WPIAL Clinched for Oct. 29, 2021: Football playoff fields nearly set

By: Don Rebel
Saturday, October 30, 2021 | 12:49 AM

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The 2021 WPIAL playoff field is nearly set.

One playoff berth in both 2A and A will be determined Saturday, hours before the brackets are unveiled on the WPIAL Football Playoff Pairings Show on Trib HSSN on Saturday at 6 p.m.

Here is a rundown of the teams that have qualified for the postseason along with a tiebreaker explanation.

Class 6A

The top five teams qualify.

1-Mt. Lebanon Blue Devils (7-0)

2-Central Catholic Vikings (6-1)

3- Seneca Valley Raiders (5-2)

4-North Allegheny Tigers (4-3)

5-Canon-McMillan Big Macs (2-5)

Canon-McMillan wins tiebreaker over Baldwin and Norwin via WPIAL tiebreaker points. Canon-McMillan was minus-26, Baldwin minus-30, Norwin minus-31

Class 5A

The top 4 teams from each of the three conferences qualify.

Big East Conference

1-Penn-Trafford Warriors (5-0)

2-Gateway Gators (4-1)

3-Woodland Hills Wolverines (3-2)

4-Franklin Regional Panthers (2-3)

Northeast Conference

1-Pine-Richland Rams (4-1)

1-Penn Hills Indians (4-1)

1-North Hills Indians (4-1)

4-Fox Chapel Foxes (2-3)

Allegheny Six Conference

1-Moon Tigers (5-0)

2-Upper St. Clair Panthers (4-1)

3-Bethel Park Black Hawks (3-2)

4-Peters Township Indians (2-3)

Class 4A

The top five teams from the Greater Allegheny Conference and the top four teams from the Big Eight and Parkway Conferences qualify.

Big Eight Conference

1-Belle Vernon Leopards (6-0)

2-McKeesport Tigers (5-1)

3-Thomas Jefferson Jaguars (4-2)

4-Laurel Highlands Mustangs (3-3)

Greater Allegheny Conference

1-Hampton Talbots (7-0)

2-Armstrong River Hawks (5-2)

3-Highlands Golden Rams (4-3)

4-Indiana Little Indians (3-4)

5-Plum Mustangs (3-4)

Indiana, Plum and Greensburg Salem finish in a tie for fourth place. They all split in head-to-head, but Indiana has more Gardner Points and finishes fourth. Revert to head-to-head for fifth-place tiebreaker and Plum beats out Greensburg Salem.

Parkway Conference

1-Aliquippa Quips (5-0)

2-Beaver Bobcats (4-1)

3-New Castle Red Hurricane (3-2)

4-Montour Spartans (2-3)

Class 3A

The top four teams from each of the three conferences qualify.

Northwestern Six Conference

1-Central Valley Warriors (5-0)

2-Avonworth Antelopes (4-1)

3-Keystone Oaks Golden Eagles (3-2)

4-Ambridge Bridgers (2-3)

Allegheny Seven Conference

1-North Catholic Trojans (6-0)

2-Freeport Yellowjackets (4-1)

3-East Allegheny Wildcats (3-3)

4-Burrell Buccaneers (3-3)

East Allegheny, Burrell and Deer Lakes finish tied for third place. East Allegheny wins in WPIAL tiebreaker points and finishes third with plus-7. Deer Lakes is minus-6 and Burrell minus-10. Head-to-head gives Burrell fourth place over Deer Lakes.

Interstate Conference

1-Elizabeth Forward Warriors (5-0)

2-Mt. Pleasant Vikings (3-2)

3-South Allegheny Gladiators (3-2)

4-Southmoreland Scotties (3-2)

South Allegheny and Southmoreland finished 4-2, but it goes back to 3-2 after removing all Brownsville games because Mt. Pleasant vs. Brownsville was a no contest.

Class 2A

The top five teams from the Midwestern Athletic Conference, the top four teams from the Century Conference, the top three teams from the Three Rivers and Allegheny Conferences plus a fourth-place wild-card team from either the Three Rivers or Allegheny qualify.

Three Rivers Conference

1-Sto-Rox Vikings (5-0)

Western Beaver Golden Beavers (3-1)

South Side Rams (3-1)

Seton-LaSalle Rebels (1-3)

The winner of Saturday’s South Side at Western Beaver game is second and the loser is third.

Allegheny Conference

1-Steel Valley Ironmen (5-0)

2-Serra Catholic Eagles (4-1)

3-Ligonier Valley Rams (3-2)

Shady Side Academy Bulldogs (1-3)

For the fourth-place wild card from either the Three Rivers or Allegheny Conferences, it will come down to WPIAL tiebreaker points between Shady Side Academy and Seton LaSalle. Even if Shady Side Academy loses to Summit Academy and Seton LaSalle loses to Brentwood, Apollo-Ridge, Summit Academy, Brentwood and Carlynton have been eliminated because they cannot catch SSA. Shady Side Academy is minus-11 and Seton LaSalle is minus-16.

Midwestern Athletic Conference

1-Laurel Spartans (7-0)

2-Beaver Falls Tigers (6-1)

3-Mohawk Warriors (4-3)

4-Neshannock Lancers (4-3)

5-New Brighton Lions (3-4)

New Brighton wins head-to-head tiebreaker over Freedom.

Century Conference

1-Washington Little Prexies (6-0)

2-Chartiers-Houston Buccaneers (5-1)

3-McGuffey Highlanders (4-2)

4-Beth-Center Bulldogs (2-3)

Beth-Center wins head-to-head tiebreaker over Charleroi.

Class A

The top five teams from each of the three conferences qualify.

Big 7 Conference

1-Cornell Raiders (6-1)

2-Rochester Rams (5-2)

3-Our Lady of the Sacred Heart Chargers (4-3)

4-Shenango Wildcats (3-4)

5-Burgettstown Blue Devils (3-4)

Shenango, Burgettstown and Fort Cherry tied for fourth place. Shenango takes fourth place with more Gardner Points. Burgettstown then earns fifth place with its head-to-head win over Fort Cherry on Friday.

Eastern Conference

1-Clairton Bears (7-0)

2-Bishop Canevin Crusaders (6-1)

3-Leechburg Blue Devils (5-2)

4-Greensburg Central Catholic Centurions (4-3)

The winner of Saturday’s Springdale Dynamos (2-4) at Riverview Raiders (1-5) game will finish in fifth place and clinch a playoff spot.

Tri-County South Conference

1-West Greene Pioneers (7-0)

2-Carmichaels Mighty Mikes (6-1)

3-California Trojans (4-2)

4-Mapletown Maples (4-3)

5-Monessen Greyhounds (3-4)