He dreamed that he was 109 years old, sound of mind and body and recounting highlights from the 94-year history of WPIAL football.

The future Fumbler was a lineman on the Wilkinsburg team that won the first WPIAL championship in 1914. Four years later, he was distraught that the title game was canceled because of a flu epidemic -- but thrilled to be healthy.

He glowed, and sometimes shivered, at memories of the Donora, Braddock and Penn Hills dynasties; of Cookie Gilchrist pile-driving him when he was manning the chains at a Har-Brack game; of Beaver Falls' Joe Namath giving him a tattered ball; of Gateway and Penn Hills being sent to Johnstown for a playoff game; and of Jim Render glaring at him, Tyler Palko swearing at him and Tom Donahoe with dark hair.

The Fumbler also dreamed that he had seen every WPIAL title game. He is certainly an expert at predicting champions. This is his 15th season with the Post-Gazette, and 25 of his 56 pre-playoff picks have gone on to gold medals. But only one of four did so last season.

His selections for this year: Gateway, Thomas Jefferson, Jeannette, Clairton.

Last week was an excellent one for The Fumbler, who went 55-8 (.873 percentage). That raised his season mark to 467-121 (.794 percentage).

Here are The Fumbler's thoughts on the top WPIAL playoff games this weekend, and also a big regular-season City League game.

All WPIAL games are at 7:30 p.m. today:

Bethel Park (6-3) at Seneca Valley (6-3) -- The teachers' strike certainly has not affected Seneca Valley as the Raiders have won four games in a row. A key to this game is how well Bethel Park's defense does against Seneca Valley quarterback C.J. Brown. Winner: Bethel Park.

Shaler (6-3) at Upper St. Clair (6-3) -- Upper St. Clair is not good enough to win a second consecutive WPIAL title. But the Panthers are good enough to get past the first round. Winner: Upper St. Clair.

Trinity (6-3) at Mount Pleasant (7-2) -- We hate to keep bringing up those Keystone Conference numbers, but, in case you were wondering, Keystone teams are 0-24 in the playoffs the past six seasons. Mount Pleasant is the Keystone's best chance for a win this season, but ... Winner: Trinity.

New Castle (6-3) at Knoch (7-2) -- Can the WPIAL please explain something to The Fumbler. Why is Knoch, the No. 3 seed, playing a pretty good New Castle team, while Pine-Richland, the No. 4 seed, is playing a much easier game against Keystone Oaks (3-6)? Winner: Knoch.

East Allegheny (6-3) at Steel Valley (9-0) -- Don't be deceived by the records. East Allegheny has enough talent to make this one close. Winner: Steel Valley.

Burgettstown (7-2) at Aliquippa (7-2) -- Burgettstown has not won a playoff game since 1977, and has made the playoffs only a few times since then. The Blue Devils are good enough to give Aliquippa a tussle for a while but not good enough to win. Winner: Aliquippa.

Rochester (6-3) at Fort Cherry (6-3) -- Rochester has won its first playoff game seven years in a row. The trend will continue. Winner: Rochester.

Allderdice (5-4) vs. Carrick (5-4), Noon Saturday at Cupples Stadium -- This is the final weekend of the City League regular season. Carrick has been one of the feel-good stories this season, as the Raiders are trying to earn a City playoff spot for the first time since 1987. Winner: Allderdice.

And now the rest:

WPIAL playoffs

All games are at 7:30 p.m. today, unless noted (home teams in capital letters).

CLASS AAAA -- Central Catholic over Plum (at Fox Chapel); MC-KEESPORT over North Hills; NORWIN over Woodland Hills; NORTH ALLEGHENY over Hempfield; GATEWAY over Penn-Trafford; PENN HILLS over Canon-McMillan.

CLASS AAA -- THOMAS JEFFERSON over Laurel Highlands; West Allegheny over BELLE VERNON; PINE-RICHLAND over Keystone Oaks; CHARTIERS VALLEY over Franklin Regional; MONTOUR over Ringgold; BLACKHAWK over Highlands.

CLASS AA -- JEANNETTE over Seton-LaSalle; South Fayette over SHADY SIDE ACADEMY; MARS over Valley; FORD CITY over Laurel; Beaver over RIVERSIDE; BEAVER FALLS over Greensburg Central Catholic.

CLASS A -- CLAIRTON over North Catholic; SPRINGDALE over Chartiers-Houston; SERRA over Riverview; JEFFERSON-MORGAN over Apollo-Ridge; MONESSEN over Beth-Center; MONACA over Carmichaels; WESTERN BEAVER over California (1:30 p.m. tomorrow).