Sizing up the WPIAL playoff landscape
South Fayette running back Geavonie Love has the Lions on track for a shot at another WPIAL championship.
Prexie quarterback Conner Bedillion looks to avoid the rush from Buccaneer linebacker Matt Whitfield in the October 14 game at Chartiers-Houston.
Katie Roupe/Observer-Reporter Fort CherryþÄôs quarterback Ryhan Culberson walks off the field after slipping and falling in the endzone for a safety while Carmichaels celebrates the extra points during the first half of Friday nightþÄôs game.
Changes came like a freight train to the Pennsylvania high school football landscape. The PIAA’s shift to six classifications left many people scratching their heads. And that was before the WPIAL introduced the new tiebreaking procedures. Conference standings and head-to-head results still rule the roost, and there could be the use of the oft-maligned Gardner Points and WPIAL tiebreaker points to set the order of finish. But the WPIAL has decided that non-conference games would be included in the calculations of wild card berths and hosting rights in Triple-A and Single-A.
What?
A game that doesn’t mean anything actually means something? How’s that again?
To determine the final standings within conferences, use all section games, compare head-to-head results, use the Gardner system (100 points for wins +10 points for every win a beaten team finishes with) then the WPIAL Tiebreaker (score differential up to +10 or -10 points). Any time a team is eliminated from the tie, start the process again with the remaining teams.
In Classes 6-A, 5-A and 4-A, the top four teams in each section advance to the eight-team brackets. In Class 3-A, first- and second-place teams in the three sections plus two wild card third-place finishers advance. The top five from each Class 2-A and 1-A sections move into a 16-team bracket along with one wild card in each class.
The following are the conferences, games that can impact final standings, and a look at the possibilities heading into the final weekend of the regular season:
Northern 7: Pittsburgh Central Catholic is first. The North Allegheny at Pine-Richland winner is second, the loser third. Seneca Valley is fourth.
Southeastern: The Mt. Lebanon at Bethel Park winner is first. Bethel Park is second with a loss. Mt. Lebanon can finish from first to third. Hempfield is second with a win at Norwin plus a Bethel Park win. The Hempfield-Norwin loser is fourth. Norwin is third with a win.
Allegheny 9: West Allegheny is first. The Upper St. Clair at Woodland Hills winner is second, loser third. North Hills is fourth.
Big East: Kiski at Armstrong, McKeesport at Penn-Trafford, Franklin Regional at Gateway.
Armstrong (6-1), McKeesport (6-1) and Gateway (5-2) have clinched. Franklin Regional (5-2), Penn-Trafford (4-3) and Kiski (4-3) are all still alive for the final berth.
Big 9: Thomas Jefferson is first, West Mifflin second, Belle Vernon third, Ringgold fourth.
Northwest 9: Montour at South Fayette, New Castle at Blackhawk.
South Fayette is first, Mars second. New Castle is third with a win, fourth with a loss and South Fayette win. Montour is in with a win, third if Blackhawk also wins. Blackhawk is in with a win, third if South Fayette wins.
Beaver Valley
Beaver Falls at Beaver, Hopewell at Aliquippa.
Aliquippa has clinched one spot. The Beaver Falls-Beaver winner clinches. If Beaver Falls and Aliquippa win, Aliquippa is first, Beaver Falls second. Central Valley would be one of the 3-A wild card teams. If Beaver and Aliquippa win, Beaver is first, Aliquippa second, Beaver Falls third (and in consideration for wild card).
Allegheny: Keystone Oaks at Seton-La Salle, Valley at Freeport.
Keystone Oaks is first, Apollo-Ridge second. Valley is third with a win, or with Keystone Oaks win. Seton-La Salle is third with a win plus a Freeport win.
Interstate: Mt. Pleasant at Southmoreland, Yough at South Park
Derry is first. Mount Pleasant is second with a win, or with a Yough win. South Park is second with a win plus a Southmoreland win. SP is third with a win, or with a loss of less than 9 points. Yough is third with a win of 9 points or more.
Century: Chartiers-Houston at Frazier
Washington is first. Beth-Center is fifth. If Chartiers-Houston wins, the Bucs are second, Burgettstown third, Frazier fourth. If Frazier wins, the Commodores are second, Chartiers-Houston third, Burgettstown fourth. If C-H is third, the Bucs would be one of the host third-place finishers.
Midwestern: Freedom at Cardinal Wuerl North Catholic
Neshannock is first, Riverside second. Everything else hinges on this one game. If Freedom wins, Laurel is third, Freedom fourth, South Side Beaver fifth and CW North Catholic sixth and claims the wild card. If CWNC wins, they are third, Laurel fourth, Freedom fifth and South Side Beaver sixth, and wild card).
Three Rivers: Steel Valley at Brentwood, East Allegheny at Serra Catholic, Avonworth at Vincentian (Saturday, 7 p.m.)
Steel Valley is first with a win, or with an East Allegheny win–then East Allegheny is second, Brentwood third. Brentwood is first with a win plus a Serra Catholic win–then Steel Valley second, East Allegheny third. Avonworth is fourth with a win, or with a Serra Catholic loss. Serra has clinched and is fourth with a win plus a Vincentian win, otherwise fifth. The third-place team will host an opening-round game, already having five wins entering the weekend.
Big Seven: Our Lady of the Sacred Heart at Sto-Rox, Union at Shenango.
Rochester is first, Northgate second. OLSH-Sto-Rox winner is third, loser fourth. Union-Shenango winner is fifth. The loser is a possible wild card, along with Western Beaver.
Eastern: Clairton at Jeannette, Springdale at Greensburg Central Catholic, Imani Christian at Leechburg.
Clairton-Jeannette winner is first, loser second. Bishop Canevin is third. Imani has clinched. Springdale-Greensburg winner is in. Riverview or Springdale will be in wild card picture.
Tri-County South: California at West Greene, Jefferson-Morgan at Fort Cherry, Monessen at Mapletown.
Carmichaels is first, Fort Cherry second, California third, and Mapletown fourth. West Greene is fifth with a win. Avella, which has non-conference game Saturday at Summit Academy, is fifth with a California win plus a Fort Cherry win or with a California win plus a Monessen win. Jeff-Morgan is fifth with a win plus California and Mapletown wins. This conference’s third-place finisher will likely not be a first-round host.
Bob Gregg is sports director at WJPA Radio.