Last November, Greensburg Central Catholic won its first WPIAL Class AA championship when the Centurions defeated Aliquippa.

It wouldn't be much of a surprise if the same two teams play for the title again this season.

Greensburg Central Catholic and Aliquippa are among the favorites to capture the Class AA crown, but a talented field of competitors that includes South Fayette and Keystone Oaks are in the conversation, as well.

The Centurions have one of the best lines in the WPIAL, regardless of classification, headed by veteran guards Pat Mahoney and Bernie Sarra.

The Quips will showcase a fine running back tandem in Ben Cobb and Darius Walker, and also bring return quarterback Mikal Hall.

South Fayette -- the No. 1 seed in last year's playoffs -- is also loaded, particularly at the skill positions, where quarterback Christian Brumbaugh and running back Jeff Davis return.

Keystone Oaks could run its way to a title. The Golden Eagles return a pair of 1,000-yard rushers in Matt McCann and Jordan Maddox.

Here's a look at Class AA teams in the PG West circulation area:

Last year's squad was loaded with underclassmen -- nearly half of the roster were freshmen -- and coach Mike Zmijanac's team still managed to go 11-2 and play for a WPIAL championship.

The Quips are still young, but now that they are a little more experienced, a return to Heinz Field -- and possibly a 14th WPIAL title -- sounds realistic.

As always, the Quips have a slew of playmakers. This year's crop is headed by the running back duo of senior Darius Walker and junior Ben Cobb. Walker led the Quips with 649 yards and seven touchdowns last season, despite sitting out several games with a knee injury. Cobb, a transfer from Center, ran for more than 500 yards as a sophomore.

Junior quarterback Mikal Hall also returns. He completed 66 of 107 passes for 1,045 yards and eight touchdowns, and rushed for six scores.

"He started 13 games for us and did a real nice job," Zmijanac said. "He's now a lot more mature and headier. He's very poised."

A line featuring senior right tackle Tywon Hughes and senior center Shaiya Harmon will be bolstered by the addition of Zach Hooks, a transfer from Charleroi.

The Tigers never seem to rebuild, they just reload. And while they might not quite be in a rebuilding mode, reloading might take a little longer than normal.

"We're pretty depleted as far as losing a big senior class," coach Ryan Matsook said. "We have a lot of good, young kids who have some talent, but it's going to be a work in progress."

The Tigers have four returning starters, two on each side of the ball. Senior Carlin Henderson caught 18 passes as the starting flanker a season ago, but has made the switch to quarterback. Senior tight end Durrell Cook is the other offensive starter back. Defensively, the Tigers return senior lineman Dean Dinell and senior cornerback Andre Williams.

After consecutive WPIAL championship game appearances, the Tigers went 10-2 and advanced to the semifinals last season. They must replace prolific running back Cody Cook, who rushed for 1,920 yards and scored 22 touchdowns. Among the top candidates is Tre Hall, a junior who transferred from New Brighton.

"The kids have an understanding as far as what we want as coaches, so I'm hoping the learning curve won't be as wide and that we can improve each week and get into the playoffs," Matsook said.

Like most years, Beaver coach Jeff Beltz has a number of talented skill players at his disposal. But just as is the case for most teams, what the Bobcats do in the trenches to give those players time and space will be pivotal to the team's success.

"We have an athletic team, but our success will be directly related to how well our interior linemen progress," said Beltz, who is in his 11th season as Beaver's head coach.

In all, the Bobcats return six starters, three on offense and five on defense. They consist of senior running back/linebacker Sam O'Neill, who led the team in rushing last season, senior running back Tom Helbling, senior wide receiver/defensive back Levi Butler, senior inside linebacker Travis Johnston, junior strong safety Curt Lanctot and senior defensive tackle Troy Johnston.

In regard to the interior line, Beltz is hoping to get strong play from a group that includes senior guards Rob Longo and Paul Pavlinich.

Also expected to make an impact are junior quarterback Christian Herstine, senior wide receiver/linebacker Marcus Little and junior wide receiver/defensive back Justin Sosnowski.

The Bobcats are coming off a fourth-place finish in the Midwestern Athletic Conference. They finished 5-5 and lost to top-seed South Fayette in the first round of the playoffs.

Quite possibly, there isn't a team in the WPIAL that returns as much offensive firepower as South Fayette.

Considering the Lions went undefeated in Century Conference play last season, the possibilities of how good they'll be this season is scary.

The return of quarterback Christian Brumbaugh (6-3, 195, sr.) is enough of a reason for optimism in itself. Brumbaugh torched opposing defenses game after game, completing 66 percent of his passes for 2,184 yards and 32 touchdowns. He has started 21 games in his career, and has received several Division I scholarship offers.

Brumbaugh has two of his favorite targets back in wide receivers Tyler Challingsworth (5-11, 160, sr.) and Eric Myers (6-2, 200, sr.). Challingsworth caught 23 passes for 445 yards and Myers made 21 receptions for 300 yards.

Luckily for the Lions, the opposition won't be able to load up on trying to stop the pass. That's because running back Jeff Davis (5-11, 175, sr.) is back. Davis had some monster games last season, and finished with 1,209 yards and 21 touchdowns.

The Lions hope they can extend their season a little longer this year. After earning the No. 1 overall seed in the playoffs and winning their first postseason game since 2000, the Lions were bounced in the quarterfinals by eventual finalist Aliquippa in a wild contest, 47-34. The Lions had not allowed that many points combined in their previous five games.

Looking to return to the postseason after a two-year drought, the Panthers welcome back their leading rusher, passer and receiver.

Junior running back Jared Desensi showed signs of developing into a standout performer last season, as he ran for 632 yards and scored 10 touchdowns. Junior quarterback Tommy Mansfield threw for 595 yards and four touchdowns, and made a lot of plays with his legs, evidenced by his eight rushing touchdowns. Senior wide receiver Reese Howells had 23 catches and hauled in a pair of touchdown passes.

Senior Sam Mansfield is the team's top lineman. Other top players include senior tight end/linebacker Jake Thellman and junior defensive back Trevor Miller.

Coach Jesse Rosenberger would like to find more consistency from his players. After losing their first two games last season, the Panthers alternated wins and losses the rest of the way, finishing 4-5, including a 4-4 mark in the MAC.

A new coach with a successful background hopes to inject some wins into a program that has not had many to celebrate through the years.

Bob McIntyre was selected to take the Quaker Valley post in February after spending the majority of the past decade as an assistant at Class AAAA power Central Catholic. While he was there, the Vikings won WPIAL championships in 2003 and '04, and a PIAA title in '04.

McIntyre takes over a Quaker Valley program that has just 78 wins in the past 26 seasons, including an 0-9 record last season. The Quakers have not qualified for the WPIAL playoffs since 1999.

The Quakers return two quarterbacks who saw significant time a season ago. Augie Luptak (6-2, 185, jr.) passed for 553 yards and three touchdowns, and Pat Conlan (6-2, 195, sr.) threw for 322 yards and one score.

Jordan Vescio (5-11, 180, jr.) led the Quakers in receiving a year ago with 23 catches for 209 yards.

The Blue Devils earned a Class A playoff berth a season ago, but some new challenges are going to make it extremely difficult to return to the playoffs.

"It will be challenging moving up to Double-A again, and with only one returning senior starter, but we expect to work hard, compete and have fun," coach Matt Taylor said.

Now in the Century Conference, the Blue Devils will move on with a much different squad from last season, when the team returned 14 starters, including then-sophomore quarterback Dylan Bongiorni who has since transferred to West Allegheny.

The Blue Devils bring back four defensive starters and one on offense.

Tyler Pavan (5-9, 165, sr.) heads what could be a solid secondary. Pavan had four interceptions last season when he was named all-conference. Kurt Kowalski (5-9, 155, soph.) also returns in the secondary. The defensive line has a pair of starters returning Artie Wilkins (6-2, 265, jr.) and Chris Braham (5-9, 190, soph.).

The lone returning offensive starter is lineman Artie McDermitt (5-11, 190, jr.).

Ryan Dupain (5-11, 170, jr.) is expected to take over at quarterback, and wide receiver John Dugas (5-8, 150, so.) could be one of his top targets.

Since last making the playoffs in 2004, Freedom has gone 11-37, but that likely has made the Bulldogs hungrier for wins.

"We have a good mix of veterans and up-and-coming young guys," coach Frank Hernandez said.

Hernandez is the team's first-year head coach. Well, kind of. He served as interim coach in 2008 when he replaced J.C. Summers, who resigned during the season because of health issues. This time around, Hernandez takes over for Mark Lyons, who became coach at Central Valley.

Quarterback Derek Lehocky (6-0, 170, sr.) is back. An All-MAC performer as a sophomore, Lehocky was injured for most of last season. Three other starting offensive players return in wide receiver Zane Zeigler (6-3, 175, sr.), and offensive linemen Matt Willis (6-2, 210, sr.) and Kyreem Moon (5-11, 250, jr.).

As for returning defensive starters, back are Moon and Willis as lineman, Lehocky at defensive back and linebacker Adam Shawger (5-10, 185, soph.).

The Wolverines didn't win a WPIAL championship, a MAC title, earn a playoff berth or finish with a winning record last season. But because they were victorious in a single game, they have something to build on.

The Wolverines ended a 31-game losing streak -- the longest in the WPIAL at the time -- when they defeated New Brighton, 33-21, in the eighth week of the season. They had not won a game since 2006.

Second-year coach Don Phillips didn't have an overwhelming amount of seniors on last year's squad, so the Wolverines should have the experience and now the confidence to add to the building process.

Among skill position players, the top returnee appears to be senior running back Garrett Thomas, who was third on the team in rushing with 271 yards.

The Wolverines, who averaged 10.4 points per game last season, must replace quarterback Tyler Lucarelli and leading rushers Jared Feit and Cody Hunter.

Having stumbled to an 0-9 record a season ago, the Lions are in dire need of rediscovering their winning ways.

New Brighton began the process by hiring coach Joe Greco, who, in his first run with the program from 1995-2006, had a 68-52 record. Greco was most recently an assistant at Westminster College.

Hoping to get solid production from the ground game, the Lions will likely lean on senior running back/defensive back Trey Sims, who was second on the team with 222 yards in 2009. The Lions suffered a major loss when leading rusher Tre Hall, who had 460 yards and seven touchdowns, transferred to Beaver Falls.

While the Lions didn't put up a lot of points last season, it's their defense that will need the most improvement. The Lions gave up 38.2 points per game, second-most in Class AA.

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