Football playoff spots will be on the line
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Four games involving longtime rivals highlight the final weekend of the WPIAL football regular season.
Woodland Hills-Penn Hills, North Allegheny-North Hills, Greensburg Central Catholic-Jeannette and Rochester-Monaca are big games, no matter the records. But all of those games Friday will decide conference championships.
The WPIAL takes 64 teams to the playoffs -- 16 in each classification. So far, 47 spots have been filled.
In Class AAAA, AAA and A, the top four teams in each conference qualify for the playoffs. Teams that finish first and second in their respective conferences play at home in the first round. Third- and fourth-place teams play on the road.
THE SYSTEM
The WPIAL has a step-by-step system to break ties for football playoff spots.
* Head-to-head competition.
* If there is a tie among three or more teams and head-to-head doesn't break the deadlock, then Gardner Points are used.
* If there is still a tie, the WPIAL tiebreaker system is used.
For example, if teams A, B and C are tied for two playoff spots and have 1-1 records in head-to-head competition, then Gardner Points will be used to break the tie. If team A had more Gardner Points, it would get one of the playoff spots. The tie between B and C would then be broken by head-to-head competition.
The system reverts back to head-to-head competition whenever possible to break ties among three or more teams.
If head-to-head competition can't break a tie among three or more teams, here is how the Gardner Points and WPIAL tiebreaker system work.
* Only conference games count.
* In the Gardner Points system, the winning team gets 10 points for each of the defeated team's victories. For example, Team A beat Team B. Team B has a 4-2 conference record, so Team A gets 40 points.
* Add up the Gardner Points for tied teams. If there is still a deadlock, the WPIAL tiebreaker system is used.
* Under the tiebreaker system, a maximum of 10 points is earned in a victory and a maximum of 10 points is lost in a defeat. Points are based on comparative scores. For example, a 9-0 victory is worth nine points. A 14-7 loss is minus-seven.
* Add up the tiebreaker points to come up with the playoff participant.
However, Class AAAA has a different twist to it as one fifth-place team will make the playoffs as a wild card. That's because Erie McDowell, a District 10 school, will finish among the top four teams in the Northern Five Conference. Although McDowell plays a Northern Five schedule, it is not a WPIAL school and not eligible for the playoffs. So the league will take one fifth-place team, determined by Gardner Points and the WPIAL tiebreaker system.
In Class AA, the top three teams in each of the five conferences qualify. One fourth-place finisher also qualifies as the wild-card team.
In Class AA, all five conference champions and three second-place teams play at home in the first round. The three second-place home teams are determined by Gardner Points and the tiebreaker system.
The WPIAL meets Monday to decide seedings and matchups for the postseason.
Here is a look at the playoff picture (records are from conference play):
CLASS AAAA
BIG EAST CONFERENCE -- Woodland Hills (4-0) and Penn Hills (4-0) play for first and second place. Gateway (2-2) and Kiski Area (2-2) play for third and fourth place.
FOOTHILLS -- Central Catholic (4-0) is first. Penn-Trafford (3-1) and Norwin (3-1) play for second and third place. Hempfield (1-3) and Latrobe (1-3) play for fourth place.
NORTHERN FIVE -- North Allegheny (4-0), Shaler (3-1) and North Hills (3-1) have clinched spots. If North Allegheny beats North Hills , North Allegheny is first, Shaler second and North Hills third.
If North Hills beats North Allegheny and Erie McDowell beats Shaler, then North Hills is first, North Allegheny second and Shaler third. If North Hills and Shaler win, there will be a three-way tie decided by tiebreaker points. North Allegheny has 37, North Hills 18 and Shaler 11.
North Hills can finish only first or third, but not second.
GREAT SOUTHERN -- Upper St. Clair (4-0) is first, McKeesport (3-1) second, and Bethel Park (2-2) and Mt. Lebanon (2-2) have also clinched spots. If Bethel Park beats Baldwin, Bethel Park is third and Mt. Lebanon fourth.
If Baldwin beats Bethel Park and Upper St. Clair beats Mt. Lebanon, third place will be decided by tiebreaker points. Mt. Lebanon has 1, Bethel Park 0 and Baldwin minus-23. If Baldwin and Mt. Lebanon win, Mt. Lebanon is third and Baldwin fourth. In that scenario, Bethel Park would be the fifth-place wild-card team.
Class AAA
BIG SEVEN -- Thomas Jefferson (5-0) is first, but no other team has clinched. If Keystone Oaks (3-2) beats Chartiers Valley (3-2), Keystone Oaks is automatically second. If Keystone Oaks wins, Trinity (3-2) beats Peters Township (2-3) and Thomas Jefferson beats West Mifflin (2-3), then Trinity is third and Chartiers Valley fourth.
If Keystone Oaks, Thomas Jefferson and Peters Township win, Peters Township is third and Trinity fourth. If Chartiers Valley, Trinity and Thomas Jefferson win, Trinity is second, Chartiers Valley third and Keystone Oaks fourth. If Chartiers Valley, Peters Township and Thomas Jefferson win, Chartiers Valley is second, Peters Township third and Keystone Oaks fourth.
GREATER ALLEGHENY -- Pine-Richland (5-0) is first and Franklin Regional (4-1) second. If Highlands (3-2) beats Knoch (2-3), Highlands is third and Hampton fourth.
If Knoch wins and Pine-Richland beats Hampton, Highlands is third with more tiebreaker points and Hampton fourth. Knoch's only chance is if it wins and Hampton beats Pine-Richland.
KEYSTONE -- Mount Pleasant (5-0) is first, but Laurel Highlands (3-2) and Ringgold (3-2) have also clinched spots. If Belle Vernon (3-2) beats Ringgold, Belle Vernon is second. If Belle Vernon wins and Laurel Highlands beats Uniontown, then Laurel Highlands is third and Ringgold fourth.
If Ringgold and Laurel Highlands win, Laurel Highlands is second, Ringgold third and Albert Gallatin fourth. If Ringgold and Uniontown win, Laurel Highlands is third and Albert Gallatin fourth.
PARKWAY -- Blackhawk (4-1) and Hopewell (4-1) have clinched spots, and neither can finish lower than second. West Allegheny (3-2), Ambridge (2-3), Moon (2-3) and Montour (2-3) are all still alive for the final two spots. There are numerous scenarios Friday night. Here are a few:
If West Allegheny beats Moon, Blackhawk defeats Ambridge and Hopewell beats Montour, then Blackhawk is first, Hopewell second, West Allegheny third and Montour fourth. If Moon, Blackhawk and Hopewell win, Moon is third and West Allegheny fourth.
Class AA
ALLEGHENY -- Ford City (7-0) is first, Kittanning (6-1) second and the winner of Valley (5-2) and Burrell (4-3) is third.
CENTURY -- Brentwood (6-1) and Seton-LaSalle (6-1) have clinched playoff spots. Steel Valley (5-2), South Fayette (5-2) and South Park (5-2) are all still alive.
If Brentwood beats South Fayette, Seton-LaSalle beats Carlynton and Steel Valley beats South Park, then Brentwood is first, Seton-LaSalle second and Steel Valley third. If Brentwood, Seton-LaSalle and South Park win, South Park is third.
If South Fayette, Seton-LaSalle and Steel Valley win, then Seton-LaSalle is first, Brentwood second, Steel Valley third and South Fayette gets the fourth-place wild-card spot.
If South Fayette, Seton-LaSalle and South Park win, Seton-LaSalle is first, South Fayette second, South Park third, and Brentwood gets the wild card.
INTERSTATE -- Greensburg Central Catholic (7-0), Jeannette (6-1) and Yough (6-1) have clinched. If Greensburg Central Catholic beats Jeannette, then Greensburg Central is first, Yough second and Jeannette third.
If Jeannette wins and Yough beats Southmoreland, first place will be determined by tiebreaker points. Greensburg Central has 70 while Yough and Jeannette have 50.
TRI-COUNTY NORTH -- Mars (6-1), Shenango (6-1) and Laurel (6-1) have clinched. If Mars beats Mohawk and Shenango beats Laurel, then Shenango is first, Mars second and Laurel third. If Mars and Laurel win, Mars is first, Laurel second and Shenango third.
If Mohawk and Shenango win, Shenango is first, Mars second and Laurel third. If Mohawk and Laurel win, Laurel is first, Shenango second and Mars third.
MIDWESTERN -- Aliquippa (7-0), Center (6-1) and Sto-Rox (6-1) have all clinched. If Aliquippa beats Center, Aliquippa is first, Sto-Rox second and Center third.
If Center wins and Sto-Rox beats Quaker Valley, Aliquippa is still first, Sto-Rox second and Center third. Center can finish first only if it wins and Sto-Rox loses.
Class A
BIG SEVEN -- Rochester (5-0) and Monaca (4-1) have clinched and play for first place. If Rochester wins, North Catholic (3-2) beats Bishop Canevin (2-3) and South Side Beaver (2-3) beats Western Beaver, then North Catholic is second, Monaca third and South Side Beaver fourth.
If Rochester, North Catholic and Western Beaver win, then North Catholic is second, Monaca third and South Side Beaver fourth. If Bishop Canevin and South Side Beaver win, then South Side Beaver would be third and Bishop Canevin fourth.
BLACK HILLS -- Beth-Center (5-0) is first and Serra (5-1) second. If Chartiers-Houston (2-3) beats Fort Cherry (3-2) and Beth-Center beats Bentworth (2-3), then Char-Houston is third and Fort Cherry fourth.
If Fort Cherry and Bentworth win, Fort Cherry is third and Bentworth fourth. If Char-Houston and Bentworth win, then Char-Houston is third and Fort Cherry fourth.
EASTERN -- Clairton (6-0) is first. Riverview (4-1) and Springdale (4-1) play for second and third place. Duquesne (2-3) is fourth if it beats Wilkinsburg.
If Wilkinsburg (1-4) wins and Apollo-Ridge (1-4) beats Leechburg, then Wilkinsburg, Duquesne and Apollo-Ridge would tie. The deadlock would be decided by tiebreaker points. Duquesne is minus-8, Wilkinsburg minus-28 and Apollo-Ridge minus-34.
TRI-COUNTY SOUTH -- California (4-1), Jefferson-Morgan (4-1), Monessen (4-1) and Carmichaels (3-2) have all clinched. If California, Monessen and Jefferson-Morgan win, first place will be decided by tiebreaker points. Jefferson-Morgan has 34, California 26 and Monessen 24.
First Published October 24, 2006 12:00 am
