Dallastown, William Penn will compete in Pennsylvania Passing League

Itching for the return of football season? Who isn't. But while high schoolers won't hit the gridiron for another few months, it's never too early to start thinking about who might be the teams to beat come the fall.

A pair of YAIAA Division I hopefuls, Dallastown and William Penn, will compete in the upcoming Pennsylvania Passing League (PPL) East Division event at Susquehanna Township HIgh School on July 24. Included in the tournament's 16-team field are a slew of District 3 contenders, including defending AAA district champ Manheim Central, Harrisburg, Steel-High and Susquehanna Township.

The PPL uses a 7-on-7, touch football format (passing only, no runs) which is played on 40-yard fields. OK, so it's not exactly you'd typically see on a fall Friday night, but it's something. And there is quite the prize at stake, as well: The winner of the event gets to play PPL West Division champ Gateway at halftime of the Pittsburgh Steelers preseason opener Aug. 14 at Heinz Field.

William Penn started 6-0 last year, but was battered by injuries (including one to rising senior quarterback Kelvin Parker) and lost its final five games. Dallastown also finished 6-5, but returns a solid corps of players led by Pittsburgh commit Ben Kline.

Thirteen teams have committed to the event, meaning here are still three spots open. Maybe another YAIAA team will join the fray?

To check out the full PPL rules and all the details of the event, you can look at the event's website here. A full list of the thirteen committed participants is available after the jump.

Teams committed to play:

- Brockway

- Coatesville

- Dallastown

- Harrisburgh

- Loyalsock

- Manheim Central

- Manheim Township

- Mechanicsburg

- Milton Hershey

- Steel-High

- Susquenita

- Susquehanna Township

- William Penn