The WPIAL 2A semifinals will be played on Friday night at neutral sites (Peters Twp and Dormont Stadium). The 2A champion will be crowned at Acrisure Stadium on November 22 and enter the State brackets the following week in the semifinals. The WPIAL Champion will face either the District 6 Champion or the winner of Farrell-Karns City. While the quarterfinal games finished as blowouts, it is noteworthy that the top four defensive teams in the classification all reached the semifinals. These teams are very familiar with each other as Seton LaSalle and Washington are conference foes who played in Week 9 and this will be the third straight year Steel Valley will play Western Beaver in the playoffs.
Check out this week’s edition of the WPIAL Blitz Show where we broke down all of the playoff matchups!
1. Seton LaSalle (10-1) vs 5. Washington (10-2)
at Peters Twp
Seton LaSalle is the top seed in 2A for the second straight year. The Rebels fell to South Park in the Championship Game last year. Washington put together a strong season, their only losses to Steel Valley in Week 1 and Seton LaSalle in Week 9. Seton won the Week 9 showdown for the conference title 27-14. The Rebels are a run-heavy outfit led by Kymarr Freeman (1473 yards, 23 TDs) who ran for 150 yards and 2 TDs against Mohawk. Kia Jones Jr took over the quarterback role in the middle of the season, throwing for 920 yards and 9 TDs and running for 440 yards and 5 scores. In addition to Freeman and Jones, Deondre Hill has run for 491 yards and 5 TDs. Seton’s leading receiver is Matthew Brodzinski (361 yards, 3 TDs). The Rebels defense is led by two FCS commits at outside linebacker – Monmouth-commit Aaron Lorittis and Duquesne-commit Will Martin. Lorittis was on the receiving end of two TD passes from Jones (the first for 85 yards!) in the opening round. Washington’s offense runs through senior Tristan Reed (1274 passing yards, 11 TDs; 495 rushing yards, 16 TDs). Reed had two passing and two rushing touchdowns in the opening round then a rushing TD and a pick-six last week. Washington has the stingiest defense in 2A, holding opponents to just 9.2 points per game and had two pick-sixes last week. The Prexies have surrounded Reed with a talented group of playmakers including junior RB Jamarie Walker (449 yards, 8 TDs) and senior RB Jahvon Woods (437 yards, 10 TDs) who ran for 121 yards against South Allegheny. Sophomore sensation Ameer Nelson is used all over the offense and has run for 333 yards, added 377 receiving yards, and scored 6 TDs.
2. Western Beaver (10-1) vs 3. Steel Valley (8-3)
at Dormont Stadium
For the third straight season, Steel Valley and Western Beaver are facing off in the playoffs. The last two years Steel Valley has knocked out Western Beaver in the quarterfinals. This is a game between two run-heavy teams that will be decided in the trenches and by the big-play backs in the backfield. Western Beaver won the Midwestern Conference title, their first outright conference crown since 2007. The Golden Beavers only hiccup was a 40-20 upset by Mohawk when they were without their star rusher Wyatt Sparbanie. Western Beaver averages over 36 points per game (4th in 2A) and has two 1000-yard rushers. Lead back Wyatt Sparbanie (1373 yards, 28 TDs) is the focal point of the offense. Dual-threat freshman QB Amari Marshall has thrown for 761 yards and 6 TDs and run for 1188 yards and 11 scores. Both Sparbanie and Marshall have averaged over 12.5 yards per carry this season, a credit to the dudes up front in the trenches for the Golden Beavers. Their ground game has been so good that Marshall has only attempted about 8 passes per game, but when he does take to the air he primarily targets Avon Pressley (366 yards, 5 TDs). Both Marshall and Sparbanie ran for over 100 yards and multiple TDs against Apollo-Ridge in the quarterfinals. Steel Valley won the three-way tie atop the Allegheny Conference to earn a first round bye. The Ironmen started the season with losses to Westinghouse and Bishop Canevin before righting the ship in conference play with their only loss coming against Apollo-Ridge. Steel Valley’s run-heavy offense has been borne by the legs of Pitt-commit Da’Ron Barksdale (1718 yards, 29 TDs). Barksdale started the season at quarterback but shifted to just the running back role as Tyson Barron (524 yards, 6 TDs) stepped in behind center. The Ironmen ground game has been so dominant that Barron only averages about 8 pass attempts per game, primarily targeting Tyrell Breland (433 yards, 3 TDs). In the quarterfinals against Ellwood City, Barksdale put on a show, running for 213 yards and 5 TDs and throwing a 33-yard pass.
