The WPIAL Playoff Brackets will be announced on Saturday (Halloween!) afternoon at 1pm on KDKA Radio. Here’s my best guess at the playoff seedings in all six classifications.
Class 6A
6A is simple. The top four teams in the conference are seeded based on their final position.
1. Central Catholic (9-0)
2. Canon-McMillan (5-5)
3. North Allegheny (5-5)
4. Hempfield (6-4)
Class 5A
In 5A, the top three teams from each conference plus two wild cards make the playoffs. The hardest decisions will be the #2 and #4 seeds.
1. Pine-Richland (9-1) – The Rams only loss was to Central Catholic and they’ve dominated everyone else
2. Upper St Clair (10-0) – USC gets rewarded for playing in a tougher conference
3. Penn-Trafford (10-0) – Very close call with USC for the #2 seed
4. North Hills (7-2) – Coach K’s return to his alma mater has produced a great season.
5. Woodland Hills (6-4) – Bumped Woody High down a peg due to their forfeits
6. West Allegheny (6-4) – Defeated Thomas Jefferson head-to-head and finished 2nd in the Allegheny Six Conference
7. Thomas Jefferson (7-2) – Despite the 7-2 record were the 3rd place team from their conference so I slid them in behind West A, but the Committee could look at them differently
8. Latrobe (6-4) – The Wildcats put together a very solid season to finish 3rd in the Big East
9. Moon (3-6) – After losing their first 5 games, the Tigers won 3 conference games to lock up 3rd place
10. Armstrong (6-4) – Head-to-Head wins over Gateway and Plum make the Riverhawks the easiest Wild Card selection
11. Gateway (5-5) – All of Gateway’s wins came against 5A teams, which gives them a slight edge over Plum (who had two wins against 4A teams).
12. Trinity (5-5) – The Committee rewards Trinity’s strength of schedule (including a win over Canon-Mac)
Just missed: Plum (6-4). The final wild cards were a tough choice between Gateway, Trinity and Plum. I chose Trinity for their strength of schedule (2 games against 6A playoff teams, one of which they won). Plum had two wins over 4A teams while all of Gateway’s wins came against 5A teams.
Class 4A
1. South Fayette (9-1) – The Lions have a head-to-head win over Montour, which should land them the #1 spot
2. Montour (8-2) – The Spartans have a head-to-head win over McKeesport which lands them #2
3. McKeesport (7-3) – The GAC Champs endured an injury to star RB Kemon Spell, who is back for the playoffs
4. New Castle (5-3) – The Canes had a close loss to Montour and finished 2nd in the Parkway
5. Blackhawk (8-2) – Trevor George installed the Wing T and Blackhawk’s offensive production exploded
6. Chartiers Valley (6-4) – Second place finisher from the Big Six, with a slightly controversial win over Ringgold
7. Shaler (4-6) – The Titans won their first 3 conference games before falling to McKeesport in the GAC Championship Game
8. Kiski (3-7) – Maybe the hardest decision for the Committee – a 3-7 Kiski team or a 5-5 Ringgold team that Kiski beat head-to-head.
Just Missed: Ringgold (5-5). Depending on how the Committee feels about overall record vs head-to-head wins, Ringgold could get in. Also their controversial loss to Chartiers Valley could be part of the discussion.
Class 3A
1. Avonworth (9-1) – The defending Champs only loss was to Hopewell in Week 1 but it’s uncertain if the Committee will consider that game since it was in Week 1.
2. Hopewell (9-1) – The Western Hills Champs only loss was to Propel
3. Propel (7-3) – The Lions had close losses to both Avonworth and McKeesport. The Committee may also want to separate them from Avonworth
4. Belle Vernon (9-1) – A Week 1 loss to Thomas Jefferson is their only blemish. The Leopards came from behind to beat Elizabeth Forward in Week 10.
5. Elizabeth Forward (8-2) – Lost the conference title to Belle Vernon on a late two-point conversion but beat North Catholic head-to-head
6. North Catholic (7-3) – Won 7 in a row and the Allegheny Seven Conference title after losing their first 3 games
7. Aliquippa (6-3) – An up-and-down season for the Quips ended with a blowout to Hopewell in Week 10
8. Freeport (9-1) – The Yellow Jackets only loss was to North Catholic
9. Waynesburg (8-2) – The Raiders had close losses to both BV and EF and scored a ton of points this year
10. Highlands (7-3) – The Rams boast the WPIAL’s leading rusher Tevin Owen-Cratsenberg
11. West Mifflin (6-4) – Star RB Armand Hill makes the Titans a tough out in the first round
12. Burrell (6-4) – The first wild card in 3A
13. Beaver (4-6) – Star QB Jaivin Peel was ruled ineligible for the playoffs which puts a slight damper on Beaver’s seeding
14. Mt Pleasant (5-5) – The fourth place finisher in the Interstate should get a wild card
15. Shady Side Academy (5-5) – 3 of their wins came against winless teams (including City League Perry) so it’s uncertain how the Committee will view them.
16. Deer Lakes (3-7) – Defeated Knoch in Week 10 to clinch 5th place in the Allegheny Seven, sneak into the last wild card thanks to a head-to-head win over Derry.
Just Missed: Derry (4-6) & Knoch (5-5) – both teams have better records than Deer Lakes but lost head-to-head against the Lancers.
Class 2A
1. Bishop Canevin (10-0) – Defeated Seton LaSalle in Week 10 to win the Century Conference
2. Seton LaSalle (9-1) – Dominant victories all season, including a shutout of 3A Aliquippa
3. Apollo-Ridge (9-1) – Allegheny Conference Champs are the easy choice for the 3rd bye
4. Western Beaver (6-4) – The Golden Beavers won 6 in a row after an 0-4 start, including a 3-point win over Neshannock in Week 10
5. Neshannock (7-3) – The Committee gives Neshannock a shot at revenge against Western Beaver in the Quarterfinals
6. Steel Valley (6-4) – Steel Valley finished in a 3-way tie with Ligonier Valley and South Allegheny but gets 2nd based on 1 tiebreaker point
7. Ligonier Valley (8-2) – The Rams had a hot start to the season but dropped their final two against Steel Valley and Apollo-Ridge
8. McGuffey (7-3) – The Highlanders made the playoffs after going 0-20 last cycle. Fantastic story.
9. Beaver Falls (6-3) – The Tigers were solidly 3rd in the Midwestern Conference
10. Riverside (6-3) – The first Wild Card from the Midwestern Conference
11. Freedom (5-5) – Injuries slowed them in the middle of the season after a hot start but should get a wild card
12. South Allegheny (5-5) – Finished in a 3-way tie with Steel Valley & Ligonier Valley but seeded lower to avoid a first round rematch with either.
13. Chartiers-Houston (5-5) – Lost in Week 10 to McGuffey for the final playoff spot in the Century but still earn a wild card
Class 1A
1. Clairton (8-2) – The defending Champs have a head-to-head win over Washington
2. Washington (9-1) – Black Hills Conference Champs after beating Fort Cherry
3. Shenango (9-0) – Undefeated Big Seven Champs after beating Laurel in Week 10
4. Fort Cherry (8-2) – Second place in the Black Hills also blew out Jeannette in non-conference play
5. Laurel (7-3) – Narrowly lost to Shenango in Week 10
6. Jeannette (7-3) – Lost to Clairton in Week 10 for the conference title
7. California (8-2) – Defeated Beth-Center by 2 to win the TCS title
8. Beth-Center (9-1) – Undefeated season came to an end with a 2-point loss to Cal in Week 10 but still get a first round home game
9. Burgettstown (8-2) – Started the year with stifling defense and ended it with big offensive performances
10. Northgate (7-3) – The Flames made the playoffs for the first time since 2016
11. Monessen (7-3) – The first Wild Card gets preferential seeding thanks to an impressive win over Fort Cherry
12. GCC (7-3) – Dropped behind the first Wild Card to avoid a first round rematch with Jeannette
13. Avella (6-4) – Defeated Frazier to clinch the 3rd playoff spot in the TCS
14. Serra (4-6) – Lost to GCC by 1 point in Week 10 for the final playoff spot
15. Union (5-5) – Week 9 loss to Northgate dropped the Scotties to 4th place in the Big Seven. Get a Wild Card after going winless last year.
16. Frazier (6-4) – For the second straight year, the Committee gives the 4th place team in the TCS the final Wild Card spot
Just Missed: Bentworth (4-6) & Brentwood (4-6) – Bentworth finished 5th in the Black Hills on a head-to-head win over Brentwood. Brentwood has an impressive win over Monessen.
