George Guido: Time to start thinking WPIAL playoffs

By: George Guido
Saturday, October 9, 2021 | 6:35 PM

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The football season is set for the stretch run, and now might be a good time to go over WPIAL playoff qualification.

No Alle-Kiski team has clinched a playoff spot yet, but several are on the precipice of getting into the postseason.

Here’s a rundown on classifications specific to the A-K Valley:

Class 5A — The top four teams in each conference get in. Fox Chapel and Kiski Area are in the running. The top four seeds get a first-round bye (something many coaches dislike). All three conference champions will open at home. Otherwise, the higher seeds get home field.

Class 4A — There will be 13 playoff spots. The Greater Allegheny Conference will put its top five teams in. That means Highlands, with a 1-3 record, is alive. But a 23-21 loss to Plum is hurting the Golden Rams as much as it is helping the Mustangs at this point.

The Parkway and the Big Eight conferences will send their top four.

The top three teams receive a bye. The three conference champions and the higher-seeded teams will host their opening games.

Class 3A — There are 12 playoff spots available with the top four teams in each conference qualifying. Freeport can clinch its 31st playoff berth with a win Friday at Burrell.

The top four teams get a bye and will host their first game. The higher-seeded team will host opening-round games.

Class 2A — Pay attention now. Seventeen teams will vie for 16 playoff spots.

The Midwestern Conference will send its top five teams. The Century Conference will send its top four. The Allegheny Conference, where Apollo-Ridge is located, and the Three Rivers Conference will guarantee three teams each.

The 16th team will be decided by the best fourth-place team from the Allegheny or Three Rivers with the most Gardner Points.

In a nutshell, if the best fourth-place team can’t be decided by conference records, each team gets 100 points for a win. That team also gets 10 points for each game a team it defeated wins.

If a tie persists, the point differential comes into play. Each team gets up to 10 tiebreaker points by margin of victory and subtracts up to 10 for each conference loss.

Class A — The top five teams in each conference qualify for a 15-team field. The No. 1 seed, likely to be Clairton, gets a bye.

The other two conference champions and the higher-seeded teams open the playoffs at home.

Hockey rules changes

With the MLB playoffs underway, it also means high school hockey also has started — an extreme example of seasons overlapping.

About the biggest rule change this season involves goaltender safety.

Now, if a goaltender’s blade is broken or dislodged, the game will be stopped. Player safety was a paramount issue in consideration because the goaltender can’t defend against oncoming shot attempts, and a player skating near the net might also be injured.

The rule against “falling or diving on the puck,” in other words, a player leaving his feet to play the puck, stays the same but has been moved to another part of the rulebook.

Likewise, a player other than the goaltender picking up, throwing, covering or trapping the puck with his hands or body is now in the “Delay of Game” section of the rulebook.

Tags: Apollo-Ridge, Burrell, Fox Chapel, Freeport, Highlands, Kiski Area, Plum