Matt Freed, Post-Gazette Buddy Rose of Chartiers-Houston clears the bar in the pole vault at the PIAA track and field championships yesterday at Shippensburg. Click photo for larger image.

The high school football season in Pennsylvania will end later than ever in 2006 and '07.

The PIAA voted Thursday to extend the football season one week, beginning next year. That means teams that make it to PIAA championship games will play 16 games instead of 15. Also, the four title games will be played in mid-December.

Under the new schedule, the 2006 PIAA championships will be Dec. 15-16 and the '07 games Dec. 14-15. In comparison, the championship games this year will be Dec. 9-10.

The new rule also means all districts in the state will have the same starting date for practices and games. For last year and this year, the PIAA permitted only the WPIAL to begin practices and games a week earlier than the rest of the state. The exception was made so the WPIAL could keep its four-week playoff format.

Some other districts complained and wanted the same treatment as the WPIAL. But instead of starting the season a week earlier, the PIAA decided to add a week at the end.

Blackhawk hires coaches

Andy Hedrick and Steve Lodovico were the two finalists for the Blackhawk boys' basketball coaching job. It turns out both got head coaching jobs at the school.

Hedrick has been hired as Blackhawk's boys' coach while Lodovico has been hired as the Cougars' girls' coach.

Hedrick succeeds John Miller, one of the most successful coaches in WPIAL history before retiring after this past season. Hedrick was the head coach at Everett High School in Bedford County for five seasons before resigning after this past season. He also is an assistant principal at Everett. Besides coaching at Blackhawk, Hedrick also will be a mathematics teacher in the district.

Lodovico was an assistant under Miller and also played for him in the 1990s.

As girls' coach, Lodovico succeeds Mike DeChellis, who resigned after this past season. Lodovico is an elementary school teacher in the Blackhawk district.

No more TV

FSN Pittsburgh will no longer televise the WPIAL boys' basketball championships.

The station recently agreed to a new contract with the WPIAL to televise live only the four football championships. FSN also had televised the four boys' basketball championships live since the mid 1990s.

Although the basketball finals had their highest ratings this past season, the station told the WPIAL it was too costly to continue doing the games.