Heading into the last week of the WPIAL season, most of the playoff spots have been decided. By my calculations, only 11 of the 64 playoff spots remain up for grabs. According to the Post-Gazette, only 9 playoff spots are still up for grabs. Maybe they took the time to figure out all the potential 3-way tiebreakers that could arise that I didn’t figure out. Either way, unlike in previous years, there are no straight-up casket matches. Almost all the teams on the edge need another team to win or lose.
To briefly explain the WPIAL playoff system:
- The top 4 teams in each conference make the playoffs
- The top 2 teams from each conference play first round games at their home stadium
- Ties are broken by Head-to-Head, Gardner Points (based on strength of victory in conference games), and Tiebreaker Points (based on margin of victory in conference games with a maximum of +10 and minimum of -10 per game). Tiebreakers revert to head-to-head whenever possible.
Conference Champions
Big East – Central Catholic (5-0, 8-0)
Foothills – Penn Trafford (5-0, 8-0)
Northern Seven – North Allegheny (5-0, 8-0)
Up For Grabs:
Great Southern – Upper St Clair (4-0, 7-1) faces Mt Lebanon (4-0, 6-2) to decide the conference title
Clinched Playoff Spots
Big East – Woodland Hills (4-1, 6-2), Penn Hills (4-1, 4-4), Fox Chapel (3-2, 3-5)
Foothills – Gateway (4-1, 6-2), McKeesport (4-1, 6-2), Connellsville (3-3, 4-4)
Northern Seven – Erie McDowell (4-2, 6-2), Shaler (3-2, 5-3), Seneca Valley (3-2, 6-2)
Seeding Scenarios
Big East – The winner of Woodland Hills-Penn Hills will finish second
Foothills – The winner of Gateway-McKeesport will finish second
Northern Seven – Shaler finishes second with a win over Pine-Richland. Erie McDowell finishes second if Shaler loses
Up For Grabs:
Great Southern (2 spots)- Bethel Park (2-2, 3-5) clinches with a win over Baldwin (1-3, 4-4), Peters Twp (1-3, 3-5) clinches with a win over Canon-McMillan, Baldwin can make the playoffs with a win over Bethel Park and a Peters Twp loss OR by beating Bethel by more than 10 and Peters Twp winning by less than 10. Head-to-Head: Bethel Park beat Peters Twp, Peters Twp beat Baldwin. Tiebreaker Points: Bethel Park 0, Peters Twp -20, Baldwin -20
Conference Champions:
Greater Allegheny – Knoch (5-0, 8-0)
Parkway – Central Valley (5-0, 8-0)
Up For Grabs:
Big Eight – Thomas Jefferson (6-0, 6-2) faces West Mifflin (5-1, 7-1) to decide the conference title
Keystone – Franklin Regional (6-0, 8-0) wins the conference with a win over Greensburg Salem (5-1, 7-1) or with a loss by less than 6. Greensburg Salem wins the conference if they beat Franklin Regional by 6 or more.
Clinched Playoff Spots:
Big Eight – Chartiers Valley (4-2, 5-3)
Greater Allegheny – Indiana (4-1, 6-2)
Keystone – Ringgold (5-1, 6-2)
Seeding Scenarios:
Keystone – Ringgold finishes second if Franklin Regional wins the conference. Franklin Regional finishes second if Greensburg Salem wins the conference.
Up For Grabs:
Big Eight (1 spot) – Belle Vernon (3-3, 3-5) clinches a playoff spot with a win over Elizabeth Forward or a Trinity (3-3, 4-4) loss to McGuffey. Trinity clinches with a win and a Belle Vernon loss
Greater Allegheny (2 spots) – Highlands (3-2, 6-2) clinches with a win over Hampton (2-3, 3-5) or a Mars (3-2, 6-2) loss to Knoch. Mars clinches with a win OR a Hampton loss OR a loss by less points than Hampton wins by. Head-to-Head: Highlands beat Mars, Mars beat Hampton. Tiebreaker Points: Mars +10, Hampton +1, Highlands -4
Keystone (1 spot) – Four teams are tied for the 4th playoff spot at 2-4. Laurel Highlands (2-4, 3-5) clinches with a win over Albert Gallatin and a Hollidaysburg (2-4, 2-5) win over Derry Area (2-4, 2-6). Hollidaysburg clinches with a win and a Laurel Highlands loss. Derry Area clinches with a win and a Uniontown (2-4, 2-6) loss to Ringgold. Uniontown clinches with a win, a Derry Area win, and a Laurel Highlands loss.
Parkway (3 spots) – Montour (4-2, 6-2) clinches with a win over Moon. The winner of West Allegheny (4-2, 5-3) vs Hopewell (3-3, 4-4) clinches a playoff spot. If West Allegheny wins, Hopewell is eliminated and the winner of Blackhawk (3-3, 5-3) vs New Castle (3-3, 4-4) gets the last playoff spot.
Conference Champions:
Century – Seton-La Salle (6-0, 8-0)
Midwestern – Aliquippa (8-0, 8-0)
Up For Grabs:
Allegheny – Shady Side Academy (5-1, 6-2) wins the conference with a win over Deer Lakes by 7 or more. Freeport (5-1, 6-2) wins the conference with a win over Summit Academy and a Burrell (5-1, 6-2) loss to Ford City. Burrell wins the conference with a win and a Shady Side Academy loss. Head-to-head: Shady Side Academy beat Burrell, Burrell beat Freeport, Freeport beat Shady Side Academy. Tiebreaker Points: Shady Side Academy +43, Freeport +39, Burrell +38
Interstate – Jeanette (7-0, 8-0) faces Greensburg Central Catholic (7-0, 8-0) to decide the conference title
Clinched Playoff Spots:
Allegheny – Ford City (4-2, 5-3)
Century – Washington (5-1, 6-2), South Fayette (4-2, 5-3)
Interstate – Mt Pleasant (5-2, 5-3), East Allegheny (5-3, 5-3)
Midwestern – Beaver (6-1, 7-1), Ellwood City (5-2, 6-2), Beaver Falls (5-2, 6-2)
Seeding Scenarios:
Allegheny – If Shady Side Academy wins the conference, Burrell finishes second.
Midwestern – Beaver finishes second with a win over Beaver Falls or a loss by less than 7. Beaver Falls finishes second if they beat Beaver by more than 7.
Up For Grabs:
Century (1 spot) – Keystone Oaks (3-3, 4-4) clinches with a win over Seton-La Salle OR a Steel Valley (2-4, 4-4) loss. Steel Valley clinches with a win over South Allegheny and losses by Keystone Oaks and Quaker Valley (2-4, 3-5). Quaker Valley clinches with a win over South Fayette, a win by Steel Valley, and losses by Keystone Oaks and Burgettstown.
Conference Champions:
Big Seven – Sto-Rox (6-0, 8-0)
Black Hills – Clairton (6-0, 8-0)
Eastern – Bishop Canevin (7-0, 8-0)
Tri-County South – Beth-Center (7-0, 7-1)
Clinched Playoff Spots:
Big Seven – Rochester (5-1, 7-1), Western Beaver (4-2, 4-4), Cornell (4-2, 6-2)
Black Hills – Brentwood (5-1, 7-1), Chartiers-Houston (4-2, 6-2), Fort Cherry (4-2, 5-3)
Eastern – Avonworth (6-1, 7-1), Springdale (5-2, 6-2)
Tri-County South – Monessen (6-1, 6-2), California (5-2, 6-2), Frazier (5-2, 5-3)
Seeding Scenarios:
Tri-County South – Monessen finishes second with a win over Frazier or a loss by 5 or less. If California loses to Geibel, the winner of Monessen-Frazier finishes second. If California beats Geibel and Frazier beats Monessen, 2nd place will be decided by tiebreaker points. Head-to-Head: Monessen beat California, California beat Frazier. Tiebreaker Points: Monessen +47, California +32, Frazier +30.
Up For Grabs:
Eastern – North Catholic (4-3, 5-3) clinches a playoff spot with a win over Bishop Canevin OR a loss by less than 10 and a Northgate loss by 1 more point than North Catholic’s loss. Northgate (4-3, 5-3) clinches a playoff spot with a win over Avonworth and a North Catholic loss OR by losing by less than or the same amount of points North Catholic loses by. OLSH (4-4, 4-4) is eliminated based on tiebreakers. Head-to-Head: North Catholic beat Northgate, Northgate beat OLSH, OLSH beat North Catholic. Tiebreaker Points: Northgate +14, North Catholic +13, OLSH -4.
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