Westmoreland County youth football programs form their own league amid investigation into WPYFL director

Youth football programs in Westmoreland County are calling an audible for the upcoming season by starting their own league. 

The Western Pennsylvania Youth Football League is under an investigation after members made claims of embezzlement against the league's director, who was allegedly the only one with access to the organization's account.

League members say that there should be around $300,000 in the account from various fundraisers and gate fees. It's thought, however, that there is now only around $170,000 to $200,000 in that account, which has led to the discrepancy and investigation.

KDKA-TV is not naming the director of the WPYFL because, as of right now, he's not being changed with anything.

But, as you can imagine, several teams are worried about the upcoming season, and that's why several programs in Westmoreland County are taking it upon themselves to form their own league.

The new gridiron alliance will be called the Keystone Foothills Football League, and it will be comprised of teams from Derry, Latrobe, Greensburg, Mt. Pleasant and Southmoreland.

"You know, when you see those players go out on that field every Sunday and they put their hearts out there and you see those cheerleaders on the sidelines giving it their all, we were determined to make sure that there was a season, one way or another," said Rebecca Salandro, the president of the Greater Latrobe Youth Football board.

Salandro says that while they are still planning things out, they want parents, players and cheerleaders to know that there will be localized, youth football in Westmoreland this fall.

"We have amazing community support," Salandro said. "We really have the players and the cheerleaders, their best intentions and what is best for them, we have that at the heart of everything. I know this has built a lot of excitement within our community and I really think it is going to continue to build as we move forward with this."

KDKA-TV tried to reach out to the WPYFL for comment, but their website doesn't have any contact information.

The newly formed Keystone Foothills Football League will be having a meeting on Sunday to plan for the upcoming season.