93.7 The Fan High School Football Preview 2016 Class 1A: Clairton
Clairton
Eastern Conference
There is plenty of movement in the WPIAL as this is the first season under the new format of six classifications in football for the state of Pennsylvania.
That means some teams have moved up in classification, others down and a lot of teams are playing in different conferences and will have to create new rivalries.
The more things change, though, the more things stay the same at Clairton as the Bears open the season once again as a heavy favorite to win the WPIAL Class A championship.
Clairton has won eight of the last ten WPIAL Class A titles and the Bears are the two-time defending champions so they have plenty of players on their roster who have championship experience.
Oh sure, the Bears will have to earn it as they do every year but this program is rolling and has been for a long time so even though they lost a lot of their best players to graduation, they are still loaded.
Leading the way is senior defensive back/running back Lamont Wade, who is one of the top players in the country and has 20+ Division I scholarship offers.
Wade, who is 5-foot-9, 190 pounds, has been a starter for the Bears since his freshman season and has rushed for 4,711 yards and has averaged more than 10 yards per carry.
He is also one of the more versatile players in the WPIAL and could actually end up playing some at quarterback and receiver and he will also be one of the top defensive backs in the state.
Wade is the featured attraction but the Bears also have a number of other players with Division I talent and that list includes 6-foot receiver Noah Hamlin, who has five scholarship offers.
The Bears strength again will be their speed and ability to overwhelm teams with their athleticism but they do need to rebuild along the offensive line some if they want to win their third WPIAL title in a row.
