The 2022 WPIAL football regular season has reached the final week. Of the 17 conferences, 10 conference titles have been clinched. 54 of 67 WPIAL playoff spots have been decided. There are still spots remaining in all six classifications, so there will be meaningful games across the board this week. You can check out our WPIAL Standings Page for a look at the current standings and tiebreakers. Heading into the final week of the regular season, here is a rundown of the playoff clinching scenarios around the WPIAL. (Special shout-out to my guy Steve for helping work through these!)
6A Playoff Scenarios
Qualification: The top 4 of the 5 6A teams will qualify for the playoffs.
Tri-County Five Conference
North Allegheny has clinched the conference title
Central Catholic has clinched a playoff spot
- Seneca Valley clinches a playoff spot with a win over North Allegheny OR a Mt. Lebanon loss
- Canon-McMillan clinches a playoff spot with a win over Mt. Lebanon OR a Seneca Valley loss
- Mt. Lebanon clinches a playoff spot with a win over Canon-McMillan
5A Playoff Scenarios
Qualification: 8 teams qualify for the playoffs. The top two teams from each conference will qualify along with two of the three third place teams as wild cards.
Allegheny Six Conference
Bethel Park has clinched a playoff spot
Peters Twp can finish no worse than 3rd, which would give them an opportunity for the Wild Card
- Bethel Park clinches the conference title with a win over Peters Twp. Bethel Park also wins the conference title if Upper St Clair wins and Bethel loses to Peters by 8 points or less.
- Peters Twp clinches the conference title with a win over Bethel Park and an Upper St Clair loss OR if USC wins and Peters beats Bethel by 9 points or more.
There are four different scenarios in play depending on the results of the Bethel Park-Peters Twp and Upper St Clair-South Fayette games:
- If Bethel Park and Upper St Clair win – Bethel Park is 1st, Upper St Clair is 2nd, Peters Twp is 3rd, South Fayette is 4th
- If Bethel Park and South Fayette win – Bethel Park is 1st. 2nd place will be decided by Tiebreaker Points (Currently: PT +23, USC +17, SF 0). 3rd place will then be decided by the head-to-head result between the remaining teams (USC beat PT, PT beat SF, SF beat USC in this case). Peters Twp can finish no worse than 3rd in this scenario.
- If Peters Twp and Upper St Clair win – Bethel Park, Peters Twp and Upper St Clair will all make the playoffs. If Peters wins by 8 points or less, Bethel Park is 1st, Upper St Clair is 2nd, Peters Twp is 3rd. If Peters wins by 9 points or more, Peters Twp is 1st, Bethel Park is 2nd, Upper St Clair is 3rd. This is the only scenario where the 3rd place team is guaranteed one of the Wild Card spots.
- If Peters Twp and South Fayette win – Peters Twp is 1st, Bethel Park is 2nd, South Fayette is 3rd, and Upper St Clair is 4th
Big East Conference
Franklin Regional has clinched the conference title
Gateway has clinched a playoff spot
- Penn-Trafford will finish 3rd with a win over Franklin Regional and will have a chance for a Wild Card spot.
- If Franklin Regional beats Penn-Trafford, the 3rd place Big East team will not get a wild card. The two wild card spots will go to the other two conferences.
Northeast Conference
- North Hills clinches the conference title with a win over Pine-Richland
- If North Hills loses, Penn Hills wins the conference with a win over Woodland Hills. If Penn Hills also loses, then Pine-Richland wins the conference title.
- The winner of North Hills vs Pine-Richland game clinches a playoff spot
- The winner of the Penn Hills-Woodland Hills game clinches a playoff spot
- North Hills can finish no worse than 3rd
There are four scenarios in play, depending on the results of the North Hills-Pine Richland and Penn Hills-Woodland Hills games:
- If North Hills and Penn Hills win, NH is 1st, PH is 2nd, PR is 3rd, WH is 4th
- If North Hills and Woodland Hills win, NH is 1st, WH is 2nd, PH is 3rd, PR is 4th
- If Pine-Richalnd and Penn Hills win, PH is 1st, PR is 2nd, NH is 3rd, WH is 4th
- If Pine-Richland and Woodland Hills win, PR is 1st, WH is 2nd, NH is 3rd, PH is 4th
4A Playoff Scenarios
Qualification: 13 teams will make the playoffs. Four teams qualify from the Big Seven Conference and Greater Allegheny Conference. Five teams qualify from the Parkway Conference.
Big Seven Conference
McKeesport, Laurel Highlands, Thomas Jefferson, and Latrobe have clinched playoff spots
- McKeesport clinches the conference title with a win over Thomas Jefferson
- Thomas Jefferson clinches the conference title with a win over McKeesport AND a Laurel Highlands loss
- If Thomas Jefferson and Laurel Highlands both win:
– If TJ wins by 9 points or more, TJ is 1st, McKeesport is 2nd, LH is 3rd
– If TJ wins by 8 points or fewer, McKeesport is 1st, LH is 2nd, TJ is 3rd
Greater Allegheny Conference
Armstrong has clinched the conference title
Highlands has clinched a playoff spot
- North Catholic clinches a playoff spot with a win over Mars
- Hampton clinches a playoff spot with a win over Highlands
- If Mars beats North Catholic and Hampton loses to Highlands, there will be a 3-way tie for the final two playoff spots. 3rd place will be decided by tiebreaker points (Currently: Hampton +11, North Catholic +6, Mars -7). 4th place will be decided by head-to-head between the two remaining teams (in this case: North Catholic beat Hampton, Hampton beat Mars, Mars beat North Catholic).
Parkway Conference
Central Valley, Aliquippa, West Allegheny, Montour, and Blackhawk have clinched playoff spots
- The winner of Aliquippa-Central Valley wins the conference title
Class 3A
Qualification: 12 teams will make the playoffs. The top four from each conference qualify.
Allegheny Six Conference
Freeport has clinched the conference title
Shady Side Academy, East Allegheny, and Deer Lakes have clinched playoff spots
Interstate Conference
Elizabeth Forward, Belle Vernon, Mt Pleasant, and Southmoreland have clinched playoff spots
- The winner of Elizabeth Forward-Belle Vernon wins the conference title
Western Hills Conference
Avonworth has clinched the conference title
West Mifflin has clinched a playoff spot.
South Park has clinched a playoff spot as they can not finish worse than 4th in any tiebreaker scenario
- Beaver clinches a playoff spot with a win over Hopewell
- Hopewell cinches a playoff spot with a win over Beaver AND a South Park win
- If Hopewell beats Beaver and South Park loses to West Mifflin, there will be a 3-way tie for the last two playoff spots between Beaver, South Park, and Hopewell. Third place will be decided by Tiebreaker Points (currently Beaver +13, South Park +10, Hopewell -10). Fourth place will be decided by the head-to-head result between the remaining two teams (in this case: Beaver beat South Park, South Park beat Hopewell, Hopewell beat Beaver).
Class 2A
Qualification: 14 teams will make the playoffs. Five teams from the Allegheny and Midwestern Conference will qualify. Four teams from the Century Conference will qualify.
Allegheny Conference
Steel Valley, Serra Catholic, Ligonier Valley, and Burrell have clinched playoff spots
- The winner of Steel Valley-Serra Catholic clinches the conference title
- Apollo-Ridge clinches a playoff spot with a win over Burrell
- Imani Christian clinches a playoff spot with a win over Yough AND an Apollo-Ridge loss to Burrell
Century Conference
Sto-Rox has clinched the conference title
Keystone Oaks, McGuffey, and Washington have clinched playoff spots
Midwestern Conference
Beaver Falls has clinched the conference title
Neshannock, Mohawk, Western Beaver and Riverside have clinched playoff spots
Class 1A
Qualification: 16 teams qualify for the playoffs. The top four from each conference will qualify.
Big Seven Conference
Laurel has clinched the conference title.
South Side Beaver, Union, and Rochester have clinched playoff spots.
Black Hills Conference
Bishop Canevin has clinched the conference title
Burgettstown, and Fort Cherry have clinched playoff spots
- OLSH clinches a playoff spot with a win over Cornell
- Cornell clinches a playoff spot with a win over OLSH AND a Fort Cherry win
- If Cornell beats OLSH and Fort Cherry loses to Burgettstown, 3rd place will come down to tiebreaker points (Currently OLSH +27, Fort Cherry +20, Cornell 0). 4th place will come down to head-to-head between the teams (in this instance OLSH beat Fort Cherry, Fort Cherry beat Cornell, Cornell beat OLSH).
- Cornell can not win the 3-way tiebreaker and Fort Cherry can finish no worse than 4th place in the conference, so the Rangers have clinched a playoff spot.
Eastern Conference
GCC, Clairton, Leechburg, and Jeannette have clinched playoff spots
- GCC clinches the conference title with a win over Leechburg
- Leechburg clinches the conference title with a win over GCC AND a Clairton loss
- If Leechburg and Clairton both win:
- GCC wins the conference title if Leechburg wins by 8 points or less.
- Leechburg wins the conference title if they beat GCC by 9 points or more.
Tri-County South Conference
Mapletown has clinched the conference title
California, Carmichaels, and Monessen have clinched playoff spots
