The final week of the WPIAL regular season is upon us. Of the 17 conferences, five conference champions have yet to be decided. As a note, the WPIAL will award the title of “conference champions” to any team that finishes tied with the same record, regardless of head-to-head. For purposes of this article, the term “conference champions” means the single team that wins any tiebreakers for the top spot in the conference standings. Of the 73 playoff spots, there are 15 still up for grabs, with at least one spot still available in every classification.
Here’s a look at the playoff picture heading into the final week of the season and what needs to happen for each team to make the playoffs.
6A Playoff Scenarios
The Rundown: Top 5 teams make the playoffs. The top three receive byes to the semifinals.
Clinched:
- Mt. Lebanon has clinched the conference title and the top seed in the playoffs. This is their first outright conference title since 2010.
- Central Catholic has clinched second place and a first round bye.
- North Allegheny and Seneca Valley have clinched playoff spots. The winner of the North Allegheny-Seneca Valley game will be the #3 seed and get a bye. The loser will be the #4 seed.
1 Remaining Playoff Spot to be Decided:
- Canon-McMillan clinches a playoff spot with a win over Central Catholic OR a Baldwin loss
- Baldwin clinches a playoff spot with a win over Mt. Lebanon AND losses by both Canon-McMillan and Norwin
- Norwin, despite beating Canon-Mac last week, can not make the playoffs. If Canon-Mac and Baldwin lose and Norwin wins, the three will finish in a 3-way tie. The winner of the tie would be decided based on Tiebreaker Points (Currently: Canon-Mac -16, Baldwin -20, Norwin -41). Norwin can not surpass the other two on tiebreaker points, so either Canon-Mac or Baldwin would get the spot.
5A Playoff Scenarios
The Rundown: Top four teams from each conference make the playoffs. Four teams will receive byes to the quarterfinals. The WPIAL will seed all teams in the playoffs. Only conference champions are guaranteed home playoff games.
Allegheny Six Conference
Clinched:
- Moon has clinched the conference title
- Bethel Park and Upper St Clair have clinched playoff spots. The winner of their head-to-head game will finish second, the loser will be third.
1 Remaining Playoff Spot to be Decided:
- Peters Twp clinches a playoff spot with a win over South Fayette
- West Allegheny clinches a playoff spot with a win over Moon AND a Peters Twp loss
- If South Fayette beats Peters Twp and West Allegheny loses to Moon:
- If South Fayette wins by 10 or more and West Allegheny loses by 4 or more, South Fayette gets the last playoff spot
- If South Fayette wins by 8 or fewer, Peters Twp gets the last playoff spot on Tiebreaker Points
- If South Fayette wins by 9, Peters Twp gets the last playoff spot UNLESS West Allegheny loses by 1 in which case West A would get the spot on Tiebreaker Points.
- If South Fayette wins by 10 or more and West Allegheny loses by exactly 3, it will be a coin flip between the three teams.
Big East Conference
Clinched:
- Penn-Trafford has clinched the conference title
- Gateway, Woodland Hills, and Franklin Regional have clinched playoff spots
No Remaining Playoff Spots to be Decided
Northeast Conference
Clinched:
- North Hills, Pine-Richland, Penn Hills, and Fox Chapel have clinched playoff spots
Conference Champion Race:
- North Hills clinches the conference title with a win over Shaler AND a Penn Hills loss
- Pine-Richland clinches the conference title with a win over Fox Chapel AND a North Hills loss
- Penn Hills clinches the conference title with a win over Kiski AND a Pine-Richland loss
- If all three teams lose, Penn Hills wins the four-way tie atop the conference.
- If all three teams win, the conference title will be determined by tiebreaker points (Currently: Penn Hills +19, Pine-Richland +17, North Hills +11).
No Remaining Playoff Spots to be Decided
4A Playoff Scenarios
The Rundown: Top four teams from the Big Eight and Parkway Conferences conference make the playoffs. The top five teams from the Greater Allegheny Conference make the playoffs. Three teams will receive byes to the quarterfinals. The WPIAL will seed all teams in the playoffs. Only conference champions are guaranteed home playoff games.
Big Eight Conference
Clinched:
- McKeesport, Belle Vernon, Thomas Jefferson, and Laurel Highlands have clinched playoff spots
Conference Champion Race:
- The winner of the McKeesport-Belle Vernon game wins the conference title
No Remaining Playoff Spots to be Decided
Greater Allegheny Conference
Clinched:
- Hampton has clinched the conference title
- Armstrong, Highlands, and Indiana have clinched a playoff spots. The winner of Armstrong-Indiana will finish 2nd. Highlands finishes 3rd with a win and 5th with a loss.
1 Remaining Playoff Spot to be Decided:
- Greensburg Salem clinches a playoff spot with a win over Plum
- Plum clinches a playoff spot with a win over Greensburg Salem AND a loss by Highlands or Mars
- Mars clinches a playoff spot with a win over Hampton AND wins by Plum, Highlands, and Indiana
- Greensburg Salem can also make the playoffs if they lose to Plum AND Mars, Highlands, and Armstrong ALL win
Parkway Conference
Clinched:
- Aliquippa, Beaver, and New Castle have clinched playoff spots
Conference Champion Race:
- Aliquippa clinches the conference title with a win over New Castle OR with a Beaver win
- New Castle clinches the conference title with a win over Aliquippa AND a Beaver loss
1 Remaining Playoff Spots to be Decided:
- Chartiers Valley-Montour is a CASKET MATCH. The winner clinches a playoff spot. The loser is out.
3A Playoff Scenarios
The Rundown: Top four teams from each conference make the playoffs. Four teams will receive byes to the quarterfinals. The WPIAL will seed all teams in the playoffs. Only conference champions are guaranteed home playoff games.
Allegheny Seven Conference
Clinched:
- North Catholic has clinched the conference title
- Freeport and East Allegheny have clinched playoff spots
1 Remaining Playoff Spots to be Decided:
- Deer Lakes clinches a playoff spot with a win over Freeport OR a Burrell loss
- Burrell clinches a playoff spot with a win over Valley AND a Deer Lakes loss
Interstate Conference
Clinched:
- Elizabeth Forward has clinched the conference title
- Mt. Pleasant has clinched a playoff spot
2 Remaining Playoff Spots to be Decided:
- Southmoreland clinches a playoff spot with a win over South Park
- South Allegheny clinches a playoff spot with a win over Mt Pleasant OR a South Park loss
- South Park clinches a playoff spot with a win over Southmoreland AND a South Allegheny win
- If South Park beats Southmoreland and South Allegheny loses, Tiebreaker Points will decide the 3rd place team and Head-to-Head between the remaining two teams will decide 4th place. (Currently: Southmoreland +10, South Allegheny +10, South Park -10).
- If South Park wins by 10 or more and South Allegheny loses by 10 or more, a coin flip will decide the 3rd place team then Head-to-Head between the remaining two teams will decide 4th place.
Northwest Six Conference
Clinched:
- Central Valley has clinched a playoff spot
- Avonworth, Keystone Oaks, and Ambridge have clinched playoff spots
2A Playoff Scenarios
The Rundown: The top four teams from the Century Conference make the playoffs. The top five teams from the Midwestern Conference make the playoffs. The top three teams from the Allegheny Conference and Three Rivers Conference make the playoffs. The 4th place team from either the Allegheny or Three Rivers Conference will make the playoffs as a wild card. The WPIAL will seed all teams in the playoffs. Only conference champions are guaranteed home playoff games.
Allegheny Conference
Clinched:
- Serra Catholic and Steel Valley have clinched playoff spots
Conference Champion Race:
- The winner of Serra Catholic-Steel Valley wins the conference title
1 Remaining Playoff Spot to be Decided:
- Ligonier Valley clinches a playoff spot with a win over Apollo-Ridge
- Apollo-Ridge clinches a playoff spot with a win over Ligonier Valley AND a Shady Side Academy loss
- If Apollo-Ridge beats Ligonier Valley AND Shady Side Academy wins, Shady Side Academy gets the spot if either team wins by more than 1.
- If Apollo-Ridge wins by 1 and Shady Side wins by 1, Ligonier Valley gets the spot
The Fourth Place team from the Allegheny Conference will be eligible for the Wild Card. See the Wild Card section below.
Century Conference
Clinched:
- Washington, Chartiers-Houston, and McGuffey have clinched playoff spots
Conference Champion Race:
- Washington wins the conference title with a win over McGuffey or a loss by less than 8 points
- McGuffey wins the conference title with a win over Washington by 8 or more points.
1 Remaining Playoff Spot to be Decided:
- Beth-Center clinches a playoff spot with a win over Waynesburg
- Waynesburg clinches a playoff spot with a win over Beth-Center AND a Charleroi loss
- If Waynesburg and Charleroi both win, Tiebreaker Points will decide the last playoff spot. Given that the Beth-Center/Frazier game was declared a “no contest” the wins by Waynesburg and Charleroi over Frazier would not count towards the tiebreakers. This would be settled by Tiebreaker Points (Currently: Beth-Center -20, Waynesburg -33, Charleroi -30). Charleroi is locked in at -30, so a Waynesburg win by 7 or more would give the last spot to Waynesburg. A Waynesburg win by 6 or less would give the last spot to Beth-Center.
- Since Charleroi can’t get in on tiebreakers, the Waynesburg vs Beth-Center game is a CASKET MATCH.
Midwestern Conference
Clinched:
- Laurel has clinched the conference title
- Beaver Falls, Neshannock, and Mohawk have clinched playoff spots
1 Remaining Playoff Spot to be Decided:
- Freedom-New Brighton is a CASKET MATCH. The winner goes to the playoffs and the loser is eliminated.
Three Rivers Conference
Clinched:
- Sto-Rox has clinched the conference title
- South Side Beaver and Western Beaver have clinched playoff spots. The winner of their head-to-head game will finish 2nd and the loser will be 3rd.
The fourth place team from the Three Rivers Conference will be eligible for the Wild Card. See the Wild Card section below.
2A Wild Card
Allegheny Conference:
- Shady Side Academy finishes 4th if Ligonier Valley beats Apollo-Ridge
- Ligonier Valley finishes 4th with a loss to Apollo-Ridge AND a Shady Side Academy loss
- Apollo-Ridge finishes 4th with a win over Ligonier Valley AND a Shady Side Academy win IF either team wins by more than 1
- If Apollo-Ridge wins by 1 and Shady Side wins by 1, Shady Side Academy is 4th
Three Rivers Conference:
- Seton LaSalle finishes 4th with a win over Brentwood
- Seton LaSalle finishes 4th if they lose by less than 10 points AND Carlynton also loses
- Carlynton finishes 4th with a win over Sto-Rox AND a Seton LaSalle loss
- Carlynton finishes 4th with a 1-point loss AND a Brentwood win by at least 10 points
- Brentwood finishes 4th with a win over Seton LaSalle by at least 10 points AND a Carlynton loss by at least 2 points
- If Brentwood beats Seton LaSalle by 10 or more AND Carlynton loses by exactly 2 points, a coin flip will decide 4th place
1A Playoff Scenarios
The Rundown: The top five teams in each conference make the playoffs. The top overall seed will receive a first round bye. The WPIAL will seed all of the teams. Only the conference champions are guaranteed a home playoff game.
Big Seven Conference
Clinched:
- Cornell has clinched the conference title
- Rochester and Shenango have clinched a playoff spots. Rochester has clinched second place
2 Playoff Spots to be Decided:
- OLSH clinches a playoff spot with a win over Cornell OR a Northgate loss
- OLSH can also get into the playoffs with a loss to Cornell and a Northgate win IF Burgettstown beats Fort Cherry
- Northgate clinches a playoff spot with a win over Rochester AND losses by BOTH OLSH and Burgettstown
- Fort Cherry-Burgettstown is a CASKET MATCH. The winner will get in and the loser will be eliminated.
Eastern Conference
Clinched:
- Clairton has clinched the conference title
- Bishop Canevin, GCC, and Leechburg have clinched playoff spots. This is Leechburg’s first playoff appearance since 1988, snapping the longest drought in the WPIAL.
1 Playoff Spot to be Decided:
- Springdale clinches a playoff spot with a win over Riverview
- Riverview clinches a playoff spot with a win over Springdale AND a Jeannette loss
- Jeannette clinches a playoff spot with a win over Clairton AND losses by BOTH Springdale and Imani
- If Riverview, Jeannette, and Imani all win, Riverview would get the last playoff spot
Tri-County South Conference
Clinched:
- West Greene has clinched the conference title
- Carmichaels, California, and Mapletown have clinched playoff spots
1 Playoff Spot to be Decided:
- Monessen clinches a playoff spot with a win over Avella
- Avella clinches a playoff spot with a win over Monessen AND a Jefferson-Morgan loss
- Jefferson-Morgan clinches a playoff spot with a win over Carmichaels AND losses by BOTH Monessen and Bentworth
- If Avella, Jefferson-Morgan, and Bentworth all win, Avella would get the last playoff spot
