long bus rides.This one is their closest — and an entirely unique meeting.
Butler hasn’t ever lined up against the Gremlins under the lights. Expect Route 68 to be busy on this Friday night.
The Gators, back-to-back District 9 Class 1A champions, are no easy draw late in the season. Say the Gremlins haven’t clinched a playoff spot by this point — a game like this, against a perennial power, becomes magnified. That’ll only make it more fun.
These two schools have played in basketball — the Red Hurricanes recently played in Class 6A on the hardwood — but this is an intriguing non-conference contest in another popular sport.
New Castle’s Taggart Stadium is a cool place to take in a game, too. Quite the lead-in to the playoffs.
