A tip of the helmet to the coaches at Derry Area, Mount Pleasant, Kiski Area, Norwin, Latrobe, Plum, Peabody and Riverview for having their teams play a 10th game.

These eight schools from the Post-Gazette East Edition coverage area failed to qualify for the postseason in their respective leagues, but didn't want to put the uniforms away just yet.

It has long been our contention that teams should play as many games as they are allowed by the PIAA. But there are a number of schools in the WPIAL and the City League who pack the footballs and shoulder pads away after nine games if they don't qualify for the playoffs.

Derry Area has a 4-5 overall record and is coming off a 34-13 upset victory against playoff-bound Greensburg Salem in the Class AAA Keystone Conference. In fact, Derry has won its past two games.

Tonight at 7 p.m., the Trojans will travel to play Westmoreland County rival Mount Pleasant, which dropped in classification and competed in the Class AA Interstate Conference this season. The Vikings also finished their conference schedule 4-5.

"We were disappointed when they dropped down and moved out of the Keystone," Derry coach Ron Polinsky said. "They contacted us a couple weeks ago about the possibility of playing a 10th game if neither of us made the playoffs.

"It just makes sense because we are close and the players have gone against each other in other sports. We've got just 10 seniors on the roster and have a young team, so it's an opportunity for our guys to get in an extra week of practice. And at Mount Pleasant, Bo [Ruffner] was in his first year and put in a new offense and gets more time to work with his guys."

Polinsky said he doesn't plan to use just underclassmen in the game. He said it will give his seniors a chance to go out on a high note.

"We're excited about the chance to play another game," Polinsky said. "Maybe if it was somebody we weren't that familiar with, it would be different, but we've got a history with Mount Pleasant. Because of that I'm sure everybody will play hard."

Other games at 7 tonight have Kiski Area at Norwin, Latrobe at Plum, Peabody of the City League at South Allegheny and Riverview at Burgettstown.

It's hard to call a team that has won just two of its past five games hot and believe it has a chance to knock off a No. 2 seed. But Hempfield just might be getting its act together at the right time.

The Spartans (4-5) will travel to Bethel Park (9-0) tomorrow night in a WPIAL Class AAAA first-round playoff game. The smart money is on the Black Hawks in this one, but tomorrow is Halloween and strange things have been known to happen.

Besides, Hempfield has already participated in a playoff game of sorts.

The Spartans defeated Latrobe, 24-14, last weekend in a win-and-in Foothills Conference game. Had Hempfield lost, it would not have qualified for the postseason.

"We have yet to put four quarters together this year," Hempfield coach Greg Meisner said. "But we didn't play badly last week."

And although Bethel Park is undefeated, three of its victories were by seven points or less.

Hempfield had two runners surpass 100 yards rushing against Latrobe, which isn't that unusual for a wing-T offense. R.J. Thomas had 155 yards on 14 carries and scored three touchdowns. He finished the regular season with 840 yards on 145 attempts. Pat Parisi collected 130 on 12 attempts.

"We've got three pretty good backs in R,J., Pat and Ryan Hayden," Meisner said. "I sort of figured we'd get Bethel Park."

Heading into the first round of the WPIAL playoffs the Upper St. Clair at McKeesport, Valley at Jeannette and Montour at Yough games will receive a lot of attention. But the best, and most entertaining, first-round contest (at least in one guy's opinion) has East Allegheny visiting Aliquippa in Class AA.

Why?

Because of East Allegheny running back Monte Ashby. Last week, Ashby scored six touchdowns and rushed for 222 yards on 20 carries in a 42-0 victory against South Allegheny.

Ashby, who transferred to East Allegheny last season after Duquesne High School closed, has gained 1,555 yards this season and has rushed for 4,666 yards for his career.

It will be interesting to see what Ashby can do against an Aliquippa defense that prides itself on being stingy. Not many opposing runners have visited Carl A. Aschman Stadium, aka The Pit, and left with impressive figures.

The Wildcats can thank the Center Trojans for the first-round trip to Aliquippa. Center defeated Beaver last weekend in the Midwestern Athletic Conference and that made the Quips the No. 2 team out of the MAC for the playoffs. Had Center lost, Beaver would have been the MAC's No. 2 team and Aliquippa would have had to travel.