South Fayette, California should be top seeds
Washington High’s Ronnie Paith breaks the hold of Burgettstown’s Ethan Brothers during a game at Burgettstown Stadium on Friday, October 20, 2017.
Celeste Van Kirk/Observer-Reporter California’s Zion Aldrich gets pasted Carmichaels’ Nicholas Mundell during a game at California High School on Friday, October 6, 2017.
It’s that time of the year.
The weather has taken a turn for the worse as the “Icy Roads” alert has already popped up on my car’s dashboard.
That can only mean two things: snow might be coming as temperatures dip and high school football playoffs are about to be in full gear.
Thirteen local teams await their fate tonight, when the WPIAL announcing football pairings. Here is what we learned and what might happen:
1. King of the jungle – The WPIAL committee has many difficult decisions before the pairings meeting.
One of those decisions likely to be criticized, challenged and questioned, especially by those in Belle Vernon, is what team gets the No. 1 spot in Class 4A.
Even though the Leopards have an unblemished regular season and beat Thomas Jefferson to eventually win the Big Nine Conference, they will probably be seeded behind South Fayette.
Before anyone argues, let’s look at the numbers.
Belle Vernon (8-0, 9-0) defeated three teams with a winning record this season. The average margin of victory in those victories was 13 points.
South Fayette (8-0, 10-0) has won five games against such teams by a differential of 23.2 points.
What’s even more impressive is that the Lions won four of those five games on the road.
Belle Vernon’s season has been memorable and it could be a team worthy of a No. 1 ranking.
But South Fayette is more deserving.
2. Trojans eyeing top spot – The best chance California had of earning a top seed over Jeannette, despite being the only WPIAL team in any classification to eclipse 500 points, was if the Jayhawks lost to Clairton.
The Bears dominated Jeannette to help their own positioning and the Trojans.
As the only undefeated team remaining in Class A, California (10-0, 7-0) should undoubtedly be the No. 1 seed.
The Trojans have proved their worth inside and out of the Tri-County South Conference, with wins over two strong teams in Imani Christian and Rochester.
It isn’t all about the prolific running game California has established with Jelani Stafford, Jonathan Wood, Zion Aldrich and Cochise Ryan. The defense has limited opponents to an average of 7.4 points per game, the best in Class A.
3. Clicking at the right time – There might not be another team that finished outside the top two in their conference that has as much confidence as Trinity.
Not only have the Hillers played the equivalent of playoff games the past three weeks, they’ve scored 145 points in those wins.
Trinity is the second highest scoring team (37.4 points per game) in Class 4A, behind only Thomas Jefferson.
The Hillers have won six of their last seven games to earn their first postseason berth since 2012. Their third-place finish in the Big Nine Conference will probably put them somewhere in the middle of the pack in the pairings.
4. Same story, different ending – No one can deny the success of Washington in the regular season.
The Prexies have won 38 straight regular-season games over the last four years.
That success hasn’t translated to playoff victories.
This might be the year that changes.
Washington (7-0, 9-0) hasn’t been challenged in conference play, pulling away from Charleroi, Burgettstown and Beth-Center in the second half.
One thing the Prexies will have to improve on is how they start games. They only led Charleroi and Burgettstown by one touchdown at halftime, and Beth-Center had a lead in the second quarter before falling apart Friday night.
5. Enjoy the experience – Playoffs haven’t been a word associated with the West Greene varsity football program for a long time.
I wasn’t even 1-year old when the Pioneers last made the playoffs, in 1993.
The last time Charleroi was playoff eligible was in 2004, when it was bounced in the first round by South Side Beaver.
For these two teams, along with others that haven’t been accustomed to November football, enjoy it.
You don’t know when it will happen again.