The 2025 WPIAL Playoffs will open on Halloween night in Western Pennsylvania. In 5A, 12 teams made the playoffs with the top four earning byes. The champion will be crowned at Acrisure Stadium on November 22 and enter the State brackets the following week in the semifinals. The top four teams in the 5A bracket received first round byes. Defending Champion Pine-Richland is the top seed. Peters Twp, who has reached the finals the last two seasons, is the #2 seed. Big East Champion Woodland Hills is the #3 seed and Penn-Trafford received the fourth bye after a 9-1 season and head-to-head win over Moon. Here is a look at the four opening round games in the 5A playoffs.
You can also check out this week’s edition of the WPIAL Blitz Show where we broke down the playoff qualifiers in all six classifications!
8. Shaler (3-7) vs 9. Kiski (4-6)
This game will produce one of the best stories of the opening weekend. Kiski has the second-longest playoff victory drought in the WPIAL, having not won a playoff game since 1990. On the other side, it has been over 15 years since Shaler’s last playoff victory in 2009. On paper these teams are relatively evenly matched, both scoring under 20 points per game but giving up over 25 per game. Shaler’s offense relies heavily on dual-threat QB Aaron Aversa (947 passing yards, 9 TDs; 77 rushing yards 5 TDs). Complementing Aversa out of the backfield is Avery Kinter who has run for 431 yards and 3 TDs. The future is bright for Kiski’s offense after sophomore QB Landyn Artman threw for 1333 yards and 14 TDs this season. The Cavaliers will do everything they can to get the ball into the hands of senior Aven Shirley who leads the team in rushing (269 yards), receiving (471 yards), and scoring (7 total TDs).
4. Moon (7-3) vs 12. Armstrong (4-6)
Moon missed out on a first round bye due to a 1-point loss to Penn-Trafford early in the season. The Tigers will get a shot at revenge in the quarterfinals if they can get past Armstrong who was the last team in the playoff field. The Riverhawks head-to-head win over Gateway gave them the edge in the tiebreaker for the 4th place spot in the Big East Conference. Moon has a balanced offensive attack with dual-threat quarterback Andrew Cross at the helm. Cross threw for 910 yards and 10 TDs and ran for 359 yards and 4 TDs). Moon has 4 receivers with over 100 yards, led by Savario Vandetti (355 yards, 5 TDs). The Tigers have one of the best pass rushers in the WPIAL in Daiveon Taylor who is on pace to break the state sack record. They will also use Taylor as a short-yardage back and their fourth quarter finisher to close out games. Armstrong’s offense is built around their passing attack and QB Jaydon Oliver who threw for 1457 yards and 8 TDs and added 426 yards and 5 TDs on the ground. Oliver’s has spread the ball around to four different receivers who all have over 250 yards with Quinton Olsen (898 yards, 8 TDs) leading the way. When the Riverhawks run the ball, Costa Couknas (626 yards 7 TDs) is the lead back.
7. Bethel Park (6-4) vs 10. North Hills (3-7)
Bethel Park has reached the semifinals in 2 of the last 3 years while North Hills has not won a playoff game since 2010. Bethel Park has a high-flying, balanced offense that averaged over 36 points per game. The Black Hawks have a balanced attack led by senior QB Evan Devine (1878 yards, 21 TDs). Bethel Park also has a star at running back in David Dennison who has run for 1421 yards, added 346 receiving yards, and scored 22 times. On the outside, Santino Nowozeniuk (631 yards, 6 TDs) has been Devine’s favorite target. North Hills made a change at quarterback two weeks ago inserting Austin Ellis (346 yards, 4 TDs) and it resulted in a win over Penn Hills and their second-highest point total of the season against Central Valley. Ellis took over for Kelly McCarthy (661 yards, 9 TDs) who may also see action in this game. The Indians have a quality back in Johnell Edison (625 yards, 5 TDs) who averages nearly 7 yards per carry.
6. Upper St Clair (8-2) vs 11. Plum (5-5)
Upper St Clair has made the playoffs in 25 of the last 26 years and was two narrow losses away from a conference title. They lost to Peters Twp 24-20 in one of the best games of the season and fell to Moon in double overtime, dropping the Panthers to third in the conference. The Panthers have one of the most explosive offenses in 5A, averaging over 40 points per game, led by the big arm of Ethan Hellmann (2199 yards, 30 TDs). Hellmann has a pair of talented receivers in Nico D’Orazio (617 yards, 11 TDs) and Bryce Jones (506 yards, 4 TDs) who have created matchup problems for opposing secondaries all season. When the Panthers keep it on the ground, Dante Coury (617 yards, 10 TDs) has been the feature back. lum is riding high after a Week 9 victory over Penn Hills where their game-winning field goal attempt was blocked but the kicker picked it up and was rugby-scrummed into the end zone by his offensive line for a touchdown as time expired. Plum has a balanced offensive attack led by junior QB John Nonnenberg (1313 yards, 12 TDs). The Mustangs use a two-back approach with Elijah Jackson *558 yards, 5 TDs) and CJ Hart (520 yards yards, 7 TDs) sharing the workload in the running game.
