High school football notebook: WPIAL sets date, site for Class 2A, A championships

By: HSSN Staff
Wednesday, October 25, 2017 | 4:42 PM

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Jeannette, Steel Valley, Clairton, Washington and any other small schools with WPIAL title hopes should clear their schedules the Saturday after Thanksgiving.

The WPIAL football championships for the two smallest classifications will be Nov. 25 at Robert Morris's Joe Walton Stadium. The WPIAL finalized the date Wednesday, executive director Tim O'Malley said.

The WPIAL had requested to use Walton Stadium on either Nov. 24 or 25. The Class A final will be at noon with Class 2A at 6 p.m.

The finals for the four larger classifications already were scheduled for Nov. 18 at Heinz Field. This is the second year the WPIAL has split its six championship games over two weekends at two separate venues.

“We're happy to be able to go (to RMU),” O'Malley said. “Obviously, we received some negative feedback from some people that would have much rather been down at Heinz Field. But it's an impossibility to go two weeks in a row.”

Two wins is enough?

If the WPIAL wanted to move all six finals to the same weekend, it would need to cut the Class 2A and A playoff brackets from 16 teams to eight — a move many Class 3A coaches endured but criticized a year ago. Currently, five teams from each Class 2A and A conference and one wild card qualify.

But an argument could be made for cutting the field for competitive reasons alone. More than a half-dozen teams with losing records remain in playoff contention in Class A or 2A. Among them, Frazier (2-7, 2-4) already has clinched a spot. Either Laurel (2-7, 2-5) or Bentworth (3-6, 2-5) will receive the Class 2A wild card.

Only eight teams qualify in the four other classifications, ending their WPIAL playoffs a week earlier.

Within their reach

A few teams can win a share of their conference title Friday, but only one is entirely up for grabs. Bethel Park (7-1, 5-0) visits Mt. Lebanon (6-3, 5-0), and the winner earns the Class 6A Southeastern title outright. The rivals shared the conference title last season.

In other head-to-head matchups, Clairton (6-2, 5-1) could grab a share of the Eastern Conference title with a win over Jeannette (9-0, 6-0). Not since 2005 has Clairton not finished at least tied for first in its conference.

A win over South Fayette (9-0, 7-0) would earn Montour (7-1, 6-1) a share of the Northwest Nine title and snap the Lions' 55-game regular-season winning streak. North Allegheny (7-2, 4-1) could share the Northern Seven title with a victory over Pine-Richland (9-0, 5-0).

TV timeout

The TribLive High School Sports Network will stream online the Eastern Conference matchup between Jeannette and Clairton at 7 p.m.

AT&T Sportsnet will televise Montour at South Fayette, and WPNT-22 will broadcast Pine-Richland at North Allegheny.

Xfinity customers can watch Penn-Trafford at McKeesport tape-delayed through Comcast's on-demand service.

Chris Harlan is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach him at charlan@tribweb.com or via Twitter @CHarlan_Trib.

Tags: California, Clairton, Jeannette, Washington