We have reached the final week of the high school football regular season. This is one of the greatest final weeks in WPIAL history as 15 of the 17 conferences will have head-to-head games that decide the conference title. So far, Penn-Trafford and Pine-Richland are the only two teams to clinch their conference crowns. After 20 teams secured their playoff spos last week, 40 of the 52 guaranteed spots in the WPIAL playoff field have been clinched. There are additional 17 wild card spots that will be handed out by the WPIAL Selection Committee. The Top four teams in 6A make the playoffs. In 5A, 3A, 2A, and 1A the top three teams from each conference are guaranteed playoff spots. Due to the WPIAL 4A Champion entering the state bracket sooner, only the top two teams in each 4A conference are guaranteed playoff spots.
For a full list of the conference standings, check out our WPIAL Standings Page.
Class 6A
Top 4 teams make the playoffs.
Clinched playoff spots: Central Catholic, Hempfield, Canon-McMillan
– The winner of Central Catholic-Hempfield wins the conference title
– The winner of North Allegheny-Norwin clinches a playoff spot
Class 5A
Top 3 teams in each conference make the playoffs, plus 3 Wild Cards chosen by the Selection Committee
Allegheny Six Conference
Clinched playoff spots: Upper St Clair, West Allegheny
– The winner of Upper St Clair-West Allegheny wins the conference title
– The winner of Thomas Jefferson-Peters Twp clinches a playoff spot
Big East Conference
Conference Champion: Penn-Trafford
Other Clinched playoff spots: none
– Woodland Hills clinches a playoff spot with a win over Gateway
– Latrobe clinches a playoff spot with a win over Penn-Trafford OR a Gateway loss
– If Gateway beats Woodland Hills by 10+ and…
– Latrobe also loses by more than 2, Gateway and Woodland Hills clinch playoff spots
– Latrobe loses by exactly 1 point, Latrobe and Gateway clinch playoff spots
– Latrobe loses by exactly 2 points, there will be a perfect three-way tie between the teams
– If Gateway beats Woodland Hills by less than 10 and Latrobe also loses by any amount, Woodland Hills and Latrobe clinch playoff spots
Northeast Conference
Conference Champion: Pine-Richland
Other clinched playoff spots: North Hills, Moon
Class 4A
Top 2 teams in each conference make the playoffs, plus 2 Wild Cards chosen by the Selection Committee
Big Six Conference
Clinched playoff spots: South Fayette
– South Fayette clinches the conference title with a win over Ringgold OR a loss by less than 9 points AND a Chartiers Valley win
– Ringgold clinches the conference title with a win over South Fayette by 9+ points
– Ringgold can also clinch the conference title with a win over South Fayette AND a Chartiers Valley loss
– Chartiers Valley clinches a playoff spot with a win over Albert Gallatin AND a Ringgold loss
– If Ringgold and Chartiers Valley both win, there will be a 3-way tie for first place with South Fayette. If Ringgold wins by less than 9 points, South Fayette wins the conference and Chartiers Valley is second. If Ringgold wins by more than 9 points, Ringgold wins the conference and South Fayette is second.
– If Ringgold and Chartiers Valley both lose, there will be a 3-way tie for second place with Albert Gallatin. Ringgold will finish 2nd if they lose by 6 points or less OR if Chartiers Valley loses by 5 points or more. If Ringgold loses by 7 points or more, Tiebreaker Points will decide the 2nd place spot (currently: Ringgold +23, Chartiers Valley +17, Albert Gallatin -3).
Greater Allegheny Conference
Clinched playoff spots: McKeesport, Shaler
– The McKeesport-Shaler winner clinches the conference title
Parkway Conference
Clinched playoff spots: New Castle
– The Montour-Blackhawk winner clinches a playoff spot
Class 3A
Top 3 teams in each conference make the playoffs, plus 4 Wild Cards chosen by the Selection Committee
Allegheny Seven Conference
Clinched playoff spots: North Catholic, Highlands
– North Catholic clinches the conference title with a win over Highlands OR a loss and a Freeport win
– Highlands clinches the conference title with a win over North Catholic AND a Freeport loss
– Freeport clinches a playoff spot with a win over Burrell
– Burrell clinches a playoff spot with a win over Burrell AND a Highlands win
– If Burrell beats Freeport AND Highlands loses, the three teams will finish in a 3-way tie. Second place will be determined by WPIAL Tiebreaker Points (currently Freeport +28, Highlands +25, Burrell +1). Third place will then be decided by head-to-head.
Interstate Conference
Clinched playoff spots: Elizabeth Forward, Belle Vernon, Waynesburg
– The Belle Vernon-Elizabeth Forward winner clinches the conference title
Three Rivers Conference
Clinched playoff spots: Propel, Avonworth, West Mifflin
– The Propel-Avonworth winner clinches the conference title
Western Hills Conference
Clinched playoff spots: Aliquippa, Hopewell, Beaver
– The Aliquippa-Hopewell winner clinches the conference title
Class 2A
Top 3 teams in each conference make the playoffs, plus 4 Wild Cards chosen by the Selection Committee
Allegheny Conference
Clinched playoff spots: Apollo-Ridge, Ligonier Valley
– Apollo-Ridge clinches the conference title with a win over Ligonier Valley
– Ligonier Valley clinches the conference title with a win over Apollo-Ridge AND a Steel Valley loos
– If Ligonier Valley and Steel Valley both win…
– Apollo-Ridge wins the conference title if they lose by less than 10
– Ligonier Valley wins the conference title with a win by 10+ and a Steel Valley win by less than 10
– There will be a perfect 3-way tie if Ligonier Valley and Steel Valley both win by 10+
– Steel Valley clinches a playoff spot with a win over South Allegheny
– South Allegheny clinches a playoff spot with a win over Steel Valley AND a Ligonier Valley win
– If Ligonier Valley and Steel Valley both lose, the 2nd playoff spot will be decided by tiebreaker points based on their respective margins of defeat. Currently, both are +30 in tiebreakers. South Allegheny can clinch a playoff spot (based on head-to-head over Steel Valley) if LV and SV have the same margin of defeat.
Century Conference
Clinched playoff spots: Seton LaSalle, Bishop Canevin
– The winner of Seton LaSalle-Bishop Canevin wins the conference title
– The winner of McGuffey-Chartiers Houston clinches a playoff spot
Midwestern Conference
Clinched playoff spots: Neshannock, Western Beaver, Beaver Falls
– The winner of Neshannock-Western Beaver wins the conference title
Class 1A
Top 3 teams in each conference make the playoffs, plus 4 Wild Cards chosen by the Selection Committee
Big Seven Conference
Clinched playoff spots: Shenango, Laurel, Northgate
– The winner of Laurel-Shenango wins the conference title
Black Hills Conference
Clinched playoff spots: Washington, Fort Cherry
– The winner of Washington-Fort Cherry wins the conference title
– Burgettstown clinches a playoff spot with a win over Bentworth
– Bentworth clinches a playoff spot with a win over Burgettstown AND a Monessen loss
– Monessen clinches a playoff spot with a win over Sto-Rox AND a Burgettstown loss
Eastern Conference
Clinched playoff spots: Jeannette, Clairton
– The winner of Jeannette-Clairton wins the conference title
– The winner of GCC-Serra clinches a playoff spot
Tri-County South Conference
Clinched playoff spots: Beth-Center, California
– The winner of Beth-Center-California wins the conference title
– The winner of Avella-Frazier clinches a playoff spot
