WPIAL 2020 Week 6 Games of the Week and Playoff Scenarios

The penultimate week of the WPIAL regular season is here. With only two games remaining in the regular season, the playoffs are rapidly approaching. The big news this week was that the WPIAL clarified the playoff qualification procedures. In 6A, only 4 teams will make the playoffs. In the other five classifications, 8 teams will make the playoffs. In 2A, only the conference champions are guaranteed a playoff spot and the WPIAL Steering Committee will select the four “Wild Card” teams. In 1A, 3A, 4A, and 5A (where there are three conferences) the top two teams in each conference will make the playoffs with the Steering Committee selecting the two wild cards. The caveat is that if COVID cancellations made the normal ordering of the standings difficult, the Steering Committee could decide which teams qualify for the playoffs.

Last week saw two big upsets with Mt. Lebanon coming from behind to beat Central Catholic and Fort Cherry upsetting Rochester. Fort Cherry had lost 21 straight games before beating Northgate in Week 4. The Rangers then came out and topped undefeated Rochester 21-19 last week. We had the opportunity to interview Fort Cherry head coach Tanner Garry this week on the WPIAL Blitz Show. This year, our WPIAL coverage is sponsored by the Small Player Big Play App, which provides schools the opportunity to fundraise by live-streaming their games and events. Check out their Twitter page and get the app for free on Apple or Android devices.

I’m happy to once again be doing a guest spot on the WMBS pregame show. They’ll have three games this weekend starting Thursday night with Albert Gallatin against Carrick. On Friday night they’ll have Laurel Highlands against McKeesport and Saturday the Tri-County South showdown between California and Carmichaels. All three games will be broadcast over the air and as a video stream on their Facebook Page. Albert Gallatin and Carrick both are playing independent schedules after opting to leave the WPIAL and City League last season. Laurel Highlands has one of the best sophomores in the WPIAL in Rodney Gallagher and takes on a McKeesport team looking to stay in the playoff conversation. The California-Carmichaels game is previewed below. I’ll have spots on the Sprowls Insurance Group Pregame Show, which you can listen to, starting at 6pm each night before the games.

Follow our new WPIAL Twitter account @WPIAL_Blitz where we will be tweeting score updates and other information throughout the night. After the weekend’s games are over, check out our WPIAL Standings Page.

Class 6A

Game of the WeekBaldwin (1-1, 2-1) at Seneca Valley (3-1, 3-1)

Saturday at Noon

Baldwin had a number of games cancelled early in the season and this will be their third conference game. After losing to Norwin, the Fighting Highlanders bounced back to beat Hempfield last week. Baldwin needs a victory over a playoff contender to get themselves into the conversation for a postseason berth. Seneca Valley currently sits in second place in 6A with their only loss coming to Central Catholic. With three teams currently sitting on 2 losses (Central Catholic, Canon-McMillan, and Mt. Lebanon) these one-loss teams will be battling for their playoff lives. Baldwin’s offensive attack has thrived around their passing game. Colton Brain has thrown for 646 yards and 6 TDs, including a 200-yard 3-TD performance last week against Hempfield. His top targets have been Connor Lavelle (244 yards, 3 TDs), CJ Robbins (166 yards, 2 TDs) and CJ Lucas (119 yards, 1 TD). On the ground, the Fighting Highlanders utilize the duo of Luke Loeffer (206 yards, 1 TD) and Kam Allen (137 yards, 2 TDs). Seneca Valley has had to battle through injuries to key players but the backups have performed well. With leading rusher Ethan West (328 yards, 3 TDs) sidelined last week, Nolan Dworek stepped up big time, running for 90 yards and adding 80 more receving yards. On the season Dworek has 370 yards of total offense and has scored twice. Brian Olan took over at quarterback for Dustin Horn (344 yards, 4 TDs) and threw for 267 yards and 2 TDs. The backups carried Seneca Valley to victory against Canon-McMillan and will have to do it again this week to keep the Raiders in the playoff hunt.

Livestreams:

Canon-McMillan at North Allegheny on the North Allegheny Sports Network
Norwin at Mt. Lebanon on Mt. Lebanon’s Website

Postponed: Hempfield at Central Catholic

Playoff Scenarios

North Allegheny clinches at least a share of the conference title with a win over Canon-McMillan
North Allegheny clinches the conference title outright with a win over Canon-McMillan AND a Seneca Valley loss to Baldwin

Class 5A

Games of the Week

Moon (1-2, 3-2) at Upper St Clair (2-1, 3-2)

Livestream on BoxCast

With Peters Twp sitting atop the Allegheny Six Conference, the second-place spot will be a battle. Both teams have lost to Peters Twp and Moon has a loss to South Fayette who Upper St Clair faces next week. Moon won the conference title last year but needs a win here to stay in the playoff conversation while USC is trying to set up a showdown with South Fayette for the 2nd place spot next week. Moon’s offense has primarily come through their passing game with QB Tyler McGowan throwing for 682 yards and 2 TDs via the connection to top receiver Dawson Snyder (247 yards). Leading rusher Jeremiah Dean (233 yards, 2 TDs) and Dylan Sleva (124 yards, 2 TDs) have split the workload in the backfield. Upper St Clair has one of the top dual-threat quarterbacks in the WPIAL in Ethan Dahlem who has thrown for 911 yards and 4 TDs and rushed for 286 yards and 2 scores. David Pantelis (230 yards, 3 TDs) led the WPIAL in receiving yardage last season and has been aided on the outside by the emergence of Mateo Cepulio (215 yards) and Aidan Besselman (173 yards, 1 TD). Pantelis had his best game of 2020 last week with 140 yards and 2 TDs. The Panthers have had a strong ground game this season with the combination of Dahlem, Ethan Hiester (304 yards, 5 TDs) and Jamaal Brown (207 yards, 4 TDs).

North Hills (2-1, 2-3) at Pine-Richland (3-0, 4-0)

Livestream on GTXStreams

Pine-Richland has cruised to the top of the Northeast Conference standings in their first season in 5A. North Hills is sitting in a 3-way tie with Fox Chapel and Penn Hills in the middle of the conference. Coming off a close loss to Penn Hills, North Hills needs a statement victory to assert their case for the playoffs. The Indians rely heavily on their rushing attack, led by the tandem of Liam Tracey (254 yards, 1 TD) and Curtis Foskey (240 yards, 2 TDs). Robert Dickerson has emerged as an all-around star for North Hills with 297 receiving yards, 199 rushing yards and 7 total TDs. Quarterback Ethan Marker is averaging just 10 pass attempts per game but has thrown for 323 yards and 6 TDs. North Hills’ defense will be stressed against one of the best passing attacks in the WPIAL. Pine-Richland QB Cole Spencer (1054 yards, 13 TDs) is completing nearly 70% of his passes, an incredible mark for a high school quarterback. Spencer has spread the ball around as the Rams have 5 different players with over 100 receiving yards. Eli Jochem (319 yards, 4 TDs) and Alex Gochis (243 yards, 3 TDs) lead the way on the outside. Out of the backfield, the Rams have deployed a trio of backs in Tristen Taylor (198 yards, 2 TDs), Jordan Burns (179 yards), and Caden Schweiger (146 yards, 2 TDs). Pine-Richland is the second highest-scoring team in 5A, averaging 48 points per game while North Hills has the second-best defense in the conference, allowing just 18 points per game.

Fox Chapel (2-1, 2-3) at Penn Hills (2-1, 2-3)

Livestream on TribLive HSSN

This is a big game in determining the Northeast Conference playoff race. Penn Hills got a 14-7 win over North Hills last week while Fox Chapel fought off a tough Kiski comeback to get their second win. Fox Chapel still has a game remaining against Pine-Richland, making both of these teams mathematically still in the hunt for the postseason. Fox Chapel has reached this point thanks to their passing attack. Justin Rice (650 yards, 8 TDs) started the season at quarterback before Collin Dietz stepped in last week and threw for 270 yards and 4 TDs against Kiski. Lorenzo Jenkins (383 yards, 7 TDs) and Khi’lee Patterson (188 yards, 2 TDs) have been the Foxes top receivers. Benjamin Wilk (175 yards, 2 TDs) and Colin Kwiatkowski (173 yards, 2 TDs) have also been factors in the passing game while Zidane Thomas (202 yards) leads the Foxes rushing attack. Penn Hills has turned to freshman quarterback Julian Dugger this season and he has thrown for 567 yards and 3 TDs. Dugger has had the benefit of throwing to Akron-commit Noel Roach (196 yards, 2 TDs). On the ground, the Indians have used the tandem of Derrick Topeck (235 yards, 3 TDs) and Dontae Pollard (220 yards, 2 TDs). Penn Hills’s offense is averaging just 12 points per game while Fox Chapel has given up 35 per contest, which should make for an interesting matchup.

Gateway (1-0, 2-0) at Woodland Hills (2-1, 4-1)

SATURDAY

Gateway has missed three consecutive games after a COVID case cancelled their games against Pine-Richland and Latrobe then a case at Penn-Trafford cancelled their rivalry showdown last week. Woodland Hills’ only setback this season was against Penn-Trafford. Gateway needs this victory to solidify their playoff case while Woody High is sitting in third place in the Big East and coming off a thumping of Franklin Regional. Gateway boasts the best player in the entire state in Derrick Davis who is being recruited as a safety by every major college program but is also an excellent running back with 278 yards and 5 TDs in just two games. Gateway has one of the best receiving tandems in 5A with Chamor Price (204 yards, 4 TDs) and Patrick Body (196 yards, 3 TDs). This has boosted Carsen Engleka’s to an impressive 512 passing yards and 9 TDs through just two outings. Woodland Hills has been led by dual-threat QB Deontae WIlliams who has thrown for 683 yards and 10 TDs and run for 297 yards and 3 TDs. Eris Seibles (294 yards, 3 TDs) has shared the workload out of the backfield with Williams. On the outside, Williams’ favorite targets have been T’Rek Scipio (220 yards, 3 TDs) and Armani Bailey (190 yards, 2 TDs).