Home WPIAL WPIAL Week 8 Playoff Scenarios

WPIAL Week 8 Playoff Scenarios

by Ian

With just two weeks to go in the WPIAL football season, there are a number of scenarios in play for teams to qualify for the postseason. This week, I decided to break up my traditional “Games of the Week” post into two post – this one detailing all of the playoff scenarios and a second post coming tomorrow highlighting the Games of the Week.

The WPIAL playoff structure is different for each classification. There are 8 playoff spots in 6A, 5A, 4A, and 3A and 16 playoff spots in 2A and 1A. Playoff spots are earned based on the place of finish within a team’s respective conference. The conference standings are first and foremost determined by Conference Record, Head-to-Head, Gardner Points, and WPIAL Tiebreaker Points tiebreakers. Gardner Points are essentially “strength of victory” points and WPIAL Tiebreaker Points are “margin of victory” points.

The current standings for all 6 classifications can be found here.

6A Playoff Scenarios

In 6A there are two conferences and the 8 playoff spots are filled by the top 4 teams from each conference.  The top two teams from each conference are awarded home playoff games in the first round.

Northern Seven Conference

  • Pine-Richland, Central Catholic, North Allegheny, and Penn Hills have clinched the four playoff spots
  • Pine-Richland clinches a home playoff game with a win over Butler

Southeastern Conference

  • Mt. Lebanon and Bethel Park have clinched playoff spots
  • Mt. Lebanon has clinched a home playoff game
  • Bethel Park clinches a home playoff game with a win over Altoona
  • Peters Twp clinches a playoff spot with a win over Canon-McMillan OR a loss by less than 7
  • Norwin plays a non-conference game but can clinch a playoff spot with a Canon-McMillan loss
  • If Canon-McMillan beats Peters Twp by more than 7, the last two playoff spots will be decided by next week’s Norwin-Hempfield game.

5A Playoff Scenarios

In 5A there are two conferences and the 8 playoff spots are filled by the top 4 teams from each conference.  The top two teams from each conference are awarded home playoff games in the first round.

Allegheny Nine Conference

  • Upper St Clair, West Allegheny, and Woodland Hills have clinched playoff spots
  • Upper St Clair clinches the conference title with a win over Hampton AND a Woodland Hills loss
  • Upper St Clair clinches a home playoff game with a win over Hampton
  • The winner of West Allegheny-Woodland Hills clinches a home playoff game
  • Fox Chapel clinches a playoff spot with a win over Chartiers Valley
  • If Fox Chapel loses, North Hills remains in the hunt for a playoff spot.

Big East Conference

  • Penn-Trafford, McKeesport, Gateway, and Franklin Regional have clinched the four playoff spots
  • Penn-Trafford clinches the conferece title with a win over Kiski AND a McKeesport loss
  • Penn-Trafford clinches a home playoff game with a win over Kiski and a Gateway loss

4A Playoff Scenarios

In 4A there are two conferences and the 8 playoff spots are filled by the top 4 teams from each conference.  The top two teams from each conference are awarded home playoff games in the first round.

Northwest Nine Conference

  • South Fayette, Montour, and New Castle have clinched playoff spots
  • South Fayette clinches a home playoff game with a win over Highlands
  • Montour clinches a home playoff game with a win over Blackhawk AND a Mars loss
  • Mars clinches a playoff spot with a win over Indiana OR losses by Highlands and Knoch
  • If Mars loses to Indiana, Highlands and Knoch can stay alive in the playoff race with wins

Big Nine Conference

  • Belle Vernon and Thomas Jefferson have clinched playoff spots
  • Belle Vernon has clinched the Conference Title
  • Thomas Jefferson clinches a home playoff game with a win over Laurel Highlands AND a West Mifflin loss
  • West Mifflin clinches a playoff spot with a win over Belle Vernon OR a Laurel Highlands loss
  • Greensburg Salem clinches a playoff spot with a win over Trinity
  • If Trinity beats Greensburg Salem, Trinity and Ringgold remain alive in the playoff race
  • Laurel Highlands needs a win over Thomas Jefferson and a West Mifflin loss to remain alive in the playoff race

3A Playoff Scenarios

In 3A, there are 3 conferences and the 8 playoff spots are filled by the top 2 teams from each conference along with 2 Wild Card teams. The Wild Card teams are the two best third place teams. Only third place teams are eligible for the Wild Card. The 3 conference champions and one second-place team get home games in the first round of the playoffs. 3A Wild Card Standings can be found here.

Beaver Valley Conference

  • Quaker Valley has clinched a playoff spot
  • Aliquippa clinches a the Conference Title (and a home playoff game) with a win over Central Valley
  • Beaver plays a non-conference game that counts towards the Wild Card standings. Beaver can not finish in the Top 2 but is alive in the Wild Card race
  • Central Valley needs to beat Aliquippa to stay alive in the playoff race

Allegheny Conference

  • Seton La Salle has clinched a playoff spot
  • Seton La Salle plays a non-conference game but clinches the Conference Title if Keystone Oaks loses
  • Freeport clinches a playoff spot with a win over Keystone Oaks
  • Keystone Oaks does not clinch a playoff spot with a win because of their head-to-head loss to Shady Side Academy
  • The loser of Freeport-Keystone Oaks and Shady Side Academy are still alive in the Wild Card race

Interstate Conference

  • Elizabeth Forward has clinched a playoff spot
  • Elizabeth Forward clinches the Conference Title with a win over South Park
  • Derry, South Park, and McGuffey are alive in the playoff race and the Wild Card race, which will come down to Week 9

2A Playoff Scenarios

In 2A there are 3 conferences and the 16 playoff spots are comprised of the top 5 teams from each conference plus one 1 Wild Card team. The Wild Card team is the top sixth place team. The top 2 teams from each conference plus two third place teams receive home games in the first round of the playoffs. The 2A Wild Card Standings can be found here.

Century Conference

  • Washington, Burgettstown, Charleroi, and Beth-Center have clinched playoff spots
  • Washington clinches the Conference Title with a win over Burgettstown AND a Beth-Center loss
  • Burgettstown clinches the Conference Title with a win over Washington AND a Charleroi loss
  • The winner of Washington-Burgettstown clinches a home playoff game
  • The winner of Bentworth-Frazier clinches a playoff spot
  • The loser of Bentworth-Frazier will still be alive in the Wild Card race

Midwestern Conference

  • CWNC, Riverside, Mohawk, Freedom and Neshannock have clinched playoff spots
  • CWNC clinches the Conference Title with a win over South Side Beaver
  • Riverside has clinched a home playoff game
  • Laurel, South Side Beaver, and New Brighton can not earn a conference playoff spot but are still alive in the Wild Card race

Three Rivers Conference

  • Steel Valley, East Allegheny, Serra Catholic, and Brentwood have clinched playoff spots
  • Steel Valley clinches the Conference Title with a win over Serra Catholic
  • The winner of South Allegheny-Avonworth clinches a playoff spot
  • The loser of South Allegheny-Avonworth will still be alive in the Wild Card race

1A Playoff Scenarios

In 1A there are 3 conferences and the 16 playoff spots are comprised of the top 5 teams from each conference plus one 1 Wild Card team. The Wild Card team is the top sixth place team. The top 2 teams from each conference plus two third place teams receive home games in the first round of the playoffs. The 2A Wild Card Standings can be found here.

Big Seven Conference

  • OLSH, Rochester, Western Beaver, and Union have clinched playoff spots
  • OLSH clinches their first Conference Title in school history with a win over Shenango AND a Rochester loss
  • OLSH clinches a home playoff game with a win over Shenango
  • Shenango clinches a playoff spot with a win over OLSH OR if both Northgate and Sto-Rox lose
  • The winner of Northgate-Summit Academy will stay alive in the Wild Card race
  • Sto-Rox stays alive in the Wild Card race with a win over Cornell

Eastern Conference

  • Jeannette, Imani Christian, and Clairton have clinched playoff spots
  • Jeannette plays a non-conference game but clinches the Conference Title if Clairton loses
  • Springdale clinches a playoff spot with a win over Imani Christian OR with a Bishop Canevin loss
  • GCC clinches a playoff spot with a win over Bishop Canevin
  • Bishop Canevin clinches a playoff spot with a win over GCC AND a Springdale win
  • The loser of Bishop Canevin-GCC will stay alive in the Wild Card race

Tri-County South Conference

  • California, Carmichaels, Fort Cherry, and West Greene have clinched playoff spots
  • California clinches the Conference Title with a win over Jefferson-Morgan
  • The winner of Carmichaels-Fort Cherry will clinch a home playoff game
  • Jefferson-Morgan clinches a playoff spot with a win over California AND a Monessen loss

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1 comment

WPIAL 2017 Week 8 Games of the Week - Steel City Blitz October 20, 2017 - 12:52 pm

[…] the 64 playoff spots have been clinched. I detailed all of the playoff scenarios in play this week in a separate post. There are so many important games this week in the playoff races in all six classifications, that […]

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