After strong finish, Highlands, Kiski Area ready for tough tests in WPIAL playoffs

By: Michael Love
Saturday, October 28, 2023 | 5:27 PM

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Highlands and Kiski Area took care of business in their final two Greater Allegheny Conference games to punch their tickets to the WPIAL Class 4A playoffs.

The Golden Rams (6-4) and Cavaliers (5-5) joined fellow Alle-Kiski Valley postseason qualifiers Knoch (Class 3A), Deer Lakes (Class 3A), Burrell (Class 2A) and Leechburg (Class A) on Saturday afternoon in discovering who they will play in the first round Friday as the WPIAL football committee released the six classification brackets.

Kiski Area, which outlasted Armstrong, 42-34, on Friday, earned the No. 3 seed from the conference based on WPIAL tiebreaker points after the Cavaliers, Golden Rams and Hampton finished tied for third in the conference at 3-3 behind Mars (6-0) and North Catholic (5-1).

Kiski, back in the playoffs for the first time since back-to-back trips in 2018 and 2019, is the No. 11 seed and will visit No. 6 Thomas Jefferson. All first-round playoff games are 7 p.m. Friday.

“(Bill Cherpak) does a great job with that team every year, and they’re always primed for a run in the playoffs,” Cavaliers coach Sam Albert said.

“I coached against him several times in the playoffs when I was at Highlands. They have tough kids who always have a championship on their minds. We know what a great challenge it will be. We’re excited to be in the playoffs. I can’t be more proud of them. We are looking forward to the opportunity.”

Thomas Jefferson owns 10 WPIAL championships, the most recent one coming in 2020.

Highlands, making its third straight playoff appearance after a five-year hiatus, will have an equally challenging task ahead as the No. 12 seed. The Golden Rams will travel to No. 5 Central Valley.

Central Valley won three straight Class 3A titles from 2019-21.

“It’s been an up-and-down year for us, and we started playing well as of late,” Highlands coach Matt Bonislawski said.

“We thought we might have a little more consistency all year, but that is high school football. Give all the credit to the kids. They battled and fought through things all year, including key guys in and out of the lineup. We’re just happy and honored we get another chance and another week to be together.”

Highlands bounced back from a loss to Kiski Area in Week 7 and scored wins over Armstrong, 17-15, and then Hampton, 42-26, on Friday.

Bonislawski said he was proud of the way his players, especially the seniors, performed and didn’t let any other games distract them from their own business of getting the win.

The Golden Rams worked throughout the season to put themselves in position to gain a measure of redemption after last year’s first-round home loss to Latrobe.

Deer Lakes had a simple formula of win-and-get-in Friday against Freeport. The Lancers left no doubt with a 35-0 victory behind 200 yards and three touchdown passes from senior Derek Burk and 102 yards and a pair of rushing scores from Zier Williams. The Lancers clinched third in the Allegheny 6 Conference at 3-2 behind East Allegheny (5-0) and Knoch (4-1).

Making its fourth WPIAL playoff appearance and second in a row — the Lancers also qualified in 2010 and ‘15 — Deer Lakes, the No. 8 seed in Class 3A, will host a rematch against No. 9 Southmoreland.

The teams met in Week 4 with the Lancers winning 24-7

“It’s awesome to have this game at home,” Deer Lakes coach Tim Burk said.

“I think back to 2010 when I was coaching that group, and we had a home playoff game. It’s hard to describe the energy and atmosphere. To have a playoff game at home for these guys with some important meaning behind it, we’re so excited for the opportunity.

“It’s so hard to play a team twice in one year because everyone makes changes and does things differently the second time around. They are going to be a challenge, and they’re going to come up here looking for a little payback.”

Knoch, whose lone conference loss was by one point to East Allegheny in overtime, is back in the playoffs for the first time since 2014 in the old WPIAL Class AAA.

The Knights are the No. 5 seed and will take on No. 12 South Park in the first round. If Knoch is able to advance, it would have a rematch with No. 4 East Allegheny, one of four teams to receive byes into the quarterfinals.

Leechburg, led by the likes of senior Jake Cummings and junior dual threat Jayden Floyd, has the best record among the four fourth-place teams in Class A at 6-4. The Blue Devils, the No. 14 seed and a playoff qualifier for the third year in a row, open Friday against former Eastern Conference foe and No. 3 seed Bishop Canevin.

The game will be played at North Allegheny as the Crusaders’ usual home field, Dormont Stadium, will be used by Keystone Oaks to host Beaver Falls.

“Saturday is great for finding out who we play,” Leechburg coach Randy Walters said. “The second we knew, we were requesting film. I’ll get 20 hours of film in before Monday’s practice. That is the biggest thing, being able to prepare and be ready to go at the beginning of the week.

“We’ve had some great kids who have bought into what we continue to do here. We have a program, not just a one-hit wonder. We’re pretty young with seven or eight sophomores out there.”

Burrell makes its third straight WPIAL playoff appearance, something it hasn’t done in more than two decades.

The Bucs, 4-6 overall, hope to bounce back after Allegheny Conference (Class 2A) losses to Steel Valley, Derry and Apollo-Ridge to cap the regular season.

Burrell, which finished fifth in the conference standings, will make another long trip Friday and take on No. 5 Mohawk.

The Bucs had a similar trip to near New Castle last year as it drew Neshannock in the first round. They hope for different results this time around after Neshannock eliminated Burrell, 48-6.

Michael Love is a TribLive reporter covering sports in the Alle-Kiski Valley and the eastern suburbs of Pittsburgh. A Clearfield native and a graduate of Westminster (Pa.), he joined the Trib in 2002 after spending five years at the Clearfield Progress. He can be reached at mlove@triblive.com.

Tags: Burrell, Deer Lakes, Highlands, Kiski Area, Knoch, Leechburg