WPIAL boys teams to test mettle vs. District 10 in PIAA playoff games Saturday

By: Don Rebel
Friday, March 8, 2019 | 9:31 PM

Eighteen WPIAL boys basketball teams hit the court Saturday to open up the PIAA postseason against teams from various districts.

Four WPIAL teams will square off with teams from District 6, three face teams from District 3 and District 9 and there is one matchup each against a team from District 5 and District 8, the City League.

Six WPIAL teams open the Road to Hershey against neighbors from the north, District 10.

The two districts have had their share of success in the state playoffs and have been the two dominant districts overall for years in the true western half of the state.

With plenty more head-to-head matchups in rounds to come, here are the confrontations slated for Saturday in the opening round:

Class 6A: District 10 champion Kennedy Catholic vs. Fox Chapel at Farrell at 7 p.m.

Class 3A: District 10 champion Sharon vs. Washington at Farrell at 5:30 p.m.

Class 3A: Fairview vs. Aliquippa at Edinboro at 6 p.m.

Class 3A: Seton LaSalle vs. Sharpsville at North Hills at 6 p.m.

Class 2A: District 10 champion Farrell vs. Shenango at Sharon at 6 p.m.

Class 2A: WPIAL champion Our Lady of the Sacred Heart vs. West Middlesex at North Hills at 3 p.m.

Best in class?

The PIAA playoffs are three-week, five-round battles between the best teams across Pennsylvania.

However, when you look around the girls’ Class 5A playoff field, something sticks out among the 32 teams that qualified. Ten teams, nearly one-third of the field, enter the state playoffs with double-digit losses.

That is more than double the fields of four other classes with the next number of double-digit loss teams being in Class A with six.

Six of the 10 are on the western half of the bracket and include:

Trinity (12-12), Mount St. Joseph (13-13), Hollidaysburg (13-10), Pope John Paul II (15-11), Palmyra (16-10) and Wyoming Valley West (16-10).

Wrestling wrap-up

The 2018-19 high school wrestling season concludes in a golden way Saturday in Hershey.

The long day begins with the PIAA Class AAA semifinals, along with the Round 3 and 4 consolations at 9 a.m. The WPIAL has 17 wrestlers still alive into the semis.

Then at 2 p.m., champions will be crowned as the Class AA consolation and championship finals take place.

At 7 p.m., the survivors in Class AAA hit the mats for the consolation and championship finals.

Listen to full-day coverage from of both the Class AA and AAA championship sessions at TribHSSN.TribLive.com starting at 9 a.m.

Tags: Aliquippa, Fox Chapel, Our Lady of the Sacred Heart, Seton-LaSalle, Shenango, Washington