When you make a list called the 20 Greatest WPIAL Football Teams of All Time, you better be ready for some debate.

I knew that when I made it.

There are more than 100 years of WPIAL football history. Different eras. Different classifications. Different styles of football. And everybody has a team they believe should be higher, or should’ve made the list.

But sometimes people aren’t just debating you. Sometimes they’re right.

And on this one, I have to say: My bad, North Allegheny.

I’m really not sure how I missed the 2012 North Allegheny Tigers when I put my list together. After people brought them up, I went back and looked at that team again.

Yeah. I missed one.

And instead of trying to defend it just because it was my list, I’d rather give that team the respect it deserves.

Because the 2012 North Allegheny Tigers weren’t just good. They were one of the greatest football teams this area has ever produced.

 

16-0. WPIAL Champions. State Champions.

Let’s start with the easiest number.

16-0.

North Allegheny didn’t lose a football game in 2012. They won the WPIAL Class AAAA championship and then finished the job by winning the PIAA state championship.

But simply saying they went undefeated doesn’t explain how dominant they were.

This was the highest classification in Pennsylvania. Week after week, they were playing against some of the biggest schools and best programs in Western Pennsylvania.

And nobody beat them.

 

63 Points in the WPIAL Championship

If you want one game that shows just how powerful North Allegheny was, go back to Heinz Field.

North Allegheny faced Woodland Hills for the WPIAL Class AAAA championship.

This wasn’t some overmatched football program they were playing. This was Woodland Hills. A program with tremendous tradition, tremendous athletes and a history of producing major college and NFL talent.

North Allegheny beat them 63-14.

Sixty-three points in the WPIAL championship game. At the time, it was the most points ever scored by a team in a WPIAL championship game.

That’s not just winning a championship. That’s making a statement.

Then They Finished the Job in Hershey

Sometimes you’ll see a dominant WPIAL team get to the state playoffs and finally meet its match.

That didn’t happen to North Allegheny. The Tigers kept going.

They eventually reached Hershey and defeated Coatesville 63-28 to win the PIAA Class AAAA state championship.

Read those two championship scores again.

WPIAL Championship: 63 points. PIAA Championship: 63 points.

They scored 126 points in the two biggest games of their season. That’s ridiculous.

 

This Wasn’t a One-Year Wonder Either

Another thing that makes the 2012 North Allegheny team special is what was happening with the program around that time.

North Allegheny was in the middle of an incredible run under head coach Art Walker Jr.

The Tigers won three consecutive WPIAL championships from 2010 through 2012. They also won state championships in 2010 and 2012.

So that 2012 team represented the peak of one of the best stretches of high school football we’ve seen in Western Pennsylvania.

They knew how to win. They expected to win. And in 2012, nobody stopped them.

 

National Respect

This wasn’t simply a team that Western Pennsylvania thought was great. North Allegheny received national recognition as well.

That’s important to me when we’re talking about the greatest teams of all time. You have to look beyond just whether somebody won a WPIAL championship.

How dominant were they? What did they do in the state playoffs? How did they compare nationally? What was the quality of competition?

North Allegheny checked every box.

16-0. WPIAL champion. PIAA champion. Dominant postseason.  National recognition.

That’s an all-time team.

 

So How Did I Miss Them?

I don’t have some great explanation.

I just missed them.

When you’re comparing teams from different generations, it’s easy to get caught up researching the famous teams everybody immediately remembers.

The 1987 North Hills team. The great Penn Hills teams. McKeesport. Upper St. Clair. Central Catholic. Gateway. Aliquippa. Clairton. South Fayette.

There are so many dominant teams in WPIAL history that somebody is going to get overlooked.

But 2012 North Allegheny shouldn’t have been one of them. And that’s on me.

One thing I’m never going to do with DrewSchifino.com is pretend I’m right just because I’m the person who wrote something.

The conversation is part of what makes sports fun. If somebody gives me information that makes me reconsider something, I’ll reconsider it.

And after going back through what North Allegheny accomplished in 2012, there’s really nothing to argue.

That team belongs on the list.

 

Give the 2012 Tigers Their Flowers

So this article is me correcting the record.

The 2012 North Allegheny Tigers deserve their flowers.

Going 16-0 at Pennsylvania’s highest classification is impressive enough. Winning the WPIAL championship is impressive enough. Winning a state championship is impressive enough.

Doing all three while hanging 63 points in the WPIAL championship and another 63 in the state championship?

That’s historic.

So to the North Allegheny players, coaches and fans who looked at my Top 20 and wondered how in the world I left that team off: You were right.

My bad. I missed one.

But I’m giving them their respect now.

The 2012 North Allegheny Tigers weren’t simply one of the best teams of their era. They were one of the greatest teams in WPIAL history.

And any true all-time conversation needs to include them.