There are no section championship games in the WPIAL; those titles are supposed to be decided in the regular season.

When South Fayette got another chance, however, to play North Catholic, the same team that denied them a chance for an outright section title in the last game of the regular season, the Lions treated it just like a section title game.

This time it was the PIAA Class AA quarterfinals and this time it was South Fayette triumphant and moving on in the state playoffs with a 10-3 win.

Now South Fayette just sits a day away from another title game, this one is official, and for a program that has not competed for a team state championship in any sport -- ever -- this one is monumental.

South Fayette, which has won 15 of its past 17 games, meets District 3 champion Brandywine Heights for the Class AA title tomorrow night at 7 at Blair County Ballpark in Altoona.

"I don't think it has sunk in at all for any of us," said Dillon Haviland, South Fayette's ace pitcher. "When we get off the bus and see those other teams playing and watch one of their games, that is when it will probably sink in.

"This is just really amazing for the entire school, everyone from the football team to the basketball team, they are rallying around us. The fact that we weren't expected to make it makes it that much better."

No one could be blamed for not expecting to see South Fayette playing baseball this late in June. Last year's playoff appearance that ended with a loss in the preliminary round of the WPIAL playoffs was the first for the Lions in nearly a decade.

"When I was a freshman I didn't know a whole lot about the program or about the history," said Haviland, a lifelong South Fayette resident. "I did know they hadn't been successful in the previous years and I knew it was going to be a struggle for us, based on the caliber of the teams that we were playing."

The two main forces behind the program-changing season are second-year coach James Barton and Haviland. Barton, who came from Woodland Hills, helped lead South Fayette to the playoffs last year, his first on the job, despite a nine-year drought and a relatively young roster.

"The kids were really disappointed [after losing to North Catholic in the regular season]. They wanted to win the [section] title outright, they didn't want to share," Barton said.

"It was really big for the kids to win that game against North Catholic because they hadn't won anything in years."

This year it has been the left arm of Haviland that has carried South Fayette for most of the playoffs. In the postseason, this 6-foot-2, 185-pound junior has started against Laurel, Shady Side Academy, Bald Eagle Area and Mount Union. He also came on in relief against Beaver Falls in a one-run game.

His performance in big games this postseason has been game-changing, to say the least. Against two teams from District 6 in the PIAA playoffs, Haviland fired a no-hitter against Bald Eagle Area and then followed that up with a two-hitter against Mount Union. In the two games he combined to fan 27 batters.

He will likely take the hill against Brandywine Heights in the state title game with a 7-4 record and 136 strikeouts in 70 innings. Haviland threw 87 pitches in the win against Mount Union and Barton will wait to see how he looks during warmups before deciding between him or another strong pitcher, senior Zach Fettig.

Brandywine Heights needed eight innings to get past Loyalsock on Monday to reach the title game while South Fayette needed a reversal of fortune after a WPIAL semifinal loss to Shady Side Academy ended its hopes for a WPIAL title.

The Lions rebounded with a 3-2 win over Beaver Falls in the WPIAL third-place consolation game to reach the state bracket where it knocked off two teams from District 6, Bald Eagle Area in the first round and Mount Union in the semifinals along with the payback win over North Catholic in the quarters.

"We went in there against North Catholic and I didn't think they were expecting that much from us," Haviland said.

"They thought they were going to beat us easily, but we just knew if we beat them that would really leave a mark that we were the best team in the section. Even though it was a split [section] title, we won the game that mattered."

n What: PIAA Class AA championship game.

n When: 7 p.m. tomorrow.

n Where: Blair County Ballpark, Altoona.

n Who: South Fayette (18-5) vs. Brandywine Heights.

n The skinny: The Lions have allowed just four runs in three PIAA playoff games.