This, that and the other thing from the high school basketball scene:
This sentence has never been written before: The Chartiers-Houston boys basketball team is a section champion.
This sentence hasn't been written in more than two decades: Uniontown will miss the WPIAL playoffs for the second consecutive season.
Those are a few of the storylines as WPIAL section play heads into its final week.
First, about Chartiers-Houston. For the first time in school history, the Buccaneers will be a section champ. Char-Houston is 10-0 in Class 2A Section 2 with two games remaining. Even if Char-Houston loses both, it will tie for a section title and be awarded a section championship plaque.
There is no doubt Char-Houston is one of the teams that have benefited from the change to six classifications and also a change in sections. In past seasons, Char-Houston played in a much tougher section against Washington and Seton-LaSalle, among others. Go back a decade and the Bucs were playing against Washington and Monessen.
Now Char-Houston is in a Class 2A section with Fort Cherry, California, Bentworth, Frazier, Jeff-Morgan and Carmichaels. Needless to say, this section isn't as strong. But that's not to minimize Char-Houston's accomplishments. Good for the Bucs to have a memorable season. They have done well where the WPIAL put them. So be it. Kudos to the Bucs.
Char-Houston is the only team in the WPIAL with two players averaging 20 points or more - A.J. Myers (pictured) and Cameron Hanley.
But it will be interesting to see what happens to Char-Houston in the playoffs. The Bucs have made the playoffs 13 times, but never advanced past the first round.
Now about Uniontown. No playoffs for the Raiders again. History says this is a big surprise. Uniontown is 8-10 overall and 5-7 in Class 4A Section 2. Even if Uniontown wins its final two games, it can't finish higher than fifth place, and the top four teams make the playoffs.
The last time Uniontown went two consecutive years without making the playoffs was 1989-90.
About Luptak and Konek
A little update on Quaker Valley senior guard Amos Luptak, who collapsed and had a seizure on the sideline Saturday, and also Cali Konek, who has returned to a team in Maryland.
Notes and thoughts
*** Junior guard Malik Shepherd has left the Beaver Falls basketball team. He was a starter. He also is a standout football player with a few Division I scholarship offers in football.
But Beaver Falls has been fine without Shepherd. Since coach Doug Biega announced he was retiring at the end of the season, the Tigers have won four in a row and are in third place in Class 4A Section 2. They have a two-game lead on the fifth-place teams.
*** Lincoln Park features one of the WPIAL's top players in Nelly Cummings, who surpassed 2,000 career points recently. But the Lincoln Park team has put together an impressive statistic in terms of section wins.
The Leopards have a 65-game section winning streak and are trying to finish perfect in section play for the sixth consecutive season. They have not lost a section game since 2011. Here are the top three section winning streaks in WPIAL boys history:
111 - Blackhawk (1990-99)
82 - Wampum (1954-59)
74 - Washington (1949-55)
*** I'm not sure what it says that Sewickley Academy beat Central Catholic Saturday. That's 2A over 6A. True, this isn't one of Central Catholic's best teams, but is there a more dangerous team in 6A than Central? The Vikings are 9-9, but consider that in the past few weeks Central Catholic defeated Penn Hills, North Hills and North Allegheny. All three of those teams were ranked in the top five in 6A at one time.
Central Catholic is 5-6 in Section 1. There is a logjam of teams fighting for those final two playoff spots in the section. North Allegheny, Seneca Valley and Butler are all tied for third at 5-5, while Central Catholic is 5-6. The top four teams make the playoffs.
*** I always like to see how football players perform on the basketball court. You can sometimes tell more about a football player's athletic ability on the basketball court than the football field. That being said, I would predict Pine-Richland sophomore Andrew Kristofic will be a fairly heavily-recruited offensive linemen in football in two years. Like his size, like his footwork and like his athletic ability for an offensive lineman.
*** Picking the Fabulous 5 for boys basketball is going to be extremely hard this season.
*** Shoutout to Fox Chapel's Zach Skrinjar for one of the best coaching jobs in the WPIAL this season. The Foxes will not scare anyone in the layup lines. And no way anyone, including those at Fox Chapel, could've predicted this team would be 18-1. The Foxes have a big game against Latrobe Tuesday. Besides a section title on the line, seedings for the playoffs will be at stake.
*** Mt. Lebanon is in first place in Section 3 of Class 6A. The Blue Devils are 13-7 overall. If they win their final few games, do they get one of the top five seeds in 6A? Or will the top five seeds go to teams in Section 1 and 2? Will be interesting to see.
*** Did you know Washington and Uniontown came into this season tied for the most playoff appearances in WPIAL boys history with 60? Washington is now ahead with 61 and Monessen has now qualified for the 60th time.
Girls state rankings
Here are the latest girls rankings for Pennsylvania from Jeff Reinhart and Lancaster Newspapers:
CLASS 6A
1. North Allegheny (WPIAL) 19-1 — last week: 1
2. Pine-Richland (WPIAL) 19-1 — last week: 2
3. Cardinal O'Hara (District 12) 15-5 — last week: 3
4. Cumberland Valley (District 3) 18-4 — last week: 4
5. Cedar Crest (District 3) 21-0 — last week: 5
6. North Penn (District 1) 18-2 — last week: 6
7. Penn Hills (WPIAL) 17-2 — last week: 7
8. Plymouth-Whitemarsh (District 1) 20-0 — last week: 10
9. Easton (District 11) 18-2 — last week: 9
10. Central Bucks West (District 1) 16-4 — last week: 8
Moving out: None.
Coming in: None.
OTHERS TO WATCH (listed alphabetically): Abington (1) 16-5, Allen (11) 13-6, Altoona (6) 11-8, Bethel Park (WPIAL) 13-6, Boyertown (1) 19-3, Cedar Cliff (3) 15-5, Central Bucks East (1) 13-7, Central Bucks South (1) 16-5, Central Dauphin (3) 17-3, Central York (3) 20-2, Coatesville (1) 16-5, Conestoga (1) 19-1, Council Rock North (1) 14-6, Dallastown (3) 12-10, Downingtown East (1) 13-6, Garnet Valley (1) 18-2, Governor Mifflin (3) 16-4, Hempfield Area (WPIAL) 12-5, McCaskey (3) 15-6, Methacton (1) 17-5, Mt. Lebanon (WPIAL) 16-5, Nazareth (11) 17-3, Neshaminy (1) 15-5, Northampton (11) 14-6, Norwin (WPIAL) 14-5, Oxford (1) 13-6, Parkland (11) 14-5, Peters Township (WPIAL) 12-6, Pocono Mountain East (11) 14-6, Scranton (2) 14-5, Spring-Ford (1) 15-7, Stroudsburg (11) 14-5, Souderton (1) 17-4, Upper Dublin (1) 15-5.
CLASS 5A
1. Archbishop Wood (District 12) 15-6 — last week: 1
2. Southern Lehigh (District 11) 20-0 — last week: 2
3. Hampton (WPIAL) 17-1 — last week: 3
4. Trinity (WPIAL) 18-2 — last week: 4
5. Harrisburg (District 3) 18-3 — last week: 5
6. Archbishop Carroll (District 12) 15-6 — last week: 7
7. Archbishop Ryan (District 12) 16-5 — last week: 6
8. Springfield—Delco (District 1) 17-3 — last week: 8
9. South Fayette (WPIAL) 15-3 — last week: NR
10. Greencastle-Antrim (District 3) 17-3 — last week: NR
Moving out: Bangor, Fort LeBoeuf.
Coming in: Greencastle-Antrim, South Fayette.
OTHERS TO WATCH (listed alphabetically): Bangor (11) 17-4, Bishop Shanahan (1) 12-6, Central Tech (10) 14-4, Cocalico (3) 14-7, Donegal (3) 15-6, Dover (3) 16-5, Fleetwood (3) 16-4, Fort LeBoeuf (10) 14-4, Gateway (WPIAL) 14-6, Girard (10) 14-5, Harbor Creek (10) 13-5, Henderson (1) 14-5, Lampeter-Strasburg (3) 18-3, Lower Dauphin (3) 16-6, Mars (WPIAL) 14-5, Muhlenberg (3) 14-6, New Oxford (3) 17-5, Oakland Catholic (WPIAL) 16-3, Pottsville (11) 16-4, Slippery Rock (10) 13-4, Susquehannock (3) 18-3, Twin Valley (3) 17-4, Upper Merion (1) 14-8, Warren (10) 15-3, West York (3) 15-7, Wyoming Valley West (2) 14-4.
CLASS 4A
1. Cardinal Wuerl North Catholic (WPIAL) 18-2 — last week: 1
2. Villa Maria (District 10) 15-4 — last week 2
3. Bethlehem Catholic (District 11) 18-2 — last week: 4
4. Northern Lebanon (District 3) 20-1 — last week: 5
5. Greater Nanticoke (District 2) 17-1 — last week: 3
6. Montoursville (District 4) 19-1 — last week: 6
7. Forest Hills (District 6) 16-1 — last week: 9
8. Lancaster Catholic (District 3) 17-4 — last week: 7
9. Athens (District 4) 17-2 — last week: 8
10. Wyomissing (District 3) 20-1 — last week: NR
Moving out: Mercyhurst Prep.
Coming in: Wyomissing.
OTHERS TO WATCH (listed alphabetically): Ambridge (WPIAL) 12-8, Beaver Area (WPIAL) 13-5, Bedford (5) 13-5, Bishop McDevitt (3) 17-4, Blackhawk (WPIAL) 11-7, Bonner-Prendergast (12) 13-8, Central Valley (WPIAL) 13-4, Gwynedd Mercy (1) 16-5, Keystone Oaks (WPIAL) 17-2, Lower Moreland (1) 13-6, Mercyhurst Prep (10) 14-3, Mifflinburg (4) 17-2, Oil City (10) 13-5, Punxsutawney (9) 12-5, South Park (WPIAL) 12-7, West Perry (3) 14-6.
CLASS 3A
1. Neumann-Goretti (District 12) 16-4 — last week: 1
2. Dunmore (District 2) 17-0 — last week: 2
3. Neshannock (WPIAL) 18-1 — last week: 3
4. Mount Carmel (District 4) 19-1 — last week: 4
5. St. Basil Academy (District 1) 22-0 — last week: 5
6. New Hope—Solebury (District 1) 21-0 — last week: 6
7. East Allegheny (WPIAL) 19-0 — last week: 7
8. Holy Redeemer (District 2) 14-3 — last week: 8
9. Moniteau (District 9) 17-2 — last week: NR
10. West Shamokin (District 6) 19-2 — last week: NR
Moving out: Bishop Canevin, Holy Cross.
Coming in: Moniteau, West Shamokin.
OTHERS TO WATCH (listed alphabetically): Bishop Canevin (WPIAL) 14-5, Carlynton (WPIAL) 13-5, Charleroi (WPIAL) 15-4, Delone Catholic (3) 17-5, Everett (5) 14-5, Holy Cross (2) 14-4, Juniata (6) 18-1, Karns City (9) 13-5, Mohawk (WPIAL) 13-5, North East (10) 14-5, North Schuylkill (11) 13-7, Notre Dame—Green Pond (11) 16-4, Penns Valley (6) 12-6, Pine Grove (11) 15-4, Riverside (WPIAL) 14-4, Tyrone (6) 17-3, York Catholic (3) 17-5.
CLASS 2A
1. Minersville (District 2) 20-0 — last week: 1
2. Bishop McCort (District 6) 14-2 — last week: 2
3. Bishop Guilfoyle (District 6) 16-2 — last week: 3
4. Bellwood-Antis (District 6) 18-2 — last week: 4
5. Chartiers-Houston (WPIAL) 18-2 — last week: 6
6. Camp Hill (District 3) 18-4 — last week: 5
7. Sayre (District 4) 19-2 — last week: 7
8. Coudersport (District 9) 17-1 — last week: 8
9. Mahanoy Area (District 11) 17-2 — last week: 9
10. Greensburg Central Catholic (WPIAL) 15-4 — last week: NR
Moving out: California.
Coming in: Greensburg Central Catholic.
OTHERS TO WATCH (listed alphabetically): Blairsville (6) 17-4, Brentwood (WPIAL) 16-3, Burgettstown (WPIAL) 14-6, California (WPIAL) 17-3, Cochranton (10) 15-2, Cranberry (9) 15-5, Frazier (WPIAL) 14-6, Homer-Center (6) 18-2, Kane (9) 16-4, Marian Catholic (11) 13-6, McConnellsburg (5) 10-6, Moravian Academy (11) 18-4, Our Lady of the Sacred Heart (WPIAL) 15-5, Penns Manor (6) 15-6, Vincentian Academy (WPIAL) 15-4, West Middlesex (10) 14-5.
CLASS 1A
1. Winchester Thurston (WPIAL) 16-0 — last week: 1
2. Kennedy Catholic (District 10) 18-1 — last week: 2
3. Bishop Carroll (District 6) 15-4 — last week: 4
4. Jenkintown (District 1) 16-5 — last week: 3
5. Linden Hall (District 3) 18-1 — last week: 5
6. Lebanon Catholic (District 3) 14-6 — last week: 6
7. North Clarion (District 9) 17-2 — last week: 7
8. West Greene (WPIAL) 16-3 — last week: 9
9. Juniata Valley (District 6) 17-3 — last week: NR
10. Halifax (District 3) 17-3 — last week: 8
Moving out: Our Lady of Lourdes Regional.
Coming in: Juniata Valley.
OTHERS TO WATCH (listed alphabetically): Benton (4) 14-3, Berlin Brothersvalley (5) 17-2, Christian Academy (1) 16-3, Christian School of York (3) 18-3, Cornell (WPIAL) 15-4, Elk County Catholic (9) 14-5, Galeton (4) 13-5, Harrisburg Christian (3) 18-2, Farrell (10) 16-2, Northern Potter (9) 15-3, Our Lady of Lourdes Regional (4) 13-6, Portage (6) 14-5, Quigley Catholic (WPIAL) 14-5, St. Joseph (WPIAL) 12-7, Southern Fulton (5) 12-6, Sullivan County (4) 16-3.