But the most gripping battle is likely to take place in Class AAA, due in part to the reclassification of Catholic League squads Cardinal O'Hara and Monsignor Bonner, both former AAAA members.
Archbishop Wood, an Eastern finalist last year, is ranked No. 5 in The Inquirer's preseason poll. Defending District 1 AAA champ Pottsgrove is No. 6, and O'Hara is No. 8. Bonner, with a bunch of returning starters, is on the rise.
From District 1, Pottsgrove, Interboro, and possible sleeper Marple Newtown could contend. In the final of last year's eight-team district AAA tourney, Pottsgrove outlasted Interboro, 28-21, in a bone-rattling clash at Coatesville.
In the PIAA's football classification for 2010 and '11, Owen J. Roberts and West Chester Rustin, Class AAA district semifinal losers last year, moved up to AAAA. That opens the door for Marple Newtown and Penncrest, new to AAA, to make noise in districts.
The District 12 winner will face the District 1 victor, in a state quarterfinal, on the weekend of Dec. 3. Last season, in one of 2009's most exciting contests, Wood nipped Pottsgrove, 30-28.
The closing of Cardinal Dougherty, Kennedy-Kenrick, and North Catholic trimmed the Catholic League's football membership to 14.
Four out of five in the Class AAAA division will qualify for the playoffs. In Class AAA, all four squads - O'Hara, Wood, Bonner, and Archbishop Carroll - will gain a postseason chance to compete for the league crown.
PCL moderator Pat Manzi, who is the Bishop McDevitt coach, said there was talk of combining Class AAAA and AAA into a nine-team division. However, not enough schools, especially among the AAA grouping, supported the idea.
"It's a hard balance," Manzi said, "but we decided to keep things separate."
In AA, McDevitt is joined by Conwell-Egan, Lansdale Catholic, Neumann-Goretti, and West Catholic. The top two regular-season finishers will play for the league title the weekend of Nov. 5.
