Teams in the Greater Allegheny Conference will no longer have to deal with Pine-Richland.

The Rams have moved to Class AAAA after posting a 31-3 record in the conference the past six years. During that stretch, Pine-Richland won or shared the conference title every year.

Greensburg Salem has also moved out of the Greater Allegheny Conference. The Golden Lions return to the Keystone Conference after losing 12 consecutive games in their two-year stint in the Greater Allegheny.

Pine-Richland and Greensburg Salem have been replaced by one team, Mars Area, which leaves the Greater Allegheny as the only Class AAA conference with six teams.

The Planets move to Class AAA after qualifying for the WPIAL Class AA playoffs eight of the past 10 years.

"We were eight players over the enrollment cutoff," Mars coach Scott Heinauer said. "The crazy thing is that we will most likely be moving back down in two years."

Heinauer enters the season with a 101-70 record in his 16 seasons at Mars.

"The big differences between Class AA and AAA are depth and size," Heinauer said. "Teams in Class AAA, in most cases, are bigger, stronger, more physical, and faster. They also have more depth. We have good athletes, but not as many. Overall depth is my biggest concern."

Heinauer doesn't know what to expect, but is looking forward to the challenge.

"We've been fortunate to scrimmage both Knoch and Hampton the last few years," he said. "So we are somewhat familiar with their programs. We will not be traveling as much as we did in the Tri-County North. We haven't played Knoch since 1979."

Mars has nine starters returning on both sides of the ball, including six two-way starters, but the Planets must replace 4,000-yard career rusher Bill Bair, who has moved on to Duquesne University. Bair led the WPIAL in rushing with 2,287 yards and 31 touchdowns last season.

"We do have a good group of kids coming back, but it will be hard to replace Bair," said Heinauer. "We will be throwing the ball a little more than we usually do."

Senior John Brake (6-4, 190) returns at quarterback after completing 25 of 60 passes for 384 yards and three touchdowns. Brake is joined in the backfield by senior tailback Shane Kaclik (6-0, 202), who rushed for 497 yards and eight touchdowns on 67 carries.

Kaclik, who also plays linebacker, is one of six two-way starters. The others are senior two-way tackle Chad Nelson (6-5, 273), senior center/defensive tackle Nolan Nearhoof (6-2, 260), junior two-way tackle Brody Evanson, senior tight end/linebacker Dan King (6-1, 185), and wide receiver/defensive back Chris Herold (5-10, 170).

Mars won the Tri-County North Conference title last year and finished with a 9-2 record after losing to Aliquippa in the WPIAL Class AA quarterfinals.

The Knights have qualified for the WPIAL playoffs three of the past four years. They tied Pine-Richland for the Greater Allegheny Conference title and advanced to the WPIAL semifinals last year before losing to eventual runner-up Montour, 32-6. They finished with a 9-3 record.

Twelve starters are back from that team, including seven on offense. The top offensive returnee is senior Tim McNerney (5-9, 185), who rushed for 1,750 yards and 24 touchdowns on 243 carries.

"We had planned to use Tim and [graduate]Alex Whisler as the feature backs in a wishbone offense," said King. "But Alex suffered a season-ending injury, so we switched back to the 'I' formation with Tim as the feature back. We didn't know that he would become a premier back. He really pounded it out for us."

Three members of the offensive line return for their senior year, center Bob Yenick (5-9, 215), and tackles Henry Cypher (6-2, 245) and Tim McCorkle (6-2, 255). McCorkle is a three-year starter.

"Our offensive line should be as strong, if not stronger than last year," King said. "Henry was voted to the first team of the All-Greater Allegheny Conference team last year. We may move him to guard this year."

The other two returnees on offense are senior fullback Kevin Brodeur (5-9, 200) and senior wide receiver Michael Gallagher (6-3, 190).

The strength of the defense will be the backfield, as Gallagher returns at free safety. He is joined by a pair of cornerbacks, senior Brandon Flick (6-1, 180) and junior Jake McTighe (6-2, 215). Cypher also returns at nose tackle, while Brodeur doubles as a linebacker.

McTighe is also expected to replace graduate Zach Gross at quarterback.

"We have a strong senior group," King said. "We have 65 kids out for the team and 17 are seniors. We're hoping the success we had last year will carry over to this season."

The Golden Rams have qualified for the WPIAL Class AAA playoffs the past two years. They placed third in the Greater Allegheny Conference with a 4-2 record and finished the season with an 8-3 mark after advancing to the WPIAL Class AAA quarterfinals.

"We only had five starters returning last year and finished with an 8-3 record for the second year in a row," Highlands coach Sam Albert said. "This year, we have seven starters back and are hoping for the same magic we had last year."

Highlands has four starters back on offense, including senior quarterback Jeff Sinclair (6-3, 180) and senior tailback Billy Devlin (5-9, 205). Sinclair completed 102 of 198 passes for 1,313 yards and 10 touchdowns in his first full season at the helm. Devlin has rushed for 802 yards on 176 carries the last two years.

"We are fortunate to have Sinclair and Devlin returning in the backfield," said Albert. "Both were voted first team All-Greater Allegheny Conference last year. Both are also returning starters on defense."

Sinclair also rushed for 425 yards and 10 touchdowns on 110 carries.

"We've built the offense around Jeff," Albert said. "He's a double threat who can run and throw the ball."

The other two returning starters on offense are senior tackle Nate Hargraves (6-3, 255) and senior halfback Brendan Lucchino (6-1, 210).

"Our biggest concern is to fill the vacancies we have on the offensive and defensive lines," Albert said. "We also need to replace our receivers."

Devlin returns at linebacker, while Sinclair is back at safety. The other returning starter on defense is senior linebacker Clayton Hamm (6-1, 210).

A new chapter in Talbots football begins as Jacque DeMatteo takes over as head coach.

DeMatteo comes to Hampton after posting a 36-45 record in eight seasons at Shaler. He replaces Greg Mihalik, who left after 10 seasons to become an assistant at Carnegie Mellon University.

"I'm really looking forward to this opportunity," said DeMatteo, who lives in Hampton and has children attending school in the district. "It was tough to leave Shaler, but it's better for my family to have me at Hampton."

The Talbots have made WPIAL playoff appearances four of the past five years, with last year as the exception, as they posted a 2-7 record, including a 1-5 mark in the Greater Allegheny Conference.

"I was hired at the end of June, so I only had one month to put together a coaching staff, meet with the kids, and set up a summer conditioning program," DeMatteo said. "It's been tough, but things are coming together well."

DeMatteo will also serve as his own offensive coordinator. He's hired Skip Palmer, who has served as an assistant coach at Hampton previously, to be his defensive coordinator.

"We will be running the wing-T on offense and will be using the 50 defense," DeMatteo said. "The kids are handling the transition quite well. The attitude of the boys and the coaching staff is very positive. Everybody is very enthusiastic about the upcoming season."

DeMatteo is building the team around five key returnees, senior quarterback Jeff Cully (6-0, 185), senior running backs Zach Smith (6-0, 195) and Drew Haley (6-0, 201), senior lineman Pete Strome (6-2, 235), and junior tight end Jordan Paskorz (6-3, 227).

Cully completed 55 of 126 passes for 891 yards and six touchdowns last season, despite missing two weeks with an injury. Smith rushed for 568 yards on 122 carries and scored six touchdowns. Haley caught 10 passes for 78 yards.

All five are also expected to play on defense. Strome, Haley, and Paskorz will be at linebacker, while Cully and Smith are defensive backs.