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SPORTS RADIO Z-104/NEWS TALK 790 WPIC 2026 PRESEASON FOOTBALL POLL RELEASED

HERMITAGE -- Sports Radio Z-104 (WWIZ) and News/Talk 790 WPIC have compiled their 2026 preseason football poll for the two District 10 regions involving Mercer County area teams.

Defending Class 2A state runner-up Farrell has been selected as the favorite in Region 1, a Mercer County-centric league of Class 1A and 2A teams.

District 10 Class 3A champion Sharon edged rival Hickory for the top spot in Region 4, a Class 3A conference featuring teams from Mercer and Crawford Counties, along with Fort LeBoeuf and Slippery Rock. Hickory is the defending Region 4 champion while Fort LeBoeuf won Region 5 last year.

The stations' four regular broadcasters, Bob Greenburg (sports director/color analyst), Anthony Romo (play-by-play commentator), Chris Burtch (color analyst) and Ryan Briggs (play-by-play commentator/lead writer) submitted weighted ballots for Regions 1 and 4.

WWIZ/WPIC studio hosts Aaron Biro, Art Shannon and Darren Steele also voted in the polls, as did Erie Times-News sports writer Tom Reisenweber, a frequent contributor to the stations' coverage of high school sports.

In each region, the first-place team received seven voter points and second place received six points, with the scale descending to one point for seventh place.

The stations will begin their 2026 season coverage Friday, August 28 with games on both stations. Sports Radio Z-104 will carry Wilmington at Slippery Rock while 790 WPIC will feature the Cathedral Prep at Sharon clash.

The next day, Z-104 will have a doubleheader at Woodland Hills High School, starting at 11:30 a.m. The first game will feature Hickory against Westinghouse in a noon kickoff. Farrell clashes with Clairton in the 3:30 p.m. nightcap at Woodland Hills.

Games can also be listened to/watched on the SportsRadio Z-104 Facebook page. Many game archives can also be found at NWPA Sports YouTube.

The Warner's Homes and Improvements pre- and post-game shows will air every Friday night, featuring Biro, Shannon and Steele.

Poll results, with first-place votes in parentheses: