All was going according to Penn Hills' strange plan.

The Indians had started the past two seasons 1-3 before turning things around, stomping late-season opponents and making the playoffs.

The Indians were the Post-Gazette's third-ranked team in Class AAAA at the beginning of the year but, true to last year's form, started the season 1-3.

After knocking off Plum, it looked as though the Indians were following a familiar path -- that is until last week.

Penn Hills was embarrassed by Central Catholic, 27-6. The Vikings held the Indians scoreless until the fourth quarter.

Last year, the Indians beat Central Catholic, 30-7, for their third win of the season.

Now, the Indians' 12-year run of Class AAAA playoff appearances might be in jeopardy.

Penn Hills (2-4, 1-1) faces a critical contest tomorrow on the road against Kiski Area, which also has a 1-1 Big East Conference record. If the Indians win, they are likely a lock for a playoff berth. If they lose, they will need some help.

Two other teams -- Central Catholic and Plum -- are 1-1 in the conference, and Penn Hills still has a showdown with undefeated Woodland Hills.

The Indians are tied with McKeesport for the second longest playoff streak in the WPIAL. Woodland Hills has the longest streak, having made the postseason every year since 1995.

Greensburg C.C. feeling blue

Could Greensburg Central Catholic's reign atop the Interstate Conference be nearing an end?

The Centurions have finished either first or second in the conference since 2002. But they already have two conference losses, and the Centurions are yet to face perennial rival Jeannette.

Greensburg C.C. lost to McGuffey, 6-0, in the second week of the season and dropped a 36-35 heartbreaker against Mount Pleasant two weeks later.

Mount Pleasant (6-0) is in first place in the conference.

Worse yet for the Centurions, they could still miss the playoffs.

Three teams are tied for fourth in the conference, Greensburg Central Catholic, McGuffey and Washington. McGuffey controls its own destiny. McGuffey and Washington will meet in the last game of the season.

That means the Centurions need some help.

The next two weeks should be relatively light for Greensburg C.C. The Centurions travel to Brownsville (1-5) tomorrow night and play host to South Allegheny (0-6) next week.

The Centurions close the season on the road against rival Jeannette (5-1). The two schools have combined for the past six conference titles, but with another team in the Interstate driver's seat, that run could end this season.

Adjusting to Class AA life

Mount Pleasant is in a familiar position, just in a different location.

The 6-0 Vikings lead the Interstate Conference and are likely a lock for a Class AA playoff berth. It's reminiscent of earlier this decade when Mount Pleasant won back-to-back Class AAA Keystone Conference titles.

The Vikings missed the playoffs last season, their first in Class AA. They had qualified for five consecutive postseasons before switching classes in 2008.

Mount Pleasant will face winless South Allegheny tomorrow night on the road. But things get tougher from there. The Vikings will close out the season against two 5-1 teams: Jeannette at home and Charleroi on the road.

Puddles and points

Either the rain is getting wetter or the defenses are getting better.

For the second week in a row, WPIAL football teams had to fight through rain in Friday night football contests. And, for the second straight week, more WPIAL teams were shut out than in any other week this season.

In 59 WPIAL games Friday night, 19 (32.2 percent) were shutouts -- four more than the previous week. On rain-free Saturday, every team scored in the four WPIAL games played.

In the first four weeks of the season, an average of 10.0 WPIAL teams were shut out each week.

Unfortunately for WPIAL offenses, an early Weather Channel forecast calls for a 50 percent chance of rain tomorrow in Western Pennsylvania.

Two servings of Derry

Maybe the folks at Derry Area wish it rained more often.

The Trojans have posted two consecutive shutouts, their only two wins of the season.

Derry (2-4, 2-2) dropped Laurel Highlands, 12-0, last week and walloped the visiting Southmoreland Scotties, 55-0, two weeks ago. Derry had scored just 47 points in its first four games combined and allowed an average of more than 22 points per game.

The Trojans will try to stretch their shutout streak to three when they play host to Elizabeth Forward tomorrow in a non-conference game.

Mike White's "High School Sports Edition" videos are featured exclusively on PG+, a members-only web site from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Our introduction to PG+ gives you all the details.