Just two seasons removed from a 2-8 campaign, Mt. Lebanon went undefeated through the regular season and until the WPIAL quarterfinals in 2010.

Two other Great Southern Conference teams, Upper St. Clair and Bethel Park, have won WPIAL titles and advanced to PIAA Class AAAA championship games over the course of the previous five seasons, with the Panthers taking the 2006 PIAA title.

The Great Southern Conference race last season came down to the season finale Mt. Lebanon-Upper St. Clair game, and it also featured what became a virtual play-in playoff game of sorts between Bethel Park and Baldwin on that same day, Oct. 29. Three of the conference's four playoff teams won their first-round games, making the Great Southern the only conference with three WPIAL Class AAAA quarterfinalists.

The Great Southern is the smallest conference in the WPIAL regardless of classification with only six teams. That means its members not only have the advantage of the best shot at postseason play in the WPIAL (75 percent of its members qualify), they also have the benefit of fine-tuning over four non-conference games before embarking on conference play. Some other WPIAL conferences open conference play immediately.

The only Class AAAA team in the South Xtra readership area that is not a member of the Great Southern Conference is McKeesport, which is out to defend its Foothills conference title. Whatever conference the Tigers are in, they've lost only a total of four conference games since 2004.

In the summer of 2009, Jim Wehner took over a program that was coming off a winless season and hadn't qualified for the WPIAL playoffs in four years.

In Wehner's first two seasons, the Highlanders earned a postseason berth in 2009 and last season won two of their final three games. That created momentum off of which Baldwin hopes to build.

"Right around [a coaching staff's] fourth year is when they become your kids and when you need to be competitive," Wehner said. "I think we're a year ahead of schedule."

Baldwin returns starters at seven positions on offense and defense combined, including all-conference defensive back Jeremy Joyce (5-10, 150, Sr., WR/CB). Joyce also had 24 receptions for 375 yards. He combines with Dorian Brown (6-0, 195, Jr., RB/FS) to form a skill-position tandem in which each is attracting the attention of college recruiters.

The Highlanders need that because the battle to replace the graduated Nathan Reed at quarterback is up for grabs, still a four-person race heading into this week.

Wehner points to Joe Persichetti (5-11, 195, Sr., LB), Zach Denardo (5-11, 178, Sr., SS/RB/WR) and Bobby Bush (6-2, 289, Sr., OL) as other team leaders.

With the 2008 run to the WPIAL championship gradually growing longer and longer ago -- the Black Hawks will have only one player who appeared in a game that season still on the roster -- a whole new generation of Bethel Park football needs to make its own mark.

"We've got to learn how to win and get better -- fast," coach Jeff Metheny said. "The kids are working hard. Saturday [a scrimmage against Pine-Richland] was a little bit of an eye-opener. We've got to get better ... that's all."

Four full-time starters return from last season's team that went 4-5 in the regular season and upset McKeesport in the first round of the WPIAL playoffs. Metheny is still awaiting for senior leadership to step up and show the way.

Anthony Cinello (5-10, 180, Sr., QB), Mike Dunlap (5-11, 205, Sr., G/DL), Nick Chess (5-10, 175, Sr., TE/OLB), Evan Schweitzer (5-11, 160, Sr., CB), John Mascaro (5-10, 185, Jr., LB), Connor Wilson (6-0, 185, Sr., LB), Matt Spegal (5-11, 180, Sr., P/K) and Danny Christenson (5-6, 125, Soph., K) are returning contributors who could take on such a role.

"We have a lot of work to do in a lot of different areas," Metheny said. "We're waiting for someone to step into [a leadership] role. But the kids are showing good enthusiasm."

Big Macs coach Tim Sohyda needed only four words to appraise his team's expectations for the season.

"Better than last year."

Considering Canon-McMillan went 1-8 and its only victory was against winless Butler Area, the Big Macs had better be better than last year.

They'll have plenty of experience in their quest to do just that. Seven starters return on offense and four on defense, including Kenyadda Brown (5-10, 151, Sr., DB/RB), Cooper Schroeder (6-4, 181, Sr., TE/OLB), Zack Soyring (5-11, 220, Sr., FB/ILB) and Alex Campbell (6-3, 231, Jr., ILB/TE).

The offensive and defensive lines are also primarily manned by returnees Angelo Broglia (6-3, 234, Sr.), Joe Graziani (6-2, 251, Sr.), Brian Cumpston (5-11, 208, Sr.), Torre Carr (5-11, 247, Jr.) and Zach Vargo (6-1, 184, Sr.).

The Big Macs also have a solid punter/kicker in Tommy Valerio (5-10, 165, Sr.).

Matt Maletta (6-0, 151, Sr.) was expected to take over as Canon-McMillan's quarterback. Colin Chupinka (5-9, 142, Soph., DB/RB), Cody Renzelli (5-11, 168, Sr., OLB/RB), Billy Jake (5-10, 166, Sr., OLB/RB) and Seraphim Livanos (5-7, 157, Sr., OLB/RB) are other players poised to burst onto the scene.

When asked on the annual coaches' questionnaire to candidly appraise his expectations for his team's upcoming season, McKeesport coach Jim Ward put it succinctly: "Expectations are always high."

Owners of two WPIAL titles over the past 17 seasons, McKeesport has finished first or second in its conference every year since 2004. The Tigers were undefeated against WPIAL competition in the regular season last year.

Four starters return on offense and five on defense, including all-conference selections T.J. Neal (6-1, 225, Sr, LB) and Christian Wilson (6-6, 320, Sr., RT). Other standout returnees include quarterback Ed Stockett (6-4, 205, Jr.), linebacker Hodari Christian (6-1, 210, Jr.), cornerbacks Jamar Clark (6-2, 175, Sr.) and Charles Davis (6-0, 165, Sr.), defensive end Shane Cope (6-1, 220, Sr.), wide receiver Youri Whindleton (6-2, 190, Sr.) and left tackle James Knight (6-1, 255, Sr.).

Ward said Neal has more than a dozen scholarship offers from Division I-A colleges and that Stockett (64.2 completion percentage, 669 yards passing last season), Christian, Wilson and Whindleton also are being recruited.

McKeesport had three shutouts last season and allowed a WPIAL Class AAAA-low 93 points in 10 games.

The Blue Devils are coming off an undefeated regular season and Great Southern Conference title in which they advanced to the WPIAL quarterfinals.

For a team that has been on a steep upward ascension over the past three years -- from 2-8 in 2008 to 5-5 the following year to 10-1 last season -- the next logical step is a legitimate run at a WPIAL title.

The school has won at least a share of seven WPIAL championships but only one (2000) since winning four from 1980-84.

Mt. Lebanon still has Post-Gazette athlete of the year Luke Hagy (1,981 rushing yards, 29 touchdowns last season) and fellow all-conference honoree Arthur Goldberg, a University of Wisconsin recruit.

Joining Hagy (6-0, 195, Sr., RB/S) and Goldberg (6-3, 250, Sr., DT) as Mt. Lebanon players who were standouts as underclassmen last season is Pat Goff (5-11, 175, Sr., QB), who completed 61 percent of his passes for 811 yards and nine touchdowns. In nine regular-season games (83 attempts), Goff had only one pass intercepted. Hagy has 2,888 rushing yards over the past two seasons.

Peters Township

The Indians who take the field Sept. 2 at Penn-Trafford will bare little resemblance to the team that walked off the turf at eventual PIAA champion North Allegheny following a season-ending loss in the first round of the WPIAL playoffs last November.

Peters Township has a new coach in Rich Piccinini and new starters at nine positions each on offense and defense. Only Andrew Erenberg (5-10, 200, Sr., RB/DB) and Clayton Evans (6-1, 250, Sr., OL/DE) return as starters. Erenberg had 937 rushing yards and scored 18 touchdowns last season. That was more than half of the touchdowns the entire team scored.

Justin Miller (5-10, 175, Sr., RB/DB), Eric Lewis (5-11, 190, Jr., WR/DB), Mike Ranalli (5-9, 175, Sr., WR/DB), Grant Taylor (5-11, 225, Sr., OL/LB) and Kenton Latinovich (6-0, 170, Sr., WR/DB) are being counted on for contributions this season.

Piccinini has 20 years of coaching experience in the WPIAL, including three as a head coach (at North Catholic from 2003-05).

Each of the past two seasons, Peters Township has started strong only to fade down the stretch.

The Indians won their first four games (all of them non-conference) in 2009 before going on a four-game losing streak that sunk their playoff hopes.

Last season, Peters Township started out 4-1 but lost four of its final five games.

With nine returning starters on offense and six on defense, longtime coach Jim Render is "cautiously optimistic" about his team's prospects this season.

"We've got a lot of experience on offense; we've got experience at all 11 positions," Render said. "It's not like we're putting people out there who haven't been out there before, and that's where the optimism comes from."

Pitt recruit Dakota Conwell (6-1, 215, Sr., QB/LB) is one of the best all-around players in the WPIAL. Northwestern recruits Ian Park (6-4, 300, Sr., G/DL) and Jack Schwaba (6-5, 235, Sr., TE/DE), plus Jake Radziukinas (6-2, 270, Sr., RT/DL) and Mike Wilcox (6-0, 160, Sr., WR/CB) are other sources of Render's optimism.

Render said that Max Paxton (5-10, 170, Sr.) and Zach Deitrick (6-1, 170) figure to be the Panthers' primary ball-carriers.

Radziukinas, Park, Wilcox, Conwell and kicker Killan Mulkern (5-10, 155, Sr.) were each all-conference honorees last season as underclassmen.

Upper St. Clair began last season 7-1 but lost two of its final three by a combined total of six points, including a 16-14 defeat to North Hills in a WPIAL quarterfinal.