Breaking down the WPIAL football playoff possibilities
Katie Roupe/Observer-Reporter ¬ Trinity's quarterback Forrest Cullings dives for a couple more inches to get the first down during the first quarter of the game against Belle Vernon.
Jim McNutt/Observer-Reporter ¬ Northgate's Surron Adams (33) tries to bring down Chartiers-Houston's Alec Ferrari (5) deep in his own backfield but Ferrari scampered clear and broke for a big gain late in the 2nd quarter at Chartiers-Houston High School field Friday night.
One hundred years ago, the Pittsburgh chapter of the Syracuse University Alumni Association named Wilkinsburg the WPIAL’s first football champion. The next year, the Tigers downed Fifth Avenue, 12-7, in the first WPIAL playoff game.
On Monday, the WPIAL football committee will set four brackets for this year’s playoffs. The WPIAL will schedule 60 postseason games leading to the crowning of four champions Nov. 21 at Heinz Field.
Each of the four classifications will advance 16 teams to the postseason based on conference record, head-to-head results, Gardner Points, the WPIAL tiebreaker system and, if necessary, a coin flip. Class AAAA and Class AAA, with three conferences in each, will advance the top five teams from each conference plus one wild-card team. Class AA and Class A will qualify the top four teams in each conference.
Gardner Points include 100 points for each conference win plus 10 bonus points for each win a beaten team accumulates. The WPIAL tiebreaker system is a score differential with a maximum of 10 points earned or lost based on each conference game’s final score.
With one game left to play for each team, here’s a look at who has clinched playoff berths and those who are still in the running in each conference along with the wild card and home game races. Records listed are conference records along with tiebreaker points, if appropriate. Games that impact the final qualifying spots are listed. All games are Friday unless noted.
Southeastern - Penn Hills (5-1, +47) at Woodland Hills (6-0), Bethel Park (4-2, +20), Upper St. Clair (3-3, +3) at Mt. Lebanon (4-2, +18).
The Woodland Hills-Penn Hills winner is first, Woodland Hills is second with a loss. Penn Hills is second with a loss if Mt. Lebanon or Baldwin win. Mt. Lebanon has clinched and can finish anywhere from third to fifth. Bethel Park is in, can finish second with a win, but can also be fourth with the same result. The Blackhawks can be anywhere from third to fifth with a loss. Upper St. Clair has qualified and will likely be fourth with a win, definitely fifth with a loss. Baldwin is alive for the wild card but must win or the Highlanders will be eliminated.
Foothills – Norwin (4-3) at Penn-Trafford (7-0), McKeesport (6-1) at Kiski Area (0-7), Connellsville (3-4) at Altoona (5-2), Latrobe (1-6) at Plum (4-3).
Penn-Trafford is first, McKeesport second, Altoona third. Plum is in, and fourth with a win or a Penn-Trafford win. Norwin has clinched, is fourth with a win plus a Latrobe win, otherwise fifth. Connellsville can only qualify as the wild card.
Northern Eight – North Hills (4-2) at North Allegheny (4-2), Central Catholic (5-1) at Butler (1-5), Shaler (0-6) at Seneca Valley (1-5).
Butler can only qualify as the wild card. If Seneca Valley beats winless Shaler, Butler is eliminated from the wild-card chase even if the Golden Tornado upsets CC. Pine-Richland (7-0) is first and hosting Peters Township in a non-conference game. Defending WPIAL champion Central Catholic is second. The North Hills-North Allegheny winner is third, the loser fourth. Fox Chapel (3-4) is fifth.
Wild card – Connellsville has three wins already and would clinch the spot with a win at Altoona. Baldwin and Butler both need to win to stay alive. Gardner Points would break a tie, and Butler would greatly benefit from win over Central Catholic.
Home games – The top two teams in each conference host opening-round games along with two of the third-place finishers. It appears six wins will be enough to earn that right, meaning that Altoona and the North Hills-North Allegheny winner should be in line to host. In the one scenario that Penn Hills finishes third, the Indians could create a three-way tie.
Big Nine – West Mifflin (5-2) at Thomas Jefferson (7-0), Trinity (3-4) at Ringgold (6-1), Elizabeth-Forward (3-4) at Belle Vernon (4-3), Laurel Highlands (3-4) at Albert Gallatin (0-7).
Thomas Jefferson is first, Ringgold second, West Mifflin third. Belle Vernon has clinched and is fourth with a win or with a Laurel Highlands win, otherwise fifth. LH is fifth with a win or with Ringgold and Belle Vernon wins. Elizabeth-Forward is fourth with a win plus an Albert Gallatin win, a wild-card contender with a win if LH wins. Trinity is fifth with a win plus Belle Vernon and Albert Gallatin wins. The Hillers are in the wild-card chase with a win and a loss by either EF or LH.
Parkway – West Allegheny (7-0) at Central Valley (7-0), Moon (4-3) at Montour (5-2), New Castle (3-4) at Hopewell (0-7), Chartiers Valley (2-5) at Ambridge (2-5).
The West Allegheny-Central Valley winner is first, the loser second. The Moon-Montour winner is third. Montour is fourth with a loss. New Castle is fourth with a win plus a Montour win, otherwise fifth. The Ambridge-Chartiers Valley winner is a wild-card contender.
Greater Allegheny – Mars (4-3, +24) at Hampton (7-0), Gateway (4-3, -6) at Franklin Regional (5-2, +33), Indiana (4-3, +5) at Hollidaysburg (3-4, -11), Yough (0-7) at Knoch (3-4, +4).
Hampton is first. Franklin Regional is second with a win. Gateway is second with a win plus a Hampton win, or plus an Indiana win. Indiana is third or fourth with a win. Hollidaysburg is fourth or fifth with a victory. Mars can finish anywhere from second to fifth with a victory over Hampton. There are sixteen different combinations of results yielding eight different top four teams. Unless Yough upsets Knoch, the sixth-place finisher will have four wins in the wild-card race.
Wild card – The Greater Allegheny has the best shot at the wild card with the likelihood of a four-win sixth-place finisher. If Trinity is the Big 9 wild-card qualifier, the Hillers would have lots of Gardner Points, more than any other qualifier could have.
Home games – As in Quad-A, the top two teams in each conference host along with two third-place teams. Montour, with six wins, would get one of those spots if the Spartans are the Parkway third-place finisher. West Mifflin could clinch one of the home games with an upset of Thomas Jefferson, giving the Titans a sixth win. The overall balance that puts the Greater Allegheny Conference in good position for the wild card will hurt the league’s chance of getting the extra home game. The GAC third-place team cannot have more than five wins
Century – Defending WPIAL and PIAA champion South Fayette (8-0) is first, Seton-La Salle (7-1) second, South Park (6-2) third. Steel Valley (5-3) is fourth with a win at South Allegheny (2-6) or with a Quaker Valley (5-3) loss at South Fayette. QV is fourth with a win plus a Steel Valley loss.
Interstate – Washington (7-0, +68) at McGuffey (6-1, +54), Southmoreland (4-3) at Mt. Pleasant (6-1, +37), Derry (2-5) at Waynesburg (4-3).
Washington has clinched and is first with a win or with a loss of less than seven points plus a Mount Pleasant win, otherwise second. McGuffey has clinched and is first with a win of more than six points or with any win plus a Mt. Pleasant loss, otherwise the Highlanders are third and will open the playoffs on the road. Waynesburg is fourth with a win or a Mt. Pleasant win. Southmoreland is fourth with a win plus a Derry win.
Allegheny – Highlands (8-0) is first, Apollo-Ridge (7-1) second, Shady Side Academy (6-2) third and Kittanning (5-3) fourth. There, wasn’t that simple?
Midwestern – Beaver Falls (6-1, +50) at Aliquippa (7-0), Beaver (5-2, +30) at Ellwood City (3-4), Mohawk (2-5) at New Brighton (5-2, +27).
The Beaver Falls-Aliquippa winner is first. Aliquippa is second with a loss. Head-to-head results will decide the order of finish in nearly every combination except the most likely one: wins by Aliquippa, Beaver and New Brighton. That would require the WPIAL tiebreaker points to decide first place, then head-to-head. Beaver beat Beaver Falls, Beaver Falls topped New Brighton, New Brighton downed Beaver. New Brighton cannot finish second. Beaver Falls cannot finish fourth.
Home games – The top two teams in each conference will host opening-round games. Highlands, Apollo-Ridge, South Fayette, Seton-La Salle, Washington and Aliquippa have clinched home games. Additional teams from the Interstate and Midwestern also will host.
Black Hills – Defending WPIAL and PIAA champion North Catholic (7-0) is first, Avonworth (5-1) second, Brentwood (4-2) third. Chartiers-Houston (3-3) is fourth with a win at home against Fort Cherry (2-4). Fort Cherry is fourth with a win plus an Avonworth win over Northgate (2-4). Northgate is fourth with a win plus a Fort Cherry win.
Tri-County South – Beth-Center (7-0) at Bentworth (3-4), West Greene (0-7) at Avella (3-4), Jefferson-Morgan (3-4) at Carmichaels (3-4).
Beth-Center is first, Frazier (6-1) second, Mapletown (6-2) third. Bentworth is fourth with a win. Avella is fourth with a win plus a Beth-Center win. If Bentworth and Avella both lose, the Jeferson-Morgan-Carmichaels winner is fourth.
Big Seven – Neshannock (8-0) is first, Shenango (6-1) second, South Side Beaver (4-2) third. Riverside (3-3) is fourth with a win against Vincentian Academy (2-4). Vincentian is fourth with a win plus a South Side win at Western Beaver (2-4) Saturday. Western Beaver is fourth with a win plus a Vincentian win. That combination creates a three-way tie that would be broken by Gardner Points, WB getting enough bonus points for beating SSB.
Eastern – Greensburg Central Catholic (5-2) at Jeannette (6-1). Springdale (4-3) at Riverview (3-4) Saturday.
Clairton (7-0) is first. The GCC-Jeannette winner is second. Jeannette is third with a loss. GCC is third with a loss plus a Riverview win, fourth if Springdale wins. Springdale is third with a win plus a Jeannette win. Otherwise, the Dynamos finish fourth.
Home games – The top two teams in each conference will host in the first round. Neshannock, Shenango, North Catholic, Avonworth, Clairton, the Greensburg Central Catholic-Jeannette winner, Beth-Center and Frazier will host the first-round games.
Bob Gregg is sports director at WJPA Radio.