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Making sense of wacky weekend is WPIAL's task
Jeannette, the defending PIAA Class AA champions, saw its 24-game winning streak halted by bitter rival Greensburg Central Catholic in a game that determined the Interstate Conference title.
Keystone Oaks, undefeated heading into the final game of the regular season for the first time in a long time, was limited to 116 yards in a shutout loss to cross-street rival Seton-La Salle in a game that created a three-way tie for the Century Conference title.
Rochester, which many pegged as the only WPIAL Class A team capable of challenging Clairton's powerful offense, not only lost the "Battle of the Bridge" to Monaca, the Rams also were shutout.
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Yep, it was that kind of weekend in the WPIAL.
Now, the football committee must make sense of the mess as they prepare to release the WPIAL playoff pairings tonight at 7 p.m.
No less than 64 coaching staffs - out of 124 WPIAL football teams - are scanning standings, game scores and schedules to determine where they fit into the pairings. Generally, teams are rarely seeded where the coaches predict.
At least four teams don't have to worry about where they'll land. The top seeds in each bracket should be Gateway (Class AAAA), Thomas Jefferson (Class AAA), Beaver Falls (Class AA) and Clairton (Class A).
After that, who knows?
Well, there are a couple likely possibilities.
In Class AAA, don't expect teams from the Keystone Conference to receive any respect. After all, the conference is an abysmal 0-28 in the playoffs the past seven years. Expect conference champion Yough (5-4) to receive no higher than the No. 7 seed while second-place Greensburg-Salem (5-4) will be seeded eighth.
The same can be said in Class A with the Tri-County South Conference. While the Tri-County South is much better in the postseason than the Keystone, Beth-Center (8-1) is the only playoff team with a win outside the conference. The Bulldogs could earn a No. 4 or No. 5 seed, but fourth-place California (4-5) can expect to face Clairton, while Carmichaels and Monessen also figure to receive difficult draws.
Kovak's seeds
Mike Kovak of the O-R sports staff seeds the upcoming WPIAL football playoffs:
Class AAAA
1. Gateway 9-0
2. Bethel Park 9-0
3. McKeesport 7-2
4. North Hills 8-1
5. Penn Hills 6-3
6. Central Catholic 7-2
7. Canon-McMillan 6-3
8. North Allegheny 5-4
9. Upper St. Clair 6-3
10. Shaler 7-2
11. Penn-Trafford 4-5
12. Pine-Richland 4-5
13. Woodland Hills 4-5
14. Fox Chapel 4-5
15. Hempfield 4-5
16. Mt. Lebanon 2-7
Class AAA
1. Thomas Jefferson 8-1
2. Highlands 9-0
3. Blackhawk 8-1
4. New Castle 6-3
5. Chartiers Valley 7-2
6. Indiana 7-2
7. Yough 5-4
8. Greensburg-Salem 5-4
9. Hopewell 7-2
10. Mars 6-3
11. Trinity 5-4
12. Montour 5-4
13. Ringgold 6-3
14. Franklin Regional 5-4
15. Laurel Highlands 4-5
16. Uniontown 6-3
Class AA
1. Beaver Falls 9-0
2. Greensburg C.C. 9-0
3. Shady Side Academy 9-0
4. Jeannette 8-1
5. Sto-Rox 8-1
6. Aliquippa 7-2
7. Ford City 8-1
8. Seton-La Salle 8-1
9. East Allegheny 6-3
10. Keystone Oaks 8-1
11. Valley 7-2
12. Center 7-2
13. Beaver 7-2
14. McGuffey 6-3
15. Freeport 6-3
16. Bishop Canevin 5-4
Class A
1. Clairton 9-0
2. Monaca 8-1
3. Avonworth 9-0
4. Rochester 8-1
5. Fort Cherry 8-1
6. Beth-Center 8-1
7. Springdale 6-3
8. Monessen 6-3
9. North Catholic 7-2
10. Serra Catholic 6-3
11. Western Beaver 6-3
12. South Side Beaver 6-3
13. Chartiers-Houston 6-3
14. Carmichaels 5-4
15. Brentwood 4-5
16. California 4-5
By Mike Kovak, sports writer for the Observer-Reporter.
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