Oct 27, 2014 4 min read

GREEN TREE – The WPIAL showed the Tri-County South Conference a little respect in Class A, made sure a Washington-McGuffey rematch would take place only in the Class AA finals and gave Waynesburg first crack at defending Class AA state champion South Fayette.

That was part of what transpired at the WPIAL football playoff pairings meeting Monday night at the DoubleTree Hotel in Green Tree.

First-round games get under way Friday night at 7:30 for all area teams.

Finals in the four classes will be held Friday, Nov. 21 at Heinz Field.

South Fayette (9-0) received a No. 1 seed and Washington (9-0) the No. 3, which means the Prexies will have to get past Aliquippa, the No. 2 seed, to reach the Class AA finals.

South Fayette, the Century Conference champion and one of 12 undefeated teams in the WPIAL playoffs, will host Waynesburg in the first round. Washington, also undefeated and the Interstate Conference champion, will host Steel Valley.

“I didn’t really have a chance to examine (the brackets) real closely yet but I kind of expected a matchup with Steel Valley,” said Wash High head coach Mike Bosnic. “I wasn’t surprised by the No. 3 seed. It was kind of what I expected. From past experiences, you never know what is going to happen. We looked over things and thought there was a strong possibility that we would draw Steel Valley, and that’s what happened.”

McGuffey (7-2), third-place finisher in the Interstate Conference, received a No. 12 seed and will play at No. 5 Seton-La Salle (8-1)

“We were hoping to get Washington again because of the rivalry,” McGuffey head coach Ed Dalton joked.

“We worked on (the bracket), and Seton-La Salle was one of three teams we thought we could play. They are a really good team, and they play a different style than they played last year. They can throw the ball. They are a handful. There is a reason why they are 8-1.”

Waynesburg head coach Russ Moore already found a positive to drawing South Fayette in the first round.

“We won’t have to drive too far,” he quipped.

Waynesburg was decimated by injuries, including one to running back John-Glen Davis, and finished fourth in the Interstate Conference.

“Four or five weeks ago, we could play with anyone. Injuries really hurt us and I think the committee took that into account. I knew we would have to play someone good and it was either going to be Aliquippa or South Fayette.”

Beth-Center, which has had its share of lower-than-expected seeds, got No. 4 and will host Riverside (5-4, 4th in Big 7). The undefeated Bulldogs (9-0), champions of the Tri-County South conference, boosted their seeding with an impressive non-conference win over Greensburg Central Catholic in Week 2.

“I think the Greensburg game really helped us,” said B-C head coach Ed Woods. “They dropped from Double-A this season. I think No. 4 has been our highest seed.”

Waynesburg is not the only local team that has drawn a defending state champion in the first round. Avella, which earned a second straight playoff berth, drew No. 1 North Catholic (9-0), the defending Class A champion. The Eagles, 5-4 and fourth in the Tri-County South Conference, had not made back-to-back playoff appearances since the 1970s.

Mapletown snapped a playoff drought that went back to 2005 and received a 12th seed. The Maples travel to No. 5 Avonworth (8-1, 2nd Black hills).

“The atmosphere has been fantastic,” said Mapletown head coach George Messich. “It’s not only at school, but in the community, too. They have given our kids so much support. It really doesn’t matter who we get. There are 16 teams, and they are all good. I don’t care who you draw. You have to beat good teams when you make the playoffs. I can tell you this: We’ll show up and we’ll give 110 percent.”

Chartiers-Houston, the fourth-place team in the Black Hills Conference, travels to No. 2 Clairton.

Ringgold, which was second in the Big 9 Conference with an 8-1 record, hosts Gateway, the fifth-place team in the Greater Allegheny with a 4-5 record. Gateway is one of eight playoff teams with a sub-.500 record.

Of the 124 teams in the WPIAL, 64 made the playoffs. … Quarterfinal-round games will be held Nov. 7-8 and semifinals Nov. 14-15. … The top two teams in each conference were given a first-round home game.