The University High football team welcomes a new opponent to Bakers Ridge on Friday.
Butler (Pa.) comes to town with a 3-3 record and a unique schedule of its own to get to this point.
In 2020, Butler requested to remove itself from the WPIAL and was considered an “associate member” for the past four seasons. The school was initially expected to rejoin the conference in 2024, but administrators requested an extended absence from the WPIAL. The Golden Tornado is independent this year, but is also ineligible for the Pennsylvania state playoffs due to new WPIAL and PIAA bylaws.
In a scramble to find opponents for 2024, Butler is playing teams from central Pennsylvania, the Pittsburgh City League and a couple of teams from West Virginia.
“We got pretty lucky,” University head coach Eric Snyder said. “They decided to drop out of the WPIAL; it’s very hard for us to play a WPIAL school if they’re in conference. We can always make a two-year deal, but they’re never able to say if these are the same weeks two years in a row because they don’t make their own schedule. With Butler, they dropped out and were looking for teams to play since they’re now independent. We, at the same time, we’re looking at opponents as well. It’s the same situation next week with Connellsville.”
Butler is considered a Class 6A school in Pennsylvania, and is one of the 10 largest in the greater Pittsburgh area.
Changes in classification are becoming common in West Virginia, too, with the creation of a fourth football class this year.
Twenty-one schools switched classifications heading into this season and there are now just 16 schools in Class AAAA, of which University is a part. All 16 teams will make the playoffs.
“We’re looking at getting some permanent ruling of what will happen the following years,” Snyder said. “That way, teams are in motion to get their schedules going for the next few years. If we are going to be in AAAA, we are looking at having some opponents that could be off our schedule and could bring in some new ones going forward. If we have a good relationship with Butler, I’d love to keep it going; the same thing with Connellsville, especially because of the location.
“It’s just the way it’s going to be nowadays.”
The 1-3 Hawks travel to Connellsville next week. This is Connellsville’s first year playing as an independent after recently dropping out of the WPIAL for at least the next two seasons. Morgantown played Connellsville two weeks ago and won, 21-7.
“That’s always part of the fun,” Snyder said. “You want to have the match-up yourself and go through the grind of preparing for an opponent like that. It’ll be a quick trip up there. To have someone close by, let the kids get in a full day of classes as a student-athlete, then to take in a team meal and get there in plenty of time is the best bet.”
When traveling to some sites within West Virginia, particularly when playing opponents in the southern part of the state, teams like University High in the north-central region have to take players out of school around noon to prepare for the trip. Snyder likes the idea of playing as close to home as possible, even if that means crossing the state lines more often.
In its storied football history, University High hasn’t played many teams from Pennsylvania, though a recent opponent of past years, Albert Gallatin, has gone through similar changes as Butler and Connellsville.
Albert Gallatin dropped out of the WPIAL in 2018 and has been playing as an independent ever since. The Hawks went 3-1 against AG from 2019-2022.
The Hawks get a boost this week as junior Jack Byrer is back after a Week 1 injury. The starting quarterback to begin the year, Snyder said Byrer will be playing along the defensive line for most of the game.
Sophomore quarterback Harrison Helbig will still take a majority of snaps under center, but Byrer will be suiting up as quarterback on offense as well.
“Jack has just been going at it with rehabilitation,” Snyder said. “The good part is that it didn’t take him long to get back into action following his injury early on. He’s done a phenomenal job leading the team and getting guys together. I’d like to get his game stamina back up. “We’ve always wondered if he could do that for us as he’s strong enough and long enough to play on the defensive line, and he’s always up for the challenge.
“Harrison has done nothing to lose the job, but then, Jack has done nothing to lose the job so we will try to get them both some action.”
The Hawks are looking to bounce back after two-straight losses, most recently at Fairmont Senior.
“That’s one of the best Fairmont Senior teams I’ve seen in a long time and that speaks a lot to what they’ve had over the years,” Snyder said. “There’s two guys from Fairmont Senior playing in the NFL right now and the guys they have on the team right now are the real deal. They have no weaknesses up front, in the secondary and on both sides of the ball. They gave us a real challenge this past week. When you play a team like that, you’re going to see plenty of weaknesses that get exploited. It tells our young men that we need to step up, and it tells a coaching staff that we need to do a better job of getting them in position.”
Coming into this week, Butler has wins over Brashear, Meadville and Connellsville, which the Golden Tornado beat, 31-0.
— Story by Matthew Peaslee
TWEET @DomPostSports
