Former Western Beaver quarterback Jaivin Peel transfers to Central Catholic

INDUSTRY — The WPIAL’s all-time leading freshman passer is on the move as former Western Beaver quarterback Jaivin Peel has transferred to Central Catholic High School for his sophomore season.

"I was surprised by the move," Western Beaver head coach Ron Busby said. "He came in Tuesday and told me the news after he let some of the team know that he was going to be leaving earlier in the day and it trickled back to me. He stopped in later in the day and told it to my face and I was just surprised.

"I wished him well and best of luck wherever he landed."

Though Peel has not officially announced on social media that he will be transferring to the Oakland-based Catholic High School in Pittsburgh, he has noted on his X account that he has transferred to the program.

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The sophomore is a Midland native who started attending classes at Lincoln Park last year and played football for Western Beaver as part of a corporative agreement that the schools have while also playing basketball for the Leopards during the winter months.

As Peel exits Western Beaver, he will head to Central Catholic as he has his eyes set on the opening at the quarterback position after former Viking quarterback Payton Wehner graduated and committed to Saint Francis University to play quarterback for the Red Flash.

Peel easily broke the WPIAL freshman passing record last season and did so with plenty of games to spare as he helped the Golden Beavers defeat New Brighton 57-7 where he completed 14 of 17 passes for 395 yards and four TDs to set the record.

At season's end, Peel racked up 2,898 yards and threw for 32 touchdowns which was good enough for the third-highest total yards thrown in the WPIAL during the 2023 season. Peel broke previous record holder East Allegheny’s John Napoli’s 1,728 yards which was set back in 2019.

Peel had a talented supporting cast around him during his freshman campaign with the Golden Beavers as he threw to Dorian McGhee who caught 42 passes while finishing the year with a WPIAL-leading 1,199 yards. Along with McGhee, Peel also had Mikey Crawford at his disposal as the senior caught 49 passes for 864 yards on the season.

Both of Peel’s targets graduated this past school year with McGhee committing to California University (PA) as a wide receiver and Crawford committing to the University of Buffalo to play defensive back.

Peel was named to the MAC first-team all-conference as a freshman along with MAC offensive player of the year honors.

He was also named the Beaver County Times’ 2023 Offensive Player of the Year alongside Aliquippa’s Quentin Goode after his exceptional freshman campaign.

Last season, Peel led the Western Beaver squad to a 7-5 record overall and a 5-2 record in MAC conference play. The Golden Beavers advanced to the WPIAL quarterfinals against Steel Valley but fell to the Ironmen 21-18 ending their 2023 campaign.

Now as the season quickly approaches, Busby along with his staff will have to search for a replacement within the program. Western Beaver is set to face Ambridge in Week 0 action on Aug. 23.

This article originally appeared on Beaver County Times: Former Western Beaver quarterback Jaivin Peel transfers to Central Catholic