Oct 29, 2012 4 min read

GREEN TREE – The WPIAL football pairings were released at the Green Tree DoubleTree Monday night, and the reactions ranged from indifference to frustration to … a cloud of dust. Already several days behind in preparation, it’s tradition for coaches to bolt as soon as the matchups are released. “You’re already a couple days behind,” said Washington High School coach Mike Bosnic, whose team was seeded No. 3 in Class AA and will open with No. 14 seed Shady Side Academy. “Normally you know Friday night after the game who you’re playing and heck, it’s already 8 or 9 o’clock on Monday night … haven’t even gotten a chance to look at them yet. “You’re behind the eight-ball already.” Both Peters Township’s Rich Piccinini and Carmichaels’ John Menhart could have played the frustration card, though neither did all that outwardly. Yes, it’s a tough draw to get the No. 15 seed, as both did. No, they’re not bitter; they understand it’s a tough job. Peters Township opens with No. 2 Gateway, and Carmichaels will travel to No. 2 Sto-Rox. “We didn’t think we were going to be a No. 15 seed, but you have to play where they put you,” Piccinini said. “You have to beat all the good teams if you want to do anything in the playoffs anyway.” Forever the go-to source for a good laugh, Menhart quipped, “I wish they would have just mailed us the balls,” referencing the two game balls that each coach gets. Peters Township was the area’s only Class AAAA playoff team. Trinity and Ringgold were seeded one spot away from one another in Class AAA, No. 12 and No. 13 seeds, respectively. The Hillers open at Montour, the Rams at West Allegheny. “I’m kind of indifferent to it,” Ringgold coach Matt Humbert said. “Whoever they match us up with we’re going to play.” South Fayette drew the area’s highest seed and, as a No. 2, could meet Wash High in the Class AA semifinals. The Lions have Freedom in the first round. Despite winning a second consecutive Class A Tri-County South title, Beth-Center was seeded seventh and will open with No. 10 Union, the fourth-place team from the Big Seven Conference. Jefferson-Morgan drew the No. 13 seed but will host Neshannock, which tied Rochester and Sto-Rox for the Big Seven title, though the Lancers lost out on tiebreaker points. “We’re just excited to have an opportunity to play in the playoffs,” Rockets coach Liam Ryan said. “I didn’t know how the seeding would fall, but we had a good idea of who were going to end up playing.” First-round games are all scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Friday, but they could be pushed to 2 p.m. Saturday if the weather gets too bad. Teams without turf fields who are hosting first-round games – Washington, Monessen, Beth-Center and Jefferson-Morgan, among area teams – were also urged to be proactive and find a secondary site. If not, and the weather required a change of site, teams could forfeit gate money or play somewhere that’s not geographically favorable. North Allegheny, Thomas Jefferson, Aliquippa and Clairton secured the top overall seeds. Routines varied for late Monday night into today. Rossi was going to upload highlights online, so his players could start watching film. Piccinini was planning to do the same. Humbert brought a DVD burner to the DoubleTree, just in case any of his coaches encountered internet issues while breaking down film. “It’s like this every year,” Bosnic said. “We’ll start breaking down film and be up all night doing this.” Will anyone be ordering food? “I hope so,” Bosnic added. “Better order a lot.”