The WPIAL football regular season ends Saturday, Oct. 25th with the conclusion of the Burgettstown/Bishop Canevin game at Dormont Stadium. All told, 65 teams will enter the WPIAL playoffs, most by claiming one of the conference automatic berths, 16 others by invitation of the WPIAL Football Steering Committee as Wild Cards. At this moment, the League is expected to release the brackets the afternoon of the final day of the season, though that could be complicated should Burgettstown play its way back into contention. Following is a three-weeks-to-play look at the playoff pictures for the 19 teams in Washington & Greene Counties. (Conference records)
6A Canon-McMillan: The Big Macs (2-1) would be in if the post-season started today, but CM has yet to play any of the three teams ahead of them. Likely needing one win down the stretch, Canon-McMillan faces North Allegheny (3-1), Norwin (2-1) and Central Catholic (3-0). The top four teams qualify.
5A Peters Township: The Indians (2-0) are the #2 ranked team in the classification behind Pine-Richland. Peters Township all but clinches a playoff spot with one more win, taking on South Fayette (1-1), Baldwin (0-2) and Bethel Park (1-1). The top three teams in each conference qualify along with three wild card selections, making up a 12-team bracket.
4A Trinity, Ringgold: The Hillers (2-0) share the Big Six Conference lead with Chartiers Valley (2-0), one game up on Ringgold (1-1) and Thomas Jefferson (1-1). Trinity & Chartiers Valley meet Friday night with the winner taking over sole possession of first place. Ringgold travels to Pleasant Hills to take on Thomas Jefferson. The top two teams in each conference qualify for the 8-team bracket, supplemented by two wild cards teams. Trinity finishes with Laurel Highlands (0-2) and Belle Vernon (0-2), both on the road. Ringgold still has Belle Vernon and Chartiers Valley on the schedule.
3A McGuffey: The Highlanders (0-4) cannot qualify for the 12-team bracket made up of the top three conference finishers and three wild card choices.
2A Wash High, Waynesburg, Charleroi: The Little Prexies (3-0) are a near lock to qualify for the 13-team bracket, comprised of the top three finishers in each conference plus four wild card teams. Wash High has games with Charleroi (1-2), Carlynton (0-3) and co-leader Seton-La Salle (4-0). Waynesburg (1-2) can take a huge step forward with a win Friday night at Keystone Oaks (3-1). That would help the Raiders in the AQ and wild card categories. Waynesburg will finish with Charleroi and Sto-Rox (0-4). Charleroi has Wash High, Waynesburg and Sto-Rox to close the year. The Cougars aren’t out yet, but are just hanging on by a thread.
1A playoff field will include 16 teams, the top three finishers in each of the four conferences, then four wild card selections. Barring a stumble against a team below them in the standings, the fourth-place finisher in both the Black Hills and Tri-County South look to be in good position to snag at-large invitations.
Black Hills Conference: Fort Cherry (4-0) is the two-time defending WPIAL champion, currently sharing the conference lead with Bishop Canevin (3-0). The two meet Friday night at Jim Garry Stadium for sole possession of first place. The Rangers have a non-conference game next week before hosting Serra Catholic (0-3) to close the season. Chartiers-Houston (2-2) is tied with Cornell (2-2) and Monessen (1-2) heading into this weekend’s action. The Bucs host Serra Catholic, then go to Cornell next week to close their conference slate. Bugettstown (0-3) is alive but would have to win out and get some help. The Blue Devils host Monessen, then visit Serra Catholic and Bishop Canevin.
Tri-County South: California (4-0), Jeff-Morgan (4-0), Avella (3-1) and Bentworth (3-1) are well ahead of the bottom half of the conference. And, on Oct. 24th, Jeff-Morgan will host California and Avella visits Bentworth, likely to set the final order and determine which team will be on the wild card bubble. Beth-Center (1-3) and West Greene (1-3) are still alive but just barely. Carmichaels (0-4) and Mapletown (0-4) can only hope to play spoilers. Jeff-Morgan has yet to face any of the other three teams in the top half. The Rockets visit Bentworth Friday, host Avella Oct. 17, then California to close the regular season. California hosts West Greene and Beth-Center before going to Jefferson. Avella is home to Carmichaels Friday before going to J-M, then Bentworth. The Bearcats play at Mapletown between home games with J-M and Avella.