Sorting through the WPIAL playoff possibilities
In the WPIAL, there are four parts to a season in every team sport.
First, there is the offseason, which leads to the regular season and then the postseason. The fourth season is the clinching season, which overlaps with the final two weeks of the regular season. It’s the time of year when teams try to clinch playoff berths from their section or conference and football coaches, athletic directors and fans brush up on head-to-head results, the Gardner Points System and WPIAL tiebreaker points.
We are solidly in the clinching season as the high school football regular season has two more weekends remaining while the soccer and volleyball seasons conclude this week.
Here’s a rundown of who already has clinched, who can clinch and who needs help as fall sports wind down:
Football
Who has clinched – Belle Vernon and Waynesburg in Class 3A, and Washington, Beth-Center and California in Class A. Keep in mind that there are wild-card qualifiers in Class 1A through 5A.
Class 6A – Canon-McMillan is 3-1 in the Quad County Conference and can clinch a playoff berth Friday with a win over Central Catholic (4-0) or a Mt. Lebanon (1-3) loss to North Allegheny (2-2).
Class 5A – Undefeated Upper St. Clair (3-0) is the only team in the Allegheny Six Conference that has clinched a playoff spot. The Trinity (1-2)-West Allegheny (2-1) winner Friday will have the inside track to a postseason berth. Peters Township (1-2) can still get in.
Class 4A – South Fayette (3-0) and Ringgold (3-0) can clinch playoff spots with wins Friday over Uniontown and Chartiers Valley, respectively. The Lions and Rams would then meet Oct. 30 for the outright conference title.
Class 3A – Belle Vernon (4-0) and Elizabeth Forward (4-0) are tied for the Interstate Conference lead with Waynesburg (4-1) a half-game back. Belle Vernon plays Friday at Waynesburg and Oct. 30 at EF.
Class 2A – The top three teams in the Century Conference receive automatic berths. Chartiers-Houston (3-1) is currently in third place with McGuffey (2-2) in fourth. The Highlanders host C-H on Oct. 30 with an automatic playoff berth likely to be on the line.
Class A – Fort Cherry (3-1) can clinch a playoff berth out of the Black Hills Conference Friday with a win over Brentwood and would set up a showdown at Washington Oct. 30 for the conference title. Burgettstown (3-2) is currently in third place and could need a win over Bentworth (2-2) in the regular-season finale to wrap up the final automatic spot. The Bearcats can still get in with two more wins. If Monessen (1-3) can beat Bentworth and Sto-Rox, then the Greyhounds, who have a win over Fort Cherry, should be in a good spot for a wild-card berth.
In the Tri-County South, Beth-Center (5-0) and California (5-0) are on a collision course for a showdown for the conference title at Fredericktown in the finale. If California beats Avella (4-1) on Friday, then the Eagles’ game Oct. 30 against Frazier will be for a playoff berth.
Boys soccer
Eight local teams – Peters Township and Canon-McMillan in Class 4A, Trinity, Ringgold and South Fayette in 3A, Belle Vernon in 2A, and defending WPIAL and PIAA champion Bentworth and Chartiers-Houston in Class A – have clinched postseason berths. Charleroi can clinch a berth in Class 2A with a win tonight over Waynesburg. Playoff pairings are scheduled to be released Wednesday with postseason play beginning as early as Thursday.
Girls soccer
Entering play last night, eight local teams – Canon-McMillan and Peters Township in Class 4A, defending state champion South Fayette and Belle Vernon in 3A, Waynesburg in Class 2A, and Bentworth, Chartiers-Houston and Beth-Center in Class A – have qualified for the playoffs. In Class 2A Section 1, Waynesburg, McGuffey and Keystone Oaks were tied for third place, each with 16 points. The top four spots and ties that cannot be broken advance to the postseason. McGuffey was done with its section schedule. Keystone Oaks tied Monday night against Seton LaSalle, thus eliminating McGuffey. If KO had lost, then the Highlanders would have moved on to the playoffs.
Volleyball
Peters Township, in Class 5A, and undefeated Waynesburg in 3A, have won section titles. South Fayette also has qualified in 5A.
In Class 4A, Belle Vernon has secured a postseason spot. Joining Waynesburg in the 3A field are Chartiers-Houston and McGuffey. Five local teams have secured spots in Class 2A. That list includes Fort Cherry, Washington, Bentworth, Beth-Center and California with several other local teams still in the playoff hunt.
Volleyball playoff pairings are expected to be released Friday with postseason play starting Monday.
• The Steelers need to hire a clock management coach. Any guy who lives in his mother’s basement and had Doritos dust on his shirt while watching the game Sunday would have known to run the ball at least two times at the end of regulation to make the Buccaneers use their timeouts, if no touchdown was scored. It wasn’t difficult to figure out.
Somehow, the Steelers’ coaching staff couldn’t come to that conclusion, and it almost cost Pittsburgh a win.
Maybe this simple concept wasn’t explained in the book “Coaching Football for Dummies.”
Sports editor Chris Dugan can be reached at dugan@observer-reporter.com