The 2017 WPIAL season began last week with “Week 0” games. Those non-mandatory games counted for the overall record of teams that played but had no impact on playoff races or standings. This week, things kick into full gear and a number of Week 1 games will have significant playoff implications. A number of teams enter the season carrying long streaks and looking to either continue or change their narratives.
There were no repeat state champions from the WPIAL last season so the longest overall winning streaks belong to Steel Valley (15 games) and Beaver Falls (13 games). The longest winning streaks against WPIAL competition belong to Clairton (39 games), Thomas Jefferson (23 games), and Central Catholic (22 games). In the regular season, three teams have been absolutely dominant against conference opponents. South Fayette has the longest current winning streak in conference games at 42 in a row, dating back to 2011. Clairton (28 games) and Washington (24 games) both have not lost a regular season game to a conference opponent since 2013. The longest playoff streaks belongs to Aliquippa and Thomas Jefferson who have made 22 consecutive postseason appearances. Woodland Hills is close behind them with 21 consecutive playoff berths.
On the flip side are teams looking to change their trends. Albert Gallatin won a game last year that broke a 31-game losing streak, the longest in the WPIAL. Entering 2017, Shaler and Waynesburg hold the longest active losing streaks at 13 games. Against conference competition, Mohawk currently holds the longest losing streak at 16 games, dating back to 2014. Last year, Imani Christian and OLSH made the first playoff appearances in school history. With Vincentian’s program folding, every school competing this year has made at least one playoff appearance in their history. The longest streak without a postseason appearance belongs to Southmoreland at 37 years. The 1979 playoff berth was the only time the Scotties have made the playoffs in school history. Other teams with a long wait have been Leechburg (1988, 28 years) and West Greene (1993, 23 years).
Earlier this week, we had a special edition of the Steel City Blitz Podcast to preview the WPIAL season. Additionally, I got together with five of the top WPIAL minds to give our season predictions.
As a reminder, if you’re going to be following along with the WPIAL action tonight, keep an eye on the following hashtags on Twitter where people post score updates from games: #WPIAL #MSAscores #Skylights. I”ll also be posting score updates and commentary from my Twitter account @thesteelersnat.
6A Game of the Week
5A Game of the Week
4A Game of the Week
3A Game of the Week
Saturday