Oct 28, 2019 5 min read

GREEN TREE – The question the WPIAL football committee asked itself was a simple one.

Is it who you play or how you play?

The answers could have been all over the place, especially when talking about a convoluted Class 2A with three undefeated teams that have impressive résumés

Washington is a 10-0 and hasn’t won a game by fewer than 22 points – a 36-14 win in the final week over McGuffey for the Century Conference title. The Prexies’ average margin of victory through the regular season was 34.5 points.

Avonworth also has a 10-0 record and had strength of schedule on its side. The Antelopes beat five teams with seven or more victories en route to a Allegheny Conference championship.

Burgettstown, which has one less win than the others unbeatens, is 9-0. The Blue Devils used their physical, ground-and-pound brand of football to hold its opponents to only 7.8 points per game, the lowest in Class 2A and third-lowest in the entire WPIAL.

The WPIAL favored dominance, giving Washington the top overall seed for the upcoming playoffs, while Avonworth and Burgettstown earned the Nos. 2 and 3 seeds, respectively, when the pairings were announced Monday night at the DoubleTree Hotel in Green Tree.

“There was some discussion but I believe it fell into place fairly easily,” said WPIAL executive director Tim O’Malley. “They both had a common opponent in McGuffey. Burgettstown is also very good. We will see what happens.”

Washington will host Shady Side Academy (5-4) in the first round Friday night, while Burgettstown takes on Riverside (6-3).

All playoff games leading up to the championships are scheduled to start at 7 p.m. That is a change from previous years.

“We didn’t really know,” said Washington coach Mike Bosnic. “You just never know what’s going to happen. I’m happy to get the No. 1.”

The overall feeling in Class 2A is that while there are favorites, it’s as wide open as it has been in years past. Twelve of the 16 teams in the deepest playoff field – Class 5A also has 16 teams – have three or fewer losses.

“The parity is encouraging,” O’Malley said. “The competitive balance is good. We don’t have that all over the place.”

Despite remaining undefeated, Burgettstown has had close calls down the stretch. The Blue Devils finished their second consecutive undefeated regular season by narrowly escaping Brentwood, 16-13, for the Three Rivers Conference title and came back to beat South Allegheny, 24-14.

“Obviously, it’s a challenge no matter where you are seeded,” said Burgettstown coach Mark Druga. “All kinds of different teams can move on.”

Druga wasn’t upset that the Blue Devils were given the third seed. Outside of the three undefeated teams in Class 2A, the only other unbeaten is Thomas Jefferson in Class 4A.

“I think we could have been given the (top seed),” Druga said. “But we aren’t going to doubt that Washington earned the No. 1. Avonworth had some very difficult opponents, especially in its non-conference games. We thought no matter how it fell that we would be in the top three. We are content with that.”

The depth of Class 2A could bring a Century Conference rematch between Charleroi and the top-seeded Prexies in the quarterfinals. Charleroi (7-2), the No. 9 seed, travels to play eighth-seeded Freedom (7-3), which has lost three straight games entering the postseason.

McGuffey (8-2), which was in the conversation for a top-three seed before two losses to end the season, dropped to the sixth spot and will host South Side Beaver (5-5). The two teams met in last year’s first round, when South Side extended the Highlanders’ playoff winless streak to 24 seasons.

In Class 6A, Canon-McMillan (3-7) knew its fate prior to Monday night. The Big Macs will travel to play No. 3 North Allegheny (9-1), who split the conference title with Pine-Richland and Central Catholic. Tiebreakers forced North Allegheny into a first-round game while Pine-Richland and Central Catholic earned byes.

In Class 5A, Peters Township (9-1) was bumped to the No. 5 seed and a first-round home game against 12th-seeded Mars (6-4). The Indians shared the Allegheny Eight conference title with Moon, however, and lost to the Tigers during the regular season.

In Class 4A, South Fayette and Belle Vernon are two of the seven local teams to earn home playoff games. Second-seeded South Fayette (9-1) will play No. 7 West Mifflin (5-5). Third-seeded Belle Vernon (8-1) hosts New Castle (6-4).

The biggest sigh of relief during the night might have came from West Greene. The Pioneers earned the No. 2 seed in Class A to avoid a first-round matchup with powerful Jeannette. West Greene (9-1) will host seventh seed Greensburg Central Catholic (7-3). Also in Class A, No. 5 California (7-3) travels to No. 4 Cornell (8-1).

“You got to play the games,” Bosnic said. “That’s what it’s all about.”