There are 39 Class AA football teams in the WPIAL, including Northgate. But only nine have fewer boys in the top three grades than the Flames.

Now coach Mike Pipak would be the first to say that having a small enrollment is not the main reason Northgate is winless this season ... but it doesn't help.

According to the PIAA Web site, Northgate has 204 boys in grades 10-12. Pipak said there might be fewer than that since that number is two years old.

Then take a look at the teams the Flames go against in the Century Conference. Keystone Oaks and South Park both have more than 300 boys, South Fayette around 250.

"We're hanging in there. Our kids have been playing hard and we haven't quit. We just haven't been able to get that victory yet although we've been close," Pipak said. "The thing is our conference is just so tough and we have to go against some big schools.

"It's hard when you have 35 players and you're going against teams that have 70 or 75. You just get worn down, especially if you have some injuries."

Speaking of injuries, Northgate senior quarterback Joe Barker was injured in the first series this past weekend against Cornell. Sophomore Jon Girvin, who is 6-foot-4 and 180 pounds, came on and ended up throwing for 200 yards the second half.

"We've been using some of the younger players but mostly because of injuries," Pipak said. "There are a couple of games that we had a chance to win. Things just didn't work out but we're not giving up. We've got Canevin this week and Quaker Valley and then Sto-Rox."

Quaker Valley is also one of those 16 winless schools.

The bad news for Butler fans is that the Golden Tornado is winless and 0-2 in the Class AAAA Northern Six Conference. The good news is that Butler is just two games out of first place and could still earn a spot in the WPIAL playoffs.

OK, with North Hills (3-3), North Allegheny (5-1) and Seneca Valley (3-3) on the remaining schedule, the playoff thing isn't likely to happen. That doesn't mean it couldn't happen.

"I've been in this conference a long time and I've learned that anybody can beat anybody," Butler coach Jeff McAnallen said. "Nobody thought Seneca would beat North Hills last week but it did."

It's a good point and if Butler could win two of its final three games it would probably make the playoffs. But the Golden Tornado has some injury concerns and that's not good.

Missing the playoffs for an 11th consecutive year wouldn't be the end of the world, but the folks in Butler expect more ... and so does McAnallen.

There appears to be some light at the end of the tunnel. McAnallen said his junior varsity is 5-1 and that his varsity players have continued to battle

It seems as if Brian Nickel has been playing for the Shady Side Academy squad for a long time, which he has. That's evident by how many career yards Nickel, a senior, has gained.

He collected 180 yards on 34 carries a week ago when the Indians defeated visiting Ford City, 24-7, in a game that was televised via tape delay by FSN Pittsburgh. That put him past the 3,000-yard mark for his career with three regular-season games and probably at least one playoff game remaining.

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

In 59 WPIAL games this past Friday night, 19 schools (32.2 percent) were shut out -- 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 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 night in Western Pennsylvania.

With the regular season headed into the stretch run, here are some dates to circle on the calendar.

• Nov. 2 -- That's the day the WPIAL will conduct its pairings meeting (7 p.m. Embassy Suites Hotel off Thorn Run Road in Moon) and announce the brackets for this year's playoffs.

• Nov. 6 -- The first day of playoff action. There will probably be a couple games on Nov. 7.

• Nov. 27 -- Fabulous Friday. The WPIAL will again hold all of its championship games at Heinz Field. As always, the Class A contest will be the breakfast special with a 10:30 a.m. kickoff. It's the best deal of the season because a fan can see four games for the price of one ticket.

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.