Penn Hills and Central Catholic have already been eliminated from the WPIAL Class AAAA playoffs. What's next? Stability in Iraq?

The Indians and Vikings, of course, are perennial powers who are accustomed to succeeding in the district playoffs and advancing to the PIAA tournament. Many years, they don't collect the uniforms along Fifth Avenue or Garland Drive until mid-March.

Not this time, as both teams were derailed on Lincoln's birthday, both finishing an uncharacteristic 13-12.

Penn Hills, the defending PIAA champion, lost to Chartiers Valley, 78-65, on Saturday, at about the same time the Vikings were being stifled by Shaler, 67-55.

This is the first time since 1985 that Central Catholic and Penn Hills both failed to advance beyond the first round.

The Vikings, who have made the playoffs 19 times in the past 22 years, have lost in the first round only twice since 1990.

Penn Hills reached the playoffs 22 years in a row (1980-2001), a WPIAL record, and has qualified the past three seasons, too. The Indians have fallen in the first round only three times since 1988.

Section 2, expected to have a postseason impact, has only one team in the quarterfinals: McKeesport Area. Baldwin was dumped by North Hills, 50-47, on Saturday.

Lunar event

Valley faced a daunting task Wednesday night, when it took on Moon in a WPIAL Class AAA boys' first-round game at West Mifflin.

The Tigers (19-4 through Tuesday) are the defending WPIAL and PIAA champs, and the No. 1 seed in this tournament. Valley (11-11), in essence, is No. 16, the survivor of a 54-50 preliminary-round game vs. Waynesburg on Friday.

The Vikings have been erratic all season, their longest winning streak being two. But they are capable of playing well, having beaten three playoff teams: Waynesburg, Hampton and Greensburg Salem.

Norwin out

The Norwin girls' season ended Monday with a 47-46 loss to Shaler in the first round of WPIAL Class AAAA play.

Still, it was a triumphant return to varsity coaching for Bob Shrader.

In the first season of his second stint as their coach, he led the Knights (18-6) to the Section 1 title. Shrader, who previously coached from 1978-87, also earned his 200th coaching victory Jan. 31 at Connellsville. His record in 11 seasons is 201-75.

Short tips

* That wasn't an easy playoff debut for Lynn Washowich, second-year boys' coach at Norwin. His Knights were eliminated by McKeesport Area, 71-49, in a Class AAAA first-round game Saturday. Washowich was a two-year starter on the McKeesport boys' team in the early 1990s.

* Two more games, and Mike McKee could have become Plum's career scoring leader. He finished with 1,298 points, 47 shy of the record established by Bobby Franklin, class of 2003.

* Amy Johns opened the season with a 39-point game and closed it with 40, outscoring Albert Gallatin in a 56-39 triumph Feb. 7. This 5-7 junior at Mc-Keesport Area did pretty well in between, averaging 30.9 points per game for the season, tops among WPIAL girls. Despite missing four games with injury this winter, she raised her career point total to 1,451, and will have a good shot at the coveted 2,000.

* Natalea Gulyas needed 21 points in the regular-season finale to reach 1,000 for her Franklin Regional career. She scored 22 in a 63-52 victory against Greater Latrobe. Gulyas, a 6-1 senior, added 12 Saturday in a 48-41 loss to New Castle in a WPIAL Class AAAA first-round game, and finished with 1,013.