You wanna know the matchups for the WPIAL playoffs? Supposedly, you'll have to wait until tomorrow night.
But my football steering committee already has met. The committee has a total of one - me. And below are projected matchups with a few thoughts on each class.
Remember, teams are seeded but they are not always "true seeds." Why? Well, because the WPIAL does not play teams from the same conference against each other in the first round. So, you might have a team that might be the 15th seed, but that team will get a seed or two higher because the No. 2 seed is from its conference.
Got it? Well, here goes:
CLASS AAAA
Woodland Hills and Penn-Trafford are the only undefeated teams, but my guess is Woodland Hills will get the No. 1 seed. But I'm telling you, this Penn-Trafford team is good - and don't be surprised if the Warriors win it.
The biggest question in this class is what to do with North Allegheny? The Tigers, Central Catholic and Pine-Richland all tied for first in the Northern Eight Conference. But because of tiebreaker points, Central Catholic was the No. 1 seed, Pine-Richland second and North Allegheny third.
So where do you seed North Allegheny? And their seeding affects a lot of people. I think Central Catholic should be
No. 3 and Pine-Richland No. 4. But NA could go anywhere from No. 5 to No. 7. And the WPIAL wouldn't be wrong putting NA in any of those spots. Why No. 7? Well, to keep North Allegheny away from playing either Pine or Central in the quarterfinals. (pictured is North Allegheny quarterback Ethan Maenza)
The projected matchups: (16) Hempfield at (1) Woodland Hills; (9) Seneca Valley vs (8) Bethel Park; (13) Penn Hills at (4) Pine-Richland; (12) Plum at (5) Mt. Lebanon; (15) North Hills at (2) Penn-Trafford; (10) Kiski Area at (7) North Allegheny; (14) Norwin at (3) Central Catholic; (11) Upper St. Clair at (6) McKeesport.
CLASS AAA
The biggest question here is who gets the No. 1 seed - Central Valley or Belle Vernon? Belle Vernon is the only undefeated team in the field. Central Valley has one loss, but has won eight in a row, is the defending champion and knocked off previous No. 1-ranked West Allegheny this past Friday.
You can make points for either team as No. 1. Central Valley has the tradition and comes from the Parkway Conference, which has had at least one team in the title game nine consecutive years - and sometimes two. But should things be based on previous years? Central Valley does have one loss.
Plus, this year is it that big of a deal? I went with Belle Vernon No. 1 and Ringgold No. 3 on the other side of the bracket to keep the Big Ten Conference mates away from each other. I put West Allegheny at No. 5 instead of No. 3, just to keep Central Valley and West Allegheny on opposite sides of the bracket. (Pictured is Belle Vernon coach Matt Humbert).
Here goes:
(16) Chartiers Valley at (1) Belle Vernon; (9) West Mifflin at (8) Montour; (13) Hampton at (4) West Allegheny; (13) New Castle at (4) Mars; (12) Hampton at (5) West Allegheny; (15) Laurel Highlands at (2) Central Valley; (10) Hollidaysburg at (7) Thomas Jefferson; (14) Armstrong at (3) Ringgold; (11) Ambridge at (6) Franklin Regional;
CLASS AA
The big question is who gets the No. 1 seed - South Fayette or Aliquippa? They have played in the past two WPIAL title games, and South Fayette has won both. They are the only two losses the past two years for Aliquippa. Both are
undefeated this year. South Fayette trounced everyone except Seton-LaSalle. Beaver Falls gave Aliquippa a game for three quarters Friday before the Quips pulled away. Otherwsie, the Quips have hammered everyone.
I say go with South Fayette. I know the Lions are a different team without Brett Brumbaugh at QB. But they are undefeated and won 41 in a row. Shouldn't that be enough? (pictured is South Fayette running back Hunter Hayes)
One last thing. Watch for Washington in this bracket.
Here goes:
(16) Burgettstown at (1) South Fayette; (9) Beaver at (8) Mount Pleasant; (13) Keystone Oaks at (4) Beaver Falls; (12) Apollo-Ridge at (5) Steel Valley; (11); (15) Deer Lakes at (2) Aliquippa; (10) Seton-LaSalle at (7) Highlands; (14) New Brighton at (3) Washington; (11) McGuffey at (6) Freeport.
CLASS A
Clairton and Cardinal Wuerl North Catholic are both undefeated, but Clairton gets the No. 1 seed.
What should happen here is Jeannette should get the No. 3 seed, in order to keep the Jayhawks on the other side of the
bracket from Clairton. No way should they both be on the same side of the bracket. Yes, Jeannette is a second-place team, but is you are truly going to seed teams, Jeannette should be No. 3. Jeannette is the only team to give Clairton a semblance of a game. (pictured is Clairton quarterback Aaron Mathews).
Although Shenango is a conference champ, the Wildcats have two losses and one of them was to Avonworth, a third-place team. No way should Shenango get the No. 3 seed ahead of Jeannette.
Frazier is undefeated, but the Commodores come from the Tri-County South, which hasn't won a playoff game in four years. Frazier is solid, but No. 5 should be the highest the Commodores go. And you can't always go by comparative scores, but consider this: One of Frazier's wins was 7-3 over Bentworth. Jeannette beat Bentworth, 68-0. Enough said.
Here goes:
(16) Carmichaels at (1) Clairton; (9) Avonworth at (8) Beth-Center; (13) Bentworth at (4) Shenango; (12) South Side Beaver at (5) Frazier; (15) Union at (2) Cardinal Wuerl North Catholic; (10) Greensburg Central Catholic at (7) Neshannock; (14) Chartiers-Houston at (3) Jeannette; (11) Springdale at (6) Bishop Canevin.