The official WPIAL playoff brackets will be released on Monday night during the official WPIAL selection show. The show will be broadcast over the airwaves on the TribLive High School Sports Network and also carried by our friends at WMBS in Uniontown. This year, 62 teams made the playoffs. Here are my WPIAL playoff bracket projections.

Class 6A

6A is the easiest bracket to project as six teams from the one conference make the playoffs and are seeded in the order that they finished in the final standings.

Projected Seeds

1. Central Catholic (7-1, 9-1) – Central Catholic won the three-way tiebreaker with Pine-Richland and North Allegheny for the top spot in 6A. The Vikings will get a first round bye.
2. Pine-Richland (7-1, 9-1) – Pine-Richland defeated North Allegheny in Week 9 to clinch a share of the 6A title and earn a first round bye for the second straight year. The Rams are the two-time defending WPIAL Champions.
3. North Allegheny (7-1, 9-1) – North Allegheny’s first conference loss since 2017 came in Week 9 against rival Pine-Richland.
4. Mt. Lebanon (5-3, 6-4) – The Blue Devils under Bob Palko finished 4th and will face Seneca Valley in the first round.
5. Seneca Valley (4-4, 4-6) – Seneca Valley reached the WPIAL Championship game last season from the #5 seed. They did have a narrow loss to Mt. Lebanon earlier this year.
6. Canon-McMillan (3-5, 3-7) – Canon-Mac made the playoffs for the second straight year. Last year was the Big Macs first playoff berth since 2008.

Projected Bracket

1. Central Catholic (bye)
4. Mt. Lebanon vs 5. Seneca Valley

2. Pine-Richland (bye)
3. North Allegheny vs 6. Canon-McMillan

Class 5A

Projected Seeds

1. Penn-Trafford (6-0, 9-1) – Penn-Trafford rolled through WPIAL play this year, with all 9 of their wins coming by at least 21 points. Their only loss came against Massillion (OH) who they scheduled after Albert Gallatin left the WPIAL. Penn-Trafford has been more dominant than Northern Conference Champion Penn Hills, which gives the Warriors the edge for the top spot.
2. Penn Hills (7-0, 9-1) – The Indians have not lost to a 5A team since moving down from 6A last year. Penn Hills’ only loss came in Week 0 against defending 6A Champion Pine-Richland, which should not be held against them.
3. Gateway (5-1, 8-2) – Like Penn-Trafford, Gateway also lost to the Massillion (OH) team this year. The Gators only WPIAL defeat this year was by Penn-Trafford in Week 1. Since then Gateway scored at least 31 points against every WPIAL opponent and allowed just 21 total points in 7 games. 
4. Moon (6-1, 8-2) – Moon won their first conference title since 2003. The Tigers losses came to Pine-Richland and in overtime against Bethel Park.
5. Peters Twp (6-1, 9-1) – Peters Twp’s only loss came in Week 6 against Moon. The Indians shared the Conference Title with Moon, though because they lost head-to-head technically finished second. The WPIAL has seeded teams that shared conference titles consecutively before (sometimes ignoring “proper standings order”).
6.  McKeesport (4-2, 7-3) – The Tigers triple-option offense was explosive all season.
7. Bethel Park (5-2, 6-3) – The Black Hawks beat conference champion Moon and earned a home playoff game by beating Upper St Clair by a point in Week 9.
8. North Hills (5-2, 6-4) – The Indians lost to Penn Hills in a game for the Northern Conference Title in Week 9 but also lost to Mars, Peters Twp and Gateway, giving them the worst record of the teams in the top half.
9. Upper St. Clair (4-3, 6-4) – The Cardiac Cats played 8 of their 10 games this season within 2 scores. The Panthers just missed a home playoff game on a failed two-point conversion against Bethel Park, losing by just one point.
10. Kiski Area (4-3, 5-5) – Kiski rebounded from a 1-3 start in conference play to win their last 3 games, including a 10-7 victory over Mars which landed the Cavaliers in 3rd place.
11. Baldwin (4-3, 5-5) – Baldwin made the playoffs for the first time since 2013 and had a big overtime victory over rival Bethel Park.
12. Mars (4-3, 6-4) – The Fighting Planets lost 2 of their last 3 games, a 2-point loss to Fox Chapel and a 3-point loss to Kiski. Mars has a dominant rushing attack for much of the season.
13. Franklin Regional (3-3, 4-4) – Franklin Regional lost a non-conference game against Shaler but get seeded ahead of the Titans so that they don’t play conference opponent Gateway.
14. Shaler (3-4, 4-6) – As one of two teams in the 5A playoffs with a losing record overall, it’s arguable that Shaler should be one of the bottom seeds, but since they can’t play conference opponent Penn Hills in the first round, the Titans get slotted ahead of Latrobe.
15. Latrobe (2-4, 5-5) – For the second straight season Latrobe draws Penn Hills in the first round.
16. Fox Chapel (3-4, 4-6) – The Foxes earned the 5A Wild Card after winning 4 of their last 6 games. 

Projected Bracket

1. Penn-Trafford vs 16. Fox Chapel
8. North Hills vs 9. Upper St Clair
4. Moon vs 13. Franklin Regional
5. Peters Twp vs 12. Mars

2. Penn Hills vs 15. Latrobe
7. Bethel Park vs 10. Kiski
3. Gateway vs 14. Shaler
6. McKeesport vs 11. Baldwin

Class 4A

Projected Seeds

1. Thomas Jefferson (7-0, 10-0) – TJ was one of just four teams to finish the WPIAL regular season undefeated. South Fayette is the defending champions, but TJ was much more dominant.
2. South Fayette – The defending 4A Champions won their 8th straight conference title.
3. Belle Vernon (6-1, 8-1) – The Leopards’ only loss came against Thomas Jefferson and they should be able to give South Fayette a challenge in the semifinals.
4. Blackhawk (5-2, 6-4) – The Cougars rebounded from a 1-point loss to Knoch to finish in second place in the Northwest Eight Conference for the second straight year.
5. New Castle (4-3, 6-4) – The bottom half of the bracket depends on whether or not the WPIAL opts for conference re-matches. For the second straight year, New Castle won a 3-way tie with Montour and Knoch.
6. Montour (4-3, 5-5) – All 5 of Montour’s losses have come by 8 points or fewer.
7. Greensburg Salem (5-2, 5-5) – The Lions are making their second straight playoff appearance and beat West Mifflin to finish third in the conference.
8. West Mifflin (4-3, 5-5) – The Titans limped into the playoffs after a number of players were suspended for their season finale against rival Thomas Jefferson.

Projected Bracket

1. Thomas Jefferson vs 8. West Mifflin
4. Blackhawk vs 5. New Castle

2. South Fayette vs 7. Greensburg Salem
3. Belle Vernon vs 6. Montour

Class 3A

Projected Seeds

1. Central Valley (7-0, 9-1) – After handing Aliquippa their worst loss ever at The Pit, Central Valley is hands down the top seed in 3A as the Warriors also have a non-conference win over North Catholic.
2. North Catholic (8-0, 8-1) – North Catholic played Central Valley closer, and thus gets a slight edge for the #2 seed. In reality, #2 vs #3 on this side of the bracket does not mean much.
3. Aliquippa (6-1, 9-1) – The Quips won the 3A State Title last year after a Week 9 loss to Central Valley and are absolutely contenders to return to Heinz Field for a 12th straight season.
4. Derry (7-1, 8-2) – The Trojans put together a solid season on a dominant rushing attack.
5. Beaver Falls (5-2, 8-2) – The Tigers only losses were against Central Valley and Aliquippa. Beaver Falls ended the year on a 5-game winning streak.
6. Elizabeth Forward (6-2, 7-2) – The Warriors’ only losses this year came to North Catholic and Derry thanks to a stout defense that gave up just 11 points per game.
7. South Park (4-3, 4-5) – The Eagles victory over Keystone Oaks was enough to solidify 4th place for South Park.
8. Mt. Pleasant (4-4, 5-5) – The Vikings rebounded from an early-season loss to Deer Lakes to get wins over Burrell and Freeport. They won a tie for 4th place with Burrell thanks to their head-to-head victory.

Projected Bracket

1. Central Valley vs 8. Mt. Pleasant
4. Derry vs 5. Beaver Falls

2. North Catholic vs 7. South Park
3. Aliquippa vs 6. Elizabeth Forward

Class 2A

Three of the four teams to finish the WPIAL regular season undefeated were in 2A. Any of the three (Washington, Avonworth, Burgettstown) could be seeded at the top of the bracket.

1. Washington (7-0, 10-0) – The Prexies were the most dominant team in 2A this season, scoring at least 42 points in every game but the season finale against McGuffey (where they scored 36).
2. Avonworth (6-0, 10-0) – The Lopes arguably have the best resume of the top group with 6 wins over playoff teams including Neshannock, McGuffey, and New Brighton in non-conference play.
3. Burgettstown (7-0, 9-0) – Burgettstown won with an old school approach of running the ball and playing defense. The Blue Devils held opponents to just 8 points per game and have the advantage of having the best kicker in the WPIAL (Seth Phillis, who has made 9 field goals).
4. McGuffey (6-1, 8-2) – McGuffey and Neshannock both lost non-conference games to Avonworth. McGuffey’s conference loss was to champion Washington while Neshannock fell to New Brighton, giving the Highlanders the edge.
5. Neshannock (6-1, 8-2) – The Lancers won the conference title after missing the playoffs last season.
6. Brentwood (6-1, 8-2) – The Spartans were a solid defensive team whose only loss to a 2A opponent was on a field goal against Burgettstown.
7. Apollo-Ridge (4-2, 7-3) – The Vikings beat Freedom in a non-conference game in Week 8, so there is no reason for them to be seeded lower than the Bulldogs.
8. Freedom (5-2, 7-3) – After a 7-0 start, Freedom dropped 3 in a row. One was to Neshannock with the Conference Title on the line and another was to Apollo-Ridge which should drop them to 8th.
9. Charleroi (5-2, 7-2) – Charleroi is the best of the bottom half. Additionally, they just played Apollo-Ridge in Week 9 so a rematch wouldn’t make much sense.
10. New Brighton (5-2, 7-3) – New Brighton took care of business at the end of the season, beating Shenango and Riverside to clinch a playoff spot.
11. Riverside (4-3, 6-3) – The Panthers bounced back from an 0-2 start to win 6 in a row and lock up a playoff spot. Their Week 3 win over Western Beaver wound up being the tiebreaker for the final spot in the Midwestern Conference.
12. East Allegheny (4-2, 7-3) – East Allegheny might be better than Riverside, but with Neshannock seeded 5th a Midwestern Conference team could not be slotted on the 12-seed line.
13. South Side Beaver (4-3, 5-5) – South Side made a run to the WPIAL final last season and gets a first round rematch against McGuffey.
14. Shady Side Academy (3-3, 5-4) – Shady Side had to forfeit a game to Apollo-Ridge this season because the Indians had too many injuries.
15. Southmoreland (4-3, 5-5) – The Scotties made the playoffs for the first time since 1979, an incredible achievement for their program.
16. Serra Catholic (4-3, 6-4)– Serra won their last 3 games to earn a playoff spot but none of their 6 wins came against playoff teams.

Projected Bracket

1. Washington vs 16. Serra Catholic
8. Freedom vs 9. Charleroi
4. McGuffey vs 13. South Side Beaver
5. Neshannock vs 12. East Allegheny

2. Avonworth vs 15. Southmoreland
7. Apollo-Ridge vs 10. New Brighton
3. Burgettstown vs 14. Shady Side Academy
6. Brentwood vs 11. Riverside

Class 1A

Projected Seeds

1. Clairton (6-0, 8-2) – Clairton’s only losses this season came against Aliquippa and McGuffey. The Bears were unbeaten against 1A opponents and have wins over West Greene and Jeannette.
2. Sto-Rox (6-1, 9-1) – The Vikings have the WPIAL’s leading passer in Eric Wilson but fell to Laurel in Week 8 to finish in a tie for the conference title.
3. Cornell (6-1, 8-1) – The Raiders only loss was by 3 points to Sto-Rox. They may rightfully be the 4-seed, but seeding them 3rd also helps get Jeannette on the opposite half of the bracket from Clairton.
4. West Greene (7-0, 9-1) – A year after needing a coin flip to win a 3-way tie fora  home game, the Pioneers became the 9th team in WPIAL history to score 500 points in a regular season thanks to the WPIAL’s leading rusher Ben Jackson.
5. OLSH (5-2, 7-3) – The defending 1A Champions rebuilt their roster and earned a Wild Card spot this year.
6. Jeannette (5-1, 9-1) – Before you get up in arms, consider this an “inverted” seed where the WPIAL views Jeannette as the “true” #3 seed and slots them against the second place team to earn a home game (Cornell) and on the opposite half of the bracket from Clairton.
7. GCC (4-2, 7-3) – How close was GCC to missing the playoffs? They earned a Wild Card by 2 Tiebreaker Points (+24 to +22 over Chartiers-Houston). A 1-point triple overtime win over Leechburg got the Centurions back to the playoffs.
8. California (6-1, 7-3) – The Trojans have battled through injuries all season but may finally be getting healthy for the playoffs.

Projected Bracket

1. Clairton vs 8. California
4. West Greene vs 5. OLSH

2. Sto-Rox vs 7. GCC
3. Cornell vs 6. Jeannette