Nov 2, 2015 4 min read

GREEN TREE – South Fayette’s quest for a third consecutive PIAA title began Monday night at the DoubleTree Hotel in Green Tree.

That’s where the WPIAL held its annual football pairings meeting.

The Lions, riding a 41-game winning streak and savoring a fourth straight undefeated regular season, drew the top seed in Class AA and will host surprising Burgettstown in a first-round game Friday night.

Kickoff for all first-round games is 7:30 p.m. Finals for the four classifications will be Saturday, Nov. 28 at Heinz Field.

Leading up to the pairings meeting, rumors flew on social media the Lions might not receive the top seed, but even that would have been OK with head coach Joe Rossi.

“Actually, it would have given us more motivation,” he said with a smile. “When you get to this point, everyone is good. You’ve got to beat everyone.”

Burgettstown (5-4) emerged from some difficult seasons, including a 21-game losing streak that was snapped last year, to make its first playoff appearance since 2009.

“We talked in December about having hope to get into the playoffs, and at times it did seem like a hope, especially with Derry,” said Burgettstown first-year head coach Mark Druga. “Coach (Terry) Havelka did a heck of a job getting this team competitive. It started last year and continued this year. … The kids are fired up. We know where we’re probably going to be, playing one of the best teams right at the get-go. We’re thinking upset. We have nothing to lose.”

South Fayette is 9-0, champion of the Century Conference and one of nine undefeated teams in the 64-team playoffs. Aliquippa, also 9-0 and champion of the Midwest Conference, got the No. 2 seed in Class AA. Washington, 9-0 and champion of the Interstate Conference, is the third seed, and Beaver Falls, which suffered its first loss of the season last week, 44-21, to Aliquippa is the No. 4 seed.

“I thought it would be No. 3 to 4,” head coach Mike Bosnic said of Wash High’s seed. “We have high expectations but you have to take it one week at time.”

Washington will host Deer Lakes in the first round and could get either No. 6 seed Freeport (8-1) or No. 11 McGuffey (6-3) in the quarterfinals.

“I haven’t seen (Deer Lakes) so it will be a challenge,” said Bosnic. “I thought it would be either Keystone Oaks or Deer Lakes, so I’m not surprised.”

The other No. 1 seeds were Woodland Hills (9-0) in Class AAAA, Central Valley (8-1) in Class AAA, and Clairton (9-0) in Class A.

Ringgold (8-1), which was runner-up to Belle Vernon (9-0) in the Big 10 Conference, got a No. 5 seed and will host Ambridge (5-4), the fourth-place team from the Parkway Conference.

“I sent this (text message) yesterday at 2:20,” said Ringgold head coach Nick Milchovich, holding his cell phone up to show a nearly perfect prediction of the Class AAA bracket. “I was pretty much on the money. All those teams in that conference are tough, blue-collar. … I told our kids at practice that you had a great season. You earned the right to be 0-0. And so is every one of these teams. You hate to use the old cliche of survive and advance, but that’s what we’re doing.”

Clairton, champion of the Eastern Conference, will host Carmichaels (5-4), the fourth-place team in the Tri-County South Conference after Friday’s 28-0 win over Jefferson-Morgan.

Frazier (9-0), champion of the Tri-County South, received a four seed. Beth-Center (7-2) got the eigh seed and will host Avonworth (7-2), which has lost only to Bishop Canevin (6-3) and North Catholic (9-0).

Bentworth (6-3), the third-place team in the Tri-County South, snapped a playoff drought that went back to 2005 and received the No. 11 seed. The Bearcats will travel to Neshannock (8-1), the runner-up to Shenango in the Big 7 Conference.

“It was a lot of fun and what makes it that way is the coaching staff we have,” said Bearcats head coach Ron Skiles. “It’s a three-year process (to get here). It just takes that long to get there. But these athletes kept coming and we got something here. We’re on the right track.”

Skiles felt the preseason scrimmages revealed the strength of the team and a hard-fought 7-3 loss to Frazier made believers of his team.

“That game, without a doubt, was the turning point for us,” said Skiles.

Jeannette (8-1), the No. 3 seed, will host Chartiers-Houston (5-4), which secured fourth place in the Black Hills Conference with a 39-0 win over Fort Cherry last week.

A moment of silence was held before the meeting for Lawrence “Duece” Skurcenski, a WPIAL statistician who died this summer. … The top two teams in each conference earned home games in the first round.