HERSHEY, Pa. -- Thomas Jefferson can lay claim to one of the best five-year runs in WPIAL history. The Jaguars won four WPIAL titles, three PIAA championships and 70 games during the past five seasons.

Although Thomas Jefferson has only four starters back on both offense and defense next year, don't look for the success to stop. At least that's what the Jaguars' coach and players say.

The dynasty might continue.

"I don't care what you are as a coach. You're not a magician," said Thomas Jefferson coach Bill Cherpak. "If you don't have good players then you're not going to do much. ... We've had some great players coming through here and we have some coming up. We have some good young kids we're excited about. We'll be back at it."

Tight end-linebacker Brock DeCicco, a Pitt recruit, won't wear the black and gold again because he's a senior. But he believes the winning will continue.

"Every year some people say we're going to be down the next year. But every single year we keep winning," DeCicco said. "I think they can be good again because they have some young players who can step into a lot of different positions."

But Cherpak isn't one of those high school coaches who believes a team must start getting ready for next year a few days after the previous season ends.

"We're not going to start lifting already, that's for sure," Cherpak said. "We take the whole winter off and let the kids be high school kids. They need to have fun, enjoy it, play other sports and do all the things they're supposed to do in high school."

Although Bethel Park's fan base in Hershey was one of the largest of any WPIAL team in recent history, attendance for the championship games overall was not good. The paid attendance for the four games over two days was 12,418. That is one of the lowest totals.

The largest crowd was 4,994 for the Class AAA final between Bethel Park and Liberty Saturday night. The smallest crowd was 2,030 for the Wilmington and Philadelphia West Catholic Class AA championship that afternoon.

Steelton-Highspire lineman Jordan Hill has made a verbal commitment to Rutgers, but is now giving serious consideration to Pitt.

Hill (6 feet 2, 288 pounds) was scheduled to make an official recruiting visit to Pitt Saturday and yesterday. He helped Steelton-Highspire win the PIAA Class A title Friday.

The West won two championships this weekend and the East two. The West now has 46 championships to 38 for the East.

Thomas Jefferson became the 29th WPIAL school to win a PIAA title. The WPIAL has won at least one championship every year except 1992.

The PIAA has one year left on its contract with Hersheypark Stadium and will then put the title games out for bid. ... Wilmington's 35-34 double-overtime victory against West Catholic was the second-highest scoring Class AA final in PIAA history. No. 1 was last year, when Jeannette defeated Dunmore, 49-21. ... West Catholic's 34 points were the third-highest total ever for a losing team. Central Bucks West lost to Erie Cathedral Prep, 41-35, in overtime in 2000. Pine-Richland lost to Manheim Central, 39-38, in double overtime in 2003. ... Both the Class AA final and the AAAA final went into overtime. It is the first time two overtime games were played in the same year.

• A rule requiring new sports officials to have background clearances passed a second vote Friday during a PIAA Board of Control meeting.

Under the rule, any person who becomes a registered PIAA official after Feb. 1 must have three background clearances. Officials who already are registered with the PIAA before Feb. 1 will not need background checks, but the PIAA is discussing that matter.

• The WPIAL proposed starting fall sports earlier in 2009, but the measure was defeated. Thus, the first date for football games next season is Sept. 4. The PIAA championship games will be Dec. 18-19, the latest dates in the history of the title games. The 1992 championships were also played Dec. 18-19, but that was because they were postponed a week due to snow.

The PIAA bases its sports schedules on the date of Labor Day.