The final weekend of the WPIAL regular season is in the books. On Saturday night, the WPIAL Selection Committee is slated to unveil this year’s playoff brackets. The Committee will have to make a number of decisions due to teams that missed games because of COVID cancellations. Here is a look at tonight’s results with some game notes.
Class 6A
Mt Lebanon 28, Seneca Valley 27 – Seneca Valley took a 14-7 lead before halftime and the teams were tied at 21 through much of the fourth quarter. Seneca Valley scored first in overtime but missed the extra point. Mt. Lebanon scored and converted the extra point for the victory and to secure a playoff spot.
Sorsdal’s Extra Point in OT for the Win. Let’s Go LEBO!!!!! @MtLebanonSports pic.twitter.com/jpE9kq2dla
— LEBO FOOTBALL (@mtlebofootball) October 24, 2020
Central Catholic 49, Baldwin 6 – Eddy Tillman ran for 2 TDs and Adam Obrin threw for 2 more as the Vikings secured their spot in the playoffs with a dominant win over Baldwin.
Canon-McMillan 35, Norwin 7 – Needing a win and a Mt. Lebanon loss to have a chance at the playoffs, Canon-Mac delivered on their end. The Big Macs scored in all 3 phases of the game.
Class 5A
Peters Twp 23, West Allegheny 7 – All of the points in this game were scored with Peters Twp’s offense on the field as West Allegheny’s lone touchdown came on a 90-yard pick-six. Peters completes an undefeated regular season for the first time since 1975.
Upper St Clair 36, South Fayette 32 – South Fayette’s defense had no answer for USC’s offense in the first half but the Lions stormed back in the second half to take a 32-29 lead. Ethan Dahlem scored the game-winner for Upper St Clair and the Panthers defense locked down when they needed to to get the win. USC had ten sacks of Naman Alemada.
Moon 30, Bethel Park 7 – Bethel Park will miss the playoffs for the first time since 2000. Ty McGowan threw 2 TD passes to lead Moon to victory.
Penn-Trafford 56, Franklin Regional 7 – Penn-Trafford scored in all three phases of the game as the Warriors dominated their “Border War” rivals. Ethan Carr threw 2 TD passes, the Warriors defense returned a fumble and 2 interceptions for a touchdowns, and special teams chipped in with a fake punt for a touchdown.
Gateway 43, Connellsville 12 – Derrick Davis, the best player in the State, scored 5 times tonight to bring his career total to 76 TDs.
Woodland Hills 34, Latrobe 31 – The Wolverines got all they could handle from Latrobe but emerged victorious. Deontae Williams threw for 3 TDs and had an interception on defense to lead Woody High to the win.
Pine-Richland 58, Kiski 14 – Another dominant performance from the Rams who roll into the playoffs where they should be the top seed and favorites to claim the 5A title.
Penn Hills 42, Shaler 21 – The Indians got big contributions from their big playmakers. Noel Roach returned a punt for a TD and hauled in one of Julian Dugger’s 2 TD passes. Dugger also ran one in on the ground.
North Hills 20, Fox Chapel 16 – North Hills beats Fox Chapel in a battle for 3rd place in the Northeast Conference.
Class 4A
McKeesport 20, Thomas Jefferson 14 – McKeesport kept TJ off the board in the first half and held a 7-0 lead at halftime. The Tigers expanded their lead to 20-0 and held on with a 4th down stop inside the 10 yard line at the end of the game. This upset win for the Tigers ends the longest winning streak in the WPIAL at 21 games and puts McKeesport into the playoffs.
Laurel Highlands 34, Trinity 33 – These teams played a 3-point game last year and had another thriller tonight. Laurel Highlands got revenge for last year’s defeat as sophomore sensation Rodney Gallagher threw 2 TD passes, had a touchdown run and added 2 pick-sixes. Trinity came back and scored with under a minute to go and went for 2 and the win but was stopped. The Hillers recovered the onside kick but the Laurel Highlands defense held on for the victory.
West Mifflin 20, Ringgold 8
Plum 63, Armstrong 13 – Plum finished their second undefeated season in school history, the last coming in 1976.
Mars 34, Indiana 22
Hampton 49, Knoch 0 – Hampton rolled past winless Knoch to secure their third place spot and give the WPIAL Steering Committee a show in their final outing as the Talbots hope for a Wild Card. Knoch had no answer for Hampton’s running game as Michael Morgano scored TDs of 70 and 60 yards and Brock Borgo added 3 TD runs of over 50 yards.
Highlands 35, Greensburg Salem 0 – Highlands finishes with their first winning season since 2017.
Aliquippa 56, Blackhawk 27 – The Quips got big performances from Karl McBride and Vaughn Morris to complete the 20th undefeated season in school history.
Chartiers Valley 46, New Castle 20 – Chartiers Valley will be heading to the playoffs for the first time since 2015. New Castle finishes winless.
Beaver 30, Montour 28 – In a game Montour needed to win to stay in the playoff conversation, the teams went back and forth most of the night. With the game tied at 28, Montour got called for a holding penalty in the end zone, resulting in a safety and the game-winning points for Beaver. This was the Bobcats’ first win of the season.
Class 3A
North Catholic 26, Freeport 14 – The Yellow Jackets defense certainly came to play and held North Catholic to their lowest offensive output of the season, but North Catholic captured their fourth straight conference title and 7th in the last 9 years.
East Allegheny 41, Valley 8 – East Allegheny’s only loss this year came against North Catholic, which bodes well for the Wildcats making the playoffs, but it remains to be seen how the WPIAL handles their cancelled game against Freeport.
Elizabeth Forward 35, Southmoreland 19 – Elizabeth Forward completes their first undefeated regular season since 1966, which was an 8-0-1 campaign so this is the Warriors FIRST perfect regular season.
South Park 30, Mt Pleasant 19 – In an Interstate Conference Casket Match, the Vikings and Eagles went back and forth all evening. Harper Conroy and Brendan Wood hooked up for 3 TDs and South Park put the game away with a fourth quarter pick-six by Luke Smith.
Yough 48, Brownsville 0 – Gamal Marballie threw for 2 TDs (both to CJ Waldier) and ran for 2 more. Waldier had the two receiving touchdowns and a pick-six in the final game of his decorated Cougars career.
Keystone Oaks 52, Hopewell 34 – Logan Shrubb ran for over 300 yards and 3 TDs to lead the Eagles to victory and secure Keystone Oaks’ first playoff spot since 2016. However, Shrubb, one of the most dynamic players in the WPIAL, suffered an injury so his status for the playoffs may be up in the air.
Central Valley 51, Burrell 0 – Huge credit to Burrell for playing this game. After Derry cancelled, Burrell rescheduled a game against the #1 3A team in the state on just 3 days notice. At the end of the day, the #1 team in the state played like the #1 team in the state.
South Allegheny 68, Deer Lakes 7 – The Gladiators storm past Deer Lakes in a non-conference game to finish with a winning record for the first time since 2012.
Class 2A
Apollo-Ridge 47, Steel Valley 14 – Apollo-Ridge finished atop the Allegheny Conference standings, winning all of their games by mercy rule.
Ligonier Valley 53, Shady Side Academy 48 – The Rams finish their first season in the WPIAL on a winning note.
McGuffey 48, Beth-Center 20 – The Highlanders put an exclamation point on their first conference championship season since 1994 as Jared Johnson found the end zone 3 times (2 rushing and 1 receiving).
Washington 43, Frazier 6 – The Prexies dominated the first half, roaring out to a 43-0 halftime lead to win the Century Conference Casket Match with Frazier. Mike Allen and Vandell Page each scored twice for Wash High.
Chartiers-Houston 27, Waynesburg 14 – The move down to 2A did not do much for Waynesburg’s fortunes as the Raiders have not won a conference game since 2017.
Beaver Falls 46, Neshannock 27 – These teams went back and forth early before Beaver Falls pulled away in the second half. Beaver Falls completed their first undefeated season since 2008.
Laurel 47, Ellwood City 7 – The Spartans stated their case for the playoffs with a dominant victory over winless Ellwood City.
New Brighton 56, Riverside 22 – New Brighton pounded Riverside with Nyasanu Greene running for 2 TDs and Gabe Haddox throwing for two more.
Sto-Rox 49, Brentwood 22 – The Vikings have yet to lose a game when they have taken the field this season. Sto-Rox clinched the Three Rivers Conference title with the win over Brentwood and eliminated the Spartans from playoff contention.
Class 1A
OLSH 43, Northgate 19 – OLSH states their case for a Wild Card spot as Northgate loses their 31st straight game, the second-longest streak in the WPIAL.
Fort Cherry 41, Cornell 6 – Fort Cherry’s 1-point loss to Union last week was all that stood between the Rangers and a winning record. For a team that entered the year on a 2-year losing streak, winning 3 games should be considered a successful season.
Union 36, Burgettstown 22
Clairton 45, Springdale 10 – Dontae Sanders ran for 221 yards and 4 TDs to lead the Bears to an undefeated regular season and another Eastern Conference title. This was the 700th victory for Clairton in their school history.
Jeannette 55, GCC 0 – Roberto Smith ran for 4 TDs and threw for another as the Jayhawks cruised past Westmoreland County rival GCC.
Imani 28, Leechburg 27 – Leechburg’s season started on a high note with a revenge victory over GCC but they fall in the last week of the season to Imani Christian.
Avella 14, Carmichaels 7 – The Eagles won the Casket Match with Carmichaels thanks to tough defense down the stretch to hold onto the lead. Tanner Terensky hauled in a touchdown pass just before halftime then made a fourth quarter interception to help seal the victory.
West Greene 54, Jefferson-Morgan 28 – Pioneers freshman RB Colin Brady scored 4 TDs to lead West Greene to victory.
Mapletown 40, Bentworth 29 – Mapletown got their second win of the season by topping Bentworth who was coming off a big win over Avella.
Non-Classification Games
Albert Gallatin 46, Charleroi 6
Saturday Games
Freedom 46, Mohawk 20 – Lightning in the area caused this game to be halted midway through the second quarter with Freedom leading 20-6. The Bulldogs finished off Mohawk on Saturday morning.
Rochester 13, Shenango 0 – An active shooter situation near the stadium delayed the start of the game then lightning in the area caused another delay. Rochester built a 13-0 lead on Friday night then held on to that margin when the game resumed Saturday afternoon.
Carlynton at Western Beaver
South Side Beaver at Seton LaSalle
Bishop Canevin 32, Riverview 6 – Keyshawn Harris ran for a TD and had a pick-six while Adante Berrian had a punt return TD and a receiving TD to lead the Crusaders to victory.
