Friday night saw 22 games take place in the WPIAL Playoffs. In 6A it was the semifinals as the WPIAL Champion enters the state bracket in the quarterfinals. In the other five classes it was the quarterfinals as the WPIAL Champions will be state semifinalists. Here’s a look at tonight’s action and the matchups ahead next weekend.
6A Semifinals
1. Mt. Lebanon 28, 4. North Allegheny 17 – Mt. Lebanon was the highest-scoring team in 6A coming in, but their defense stole the show. Eli Heidenreich returned an interception for a touchdown and Connor Young returned a fumble for a score. Heidenreich also returned a punt for a touchdown. Mt. Lebanon will be playing in the WPIAL Championship for the first time since 2000.
2. Central Catholic 42, 3. Seneca Valley 21 – Central Catholic capitalized on some early Seneca Valley mistakes and jumped out to a 14-0 lead. Seneca Valley battled back in the second half to cut into the lead, but Central was just too much. The Vikings will be playing in their 8th Championship Game in 9 years.
6A Championship Game Matchup
1. Mt. Lebanon vs 2. Central Catholic
Saturday, November 20 7:00pm
Norwin High School
5A Quarterfinals
1. Moon 21, 9. Woodland Hills 13 – Ben Bladel scored on a rushing and receiving touchdown for the Tigers
5. Penn Hills 23, 4. Gateway 20 – Gateway came back from a 17-0 deficit to take a 20-17 lead in the 4th quarter. Penn Hills drove down the field and scored on an Amir Key direct snap that he took around the left end. Gateway drove it back down the field and had a 30-yard field goal attempt to force overtime with 2 seconds left but missed wide left and Penn Hills prevailed.
2. Penn-Trafford 42, 10. Fox Chapel 14 – Cade Yacamelli ran for 3 TDs and Carter Green ran for 2 as the Warriors dispatched the Foxes. Fox Chapel has now seen their last four playoff appearances come to an end at the hands of Penn-Trafford.
3. Pine-Richland 20, 11. Peters Twp 14 – Playing without Cole Boyd, Ryan Palmeri brought Pine-Richland back and scored the go-ahead touchdown in the fourth quarter. The Rams defense would come up with a red zone stand with under 3 minutes left to preserve the victory.
5A Semifinal Matchups
1. Moon vs 5. Penn Hills
2. Penn-Trafford vs 3. Pine-Richland
4A Quarterfinals
1. Belle Vernon 45, 9. New Castle 20 – New Castle committed four turnovers in the first half as Belle Vernon built a 35-12 lead. Devin Whitlock threw a touchdown pass, ran for a touchdown, and returned another punt for a touchdown.
5. Thomas Jefferson 42, 4. Hampton 14 – After spotting Thomas Jefferson a 21-0 lead early, Hampton cut the lead to 28-14 in the second half, but TJ pulled away to reach the semifinals for the 23rd time in the last 24 seasons.
2. Aliquippa 36, 10. Laurel Highlands 0 – The Quips make their 16th straight semifinal with a dominant performance in the trenches as they ran all over the Mustangs.
3. McKeesport 35, 11. Armstrong 21 – McKeesport wins a rematch of a non-conference game from earlier this season to set up a showdown with Aliquippa in the semifinals.
Semifinal Matchups
1. Belle Vernon vs 5. Thomas Jefferson
2. Aliquippa vs 3. McKeesport
3A Quarterfinals
1. Central Valley 48, 9. East Allegheny 6
4. Elizabeth Forward 14, 5. Freeport 0 – In a rematch of last year’s quarterfinal, Elizabeth Forward prevailed again and earned a rematch of last year’s WPIAL Championship with Central Valley.
2. North Catholic 48, 7. Keystone Oaks 41 – In a thrilling game, North Catholic’s defense wasn’t able to contain Nick Buckley and Keystone Oaks’ passing game. Buckley threw 5 TDs and kept the Golden Eagles in the game. North returned 2 kickoffs for touchdowns. Keystone Oaks tied the game at 41 with 5 minutes left on a 37-yard field goal. Kyle Tipinski scored a late touchdown for the Trojans then they recovered a fumble on the ensuing kickoff to keep KO’s potent offense off the field and hold on for the victory.
3. Avonworth 49, 6. Mt Pleasant 7 – Ian Syam ran for 224 yards and 6 touchdowns in the first half to lead the Lopes to victory. Avonworth gets to the 3A semifinals two years after winning the 2A Championship.
3A Semifinal Matchups
1. Central Valley vs 4. Elizabeth Forward
2. North Catholic vs 3. Avonworth
2A Quarterfinals
1. Steel Valley 28, 9. South Side Beaver 14 – Top-seeded Ironmen advance to the semifinals and get a date with Beaver Falls.
5. Beaver Falls 40, 13. New Brighton 0 – Beaver Falls repeats their Jug Game victory and gets back to the semifinals for the third time in four years.
2. Sto-Rox 62, 10. Mohawk 14 – For the second week in a row, Sto-Rox put up 60+ points in a thorough thrashing of Mohawk. Josh Jenkins threw for 411 yards and 6 TDs.
6. Serra 6, 3. Laurel 0 – Two teams averaging 35+ points per game were locked in a defensive struggle. Laurel got the ball back with 2 minutes left and nearly drove the length of the field but Serra’s defense came up with a stop in the red zone to end it and get back to the semifinals for the second straight season.
2A Semifinal Matchups
1. Steel Valley vs 5. Beaver Falls
2. Sto-Rox vs 6. Serra Catholic
1A Quarterfinals
9. OLSH 29, 1. Clairton 15 – Clairton jumped out to a 15-0 lead but OLSH battled back to tie the game early in the 3rd quarter. The Chargers then took over and rolled to victory, avenging playoff losses the last two seasons to Clairton.
5. Rochester 27, 13. Springdale 7 – The game was tied at 7 at halftime after a number of first half turnovers. In the second half, Rochester’s running game took over.
2. Cornell 46, 7. Leechburg 18 – Timothy Henderson scored an early touchdown and returned a kickoff for a touchdown in the second half as Cornell’s defense shut down the highest-scoring team in 1A. Raequan Troutman ran for 225 yards and 2 TDs for the Raiders.
3. Bishop Canevin 42, 11. Shenango 14 – Canevin returned the opening kickoff for a touchdown and never let up. Jason Cross ran for 2 TDs and Lease Lacks had an 85-yard pick-six to send the Crusaders to the semifinals.
1A Semifinal Matchups
5. Rochester vs 9. OLSH
2. Cornell vs 3. Bishop Canevin
